Plan B is the equivalent of an F - Failure

Crossposted from A Work In Progress - (Yes Villager, Alaine does post). As always, she takes mindshare.

Plan B?

The morning-after pill -- made by Duramed, a subsidiary of Barr Pharmaceuticals -- is intended to prevent pregnancy after unprotected sex. It works by stopping ovulation and decreasing the chances that a fertilized egg will attach to the uterus. When used within 72 hours of unprotected sex, it can lower the risk of pregnancy by almost 90 percent, the maker says.

The casual nature surrounding the Plan B pill is extremely interesting to me. The pill will be available to "women age 17 and older" the FDA announced today. What child do you know classifies as a woman at age 17. I'm not even opening the conversation for true debate - I'm really just reflecting on what I know to be the case. Every memory of being 17 reminds me that 17 year olds are not women - they are children in more mature bodies. When I look around at the family members, church members, neighbors and friends who are 17, they too are not women. Young women in training maybe, but do we want Plan B to be part of their educational process?

For the most part, we're talking about young people who still rely on their parents for food, clothing and shelter. When, and if they work, they earn what my mother used to affectionately call "play money." Even when I worked as a young "woman" I wasn't responsible for my living expenses and upkeep, I was really just offsetting the tremendous expenses I was incurring. When I look at who I dated, the decisions I made and the person I thought I wanted to be - I realize that I have evolved into a much different person. Thank God. Instead of allowing young girls the time, space and ability to evolve into who they aspire to be, we have created a society that believes fast and easy is the answer for everything. And we're producing a generation of fast. and easy.

Planned Parenthood and every group that supports them may very well consider this a victory, which is a sad commentary on our evolution as a society and a community anyway. The real concern that I have, however, rests with the false premises associated with pseudo abortion as a family planning method. Since when does someone who doesn't qualify as an adult in any other context become woman enough to obtain medical treatment without parental consent? At 17 I had already graduated from high school, started college and moved into my "higher education experience". At that time I couldn't get an antibiotic without using the insurance card that was directly tied to the medical coverage my mother paid for. Allergy medicine required authorization. How in the world do we go from that to Plan B.

I surely wish we'd write more articles about Plan A. I imagine Plan B, Plan C and Plan D could have many alternatives other than the "Oops pill." Oops I shouldn't have had unprotected sex, so let me ingest an emergency (cough) contraception (cough) pill (cough), so that I don't have any of the consequences. If we continue to believe that the only damage done by poor judgment is physical, we are doing a disservice to the young ladies we are bringing up as the next generation. We have authored and labeled alternatives as if we are oblivious to the historical, cultural, societal, personal, emotional and financial implications of the choices being made. I know that someone will write, or think, its a woman's choice. I dare say, we aren't talking about women at all. This isn't a choice in my book - plan B offers more stunted growth in decision making. No wonder we can't problem solve or plan strategically, from an early age we're taught that there are no consequences to our choices.

We live in an oversexed society that trains young girls from birth that their value is tied to their sexuality and virtue, or lack thereof. When they are tweens we are preparing them for being teens. The new teen looks like the equivalent of your average 20 something - with less fashion taste, and even less sense. We try to make it better by saying that 17 year olds are women and spouting about their rights. With rights come responsibility, and I don't see very many children at age 17 being ready for all of those either. What can we expect of the women we are raising, when Plan B is covered in the media like something to celebrate as a culture. Plan A could be Abstinence. or Adoption. or Academics. or Athletics. or Aspirations. or the ability to actually grow up.

A better name for Plan B would be Plan F - we keep failing our girls.

Recommended Reading

Hat Tip to Blogger Shecodes, who reports on the recent release of the Report on the Status of Black Women and Girls(r) . According to their website, this definitive work on the status of black women and girls in America developed by black think tank, the Law and Policy Group, "responds to a long awaited need to present the Black female as a whole person with achievements and challenges enabling agencies, individuals, and the media to better understand the progress and pressures of Black women and girls. It provides data on the complex world of Black women and girls from infant to elder in areas of health, education, religious beliefs, employment/income, family status, political participation, and criminal justice".

Shecodes recommends the book, saying: Apparently, many scholars are so brainwashed into thinking that all things black are pathological, that they simply can not accept the truth of positive statistics concerning black women. The authers described how they were routinely challenged when they presented statistics that didn't jibe with many scholars beliefs about black women.

Example: The researchers were challenged over and over again about the statistic that asserts that 82.6% of graduation-aged black girls finished high school in 2007.

Academics simply could not believe that black girls finished high school at those rates, and seriously challenged that number. The researcher said that she had to repeatedly return to the Dept of Education to garner more and more evidence to support that statistic.

The report is available for just $14.95. Get your copy and be informed.

Sweetie? Obama, You Know Better - Act LIke It

Obama got himself in a little hot water and rightly so for calling Peggy Agar, a local reporter in Detroit "sweetie" when she shouted a question his way during a tour of a stamping plant. The social no no was caught on tape. Obama later called Peggy Agar to apologize both for not answering her question and for calling her "sweetie". I watched the clip of the tour where he said it and all I got to say is O baby, thats a silly rookie mistake. Don't do it again. It looked and sounded condescending and had she been a male reporter, you might have still blown her off, but you would not have used any such terminology. I do not believe you meant to be condescending or offensive, but you were in actuality and you were perceived to be so as well. So to the extent that you have this as a bad habit, you better break it right here, right now. You cannot afford any continued tone deafness on this score.

You're married to a strong black woman, so I know you know the problem entailed in using that kind of nomenclature on a woman you don't know. I'm sure you would not appreciate somebody rolling on Michelle like that. Hopefully, Michelle whapped you upside the back of your neck when you got home. You're fighting to be POTUS. You are a balling, shotcalling Harvard educated grown ass black man. That is beneath you. Here endeth the lesson.

Political Season Joins Empowered Black Perspectives Radio Show to Talk About Dunbar Village

I participated in a discussion about the Dunbar Village case on Friday, April 18th on the Empowered Black Perspectives Radio show. You can check out the show right here. Unfortunately, my line got dropped just before the end of the show, but thankfully not in the middle of a comment. So give the show a listen and let me know how you think I did in discussing the issues.

NAACP Answers on Dunbar: What We Learned

Well, I've been traveling out of town for the past few days getting some much needed RR with the family but of course keeping an eye peeled on the blogosphere and the Dunbar Village accountability campaign being waged on the NAACP. Since I was on the road, I missed the blogtalk radio show on Dunbar Village on Thursday night. Representatives from the NAACP, Adora Obi Nweze, President, Fl State Conference NAACP and Richard McIntire, the NAACP national spokesperson joined the Black Women's Roundtable hosted by WAOD to respond to the stinging and scathing criticism the NAACP has been receiving.

I listened to the archive of the show including the NAACP portion and the discussion afterwards. The NAACP responses and performance were pathetically inadequate and demonstrated an organization manifestly out of touch. They apologized for the press conference, saying that it was not their intent to suggest that they cared more about the suspects than the victims. They were not well versed in the facts of the Boca Raton cases and ill informed about how their national policy directives informed the actions of the WPB branch. They were unwilling and unable to explain their internal protocol for how local branches intervene in cases (though the local branch in my area seems very clear that permission from their state body is required when I asked about it.)

So what have we learned from this little episode? Surprisingly, not much that was new. All it really did for me was to confirm the fact, which I've blogged on before, that black organizations are nearly incapable of engaging in principled, strategic leadership. The responses of the NAACP betray an organization that is poorly organized, with poor unit discipline and extremely inconsistent quality of leadership at the local level. It seems fairly clear that the WPB branch did not obtain any authorization to intervene in this case before undertaking this ill advised press conference. Furthermore, they got involved in this press conference apparently without having done any significant amount of research into the Boca Raton case, which has a very different fact pattern, as evidenced by their inability to talk about it when questioned by reporters from the Palm Beach Post at the scene.

The quality of local leadership for the NAACP is clearly in question. Maude Ford Lee, the local president, pursued this course of action apparently without authorization, without a clear understanding of the facts of the Boca case and apparently without having given any real thought to the nature of the Dunbar Village rape itself, something I find even more appalling because she is a woman herself.

The poor legal, moral and political judgment demonstrated by the local chapter is simply compounded by the equally inept response of the national organization, which does nothing to rein in the action of the local branch, nor does anything substantive in regards to support for the victim. Clearly unwilling to rebuke the local chapter leadership, the Florida state president apologizes for the press conference, but is unwilling to go any further, and the NAACP's national spokesperson offers up a mish mash of contradictory statements. Its clear that they are only concerned with the agenda of pursuing actual and perceived cases of racial injustice and are willing to ride any set facts to do so. If that were not the case, then the national and state bodies would have indeed rebuked the local chapter for their involvement in this case.

It highlights the sad fact of bad leadership in black organizations both nationally and locally. Because there is little in the way of accountability, these organizations continue to waste humanpower and financial resources on ill advised strategies to obtain dubious gains in racial equality. The NAACP has demonstrated itself to be just such an organization, as has the National Action Network of Al Sharpton.

There was a lot of discussion afterwards about what is the response of people like ourselves, bloggers, activists, a new generation who are embracing the new tools and technologies of the information age to connect with each other and the world on the issues we care about. Some suggested a new organization, some said reform these groups from within, some said run for office. None of these options seems either a great solution or particularly satisfying or complete as answers by themselves. There was talk of coalition building and I think that comment points in the right direction, of a third way. We've seen this accountability campaign force a response from these civil rights establishment dinosaurs. We did it by harnessing the power of communication and the web to connect the concerns of hundreds, perhaps thousands of people who are not otherwise connected. I myself collaborated with people I've never met or seen in places I have never been. Thats very powerful .

We need to continue to harness that power. To build the ability of people who share similar concerns to be able to join with one another on issues we care about and to be involved in action that impacts those concerns. Its not an organization per se, but a coalition of the willing built around shared values and principles, that works to mobilize people power and raise money in specific targeted ways to effect change where its needed. WAOD's prior campaigns and this one demonstrate a power that in my view we have only barely begun to tap. We should be thinking about the next level.

The NAACP Says We Are All Crazy

The NAACP two hours ago put out this press release on their website:

E-mails misrepresent NAACP's position on Dunbar Village case

A series of viral e-mails circulating the Internet the past several days distort and misrepresent the NAACP’s stance on the Dunbar Village gang rape case that began last June in south Florida.
The NAACP does not condone violence against anyone. Any suggestion to the contrary is not credible in light of the Association’s long history of opposing violence against all persons.

In fact, it was the West Palm Beach Branch NAACP and area churches, among others, that provided assistance in the relocation of the victims in this horrific and inexplicable criminal matter.

“The NAACP cares deeply that justice be applied equally, without regards to race, but cares just as deeply that guilty parties be held accountable for their actions,” said Adora Obi Nweze, president of the Florida State Conference, NAACP.

The NAACP National Office nor the Florida NAACP have taken any formal position on the case and both believe this situation will benefit from well meaning, interested parties allowing the facts to become further known and letting defense lawyers do their work.

“The lives of the victims in this case are irrevocably altered in the worst way,” said NAACP Interim President & CEO Dennis Courtland Hayes. “While we respect the judicial process and implore that equal justice be rendered for all involved, we must also focus on ending the continuing plague of violence in our communities.”

The NAACP and its affiliates will continue to closely monitor the proceedings and details of this case, said West Palm Beach Branch NAACP President Maude Ford Lee, who added, “Earlier reports that my remarks support the heinous acts of the guilty parties could not be further from the truth.”

--For more information contact: rmcintire@naacpnet.org

Okay. I'm just gonna go with two sentences out of this press release:

"The NAACP National Office nor the Florida NAACP have taken any formal position on the case..."

No formal position? What do you call WPB NAACP chapter president Maude Ford Lee and NAACP attorney Richard Keith Alan II appearing on the steps of the prosecutor's office with Al Sharpton and the families of the defendants in front of a gaggle of reporters demanding that they be offered bail like the defendants in the Boca Raton case? Don't take my word for it. Watch the video for yourself.

"In fact, it was the West Palm Beach Branch NAACP and area churches, among others, that provided assistance in the relocation of the victims in this horrific and inexplicable" criminal matter.

Oh really? Prove it. I know that the St. Ann Catholic Church has provided some assistance, they are receiving donations to the victim's fund. I also know that when the NAACP's national office was called, they said "its not part of our mission". So I'd like to know exactly what assistance the WPB NAACP branch has rendered to relocate the victims. Spell it out. Did you donate money, did you find her a place to live? Because I have a really hard time believing that this chapter that joined with Al Sharpton in this ill advised, ill timed and irresponsible press conference would have done that after helping the victim of this horrific crime.

Al Sharpton and Dunbar Village

I listened in on Al Sharpton's radio broadcast yesterday where he addressed the Dunbar Village incident and his ill advised, ill timed and irresponsible involvement in it. I had anticipated coming on to the show as well at Arlene Fenton's request, but was told by the producer when I called in that with Arlene and Tonyaa Weathersbee, they already had enough guests. I did use the radio call in number but they kept me on hold the entire time. From discussing the call with Arlene afterwards, it almost seemed that they were perhaps avoiding taking calls and clearly, some of Arlene and Tonyaa's commentary was not broadcast.

Sharpton spent a lot of time attacking the guest bloggers credibility in raising the issue but for anyone familiar with the case, there is one inescapable fact.

Sharpton and the NAACP's involvement in the Dunbar Village case was ill advised, ill timed and completely unwarranted. They were making FALSE claims of racial inequity in the application of justice. Claims that not only ignored the heinous crime involved, but that by their false nature, undermine the pursuit of equal justice in cases where it is actually merited. By his own words, Sharpton claimed he was fully aware of the case and the WPB NAACP live there, so clearly they know as well. Their bogus comparison of the case with the one in Boca Raton is either because he and the NAACP didn't bother to check the facts or they didn't care.

Dunbar Village Campaign Update: A New Underground Railroad is Born

Subject: The Dunbar Village Atrocity

Synopsis:

In the past week, a rapidly-moving viral email campaign was launched, and thousands of concerned black citizens spread the word about a shocking crime against a Black woman and her 12 year old son, in which crimes against nature were committed. (read more details of the crime here)

This email, entitled “Stop Al Sharpton and the NAACP from endangering Black Women,” described a stunning betrayal in which the NAACP and Al Sharpton held a press conference and demanded bail consideration for three suspects in custody for the crime. (source1) (source2)

Concerned Black citizens all around the country were outraged by the actions of the NAACP and Al Sharpton, and many vowed to withdraw volunteering and financial support from these agencies “until they make the safety of Black women and children a priority.”

On March 24, 2008 an NAACP memo that attempted to defend this betrayal was sent to Beverly Neal, who is the Director of the NAACP’s Florida State Conference. The memo claims that the NAACP was brought into this fray by Rev. Al Sharpton. Moreover, the memo was written by Maude Ford Lee, who is President of the West Palm Beach Branch of the NAACP. (read the memo here)

On March 27,2008, activist Al Sharpton went on the air to clarify his position on the treatment of the Dunbar Village Suspects. He invited writer Tonyaa Weathersbee and blogger Arlene Fenton to his show, to discuss the matter. Rev. Sharpton claimed that he never said that the Dunbar Village suspects were being treated unfairly, and that he did not want bail for the suspects in question.

Ms Weathersbee and Ms Fenton said that their research indicated otherwise, as indicated by video footage, eyewitness accounts, and the reporting from the Florida Sun Sentinel and the Palm Beach Post.

At the end of the radio show, Al Sharpton strongly condemned any activity that would promote bail consideration for the suspects in question. Rev. Sharpton admitted that “if the suspects were white, he would have been there sooner.” He stated that this is a problem with many black civil rights organizations. He apologized and vowed to uphold his prior promise to advocate for the residents of Dunbar Village. He also challenged all activists, bloggers, and writers to be accountable to each other.

To date, the NAACP has not made an official statement denouncing the Dunbar Village Atrocity, nor have they officially expressed regret to the victim. The NAACP also has not officially retracted their statement requesting bail consideration for the alleged rapists/torturers. To our understanding, neither agency has contributed to the Victim’s Assistance Fund or created a reward program geared toward the apprehension of the remaining rapists/torturers.


Conclusion

WE ARE SATISFIED with Al Sharpton’s qualifying statements that he made on his radio show on 3/27/2008. We will watch to see if he fulfills his promise to advocate for the residents of Dunbar Village, and we are willing to assist any effort that promotes safer black neighborhoods in West Palm Beach, FL.


WE ARE NOT CONTENT with the reckless, irresponsible actions of the NAACP (West Palm Beach chapter). We continue to urge all black people, women especially, to refrain from volunteering or giving financially to this organization until they take our safety seriously.


WHAT WE WANT

We want law enforcement to make a concerted, sustained effort to apprehend the remaining suspects. We want to see a genuine reward system in place to encourage members of the community to come forward with the knowledge of the whereabouts of the remaining suspects.

We want the NAACP (West Palm Beach chapter) to reverse their position that the alleged rapists/torturers of this case should be considered for bail.

We want both the NAACP and the National Action Network to cease downgrading the gang rape/torture/atrocity of the Dunbar Village by comparing it to an unrelated gang rape, in which guns, maiming, and forced incest were not involved.

We want to see genuine victim advocacy in the form of financial support for the relocation, medical expenses, and mental therapy for the true victims in this case.


The Dunbar Village Victim Assistance Fund

Individuals who would like to donate money to the victims can go to any Wachovia Bank and donate to the St. Ann’s Victim’s Assistance Fund. Donations will go directly to the mother and her son.

St. Ann’s Catholic Church will also accept donations. Checks can be made payable to the "Dunbar Village Victim Assistance Fund - St. Ann’s".

Donations can be mailed to: St. Ann’s Catholic Church, 310 N. Olive Avenue, West Palm Beach, FL 33401

For more information about this Dunbar Village Campaign, you can visit any of the following blogs:

http://www.dunbarvillage.blogspot.com/
http://adifferentstory.wordpress.com/
http://anonymissblog.blogspot.com/
http://auntjemimasrevenge.blogspot.com/
http://blackfirewhitefire.blogspot.com/
http://blackwomenvote.blogspot.com/
http://charactercorner.blogspot.com/
http://electronicvillage.blogspot.com/
http://episcopalienne.blogspot.com/
http://essentialpresence.blogspot.com/
http://focusedpurpose.blogspot.com/
http://h-essays.blogspot.com/
http://lareinacobre.blogspot.com/
http://mynewblog-ravenelvenlady.blogspot.com/
http://politicalseason.blogspot.com/
http://privyconcepts.blogspot.com/
http://thesowingcircle.blogspot.com/
http://tributetoblackwomen.com/news
http://web.mac.com/roslynholcomb/iWeb/Site/Blog/Blog.html
http://whataboutourdaughters.com/
http://whattamisaid.blogspot.com/
http://www.blacksapience.blogspot.com/
http://yanmommasaid.blogspot.com/
http://www.somethingwithin.com/blog

Black Male Bloggers: Man Up On Dunbar Village

The Dunbar Village Gang Rape case is among the most horrific criminal cases

I've ever seen. What is perhaps even more horrific is the deafening silence and inaction of black men on this issue, and the active support of the rapists now being given by Al Sharpton and the NAACP. Black women bloggers are taking action. Black male bloggers need to do the same and there are plenty of us.

I'm issuing a call to arms.

The imperatives are clear:
1. Make the NAACP & NAN accountable for their defense of the rapists and reverse course.
2. Bring pressure to bear on WPB authorities to catch the remaining six rapists
3. Raise a lot of money for this woman and her son to help rebuild their 

shattered lives.
This is a black accountability moment.  Black organizations, national and 

local, underperform almost across the board because we don't require them to operate at a higher standard of judgment, accountability or transparency.  

Both of these organizations should be made to publicly reverse course on this case, or pay a serious price until they do.  For black men, I can't think of a 

more clear opportunity to show unflinching, unwavering, non-negotiable, take no prisoners support for black women.

So come on brothers, join the campaign.  The women got it started, but 

frankly, the brothers should finish it.

This is simple:

A black woman was gang raped for 3 hours by 10 black men in front of her 12 year old son.

10 black men destroyed her life.  I'm looking for a hundred black men to help put it back together.

Join the campaign and take action now

An Open Letter to the NAACP and Al Sharpton

I sent the following to NAN and the NAACP at 4:04 pm Saturday March 15, 2008. I encourage you to do the same and more.


To:
Al Sharpton - National Action Network
Julian Bond - Chairman - NAACP
Maude Ford Lee - President - West Palm Beach Branch NAACP
Sabu Williams - Director - Florida State Conference NAACP

I'm writing to protest the recent actions of the NAACP and the National Action Network in the Dunbar Village rape case. As you know, on June 18th, 2007, a black woman and her 12 year old son were viciously and savagely attacked by 10 black men and boys in a West Palm Beach Florida public housing project called Dunbar Village . The woman was brutally gang raped for over three hours, tortured and forced to perform oral sex on her 12 year old son at gunpoint. They were doused with chemicals, poured into their eyes and the woman's vagina in an attempt to destroy evidence. They were saved from being burned alive only because the rapists could not find matches. No one called the police during the three hour attack. No one came to their aid when the attack was over. They had to walk a mile to a hospital before they were assisted by anyone.

On Tuesday, March 11, 2008, Al Sharpton and the West Palm Beach NAACP held a press conference accusing the prosecutor of treating those arrested in this case unfairly. You demanded that the prosecutor offer bail to the boys arrested in this case and not try them as adults, because this was being done by the prosecutor in another gang rape case involving white perpetrators in a different Florida jurisdiction.

Following the attack, vigorous efforts were made to contact NAN and the NAACP and enlist your aid in getting help and attention for the victim of this horrific crime. An NAACP spokesman, when contacted, said they would not respond because "it was outside their mission". Despite repeated calls to the National Action Network, there was NO RESPONSE. No statement on behalf of the victim, no protest, not one single word. Contrast this to the swift and vocal response Al Sharpton and NAN exhibited to the Duke rape case. In the Duke case, loud and vocal support of the victim and calls for justice for her attackers, but in the Dunbar Village case.......complete silence. The difference between the two cases? At Duke - the alleged attackers were white men; in Dunbar Village, the alleged attackers are black men. Contrast the response in this case to the NAACP's vigorous defense of Michael Vick for merely killing dogs, but the brutal and horrific gang rape of a black woman in front of her 12 year old son provokes not a single word.

For almost a year, NAN and the NAACP had nothing to say in support of the black woman victim and her son. You made no calls for the West Palm Beach police to swiftly find these criminals, of whom six are still on the loose. You did nothing to my knowledge to offer help to this woman and her child to help them recover. In all points, you exhibited a complete moral indifference to the crime committed against this black woman. Now, almost a year later, you come rushing to the defense of....the rapists??!!!! Your actions send the clear message that crimes committed against black women are not important to your organizations unless they present an opportunity to protest perceived racism and if exploiting a poor, gang raped black woman can help you grab some media spotlight for that purpose, thats okay.

I ask, where is your moral compass? How is it that the vile nature of what you are doing is not apparent to you? You are championing rapists while deliberately, purposefully ignoring the vicious gang rape and torture of a black woman. Your actions make clear that neither you Al Sharpton as a black man, nor the NAACP, value the dignity, safety and well being of black women. Your actions make clear that the rape and violation of black women is okay depending on the race of the violator. You will protest the rape of black women by white men, but you will say nothing about the rape of black women by black men and in fact will defend the black rapists of african american women. It is a second violation of this woman and indeed of all black women as vile as the first.

Your behavior in this case is morally indefensible and despicable. There is no justification for it, no basis in morality that would support what Al Sharpton and the NAACP are doing. I demand that you reverse course. I demand that you turn the resources of your organization to providing support and aid to the innocent victims in this case, not the perpetrators. I demand that you publicly in word and deed put pressure on the West Palm Beach authorities to find and arrest the other six rapists still on the loose.

If you are unwilling to immediately and publicly acknowledge the error of your actions in regard to the Dunbar Village case, I and as many others as I can persuade to join me, will pursue every avenue available to make the public at large, the media, your membership, your financial and political supporters, your sponsors and the entire world aware of your willing and informed support and encouragement of the brutal rape and torture of a black woman. My outrage is shared by many others. NAN and the NAACP will be held accountable.

The actions of Al Sharpton and the NAACP to support rapists of black women is a moral abomination, a moral atrocity. It degrades and sullies the good the NAACP has accomplished. It should not be allowed to stand. It is non negotiable. If the NAACP and NAN must be ripped apart and rebuilt anew to restore its moral compass and establish as sacrosanct the dignity, value and safety of black women, that is preferable to organizations which knowingly support the violation and rape of black women.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To our readers. If you agree with the above, make it a letter template for other people. Forward it, twit it, facebook it, newsvine it, digg it, and anything else you can think of. Turn it into a viral hurricane of outrage and accountability.

You can communicate directly to the organizations with the info below:

NAACP: Julian Bond -Chairman
4805 Mt. Hope Drive, Baltimore MD 21215
Toll Free: (877) NAACP-98
Local: (410) 580-5777

National Action Network
Al Sharpton
Crisis Department
106 W. 145th Street
Harlem, New York 10039
212-690-3070
877-NAN-HOJ1
crisis@nationalactionnetwork.net
revalmedia@yahoo.com

NAACP: Florida State Conference
DIRECTOR: MR. SABU WILLIAMS
ADDRESS: 230 Seneca Trail; Crest View, FL 32536
TELEPHONE: (850) 301-2095 FAX: (850) 301-2098
E-MAIL: sabu1@aol.com

West Palm Beach County Branch - Unit # 5143
President: Maude Ford Lee
Mailing Address: P. O. Box 4131 West Palm Beach, FL 33407
Telephone: (561) 655-9798
E-Mail: unit5143@naacp.org

This behavior should not be allowed to stand. Let's put a stop to it.

Obama, the Black Woman's Vote is Yours to Lose

An Open Letter to the Barack Obama Campaign:

I am extremely concerned that the Barack campaign has made or is making an error in addressing black women as a constituency. Many news articles have reported polling numbers showing black women as not having made a decision to support his run. My own informal polling (hardly scientific) and engagement with the widely read and influential "What About Our Daughters" blog contributors has now convinced me that a serious tactical mistake is being made. This group wants to be directly engaged as a constituency and I believe them to be low hanging fruit to be picked up as voters and supporters of the campaign.

A large number of black women are concerned about violence against them. The Dunbar Village rape case is a major flashpoint about which the campaign has been silent although you said you would make a statement about it, and Obama's support of Genarlow Wilson, without addressing the impact on the black female victim in the case is hurting the campaign with black women.

They are concerned about health care issues very specifically related to them, such as aggressive cancers that occur in black women more frequently and other health threats.

The point has been made that this is a constituency which controls billions of dollars in our economy and which make up a large part of the black voting public. A significant number of them are disaffected from the campaign because they have not been forcefully addressed in their own right on issues they consider important to them.

The campaign can bring this group into the fold if it will become more focused on its message to them as a group. While Obama's policy ideas may not address everything they want in the way they may want it, its my view that the campaign is under engaged with them and should take aggressive steps to correct this immediately by taking every opportunity to publicly address their concerns, particularly on violence against black women, in all of the policy activity going forward. I also think the campaign should look at what its doing to engage networks of black women and ramp it up with tight refocusing on the policy issues black women care about and should do so immediately. This issue is hurting the SC race and will hurt in other primaries in any state with significant amounts of black women. Its a group the campaign should not lose and who's support can be had if better attention is paid. Please adjust the campaigns tactics to play more to the issues of this group in terms of policy. Michelle and Oprah and gospel tours have perhaps opened the door, but the Obama campaign must step through it now with policy focused on this group before it is beaten to the punch by the Clinton campaign. This is not hard. Please don't blow it.

Barack & Black Women: Losing Home?

I spent part of the last few days in a running rhetorical gun battle with the contributors and regulars at WAUD regarding the Obama campaign and whether black women should support it.

WAUD's writer in chief posted her view that Barack had not made a convincing case or indeed any case at all for why his presidency would be better for black women than the other candidates. I made the mistake of suggesting the following in response: I think that the reason he is not getting more support from black women is really more about the failings of black men than the failings of his policy agenda. I think black women are reluctant to give their support to Obama because they are angry and/or discouraged by the failings of black men.

I was immediately inducted into a high ranking position on the Black Thought Police and branded a misogynist. I also got pretty savaged by contributors and readers and even those who seemed to agree with me were NOT helping me much (BRENDA!). It was a lonely experience, much as I like the open combat of ideas. I even called in to the WAUD roundtable blogradio show cuz, well, I ain't skeered and I'm stubborn when I'm trying to win a debate.

The experience for me has been a little like picking up a stone to reveal the seething entrance to an ant colony where I least expected it. The metaphorical stone I removed was the assumption that black women would support Obama's run because he is qualified, credible and bonus, black. My own informal polling of the women in my sphere had been signaling this wasn't the case, and the WAUD crew are the shock troops of the apocalypse on this issue. I had to duck and dodge rhetorical bullets like..

....because I am a Black woman, I am supposed to give my vote away for free. I am not supposed to examine whether a candidate's policy positions are in MY best interest...

The above was never my position, but the ladies jumped so very quickly to the conclusion that their intellect was being dissed and their concerns trivialized and pushed aside for the benefit of black men, that we all seemed to miss the clarity of each other's thought. To be fair, we had commenters that were very incendiary (BRENDA!) and essentially branded the WAUD crew as black man hating feminatzis. That wasn't me, but once she fired that shot, it was downhill. As an aside, BRENDA has no publicly viewable blogger profile, so its hard to know more about where she was coming from.

Another interesting piece of the argument was this thought:
you do your candidate a disservice by saying that we must vote for him because he is Black.

The essential nugget of my argument for supporting Obama is that because he is qualified, credible and black, black americans should support him in making the best possible run he can make because there is no down side for black people in doing so. This is the primary and I argue that as black people, we should want him to make a very strong showing if not flat out win. His run is lifting up black people, lifting up the black family, lifting up black men and dare I say it...black women, his performance on dunbar and genarlow aside.

Win or lose, his run is good for black america simply because its being made, because of the precedent its setting, because of how his run is affecting our political engagement. So I want to see the guy win the nomination and I want him to go to the big dance because even though he is a democrat and I don't agree with him on some important things, I still want to see this brother and sister team be successful because it lifts me up and black people up to see it. That he is black alone is not a sufficient reason to support him. That he is black, qualified and credible is. His race is as valid a factor to take into account as anything else, particularly when you consider that race is really not just his skin tone, but is a proxy for his culture, his perspective, his norms, his loyalties, his sensitivities.

PLEASE don't blame Black women and their “animus” towards Black men as one comment stated.

I said ....I think that the reason he is not getting more support from black women is really more about the failings of black men than the failings of his policy agenda. Some of you, maybe many of you, are angry on this score. I think black women are reluctant to give their support to Obama because they are angry and/or discouraged by the failings of black men.
I am advancing the argument that the withholding of support from Barack is very much wrapped up in the feelings of black women towards black men in general

I think the reluctance of black women does have something to do with the failings of black men in regard to them. Feelings arising from our historical relationship to one another as black men and women do indeed shade and color our decision making in regard to Obama's run. And while the WAUD contributors rebuked me for even having such a thought (BlackFem Thought Police anyone?), they indeed supplied quite convincing evidence that there is something to that idea. Here are some of the ideas I was summarily caned with.

Too often we have marched, fought, bled and died for the black man's revolution -- to help them achieve THEIR goals, just to be left in the dust, begging for scraps just like we were before.

too many of the so-called 'good brothers' have put gender equality on the fire to burn."

I, for one, am sick of the 'loyalty card' being thrown in the faces of black women. Mostly because black WOMEN are never -- I repeat NEVER, on the receiving end of that loyalty."

many prominent black men OPPOSED voting rights for Black women, meanwhile expecting black women to be on the front lines of the bloody battleground for their OWN right to vote.

Oh, here we go again. Black woman put your needs aside and support black men even while they ignore your needs. When we get ours we'll take care of yours. Sorry, we fell for that okey dokey a long time ago. Ain't going there again. Try another one out of the Mammy handbook.

his supporters are showing up expecting the same blind allegiance black men have come to believe they're entitled to.

That same movement that black women funded and organized while the men took all the glory for themselves. Even running Rosa Parks out of Montgomery

promoting the needs of black women doesn't mean competing with black men. Contrary to popular belief we are not joined at the hip. Black men figured that out a long time ago. About damned time for black women to buy a vowel.

Black men have an EXTREMELY poor track record of looking out for the interests of black women. Black women were pushed to the back of the Civil Rights and Black Power Movements in term of leadership and overall power!!! That is a fact.

Hell, Black men did not support Shirley Chisholm when she ran for president. They dogged her out!!!!

I don't accuse or believe any of the WAUD crew have a animus (hatred) towards black men. But if these are widely held sentiments among black women, if they are representative at all of the black female body politic, there is indeed a reservoir of anger and discouragement over the failings of black men in general, and that IS context for the adamant position that he must stand and deliver on some policy commitments around issues they define as important. Its no great leap to imagine that those sentiments are coloring their perception and decision making as to whether to support Obama or not. Thats not black women bashing, I think thats just the facts based on what this admittedly small sample of black women have said, assuming that these women are indeed representative of the political thinking of a larger sample of black women voters.

I'm capable of enough self analysis to acknowledge the possibility that being raised in a single parent home where my momma warned me to be wary of interaction with white women because it could literally get you killed (brothers testify) may color my perception of Hillary's candidacy. I think its a reasonable supposition and a relevant influence on how some, perhaps many black women out there may be thinking about their choices in this election.

And for having the temerity to advance that very reasonable position I got branded a black women hating misanthrope representative of the Black Thought Police. To be fair, Shecodes, one of the WAUD contributors, apologized for calling me a misanthrope when I called into the radio show, which I appreciated and accepted in the spirit it was given, though it wasn't necessary. I didn't have any hard feelings. Now, I'm pretty sure I still rate as BTP misogynist misanthrope to the other contributors, or at least a first grade annoyance, cause they didn't apologize or try to soften nuthin they said LOL.

The entire exercise has been revealing and instructive. To my way of thinking, there is no reason why Obama can't obtain the votes of the black female politic, but clearly he is going to have to work harder for them than he perhaps first thought. I think he can be forgiven for thinking that the implicit message behind his choice of wife and what their relationship looks like would communicate some of the most important things about what his candidacy might bode for black women. Guiliani consistently must fight the perception that his personal relationships put out there for example. Obama will suffer in my view if he doesn't adjust his tactics and it seems to me a little adjustment might do him a world of good. On the other hand, it will be instructive if he should indeed tack the campaign more towards black women issues and not be rewarded for it. Two very big ifs.

Black Women First in Line to Sell Out Obama?

Poll: Black support helps Clinton extend lead - CNN.com CNN put out poll results today which indicate that more blacks are supporting Clinton than Obama, with black women seemingly leading the charge. According to the poll;

Among black registered Democrats overall, Clinton had a 57 percent to 33 percent lead over Obama. That's up from 53 percent for Clinton and 36 percent for Obama in a poll carried out in April. The 26-point difference between black women and men underscores the fact that the nation's vote is divided not only by race, but also by gender, said CNN political analyst Bill Schneider. "Black women don't just vote their black identity," he said. "They also vote their identity as women." The former first lady's strongest support among blacks came from black women, 68 percent of whom identified her as their likely choice, versus 25 percent who cited Obama.

I've done my own informal polling of sisters and much to my dismay, I find many of them wanting to go with Hillary. They are voting their gender and I guess they are going to rejoice when and if Hillary wins the nomination and/or the presidency. They express lack luster interest in Obama. They seem to think that Hillary is going to have their back. I find it very hard to understand. Somehow, 68% of black women figure that Hillary (who's top advisor will be Bill) is going to have their back more than Obama (MARRIED to an educated, accomplished, sho nuff sister that epitomizes the kind of baller many sisters aspire to be) who will have a black woman advising him every day about policy issues.

We supported the cracked out DC mayor, we cheered when OJ won, we lift up the race hustler, media hog preachers Jesse & Sharpton on the regular, but Obama cannot get any love from the sisters of America? This brother is a fine example of everything brothers in America should be doing. Michelle Obama as the First Lady will be a beautiful light for all the little black girls of America and a First Lady's power is very real. This accomplished brother who is DEMONSTRATING his respect for black women by being married, monogamous, raising the children and taking care of the family he created together with a black woman is being rejected by 68% of them. Obama is doing the right thing by a black woman RIGHT NOW, which I think makes a good case that he will do the right thing by black women as President. But 68% of the sisters can't give him no love? Cause they think he won't have their back, but Hillary will?

What is wrong with this picture?