Do the Right Thing

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OP-ED:

Black Businesses Deserve a Place in the Economic Opportunities Created by the NFL Draft

By William B. Marshall, Stop the Violence Pittsburgh

In April, more than 500,000 people are expected to come to Pittsburgh for the 2026 NFL Draft. The event is projected to generate between $120 million and $213 million in economic impact for our region. Hotels will be full. Restaurants will be busy. Corporations will make money. The NFL will make money. The city will benefit from national attention and economic activity.

The question is simple: Will Black businesses in Pittsburgh be allowed to participate in the economic opportunities created in our own city?

I am speaking on behalf of more than 100 Black business owners in Pittsburgh who have been trying to participate in vendor opportunities, small business events, and economic activities connected to the NFL Draft. Many of these businesses are local entrepreneurs, small business owners, and community leaders who have invested in this city for years. 

Yet many of us have found ourselves locked out of meaningful economic participation tied to one of the largest events Pittsburgh has ever hosted.

This issue cannot be separated from the broader economic reality facing many Black residents and Black business owners in Pittsburgh. For decades, Black communities in Pittsburgh have faced economic disparities, barriers to business development, lack of access to capital, and the loss of Black-owned businesses and business districts due to development and urban renewal projects. 

Access to contracts, vendor opportunities, and business participation is not just about making money during one weekend. It is about building businesses, creating jobs, building generational wealth, and investing back into our communities. That is why access to economic opportunities tied to major events like the NFL Draft matters so much.

I proposed an event called the Pittsburgh Draft Bash Small Business Showcase, which would have provided space for Black-owned businesses to sell products, promote services, and participate in the economic activity surrounding the Draft. Instead of receiving a clear approval or denial, the permit process has stalled while time continues to run out before the event.

This issue is bigger than one event or one permit. This is about economic inclusion, economic justice, and whether Black businesses are going to be allowed to participate in the economic opportunities that come into our city when major events are hosted here.

The NFL benefits from Black talent on the field, Black fans in the stands, and Black consumer spending across the country. Cities like Pittsburgh provide public infrastructure, public safety, and public resources to host these events. When hundreds of millions of dollars are generated, Black businesses should not be standing on the sidelines watching everyone else profit in our own city.

If Black talent helps build the NFL, Black fans help fund the NFL, and Black cities host NFL events, then Black businesses must be included in the economic opportunities created by the NFL.

We are not asking for favors. We are asking for fair access. We are asking for transparency. We are asking for equitable participation. We are asking for the NFL and the City of Pittsburgh to release the numbers on how many Black-owned businesses are participating in Draft-related contracts, vendor opportunities, and economic activities. If there is nothing to hide, then release the numbers.

Economic opportunity is a civil rights issue in 2026. Access to contracts, vendor opportunities, and business participation is how communities build wealth, create jobs, and strengthen neighborhoods. When Black businesses are excluded from major economic opportunities tied to publicly supported events, it raises serious questions about equity and access in our city.

This is not just about the NFL Draft. This is about the future of economic inclusion in Pittsburgh. Every time a major event comes to our city, the same question should be asked: Who benefits, and who is left out?

Black businesses are not asking to be given anything. We are asking to be included in the economic opportunities that come into our city. We are asking for transparency, fairness, and access.

Because economic opportunity should not depend on who you know, who you are connected to, or what neighborhood you come from. Economic opportunity should be available to everyone in the city that is hosting the event.

If Pittsburgh is going to grow, then everyone must have a chance to grow with it.

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Coalition of Black Business Owners, Civil Rights Attorneys, and Community Leaders Demand Economic Inclusion and Transparency at NFL Draft 

Please be advised that B. Marshall of Stop the Violence Pittsburgh, civil rights attorney Nekima Levy Armstrong, founder of the Racial Justice Network and co-founder of the National Target Boycott, and attorneys Steven Barth and Turahn Jenkins, who represent the Marshalls, will hold a joint press conference regarding economic exclusion and lack of equitable business opportunities for Black-owned businesses related to the 2026 NFL Draft in Pittsburgh.

Press Conference Details:
Date: Monday, March 30, 2026
Time: 11:00 AM
Location: North Shore near Acrisure Stadium, Pittsburgh, PA 15212
Hosted by: Stop the Violence Pittsburgh and the Racial Justice Network
Speakers: B. Marshall; Nekima Levy Armstrong; Attorney Steven Barth; Attorney Turahn Jenkins; Black business owners; and a coalition of clergy, labor representatives, political leaders, and community organizations.

Pittsburgh, PA — March 26, 2026 — With more than 500,000 visitors expected to come to Pittsburgh for the 2026 NFL Draft and an estimated economic impact between $120 million and $213 million, a coalition of Black business owners, civil rights attorneys, and community leaders is raising concerns about the lack of equitable economic opportunities for Black-owned businesses connected to the event.

Organizers say many Black-owned businesses have been denied meaningful opportunities to participate in vendor events, Downtown business activities, and Draft-related economic programming tied to the event.

B. Marshall, founder of Stop the Violence Pittsburgh, proposed a Downtown event known as the Pittsburgh Draft Bash Small Business Showcase, which would have created space for over 100 Black-owned businesses to sell products, promote services, and participate in the economic activity surrounding the Draft. According to Marshall, the permitting process for the event has stalled and no formal written approval or denial has been issued as the Draft approaches.

“The NFL benefits from Black talent on the field, Black fans in the stands, and Black consumer spending across the country,” said Marshall. “If Black talent helps build the NFL, Black fans help fund the NFL, and Black cities host NFL events, then Black businesses must be included in the economic opportunities created by the NFL.”

Civil rights attorney Nekima Levy Armstrong stated that the issue raises civil rights and economic justice concerns.

“Economic opportunity is a civil rights issue. When major events generate hundreds of millions of dollars in a city and Black businesses are excluded from meaningful participation, it raises fundamental questions about equity, access, and fairness,” said Levy Armstrong.

Organizers are calling for full transparency regarding Draft-related vendor opportunities, procurement contracts, Downtown event spaces, and the number of Black-owned businesses that have been approved to participate in Draft-related economic activities through the NFL and the City of Pittsburgh.

“If there is nothing to hide, then release the numbers on Black business participation,” Marshall said.

Attorney Steven Barth, legal counsel for the Marshalls, stated that the legal team is reviewing the situation.

“We are investigating discrimination claims as well as any civil rights violations that may have happened in this situation against Mr. and Mrs. Marshall, their company and the hundreds of local Black owned businesses. We need to understand why these permits have not been granted and if they are being denied. We also need to know the ‘why’ on all these decisions,” said Barth.

Attorney Turahn Jenkins stated that the situation raises concerns about fairness and equal opportunity.

“The economic opportunities that come from the NFL Draft taking place in the City of Pittsburgh should be available to all business owners, and we will diligently investigate these claims to bring light to this situation,” said Jenkins.

Organizers are calling for the following actions from the National Football League and the City of Pittsburgh:

●  Public release of the number of vendors, contracts, and dollars awarded to Black and minority-owned businesses related to the 2026 NFL Draft

●  Equitable vendor and business participation opportunities for Black-owned businesses during Draft week

●  Approval or formal written response regarding the Pittsburgh Draft Bash Small Business Showcase proposal

●  Transparency in procurement, vendor selection, and economic participation opportunities

“When hundreds of millions of dollars are generated in our city, Black businesses should not be excluded from the economic opportunities created in our own city,” Marshall said.

PittsburghUrbanMedia.com has formally reached out to the NFL, the Steelers organization, Governor Josh Shapiro—who serves on the executive committee for the Pittsburgh NFL Draft—as well as Visit Pittsburgh, requesting official statements and clarity regarding growing concerns about vendor participation and overall inclusion.

These concerns, raised by members of the community and local stakeholders, highlight questions around equitable access, representation, and opportunities for minority-owned businesses connected to one of the city’s most high-profile events.

We are currently awaiting responses from all parties and remain committed to keeping the community informed. PUM will continue to follow this story closely and provide updates as more information becomes available.

WASHINGTON, DC – NOVEMBER 12, 2025 — Today, Congresswoman Summer L. Lee (PA-12) issued the following statement on her vote against the Republican continuing resolution that does nothing to stop healthcare costs from skyrocketing for 24 million Americans.

“After enduring the pain of the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, millions of working Americans are seeing their healthcare premiums skyrocket. This was avoidable. For weeks, House Democrats have pushed Republicans to return to the negotiating table to address this healthcare crisis of their own making and reopen the government so federal workers can receive their paychecks, benefits like SNAP can resume, and programs like Head Start and LIHEAP can continue without disruption. There is nothing in this bill that guarantees healthcare subsidies will be voted on and passed.

“The American people want a government that serves them and a Democratic party that fights for them, especially at a time when we face rising authoritarianism and overburdening costs. I could not in good faith support capitulating to false promises that will hurt people in the long run. We live in the wealthiest country on the planet and should not have to choose between healthcare over any other essential need."

Congresswoman Summer Lee serves on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the Committee on Education and Workforce. Since taking office in January 2023, she has delivered historic levels of federal investment totaling over $2.4 Billion brought back to Western PA, including over $580 million for infrastructure, over $110 million for affordable transit, over $500 million to keep clean energy manufacturing at home in Pennsylvania, and over $55 million on clean energy efforts in and around schools to help keep our kids and communities safe. These investments will help improve Western Pennsylvania’s infrastructure and transit, ensure cleaner air and drinking water, lower housing costs, fund research institutions, fuel clean manufacturing, fund STEM innovation and entrepreneurship, boost workforce development, and create thousands of good paying union jobs.  Lee and her team have also delivered casework and constituent services to over 3,000 constituents with issues ranging from helping our seniors and disabled community access Medicare and social security to helping folks secure housing and helping families with immigration support and passports.
 

Ghost guns are increasingly being confiscated by law enforcement during criminal investigations, and the House Majority Policy Committee examined the loopholes that allow criminals to purchase these untraceable weapons with no background checks.

“Today’s hearing highlighted the frustration of law enforcement to provide justice to victims of gun violence and their families,” Speaker of the House Joanna McClinton said. “Pennsylvania is behind the curve in passing legislation to address gun violence, and it highlighted the reason we need bipartisan support for these measures.”

Ghost guns are privately purchased kits that can be assembled into firearms with no traceable serial number or identifying characteristics. They do not require a background check for purchase, because kits – or firearm parts – are not considered firearms in Pennsylvania. Kits can be assembled with the use of a drill or ordinary tools, and some kits contain the drill bit needed for final assembly.

“It’s infuriating to know, as I mentioned during the judiciary committee hearing on HB 777, how quickly I could use my cellphone to purchase a ghost gun without any meaningful checks,” said meeting host Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, who represents portions of Philadelphia. “We are talking about untraceable firearms that can be assembled with ease. They are completely untraceable, and they are legal to purchase without any age requirement or background checks, and they are contributing to gun violence in all communities throughout Pennsylvania – and the nation.”  

Reps. Morgan Cephas and Kenyatta authored H.B. 777, which closes loopholes in Pennsylvania state law against the use of untraceable ghost gun parts. The bill advanced out of the House Judiciary Committee in January. The bill would make it a felony to sell a firearm or firearm parts without a serial number.

“As a responsible gunowner, it’s time for Pennsylvania to deal with these loopholes that enable criminals to arm themselves with ease,” House Majority Policy Committee Chairman Ryan Bizzarro said. “Today’s testimony highlighted that some of these proposals are backed by law enforcement, and we have a need for bipartisanship at the state level when it comes to enforcing background checks and the type of legislation responsible gun owners support.”  

Monday’s House Majority Policy hearing featured testimony from William Fritze from the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office, who serves as Gun Violence Task Force chief, and CeaseFirePA’s Executive Director Adam Garber. NOMO Foundation hosted the hearing.

Pennsylvania ranked seventh in the nation in firearm deaths (1,905) in 2021, the most recent year for statistics.

Ghost guns have been available in the U.S. since at least the 1990s, however, their popularity increased during the last 15 years as buyers circumvented California’s state law against assault weapons by purchasing ghost guns. Ghost guns made national news in 2013 following the revelation the mass shooter at Santa Monica Community College assembled his own .223 semi-automatic rifle.   

The proliferation of ghost guns followed, and Pennsylvania mirrored other states and the nation. Ghost guns represented 2% of firearms recovered in Philadelphia in 2019, but that number had increased by 311% by 2022 – with the Philadelphia Police Department seizing more than 575 ghost guns during criminal investigations.

Garber noted this is not just a Philadelphia problem, and the city has been tracking ghost guns statistics that have aided in highlighting the problem. He spotlighted the fact that the many of the guns used in crimes are being brought into the city of Philadelphia from outlying areas – and not the other way around. He also noted ghost guns on the streets are being used against law enforcement.  

When a mass shooter was cornered by law enforcement following the murder of five in Kingsessing, a neighborhood in southwest Philadelphia, he had two ghost guns. 

Information about this hearing and other House Majority Policy Committee hearings can be found at pahouse.com/policy. The livestream from the hearing can be found at https://youtube.com/live/kkd3RhD37mo. Photos to be used for publication can be found at pahouse.com/PolicyCommittee/Galleries.

Guest Commentary on Women's Equal Pay Day 2024 (March 12) from Reps. Donna Bullock, Jennifer O'Mara, and Melissa Shusterman

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal” – The Declaration of Independence

Two hundred and forty-eight years after those words were written, equality in America is still an illusion in so many ways – most notably on payday.

Sixty-one years after the federal government passed the Equal Pay Act of 1963, women in America are still left behind on payday – even after the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 tried to make things more equitable, we’re still fighting for a simple issue of fairness for all women.

It’s hard to imagine that in 2024 in the richest nation in the history of the world a woman only gets paid 84 cents for every dollar earned by a man, and it’s time to fix this problem once and for all. 

Tuesday, March 12 is Women’s Equal Pay Day – it’s how far into 2024 a woman has to work to earn the same money a man did by the end of 2023 when they both started counting on New Year’s Day 2023. 

If you think that’s bad – and it is – Black Women’s Equal Pay Day isn’t until July 9th for the 69 cents a Black woman earns compared to the average man. Mom’s Equal Pay Day? August 7th. Latina Equal Pay Day? October 3rd. 

It’s bad for women, bad for families, and bad for our economy because these women don’t have the money to spend in their communities.

This pay gap impacts women right now with reduced earnings, but the pay gap follows women for the rest of their lives. Women will have lower Social Security benefits – with a longer average lifespan – so the gap gets even bigger. 

Sure, things have gotten better, but at this rate we’re looking at roughly the year 2090 until the pay gap is closed once and for all.

Now, you might be thinking it all comes down to men working more dangerous jobs than women which have higher pay scales, but the pay gap is a reality across all professions. A recent study by the American Association of University Women compared 114 different occupations nationwide that employ at least 50,000 men and 50,000 women.

In 107 of those occupations the pay scale favored the men – even in positions where a worker’s gender was utterly meaningless like surgeon, accountant, or attorney.

As state lawmakers we’re fortunate. Our pay scale is set by law, not by gender. But you shouldn’t have to get your name on the ballot to get a fair deal on payday.

That’s why we’re the sponsors of the Pennsylvania Fair Pay for All Act – this bill addresses the pay gap and makes sure workers are paid the same wage for the same job.

Our bill, House Bill 98, would ban employers from discriminating against workers and paying them less based on their gender, race, or ethnicity. The bill would come down hard on employers cheating workers by paying them less and would create a state commission to investigate pay disparity.

It’s about fairness. It’s about equality. It’s about justice – justice for all. What America is supposed to be all about.

The bill is moving through the legislature right now – please, contact your lawmaker and ask them to support House Bill 98, the Fair Pay for All Act, because it’s time to embrace one simple fact: “We, the People” means all the people. 

Let’s close the gap!

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Donna Bullock represents the 195th Legislative District in Philadelphia and is majority chair of the House Children & Youth Committee and the House Ethics Committee.

Jennifer O’Mara represents the 165th District in Delaware County and is chair of the House Southeastern Delegation. 

Melissa Shusterman represents the 157th District in Chester County. 

Black alumni from historically White institutions are often reluctant to give to their alma maters, especially if they attended during the 1960s and several decades thereafter.  Having been in the vanguard of desegregating institutions such as the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt), many Black alumni graduated with bitter experiences regarding the “price” they paid for doing so, i.e., both the financial debt incurred as well as the racism they experienced while enrolled.  As one such Pitt Black alum stated, “For many Black students, their Pitt relationship was strictly transactional, i.e., they were at Pitt to get a degree and leave, plus Pitt was all business as opposed to trying to build meaningful relationships with Black students.”  To this day, there remains a significant number of Black alumni who say essentially, “Given all of my negative experiences at Pitt, I will never give them anything!”  

To be sure, there are significant numbers of Pitt Black alumni who do things such as exclaim “Hail to Pitt;” proudly wear Pitt paraphernalia; state publicly that they “bleed blue and gold;” mentor Pitt students; work as Pitt volunteers for public service; and, in many ways, freely give  of their time, talents and tithes to Pitt.  Some of their financial gifts to Pitt have ranged from thousands to millions of dollars!  Currently, seven Black alumni serve on Pitt’s Board of Trustees.  To be equally sure, however, these supporters are the minority of the more than 15,000 Pitt Black alumni.  Nevertheless, for the following reasons, it is held herein that the vast majority of Pitt Black alumni should give of their time, talents, and tithes to Pitt.  

First and foremost, beware the “tyranny of words.”  Albeit that Pitt is disproportionately populated and managed by White people, Pitt is not a “White” place, a place owned by and for Whites.  Rather, Pitt is a place for all Pennsylvania residents as well as those beyond Pennsylvania borders.  Moreover, we must never forget that “A place belongs forever to whoever claims it hardest, remembers it most obsessively, wrenches it from itself, shapes it, renders it, loves it so radically that he remakes it in his image…”  (Joan Didion, The White Album, page 146).  Accordingly, Black alumni must make Pitt their place by claiming, remembering, and shaping Pitt which happens to be the number 1 public university in the northeast; is ranked number 23 on the U.S. News & World Report's 2022 list of Top Public Schools in the nation; offers 652 degrees and certificates; and contributes $5.2 billion to communities throughout Pennsylvania (see About | University of Pittsburgh).  

In 2022, Pitt surpassed $1 billion in research-based expenditures.  (See Pitt’s $1B in research funding puts it among ‘elite group of American universities’ | University Times | University of Pittsburgh).  More recently, “The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities named Pitt as the winner of the 2023 C. Peter Magrath Community Engagement Scholarship Award …” (See Pitt wins prestigious community engagement award - The Pitt News).   

Given its profound regional, national, and international impact, when it comes to facilitating equity and social justice for all, Pitt is “worth its weight in gold!”  In this context, we must realize that what Malcolm X stated in 1964 is true in 2024, “Education is an important element in the struggle for human rights. It is the means to help our children and our people rediscover their identity, and thereby increase their self-respect. Education is our passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs only to the people who prepare for it today.”   

The value of a Pitt education as a passport has been demonstrated by the plethora of Black alumni who have become distinguished authors, dentists, educators, elected government officials, engineers, entrepreneurs, lawyers, members of the clergy, nurses, pharmacists, physicians, professional athletes, public health practitioners, public and international affairs practitioners, social workers, and university senior administrators.  Pitt Black alumni are among those who have won a Rhodes Scholarship, Truman Scholarship, Nobel Peace Prize, Olympic Gold Medal, National Book Award, and a MacArthur Genius Grant.  They have received the highest recognition in professional associations; served in Congress and State legislative bodies; and can be found, via civic organizations, “lifting as they climb” throughout America.  

In the “testifying tradition” of “old-school Black churches,” it is worth noting that this author was admitted to Pitt Johnstown on academic probation.  Subsequently, he was fortunate to earn a baccalaureate degree in 2 and 2/3 years, and thereafter a doctorate by age 26; served as a Pitt Department Chair, Dean, and Professor; and, after a several decades career at Pitt, retired as a Distinguished Service Professor and Vice Provost Emeritus.  

Given its potential to be a great facilitator of equity and social justice, now is the time for Pitt Black alumni to “pay it forward;” to help Pitt remain a place where “reinvention never stops” by giving of their time, talent and tithes to Pitt; and, as one Pitt Black alum states, now is the time to “be a fountain, not a drain!”  The following are a few ways of doing so.

·  Become an active member of the African American Alunni Council;

·  Become a member of the Pitt Alumni Association;

·  Donate to the African American Alumni Scholarship Fund;

·  Endow a scholarship;

·  Mentor currently enrolled students;

·  Network with other alumni;

·  Provide internships for students;

·  Recruit undergraduate, professional and graduate school students;

·  Return to Pitt in professional capacities; and

·  Serve on Pitt Boards of Visitors and/or the Pitt Board of Trustees.

If Pitt is to become the equitable and just institution it should become, then Black alumni must be among those who work the hardest to [1] get more Black students enrolled and graduated from Pitt; [2] have more Blacks hired on all four Pitt Campuses; and [3] help extend Pitt’s engagement with the Black community throughout the Commonwealth. We must help continue the process of remaking the University’s degree, certificate, and research programs into ones that include addressing systemic racism and its concomitant social determinants of adverse conditions for Blacks.  We must make the African American Alumni Council the largest, most influential such alumni group in America.  

No matter what Pitt has been and currently happens to be in terms of racial composition, Black alumni must play significant roles in making Pitt a world-class University where, collectively, we never stop “pushing the edge of what’s possible” in the pursuit of equity and social justice.  In doing so, Pitt Black alumni should heed the advice President Obama gave to 2012 Barnard College graduates, i.e., “My first piece of advice is this:  Don’t just get involved.  Fight for your seat at the table.  Better yet, fight for a seat at the head of the table.”  

In the Pitt context, recall that 55 years ago, on January 15th, Pitt Black students put their academic careers and indeed their lives on the line when they took over the Pitt Computer Center; issued as well as had their demands met; and made a key contribution to what followed programmatically for Blacks at Pitt.  Those who subsequently crossed over that “sturdy Black bridge” can serve as bridge builders of today by giving of their time, talents, and tithes to Pitt.  Moreover, as Isabel Wilkerson told Occidental College graduates in 2023, “If our ancestors could do what they did, with so much less than we have been given, then there’s nothing that we cannot do in our day.”  

Jack L. Daniel

Co-founder, Freed Panther Society

Contributor, Pittsburgh Urban Media

Author, Negotiating a Historically  White University While Black

January 25, 2024  

Black American women have been so abused that in her classic work, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora N. Hurston wrote, “Black women are the mules of the earth,” i.e., “Based in popular culture, the black female iconography has been the saviors, cooks, cleaners, caretakers of their children and other people’s children, the ones responsible for making things better that we didn’t mess up in the first place, the sex objects, superheroes, the magical negro, the ones that are everything to everyone while operating under a public gaze that has constructed this superhuman stereotype…” (March 2, 2018 Creative Writing https://nilelivingston.com/black-women-are-the-mules-of-the-earth/).  

With Claudine Gay’s resignation as Harvard University’s President, a Black woman became the poster child for attacking diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in higher education.  To accomplish this political feat, an okey doke/bit of “tricknology” was put in play.  More specifically, the Gay-related dustup began with how Gay did or did not address antisemitism at Harvard.  Then it became a gigantic storm fueled by charges of plagiarism on her part.  However, the actual end in view was to use Gay as cannon fodder in a vicious attack on DEI.  In sum, heavily financed, ultra-right conservatives maintain that things are so egregious in American higher education that one of America’s leading institutions appointed their President for politically correct DEI reasons rather than her scholarly and administrative abilities.  

As indicated in a January 5, 2024 (p.1) Wall Street Journal article, “The management philosophy known as DEI which had gathered momentum since 2020, has been under siege over the past year amid a collision of legal, economic, and geopolitical forces.”  In the immediate instance involving Gay, Reverend Al Sharpton stated, "President Gay’s resignation is about more than a person or a single incident,  …This is an attack on every Black woman in this country who’s put a crack in the glass ceiling. It’s an assault on the health, strength, and future of diversity, equity, and inclusion – at a time when Corporate America is trying to back out of billions of dollars in commitments. Most of all, this was the result of Bill Ackman’s relentless campaign against President Gay, not because of her leadership or credentials but because he felt she was a DEI hire."  (See, “Al Sharpton targets Harvard alum Bill Ackman over criticism of school's ex-president, DEI” by Breck Dumas, January 4, 2024).   

Gay happens to be a Black woman, but the use of Gay to attack DEI is really an attack on Blacks in general as well as others who are putting cracks in glass ceilings.  Gay serves as a point of attack for equity and social justice enemies because of the possibility that, enroute to becoming President of Harvard, a despicable form of DEI might have been in play.  For example, as stated in a Harvard Crimson editorial, “Reporting by several organizations has leveled more than a dozen plagiarism allegations against her work, primarily concerning her PhD dissertation and two of her 11 published journal articles.  The allegations mostly occur in passages summarizing technical methods. They include missing quotation marks around others’ language, incomplete attribution of few-word phrases, and, in a handful of cases, copying multiple-sentence passages nearly verbatim from other authors…  Like the issue of antisemitism on campus, Gay’s academic misconduct deserves serious discussion. Instead, like the issue of antisemitism on campus, it has been deployed by conservative activists as a trojan horse to further their all-out assault on higher education…”  President Gay Plagiarized, but She Should Stay. For Now. | Opinion | The Harvard Crimson (thecrimson.com)  It is the reference to a “trojan horse” that is of fundamental concern herein.

Given Harvard’s claim to quintessential excellence in academia, Gay’s 11 published journal articles are a bit thin for a positive tenure decision at many top institutions.  Add more than 40 examples of alleged plagiarism to that fact (See Maureen Farrell and Rob Copeland in the New York Times, January 6, 2024), and a stench is cast upon her rapid professional progression from Stanford to Harvard.  In any event, a second January 5, 2024 Wall Street Journalarticle (p.1) plainly clarifies the okey doke that is in play, i.e., the headline reads “Harvard Crisis Signals Broader Fight Over Colleges.”  The opening sentences state, “On its face, the resignation Tuesday of Claudine Gay, Harvard’s first Black president, was a direct response to mounting allegations of plagiarism.  Yet, even before those accusations emerged—and before Gay attracted sharp criticism of her testimony at a congressional hearing on antisemitism on college campuses—Gay was at the center of a raging debate on the Harvard campus over a much bigger question: what a university should be…”  

In particular, Gay’s resignation serves as a 2024 opening salvo in the war against equity and social justice in higher education.  It comes in the context of the Supreme Court’s adverse affirmative action decision as well as in the midst of Florida and Texas Legislatures banning DEI initiatives on campuses.  Indeed, Gay’s resignation might merely be the tip of the anti-equity and social justice iceberg in higher education.  Other signs of what might be below the surface include, [1] a rapid decline in the hiring of DEI officers; [2] a significant increase in DEI officer resignations; [3] increased reticence and/or old-fashioned benign neglect when it comes to college administrators addressing equity and social justice matters; and, of great importance,  [4] steep declines in Black student enrollment as well as the hiring of Black professionals.  

To be sure, the DEI well has been poisoned.  For example, regarding the inclusion and belonging aspects of DEI, before the next new Black university administrator, faculty, or staff member is on campus, the question will already have been raised related to the possibility of them being a DEI as opposed to a meritorious hire and, in turn, grounds will have been set for a failed White candidate to file a law suit.  Truly, Black university hires will still have to be “twice if not thrice as good as Whites” just as “a woman still has to be twice as good as a man in order to get half as far.”

Jack L. Daniel

Co-founder, Freed Panther Society

Contributor, Pittsburgh Urban Media

Author, Negotiating a Historically White University While Black

January 7, 2024

 Across the nation, most institutions of higher education celebrate various diversity, equity and inclusion months. For example, the University of Pittsburgh celebrates [1] Black History Month; [2] Latinx and Hispanic Heritage Month; [3] National Disability Employment Awareness Month; [4] Women’s History Month; [5] LGBTQIA+Pride Month; and [6] Native American Heritage Month. 

Harvard University celebrates [1] Black History month; [2] Women’s History Month; [3] Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Month; [4] Pride Month; [5] Disability Pride Month; [6] Latinx Heritage Month; [7] LGBTQ+ History Month; and [8] Native American Heritage Month.

The University of Buffalo celebrates many of the above months but also months such as Arab-American Month, Jewish American Heritage Month, and National Disability Employment Awareness Month. Indeed, given that various “diversity, equity and social justice calendars” list over 50 such months, there might not be an accredited institution of higher education that does not celebrate some of the months noted above.

Notwithstanding their educational value, ironically the foregoing diversity, equity and inclusion months could be problematic in terms of advancing the equity and social justice movement. Consider, for example, what happens during Black History Month on some historically White institutions of higher education campuses. During the month, students, faculty, staff and administrators justifiably take pride in their first Blacks to hold various staff, faculty administrative positions as well as the remarkable achievements of Black students in academia and athletics. Festive events take place during which people receive distinguished awards for their contributions to diversity, equity, inclusion and social justice. 

Quite often, senior White administrators and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officers make pronouncements regarding the significance of Blacks’ contributions to their respective institutions and the larger society. 

Notwithstanding the fact that Black History Month is a significant campus commemorative event, it could ultimately be just a “Feel Good Month,” a moment that fades into a memory, and, of great importance, a month of activities that don’t significantly advance the equity and social justice movement on campus! 

More specifically, after a 2023 month of Black history on campuses across the nation, when we get to February 2024, the vast majority of historically White colleges and universities probably will not have made statistically significant gains in [1] Black student enrollment, retention, and graduation across the various fields of study; [2] the number of full-time tenure stream Black faculty; [3] the number of senior Black administrators and staff; [4] academic programs and research related to the African Diaspora; and [5] the number of Black owned and operated companies that have contracts with the given institution of higher education. Indeed, by 2024, there might have been setbacks in the foregoing categories and, if one is not careful, the Black History Month celebration might simply become an annual pacifier, an annual ritual that helps systemic/structural racism on campus endure another year.

At my alma mater, for example, we annually pay tribute to the Honorable K. Leroy Irvis, the first Black Pennsylvania Speaker of the House who did much to save Pitt when it was in financial distress. However, as we celebrate Mr. Irvis, we must not lose sight of the fact that Mr. Irvis became Speaker of the House in 1977 and it was another 46 years before Representative Joanna McClinton was elected as the first Black woman Speaker of Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives! 

During the 2023 Black History Month celebration, my alma mater appropriately celebrated Dr. Donald M. Henderson who was the first and only Black Provost at Pitt. However, the celebration of this historical figure should not cause us to lose sight of the fact that, for centuries, all but one Provost have been White and, since Henderson’s time in office, there have been only Whites to serve as Interim or Provost, i.e., a White male Interim Provost, a White male Provost, and two White women Provosts.  

During my personal and professional interactions with Henderson, he had ongoing concerns with the well-being of Black athletes. Hence, the celebration of Henderson’s contributions might be followed by purposeful interventions to improve the currently unacceptable academic experiences of Black as well as other student athletes. Because he was the chief academic officer, with all deliberate speed, there should be timely interventions regarding the fact that Pitt has only one Black Dean and, for centuries, has never had a Black Chancellor!

In sum, it is essential that Black History month on historically White institutions of higher education be a “Sankofa” not simply a “feel good” month-long moment. It should be a moment to look back at from whence we came, note significant achievements, and, most importantly, use history to instruct what must be done today to advance the equity and social justice movement. 

At the end of every Black History month, equity and social justice workers should forge an updated agenda in keeping with former Congressman John Lewis’ advice, i.e., “Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month, or a year, it is the struggle of a lifetime. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble." And they should do so keeping in mind this observation from Ms. Amanda Gorman’s Inaugural poem, “For while we have our eyes on the future, history has its eyes on us.” If we do not act accordingly, we will be left with a “feel good” month-long moment while the “powers that be” have 12 months to intentionally or unintentionally perpetuate the status quo that changes at a snail-like pace.

Jack L. Daniel

Co-founder, Freed Panther Society

Contributor, Pittsburgh Urban Media

Author, Negotiating a Historically White University While Black

March 2, 2023

As the term is used by the International Criminal Court, crimes against humanity include things such as murder; extermination; enslavement; deportation; imprisonment; torture; rape; persecutions on political, racial and religious grounds; and other inhumane acts.  During the February 18, 2023 Munich Security Conference, Vice President Kamala Harris made such charges against Russia and the February 18, 2023 Washington Post reported as follows:  “’In the case of Russia’s actions in Ukraine, we have examined the evidence, we know the legal standards, and there is no doubt: These are crimes against humanity,’  Vice President Harris told diplomatic, intelligence and defense leaders at the Munich Security Conference in Germany on Saturday.   …In her speech, Harris referred specifically to the airstrike on a maternity hospital in Mariupol in March and to atrocities in Bucha, the Kyiv suburb where Russian occupying forces left hundreds of bodies — some mutilated or sexually abused — in their wake.”

To the extent that Russia has engaged in the above activities presented by Vice President Harris, it has indeed committed crimes against humanity during its war against Ukraine.  However, before Americans get too righteous regarding crimes against humanity, perhaps we should be mindful of the biblical admonition, “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone” (John 8:7).  

Lest we conveniently  forget, America is guilty of the following crimes against humanity:  [1] murdering millions of indigenous people, stealing their land, and putting their survivors on reservations; [2] reducing millions of  Africans to chattel slaves and, for more than 400 years, continuing to subject Black Americans to systemic racism; and [3] dropping nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing hundreds of thousands of people.  As such, before taking Russia before an international tribunal, America would do well to revisit Malcolm X’s recommendation to have America tried for crimes against humanity.  

Regarding Malcolm X’s accusation of American crimes against humanity, an article in the New York Amsterdam News (May 18, 2022) reads as follows:  “’As long as these injustices are labeled by us as civil rights this remains a domestic issue and none of our people from abroad, because of protocol, can be involved in Uncle Sam’s domestic problems,’ Malcolm X noted during a June 25, 1964 interview on Boston radio. ‘So all the civil rights groups have to do is expand the struggle from civil rights to human rights. And once it’s expanded to the level of human rights then this puts us in the position to charge the U.S. with violating the U.N. charter on human rights.’”  

Given that [1] America’s crimes against Black humanity began long before Russia’s war against Ukraine; [2] America’s crimes against indigenous people as well as enslaved Africans have yet to be equitably and justly addressed; and, [3] America continues to commit crimes against humanity by embracing a society based on systemic patriarchy, misogyny, homophobia, xenophobia, as well as educational, economic, health and political disparities, perhaps America is the next nation that should be tried for crimes against humanity.  

Something is very wrong with a country that has the ignominious distinction of leading in individual gun ownership and mass murders but key government officials not only refuse to implement gun control but it is also the case that the Republican-controlled Missouri House of Representatives blocked proposed legislation to ban children from being able to openly carry firearms (See Washington Post, February 9, 2023).  

Things have gone severely wrong when, enabled by the Supreme Court, a State forces a woman to carry a headless fetus to term (See, Kylie Cheung, August 16, 2022).  How much lower can one officially sink than in Florida and Virginia where politicians seek, by law, to determine what girls’ menstrual records must be made available to whom.  

What greater shame to the “leading example of democracy” than the fact that Congress refuses to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act or the Voting Rights Amendment Act?  Isn’t it a crime against humanity when state and national politicians do all they can to deny the right to vote based on class, gender, and race?

Given its tolerance for the daily death dealing mayhem throughout its urban war zones; an essentially caste social system; an educational system so flawed that it can be equated with a prison pipeline;  a health care and judicial system inappropriately impacted by income; and rampant racism that results if deaths, how dare America attempt a bit of bamboozlement that would have us focus on Russian crimes against humanity and ignore the foul-smelling criminal albatross hanging around America’s neck?

Jack L. Daniel

Co-founder, Freed Panther Society

Contributor, Pittsburgh Urban Media

Author, Negotiating a Historically White University While Black

February 20, 2023

 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

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

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

In my September 9, 2022, University Times letter to the editor, I wrote, “From 1969 through 2022, Pitt senior administrators have stated strongly their commitments to addressing the University’s equity and social justice needs related to Blacks. Notwithstanding the stated commitments, in 1969 Pitt had one Black dean (Lawrence Howard of the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs) and, in 2022, Pitt has only one Black dean (Valerie Kinloch of the School of Education…” With Dean Valerie Kinloch having accepted an appointment as President of Johnson C. Smith, as of August 1, 2023, Pitt will have no Black Deans. I write herein to suggest that Dean Kinloch’s departure might merely be the tip of the iceberg regarding matters of concern to the Pitt Black community, possibly the sign of an impending implosion as a function of systemic racism.

My mother often advised, “bought wit is better than told.” With her advice in mind, I strongly recommend that the Pitt Board of Trustees order the Senior Officers of the University to conduct an assessment of “the state of Black affairs at Pitt” and, in turn, make recommendations for improvement.  For example, there should be a detailed analysis of such things as the retention and graduation rates of Black Bradford students, Black student athletes, and Black students in quantitatively-based fields, in particular, as well as Black students in general. 

Again, by way of examples, there should be assessments of the extent to which Pitt succeeds [1] in making use of Black-owned and operated businesses; [2] employing Black professional staff in the Athletics Department administration, in particular, and throughout the University in general; and [3] hiring Black tenured and tenure stream faculty members. For all relevant factors related to having a vibrant Black community at Pitt, there must be an assessment that determines why the rhetoric of “diversity, inclusion, and belonging” has not led to sufficient results when it comes to equity and social justice for Blacks at Pitt, and, in the case of Black Deans, a regression. In turn, there should be action recommendations to prevent yet another significant area at Pitt in which there are no Blacks or the presence is so low that it is an institutional embarrassment.

Parenthetically, regarding a deanship facilitating mobility in higher education, it is interesting to note that just as Dean Valerie Kinloch ascended from a position of Dean to President, Harvard University recently designated a Black woman, Dean Claudine Gay to serve as President of Harvard. Similarly, in 2022 a Black woman, Valerie Sheares Ashby became the President of the University of Maryland Baltimore County after having been a Dean at Duke University. 

A February 13, 2022 Inside Higher Ed article indicated, “…in the 18 months from June 2020 through November 2021, more than a third—35.4 percent—of the presidents and chancellors that American colleges and universities hired were members of racial minority groups. A full quarter (25.3 percent) were Black, an Inside Higher Ed analysis of its database of presidential appointments shows; that figure is 22.5 percent when excluding historically Black colleges and universities. Yet, at Pitt, the pattern of hiring predominantly Whites, at all levels, continues as evidenced by its most recent hires of Chancellor, Deans, and designation of interim senior administrators. 

Per the replacement of President elect Kinloch, a bit of friendly advice is offered. Before hiring an expensive search firm, at the University’s highest level, it might be beneficial to consult with Bridget Long, a Black woman who happens to be the Saris Professor of Education and Economics and Dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE). With recommendations from Dean Long and Dean Kinloch, perhaps Pitt can reverse trends and hire a Black dean of national distinction.

Jack L. Daniel, 

Co-founder, Freed Panther Society

Contributor, Pittsburgh Urban Media

Author, Negotiating a Historically White University While Black

June 23, 2023

To prohibit hair discrimination in Pennsylvania and garner support from stakeholders across the commonwealth, Rep. La’Tasha D. Mayes, D-Allegheny, and House Speaker Joanna McClinton, D-Phila./Delaware, launched the Pennsylvania CROWN Act Coalition.

This coalition will work to combat hair discrimination and educate stakeholders about the CROWN Act (H.B. 1394), in addition to advocating for the passage of the bill in Pennsylvania General Assembly.

The CROWN Act, sponsored by Mayes and McClinton, passed the House by a vote of 182-21. It would amend the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act to prohibit discrimination based on hair type, hair texture or hair style in Pennsylvania.

“Speaker McClinton and I launched the Pennsylvania CROWN Act Coalition, inspired by the national CROWN Act Coalition, to stand together to create a world that respects natural hair and enact a statewide law to ban discrimination of how our hair naturally grows out of our head,” Mayes said. “When people face hair discrimination in the workplace like here in Pittsburgh in the case of Asani Porch who has a lawsuit against Aramark for hair discrimination, in school settings like Darryl George in Texas and public accommodations, it negatively affects their health. We must pass the CROWN Act to ensure that natural hair, hair styles and hair texture are respected in our commonwealth.”

“People in other states – like Arkansas, Tennessee and Louisiana – have already secured the protections offered by the CROWN Act,” McClinton said. “Pennsylvanians deserve the same respect and dignity, whether they are student athletes or applying for a new job. The CROWN Coalition will empower people to join the chorus of voices calling to end this outdated artifact of racial discrimination.”

Those interested may join the Pennsylvania CROWN Act Coalition at pahouse.com/CROWNAct. Pennsylvanians may contact their state representative and the Senate about the CROWN Act on Mayes’ website.

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House Democrats are committed to promoting better jobs, better schools and better communities. Putting people ahead of politics, House Democrats are leading the charge to lower taxes, help workers save for retirement, put more teachers in local schools, and make communities safer. More information on these successful efforts is at pahouse.com/deliveringforpa.