Do the Right Thing

 Student loan forgiveness moves the needle for all to advance

But more needs done to create a level playing field

If you are complaining about your tax dollars paying off someone else’s student loan debt, or proudly declaring that you worked hard to pay your own student loan debt, or if you were silent when billions of tax dollars paid off the debt of big corporations under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), have a seat.

If you were fortunate enough to have family or someone who could save or even scrape together money for your higher education costs, by all means, count your blessings. You are not begrudged that good fortune.

However, not everyone was or is in that same position.

According to the Federal Reserve, the gender and racial wealth gap is significant. The median wealth of white families is 10 times that of Black families and more than 8 times that of Latinx families. A white man’s median net worth is 100 times higher than a Black woman’s. Yes, there is a cost to closing the gender-racial wealth gap. But the up-side is huge: Black women contributing to their communities through home ownership, purchasing goods and services, and on and on.

So it stands to reason, Black women will benefit the most from President Joe Biden’s cancellation of student loan debt, which may explain some of this backlash. Historically, Black women have been left out of the higher education game, first by blatant discrimination and now by cost. This gender-racial wealth gap affects everyone. It affects entire communities. But at its core, it has economic impacts on a Black woman’s financial security, health, and civic engagement on many levels.

Women hold two-thirds of the nation’s student loan debt, and Black women have the highest average total undergraduate and graduate loan debt. Women and people of color are juggling higher amounts of student loan debt with lower paying jobs and other gender and race disparities. For these borrowers and many others, the cancellation of $10,000 of debt is a great start, but it doesn’t go far enough. Rather than complain about who’s eligible and who’s not, let’s work together to maximize student loan relief.

Interestingly, we were discussing a 2021 NBC news article about how a publicly traded company in Texas took a PPP loan, quadrupled its earnings, doubled the pay of its top three executives, and then had its $2.2 million PPP loan forgiven.

It’s not the first time we read it, but it is just as shocking this time around.

We’re not sure where the outrage was for that egregious step of greed; surely at the time, it was somewhere. But it makes the latest negative chatter on the President’s student loan forgiveness mind boggling. Especially, as we’ve pointed out, taxpayers are footing that bill for PPP loans.

For Black women in particular, the alleviation of a small bit of student loan debt can be the difference between investing in a home, paying for child care, starting a business, saving for retirement -- or not.

In many instances, these women came from families whose household income was $30k or less a year. Certainly no one was saving for college. These families are barely getting by day to day. There simply is nothing extra left.

The president’s reprieve is overdue and folks are very grateful, but it still comes up short. This should be the first step in making college affordable for everyone, not just a one-time deal.

According to White House reports, nearly 90% of relief dollars will go to borrowers earning less than $75,000 per year. Also, under the president’s proposed changes to income-based repayment, the average borrower will save over $1,000 per year on loan payments, and the typical college borrower will see their loan payments cut in half.

There are folks who seem to think we can lavish that support on corporate America but when it comes to everyday citizens, it’s a no-go. This debt relief benefits a whole group in the population that has been left behind on the American dream that others have enjoyed.

Maybe it is hard for some to watch because it means a true leveling of the field…and a leveling that is long overdue.

State Rep. Darisha Parker, chair, subcommittee on women and girls of color (PLBC)

State Rep. Donna Bullock, chair, PA Legislative Black Caucus (PLBC)

State Rep. Morgan Cephas, co-chair, women’s health caucus

  “Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance 

and conscientious stupidity.” (Martin Luther King Jr., 1963)

Hershel Walker’s Senatorial candidacy is perhaps a quintessential example of the above Martin Luther King Jr. quote. In addition, to support Walker’s candidacy, one might be involved, wittingly or unwittingly, in a Machiavellian type plot. This is especially the case given that he is trailing his opponent, the distinguished Senator Raphael Warnock, by a few percentage points. And in today’s racist, “Maga,” “alternative facts,” “gas lighting” world, what better way to do so than by pitting these two Black men against each other? For those who doubt the possibility of the foregoing, the following is presented to suggest that Walker’s record builds a prima facie case that renders him unfit to serve in any public office. 

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE. In an August 2022 advertisement, Hershel Walker’s former wife states the following: “His eyes would become very evil ... The guns and knives. I got into a few choking things with him. The first time he held the gun to my head, he held the gun to my temple and said he was gonna blow my brains out.” During related the court case, Cindy DeAngelis’ sister testified that Walker threatened to shoot Cindy and her boyfriend in the head.” 

DISSOCIATIVE IDENTITY DISORDER. A May 4, 2022 Atlanta Journal Constitution article discusses Hershel Walker’s 2008 memoir (Breaking Free). Therein, Walker wrote the following regarding a man who was late in delivering his car in February 2021. “The logical side of me knew that what I was thinking of doing to this man — murdering him for messing up my schedule — was not a viable alternative… But another side of me was so angry that all I could think about was how satisfying it would feel to step out of the car, pull out the gun, slip off the safety, and squeeze the trigger. It would be no different from sighting at the targets I’d fired at for years — except for the visceral enjoyment I’d get from seeing the small entry wound and the spray of brain tissue and blood — like a Fourth of July firework — exploding behind him.”  Also, according to the May 4th article, when Walker met with a therapist, “Walker said he had 12 alternate personalities — or alters — including the warrior (who played football), the sentry (who avoided emotional attachments) and the thrill seeker (who played Russian roulette with a loaded gun).”

BIZZARE STATEMENTS REGARDING WHY HE IS AGAINST CLIMATE LEGISLATION.  "We, in America, have some of the cleanest air and cleanest water of anybody in the world… So, what we are going to do is put, from the Green New Deal, millions, billions of dollars cleaning our good air up.  Since we don't control the air, our good air decides to float over to China's bad air …So, when China gets our good air, their bad air got to move. So, it moves over to our good air space. Then, now, we got to clean that back up." 

STRANGE COVID STATEMENT. On August 15, 2020, Walker stated, “I have something that you can bring into a building that would clean you from COVID, as you walk through this dry mist. As you walk through the door, it would kill any COVID on your body. EPA, FDA-approved.”

PATHOLOGICAL LYING. Please consult the following link which presents information regarding Hershel Walker’s lies in terms of him having “secret children,” having been a police officer, and having been a member of the FBI. Herschel Walker's Campaign Aids Slam Him for Being a 'Pathological Liar' (eurweb.com) In addition, Walker falsely claimed that he graduated from the University of Georgia and that he did so in the top 1% of his class. (See Fact check: Herschel Walker falsely claims he never falsely claimed he graduated from University of Georgia - CNNPolitics) 

NO ABORTION EXCEPTIONS FOR RAPE, INCEST, OR THREATS TO LIFE OF THE MOTHER. When asked about the recent Supreme Court Decision and whether he would make an exception for rape, incest, or the mother’s health, Walker stated, “There’s no exception in my mind. Like I say, I believe in life. I believe in life.” One is left to wonder whether Walker thinks the mother’s life is dispensable.

Given the foregoing concoction of lies and bizarre statements along with the lack of any rational reason(s) regarding Hershel Walker’s preparation to become a Senator, what else could be motivating his supporters other than a very dangerous plot steeped in sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity? 

Jack L. Daniel

Co-founder, Freed Panther Society

Contributor, Pittsburgh Urban Media

Author, Negotiating a Historically White University While Black

August 14, 2022 

  As we continue to review the disgraceful events that took place on January 6, 2021, we must remember that many who committed the seditious acts did so as they carried “Christian banners, flags and wooden crosses;” held “Christian praise and worship sessions;” and wore “Jesus Saves” as well as other “Christian” paraphernalia (For details, see January 6th May Have Been Only the First Wave of Christian Nationalist Violence and Flags, TIME, January 6, 2022).  Also of great significance is the fact that these privileged, White, racist, “Christian” nationalists can trace their misguided raison d'être to the highest levels of the “Christian Church,” i.e., some of their past infallible Popes.

In their divine wisdom, numerous Popes issued official letters (Papal Bulls) that provided religious “justification” for the race-based inhumane treatment of Indigenous People and enslaved Africans in America. For example, the infamous Pope Alexander VI issued a Papal Bull that authorized “…Spain and Portugal to colonize the Americas and its Native peoples as subjects” as well as enslave Africans. (See, The Pope asserts rights to colonize, convert, and enslave - Timeline - Native Voices (nih.gov) 

Other Papal Bulls that enabled colonial exploitation are as follows:

· “In 1452, the papal bull Dum Diversas instructed the Portuguese crown “to invade, capture, vanquish, and subdue all Saracens, pagans, and other enemies of Christ, to put them into perpetual slavery, and to take away all their possessions and property.”

· “In 1454, another bull titled Romanus Pontifex furthered that thinking, sanctifying the seizure of non-Christian lands in parts of Africa and restating the legitimacy of enslaving non-Christian people.”

· “In 1493, after Christopher Columbus’ fateful voyage, Inter Caetera granted Ferdinand and Isabella ‘full and free power, authority, and jurisdiction of every kind,’ over almost all of the Americas, save for a portion of modern-day Brazil and a few island outposts.” (See Vinnie Rotondaro, September 4, 2015) 

Given that the enslavement of Africans constituted a gross contradiction between the nation’s stated ideals as compared to the realities of American colonial life, callous slave masters attempted to justify the unjustifiable by invoking the “Bible basis for slavery.” More specifically, these corrupt “Christians” cited Biblical verses such as the following: 

• “Abraham, the ‘father of faith,’ and all the patriarchs held slaves without God’s disapproval (Gen. 21:9–10).

• Canaan, Ham’s son, was made a slave to his brothers (Gen. 9:24–27).

• The Ten Commandments mention slavery twice, showing God’s implicit acceptance of it (Ex. 20:10, 17).

• Slavery was widespread throughout the Roman world, and yet Jesus never spoke against it. 

• The apostle Paul specifically commanded slaves to obey their masters (Eph. 6:5–8).” 

Additionally, the perpetrators of inhumanity had the audacity to assert that slavey gave Christians an opportunity to “humanize,” to “civilize” the enslaved, to rid them of their “heathen” ways. https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/issues/issue-33/why-christians-supported-slavery.html

Given modern American White racist nationalists’ roots coupled with the many “liberals’” and “moderates’” declarations of America as a “Christian Nation,” it is little wonder that, today, many “Christians” constitute some of the most racist people in America. As Robert P. Jones indicated, “…For more than two decades, I've studied the attitudes of religiously affiliated Americans across the country. And year over year, in question after question in public opinion polls, a clear pattern has emerged: White Christians are consistently more likely than Whites who are religiously unaffiliated to deny the existence of structural racism…” (July 27, 2020).

Going forward in 2022, we must be cognizant of the fact that White racist “Christian” nationalism continues to be a cancer that must be removed from American society. If one needs a brief but compelling set of historical reasons for doing so, then consider [1] the millions of lives lost during the Crusades when some sought to “cleanse the church;” [2] the millions of Indigenous People and Africans who lost their lives in the American “Christian” crucible of colonialism and chattel slavery; and [3] the unknown millions of Blacks who suffered, in excruciating ways, ever since 1776 because “God” was/is allegedly on the side of White racist “Christian” nationalists. 

Finally, for those “Christians” who remain myopically driven by the Big Lie regarding a stolen election, perhaps they should revisit John 8:44 which states, “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” 

Jack L. Daniel

Co-founder, Freed Panther Society

Contributor, Pittsburgh Urban Media

Author, Negotiating a Historically White University While Black

January 12, 2022

 (September 17, 2021) As part of the City of Pittsburgh’s Welcoming Week 2021, the Office of Mayor William Peduto and Office of Equity’s Welcoming Pittsburgh are pleased to announce that Pittsburgh has been named a Certified Welcoming place, becoming the 12th in the United States to achieve this designation.   

To become Certified Welcoming, the City of Pittsburgh completed an intensive evaluation. Local policies and programs for immigrant, refugee and New American inclusion, led by Welcoming Pittsburgh, were compared to the comprehensive Welcoming Standard that covers community investments from education to economic development to policing. 

As of 2019, immigrant residents in Pittsburgh make up nearly 4% of the population, with 76% being of prime working age (16-64). Additionally, immigrant residents are 27% more likely to be entrepreneurs and more likely to hold graduate degrees. According to New American Economy, immigrants in Pittsburgh pay $1.2 billion in taxes and hold $2.7 billion in spending power, demonstrating their sizable impact on the economy locally and beyond.  

"Pittsburgh has a tradition of welcoming immigrants from all around the world to contribute to the rich cultural fabric of our city,” said Mayor Peduto. “We know that today, just as it has been historically, immigrants make our city stronger because when our neighbors have equitable access to opportunities and succeed, Pittsburgh succeeds. That’s why we have strived to be a welcoming city and are grateful to be a Certified Welcoming city. I’d like to thank Welcoming America for recognizing the work of Welcoming Pittsburgh, our community partners and our residents in creating a community where our policies and programs promote action for immigrant inclusion, especially in a time where our immigrant neighbors need us the most.” 

Welcoming Pittsburgh works with several partners to implement policies, programs and initiatives guided by the Welcoming Pittsburgh Roadmap, a comprehensive citywide plan compiled by 40 local leaders from diverse sectors and over 3,000 community members. Partners include the Welcoming Pittsburgh steering committee, All for All Coalition, Allegheny County Department of Human Services, Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh and more.  

Policies and initiatives enacted as a result of the roadmap are available here.  

The Certified Welcoming program is run and administered by Welcoming America, a national nonprofit organization that aims to build a nation of neighbors by fostering welcoming communities. 

"It’s my great pleasure to congratulate the City of Pittsburgh on achieving the status of Certified Welcoming. As Pittsburgh becomes a more diverse city, and prepares to welcome new families from Afghanistan, this public-private partnership reflects the phenomenal work of community based organizations with the public sector to reduce the barriers residents might face to full participation - civically, socially, and economically," said Rachel Perić, executive director of Welcoming America. “A big thanks to Mayor Peduto for his leadership and legacy; Feyisola Alabi of Welcoming Pittsburgh; and the Welcoming Pittsburgh Steering Committee for their work and belief in welcoming values as a benefit for all Pittsburghers."  

Pittsburgh landlords who are interested in working with the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development to provide housing for refugees can find out more information here, fill out this poll or contact refugeehousing@pittsburghpa.gov. 

When it comes to radically reducing gun violence in America, many who could affect positive changes constitute the “dictionary definitions” of obdurate, i.e., hardened, obstinate, stubborn, impertinent, reprobate, callous, unfeeling, insensible, and unyielding people who will not do so until “the chickens come home to roost.”  Having received “filthy lucre” from their respective lobbyists, many members of Congress and State Legislatures are simply intransient when it comes to altering their extreme positive dispositions related to the gun industry.  While surveys indicate that 65% of American citizens support gun legislation, a mere 35% of elected Republicans share their view.  Similarly, many of the latter ignore the documented warnings regarding domestic terrorism.  

The Department of Homeland Security has told us that “White supremacists will remain the most persistent and lethal threat in the United States through 2021,” and “…Although foreign terrorist organizations will continue to call for attacks on the US,  …we judge that ideologically-motivated lone offenders and small groups will pose the greatest terrorist threat to the Homeland through 2021, with white supremacist extremists presenting the most lethal threat."  

For those willing to take their heads out of the sand when it comes to America leading the world in gun violence, please note that the Boulder and Atlanta mass killings were indicators of long-standing phenomena, not a “new normal.”  As one source noted,  “Since 2009, there have been 245 mass shootings in the United States, resulting in 1391 people shot and killed and 950 people shot and wounded. (https://everytownresearch.org/maps/mass-shootings-in-america-2009-2019/)  Another report’s headline read “2020 Ends as One of America's Most Violent Years in Decades.”  Therein, it was noted that “Gun violence and gun crime, in particular, had risen drastically, with over 19,000 people killed in shootings and firearm-related incidents in 2020. That’s the highest death toll in over 20 years…”  Nevertheless, following the most recent mass-killings, the same old rhetorical drills occurred, i.e., declarations that feign action but, in the end, are just words dutifully uttered during the current mass-killing news cycle.

Before each mass-killing news cycle ends, CEOs, government officials, and organized groups post public moral statements.   We learn how “saddened” they are, how their “thoughts and prayers” are with the families of the victims.  Unknown numbers of individuals post social media statements such as “Boston Strong,” “United Against Hate,” “Stronger than Hate,” “I am Charlie.”  Currently, some who were formerly posting “Black Lives Matter” are posting more expansive statements such as “I Stand with the AAPI Community,” “Stop the Hate,” and “End Racism Now.”  “Capitalist Pimps” profit from hastily made paraphernalia  displaying such slogans.  A Congressional and/or a few State legislative committees might hold hearings related to guns, but in the end, all too  many citizens will behave as if mass-killings are “things you have to live with” in American society, something like the cliché regarding “death and taxes.”

Sadly, mass-killings are occurring so frequently in 2021 that most Americans don’t know how many have taken place these first few months!  They can’t tell you something as simple as how many people were killed and wounded this year during mass-shootings in [1] Bolivar, Mississippi, [2] Detroit, Michigan,  [3] Little River Park in Miami, Florida, [4] Indianapolis, Indiana, [5] Muskogee, Oklahoma, [6] South Side Chicago, Illinois, [7] Houston, Texas,  or [8] Tampa, Florida.  Instead, people died; flags were flown at half-mast; clusters of citizens publicly protested for a few days; and America’s killing fields seemed to be fertilized by the fresh blood which is likely to flow ever faster until this mass dance with death becomes a matter of the “chickens coming home to roost.”  Note, for example, the media coverage of the Boulder victims and community members.

Perhaps eye witness Ryan Borowski put it poignantly best when he stated, “Boulder feels like a bubble and that bubble burst.”  Let us not forget, however, that this “bubble” was created centuries ago, after “settlers” stole the land from Indigenous People.  A World Population Review article indicated that, for 2021, the Boulder “bubble” has the following homogenous demographics: White: 87.37%; Asian: 5.80%; Two or more races: 3.82%; Other-race: 1.51%; Black or African American: 1.20%; Native American: 0.21%; and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander: 0.10%.  

Nestled in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, home to large historically White college populations and a plethora of STEM-based industries, a Pollyanna disposition would have residents enjoying magnificent hiking trails and waxing nostalgic as they listen to John Denver sing “But the Colorado Rocky Mountain high, I’ve seen it raining fire in the sky, the shadow from the starlight is softer than a lullaby…”  Withing the idyllic predominantly-White “Boulder bubble,” one should not have their life change forever after hearing a weapon of mass destruction being used by a terrorist to slaughter innocent people.  

Without formal governmental intervention, more “Boulder bubbles” will burst and many, other than the mass killers, will have the proverbial “blood on their hands.”  It is tragic that mass-killings have been normative or, as one person stated, they existed “yesterday, today, and will continue tomorrow.”   Still worse is knowing these deaths will continue until the “chickens come home to roost” in many other “American bubbles,” e.g., in Marjorie Green’s 14th Congressional District, not Atlanta Georgia; in Cameo Shores, not Watts, California; or in the Pennsylvania Borough of Jefferson Hills, not the Hill District of Pittsburgh.  

Jack L. Daniel

Co-Founder, Freed Panther Society

Contributor, Pittsburgh Urban Media

Author, Negotiating a Historically White University While Black

March 25, 2021

2020, A PRELUDE TO THE 2021 WHITE SUPREMACIST ATTACK ON CONGRESS

​A quick online search will yield numerous references to 2020 being a “racial awakening” year in America.  As with many words, “awakening” has multiple meanings including, the literal awakening from sleep; developing a renewed interest or attention; and a rude calling of attention to uncomfortable facts. When it comes to racism, 2020 was more of a rude awakening to uncomfortable facts related to the extent of racism, especially as practiced by some police officers.  As is well known, this rude awakening was stimulated by the videotaping and rebroadcasting of George Floyd’s murder by police officer Derek Chauvin who knelt mercilessly on Floyd’s neck.  In short, 2020 was a year of reticent White Americans receiving incontrovertible evidence that racism was rampant in America, that it was indeed systemic, and that it literally had deadly consequences.  However, 2020, was not a year of “racial reckoning.”  

​“Racial reckoning” is not a matter of tokenism, e.g., a formerly overwhelmingly White corporation quickly hiring a Black assistant to a White senior level employee; a university promising a modest enrollment increase of Black students; or a city passing a resolution regarding racism being a public health matter.  If there were “racial reckoning” in America, after centuries of justice delayed/denied, then Black Americans would finally receive their “40 acres and a mule,” i.e., reparations appropriate to 2021 circumstances.  

​If there were “racial reckoning,” for example, the City of Pittsburgh in conjunction with partners from higher education institutions, foundations, the private sector, and families would with all deliberate speed resolve the matters that produce the educational achievement gaps in the Pittsburgh Public Schools.  After years of not having done so, “racial reckoning” would include the University of Pittsburgh, on an ongoing basis, extending multi-million-dollar business contracts to Black owned and operated companies.  “Racial reckoning” would include Pittsburgh being a leading city where all essential workers are compensated appropriately, especially in professions such as early childhood education where Blacks are disproportionately underpaid.  It would entail making Pittsburgh a “most livable city” for all.  Given that these types of things have not happened in Pittsburgh or elsewhere, 2020 was more of an epiphany.  

2020 was a “year of epiphany” that signaled how internal decay was causing the crumbling of racist, patriarchal, homophobic, xenophobic, sexist, and other deleterious walls.  November 3, 2020 was similar to that moment when “Dorothy” realized the “Wizard” was not only a complete fake but also an exploiter of human beings.  Instead of “going home,” American citizens “clicked their heels” and evicted P45 from America’s home.  Their 2020 actions were reinforced on January 5, 2021,when they “showed up and showed out” in Georgia, electing two senators from the Democrat Party.  

2020 was predictive of what took place on January 6, 2021,as the Electoral College vote was being counted.  It forecast the unthinkable, that a sitting American President, with narcissism, ignorance and intolerance dripping down his face and hatred frothing at his mouth, would incite White supremacists to attack members of Congress!  If there ever were such a thing as being totally disengaged from reality, he so demonstrated by once again ranting about a “stolen election,” an election that had in fact been confirmed, reconfirmed, and reconfirmed again by all relevant parties. 

Before the next President could be inaugurated, we witnessed the most infamous moment in American Presidential history.  All doubts were removed regarding how some police treat Black peaceful protesters as compared to how they treat White supremacists engaged in destruction. The criminal assault on Congress was so disgraceful that the leaders of other nations declared that the would be American “emperor” has no clothing.Things sank so low that P45’s most loyal sycophants abandoned him as evidenced by Senator McConnell stating "If this election were overturned by mere allegations from the losing side, our democracy would enter a death spiral. We'd never see the whole nation accept an election again," and Senator Graham exclaiming "…but today…count me out. Enough is enough."  

Aside from insuring that P45 never again holds public office in America and being appropriately prosecuted for all of his criminal conduct, now is the time for an unwavering assault on the beast that remains in America as evidenced, for example, by the more than 100 members of Congress who objected to the Electoral College results, AFTER AN ASSAULT BY WHITE SUPREMACISTS ON CONGRESS A FEW HOURS BEFORE THEY VOTED!  

Let the federal investigation of the resultant 5 deaths and all aspects of the attempted coup proceed as rapidly as possible. Instead of P45’s enablers slapping him on his wrists for a few days, Facebook and other social media should permanently ban him as Twitter did.

If nothing else moves “we the people” to action, then never stop thinking about the possibility that instead of 5 lives being lost during the White supremacist assault on the Capitol, we could have had a mass-murder that claimed the lives of unknown numbers of members of Congress and, still worse, the mob that moved on Congress was incited by P45, his son, his lawyer, and others.  And shamefully, a so-called “breakdown” in security would have been contributory.  

Jack L. Daniel

Co-founder, Freed Panther Society

Contributor, Pittsburgh Urban Media

Author, Negotiating a Historically White University While Black

January 8, 2021

 “I know why the caged bird sings, ah me, When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore, When he beats his bars and he would be free’ It is not a carol of joy or glee, But a prayer that he sends from his heart’s deep core, A plea, that upward to Heaven he flings-I know why the caged bird sings.”

-Paul Laurence Dunbar-

Wearily we watch as “Black babies face double the risk of dying before their first birthday” (see Gaby Galvin, August 1, 2019).  Tragically, Black teens have the highest probability of becoming a homicide victim.  The most gifted Black child’s life can be halted when a wanton bullet finds its deadly mark.  Black men know that jogging while wearing a “hoodie” and a Covid-19 protective mask could contribute to them being murdered.  Like Sandra Bland, days after a traffic stop arrest, a Black woman can be found dead in a cell, or, as with Breonna Taylor, be aroused from sleeping and murdered during a “botched” police raid.

Far too many Black lives are ones in which hopes are routinely dashed; excruciating pain is daily delivered; spirits are constantly broken; and life is like trying to breath inside a stifling vault.  For no other reason than being Black, these harsh things and more are strapped on Blacks’ backs and, in turn, contribute to the rapid rise in mental illness among Blacks (See Cordilia James and Petersen Pedersen in the Wall Street Journal, July, 21, 2020). 

More than a century after Dunbar wrote the above poem, my father-in-law (Nathaniel S. Colley, Sr.) experienced what all highly accomplished Blacks know, i.e., that “doing the right things” does not provide him/them with a pass to escape the deleterious fate of being born Black in America.  He did his undergraduate work at Tuskegee; earned his law degree from Yale; served as an army officer during World War II; was a NAACP Western Region general counsel; and, while assisting President John F. Kennedy, he agreed to take part in an inspection of military troops stationed in Japan.  

While in Japan, a Japanese citizen sought to understand the extent of White American racism by asking, “Mr. Colley, if you go to Mississippi, will they also put dogs on you too?”  My father-in-law said, “Yes, if I go to Mississippi, they’ll put dogs on me too!”  For the rest of his life, Colley Sr. reminded himself and others that neither his Tuskegee and Yale degrees nor his many distinguished trial lawyer accomplishments would prevent “dogs from being put on him too”  ---that Malcolm X spoke truth when he asked and answered, “What do Whites call a Negro with a PhD?  A Nigger!”

Recently, I had a reminder that “dogs could be put on me too.  The rear deck of my home is about 15 feet from the water that feeds into the Chesapeake Bay.  An armed White police officer walked past my home many evenings and spoke to me as I sat on my deck.  His seemingly friendly “hellos” caused me to have a lapse in judgment, but I was reminded of who I was when I went down to the boardwalk to fish.  

As the White officer approached, I said “Hello,” and he said, “Excuse me, do you live here?” I said “Yes” and, pointing to my home, I added, “I speak to you from that deck behind us when you pass by each evening.”  He said, “Oh and, by the way, you have to move your stool off the boardwalk.  There are no chairs allowed on the boardwalk.”  Noticing the gun strapped on the officer’s hip, I knew being a Black man was in play, not “Dr. Jack L. Daniel, the emeritus Vice Provost and Distinguished Service Professor.”  Hence, I said nothing and moved my stool.  

After the officer left, I thought about what could have happened had I gotten angry, jumped up and asked, “How can you ask me if I live here when, after so many evenings, you passed by my home and spoke to me?”  In minutes, the story could have become, “After fearing for his life, officer accidentally shoots angry man who was breaking the law on residential boardwalk,” followed shortly thereafter with “#Jack L. Daniel, say his name.”

If you are Black in America, then you don’t drive your car; walk down the street; barbecue in a public park; enter your own apartment late at night; fall asleep in the reception area of a dorm hall; attempt to cash a check with “Dr.” in front of your name; or engage in any normal activity without the nagging realization that you could become a fatal statistic.  You can’t be stopped at a red light without the possibility of a White male throwing lighter fluid on you and setting you on fire as was done recently to a Black woman in Wisconsin.  Even in death, as was the case for Congressman John Lewis, racist derived inhumanity was put on full display when, in  their “tributes to John Lewis,” Republican Congressman Marco Rubio and Senator Dan Sullivan mistakenly posted pictures of themselves and Elijah Cummings.  

Notwithstanding the woes of being Black in America, we of good faith will continue to do as John Lewis commanded, i.e., “get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and redeem the soul of America.”  We will do so  because we know, as John Legend sang, “One day when the glory comes; It will be ours, it will be ours; One day… When the war is won; When it's all said and done; We'll cry glory, oh glory.”

Jack L. Daniel

Co-Founder, Freed Panther Society

Contributor, Pittsburgh Urban Media

Author, Negotiating a Historically White University While Black

July 28, 2020

  THE “WALLS” CAME TUMBLING DOWN:

Not just statues, flags, names, and other accouterments of systemic racism

The biblical account of the battle at Jericho indicates that people marched around Jericho for six days and, on the seventh day “…As soon as the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted a great shout, and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they captured the city” (Joshua 6:20). Note that the people did not simply enter the city. They also destroyed the city. With this biblical story in mind, one might reflect on the desirable outcomes for the efforts of today’s freedom seeking people who are marching around the “City of Systemic Racism.”

As a result of the many protest marches since George Floyd’s death, we have witnessed things such as the following:

· Princeton University removed the name of former U.S. President Woodrow Wilson from a building on its campus because of his racist beliefs and policies.

· Mississippi lawmakers voted to remove the Confederate battle emblem from its state flag.

· Walmart ended its practice of locking up Black beauty products.

· In a letter to the House Clerk, Speaker Nancy Pelosi requested the "immediate removal" of the portraits of four Speakers who served the Confederacy in various capacities: Robert Hunter of Virginia, Howell Cobb of Georgia, James Orr of South Carolina and Charles Crisp of Georgia.

· NASCAR banned the Confederate flag from all its events.

· PepsiCo decided to change the stereotypical Aunt Jemima name and image. 

· HBO removed “Gone with the Wind” from its offerings.

· Commissioner Roger Goodell said the NFL was wrong for not listening to players' criticisms of racism. 

As necessary  as the foregoing acts of contrition might be, they are not sufficient for destroying the “City of Systemic Racism.” To do so, for example, Princeton University must destroy all old policies and practices that enabled systemic racism and replace them with new policies and practices that enable timely positive outcomes in terms of equity and social justice throughout the University. Again, the NFL must go beyond updating the Rooney Rule and make good on its promise to hire Blacks in senior positions as well as significantly involve Blacks throughout the business that depends so heavily on Blacks. 

Instead of being satisfied with the outcomes of the recent protest moments, we, the people, must march on through November 2020 and attack the “City of Systemic Racism” by taking control of the House of Representatives, the Senate, and the Presidency. Subsequently, the new national leadership must [1] implement science-based strategies and tactics against Covid-19; and [2] legislatively address things such as lynching, affordable health care, police reform, the cost of higher education, pathways to citizenship, and appropriate wages for essential workers.

Destroying the “City of Systemic Racism” means doing what CNBC reported regarding Walmart Chief Executive Doug McMillon’s call to action, i.e. “…the country’s top CEOs will look for ways to address racial inequities that span society, from how the world of finance works to how police treat black Americans. In an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” McMillon said the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man pinned down by a Minneapolis police officer who kneeled on his neck, has prompted new urgency to do more than just donate money. McMillon, who is chairman of the Business Roundtable, announced the group of business leaders will form a special committee to advance racial equality and justice solutions. ‘What we see is a moment here, a moment where we can make a bigger difference.’”

If we are to destroy the “City of Systemic Racism,” then higher education leaders must do as Pitt’s Chancellor Patrick Gallagher did when he declared, “…In this moment of raw grief and anger, we must plot a path forward. We must find ways to build bridges, listen and empathize—even when it is uncomfortable. And we must demand better of our leaders, holding them accountable by voting and pushing to reform the laws and institutions of our democracy. Working together, we have enormous power to realize change.

…The University of Pittsburgh is a longstanding leader in our region. Yet, for all of our remarkable accomplishments, African Americans living within the Cathedral of Learning’s shadow are still confronting an alarming opportunity gap. We can expand our efforts to translate our work into practice and spur a local renaissance in our surrounding neighborhoods and communities.

Reshaping our university to be more diverse, inclusive and just—while also expanding our reach and impact in promoting social justice—is a significant effort, and we will need to resource and sustain this transformation over time. Because of this, I am putting our nearly complete strategic planning process—which aims to chart Pitt’s course over the next five years—on hold. This pause will give us time to incorporate specific strategies to strengthen our commitments to racial equity and justice. I will need your help in identifying the most promising initiatives in this final plan, and I hope you will participate.”

In a Joshua like fashion, Chancellor Gallagher has launched a process which, with the assistance of the University community as well as the Pittsburgh community, should result in the building of a new “city” from the one now known as the University of Pittsburgh. Let us not stop “marching” until the “walls” preventing equity and social justice at the University have truly come tumbling down. 

“…One day when the glory comes
It will be ours, it will be ours
Oh one day when the war is won
We will be sure, we will be sure
Oh glory (Glory, glory)
Oh (Glory, glory)

Now the war is not over, victory isn't won
And we'll fight on to the finish, then when it's all done
We'll cry glory, oh glory (Glory, glory)
Oh (Glory, glory)
We'll cry glory, oh glory (Glory, glory)
Oh (Glory, glory)”

-John Legend-

Jack L. Daniel

Co-Founder, Freed Panther Society

Contributor, Pittsburgh Urban Media

Author, Negotiating a Historically White University While Black

July 19, 2020

Tricknology: “The techniques of deception and manipulation employed by a dominant group (especially a White majority) to disempower a weaker one (especially a Black minority)”

The racist tricknology referenced herein is related to how some devious Whites, along with their willing Black workers, flip the “Brer Rabbit” script and the “rabbit” is duped by the “fox.”  These Machiavellian types know very well what constitutes White privilege; that there are health and wealth disparities as a function of systemic racism; and that it is White racism when a Black man is murdered by a White cop who keeps his knee on the neck of the handcuffed Black man for more than 8 minutes!  However, when brutal incidents trigger urban insurrections, then the following scenario plays out.  

• The “fox” immediately cries crocodile tears and, after a hearty cry, the “fox” declares her/his intentions “to do something significant, if not radical,” to address racism.

• The “fox” begs for the “rabbit” to  explain “White racism,” to describe “what it is like to be the recipient of “racism,” to “help me understand so that I can do the right thing(s)”  because “Black lives matter.”

• The “rabbit” throws the “fox” into her/his “home”/comfort zone by spending inordinate amounts of time explaining White racism to the “fox.” 

• The “rabbit” and “fox” “discuss and discuss racism until it becomes disgusting” and the “rabbit” finds her/himself “sick and tired of being sick and tired”  —all while nothing of significance is done to halt the racism pandemic.  

Having deployed the foregoing tricknology, the racism pandemic marches on as evidenced by Ferguson essentially being Ferguson six years later; the NFL being without more Black coaches having been hired years after implementing the Rooney Rule; and White cops keep on killing Blacks as White racism is being explained to Whites who know all too well the nature of racism given that they too are likely practitioners.

As Blacks explain White racism, police misconduct flourishes, e.g., two Buffalo officers knocked a 75-year old man down, causing him a serious injury and no police assisted the man who lay bleeding on the ground.  After the two perpetrators were suspended without pay, 57 members of Buffalo’s police emergency team resigned from the unit.  During this time period, we witnessed six Atlanta officers get charged after they pulled two Black college students out of their car, smashed in their windows, and used a stun gun on them.  And, just as police misused a helicopter to clear D.C. streets for 45 to do a photo opportunity, back in February 2020, police escorted masked White nationalists when they marched in D.C.  

As tired, worn down, duped Blacks explain White racism to the powers that be, Black unemployment remains in a depression-like state. The June 6-7, 2020 Wall Street Journal reported, “…The jobless rate fell to 13.3% from April’s 14.7%, a post-World War II high.”  Note that 13.3% was an “overall” number and that unemployment rates for Hispanics, Blacks, and Whites were  17.6%, 16.8%, and 12.4% respectively.  Thus, Hispanic and Black unemployment remained higher than the nation’s historical high.

Having fallen victim to the tricknology, little if anything takes place regarding the development of Black wealth via home ownership.  For example, Linda Lutton, Andrew Fan, and Alden Loury observed that, in Chicago, “68.1% of dollars loaned for housing purchases went to majority-white neighborhoods, while just 8.1% went to majority-black neighborhoods and 8.7% went to majority-Latino neighborhoods…” (June 3, 2020).

As with no gains for Blacks in home ownership, there are no gains in terms of closing the educational achievement gap.  Instead, the June 6, 2020 New York Times article indicated, “New research suggests that by September, most students will have fallen behind where they would have been if they had stayed in classrooms, with some losing the equivalent of a full school years’ worth of academic gains. Racial and socioeconomic achievement gaps will most likely widen because of disparities in access to computers, home internet connections and direct instruction from teachers…”  

Explaining racism to Whites does very little in terms of reducing the systemic factors that make race a critical factor when deciding whether to put a parent in a nursing home.  We know that “…Covid-19 has been particularly virulent toward African-Americans and Latinos: Nursing homes where those groups make up a significant portion of the residents — no matter their location, no matter their size, no matter their government rating — have been twice as likely to get hit by the coronavirus as those where the population is overwhelmingly white…” (New York Times, May 21, 2020).

Whites have had sufficient opportunities to learn about White racism, having practiced and benefited from it for several centuries.  Therefore, Blacks must  “flip the script” and have White folks explain what specifically they are going to do to end White racism!  Whites should “put some skin in the game” by doing things such as the following: 

• Take any one of the existing police reform plans and implement actions steps that end the murders of Blacks and other forms of police brutality.  

• Never again hire a less-qualified White instead of a higher-qualified Black.

• Stop all “red lining” related to the purchase of homes.

• Use federal, state, and local public dollars to end the systemic causes of Black health, income, wealth, and educational disparities.

• Implement effective gun legislation, including taking weapons of mass destruction off the streets of urban America.

• In 2020, implement a voting tsunami that washes away the “principalities in high places.”  

• At the end of 2020, as a New Year’s gift, explain to Blacks how the foregoing was accomplished.

For any who still insist that they don’t understand White racism, please binge watch the murder of George Floyd or the horrendous circumstances related to the deaths of Michael Brown, Philando Castile, Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice, and Breonna Taylor.  Then listen to Billie Holiday sing, 

Southern trees bear a strange fruit

Blood on the leaves and blood at the root

Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze

Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees

Pastoral scene of the gallant South

The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth

Scent of magnolia, sweet and fresh

Then the sudden smell of burning flesh

Here is a fruit for the crows to pluck

For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck

For the sun to rot, for the tree to drop

Here is a strange and bitter crop

Jack L. Daniel

Co-Founder, Freed Panther Society

Contributor, Pittsburgh Urban Media

Author, Negotiating a Historically White University While Black

PITTSBURGH, PA (May 29, 2020)—The following is a message Pittsburgh Bureau of Police Chief Scott Schubert sent bureau-wide at 6 a.m. today. Public Safety is releasing it publicly in response to questions from the public and media about PBP’s response to the tragic and senseless death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Colleagues,

I'm certain many of you have by now viewed the video of George Floyd’s in-custody death in Minneapolis on May 25.

Like you, I was deeply disturbed and saddened by what I saw.

This is not how we are trained to restrain people and it's not what we stand for as police officers.

Regardless of the original crime or what occurred prior to the arrest, a person in handcuffs and face-down on the ground should not lose their life due to the action or in action of the involved officers. It was difficult to watch Mr. Floyd pleading for help and gasping for breath before saying his final words—all while pedestrians frantically pleaded with officers to help him. I simply cannot comprehend the actions of the officers or their lack of moral courage and duty to intervene and stop the action before it was too late. My prayers are with Mr. Floyd and his family during this most difficult time.

As police officers, we have a fundamental duty to care for and safeguard everyone and anyone in our custody. That did not occur with this particular incident. A man was de prived of his life, a family was deprived of their loved one, a community was deprived of their faith in the people who are entrusted to keep them safe and our noble profession was deprived of its legitimacy by the incomprehen sible and senseless actions of a few. There was no consideration for the value of human life and that is inexcusable. These officers don’t represent any of us in law enforcement and must face the consequences for their actions! We are better than this. We must continue to do what's right. 

I'm thankful for the men and women of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police. I know the high level of training each of you have received and I know firsthand the high level of professionalism, bravery, courage and compassion our officers display on a daily basis. We have sworn an oath and I trust that all of us will use our moral courage to intervene when we see something wrong. We owe it to each another, we owe it to our noble profession and we owe it to the community we protect and serve.

I have asked the Academy to review this senseless death and share additional information that can help reinforce our training and policies. Excessive force is unacceptable and will not be tolerated at any level.

Thank you for your commitment to selfless service. Please stay safe and healthy!

Scott

Chief Scott E. Schubert

City of Pittsburgh Bureau of Police

THOSE WHO HAVEN’T  FIGURED OUT 

WHETHER TO VOTE FOR TRUMP AIN’T BLACK

It is very problematic for anyone to define the essential factors for being Black.  Over several centuries, Blacks have struggled to specify the collective noun by which they are to be identified and, in turn, articulate the attendant beliefs, behaviors and values associated with names such as “Negro, Colored, Afro-American, African American, and Black.”  Regardless of the appellation used, it has always been a well-known fact that “all skin-folk ain’t kin-folk!” Nevertheless, one “litmus test” to be or not to be Black is offered herein, i.e., [1] the extent to which a racially Black person acts in ways that advance Blacks’ pursuit of freedom, justice and equality and, conversely, [2] the extent to which a racially Black person consciously acts in ways to retard Blacks’ pursuit of freedom, justice and equality.  

With the foregoing in mind, consider a few iconic examples of “skin-folk who ain’t kin-folk” and, therefore, not Black regardless to whether their skin color is “light bright and damn near White,” “teasing tan,” “mellow yellow,” “paper bag brown,” or “indigo black.”    

• The Slave Snitch.  The Slave Snitch caused other slaves to be killed by doing things such as inform the slave master when slaves were planning to run away or warn the master when freedom-loving slaves plotted to  burn crops in the field.  They were brainwashed to believe “servant obey thy master” was applicable to them and their White master.  The Slave Snitch was a traitor to his/her people, a real “Judas” who never got rewarded with pieces of silver but rather with something as simple as a pat on the head and leftover food from the master’s table.

• The Tragic Mulatto.  The Tragic Mulatto was not Black because he/she had a minimal amount of “Black” blood.  The disqualifying factors for the Tragic Mulatto were things such as [1] self-hatred based on their belief that their minimum amount of “Black” blood reduced them to something less than human; and [2] they were in such agony about not being “pure White” that they did things such as attempt to “pass for White;” detest any positive cultural phenomenon ascribed to being Black such as the creation of the spirituals and jazz; and they were as willing as any White racist to take actions that denied freedom, justice and equality for Black people. 

• The Brown-Tongue Sycophant.  This groveling, obsequious, backside-licking person will “kiss up” to and do the bidding for White racists, e.g., oppose economic programs to aid Black businesses even though the same programs are used to aid White businesses; fight against progressive programs that result in justice and equity on college campuses; stymie efforts to provide Blacks with affordable housing; and advance educational policies that are known to sustain achievement gaps.  They take great delight in being “poster children” for movements against affirmative action, voting rights acts, reducing Black maternal mortality, and other forms of social justice.  

• The Demented Sociopath.  We know these demented folks by the death and destruction they cause for other Blacks when they sell guns, dope, drugs, and other poisons in Black oppressed communities.  They shamelessly sell Black bodies for sex as well as write and sing filthy lyrics about Black women.  These are the lacking in consciousness pons who produce the annual records of Black homicides.  Properly miseducated and infused with self-hatred, they help deliver hell on earth for Black people.  

• House Negro.  As Malcolm X described the House Negro, “His master’s pain was his pain. And it hurt him more for his master to be sick than for him to be sick himself. When the master’s house started burning down, that type of Negro would fight harder to put out the fire than the master himself would.”  

As sad/sick as the foregoing “skin-folk who ain’t kin folk” might be, it is very important to remember that, as with the House Negro, they are the minority of Black folk regardless of how conspicuous they might be.  As Malcolm X noted, “…the field Negroes were the masses. They were in the majority. When the master got sick, they prayed that he’d die. If his house caught on fire, they'd pray for a wind to come along and fan the breeze.”  Today, the masses of Blacks know for certain that Trump must go and will vote for him to do so!  Therefore, one is left to wonder how a few outlying “skin-folk” got so confused about whether to vote for Trump.”

It might well be that we are in the presence of the “Jonestown Effect,” a situation in which [1] cult members got drawn into a universe of “alternative facts,” habitual lying (18,000 by Trump since he took office), and, for various reasons, [2] these confused souls “drank the Kool Aid” poured in the form of “What have you got to lose?”  Once they drank from the poisonous cup, 2+2 no longer equaled 4 and racism, however blatantly expressed, was not racism.  Lost and confused, truly bamboozled, the following bizarre thinking occurred.  

• Trump could not have had me in mind when he derided people from “shit hole countries.”  

• It was not racism when, in 1989, Trump paid about $100,000 for ads calling for the execution of the innocent “Central Park Five.”  

• There is nothing racist about Trump’s “birther” attacks on President Barack Obama or Trump’s recent refusal to hold a ceremony for hanging President Obama’s portrait in the White House.  

• When Trump’s spewed racist phlegm regarding Hispanic immigrants being rapists and murders, he was just engaged in “campaign rhetoric” and he most certainly did not believe the same things about African and Caribbean immigrants.

• Trump was simply being objective, not racist, when he claimed there were some “very nice people” among the White Nationalists who ran amuck in Charlottesville.  He was telling the truth when he said he did not know the White supremacist leader David Duke who endorsed him.

• Although he initially called Coronavirus a hoax, delayed action steps, and said nothing the day we reached  100,000 American deaths, including disproportionate numbers of Blacks, Trump cares more about the loss of human life than the economy.    

• Trump is not attempting to stifle the Black vote by attacking the use of absentee ballots.  He is just trying to make America great again by preserving democracy.

• Trump is simply being respectful given that he tweets profusely but said nothing to condemn a policeman who kneeled on a Black man’s neck until he died.

• Trump might be a little homophobic, xenophobic, and misogynistic but he is not racist. 

The miniscule number of “skin-folk” who might be figuring out whether to vote for Trump could resolve their dilemma by recalling that chickens don’t deliberate whether to not only permit the fox to guard but also take up residence in the hen house.  If this common sense does not register, then recall the indecisiveness of those minorities who wondered whether to support Adolf Hitler as he rose to power.  As for one who would use the Black masses to help replace Trump, remember “there’s many a slip twixt the cup and the lip” and, therefore, “don’t count your chickens before they hatch!”

Jack L. Daniel

Co-founder, Freed Panther Society

Contributor, Pittsburgh Urban Media

Author, Negotiating a Historically White University While Black

May 29, 2020

  Displaying extraordinary demeanor, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson transcended the vile, duplicitous Senate Republicans’ “sunken place,” a place in American society created by systemic racism and within which Black folks as well as others are abused. Within “sunken places,” Black women are marginalized, trivialized, and belittled in the most insensitive ways. To appreciate just how ludicrous Republican Senators were while holding Judge Jackson captive, consider a few of the ridiculous questions with which they grilled her.

· “On a scale of 1 to 10, how faithful would you say you are in terms of religion?” “Do you attend church regularly?” -Senator Lindsey Graham

· “Can you provide a definition for the word ‘woman’?”  “So, what personal hidden agendas do you harbor or do you think other judges harbor?” - Senator Marsha Blackburn 

· “Do you agree with this book that is being taught with kids that babies are racist?” – Senator Ted Cruz 

· “Do you think we should catch and imprison more murderers or fewer murderers?” -Senator Tom Cotton

The foregoing and other such questions constituted a shameful throwback to the Jim Crow era during which Blacks were unable to vote because they could not guess the number of jelly beans in a jar. 

Not to be outdone by his White Republican Senate ogres, the melanated Republican Senator Tim Scott stated, “It is clear that Judge Jackson’s judicial philosophy and positions on the defining issues of our time make her the wrong choice for the Supreme Court.” One is left to wonder how many pieces of silver are required to purchase such remarks. 

Within the Senate’s judicial “sunken place,” Republicans persisted with their ill-founded attacks despite the fact that Judge Jackson received endorsements from groups such as the [1] International Association of Chiefs of Police; [2] National Fraternal Order of Police; [3] American Bar Association; [4] Cuban American Bar Association; [5] three-million-member National Education Association; [6] 145 Black Chambers of Commerce; [7] National NAACP; [8] National Urban League; [9] Checks and Balances, a group of conservative judges; and [10] group of former Supreme Court Clerks who wrote, “We hold diverse points of view on politics, judicial philosophy, and much else. Yet we all support Judge Jackson's nomination to the Supreme Court, because we know her to be eminently qualified for this role in intellect, character, and experience."

As the buzzards circled Judge Jackson, hoping for a carcass, Judge Jackson might have been reminded of the distinguished former First Lady Michelle Obama’s articulation of her family’s motto, i.e., “When they go low, we go high!” Fortunately, Judge Jackson had what it took to “go high” as Republicans tried to drag her “low.” She “went high” by making use of her extraordinary intelligence, core values, Job-like patience, unprecedented professional experiences, and profound wisdom. 

Judge Jackson is what her West African name Ketanji Onyika signifies. She is the “Lovely One” who resides “…In a country where African men and women were once forced to change their names by slave owners, and where having an African-sounding name can still hurt your chances of landing a job…” (Ifeoma Ajunwa, March 24, 2022). She wore her symbolic Crown (Sisterlocks) long before the passing of the 2022 CROWN Act (Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair and preventing discrimination based on hair styles). Now, notwithstanding the lowest of low antics displayed by Republican Senators, she has been appropriately crowned as a Supreme Court Justice! As such, she is a testament to the following words of Maya Angelou. 

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I’ll rise.

…Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I’ll rise.

…You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise.

…Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave…

In the poetic spirit articulated by Amanda Gorman, such is nature of The Hill We Climb. Finally, using the words of James Baldwin, I say, “Judge Jackson, ‘Your crown has been bought and paid for. All you must do is put it on.’” 

Jack L. Daniel

Co-founder, Freed Panther Society

Contributor, Pittsburgh Urban Media

Author, Negotiating a Historically White University While Black

April 7, 2022

.

 To be woke is to be alert to injustice and discrimination in society, especially racism. Not to be woke is to be distracted regarding the active, virulent nature of discrimination is society. In the latter condition, people find themselves participating in what former President Obama referenced as a “silly season,” i.e., a period when media hype about less important events is used to distract from major societal issues. At the moment, we are in the midst of a “silly season” stimulated by the slapping of Chris Rock by Will Smith. Consider, for example, the misguided statements by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar wrote, “When Will Smith stormed onto the Oscar stage to strike Chris Rock for making a joke about his wife’s short hair, he did a lot more damage than just to Rock’s face. With a single petulant blow, he advocated violence, diminished women, insulted the entertainment industry, and perpetuated stereotypes about the Black community…”  In my opinion, Abdul-Jabbar signaled the nature of the current “silly season” when he proffered that  a “petulant blow,” a single, temperamental, childish act could [1] advocate violence, [2] diminish women, [3] insult the entertainment industry, and [4] perpetuate stereotypes about the Black community. 

Many people used social media to echo Abdul-Jabbar’s remark regarding the Will Smith slap having perpetuated stereotypes regarding violence in the Black community. In doing so, they mistakenly reinforced one of the worst dynamics of systemic racism, e.g., attributing something negative to the Black collective because of something done by a single Black individual but not doing the reverse. Thus, for example, a Black student expelled from college for academic reasons is said to reinforce the racist notion of Black intellectual inferiority. On the other hand, thousands of Black college students graduating magna cum laude hardly make a dent in the intellectual inferiority myth. 

During the current Will Smith induced “silly season,” many people indicated that somehow Will Smith “diminished women.” Such misguided people have  truly been “slapped silly,” lulled to sleep, if they believe that Will Smith’s slap diminished women more than things such as [1] the filthy words and deeds of former President Trump; [2] the despicable crimes of Harvey Weinstein; [3]  the detestable crimes of Jeffrey Epstein; and, related to the Oscar venue, [4] the disgraceful history of women as portrayed in Hollywood films. See for example, Representations of Black Women In Hollywood. Representations of Black Women in Hollywood - See Jane

Folks have had their brains scrambled if they really believe that, when it comes to the daily violence in the Black community, we must take steps to ensure that a Will Smith never again slaps a Chris Rock during a “dignified” event instead of focusing on the systemic factors that contribute to the flooding of many urban Black communities with guns, dope, and preventable diseases.  It is truly “silly season” when masses of people turn their attention away from facts such as gun violence being up 25% in places such as Baltimore and, instead, debate ad nauseum the significance of the “violence” associated with Will Smith’s slap. We should not be in a “silly season” during which, even momentarily, we forget that we live in a society where “violence” against Blacks includes horrendous acts such as a White policeman murdering a Black man by kneeling on his neck for approximately 8 minutes; a Black woman being shot by a police officer while she is sleeping; or a White police woman killing a Black man when she confused her Taser for a gun! 

Woke folks understand that it took until March 2022 to get the Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act passed, i.e., a federal law that enables the prosecution of crimes as lynchings if they are committed during a hate crime in which the victim is injured or killed. On the other hand, a Will Smith induced “silly season” draws attention away from the fact that more than 6000 Blacks have been lynched in America and it took centuries to enact the Emmet Till Bill There have been more than 6,400 lynchings since the end of the Civil War, new study reveals | TheHill

Before saying/writing/texting/tweeting another “silly season” thing about the Will Smith slap, please keep in mind facts such as the following: [1] As of this writing, Historically Black Colleges and Universities have received so many bomb threats that the Biden-⁠Harris Administration had to provide intervention resources. [2] Over the past two years, the Covid Pandemic has wreaked havoc on Black communities (See THE STATE OF BLACK AMERICA AND COVID-19 A TWO-YEAR ASSESSMENT). [3] In some places, The Black Homeownership Rate Is Now Lower Than It Was A Decade Ago (See, article by Anna Bahney, CNN Business February 25, 2022). [4] American women are diminished by employers who pay them a fraction of what they pay men, particularly White men. [5] Across the nation, public schools are under attack by ill-informed, ill-advised, ignorant folks who don’t understand “critical,” “race,” or “theory.” 

In sum, do understand that America is one of the most violent countries in the world because of things such as people with weapons of mass destruction engaging in school shootings, not because of a “petulant slap” during an event for “one percenters.”

Jack L. Daniel

Co-founder, Freed Panther Society

Contributor, Pittsburgh Urban Media

Author, Negotiating a Historically White University While Black

March 31, 2022