Some personal thoughts at the end of Black History Month

CSPAN | 2/29/04 | Jeffrey Clark

[Warrior Nurse]

Yesterday while purusing through the televison channels I came across a program on CSPAN called Focusing on the Black Family which was hosted by Tavis Smiley. I was curious to see what this was going to be about since it had some of the most notable black intellectuals that were particpants. Obviously I knew that most of these people on the panel were going to be black liberals but I wanted to watch to see if they would really address what is really wrong in the black community. Some did like Marva Collins a giant in the education of black children. The graduates from her school have been accepted into the bests schools in this country, not because of skin color but because of academic excellence.

What disturbed me the most was the Bush bashing that occured from time to time by different panel members. This gathering was conducted in Miami near for the liberal ground zero of election 2000. Julia Hare a motivational speaker took her swipe at the President by blaming him for all the ills and plight of black Americans. Shelia Jackson Lee was there and since she is a member of congress she got in her shots. The most disturbing was Dr Eric Michael Dyson from the University of Pennsylvania. This man has several Ph.D's and has the sense of a grapefruit. Here is a man that has pulled himself out of the most dire circumstances though hard work and determination, published many books and is hailed in academia as a great thinker. This man goes and talks about how white supremacy is still keeping black people down. He even blasted his own employer the University of Pennsylvania. Someone should tell the good doctor to wake up stop hanging with the Gangsta Rappers and step into the real world. This learned man condemmed the system by which he himself has gained success. He also said that the White House was full of anti-intellectuals and the President was dumb. Well now that is typical liberal speak and we know that Dr. Rice is a member of MENSA and the President along with the Sec of State have their respective MBA's.

Anti-intellecutal?! Hardly, what I saw was the practice of Intellectual Apartheid amongst these thinkers. There was not one notable black conservative on the panel. For all the talk about equality there was no chance for equality of thought no intellectual diversity. All of these successful people have gotten to where they are by espousing conservative princples of hard work, education and pulling yourself up by your bootstraps. This is what Booker T Washington and Frederick Douglas espoused for the race. All I was looking for was some truth which came out at times. Perhaps the island of hope in that entire morass was Dr Ben Carson the noted Pediatric Neurosurgeon. He said that the Jews both conservative and liberal can argue an issue be diametricly opposed but they will come together in areas that have a direct impact upon their communities.

How profound!

[07055]

Another column about Black History Month: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1087779/posts

[chatham]

"This learned man condemmed the system by which he himself has gained success".

Dr. Dyson ,May or may not be educated but from what you say he is certainly not learned.
Since he doesn't like the White people perhaps he would like to live in Haiti, or Zimbawbe where he can experience the success of Black governments!
Some day with the help of Dyson maybe they can achieve the status of third world countries.

[Drango]

the leading conservative thinker alive today since the passing of Kirk.

Jim Kirk is dead? Nooooooooooo. Star Trek was one of my favorite shows....

[lainde]

bttt

[csvset]

I too was channel surfing and stopped and watched the last hour or so.

Dr. Eric Michael Dyson is a idiot. He was able to rattle of some rap lyrics and got a long round of applause for doing so. Other than that he sounded like a street hustler, although a eloquent speaker, you knew he was full of s***.

It did seem as though some of the panelists had their heads on straight. The guy on the end with the African-esque name, (J- something or other), didn't come across as "I hate/blame whitey" like that clown Dyson did.

[csvset]

Some info on Dr. Dyson Here

[Warrior Nurse]

Jwanza Kunjufu, I don't know his politics but that man was dead on when he talked about results oriented education. Single gender classrooms and how boys and girls learn different there by refuting the feminazi arguments.

[lt.america]

I viewed the program and for me it all boiled down to the fact that there are several issues that the panel (whose feelings are indicative with most of the black intelligentsia) will never let go, no matter who apologizes. Bottom line, there was an injustice done, it was corrected, lose the hyphenation and become apart of society. This is the only way that any forward progress will ever be made.

[petercooper]

The single most important thing that blacks could do to improve their condition is to assimilate into our society.

Exactly! Why is there a Congressional Black Caucus? Is there a Congressional White Caucus? Join society already!

[Diva Betsy Ross]

I refuse to teach my children anything about "Black history",or to use the label"African- American".

In my little homeschool we learn about American History and Americans,World history and world citizens.

We don't need to talk about the amount of pigment in people's skin,unless we are talking about genetics. Then the point is no two people,including Americans, have the same about if pigmentation in their genetic code.

[Maigrey]

But some of the best of the African-American Activists would be out of a career if these things happened.

Julian Bond BTTT!

[yankeedame]

...education and pulling yourself up by your bootstraps. This is what Booker T Washington...espoused for the race...

Having recently read "Up from Slavery" I can tell you that what Mr. Washington espoused was not academic education (outside of basic reading and writing) but what we today would call vo-tec education.

IOW, skip the 19th c. French literature,the geography of western China, kind of stuff and teach the black man (or "Negro" as he called it) how to do some marketable skill ; carpentry, cooking, repairing motors, bricklaying, greens keeping, plumbing, cleaning (as in opening a small cleaning service), etc. Also to learn how to set up and run a small business and, perhaps most important of all: the discipline and dignity of physical labor.

Then, according to Mr. Washington, when a (Negro) man goes in business for himself, or works for another, the quality of his work will advance him both in material life, and in the community, e.g. when you (the Negro) are the best darn dry cleaner (or window glazer, or tree surgeon, or septic tank cleaner) in that part of the state the color of man's skin won't mean a thing.

(sigh)Of course you can imagine how well that line of thinking went over (and still goes over) with the NAACP types, even back in 1914.

[Warrior Nurse]

At its core the intent of Carter G Woodson was to inform the masses both black and white of the contributions of black Americans to the greater society. Most of these contribution were and still are left out of the history books. What was meant to inform has now been polarized and politicized to the Nth degree.

All accurate history should be taught in schools, from the pre and post modern world. A people that doesn't know its history is doomed to failure. When I was in the public school system we got the history of nations but we started with the United States and Studied the constitution. This was in Chicago Public Schools no less.

[Warrior Nurse]

Booker T Washington also said " There is a class of colored people who make a business of keeping the troubles, the wrongs and the hardships of the Negro race before the public. Having learned that they are able to make a living out of their troubles, they have grown into the settled habit of advertising their wrongs-partly because they want sympathy and partly because it pays. Some of these people do not want the Negro to lose his grievances, because they do not want to loose their jobs. Jessie Jackson, Al Sharpton, Michael Eric Dyson, Julia Hare, Tom Joyner BET et al

[arasina]

Intellectual Apartheid. Good term.

Thanks for posting this. I would've gotten aggressive with my TV had I watched the program. :o)

[Warrior Nurse]

It just came to me. It is what it is thanks. It is what liberals do all the time call names, talk over and gang up. One thing they don't do is listen to a conservative point of view. These people attacked the president and Clarence Thomas and said the war in Iraq was for oil. There was no conservative voice there to defend themselves so this goes down lock stock and barrel. Trust me it was hard watching and not wanting to turn the channel. But we are really in a war. Because I am a strong man of principle I get riduculed for taking a conservative stand which is a principled one.

War for Oil, You damned right because I like driving my BMW and not paying $3-5 at the pump like in Europe. I also cook and heat my home with natural gas. War for oil go for because I bet those hypocrites were driving limos and SUV's to the function. No War for Oil just think about the millions of jobs that would be lost if they took control of that oil. No war for Oil then get rid of all things plastic or other Petrochemical based creations. No War For Oil. GOODBYE NASCAR!!!

[Gabz]

Booker T Washington also said " There is a class of colored people who make a business of keeping the troubles, the wrongs and the hardships of the Negro race before the public. Having learned that they are able to make a living out of their troubles, they have grown into the settled habit of advertising their wrongs-partly because they want sympathy and partly because it pays. Some of these people do not want the Negro to lose his grievances, because they do not want to loose their jobs. Jessie Jackson, Al Sharpton, Michael Eric Dyson, Julia Hare, Tom Joyner BET et al

These so-called leaders and intellegensia would have collectively had cows had they attended the semester academic awards program at my daughter's school on Friday. The district has a fairly even balance of black, white and hispanic students...........And all three were proportionately represented in the award recipients.

This is not being done for diversity - they are actually teaching students how to read, write and do math, and not worrying about little johnnie's self esteem. They recognize student achievement.

But what would have truly floored the above named community "leaders" were the number of 2 parent families in the audience, black, white and hispanic. The program was at 2 in the afternoon, so it was obvious that many of these parents had taken time off from work to attend the program.

I strongly believe anyone, regardless of race, will lift him or herself up if they have clear guidance and parental participation. Speaking with the mother of one of my daughter's classmate mates, it was obvious....both of our daughters received reading awards not just because they read well....but because as parents we are supervising their homework and working with them at home.

Sorry for my rant, I just hate whiners of any race who want to blame everyone but themselves for their problems, real or perceived..

And as another poster mentioned, I too like your tagline......it's appropriate for liberals in general.

[thathamiltonwoman]

Your statement is hyperbole.

[Diva Betsy Ross]

That is exactly why we learn about American History and the contribution of Americans. I will not teach "Black History" and "White history".

I will teach American History. I will not teach that Americans are Black or White. We are Americans with different shades of skin color.

[leadpenny]

Nice job. I watched some of that yesterday and just posted the following on another black history month thread:

I'm a big fan of the original concept and Congressional mission of C-SPAN. That said I think Brian Lamb has gotten the network that he founded into a bit of a bind. For the past few years C-SPAN has covered Tavis Smiley's "State of the Black Family." It was a couple of hours long a few years ago. Yesterday, it was held in a Black Baptist Church in Miami and it ran for a full eight hours. The same pseudo intellectuals show up to whoop up the crowd with the same "Woe is me" message. It needs to stop.