New York (FNS)-In an effort to help dispel concerns of racism, Terri Stocke, President of the Second Amendment March, agreed to coordinate with members of the Reverend Al Sharpton's National Action Network and the Reverend Jesse Jackson's Rainbow/Push Coalition in an effort to encourage more members of the Black community to bear arms and to carry them publicly.
In return, members of the Black community have agreed to flood the 2nd Amendment March, scheduled for April 19, 2010, in Washington, DC, with hundreds of thousands of heavily armed residents of Chicago's South Side and New York City's Harlem and Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhoods.
"We hope that the Black community understands that 2nd Amendment rights apply to all Americans" Ms. Stocke told the crowd outside Mr. Sharpton's offices.
Former President Jimmy Carter has earned a reputation of being brutally honest, particularly since he's left the White House.
He does nothing to diminish that reputation in this interview with NBC News:
That's right, white racism is at the core of much of the criticism of President Obama is racially motivated.
Let me put it another way, for many whites, President Obama is guilty of Presiding While Black (PWB). Clearly there is evidence that something is causing many of his opponents to become unhinged from reality. Think about all the claims believed about this president which have absolutely no basis in fact: Birthers. Tenthers. Socialized medicine. Hitler. Muslim (with the radical Christian minister). Death Panels.
It is no coincidence that older white people are the believers of these lies.
What could possibly be causing the people who believe these things to become so separated from reality? To be so willing to believe these lies?
The mention of that name, in the right circles, brings back a flood of associations.
Among them: a famous cabaret in Gay Paree, a Nicole Kidman movie rich in costume and set design and...well, a movie, anyway; or, if you really know your films, perhaps the association is with the 1952 John Huston "biography" film of the same name.
The one association that might not quickly come to mind, even though it should: ground zero in a battle that led to the desegregation of Las Vegas.
Today's story will fill in the blanks that you might have regarding that association-and by the time we're done, we'll have covered, just as we promised last time, the 55-year history of a place that began in 1955, lasted for not quite six months, and ended just last week...maybe.
It's another one of those American history stories you never heard before, and it's well worth the telling...so let's get right to it.
There may be no more recognizable icon of "Retro-Cool" than that photograph of the Rat Pack standing in front of the marquee at The Sands Hotel in Las Vegas.
They're right there, lined up in front of their own giant names on the marquee: Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Peter Lawford, and Joey Bishop.
Night after night they would gather with friends such as Shirley MacLaine, Angie Dickinson, and Johnny Carson, to deliver some of the greatest nightclub performances in entertainment history.
Today's story, however, focuses on what happened after the show: when four of those five could leave the showroom, drink at the bar, gamble at the casino, and go upstairs to their rooms.
In a town sometimes known as the "Mississippi of the West", however, one of those five performers could not do any of those things.
Our Journey In Two Parts literally crosses over to the "wrong side of the tracks", tells a story of segregation overcome, and recounts the six-month history of a Las Vegas hotel that has a 55-year history: the Moulin Rouge.
We have a story today that is a big-time reminder of how things have changed in America...and it's all inspired by a book of jokes.
I am often prowling thrift shops looking for interesting things, and I came across a 1946 copy of "10,000 Jokes, Toasts, And Stories" (edited by Lewis and Faye Copeland), which contains a section of jokes entitled "Races and Nations"...which contains a subsection entitled "Negro".
We are going to examine some of those jokes...and the world in which those jokes resided.
I warn you now: it will be highly unpleasant; but as we come out the other side the goal will be to show that what was not only acceptable, but commonplace, not so very long ago, would be considered wildly unacceptable today-and that we are a better people for the change.
Today is the day we celebrate Dr. King's birthday. Across the nation, many Americans are involved in community service projects. Indeed, President-Elect Obama participated in a community service project himself this morning. But that's not what I want to talk about.
I've had many conversations with folks on what the election of Barack Obama means. Some of those folks believe that the election of Barack Obama signifies the culmination of Dr. King's dream. They couldn't be further from the truth.
An election, as President-Elect Obama told the Washington Post, is not democracy. Nor is it a dream fulfilled. Dr. King's dream went far beyond that of hoping a black man or woman would one day be elected to the Presidency. His dream was that one day, race would not matter.
Sadly, it still does, especially right here in Louisiana. The other night, I was at Popeye's, and there was a middle-aged black woman waiting for her food when I got in line. Turns out that we ordered the same thing. So I had to wait for the chicken to be cooked as well. Despite ordering after her, the young black woman served me first.
The same thing happens all the time when it comes to jobs, housing and other service industries. It is especially blatant in our education system, and our criminal justice system. To achieve Dr. King's dream, we've a long way to go, baby.
That being said, the election of Barack Obama to the presidency is an important step ... but there is work yet to be done. And it all starts tomorrow at high noon.
Over a month ago, CenLamar featured a compendium of information on the case of the Jena Six. Since then, the compendium has been widely circulated and read. Throughout the past month, however, the story has taken many turns, and recently, charges were reduced to a lesser offense against four of the five young men who were initially charged with attempted second degree murder (the sixth is being tried in juvenile court).
Here in Central Louisiana, the case of the Jena Six continues to be a contentious issue. According to the results of an unscientific poll released by The Town Talk, a vast majority of respondents (over 70%) believe the charges are adequate (and this was conducted BEFORE the District Attorney decided to reduce charges against at least three of the defendents).
Lest a reader from outside of Central Louisiana conclude that these results are indicative of the local impression regarding this case, I caution that the poll was conducted online, and it enabled a single person to vote multiple times. It is easy to see the potential for abuse. Certainly, however, the community remains divided.
When Reverend Jesse Jackson arrived in Jena a week ago, the local reaction, at least online, was mixed. Many people have argued that the imposition of race as a factor in this case has obscured attention away from the crime itself, a fight in which six young men allegedly beat up one young man. They assert that the nature of the crime (six versus one) justifies a harsh penalty. Many have attempted to remove race altogether, retelling the story as somehow “race neutral.”
Since late December of 2006, the quiet town of Jena, Louisiana has been the subject of intense media scrutiny. The story of the Jena Six has made national and international headlines, causing many to ask serious and important questions about the present-day realities of racism in Louisiana. CenLamar has been covering the tensions in Jena, Louisiana even before the now-infamous Jena Six incident, when the main academic building of Jena High School was set on fire on November 30, 2006. Less than a week later, the now-infamous Jena Six incident occured.
This is intended to be a resource for anyone interested in learning about the Jena Six, and it is offered with the sincere hope that all Louisianans, both black and white, Republican and Democrat, will recognize this injustice and demand equal treatment for all under the law.
Ryan of The Daily Kingfish provided a synopsis, courtesy of Pursuing Holiness. For the purposes of clarity, this is the full recapitulation provided by Pursuing Happiness:
This ia an update to the unfolding scandal up in Jena, Louisiana. For a detailed discussion of events leading up to the fight between black students and the white students that led to the charges filed against the black students, click here to a previous post by Lamar White Jr, and to Pursuing Holiness, which has done an excellent job of covering the mess up in Jena. Here's a brief explanation of events so far, thanks to Pursuing Holiness:
In Jena, Louisiana, a black student challenged the de facto segregation of his high school by asking permission to sit under the “white tree.” School officials told him to sit where he liked. The next day three nooses hung from the tree, which triggered an impromptu protest by the black students of Jena High.
LaSalle Parish District Attorney Reed Walters, flanked by the police, informed the black students at an assembly later that day that he could end their lives “with the stroke of a pen.”
Racial tensions grew, the school’s academic wing was burned, and Robert Bailey, a black student, was attacked by a group of whites at a party. One person was charged with a misdemeanor for that beating. The next day Bailey and two friends were threatened with a shotgun at a convenience store by Matt Windham, a white man who had been present at the beating. They wrestled the gun away from him and ran to report the incident to the police, who charged them with robbery of the shotgun.
Finally at school two days later, a group of white students, including the noose hangers, taunted Bailey and other students, calling them “niggers.” A white student was beaten by a group of black students, taken to the hospital and released within three hours. He attended a school function that night.
Six black students were charged with second degree attempted murder for the fight. The first to be tried was Mychal Bell, whose public defender put on no case, called no witnesses, and permitted a friend of the DA, the mother of a prosecution witness, and a good friend of the victim’s mother, to be empaneled on the six person jury. Bell was quickly found guilty. Robert Bailey, Theodore Shaw, Carwin Jones, and Bryant Purvis are still waiting to be tried. The sixth of the Jena Six is in the juvenile justice system.
Secretary of State Jay Dardenne, (R-Baton Rouge) in testimony to the House Government Affairs Committee on 2 May 2007 used a racist code word in support of his position to deny Louisianans displaced by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita the right to vote in Louisiana elections.
He was invited to give his opinion on Jalila Jefferson-Bullock's HB 619, which would extend the right of displaced persons to vote in Louisiana elections for the upcoming gubernatorial election this fall.
The code word used by Secretary Dardenne? Chaos.
UPDATE: Don't believe this? Then click here
and go to 2 May 2007, and click on House Gov Affairs. It'll launch Real Player, and in the interest of saving you 3 hours, skip to 2:40, and watch from there.
Cross-posted from 
