Book Review of the New Jim Crow

speak to the creator, all
powerful as people. In the name
of Yashua, the Black
Revelationary Messiah. I greet
you my brothers and sisters. In
the spirit of truth and the
words of peace. Shalom alaikum.
To the Black Messiahs. I’m out
your way to stop waiting for a
savior and be one. Stop waiting
for a savior. And be one.
Tonight family. We have another
special book review. It’s
featuring our beloved minister
of Information, Sister
Spitfire. Tonight, we’re
going to talk about the new Jim
Crow by Michelle Alexander and
the reason why we are dealing
with this is because in Durham,
and and I’m sure in your city
too. We’re dealing with gun
violence. And one of the major
hold backs dealing with gun
violence is We get caught
between what to do with those
who who committed and what to
do with law enforcement. On one
hand, we don’t want people
running free just killing
innocent people. We don’t want
that. On the other hand, we got
to understand the history of
the prison industrial complex
and how people actually make a
profit off of really young
black men going

to prison. So,
without further ado, we
going to jump right into this
excellent book review with
sister Is your show, sister?
Alright. Hey, people. So, this
is my book. This is what the
cover looks like.
this book I actually had to
read it twice. Uh one’s just to
kind of read it the second time
I had to go through again and
kind of like really look at it
and go back in time. Um just
because there’s so much
information. Uh there’s this
book is like packed with
information. Um packed with
dates and times, policies, and
it can be a lot for someone
that’s not a strong reader or
someone that just wants to be
lightly entertained. It is not
for the the lighthearted it it
actually had me kind of sad
about it when I was reading it
just because so much of the
things that were in the past
that were categorized as Jim
Crow were so prevalent and so
thriving today. Uh so
we don’t even realize the
parallels within. So, the
author really that’s what she
does throughout this book. She
kind of speaks about the
parallels
you know, if we would think
about this multiverse thing.
Can you just imagine if you
were a slave here and you went
to another universe
and you were slave but they
just changed the color of the
clothing that you wore and
called it something else. Wow.
So, Basically, she she pretty
much breaks down this whole
system of bamboozlement that
we’re living in today. Um so,
it’s called the new Jim Crow
mass incarceration in the age
of color blindness. Um and just
off the start, I always like to
start with the introduction. Um
she starts off with the classic
reason for generational curses
among black men. Uh one of the
big is prison and the short and
long term political and
economical effect. So
short-term, you know, you’re in
prison, you may, you know, you
may get arrested and you may
just get locked up and miss
work for a couple of days and
because of that, you may lose
your job but let’s say you’re
in there for a little while
longer, you’re going to lose
more. So, the higher the
conviction, it doesn’t matter.
Once you’re in the prison
system, you are marked. Um so
you know it talks about four
generations of men who were
actually unable to vote due to
prison. So, we have a man
called Jarvius Cotton. He
couldn’t vote and like his
father, grandfather, great
grandfather, and great great
grandfather. He was denied the
right to participate in our
electoral democracy. His family
tells the story of several
generations of black men born
in the United States but who
were denied the basic freedom
that democracy promises. The
freedom to vote. For those who
will make the rules and laws to
govern one’s life. His great
great grandfather couldn’t vote
because he was a slave. His
grandfather was beaten to death
by the Ku Klux Klan for
attempting his grandfather was
prevented from voting by clan
intimidation. His father was
barred by poll and literacy
tests. He cannot vote because
he, like many men in the United
States, has been labeled a
felon and is currently on
parole. So, same system,
different name. Mhm Same
system, different name and she
continues throughout the book
to make these analogies about
you know, how we kind of get
duped into thinking we have
more freedom than we actually
have. Um
Let’s see. The author makes
very real and disturbing
comparison. So, basically, what
we have here is, you know,
after slavery, we had
reconstruction and then you had
certain laws that were put down
because once slavery ended, it
was like, alright, well, what
are we going to do with all
these black people running
around? Um who we really don’t
want here but there’s nowhere
for them to go And so they
began to make laws to
criminalize them. So if you
were just standing around, you
know, where which really you
might just be standing around
because if you just left, left
where you were being beaten and
began to walk and travel,
eventually, you kind of began
to feel like, well, let me look
around and see if someone wants
to pay me for work and by
merely just standing around
looking like you had no place
to go, you were criminal The
black codes. Mhm. And so once
you were criminalized he
kind of got put right back into
the same system.
You know, so, you were kind of
placed in a caste system
because if you were white and
you were wandering around,
noone thought anything of it.
You were white, you were poor.
You know, they might not really
want to see them, but they
didn’t criminalize them because
of it, and so begins this caste
system of the garment that
black people continue to wear,
which wasn’t the melanin in
their skin, but rather the
stigma attached to it. So, you
know, I think for me, the
question after reading this is,
what actually changed for for
America, especially for black
Americans, specifically, even
with Obama as president, like,
what what changed and is it, is
it taboo for us to ask what
change when Obama was
president? Is that taboo? Um,
you know, they then began to
say, you know, Once blacks were
free you know, they couldn’t
really make them slaves and say
slaves. So, they had to label
it as something else. So, then
they then began to sell. These,
these people are thugs and so
there was this war on on thugs
which was really just Jim Crow
dressed up as slavery. Super
prejudice. Mhm. Mhm. Um, you
know, and we went on through
that until, you know, the civil
rights movement and all of
these movements that black
people went through. Until
eventually, you know, we’ve got
these ghettos and but my
questions were you know, the
author talks about how black
people were kind of moving and
moving into these slums. They
were going further north and
even the northerners didn’t
really want them but I guess
they felt like it was better
than being chased on an open
field by the Klan and so, you
know, these ghettos, these
inner city ghettos show up and
then drove show up after. But,
you know, black people didn’t
known anything. You know, and
many of you are probably and
probably have been for a long
time asking the same question.
Where did these drugs show up
from?
You know, so she’s, you know,
talking about when crack,
cocaine began. You know, and
and it was sensationalized. So
much so that you know, you had
Reagan, a a old past, he was an
actor. You know, and he’s like,
we’re going to get the worm on
drugs. You know, and the water
bugs. Huh? His and his wife,
Nancy, he had his wife. Right.
Say no. Right. This is true.
Being the klepto. This is
drugs. This is your brain on
drugs. Right. Just say no. So,
they began with the whole crack
thing but but crack wasn’t an
issue in the media yet. It
wasn’t until they kind of
sensationalized with it like
nineteen eighty-five. So she
points out the dates. Um and
then almost overnight and it
and this is like I can remember
this is kind of strange. Almost
overnight the media was
saturated with images of black
quote crack whores. Yep. Um you
know or another term that she
talks about and this is is
welfare queens. Mm hmm. But
really statistically, black
people were not the ones
receiving most of the federal
aid. A lot of times, black
people were denied. Um so, if
many of you read The Color of
Law, you might remember that.
That was a statistic. That was
found out. Many of black people
were actually denied. Many
black people living in the
projects just needed an
affordable place to live. and
it became the slums because
they were not the owners of it.
The owners didn’t care about
where they had to live. Um they
were denied other places to
live. And so many of them
kind of piled up and they lived
where they could and they
managed and they got by. But
any place that you let run down
is going to look like a quote
ghetto. And if I could if we
could right here just define
the term ghetto. Um because lot
of times people associate the
term ghetto that originated
with the Evans family with good
times but it did not. Uh ethnic
groups came from other
countries. They were their
original ghettos. Some some
scholars say actually goes back
to the Jews like thousands
years ago as far as their
actual origin but in
contemporary terms, it is being
is is used to describe it was
first used to describe
so-called immigrants to America
who weren’t African people but
continue. Mm hmm. Mm hmm.
Excellent points. So, the
author, you know, she points
out a question like, how did,
how did we get here? Um because
the the thing is, is that poor
whites and slaves were really
in the same boat. Mhm. And for
a while, they kind of started
working together. You had
bacon’s rebellion, which
actually made the elite white,
who with the real oppressors,
it made them really afraid. And
so they had to devise a way to
say, well, poor whites and
blacks outnumber us. So how can
we divide this up? And so what
they did was just that. They
began to go to these poor white
people and say hey you’re
better than this Negro. And if
you do this or that we’ll give
you a little bit of privilege.
Um you know and then this
offered them the white people a
privilege based on their race.
Mhm. but really they still were
poor. But they felt that
anything was better than being
black. Right. And so you know,
ironically, white’s coming to
America they came here for
freedom. And then turned right
around, and enslaved someone
else. Not that they were ever
enslaved, but they clearly felt
like they were like the poor
whites. They ended up doing to
the poor whites what they felt
the elites had done to them. So
they just carried on a
tradition of white supremacy.
Let’s see. I am on page thirty.
Um So, basically, what the
author is saying that you know,
African Americans, even once
they got their freedom, it was
really only symbolic and it’s
it’s still very symbolic today.
We think about you know, the
fact that we asked the
president in office and have
for years for reparations. Mm
hmm. And instead, what we got
was Juneteenth. Right.
a holiday which you may or may
not get paid for. You may or
may not get off and which many
bikes do not take serious. Um
so, really, it’s kind of just a
token. Um most blacks as the
author is saying were too poor
to even enforce their civil
rights. Um and no organization
like the N double A CP had
existed back then to spread the
risk and cost. So a lot of
times people say well why
didn’t they just you know vote
their way out of that
situation. They had rights. But
many of them were just they
couldn’t read or they rapport
or when they went to use those
rights. They were kind of
rerouted or intimidated. And
they didn’t have money for a
lawyer. And their lawyer might
get lynched alongside them.
So, you know, the the behavior
that they had to deter black
people from seeking legal
equality began way back. You
know, as soon as they were
freed from slavery, there was a
system put in place to keep
them subordinate. Mm hmm. Um
so, you have modern day slavery
which just exist as prison. So,
if we Think about it that way
when we talk to young people
and someone, can you imagine if
if every time somebody said
something about prison or
getting locked up, someone
simply took prison out and
substituted that word for
slavery? Wow and that’s
something we we can probably
talk about. I hope we get a
chance because I was thinking
about that today. How we change
the terms and the terminology.
I was reading our Karinga’s
book. Mm hmm. Mm hmm. And he
talks about changing
terminology but continue.
Right. Right. It’s like if you
just think about it, think
about all the things that you
lose. So, a prisoner has as a
consequence of his crime, not
only forfeited his liberty or
freedom, but all his personal
rights, except those which the
law in its humanity accordings
to him. So, my question after
that was, where is the
humanity? Was there ever any
humanity shown anyone that came
to the United States and had
brown skin or was already here,
was there ever any humanity
shown? Um you know, still
today, slavery under the
constitution you know, was
punishment for a crime. So,
when you go to prison, it’s
punishment for your crime. And
it parallels slavery. So,
Anyway, while you’re black.
Right. You know. Because in
that instance you kind of lose
your humanity under the eyes of
the law and people who think
themselves to be good law
abiding citizens. You lose your
humanity. Um So segregation
laws were proposed as a part of
a deliberate effort to drive a
wedge between poor whites and
African Americans. Uh and and
it worked. Um main points that
the author points out.
Segregations Uh the laws were
passed as a deliberate wedge.
This encouraged even poor
whites to feel a sense of
superiority even over the
richest black. And to have
authority over them. Um
distracted poor whites from the
fact that they too were victim
of class hostility. They were
directed. They directed their
anger towards blacks. Instead
of working together for
financial equality. So they got
duped. Mhm. You know and and
even to this day you can meet
you can meet some white people
that have been poor for
generations.
You know, so the by the turn of
the 20th century, every state
in the south had laws on the
books that disenfranchise
blacks and discriminated
against them in virtually every
sphere of life. Lending
sanction to a racial ostracism
that extended to schools,
churches, housings, jobs,
restaurants, hotels,
restaurants, hospitals,
orphanage, prisons, funeral
homes, morgues, and even
cemetery. So, even in death,
they
preferred to be separate. Even
in death, they felt that they
just didn’t want to be around
blacks. So, poor whites merely
received a token and basically,
up til now, nothing, nothing
changed. Um the death of Jim
Crow began a second
reconstructions. Um and
unfortunately, the blacks that
remained in the south, the
authors saying, you know, it it
kind of backfired on them
because when whites kind of
riled back up. These poor
whites that formed the clan.
Well they just kind of you know
began diving in on them. And
many southern whites felt that
the north had kind of you know
stepped back on its promise.
And they did. And they did. And
they did. VWB. Black
Reconstruction. Mhm. So you
know they just removed their
protection of blacks. Which
ended you know, being, it was
like abandonment. Because
Rutherford Rutherford not to
cut you off with Rutherford B
Hayes And his famous
compromise. Mhm. Mhm. And I
think she talks about that too.
Yeah. He pulled the troops out
of the south. Mhm. Then it
that’s why when you know the
conservatives always talk about
state rights. States rights.
States right. That’s why that’s
why. He pulled the troops out
of the south and said okay it’s
up to the states to govern the
way they see fit. Buckington.
Which was really cold for do as
you will. Right. Mm hmm. So,
you know, I always kind of felt
like once blacks, you know, got
used in World War two, there
was no need for them. So, they
were just abandoned. Um you had
your homegrown racists right
here in North Carolina in
Congress. North Carolina,
Senator Sam Irvin drafted a
racist manifesto called the
Southern Manifesto. Which vowed
to fight to maintain Jim Crow
by all legal means. He
succeeded in obtaining the
support of one hundred andone
out of 128 members of Congress
from the 11 original
Confederate States. I was like,
wow, this is like right here.
This was in 195-six. Mm hmm.
Yep. So, even though all of
this happened, you know, there
was never any killing done by
blacks.
With extraordinary bravery,
civil rights, leaders,
activists, and progressive
clergy launched boycotts,
marches, and sit-ins protesting
Jim Crow system. They endured
fire hoses, police dogs,
bombings, and beatings by white
mobs as well as the police.
Once again, federal troops were
sent to these places in the
south to provide protection for
blacks attempting to exercise
their civil rights and the
violent reaction of white races
was met with horror from the
north.
you know, I just always think
about modern day things when
people say, I can’t believe
that is happening. You know,
they they say it in shock when
they see a school shooting or a
supermarket shooting and even
now as women’s rights have been
put on the chopping block and
basically sauteed in the frying
pan. I can’t believe this is
happening but my thing is, you
were okay when it was just
black people being demonized.
You were okay when they were
being lynched. You were okay
when black women’s bodies were
being used for experiments. You
were okay when we were being
put in prison. But now that
it’s all of us. Now you can’t
believe it. But when you can
turn and look away from someone
who is human being dehumanized.
You can turn and look away from
anyone. So that while it’s
inching up on your rights you
don’t notice it. Until it’s
So people just keep asking how
that’s happened. This is how
this happens. This whole system
as the author speaks of was
basically founded on keeping
slaves. Mhm. It was it was
founded on it. Um blacks
economic needs were aligned
with poor whites. Um I’ve often
wondered like was this a
mistake? Or was it deliberate
that they had poor whites? You
know and blacks. Um. The voice
talks about that also in black
reconstruction. Mm hmm. Um huh.
I suggest everyone reads that
book. Um also, betrayal by I
think Kenneth Logan. Uh huh. Uh
huh. So, that books that deal
with that period because and
I’ll tell you a good, I’m
going to tell you a good
document. Well, a movie that’s
really centered during that
period of time. We’re talking
about more black people and and
poor white people. Uh that
movie is The Great Debatus. I
feel like I watched that but it
was so long. Washington. Yes.
Yeah. I need to score that
again. And what happened was it
was a guy named I think his
name was Watson. And he started
off as being it was the
populous party. If I’m not
mistaken. And he started off
being real friendly towards
black people. But they flipped
him. And he became a racist.
Yeah. Wow. And that’s what the
book talks about. The populist
movement and how blacks and
whites were working together.
And I really feel like
basically there it talks about
the Civil Rights Movement began
to evolve into a poor people’s
movement. Mhm. And promise to
address not only black poverty
but white poverty as well. And
y’all all remember what
happened shortly after Martin
Luther King did that.
they kill him. Mhm. Mhm. Yep.
Yep. Because people don’t like
to talk about that history of
what Martin Luther King is
actually going to do in that
spring. Um he had planned a
massive march on Washington.
And they were actually going to
disrupt some stuff. Mhm. And he
was. It was like nope. Yeah. It
happened it without Martin, it
really didn’t have the same
power. It didn’t have the same
magnitude. So, yeah. Continue.
So, let’s see. Conservatives.
So, she goes on to say cities,
you know, the rebirth of the
caste system. So, they claim
they did away with it but
really they hadn’t by nineteen
sixty-four, Barry Goldwater and
his presidential campaign. Now,
this is before I was born.
Aggressively exploited the
riots and fears of black crime.
Laying the foundation for the
get tough on crime. Remember,
crime equates to. Movement that
would emerge years later. in a
widely quoted speech. He warned
voters, choose the way of the
Johnson administration and you
have the way of mobs in the
street, civil rights activists
who argue that the uprisings
were directly related to
widespread police harassment
and abuse were dismissed by
conservatives out of hand. If
blacks conduct themselves in an
orderly way, they will not have
to worry about police
brutality, argued West Virginia
Senator Robert Byrd. who was a
member of the Ku Klux Klan at
one point. And so my thing is
these so-called environments of
crime that they talk about or
slums or ghettos. How are they
created? You know and so that
leads back to color of law. You
know. How were they created to
begin with? Um so we began
talking about this get tough on
crime, cracking down on crime
was the new rhetoric that
conservative politicians are
beginning to say. And the
author is you know asking at
this point in time, you know,
who was committing more crimes?
Poor and working whites? Or
blacks? Yet, who was jailed for
more crimes? And so, even
though, you know,
blacks didn’t commit as much.
They were certainly
accused and jailed whether they
did it or not. Um so following
the Civil War Party, alignment
was mostly entirely regional.
The South was solidly
democratic. Hm? Ebittered by
the war. Firmly committed to
the maintenance of a race
racial caste system. An
extremely hostile to federal
intervention on behalf of
African Americans. The North
was over Republican. And while
Republicans were ambivian
ambivalent about equality for
African Americans, they were
far more inclined to adopt and
implement racial justice
reforms in their democratic
counterparts below the Mason
line. You know, however that
began to change. People are
like, well, when did the
Republicans start getting
racist? They did it for votes.
they did it for votes. So, I
always tell people, you know,
be careful, you know, about
voting for someone because
they’re Democratic or
Republican. Um better you make
and build your own candidate
than to just keep placing hope
in a system that is not
working. Right. Um and that’s
what the author is pointing
out. Um. And again, I will
refer people to the book. Uh I
know the author now. It’s
Betrayal of the Negro. Mm hmm.
Bayford Logan. He he goes into
that. Um but one of the things
I want to point out is because
that’s the argument that a lot
of people make. Well, you know
the Democrats, well, the Klan
was formed under the Democrats.
Uh you know, the Democrats is
the Democrats but here’s the
thing, you’re talking about
outside of just the narrow
confines of Democrat and
Republican. You’re talking
about a conservative movement.
See, they didn’t flip it. It’s
not about Democrat and
conservative I mean, it’s about
a, I mean, Democrat or
Republican. It’s about the
conservative movement. The
conservative move from one
party to another. To another.
And people don’t realize that.
Flip the whole script. Don’t
say Republican and Democrat.
Say conservative. Amen. Around
that one. Because whether you
were, you, they were
conservative Democrats. I mean,
conservative Democrats. Then it
just came became conservative.
Republicans. Yep. Yep.
Consistency. The line is
conservative. Not Democrat a
republic, the consistency is
conservative. Yes. Yes. Yes.
Alright. So, let’s see. Um
Let’s see.
The author is pointing out the
great depression Um whereas
there was a sea of change in
America with race relations and
party alignment with the New
Deal which was spearheaded the
Democratic Party of President
Franklin. Of course, President
Franklin D. Roosevelt was
designed to alleviate the
suffering of poor people in the
midst of the depression. And
blacks, the poorest of the
poor, benefited this
proportionately. So, I I
highlighted that because you
know, the same kind of thing
happened again. Uh Purim,
working class, whites, both in
the north and south, no less
than African Americans,
responded positively to the New
Deal. Um but as a result, the
Democratic New Deal Coalition
evolved into an alliance of
urban ethnic groups in the
White South that dominated
electoral politics from 1932 to
the 1960s. Um Dixie Kratts.
Right. but you know, the same
agenda it it’s kind of like and
she points this out that I
guess, basically, whenever
there, it came time to vote,
what happened was they gave
sufficient enough tokens to
raise black hopes and
expectations. And after decades
of malaline neglect from
Washington, my question is,
what exactly have the Democrats
done? What has what has
actually really changed for
black people? Um, you know, we
get different people in office
and we’re happy when they’re in
office if they look like us, if
they visually represent us. Um,
but we have to ask, you know,
what has what has actually
really changed for us Um
So, thus, in the 19sixties, in
the late 1960s and early 1970s,
two schools of thought were
offered to the general public
regarding race, poverty, and
the social order. Conservatives
argue that poverty was caused
not by structural factors
related to class but rather by
culture, particularly black
culture. This view support
receives support from Daniel
Patrick Mahoin now infamous
report on the black family
which attributed black poverty
to a black subculture. So
there’s this this whole belief
that America still has that. If
you’re poor it’s because you
just you’re just not working
hard enough. Yeah. And that
wasn’t actually that was the
Monaghan report was released in
1961 and it was a secret
document. And it was never
supposed to be released to the
general public. Um you can
probably still find it probably
online. It’s the Patrick
Monaghan report about the black
family. Also Samuel Yeti.
Samuel Yeti talks about it in
his book called The Choice. And
he really breaks down the
Monaghan report where they
started really blank. And also
Michelle Wallace. Um
Superwoman. She breaks it down
as well. They really go into
the Monaghan report. And how
you started. They started
blaming the black mother for
everything that’s going on.
Now, when you hear this Caesar
Hannity and Sean Hannity’s and
Turkey. The welfare queens.
Yeah they’re still they’re
still referring to that
nineteen sixty-one. Uh huh.
Document. Even today. So go
ahead. Yep. Yep. Yep. So hence
we started to see the war on
drugs begin. Um during this
period Nixon called for a war
on drugs. An announcement that
proved largely rhetorical as he
declared illegal drugs. Public
enemy number one. Um but
anytime that they have a war on
something like I said, you just
changing the clothes. So, first
you had a war on the thugs, You
had a war on poverty. Now, you
got the war on drugs but really
what it is is a war on blacks.
Um and this is still happening
today so you know,
after Nixon. We have Reagan and
one selected Reagan’s promise
to enhance the federal
government’s role in fighting
crime was complicated by the
fact that fighting street crime
has traditionally been the
responsibility of state and
local government. But after a
period of time, you know, he
brought the FBI in. Um so,
October nineteen eighty-two, he
announced officially his
administration’s war on drugs.
Um but by the time he declared
this new war, less than 2% of
the American public viewed
drugs as the most important
issue facing the country. But
somehow, practically overnight,
the budgets increased for the
federal law agencies between
1980 and 198. 4. the anti-drug
funding increased from 8
million to 95 million. 95
million. All is just to keep to
to do what? But at at the same
time, they were the CIA was
either either allegedly. Mhm.
Bringing drugs in the South
Central Los Angeles. Mm. Reed.
Uh Dark Alliance Gary Webb. We
that’s what we were talking
about. Yeah. Or either they
brought it in there allegedly
or by their own admission
turned a blind eye when it was
happening. Either way. resource
to a man contrast scandal.
Right. So, either way, whether
it was benign neglect or
deliberate. You know, the war
on drugs for blacks. You know,
it destroyed the black
community. Um unlike the opioid
crisis, the war on drugs for
black never had treatment. In
fact, this is so bizarre. Just
the other day, I was talking
about
I was talking with some doulas
and you know, we were joking
because I said, you know, when
I was giving birth, they never
had nitrous. Like, you can get
nitrous now and just jokingly,
I said, I wonder if people even
take like mushrooms or smoked
pot. And she said, oh no, like
if they, if they find any of
that in your system, or in, I
guess, in the baby, or the, the
placenta, they come and they
take the baby. Mm. Mm. And she
said, if you have Medicaid, and
I said, wow, so what if you
have Blue Cross Blue Shield? Or
Aetna or what if you’re just
paying out of pocket? Do they
turn a blind eye to that
mother? Or do they offer her
treatment? So when does it go
from perhaps this woman who if
she kept this baby deliberately
wants this baby, cares for this
baby. Perhaps she just has a
drug problem. So, you would
rather take this baby from the
mother, jail the mother,
separate the baby because she’s
poor and likely black or
Hispanic and on Medicaid, then
to say, what treatment can I
give you? What treatment can I
give you to help you through
this? So, again, being black
and poor, you’re criminalized
but here we have it. We
going to have the baby
regardless now. Even if you are
a quote crack pores. You’re
just going to bring another
baby in the world your choice
or not. Do you remember the
myth of the crack babies? Back
in the 80s, they were
predicting that eventually, the
children of people are addicted
to crack. We’re going to turn
to these monsters. And never
really happen. I’ve never seen
that. Um. It was called the
hall from a woman that she
initially had this baby in
foster care. And you know he
was born with it in his system.
And he basically just had to
stop cold turkey as a baby. Um
and he would really cry and it
was just sad. There was, I
never saw like any type of and
this is the foster mother. But
I never saw them like come out
and help her assure her what to
do or so even if they felt like
that was a thing. What
intervention did they ever
offer? They’re just watching it
unfold. But it never happened.
I think they never happened
anyway. I think Davey D exposed
that years ago. I think it was
David D. Or one of those hip
hop scholars. And you know the
the crack baby thing was a
myth. Yeah. You know they said
these babies are going to be
addicted to crack and they’re
going to grow up to be
crackheads and society. So
yeah. Yeah. I mean they
definitely are born with it in
their system but unless
someone’s cooking it up for
them letting them inhale
through the bottle. They’re not
an addict. You know they just
were born with it in their
system. And they you know
unfortunately they go through
withdrawal. Um
it’s just it’s it was very
disturbing to see. It was very
sad. Um, so, you know, let’s
see. Um Let me make some other
points before we run out.
Oh, this, this, this, this. And
while we’re on the subject of
while we’re on the subject of
the war on drugs which began.
Um you know I can’t talk about
this book without talking about
this. you know, these tough get
tough movements in nineteen
ninety-one, the sentencing
project reported that the
number of people behind bars in
the United States was
unprecedented in world history.
Um despite law dropping impact
on the get tough movement,
neither the Democrats nor the
Republicans revealed any
inclination to slow down the
pace of incarceration. So, they
knew it was like, oh my god,
this is this is like
outstanding Um and so you know
you have Bill Clinton coming up
for president in ninety-two.
Right? And his main goal was
like you know that he was
going to be tougher on crime
than any president. And true to
his word he was. And guess who
helped him do that. Good old
Sleepy Joe. And ironically his
son Hunter was addicted to
crack cocaine. He was able to
receive rehab again and again
and he was never forced into
homelessness nor was he ever
criminalized. He received much
needed help as an addict. So,
why doesn’t that happen for
black people? So, what the
author points out is that being
an addict while black meant
that you were probably going to
lose your your place to live.
You were going to be
criminalized and if you had a
certain amount of it over a
certain amount, you could even
get the death penalty. Crazy.
For being an addict
She talks about you know this
war on drugs and how it
affected the Fourth Amendment.
you know, such as like, you
think about the four, Fourth
Amendment and you think about
these no-nock warrants but
because of their aggression
with the war on drugs and
realizing that it was with
black and Latino people, they
felt it was okay to violate
this and so they did. And so
they did. Um, right up under
the guise of unreasonable
suspicion, which really equals
fear of black skin. So you
could get somebody, you know,
pulling up Breonna Taylor on
your house in the middle of the
night under what they felt was
reasonable suspicion.
same thing. Stop and frizz
gloss. You know. I can remember
my cousin got stopped and
frisked in the Bronx for
cuffing his pants. For cuffing
his pants? Yep. Rolling his
pants up because he didn’t want
them. He didn’t want to step on
the back of them. He was
holding the charge for cuffing
the pants. Exactly. Like, why
are you frisking him? Because
he’s cuffing his pants. I guess
maybe he thought he was hiding
something in the cuff maybe. I
Not even. Oh. Thought he was
young and he was black. You
know. Cleanest kid I knew.
you know, these court cases,
once you were arrested, a lot
of people might have been
guilty but police usually
released the innocent on the
street. Often without a ticket
citation, or even an apology.
So, their stories were rarely
heard in court. Uh the author
points out most people after
they had been arrested, they
were brutalized. Um and if they
were in a poor black
neighborhood, then, they really
didn’t have money and access to
a lawyer to go back and you
know, file a claim against
someone anyway. Um You know, so
they they just weren’t. So, the
number is astounding and I
would gather that if they had
free quality legal
representation for people that
they would see even more of
these cases. Um one 6 million
dollars. Uh or rather, hang on
a second. 1. 6 million arrested
for sale, manufacture, or
possession by twenty 20. This
is the number of people.
the author also talks about
this waging the war and she
begins to talk about what I
like to call follow the money.
Um we often ask like, when,
what, what was the incentive
for them to do this? Like, you
know, you had child molesters,
you had murderers, you had
rapists, you had thieves, you
had so many other different
types of criminals, you know,
white-collar too, but they
weren’t really, you know, going
after them now way. So, you
know, they got this funding and
one must ask, where does the
funding come from? Because you
had the the SWAT which then
began to be a big thing. The
rate increase of the use of
SWAT teams has been
astonishing. In 1972, there
were just a few hundred.
Paramilitary drug rates per
year in the United States by
the early 1980s, there were
3000. By 199-six, 30, 000
And the list goes up. and the
list goes up. and like he was
saying, Spitfire off camera.
This is a deep conversation. Mm
hmm. so keep rolling. Keep
rolling. Alright. Enjoying your
time. Keep rolling. Alright.
Alright. Yeah. This this is
what you we’re just not
going to be able to put on
Instagram but keep keep going.
Yeah. Cuz you know, Instagram.
Yeah. Instagram has that limit.
So, we’re just going to have to
do YouTube and Facebook but
keep rolling. Keep rolling.
Yeah. So, I told you it like it
the the more you dig, the
deeper it gets. Yeah, cool. So,
you know, in 1981, President
Reagan persuaded Congress to
pass the military cooperation
with law enforcement act which
encouraged the military to give
the local and state basically
access And this is this was
pushed and embraced by both
George Bush and good old Bill.
Bill Clinton.
they then got incentives. Okay?
So when they got the incentives
then they saw the arrest
records soar. So,
the paramilitary units were
often justified to city
councils and skepticalized
citizens as an essential to
fight terrorism or deal with
hostage situations. Um but now
they were going to be you know
deployed for drug enforcement.
The extra the extra funding for
the local police departments
received was tied to anti-drug
policing. So basically the
arrest in order to receive the
cash incentive it had to be for
a drug arrest. What a hell an
incentive, huh? Mhm. Um and
back then, it was $153 in state
and federal funding.
So, as if the free military
equipment, training, and cash
grants were not enough, the
Reagan administration provided
law enforcement with yet
another financial incentive to
devote extraordinary resources
to drug law enforcement. State
and local enforcement agencies
were granted the authority.
This was the big one to keep
for their own use. The vast
majority of cash and assets
they seized when waging the
drug law.
So basically When a drug dealer
is sent to jail, I’m quoting
her. There are many others
ready and willing to take his
place, but seizing that means
of production, some legislators
reasoned, may shut down the
trafficking business for good.
So, in other words, they pulled
a 50 cent on him, the original
50 cent. Mhm. Mhm. I often
wondered they stole those
drugs, but did they really
destroy all of them or did they
just get redistributed? And I’m
sure I’m not the only one, you
know. Well, I mean, that, I
don’t know if you saw that
special the HBO, not special,
the HBO series, We Run the City
about Baltimore. And we named
it, how corrupt the Baltimore
police were and how they
allegedly stood, well, not
allegedly. Some of them stuck,
I guess, they call me jump out
boys, stole the drugs, and
resold them. Wow. That’s my
HBO’s call. We, we, we run the
city. Yeah. Mm mm mm. So, local
police agencies were able to
retain up to 80% of the assets
value that these arrests
produced. So, my question is,
how much of that money went to
the victims? If they claim that
this war on drugs is so
violent, how much of that money
went back into the the
communities that they they are
saying that this destroyed.
Um not surprisingly, this drug
forfeiture regime proved highly
lucrative for law enforcement,
offering more than enough
incentive to wage the war on
drugs. According to the report
commissioned by the Department
of Justice between 19 88 and
1992 alone, I think it’s
burned. There’s a company
called Burn funded a drug task
force seized over one billion
in assets. So, this company in
nineteen, just just between
those years. Now, they talk
about how violent it is but the
three movies that I posted, Mm
hmm. You saw the years. So, you
had New Jack City, 1991, you
had what was the other one?
Sugarhill. Mm hmm. 1993 and
fresh nineteen94. And and don’t
forget ministers society, South
Central, Boyz in the Hood. Mm
hmm. All at the peak. All at
the peak. Um in No. And
ironically we we knew who
signed that. You know, that
bill for the drug thing but
then they had the Reform Act
which was supposed to protect
citizens but failed. Um so,
this was supposed to represent,
help people that were arrested,
you know, to be able to afford
a lawyer but of course, it
didn’t work. Ironically,
someone who was actually
charged with a crime could get
free counsel. So, if you were
poor in certain places, if like
if the police seized your car
and it was worth $500 or took
$500 from your home, you had to
kind of pay to represent
yourself to get that back. But
if you were poor, you didn’t
have the money anyway so you
you were just out of luck.
Either way, they kept the
assets. Um
poor people accused more than
40 years ago and Gideon versus
Wainwright, the Supreme Court
ruled that poor people accused
of a serious crime were
entitled to counsel. I note
that because it says a serious
crime. So what if you were just
charged with something minor
but you lost some work from it?
Were you not entitled to
council?
Arthur shows that harsh
sentencing often minor for
often minor offenses resulted
in plea bargains. Often drug
users or poor young, black, and
Latino young men often they
would get two strikes. So you
might get a strike. One for
having it in your possession.
And if you were in a car, you
were transporting it. So that
was two strikes right there.
And then they basically were
like, well, you already got two
strikes. You know, this is
going to happen if you don’t
take this plea bid. So they,
they pleaded guilty. And then
due to a lack of real true
rehabilitation in the system
because they it was blocked.
They often had some sort of
relapse. It might be something
small. And
Gone. Many judges and
appointing appointing
appointees during the Reagan
era disagreed with it and felt
guilt and even depression. Even
ones who were notorious, harsh
sentencers felt bad about
sending someone away for life.
So, why then do these laws
continue to flourish? Follow
the money.
So now we’re getting into the
prison industrial complex. Mhm.
Mhm. Mhm. So, once a person is
labeled a felon, he or she is
ushered into a parallel
universe, like I said,
paralleling what? Slavery. You
lose your privileges. Um
there’s a stigma and they’re
all perfectly legal. It’s
perfectly legal to tell someone
sorry. I can’t give you a job
because you used to be a felon.
Even though you serve your
time. Even though you were a
model citizen. Sorry. I can’t
help you. Sorry you can’t apply
for section eight. Sorry you
can’t apply for food stamps.
Sorry, I know you’re pregnant
but you can’t get wet. So,
basically, go die.
the question then is how
exactly does a formerly
colorblind criminal justice
system achieve such racially
discriminatory results rather
easily it turns out the process
occurs in two stages. The first
is to grant law enforcement
officials extraordinary
discretion regarding whom to
stop, search, arrest, and
charge for drug offenses. Thus
ensuring that conscience and
unconscious racial beliefs and
stereotypes will be freely
given
Then they closed the courthouse
doors to all claims that they
may say, hey, this is racially
done. And demand that anyone
who wants to challenge racial
bias in the system offer in
advance clear proof. So, they
just rely, prove it. Prove it.
I stopped you because you were
speeding. Well, I wasn’t prove
it. This evidence will almost
never be available in the era
of color blindness because
everyone knows but does not say
that the enemy in the war on
drugs can be identified by
race.
Crazy. Crazy, crazy, crazy. Um
it’s just a lot. Uh I’ll point
out a few more things in the
book. Um but basically, people,
like I said, they want to know
why all these things have
happened. Um America kind of
has basically had this knot in
my backyard, not my problems
issue. Um you know, the author
is talking about how two
students you know, one in
college, white, and maybe one
not in college black may have
drugs. You know, whereas the
student, the white student in
college may have drugs and no
one’s
looking for him. And they may
feel like, you know, well, he’s
in school, let him go. And if
it’s a black kid, you know,
it’s a lot easier to go out
into the hood so to speak, and
round someone up. You’re bound
to get one. If you go in a bag
of MandM’s, you’re bound to get
a red one. Right. So what if
you got a yellow one? Throw him
in there too.
But no one’s really concerned
about it. Um because it’s not
in their backyard. It’s not
their children. So what does an
ex-felon face when being
released? Housing challenges.
Um and these were the same
things that were under Jim
Crow. It’s legal to deny
housing to felons. So no
federal housing project. No
section 8. Even a current
tenant as I might add can’t
offer someone who’s a felon a
place to stay. Uh because could
lose their they could lose
their place to stay. And also I
don’t know if any of you knew
this but they also charged them
fees during lock up. So a lot
of times people are like why
you guys work when you’re in
prison? Don’t you have money
saved up? They charge them
fees. So, this might make you
laugh. Mm. You know, you had
the welfare reform legislation
signed by Blowjob Bill. Um
where, you know, some black
people some black people really
called him the first black
president. Um in nineteen
ninety-six, Taniff, I think
it’s temporary assistance for
needy families. Um puts a
five-year limit on lifetime
benefits Like, basically, if
you have, you know welfare,
whatever. It’s like, not, after
5 years, sorry. Um, and it also
bars individuals with
drug-related felony
convictions. So, they don’t
care if you’re pregnant, they
don’t care if you have Aids,
they don’t care if you have
cancer, they don’t care if the
reason you got locked up was
because you were mentally ill.
Right. And the gold star, the
gold star, was voting. Cherry
on the cake. So really after
they did all that, they
basically kind of cashed into
politically. Like, sorry, you
won’t be reproducing your
thoughts and feelings in this
society. Ironically you know,
he ended up being on the
chopping block for his behavior
and look how he was, he was
never seen as a criminal, even
though he lied. It’s a billions
of American people. So, some
people say, well, what is, what
about gangster rap and the
culture of violence embraced by
so many black youths? Mm hmm.
You know, and the author is
saying, yeah, the easy answer
is to say yes and wag a finger
at those that are behaving
badly. That is the road most
traveled and it has not made a
bit of difference. The media
fond over Bill Cosby who was
publicly lynched years later.
And other figures when they
give stern lectures to black
audiences about black men
failing to be good, black
fathers, and failing to lead
respectable lives.
respectability politics. Right.
And and the crazy thing is I
remember Obama and she talks
about this too. Obama gave a
speech too. It was on Father’s
Day about the absent black man
in the community. Like dude.
Why don’t you why can’t you say
it? And so you know she talks
about that. Like why can’t why
can’t a lot of these civil
rights activists just come out
and say it. Yeah remember Obama
after the rabbits. He went
after Kanye. He went after Lil
Wayne. But when it came to
going after the people were
actually attacking him the tea
party. Yeah. Island. Um the
author points out that black
images are controlled mostly by
whites and are nothing more
than a modern day menstrual
show put on for the purpose of
white entertainment with movies
like what I said? New Jack
City, Fresh, Sugarhill, Did She
Lie?
She didn’t lie. Everyone reads
the American Director of
Certified Uncle Tom’s. And that
really There’s a book that she
talks about here called States
of Denial by Stanley Coleman.
Did you read this? Mm. Have a
read out. She said the book
examines how individuals and
institutions victims,
perpetrators, and bystanders
know but yet deny the
occurrence of oppressive acts.
And and this is kind of what
we’re going through today. You
know and it’s kind of like
being unveiled and people are
like, oh my god, I’m shocked
But all the years preceding,
they didn’t see all that. It’s
like something happens and it’s
more sensationalized each time.
And each time they seem so
surprised. But it’s it’s been
happening. It’s been happening.
Um you know so she talks about
I guess the steps. Uh so she
says first it begins. The
police caught with the roundup.
Police arrest multiple people.
Usually through drug stings
operations and poor communities
of color. Then they get the
cash reward through the federal
grant programs and drug
forfeiture laws. Then the
criminal is denied legal and
good representation. They get a
conviction. Then, they’re
placed on parole or probation.
They get a lifetime of
monitoring And possible
reimbrisonment due to small
infractions. All place them
right back under the caste
system for life. And then
they’re also dehumanized. So
this way, they’re kept, they’re
kept as a slave. So, once you
get in that system, you don’t
get out. And these are just
parallels, like I said, of
slavery.
It’s a good book. Can you touch
on
Gangnet. Um she talked to me
and this is something that’s
really has been popularized in
Durham. Um I forgot what she
called in her book but there
was a process or operation she
talked about in her book. It’s
called Gain It in North
Carolina. It’s called Something
else in her book. Where they
would have a database of
alleged gang members. And they
would store these names of most
of young black men in this
database. And I know in other
places in North Carolina. It’s
called again, it’s called Gain
Net and people are saying,
well, how can you decide who’s
in the game and who’s not in
the game but just on the way
they dress or whatever, you’re
throwing our children in this
massive database. So, anytime
you pull the name of, oh,
suspected gang member. You
remember that part in the book?
I vaguely remember it. Um I
don’t think I highlighted it
only because there’s a part
where she’s talking about how
the police
like like she said, they can
use their discretion which is
not illegal and so what they
may do is drive into certain
neighborhoods under the guise
that hey, we know suspected
crimes occur here and they may
drive past a black school and
they may see a young black male
with baggy pants and a long
T-shirt standing outside
surrounded by his friends and
deemed that as he looks
suspicious and round them up
but those same police, if they
drive through and see a white
child doing the same exact
thing in a schoolyard, talking
this, surrounded by his
friends, they won’t do the same
thing. and so you know she she
did. I think I did highlight
that. But I don’t think I
highlighted the gang net. I do
remember it being a thing that
they were talking about here in
Durham. Like how they were
thinking of putting kids that
they felt were more
susceptible. To be in a gang in
a database. As if they can
somehow predict who is going to
be in a game and who isn’t. And
I feel like if you’re that damn
intelligent, can you predict
who the next school shooter is?
Yeah, I mean, that program was
called Factor of Three. Mm hmm.
Uh it was it was by the Durham
Justice Department. Factor 3
and what they were doing was
and actually, I think they
still are doing if I’m not
mistaken. I think they kind of
slipped that one in. Uh they
were saying that they could I
think that by the third grade,
they can where their child was
going to be in the gang or not.
They want to track him. And you
know how they were tracking
them? Great. Um I think they
were tracking them one based on
race. Hm. Two based on their
economic background. So if
you’re black and you’re poor.
And then if you had any type of
suspension.
That’s how many black kids You
get what I’m saying? And where
our black children are
suspended at a higher rate for
less offended. Offenses in
school. So you’re basically
saying any given black child
can be a gang member. But you
somehow don’t have a program to
decide which one of these white
children is carrying a gun to
school. Or the components to
make a bomb. You don’t know
that
Again, all under the guise of
the war on drugs. Right Mhm.
Yeah, I don’t I don’t think I
put a sticky on that section. I
probably should’ve. Um she
talks about African Americans
living in poor communities face
dual frustrations. This is
really what I wanted to talk
about. Uh meaning they want to
live in a safe place but they
don’t want law enforcement to
exist in a harsh manner. Um
African American women in poor
neighborhoods are torn. They
worry about their young sons
getting involved in gang
activity. They worry about
their sons possibly selling or
using drugs. They worry about
their children getting caught
in crossfire of warring gains.
The mothers want better crime
and law enforcement yet they
understand that increased
levels of law enforcement
potentially saddle their
children with a felony
conviction. And nowadays it
could be a death. You know, a
mark that can ensure ensure
economic and social
marginalization. you know, I
thought about that because like
just yesterday, having choppers
over my head in the middle of
the night and there was no
police transparency even after
calling. Um so, let’s talk
about some solutions. Um Let’s
talk about some solutions. Um
you know, she had some. I had
some. Um one of the things was
she noted that a lot of the the
civil rights groups have
kind of like fallen back and
many of us are like, why aren’t
they saying anything? Why
aren’t they coming out the
woodworks? Um why aren’t they
doing more to speak out about
what’s happening? Um and many
times, I think what she was
feeling was and even wrote that
some of them are so worried
about joining in this task
force of this war on drugs that
they haven’t made the
connection that it’s a war on
us. Um so they’re trying to get
funding for the war on drugs.
Uh huh. Because they feel like
well we gotta get ahead of this
war on drugs. Instead of saying
we need to get people to see
that black people are humans.
You know So, some of the things
is started civil rights group
on your in your own community.
So, she felt like, you know,
just local things like just
keep it localized. Um for me, I
feel like record and speak out
when you witness something
illegal and racist. Um you
know, don’t let the media
carjack your image. Cuz many
times, like, just like last
night, they claimed it was a
carjacking. 20 cops for a
carjacking and a helicopter.
Come on now. Something was
occur but like I said, there
was no transparency and they
likely won’t bring it up
because as I heard, they didn’t
even catch whoever it was. So,
she said, we can vote for a
push for change within culture
of law enforcement. Uh as she
says on page two thirty-three.
Um you know, policing it it
really it really needs to be
revamped. Um I’m not personally
saying that policing should be
just completely done away with.
But what I do think is it needs
to be a give and take of trust.
You know, between the police,
and the community. There needs
to be transparency because
there’s almost none. There
needs to be commitment. You
know, it can’t just be this
thing like, well, I had a bad
experience in that
neighborhood. I’m out of here.
Make it better. Commit to
making it better. As an officer
who is serving and protecting
that community. Um they need
resources. So, we can’t expect
them to do their job if, you
know, they’re all running to
one place to do a small task
when they could just have
cameras. They could have
cameras on the streetlights
just like they do in
Morrisville. So, not chasing
citizens for tickets. They just
have the speeding light. They
they just have the camera. Like
I don’t have to chase you
anywhere. You’re right there on
the camera. And that would
allow them to be in other
areas. They need a mental, you
know, task force for people
that are having issues. They
like, they don’t even come out
to get a dog that’s loose. Did
you know that? Until the dog
bites someone.
backwards. And it’s just
because there there’s not
enough of them. The pay is not
great. The incentives. You
know. And Durham I think last
week. Late last week they
started their mental health
patrols where they going to
send mental health workers
instead of armed police. So
yeah. We’ll see how that goes.
I hope it goes well. Um but I
think they’re going to see that
they are
outnumbered because you have
homelessness. And if you’ve
never been homeless, you don’t
know what it’s like and there’s
a very fine line between sanity
and insanity. You’re homeless.
You’re not sleeping at night.
You’re not eating right. You
haven’t bathed. You feel
degraded. You’re going to have
something going on. You’re
going to have something going
on. And now with the uptake in
homelessness you’re going to
have more people that are
having a mental crisis
breakdown. So they’re going to
that they’re short staff. You
know, they just need to head
on, make it, make it equal for
everyone. You know, people have
equal access to work and
opportunity. They can feed
their family. They can get a
place to live. That’s
affordable. They can hold on to
what is theirs and they’re not
out here sleeping on the
streets. Uh stealing and going
to jail for a minor crime like
stealing bread when they’re
hungry. Mhm. you know. Um so
she feels like, you know, black
activists and leaders she’s
questioned, should they revisit
the affirmative action issue?
Was it helpful? I think she was
saying that because she felt
like you know, there was a
national reading a little bit.
Movement to save, affirmative
action. But so much so that
they kind of weren’t really
paying attention to the actual
issues that black people were
having, which, you know,
couldn’t be solve with
affirmative action. It wasn’t
really about that because black
people showed that they could
have their own community. And
that’s still you know, was to
their demise. Um I’ll read you
what she said. Affirmative
action may be counterproductive
and yet another sense. It lends
credence to a trickle down
theory of racial justice. So,
basically, this notion that
giving a relatively small
number of people of color
access to key positions or
institutions will inevitably
read down to the benefit of the
larger group that that can’t
happen.
Uh brother minister Paul. I
recall both of us mentioning
this. Gang Data Bank at one
Durham City Council meeting.
Brother Zadiki. Just mentioned.
But yeah.
So,
we can have those types of
solution. Um one of the big
steps that a lot of black
people felt was made like just
with affirmative action and
equality was having a black
president. However, like she
says before we kick back,
relax, and wait for racial
justice to trickle down. Let us
not forget and consider this.
Obama chose Joe Biden, good old
Sleepy Joe, one of the Senate’s
most strident drug warriors as
his vice president. The man he
picked Services Chief of Staff
in the White House Um was a
major proponent of the
expansion of the drug war. So
he even felt like he could be
part of this war on drugs. So
it doesn’t really matter for us
as black people. Who’s in
office? Um I think what matters
is you know, it’s going to be a
local fight for us. You know,
we’ll have to start there.
Solutions also include whites
stop being silent. Your silence
is consent and acceptance. And
she feels like we as black
people should ask for more than
ending mass incarceration. We
should end the racial caste in
America. I’m in agreeance with
that. Um so I wrapped this up.
with a James Baldwin quote that
she has and I love James
Baldwin.
It’s in it’s from his book
published in nineteen 6two
called The Fire Next Time.
Right. Mm hmm. This is the
crime of which I accuse my
country and countrymen and for
which neither I nor time nor
history will ever forgive them.
That they have destroyed and
are destroying hundreds of
thousands of lives and do not
know it and do not want to know
it. It is their innocence which
constitutes the crime. This
innocent country set you down
in a ghetto in which in fact,
it intended that you should
perish The limits of your
ambition were thus expected to
be set forever. You were born
into a society which spelled
out with brutal clarity and in
as many ways as possible that
you were a worthless human
being. You were not expected to
aspire to excellence. You were
expected to make peace with
mediocracy. You have and many
of us have defeated this
intention and by a terrible
law, a terrible paradox, those
innocents who believe that
you’re impri made them safe are
losing their grasp on reality.
But these men are your
brothers. Your lost younger
brothers. And if the word
integration means anything,
this is what it means. That we
with love shall force our
brothers to see themselves as
they are. To cease fleeing from
reality and begin to change it.
For this is your home my
friend. Do not be driven from
it. Great men have done great
things here and will again. And
we can make America it must
become. It will be hard but you
will come from sturdy, peasant,
stock men who picked cotton and
damned rivers and built
railroads and then the teeth of
the most terrifying odds
achieved an unassailable and
monumental dignity. You come
from a long line of great poets
since Homer. One of them said,
the very time I thought I was
lost, my dungeon shook, and my
chains fell off. We cannot be
free until they are free. God
bless you Godspeed. James
Baldwin. Oh wow. Wow. Wow.
Powerful. Power. Powerful
presentation as usual sister.
Full of information. Um if
people missed the live chat
live Facebook. Of course it
will be on YouTube. And on
Twitter. And on Facebook. Mhm.
Mhm. but excellent book review.
I I really enjoyed it. So, you
have any closing comments? Um
no. Uh I did see Sharon’s
comments. She said, no
political no political group is
going to do everything for you
and I I do agree with that. No
politician that is in office is
going to be able to solve this.
Um you have one coin and it has
two sides and so, you have to
think about the fact that that
coin is still worth the same
value. No matter which it’s on
and so at the end of the day, I
think black people in America
need to know their own value,
not the value of whether
someone’s a Democrat or a
Republican or whether they’re
conservative. Um they need to
know what they stand for and
begin to find a sound footing
in that and begin to build with
people that will do the same.
And begin to make communities
for themselves where they feel
safe. And until they do that
they won’t have anything for
their children to mimic You
know, the problem is we don’t
have an image that is ours,
that is sound for our children
to mimic. they’re just doing
what they see on TV and what
was before them and they’re
just doing it in a more grand
way. And now with social media
we’re seeing it more. But
there’s nothing new under the
sun. Um you know black people
have shown in the past that we
can have our own communities.
And we don’t need a politician
to raise those communities or
build it for us. We just need
each other.
Excellent point. Excellent
discussion. So, looking forward
to the next book review. Uh
we’ll discuss what is going to
be, maybe sixteen, nineteen.
Maybe please. We we shall
discuss. We shall discuss. We
shall discuss. So as always, we
leave us the Black Messiah
motto. Stop waiting for a
savior and be one. Shalom.
Shalom.