YOU CAN LEARN PLENTY FROM THIS JULIAN BOND QUOTE

The earthly passing of civil rights pioneer, political leader, researcher and educator Julian Bond will certainly spark recitations of a half-century old era—marches, institutional agitation and societal change from a White supremacist-dominated landscape. But Bond’s lifetime dedication to equal rights, inclusive of his latter-day work, should illuminate two important realities we can learn from. First, […]

LOOK AT THIS CECIL THE LION STORY AGAIN

Some followers of the Black Lives Matter movement are livid over the general public’s apparent preference in discussing a Zimbabwe lion’s recent death at the hands of an American big game hunter, as opposed to discussing the problem of race in America. My response to the Black Lives Matter movement: don’t you see the 2,000-pound […]

YOU IGNORE THAT SANDRA BLAND DIED OVER A CIGARETTE

A few years ago, I shared a Reuters story about a restaurant owner in Turkey who was shot dead after he tried to stop customers from smoking in his establishment. Some Americans laughed at the killing, as if to say “That’s Turkey for ya.” I suppose their dismissal was code for “This could never happen […]

‘GO SET A WATCHMAN’ BACKLASH – TO FIT WHOSE NOVEL RACE FANTASY?

Much of America is losing its collective Sugar-Honey-Iced-Tea over the new Harper Lee book, Go Set a Watchman—a quasi-sequel of sorts to the author’s classic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, but the former features hero attorney Atticus Finch as an older man who harbors racist views toward African descendants in America. The new book is considered a […]

THE SOUTH LOST THE WAR (BEFORE IT WON)

There are three ways to win wars. On the street… On the battlefield… At the policy table… Or through a combination of the three approaches. For example, the continent of Africa expelled European colonizers to gain independence, correct? Perhaps, but African colonialism was replaced with a growth-inhibiting partnership of the European and African elite classes, as well […]

THE ONE PERCENT LOVES ICON-CHASERS

This recycled simmer-boil-simmer debate about whether to destroy, honor or moth-ball the Confederate flag reminds me of Americans’ drug-like habit of chasing icons and fighting over labels—undoubtedly violence-supporting icons which are emotionally powerful, but have no real power. I’ll get back to that thought in a moment, but allow me to throw a large slice […]

FRACTAL OF LONG-TERM RACIAL HATRED VISITED A CHURCH

Do you think lions can make a credible “We are not your enemies” plea to water buffalos? I never had a chance to rap with them to give you a cogent answer, but I’m pretty sure the Water Buffalo language has an equivalent expression for “predator.” And this is why water buffalos are alarmed or […]

OBAMA’S DESPERATE AGAIN, HE’S TALKING TO CBC ABOUT TPP

(Laughing) You know that President Obama is scraping the bottom of his friendship barrel at this point since he’s now talking to the Congressional Black Caucus about— Wait. That sounds awfully familiar… Anyway, President Obama must be desperate again—he’s talking with the CBC about helping him pass a bill that will give him carte blanche […]

THE FERGUSON EFFECT AND DEADLY VERTICAL THINKING

Vertical thinking— disguised this time as the pseudo-theoretical Ferguson Effect—is once again blurring the Post-Racial American debate as proponents of ham-fisted shock troops policing through communities of color attempt to send followers of the Black Lives Matter movement scurrying back to a minimized existence with tails between legs. Unfortunately Americans seem to often fall for […]

AMERICA’S PUZZLING FIFA BEEF

While most Americans don’t seem to care about the brewing FIFA corruption scandal, I’m equally amused and annoyed about how the US Justice Department can find the time and energy to file criminal charges against an international soccer organization, but can’t seem to arrest banking executives for laundering the money of Saudi terrorists and Mexican […]