“If you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough, it will be believed.”  

“By the skillful and sustained use of propaganda, 

one can make a people see even heaven as hell

or an extremely wretched life as paradise.” –Adolf Hitler-

(https://www.azquotes.com/author/6758-Adolf_Hitler/tag/propaganda)

Herein, controlling the narrative refers to purposefully presenting information in ways that significantly influence what people believe and, in turn, how they behave.  In Machiavellian terms, controlling the narrative is the cold, ruthless, selfish manipulation of others by use of tactics such as gaslighting, the use of alternative facts, promulgating propaganda, slanting the truth, and, at times outright lying.  

Quite often, a word or two in a narrative change how reality is to be perceived and acted upon.  For example, during my graduate school program, I studied the Russian language.  At that time, I was also growing in my Black consciousness and was, therefore, appalled when I translated a Russian article that discussed how Abraham Lincoln led a revolution of the proletariat --an article that never mentioned race or slavery, but focused instead on the American working class and bourgeoise.  In a worst-case scenario, as evidenced by the introductory quotations, narrative control was a key tactic Adolf Hitler used to facilitate his mass crimes against humanity. 

For centuries racists have attempted to control the narrative in ways that would justify America’s original sin, i.e., chattel slavery and its progeny.  As reported by TalkAfricana (April 20, 2025), “In the brutal world of slavery, where whips tore skin and families were auctioned, and bred like cattle, the most powerful weapon wasn’t always the lash, it was the Bible. Through sermons, laws, and redacted scripture, Christianity which was forced on Enslaved Africans, became a tool of psychological control, designed not to save their souls, but to imprison their minds and spirits. ‘Slaves, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling,’ the Bible reads in Ephesians 6:5. This verse, and others like it, wasn’t just quoted during sermons. It was weaponized. European colonists and American slaveholders used such passages as divine endorsement for slavery, a way to justify the brutal subjugation of millions…”  

After more than 400 years of promulgating false narratives to support a systemic, caste-like, homophobic, xenophobic, race-based, sexist, White male patriarchal American society, we cannot permit the benefactors to submerge the victims in a gaslit world of “alternative facts” and outright lies regarding freedom, justice, and equality.  To do so, would be tantamount to accepting a narrative whereby “justice” involves the arrest of the Mama, Papa, and Baby Brown Bears for standing their ground after an audacious, narcissistic White girl (Goldilocks} broke into their home; consumed some of their food; and destroyed some of their furniture.  

Again, by way of example regarding racist narratives, we cannot be duped by the absurd  Trump narrative that [1] seeks to justify admitting 59 White South Africans “refugees” because a “genocide” is taking place in South Africa; White farmers are being “brutally killed;” and their “land is being confiscated.”  Nor should we be confused by the narrative which asserts "We will not allow people to enter our country who wish to do us harm,” and therefore it is legitimate to (a) ban visitors from Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Libya, Somalia. Sudan, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Haiti, Iran and Yemen, and (b) place travel restrictions on people from Burundi, Sierra Leone, Togo, Cuba, Laos, Turkmenistan and Venezuela  (See https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cyvm2j32pvmo).

After a few months of rule under would be King Trump and, given how gullible some are to receiving his racist narratives, we should keep in mind Hannah Arendt’s statement, “The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the convinced Communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction (i.e., the reality of experience) and the distinction between true and false (i.e., the standards of thought) no longer exist.” (The Origins of Totalitarianism).  The facts that [1] America elected a convicted felon to “make it great again” and [2] a Republican controlled Congress has permitted him to run amuck are testaments to the foregoing truth.  

The fight for freedom, justice and equality demands that we the people vigorously oppose Trump controlling the narratives related to freedom, justice, and equality.  In doing so, we must be well-read.  As Frederick Douglass noted, “Once you learn to read, you will forever be free.”  Years later, Nobel Peace Prize winner Kofi Annan reminded us, “Literacy is a bridge from misery to hope.”  

To help fortify one’s ability to distinguish fact from fiction regarding the race-related narrative in America, the following readings are recommended: [1] Between the World and Me, Ta-Nehsi Coates; [2] I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou; [3] The Miseducation of the Negro, Carter G. Woodson; [4] Caste: The Origins of our Discontent, Isabel Wilkerson; [4] When and Where I Enter: The Impact of Black Women on Race and Sex in America, Paula Giddings;  [5] The Souls of Black Folk, W.E.B. DuBois; [6] Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe;  [7] The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House, Audre Lorde; [8] The Fire Next Time, James Baldwin; [9] Freedom Season: How 1963 Transformed America’s Civil Rights Revolution, Peniel E. Joseph,  [10] Combee (Harriet Tubman, the Combahee River Raid, and Black Freedom During the Civil War), Edda L. Fields-Black, and [11] The 1619 Project, Nikole Hannah-Jones.

In addition to being well-read, taking control of the freedom, justice and equality narrative means that we must consistently “speak truth to power, refuse to be silenced!”  We must dwell in the spirit of Brittany Lindsey’s “Yet I Speak” which was inspired by Maya Angelou’s “Still I Rise.”

“You say hush, little one, don't disrupt the peace,

Keep your troubles to yourself, let your grievances cease.

But I am not a whisper; I'm a voice, loud and clear,

I'll speak my truth, undeterred, despite your violent sneers.

…But I am not silenced by your disdain or your fear,

I'll proclaim my truth, unafraid, for all to hear.

My spirit's unbroken, my resolve will arise.

For despite your contempt, despite all your tries,

Still I speak, and still I rise.”

Jack L. Daniel

Co-founder, Freed Panther Society

Contributor, Pittsburgh Urban Media

Author, Negotiating a Historically White University While Black

June 9, 2025

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) released its annual Year in Hate & Extremism report, which chronicles trends in hard-right activity, exposes the players who are driving extremism and equips communities with data and tools to prevent radicalization.

The new report documents 1,371 hate and antigovernment extremist groups in the United States in 2024 and traces their growing influence on local, state and national government. As these groups tighten their grip on the U.S. political system, the report tracks how their actions are dividing and demoralizing people across the country while dismantling democracy from within.

“After years of courting politicians and chasing power, hard-right groups are now fully infiltrating our politics andenactingtheir dangerous ideology into law,” said Margaret Huang, president and CEO of the SPLC. “Extremists at all levels of government are using cruelty, chaos and constant attacks on communities and our democracy to make us feel powerless. We cannot surrender to fear. It is up to all of us to organize against the forces of hate and tyranny. This report offers data that is essential to understanding the landscape of hate and helping communities fight for the multiracial, inclusive democracy we deserve.”

Throughout 2024, hard-right groups used state legislatures and school boards — particularly in the South — as battlegrounds to target Black and Brown communities, women, immigrants, Jewish people, Muslim people, Indigenous communities and LGBTQ+ people. Many of the extremist actors focused on whitewashing American history through book bans and changes to curriculum, pushing for companies to eliminate all DEI initiatives, and threatening violence against election workers. Now, as the Trump administration welcomes extremist ideology into its ranks, these actors are taking their model of success to the nation’s highest offices.

The report also finds a growing wave of white nationalism that is motivated by theocratic beliefs and false claims of “Christian persecution” and “white genocide.” This movement seeks to dominate social, cultural and political life in the United States and craft a Christian, fascist state in its own image.

To better mobilize against hate and extremism, it is imperative that we not only understand the power and influence of these groups, but also their recruitment strategies. That’s why the report highlights the tactics hard-right groups use to attract, influence and motivate their members. For example, the growing influence of the most extreme corners of the manosphere — a collection of blogs, forums and websites, where members mobilize around misogyny and anti-feminism — has enabled male supremacists to capture the attention of young people, often using edgy “humor” to degrade women and trans people.

“While 2024 has been a tough year for our democracy and for communities targeted by hate and conspiracies, we didn’t get here by accident. We know that these groups build their power by threatening violence, capturing political parties and government, and infesting the mainstream discourse with conspiracy theories,” said Rachel Carroll Rivas, interim director of the SPLC’s Intelligence Project. “By exposing the players, tactics and code words of the hard right, we hope to dismantle their mythology and inspire people to fight back.”   

A state-by-state list of hate and antigovernment extremist groups and an interactive map is available HERE.

The sections in this report include:

• The false fear of ‘White Genocide’
• From screens to schools: Male supremacy’s impact and prevention tactics
• Anti-DEI efforts and the attempted whitewashing of America
• A strategic application of chaos
• Targeting democracy: Local militias and national sovereign citizens
• Decline of the neo-Confederates
• Turning Point USA: A case study of the hard right in 2024
• Understanding Telegram’s toxic recommendations

“Now is not the time to remain silent or compromise our shared values. It is imperative to call on organizations, institutions, and businesses to stay firm in their commitment to justice, equity and inclusion and use their resources to hold the line against hate and discrimination,” continued Huang.

SPLC offers these policy recommendations as part of the larger effort to counter hate and extremism:

• Hold executive power accountable;
• Promote inclusive responses to hate and extremism;
• Maintain civil rights and hate crimes as top priorities and make hate crime reporting mandatory;
• Prevent political violence;
• Build community resilience and center victims;
• Support diversity, equity, include, and accessibility (DEIA) programs;
• Teach accurate history and critical thinking skills;
• Promote online safety and hold tech and social media companies accountable.

To read the report in its entirety, visit splcenter.org.

###

About the Southern Poverty Law Center

The Southern Poverty Law Center is a catalyst for racial justice in the South and beyond, working in partnership with communities to dismantle white supremacy, strengthen intersectional movements, and advance the human rights of all people. For more information, visit www.splcenter.org.

“The president governs by fear, 

but what happens if people are no longer afraid?”

(William A. Galston, The Wall Street Journal, April 9, 2025)

On April 6, 2025, the New York Times Editorial Board wrote the following:  “In his attack on law firms, universities and other American institutions, President Trump is relying on an illusion.  The illusion that institutions are powerless to fight back and that they face a choice between principle and survival…”  Later in that article, the Editorial Board noted the importance of solidarity in responding to Trump. The foregoing editorial opinion reminded me of some bully-related lessons I learned earlier in life.  

During the first week of 7th grade, when walking to school from my home, I had to cross a bridge at the beginning of which stood the bully Cephus  – a hefty tenth grader known for his street brawling and having had encounters with the juvenile court system.  When I approached him, he demanded, “Give me your lunch money, or else!”  Traumatized by what might be my fate if “or else” took place, I immediately gave him the few coins I had in my pocket.  Later at noon, unable to purchase lunch and passing time outside of the student cafeteria, I chatted with George and Herbie who too had been bullied and given Cephus their lunch money.

While other students ate lunch, George, Herbie and I agreed that, henceforth, we would walk to school together and, in our not fully understood “little NATO” fashion, if Cephus attempted to bully one of us, then we would all fight Cephus.  The very next day we were encountered by Cephus who was basking in his illusion that we were powerless and that we were still daunted by the prowess we presumed he had. With a smirk on his face, Cephus demanded, “Give me your money, or else!”  Immediately, the three of us started kicking and punching Cephus who, much to our surprise, said, “Ok, ok, stop.  You guys are good by me!”  

Following the above encounter with Cephus, in our youthful parlance, George, Herbie and I discussed [1] the effectiveness of our newly developed coalition; [2] how we were empowered by overcoming our real and imagined fears of Cephus; and [3] once we respected and defended our unified selves, how quickly Cephus was the one who had become traumatized.  Thereafter, because we recognized the strength of our coalition as well as had the realization that our growing self-respect demanded self-defense, we never capitulated to a demand from Cephus or any other school bully.

Later in college, as a social activist, I learned that through things such as marches, boycotts, court cases, at times taking non-negotiable postures, and being willing to be jailed while protesting, the “moral arc of the universe” could be made to bend towards justice.  Hence, I and dedicated pursuers of equity and social justice were very disappointed when, by eliminating its DEI programs, the University of Michigan (UM) capitulated to the bully President Trump.  Our angst was magnified by the fact that the 2003 “Grutter v. Bollinger” Supreme Court case {the Michigan Case} launched “diversity” as a social justice enabling concept when it was ruled that “The use of an applicant's race as one factor in an admissions policy of a public educational institution does not violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment if the policy is narrowly tailored to the compelling interest of promoting a diverse student body, and if it uses a holistic process to evaluate each applicant, as opposed to a quota system…”  (See  Grutter v. Bollinger | 539 U.S. 306 (2003) | Justia U.S. Supreme Court Center).  

The UM decision to capitulate was also problematic because of the fact that the UM had, among other things, a $19.2 billion endowment from which it could draw resources to fight back against the bully’s threat of cutting federal funds. (See, U-M’s endowment generated 8.93% return rate in FY ’24 | The University Record).  As former President Barack Obama recently put the matter, “If you are a university, you may have to figure out, are we in fact doing things right?  Have we in fact violated our own values, our own code, violated the law in some fashion:  If not, and you’re just being intimidated, well, you should be able to say, that’s why we got this big endowment.” (See, https://barackobama.medium.com/conversation-at-hamilton-college-0c44228ac0bd).

Yet the UM, Columbia, Ohio State, Penn and other major institutions “rolled over” without a whimper, leaving one to wonder about the extent to which these institutions really believed in DEI or were instead engaged in “go along to get along” performances they deemed appropriate prior to the recent election of Trump.  Indeed, they gave in so quickly that one is left to wonder if some  institutions are in fact complicit regarding the effort to destroy DEI.  In any event, before too much more DEI ground is lost, now is the time for institutions of higher education to have the courage of their stated convictions, to summon all of their resources to combat bullies such as the current autocratic President and his posse.

As in the case of me and my two friends who took a stand against Cephus, coalition building is essential for successfully addressing the bully in the White House.  In the immediate instance, there should be a coalition made up of all persons who have been and continue to be adversely impacted because of their age, social class, sex, culture, disability, ethnicity, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, or nationality.  This new national “Rainbow DEI Coalition” should be “kicking and punching” with massive public protests, major boycotts, critical lawsuits, ongoing acts of civil disobedience, and critical votes that result in a “Blue Tsunami.”    

There would be a positive catalytic reaction if the “Rainbow DEI Coalition” were to join with the “Hands Off Coalition” which, during the first weekend of April 2025, had “Tens of thousands of protesters mustered in cities and towns across the country on Saturday to sound off against the Trump administration's cuts to the federal government and its policies.  Carrying homemade posters and chanting "Hands Off," the protesters came out to the more than 1,200 rallies nationwide despite rain in many cities, according to organizers…” (Huge crowds gather in 'Hands Off' rallies nationwide in protest of Trump administration - ABC News).

If additional rationale is needed for not capitulating to the current bully’s “or else” attack on DEI, then consider what just transpired with some of his sycophants:  [1] “The biggest technology companies and their chief executives donated millions to President Trump’s inauguration, hosted black-tie dinners in his honor, and allowed him to announce and take credit for new multibillion-dollar manufacturing projects…” but [2] “Since the inauguration, the combined market value of Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta and Microsoft has fallen 22 percent...  And the tech-heavy Nasdaq index is down 21 percent…”  (See, New York Times, “Tech C.E.O.s Spent Millions Courting Trump.  It Has Yet to Pay Off,” April 8, 2025).  In addition to those negative outcomes for supporters, consider those who voted for Trump but now [1] find themselves among those cut by the “DOGE Chain Saw;” [2] have gotten caught in the Social Security chaos; or [3] watched their 401(K) decline significantly. 

As we move to confront the autocratic bully who seems to be in hot pursuit of a dystopian society, do keep in mind Nobel Peace Prize recipient Maria Ressa’s statements regarding resistance: “It won’t be easy.  You’ll feel like giving up, burying your head in the sand, but if you do that, you’re helping assure the destruction of our world, the manipulation of your children, the destruction of their values, and the ravaging of our earth.”  (How to Stand up to a Dictator: The Fight for our Future, 2022).  

Jack L. Daniel

Co-founder, Freed Panther Society

Contributor, Pittsburgh Urban Media

Author, Negotiating a Historically White University While Black

April 9, 2025

“There is no greater tyranny than that which is perpetrated 

under the shield of the law and in the name of justice.” (Montesquieu)

In terms of American women’s history, it was not until 1974 that the Equal Credit Opportunity Act was passed, granting women the right to open a bank account and obtain a mortgage without a male cosigner.  Thus, it was trailblazing when Shirley Chisholm declared her candidacy for President on January 25, 1972 and, throughout her campaign, she unapologetically identified as a Black woman who was “unbought and unbossed.” Notwithstanding Chisholm’s bold stance as the first Black American as well as first woman to seek the Presidential nomination of the Democratic National Party, the antithesis of her campaign slogan, “bought and bossed,”  appears to be the dominant paradigm in 2025 national politics.  

For example, more than a half century ago, Chisholm stated, “I stand before you today to repudiate the ridiculous notion that the American people will not vote for a qualified candidate simply because he is not white, or because she's not a male. I do not believe that in 1972 the great majority of Americans will continue to harbor such narrow and petty prejudices. I am convinced that the American people are in a mood to discard the politics and the political personalities of the past. I believe that they will show, in 1972 and thereafter, that they intend to make independent judgments on the merits of a particular candidate based on that candidate's intelligence, character, physical ability, competence, integrity, and honesty…”

Today, as evidenced by the current President’s Cabinet appointments and subsequent behaviors, the President did not “make independent judgments on the merits of a particular candidate based on that candidate's intelligence, character, physical ability, competence, integrity, and honesty…”  Rather, as evidenced by the following examples, the willingness to be “bought and bossed” seemed to be operative.

To the extent that it is true that the one who “pays the piper calls the tune,” what are we to believe after reading articles such as “Elon Musk spent a total of more than $290 million on the 2024 election, new federal filings show, boosting President Donald Trump and Republicans in a staggering effort that has helped to secure unprecedented access for the world’s richest person in the new administration.”  (David Wright and Alex Leeds-Matthews, February 1, 2025)?  Did not the President display what it means to be “bought and bossed” when [1] Musk and his young child dominated a press conference in the Oval Office; [2] Musk and his DOGE gang were permitted to roam recklessly throughout the federal government; [3] the President falsely claimed that DOGE had  “…found hundreds of billions of dollars of fraud;” and, unashamedly, [4] the President endorsed Musk’s Tesla at the White House as Musk’s net worth dropped by more than $100 billion as Telsa stock crashed  (See, Tesla Stock Plummets 50%, Here’s How To Manage The Volatility).  

Is it not clear evidence of “bought and bossed” if the American President [1] cuts off military intelligence and other war assistance for Ukraine; [2] declares that the United States will cease surveillance of Russia; and [3] blames Ukraine for being invaded by Russia?   

One is left to wonder about being “bought and bossed” when, during the Presidential campaign, Trump belittled Marco Rubio as “Little Marco;” then he appointed Rubio as Secretary of State; and subsequently it is reported, “Marco Rubio 'upset' as Trump 'sidelines' him from foreign policy decision making...”  (See Marco Rubio 'upset' as Trump 'sidelines' him from foreign policy decisionmaking: report - Raw Story).

Haven’t “bought and bossed” politics been made crystal clear in higher education as officials eliminated DEI programs in states such as Florida, Iowa, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, and elsewhere (See https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/these-colleges-across-the-u-s-are-scrapping-their-dei-programs/ar-BB1nluX0)?  How clearer can “bought and bossed” be than the scenario in which the anti-DEI Republican Governor of Virginia appointed the University of Virginia Board membership and, in turn, the Board members voted to eliminate DEI?  

Consider also the 2025 “bought and bossed” potential impact on the top colleges/universities given the  President’s executive orders regarding funding from the National Institutes of Health.  One poignant alert came from the University of Pittsburgh Provost Joseph J. McCarthy in his February 9, 2025 letter to Members of the Pitt Community. Therein, he wrote the following: “We want to bring to your attention the guidance announced at the close of business Friday by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Pursuant to this guidance, which is scheduled to take effect Monday, Feb. 10, the NIH will cap “indirect costs” of research grants at 15%. …With the NIH serving as Pitt’s largest federal research sponsor at nearly $700 million (sixth nationally), funding that represents over half of the University’s $1.2 billion in research expenditures (17th nationally), primarily focused on the health sciences, we recognize the significant impact this guidance could potentially have across our entire Pitt community on our work and for the many people involved directly and indirectly…”  For a wider discussion of related matters, see “Chaos on campuses as schools warn Trump cuts could harm US ‘for decades’” by Michael Sainato, March 8, 2025.

Under the current Presidential regime, the stench of 2025 “bought and bossed” has found its way into practically every aspect of American life. It as if an old-school mob boss and his associates have been unleashed when, for example, we hear of a plan to cut the Department of Education in half by firing approximately 1300 workers.  The extent to which pre-K through college education might be “bought and bossed” is of special concern given the importance of our educational system in contributing to a well-informed citizenry.  Also note that dictatorships feed off an uneducated, miseducated, undereducated populace as would be the case if public education in America were to be dismantled.

Given that our democracy is at significant risk, we cannot afford to be neutral regarding the current regime’s “2025 bought and bossed politics.”  As Bishop Desmond Tutu observed, “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor…”  Relatedly, Toni Morrison stated,  “There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal…”   We can also buy selectively, protest peacefully, and vote intelligently!

Jack L. Daniel

Co-founder, Freed Panther Society

Contributor, Pittsburgh Urban Media

Author, Negotiating a Historically White University While Black

March 14, 2025

Regardless of whether it is intentional or unintentional, a “red herring is defined as “a misleading piece of information or argument used to distract from the main issue.”  For example, when I once complained about my worn thin tennis shoes, my mother said, “You are lucky!  There are children who have no feet!”  Given that “red herring” response, there was no point in me trying to make my case for a new pair of shoes.  Instead, I was forced to also consider and possibly prioritize the needs of others.  On a vastly more important level, “Affirmative Action,” “Diversity,” and “DEI” served as “red herrings” to highjack the “Civil Rights” Movement.  Moreover, if Blacks are to get back on track, then we must understand precisely what has gone down.

America’s oldest “Civil Rights” organization, the NAACP, was founded on February 12, 1909, following a period when “…eruptions of anti-black violence – particularly lynching – were horrifically commonplace, but the Springfield (1908) riot was the final tipping point that led to the creation of the NAACP.”  To be sure, at its founding, the NAACP fought “…for all people the rights guaranteed in the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the United States Constitution.”  However, the NAACP’s primary focus was to address racial discrimination, not to become the “mule” carrying the load related to all systemic injustices in America. (For details, see https://naacp.org/about/our-history).  

Later, during the 1960s, the “Civil Rights” Movement’s goals were to end centuries-long, race-based, legal, and de jure segregation of Blacks in employment, education, and public accommodations.  The initial highjacking of the “Civil Rights” Movement took place in 1961 when former President  John Kennedy  issued Executive Order 10925 which urged federal contractors to take “affirmative action” to ensure that applicants are treated equally without regard to race, color, religion or national origin.  

In 1965 President Lyndon B. Johnson’s executive order 11246 amended “affirmative action” to include sex (gender).  Next, “…the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 was signed by President Richard M. Nixon and it required agencies to submit an affirmative action plan to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for the hiring, placement, and advancement of individuals with disabilities.” (See A Brief History of Affirmative Action and the Assault on Race-Conscious Admissions - EdTrust)  Then came the concept of “diversity” which further subordinated the civil rights agenda.  

In the Grutter v. Bollinger U.S. Supreme court case, the University of Michigan was sued alleging the misuse of race in its Law School admissions.  In ruling on behalf of the University, the Court held that “The Law School's narrowly tailored use of race in admissions decisions to further a compelling interest in obtaining the educational benefits that flow from a diverse student body is not prohibited by the Equal Protection Clause, Title VI, or § 1981. pp. 322-344…”  (See “Grutter v. Bollinger | 539 U.S. 306 (2003) | Justia U.S. Supreme Court Center}.  Given that ruling, “Diversity” officers sprung up like topsy within the nation’s institutions of higher education as well as the governmental and corporate sectors.  “Diversity’s” offspring, “DEI” completed the highjacking.  

Today, the amorphous ever expanding “DEI” includes addressing phenomena such as age, class, culture, disabilities, ethnicity, ethnocentrism, gender, health disparities, marginalized communities, military status, physical ability, identity, race, religion, rural initiatives, sexual orientation, social identity, socio-economic disparities, xenophobia, and other legitimate concerns.  Thus, a higher education “DEI” officer from the Civil Rights Movement might find her/himself coordinating campus events related to Anti-Ableism, Cinco de Mayo, Hanukah, Hispanic Heritage Month, National Coming Out Day, Media Practices in Asia, Native American Land Acknowledgements, Ramadan, Veterans Day, Women’s History Month, World Autism Awareness Day, and, during her/his spare time, Black History Month.  Added to the foregoing celebrity sense of “DEI,” the given “DEI” officer might sponsor a series of community-building workshops related to things such as how to be an anti-racist and how to integrate diversity into the curriculum.  

With the “Civil Rights” Movement sufficiently highjacked, the “Black agenda” at the given institution proceeds at a snail like pace, so much so, that many Blacks complain about being “sick and tired of being sick and tired” of the inadequate progress for Blacks.  Still worse, in terms of highjacking the “Civil Rights” Movement, is the fact that the term “DEI” has been weaponized and used in a racist fashion.

In short, the MAGA Trump-led opposition to “DEI” is akin to a homemade AR-15 that, in this case, is rapidly being fired at government “DEI” programs.  In the immediate instance, the “gun” took the form of Trump’s January 20, 2025 Executive Order “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing.”  In terms of effectiveness, as of January 28, 2025, Meg Kinnard (AP) reported, “At least 240 employees are known to have been fired, reassigned, or designated to be laid off. Thousands of employees could be affected by other moves, such as a federal employee buyout offer, or the grant funds pause…”  If “DEI” is in anyway associated with an enterprise, then Musk-led Posse members continue to fire rapidly and indiscriminately.  

Ironically, one way forward for reviving the “Civil Rights” Movement as well as other equity and social justice concerns might be allowing Trump et al to get stuck to the “DEI Tar Baby.”  While they do so, members of Brer Rabbit’s family should focus their energy on implementing a “Sunami of Equity and Social Justice Advocates ” during the next local, Congressional, and Presidential elections.  Let’s get back to our initial raison d’etre, i.e., a “Civil Rights” Movement focused on achieving equity and social justice for those being systemically abused because of their race and, in doing so, aid in the realization of equity and social justice for all.  As we “march on until victory is won,” there can be no room for “crabs in the barrel” politics.  Rather, we must abide by Mary Church Terrell’s motto, “lifting as we climb.”

Jack L. Daniel

Co-founder, Freed Panther Society

Contributor, Pittsburgh Urban Media

Author, Negotiating a Historically White University While Black

February  14, 2025

In a flurry of Executive Orders enacted on President Trump's first day in office, the controversial Administration has chosen to roll back all federal programs promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion. The move represents a significant regression from the previous Administration's approach to centering racial equity and remedying the systemic racism deeply entrenched in our nation's governing practices. 

NAACP President Derrick Johnson released the following statement condemning President Trump's Executive Order Rolling Back DEI in the Federal Government:

"It is outrageous that the President is rolling back critical Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs. DEI programs help ensure that everyone can prosper. It's clear that President Trump does not value equal opportunity. 

His appalling executive order will only worsen America's racial hierarchy and benefit the oligarch class. This executive order threatens public services that benefit all Americans; it's an attempt to consolidate power and money to a few wealthy individuals. And poor and working-class people will pay the price. 

This is all part of a calculated strategy to redefine the role of government, privatize essential public services, and further discrimination. Elections have consequences and it's clear that this election has put a target on Black America's back." 

The data makes it clear: organizations with diverse workforces have a strategic advantage over those who don't. According to McKinsey, Companies in the top quartile for being ethnically and culturally diverse are 36% more profitable than those in the bottom quartile. 

To learn more about NAACP's work to advance a more inclusive economy, visit our website. 

Following the November 2024 election, the holiday season provided a bit of a respite for those who woke up January 1, 2025 with freedom on their minds.  Notwithstanding what portends from a Republican administration that has made the expression of racism, sexual misconduct, criminal behavior and other nefarious acts essentially fashionable, freedom seeking people must heed Assata Sakur’s admonition “It is our duty to fight for our freedom. It Is our duty to win. We must love each other and support each other. We have nothing to lose but our chains.”  

Black folks’ chattel slavery chains were removed centuries ago, but the chains of caste-like systemic racism not only continue to adversely impact Blacks but it is also the case that they and others suffer from the malevolent machinations of a citizenry that elected a convicted felon to be President.  Indeed, the 2025 political climate is so hostile that freedom seeking people should keep in mind the following aphorism:  “Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up, it knows it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve. Whether you are the lion or a gazelle-when the sun comes up, you’d better be running.”  

In 2009, former President Obama reminded Republicans that “elections have consequences.”  Today, equity and social justice advocates are painfully aware of that fact.  Hence, they must be “running” lest their goals and objectives be severely curtailed by the “Big Cat Convicted Felon” who will be serving as President along with his “Lion Family/Den” of Cabinet, Congress, and Court officials.  Consistent with the practices of “Lion Families” known as “Prides,” the “Maga Movement Lionesses” (White women voters for Trump, plus possible appointees such as Bondi, McMahon, and Noem) are likely to be among the primary hunters.  For example, following the practice of attacking the lone “gazelle” away from the “herd,” the Republican “Lioness” Nancy Mace introduced a bill to ban transgender women from using certain bathrooms on federal property.

The Republican “Pride” dominant males (Trump, Vance, Johnson, Bezos, Musk, and other White male oligarchs) will use whatever means they deem necessary to protect their recently acquired territory, i.e., the political, economic, social, domains of American life.  Their full “Big Cat Den,” along with a Republican dominated Congress and an ultra-conservative Supreme Court, will seek to devour “gazelles” by doing things such as [1] begin mass deportations; [2] fire thousands of federal workers; [3] change Biden administration policies related to education; and [4] continue an incessant attack on diversity, equity and inclusion throughout American institutional life.  As best they can, the foregoing “Lions” will plan their feast in accordance with the infamous menu known as Project 2025.

The Legal Defense Fund and its Thurgood Marshal Institute indicated that Project 2025 “…is a direct, boundless, pregnant threat to the interests and well-being of Black people and our democracy. Our report highlights some of the most alarming and destructive elements of Project 2025 for Black people in America and also offers an alternate vision for the future we are fighting for…”    (https://tminstituteldf.org/what-project-2025-means-for-black-communities/).  Given the Project 2025 content, the only question is how fast and effectively freedom seeking people will “run” to abort that agenda given all that the “Big Cat Lion” has boasted about doing on day one of his reign.  Hence, the following “running” strategies are offered.

While “running,” we must never lose sight of the significance of the third day of Kwanza, i.e., Ujima which refers to collective work and responsibility.  However, important leaders happen to be, grass roots support is essential for a successful social movement.  Therefore, in Pittsburgh for example, if you are not already affiliated, then become an active member of local chapters of organizations such as the Black Political Empowerment Project, the NAACP, the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh Chapter of the A. Philip Randolph Institute, one of the many politically active Black Churches, or a progressive Black Greek organization.  

Interestingly, the type of “running” that must be done in 2025 was called for by Lurie Daniel Favors within her The Root November 21, 2016 article.  Therein, she wrote “…The only option the black community will have left requires us to center black people as our solution and re-create a culturally grounded economic system based on meeting our own needs…  To protect our community from the threats that loom, we must turn that spending power into job and wealth generators…  A Trump presidency means that the days of relying on government for legal protections from racism are over. But if we take this opportunity to re-create sustainable black streams of income, job and wealth creation, we may be able to advance farther than many dreamed imaginable…”  

Ms. Favors’s above advice is consistent with that of Carter G. Woodson, who wrote, "History shows that it does not matter who is in power or what revolutionary forces take over the government, those who have not learned to do for themselves and have to depend solely on others never obtain any more rights or privileges in the end than they had in the beginning." (See Mis-education of the Negro).  

What is so troubling about the foregoing statements by Favors, Carter, as well as others who have made the same point regarding the need to “run” together, is the fact that so many of the oppressed have been hesitant to heed these sound doctrines.  Instead, they have naively “hitched their wagons” to the goodwill of their oppressors, e.g., the “good” slave master/coach/employer/politician.  This colonizer-induced reticence to “run” together reminds one of the quotations some attributed to Harriet Tubman, but the actual source remains in doubt, i.e., “I freed a thousand slaves; I could have freed a thousand more if only they knew they were slaves.”  On the other hand, as truly woke folk “run” in 2025 and have need for an “energy drink,” they should refresh their minds with the following lyrics from Beyonce.    

“…Freedom! Freedom! I can't move
Freedom, cut me loose!
Singin', freedom! freedom! Where are you?
Cause I need freedom too!
I break chains all by myself
Won't let my freedom rot in hell
Hey! I'mma keep running
Cause a winner don't quit on themselves…”

Jack L. Daniel

Co-founder, Freed Panther Society

Contributor, Pittsburgh Urban Media

Author, Negotiating a Historically White University While Black

January 6, 2025

Project 2025 is a manifesto that seeks to undermine our progress, dismantle democracy, and take us back to a time when we did not have a vote or a voice.

The comprehensive policy agenda, proposed by a coalition of over 100 conservative organizations, drastically reshapes federal government, particularly impacting Black and marginalized communities. 

The proposed policies under Project 2025 include significant rollbacks in regulatory protections, reductions in social welfare programs, the dismantling of the federal civil service workforce, and ban any focus on equity.

We denounce Project 2025 and put forward Our 2025, a collection of policies aimed to benefit Black Americans and the entire nation. Our 2025 is marked by higher wages, investments in our schools, pathways to progress within our criminal justice system, and so much more.

We must fight, we must advocate - we must vote - to ensure that Project 2025 does not become our reality.

Get involved: 

Whereas, Project 2025 is a comprehensive policy agenda proposed by a coalition of over 100 conservative organizations aimed at drastically reshaping federal government policies across multiple sectors, including education, healthcare, criminal justice, and civil rights; and 

Whereas, the implementation of Project 2025 threatens to reverse decades of progress in civil rights, social justice, and equity, particularly impacting African Americans and marginalized communities; and  

Whereas, the proposed policies under Project 2025 include significant rollbacks in regulatory protections, reductions in social welfare programs, the dismantling of the federal civil service workforce, and ban any focus on equity, all of which would disproportionately harm the Black community; and 

Whereas, in the area of healthcare, Project 2025 proposes to repeal the Affordable Care Act, reduce Medicaid funding, and eliminate programs aimed at addressing health disparities, which would lead to reduced access to healthcare services and worsening health outcomes for African Americans; and 

Whereas, in education, Project 2025 seeks to defund public education in favor of private and charter schools, eliminate diversity and inclusion programs, and rollback protections for students of color, undermining educational opportunities and exacerbating racial disparities in academic achievement; and 

Whereas, in criminal justice, the Project 2025 agenda includes measures to increase policing and incarceration, reduce funding for community-based alternatives, and eliminate initiatives aimed at addressing systemic racism in the justice system, which would lead to higher incarceration rates and further entrench racial inequalities; and 

Whereas, in civil rights, Project 2025 proposes to dismantle affirmative action, weaken anti-discrimination laws, and reduce the enforcement powers of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), threatening to reverse gains made in employment equity and equal opportunity; and 

Whereas, the environmental impacts of Project 2025 would include the rollback of key environmental protections, reduction of enforcement of environmental regulations, and prioritization of industrial and corporate interests over community health, disproportionately affecting low-income and minority communities that are already burdened with environmental hazards and pollution. 

Therefore, be it resolved, that the NAACP strongly opposes Project 2025 and its regressive policy proposals, recognizing the significant harm these changes would inflict on the Black community and other marginalized groups; and 

Be it further resolved, that the NAACP calls on policymakers, community leaders, and allies to actively resist the implementation of Project 2025, advocating instead for policies that promote equity, justice, and inclusion across all sectors of society; and 

Be it further resolved, that the NAACP commits to educating its members and the broader public about the dangers of Project 2025, mobilizing grassroots efforts to protect and advance the rights and well-being of African Americans; and 

Be it finally resolved, that the NAACP will work in coalition with other civil rights organizations, policymakers, and community stakeholders to continue to develop and promote alternative policy solutions that ensure the protection and advancement of civil rights, social justice, and equity.  

Source: NAACP

As chattel slaves, for 400 years, Blacks were consigned to the lowest race-based caste-like ranks of American society.  Considered to be mere property belonging to the same class of “farm animals” such as cows, pigs, horses, and dogs, the slaves’ Black Jobs consisted of sun up to sun down drudgery performed for no pay.  Their “fringe benefits” were to survive another day without experiencing gross inhumanity such as [1] severe whippings that ripped open their flesh; [2] castrations for giving a master the “wrong” look; [3] rapes while still a child; and, in some cases, [4] deaths via various forms of torture.  For example, as reported by Stephanie E. Jones-Rogers in They Were Her Property (Yale University Press, 2019), “When another formerly enslaved woman forgot to refer to her mistress’s eight-or nine-year old daughter as ‘Miss,’ her mistress put her ‘in a stock and beat’ her.  While she was in the stocks, the woman twisted her leg until it broke, and even then, continued to beat her until she was satisfied her point had been made” (page 6).  

 After the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation, Black Jobs were those permitted by legal race-based segregation.  Bottom line, for the most part, Blacks did not work in nor make use of facilities owned by Whites.  If they did, they used separate facilities, e.g., separate toilets, water fountains, bus seating, etc.  One unanticipated outcome of race-based segregation is that Blacks were forced to create their own jobs, e.g., Black beauty shops, barbers, farmers, morticians, recreation centers, and roadside assistance  (See Black Entrepreneurs during the Jim Crow Era -- The Henry Ford Blog - Blog - The Henry Ford).

Nevertheless, even the most “enlightened” Whites kept Blacks out of certain jobs.  For example, from Harvard’s beginnings in 1636 to centuries later, there were no professorial and/or administrative jobs for Blacks.  Hence, America began the separate and unequal Historically Black Colleges and Universities beginning  with Cheyney University of Pennsylvania in 1837.  Jobs remain so segregated in higher education that at Pitt, for example, Black faculty presence hovers around a mere 4%! (See University Times, November 30, 2023).   Indeed, throughout America’s historically White institutions of higher education, there are only token numbers of Black faculty and senior administrators.  

As a direct consequence of systemic, race-based, caste-like American forces, Blacks have not had an equal opportunity to hold equal numbers of jobs  [1] in City Governments, State Assemblies, Congress, or elected Executive offices; [2] jobs in STEM related occupations; [3] as health professionals; [4] as commercial pilots; [5] CEOs of major corporations; [6] lawyers; [7] or any profession for which postsecondary education is required, especially a college education.  As with the formal Jim Crow era, today Blacks are often found in jobs that require the “sweat of their brow,” e.g., on basketball courts and football fields which are reminiscent of the forerunner slave economy consisting of White owners and “overseers” (coaches) along with disproportionate number of Black players (workers).

To be sure and, as slowly as it happens to be, Blacks are securing jobs in an increasingly wide array of fields.  Most notably, at the moment, a Black woman seeks to become President of the United States of America.  As this drama plays out, we will witness all of America’s original sin’s remnants in play.  We will witness a convicted White male felon using racial and misogynistic slurs against a Black woman who has served in Congress and as Vice President of the United States.  

The White male, patriarchal script does not include President of the United States as a job for a Black woman. However, the tide for change is more than rising!  All should learn how to say President Kamala Harris because it is now the case that Black Women are for Harris; White Women are for Harris; Black Men are for Harris; White Dudes are for Harris; Indian Americans are for Harris; young voters in Won’t PAC Down are for Harris; some former Nikki Haley voters are for Harris; “Childless Cat Ladies” are for Harris;  Divine Nine members are for Harris; and there is a Republicans for Harris campaign.  Truly we are witnessing a moment when Black Jobs will be radically redefined.  And if there is a Black person who believes the racist fiction uttered by Trump regarding Black jobs, please consider the questions posed by a popular social media post:  [1] When, if ever, did you, as a Black person, lose a job to an illegal immigrant?  [2] When, if ever, did you lose a job to a White person who was less qualified than you?  

Finally, regarding the truth about Black jobs, do know that a critically important Black job has been to make America what it ought to be, i.e., as Nicloe Hannah Jones stated, “Our democracy’s founding ideals were false when they were written.  Black Americans have fought to make them true.” August 14, 2019).  Let us continue this Black jobuntil victory is won!

Jack L. Daniel

Co-founder, Freed Panther Society

Contributor, Pittsburgh Urban Media

Author, Negotiating a Historically White University While Black

August 8, 2024

Legislation to expand and strengthen Pennsylvania’s anti-hate crimes statutes won bipartisan passage out of the Pennsylvanian House Tuesday, putting Pennsylvania on track to take action amid a nationwide spike in criminal activity fueled by hatred.

State Reps. Dan Frankel and Napoleon Nelson, sponsors of the bill package, called on the Senate to act quickly to signal to all vulnerable groups that Pennsylvania’s state government stands with them.

“The conflict in Israel has Jewish and Muslim Pennsylvanians feeling afraid – afraid to leave home, afraid to practice their faith, afraid to gather with their communities at a time when such events would bring them the most comfort,” said Frankel, D-Allegheny. “The vast majority of Pennsylvanians want this commonwealth to be a welcoming, diverse place for all, and that is the call legislators answered today.”

Frankel noted that once the legislative package becomes law, Pennsylvania will join the majority of states that acknowledge the growing scourge of attacks on Americans for who they are, how they look or who they love.

Nelson said, “Look at the headlines about what’s happening at our colleges, and you’ll see why kids don’t feel safe on campus – especially if they’re black, brown, Jewish, Muslim … the list of groups experiencing the rise in ethnic intimidation continues. I wish I could say our legislation will help eradicate hate. It won’t – that’s a different conversation. But House Bill 1024 and House Bill 1025 would help us better understand and recognize ethnic intimidation, which often goes unreported.

“Even when a report is made, police often fail to properly categorize it as a hate crime. We must strengthen reporting and training processes for school staff and police officers to help correct this, so we can collect the data to help us understand the indicators and experiences that lead young folks to embrace hateful ideology.”

The legislative package includes:

• HB 1027 – New Protections under Ethnic Intimidation Statute (Frankel, Nelson) would amend Pennsylvania’s Ethnic Intimidation Statute to ensure protections for victims targeted because of their race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, ancestry, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, age and disability, including autism. The bill would also provide victims with a civil cause of action against offenders. The bill passed 116-86.
   
• HB  1024 – Hate Crime Training for Law Enforcement (Frankel, Nelson) would provide our law enforcement officials with the tools they need to properly investigate, identify and report hate crimes. The bill passed 112-90.
   
• HB 1025 – Reporting System for Educational Institutions (Nelson, Frankel) would require postsecondary institutions to offer online and anonymous hate crime reporting options for students and employees. The bill would also encourage training for K-12 school employees in identifying and addressing hate incidents. The bill passed 111-91.

Legislation to expand protections to cover LGBTQ+ people and people with disabilities was signed into law by a Republican governor more than 20 years ago, but the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled the changes unconstitutional on technical grounds in 2008.

Companion legislation has been introduced by Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa.

House passage of the legislation comes almost exactly five years after an antisemitic attack took the lives of 11 people in their synagogues in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh.

ATTENTION EDITORS/ASSIGNMENT DESKS: Video of Frankel speaking on the legislation is available here: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/qv6jlce5m7rcxje2t81ef/103123-Frankel-HB-1027.mp4?rlkey=p98ljaapfnmmwy0ixqqpu9cfs&dl=0, and video of Nelson speaking on the legislation is available here: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/5xmcaqjli3fex2c43xw3p/103123-Nelson-1025.mp4?rlkey=zpd06bczpt7khiw54wxfczz6n&dl=0

During the recitation of her 2021 inaugural poem, Amanda Gorman eloquently stated, “We’ve seen a force that would shatter our nation, rather than share it.  Would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy.  And this effort very nearly succeeded.  But while democracy can be periodically delayed, it can never be permanently defeated…  This is the era of just redemption.”  

As of September 1, 2023, the era of just redemption for Donald Trump was well underway with him facing 91 felony charges.  Moreover, given the fact that many critically important judicial figures pressing the charges are Black, poetic justice is prominently in play.  For example, it was a daughter of the African Diaspora, Judge Tanya Chutkan, who without hesitation set March 4, 2024 as the date to begin Trump’s trial for leading an insurrection with the goal of subverting the 2020 presidential election.  

In contradictory contrast to the racist tropes Trump spews regarding Blacks, Judge Chutkan is a very highly qualified judge.  As noted by the District of Columbia’s United States District Court, “Judge Tanya Chutkan was appointed to the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in June 2014.  Born in Kingston, Jamaica, she received her B.A. in Economics from George Washington University and her J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where she was an Associate Editor of the Law Review and a Legal Writing Fellow.“  

Known for his dogged delay tactics, it was poetic justice that Judge Chutkan told P45’s lawyers that the public had an interest in having the case resolved in a timely manner and, as noted above, she acted accordingly.   Earlier, it was Judge Chutkan who warned P45 to be very careful before making inflammatory public statements.  More specifically, she stated, “Even arguably ambiguous statements by the parties or their counsel- if they can be reasonably interpreted to intimidate witnesses or to prejudice potential jurors - can threaten the process."  Meanwhile, it is another Black woman who is approaching a legal checkmate of P45.

 Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has been like “white on rice” when it comes to prosecuting P45 for his efforts to steal the presidential election from Joseph Biden.  She too is highly qualified as evidenced by the facts that “Willis graduated from Howard University in Washington, D.C., in 1992 and Emory University School of Law in 1996. She started working in the Fulton County District Attorney's Office in 2001 and climbed the ranks over nearly two decades, serving in nearly every division of the office. She was lead prosecutor in over 100 jury trials and prosecuted hundreds of murder and other high-profile cases…”  (See For first-term Georgia prosecutor Fani Willis, a historic decision looms in Trump election investigation - CBS News ).  Fearless, it was Fani Willis who defied the “less is more” and proceeded to bring a RICO charge against 19 people, including the “mob boss,” P45.  

 As fearful as a victim of a manhunt, Mark Meadows tried to run from Fani Willis’ prosecution of him, but enroute he encountered U.S. District Judge Steve C. Jones, a Black man, who decided Meadows could not move his trial from Fulton County to a federal court.  In his ruling, Judge Jones stated, “The evidence before the Court overwhelmingly suggests that Meadows was not acting in his scope of executive branch duties during most of the Overt Acts alleged.”  Per poetic justice given Trump’s racism and, as reported by CNN on August 28, 2023, “Jones, a Barack Obama appointee, was confirmed by the US Senate in 2011 by a 90-0 vote. A former Superior Court judge, he grew up in Athens, Georgia, and graduated from the University of Georgia School of Law in 1987…  Jones has overseen high-profile cases before.  In July, he declined to toss three lawsuits claiming that Georgia’s congressional and legislative districts were drawn in a way that discriminates against Black voters…” 

 It is certainly poetic justice that, in New York City where P45’s racism ran rampant, it is the Black Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg who filed charges against Trump related to hush-money payments to a porn star.  Bragg too is a very highly qualified prosecutor.  As noted in a March 31, 2023 ABC news report, “Bragg, 49, grew up in Harlem and received his law degree from Harvard…

In 2003, he joined the New York State Attorney General's office, working under then AG Elliot Spitzer on numerous cases from white-collar crimes to investigations into drug cartels, his campaign bio said.

From 2006 to 2009 Bragg served as the New York City Council's chief of litigations and investigations before moving to the Southern District of New York as an assistant U.S. attorney. In 2017, then-New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman appointed Bragg as the Deputy Attorney General of New York…”  

 Let us also remember that it was a highly qualified Black woman, New York Attorney General Letitia James who filed the $250 million lawsuit against P45 for defrauding lenders.  As reported in a CNN September 21, 2022 article, “Before James ascended to become the state’s top prosecutor, she established herself as a leading progressive political figure in New York City.  A graduate of Howard University Law School, she worked as a Legal Aid lawyer and assistant state attorney general in Brooklyn. She won her first election, to the city council in New York, in 2003…”  On August 30, 2023, James filed for a partial summary judgment against P45, citing a “mountain of undisputed evidence.”

In terms of experiencing fitting retributions for his impact on individual and systemic racism and, given his 91 felony charges, it must be excruciatingly painful for P45 to experience Black prosecutors playing prominent legal roles that could earn him not only a mug shot but also an orange jumpsuit.  (See How Trump's attacks on prosecutors build on history of using racist language and stereotypes - CW Atlanta (cbsnews.com).)

In addition, as the legal processes involving Trump play out, it should be noted that once again Blacks are playing key roles in making America live up to its highest aspirations, e.g., it was Blacks’ pursuit of equity and social justice that led to [1] the 13th Amendment to the Constitution ending slavery; [2] the Brown vs The Board of Education decision that ended legal segregation; and [3] the Voting Rights Act of 1965.   As brilliant Black legal minds pursue justice related to P45, they are also changing the dynamics to which Langston Hughes referred, i.e., 

That Justice is a blind goddess
Is a thing to which we black are wise:
Her bandage hides two festering sores
That once perhaps were eyes.

Jack L. Daniel

Co-founder, Freed Panther Society

Contributor, Pittsburgh Urban Media

Author, Negotiating a Historically White University While Black

September 11, 2023

Theft of land, ideas and natural resources, along with manipulation of the truth, contribute to a key strategy that undergirds America’s systemic, upper-class, White male, patriarchal, sexist, and racist society. Thus, for example, colonialists told lies regarding [1] the conquest of “uncivilized” people in America and the “development” of the victims’ land by privileged White men; [2] the bringing of African “servants” to America to “save their pagan souls;” and [3] the “God-ordained” reservation of women to kitchens and roles such as child-bearing housewives. 

In the case of Blacks, there is also a long history of Black creativity followed by White theft and exploitation. For example, regarding the theft and exploitation of Black music, Steven J. Underwood wrote the following: “Black music is always less-than until it such time as Whiteness has had the opportunity to infiltrate the culture supporting it and figured out how to perform it themselves. Rap music’s “renaissance” in the ’90s hadn’t occurred until the rise of Eminem as the industry’s latest bad boy and residential Aryan… We’ve heard of the true colors of Elvis Presley and the seldom sung truth of the Beatles’ sound and the Benny Goodmans and the Rolling Stones, the Zootsuiters, the Blue-eyed souls and more… ” The Long History of Creative Theft in Black Music and Arts (cassiuslife.com) 

In 2023, a growing theft and vicious exploitation of Black creativity involves racist right wingers’ use of the term woke. By way of a brief background, the scholar Tony Thorne indicated that the term woke“…began appearing in the 1940s and was first used by African Americans to literally mean becoming woken up or sensitised to issues of justice…”  What is the history of the word ‘woke’ and its modern uses? | The Independent.  As indicated in the same article, woke“…started becoming a politicised word in 2014, after the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, sparked the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement…”  

Essentially,  stay woke was a call for Blacks and other oppressed people to be conscious of the systemic sources of oppression and, in turn, determine what must be done for it to be overthrown. Because of woke’s profound implications for realizing equity and social justice, ultra conservative, far right, and often ignorant Whites stole woke and began using it as an omnibus term for everything with which they disagree. A leading offender is Ron DeSantis. 

In an Editorial Board article by the Miami Herald, it was stated, “DeSantis, as we all know, absolutely loves the term ‘woke.’ He slaps it on anything he thinks could be used to stir up his base of voters, mostly white and mostly Republican, who are worried about losing their primacy in the world. For the past two years, that has been an ever-widening universe of targets: critical race theory, Disney, former Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren, school books, school board members, drag queens, a National Hockey League job fair, the NCAA, diversity training at businesses, Democrats, the New College of Florida, coursework at universities, lessons from teachers, Ben and Jerry’s ice cream and banks that dare to use socially and environmentally conscious factors for investing.”  DeSantis hates ‘woke’, but his view may not play so well in the rest of America | Opinion (msn.com) Indeed, DeSantis’ and others’ use of woke is reminiscent of the dangerous demagoguery known as McCarthyism. 

In terms of how libelous labelling can be a threat against American democracy, we should never forget the early 1950s when the ultra-conservative, right-wing, racist Senator Joe McCarthy convinced many Americans that “communists” were lurking everywhere, from classrooms to federal government offices to the US Army. The “Great Red Scare,” a campaign devoid of facts and “supported” merely by public accusations resulted in hundreds of citizens being wrongly persecuted, including people such as W. E. B. DuBois, Lena Horne, Langston Hughes, Paul Robeson, Elmer Bernstein and Charlie Chaplin. 

The rhetorical theorist Richard Weaver considered the foregoing use of “communist” to be the quintessential “God term” during the 1950s, i.e., for some audiences, a word that stood for everything evil –the same tactic used today by DeSantis and others with the term woke. More than that, the political exploitation of woke is akin to the rhetorical style of telling “Big Lies” as was the case with Adolf Hitler’s accusations against Jews.

Recall that the “Big Lie” is essentially a propaganda technique whereby a known falsehood is repeated often enough for it to become believable by gullible people who, in turn, believe they must take action against the enemy/evils. In the immediate instance, the Big Woke Lie is a call to arms against groups such as Blacks as well as other people of color; Critical Race Theorists; LGBTQ+ people; women who wish to be liberated from patriarchy; citizens who would like to have their rights to vote respected; people seeking health care benefits equivalent to members of Congress; and anyone else who poses a threat to the Maga Machine.  Accordingly, now more than ever, those pursuing equity and social justice must stay woke as well as remain politically active!

From pre-K through higher education, now is the time for faculty, staff, students, parents, and administrators to resist inappropriate involvement of elected officials in public education. There must be a unified stance against elected officials who threaten education budget cuts because of Big Woke Lies regarding books written by authors such as the internationally recognized James Baldwin and Toni Morrison.  

The Big Woke Lie is so vicious and non-compromising that even a woman’s right to make decisions about her body qualifies for wokeness! Thus, for example, we must stop the Big Woke Lie that supports a pregnant woman being forced to “…choose between carrying a fetus that lacks a skull and the top of its head (as a result of a rare condition called acrania) to term, or traveling several states over for a legal abortion, since Louisiana has banned abortion with very narrow exceptions” (See, story by Kylie Cheung, Aug 16, 2022).

Most recently, we witnessed the Big Woke Lie in one of its most absurd forms when Andy Kessler wrote in the March 13, 2023 Wall Street Journal the following possibility for the Silicon Valley Bank failure: “SVB notes that besides 91 percent of their board being independent and 45 percent women, they also have ‘1 Black,’ ‘1 LGBTQ+,’ and ‘2 Veterans.’ I’m not saying 12 white men would have avoided this mess, but the company may have been distracted by diversity demands.” 

In sum, the current Big Woke Lie is a linguistic descendant of “…‘politically correct,’ ‘cancel culture’ and ‘metropolitan liberal elite’ as terms conservatives use against opponents. …it functions as a trigger word or ‘dog whistle,’ in that as soon as you say it you no longer need to say anything else… The word will be accepted by your base, rejected by your opponents and no further discussion will take place.” (See Matthew Crowley, March 8, 2023). 

Those true believers so easily persuaded by the Big Woke Lie are often the same racist folks who, before legal segregation was ended, rallied to phrases such as “your home is your castle” and “separate but equal.”  They are often the “poorly educated” folks who are loved by and easily whipped into a frenzy when a former U.S. President utters, “make America great again.” The spreaders of the Big Woke Lie are precisely who Martin Luther King, Jr. had in mind when he stated, “nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”

Jack L. Daniel

Co-founder, Freed Panther Society

Contributor, Pittsburgh Urban Media

Author, Negotiating a Historically White University While Black

March 15, 2023

Are you a Victim of Police Brutality? The Police Brutality Center wants you to be aware of the truth about police brutality and what you can do about it.

Who are we?

Police Brutality Center exists to bring awareness to the growing epidemic of police brutality, racial profiling, and excessive force. If we can help save one more life or avoid the severe injury of one more innocent person, our mission will be successful. We believe that the tools and content provided within policebrutalitycenter.org can support those who have experienced trauma at the hands of police and prevent future interactions from turning violent or deadly.

When officers of the law use unnecessary and excessive force, those members of the police should be brought to justice. Police brutality is a human rights violation.

Instances of police brutality are attempted to be justified by accusations of self-defense in order to avoid serious injury or death, but the repeated pattern of cases such as George Floyd and Eric Garner caught on film are examples of the opposite. Minorities and other vulnerable groups are too often targeted by acts of police brutality.

Your Civil Rights

You are not alone

If you or someone you know or love has been a victim of police brutality, the time to take action is NOW. Police Brutality Center features in-depth resources to help you protect your community and your family’s civil rights.

Silence is No Longer an Option

Excessive force and racial profiling can not be tolerated. It is our mission to end the violations of your civil rights that lead to brutality by the police sworn to serve you, your family, and your community.

Contact:  PoliceBrutalityCenter.Org 

ON THE OCCASION OF THE 35TH WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH, TOO MANY BLACK WOMEN REMAIN THE “MULES OF THE WORLD”   

“I've got the children to tend

The clothes to mend

The floor to mop

The food to shop

Then the chicken to fry

The baby to dry…

I've got shirts to press

The tots to dress…

I gotta clean up this hut

Then see about the sick

And the cotton to pick”

-Maya Angelou-

The pervasive presence of Black women in overworked and underpaid positions contributed to Zora Neal Hurston deeming them the mules of the world.  During the current pandemic, “These occupations include front-line workers in health care and essential businesses like grocery and drug stores, those who have borne the brunt of job losses in the restaurant industry, and the teachers and child care workers who are critical as the economy struggles to reopen and essential to fully reopening the economy when it is safe to do so…” (See, Black women workers are essential during the crisis and for the recovery but still are greatly underpaid, by Valerie Wilson and Nelat Kassa, August 12, 2020 ).  

In her review of a recent Health Affairs journal article, Julianne McShane wrote, “Black women make up nearly 7 percent of the U.S. labor force, but nearly 14 percent of the health-care workforce…  Within health care,  …Black women are most likely to work in the long-term care sector, currently making up 23 percent of that labor force, and as licensed practical nurses or aides, constituting 25 percent of those workers. These roles are characterized by low wages, lack of benefits, and hazardous working conditions, according to the study…   As co-author Janette Dill, an associate professor in the division of health policy and management at the University of Minnesota, put it: They are taking care of peoples’ bodies, and feeding them, and bathing them, and taking people to the bathroom — it’s very hard physical labor.”  (Philadelphia Tribune, February 25, 2022).

An Institute for Women’s Policy Research Report (July 27, 2021) indicated, “Before the pandemic, Black women were paid just 63.0 percent of White men’s median annual earnings—$24,110 less—even when they were able to obtain full-time year-round work. That represents a wage gap of 37.0 percent for Black women and White men and is much larger than the 17.7 percent wage gap between all women and all men. This illustrates the additional impact of race in shaping women’s earnings. It also means higher rates of poverty, much lower levels of wealth, and fewer resources to weather economic downturns such as the COVID-19 recession.”  

Perhaps one of the greatest overrepresentations of Black and other women of color is, tragically, the area of missing women.   During a recent Congressional hearing, it was noted that “About 40% of the more than 250,000 women and girls reported as missing in 2020 were people of color... Despite making up a smaller share of the overall U.S. population, committee members said Indigenous, Black and Hispanic women and girls are going missing at higher rates…”   In addition, Natalie Wilson,  founder of the Black and Missing Foundation, put the matter in bold relief when she stated, “We can all name Gabby Petito, Natalee Holloway, Chandra Levy and many other white women who have gone missing. But can any of you name a person of color that has garnered national media coverage?" (ABC News, March 3, 2022).  

  Regarding the comparative media coverage for missing White as compared to Indigenous women in Wyoming, Andrea Gonzalez-Ramirez wrote, “Today, #GabbyPetito has more than 956 million views on TikTok. Six law-enforcement agencies, including the FBI, devoted resources to finding her. Her case was mentioned 398 times on Fox News, 346 times on CNN, and 100 times on MSNBC’ in a seven-day period ending on September 22, according to the Washington Post.  But had she been an Indigenous woman, this almost certainly would not have happened.” (September 24, 2021).

Refusing to be deterred by societal forces that systematically seek to stifle their growth and development, many Black women continue to succeed in significant ways.  For example, [1] Black women are the foundations for Black institutions such as the traditional Black Church; [2] they were as important if not more significant than any other demographic when it came to electing President Biden and Vice President Harris as well as other Democrats; and [3] they constitute unwavering enablers  through a plethora of organizations with missions related to uplifting members of their race.  

In record numbers, Black women continue to rise as mayors, members of congress, major entrepreneurs, medical scientists, managers in major corporations, military pilots, metallurgical engineers, money managers, and many of the world class athletes.  They have become leading public health professionals, innovative medical scientists, entrepreneurs, senior higher education administrators, judges, and more than can be mentioned herein.  

Kamala Harris’ election to Vice President of the United States is merely a way station for Black women eventually ruling the world!  Lest one believes the foregoing statement to be a bit of hyperbole, consider what Black American women might have achieved had they not been the mules of the world  --if their lives in America had not begun as chattel slaves; if economic, race, gender, and reproductive justice had been realities not still unrealized goals; if they had opportunities to become all that they were capable of becoming unfettered by irrational patriarchy, homophobia, health disparities, and various forms of physical and psychological abuse.  In any event, as with the mythical Phoenix, Black American women will continue to rise from their ashes and their unfolding splendor will be something to behold.  

Jack L. Daniel

Co-Founder, Freed Panther Society

Contributor, Pittsburgh Urban Media

Author, Negotiating a Historically White University While Black

March 14, 2022

From its inception until today, America has been a racist, sexist, patriarchal, caste-like society as defined by the White “founding fathers” and sustained by subsequent generations of privileged White men. As such, it has been the structural enforcement of systemic discrimination, not “biological destiny” that contributed to no woman having served as President of the United States and only one known Black man to have done so. 

White men do not systematically earn higher salaries than all other men and women because they have an “inherent acumen” for functioning in a capitalistic society. Rather, many White men and their successors benefitted in extraordinary ways from doing things such as [1] stealing the land of Indigenous Americans; [2] profiting for centuries from the free labor of enslaved Africans; [3] suppressing the right to vote among women and people of color; and [4] implementing immigration policies and practices that benefitted particular groups of Europeans.

Periodically, scholars articulate theories that, in an earthquake fashion, severely shake the foundations of the world view on which the American White, male, racist, patriarchal, sexist, and caste-like society is based. When the theories sufficiently rattle these oppressive foundations by exposing the evils from which they were built, then one political response is the “dumbing down” of the theories.

Herein, “dumbing down” refers to the deliberate oversimplification of liberating theories in order to appeal in a simplistic fashion to those of low intelligence and/or education. Dumbing down is also a sloganeering, propaganda-like way to attack the scholars who articulated the theories as well as the content itself in order to defend the White, male, racist, sexist, patriarchal, and cast-like American society. Those proselytized are told that they must act against the evil scholars and their theories in order to achieve glorious goals such as “make America great again;” “restore traditional values;” and “maintain the moral fiber” of America.

We witnessed “dumbing down” decades ago when “Feminist Theory” was articulated. In response to the valid critiques of the various ways in which patriarchy, sexism, and homophobia oppressed women and others, “dumbing down” took place, for example, by labelling “feminists” as [1] “anarchists” who were determined to “destroy family values;” [2] “bra-burning” women who hated men; and [3] radical women who wanted to destroy the “sacred” institution of marriage. “Dumbing down” critics of feminism decried notions such as “women’s and men’s ways of thinking.” And woe unto the “feminists” who declared that not only was a “woman’s place” not limited to a male-dominated home, but a woman’s place was wherever she wanted it to be.

“Dumbing down” of theories that critique the “White male powers that be” is not just a matter of simple ignorance on the parts of the perpetrators. Rather, what is also operative is what Martin Luther King Jr. perhaps had in mind when he stated, “There is nothing more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity” as evidenced, for example, by a school board that sought to ban the teaching of Critical Race Theory (CRT) because it would make children feel rejected, sow divisions among the students, and cause some students to believe they were victims of oppression because of their color (See, The Pilot, May 11, 2021). As noted in the article, “Few speakers addressed the tenets of Critical Race Theory directly…”

Worse than sincere ignorance is deliberate lying about CRT for political purposes as was the case when Ted Cruz, a Harvard Law graduate, stated, “Let me tell you right now, critical race theory is bigoted, it is a lie, and it is every bit as racist as the Klansmen in white sheets.” Whereas Cruz has every reason to be aware of CRT’s basic tenets, others in the forefront of “dumbing down” CRT such as POTUS 45, Marjorie Taylor Green, and their propagandized followers have probably never read a paragraph of the voluminous scholarly CRT literature written by distinguished intellectuals such as Derrick Bell, Kimberle Crenshaw, and Richard Delgado. 

Those who have read a minimal amount of CRT literature know that CRT consists of undeniable basic propositions such as [1] racism has been and continues to be a systemic factor that impacts our educational, economic, legal, political and social systems in ways that contribute to race-related disparities in health, wealth and all other critically important indices relating to quality of life; and [2] as advanced by Kimberle Crenshaw, intersectionality is an analytic frame whereby multiple factors such as race, sex, religion, caste, and gender can be used to account for advantages and disadvantages in American society.  

Instead of a “well-informed citizenry,” we find ourselves in the presence of the “dumbing down” CRT with one diabolical outcome being a new “lunatic fringe” that seeks to ban the teaching of CRT from public schools as well as throughout higher education.  Indeed, “Banning CRT” might well become the “MAGA” slogan for forthcoming elections at all levels of American society. Sadly, some of those seeking to ban CRT are as ignorant as those who hated “Obamacare” but, at the same time, signed up for benefits from the Affordable Care Act. Indeed, “dumbing down” CRT can be as negatively impactful as in the case of the deadly consequences stemming from ignoring the science associated with the Coronavirus.

Regardless to whether it is simple or sincere ignorance and/or devious politically-inspired, essentially the “dumbing down” of CRT is a desperate attempt to maintain the caste-like society that was built on the foundations of Indigenous American genocide, the American holocaust of slavery, and ongoing racist, sexist, patriarchal policies and practices. As these horrendous foundational walls are attacked, of course those who benefitted most from the oppressive system are screaming the loudest. However, as in the biblical story “when the priests blew the rams horn, the army shouted, the walls came tumbling down, the people charged straight in, and they took the city,” the articulation of CRT is but the latest intellectually- inspired “blowing of the ram’s horn” that will help Americans tear down the walls of oppression.  Therefore, folks must “stay woke” regarding the “dumbing down” of CRT lest they be duped by “wolves in sheep’s’ clothing” purporting to defend American democratic ideals.

Jack L. Daniel

Co-founder, Freed Panther Society

Contributor, Pittsburgh Urban View

Author, Negotiating a Historically White University While Black

July 21, 2021

Message from Allegheny County Common Pleas President Kim Berkeley Clark  

As a former prosecutor, lawyer and judge, I take pride in the American system of justice, including the Constitutional protections that all citizens are afforded. I still have faith in our justice system and I am particularly proud of the justice system here in Allegheny County. We are well-respected throughout the United States and we are never satisfied with doing things the way we have always done them. We continue to work to improve our system of justice by making data-informed decisions, by implementing best practices and by working collaboratively with law enforcement and other stakeholders.

Notwithstanding my pride in our justice system, recent events, including the overdue acknowledgement and celebration of Juneteenth National Freedom Day, and the tragic deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, have led me to the decision that the Court must consciously and publicly address the waning public confidence in the justice system amidst the growing and compelling evidence that persons of color are at a greater risk of death or serious bodily injury at the hands of the police and are more likely to languish in the child welfare and juvenile and criminal justice systems than white persons.

These concerns raise questions of whether the justice system in America, including Allegheny County, is actually fair, whether the citizens perceive that our system of justice is fair, and whether, despite our best efforts, the American system of justice is replete with racial and ethnic disparities or operates under the cloud of systemic racism.

While judges have a duty to uphold the law and, in many cases, impose sanctions and consequences on those who violate the law, we have an equal duty to promote public confidence in the judiciary as an independent and unbiased institution. This means that Allegheny County Courts must be at the forefront in addressing these issues. We must undergo an ongoing and critical evaluation of how justice is administered in Allegheny County. It means we must openly acknowledge and address our flaws, rather than rely on the powers and privileges that may allow us to turn a blind eye to them. Please understand that our history is calling us to work collaboratively and inclusively to make positive changes in the justice system that will benefit all citizens.

Engraved above the front entrance of the United States Supreme Court Building, is the phrase “Equal Justice Under Law”. The words stem from the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution, which was adopted on July 9, 1868, in the wake of the Civil War, and which, among other things, granted citizenship to former slaves. This phrase has shaped American jurisprudence and is considered the gold standard of justice.

Despite the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment, our history has demonstrated that justice has not always been equal for many Americans, particularly for racial and ethnic minorities, women, persons with disabilities, those who do not fit into what society has decided are traditional gender roles, and those living in poverty. What we need to do is ensure that we develop a justice system that not only promotes equality, but ensures equity.

To truly achieve justice, the proverbial scales of justice must be balanced. We must take into account the uneven playing field on which racial and ethnic minorities, those who do not squarely fit into traditional gender roles, other disadvantaged persons, and the poor enter the justice system. The public must see members of our local judiciary and court staff working with urgency to attain this goal in equal solidarity with them, with other justice-related institutions, and with each other. The Fifth Judicial District must rise to this generational challenge.

To the hundreds of dedicated civil servants and servant leaders of the Fifth Judicial District, please know that as I acknowledge these pressing questions, I also acknowledge the sacrifices you have made in the interest of serving the public as well as the stress and trauma that many of you endure in your positions. We are fortunate to have judges and staff, police officers, lawyers, victim advocates, and others who are dedicated to public service, who are committed to justice, who demonstrate a strong work ethic, and who possess a keen sense of fairness and respect for humankind. Our Court has been working hard to address the issues of racial and ethnic disparities and systematic racism in the justice system. Some examples of this are:

• Utilization of the PA Detention Risk Assessment, which has significantly reduced the number of juveniles held in pre-trial detention;
• Utilization of the Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory to help identify the risk factors for recidivism, which has significantly reduced the number of delinquent youth in out-of-home placements;
• Utilization of diversionary programs to prevent entry into the juvenile justice system;
• Establishment of a robust Department of Pretrial Services of Allegheny County;
• Utilization of treatment courts (Mental Health Court, Drug Court, Veteran’s Court, PRIDE Court) to divert individuals from incarceration to treatment;
• Establishment of Housing Court to reduce evictions, and improve judicial access through a Help Desk designed to assist litigants by providing information, forms, and referral resources;
• Implementation of a Language Access Plan to promote equal access for limited or non-English speakers and deaf/hard of hearing court users;
• Fostering collaboration between Magisterial District Judges and community stakeholders to educate the community regarding procedures in landlord-tenant cases;
• The MacArthur Safety and Justice Challenge with a focus on meaningfully addressing the racial and ethnic inequities in the justice system;
• The significant reduction of the population in the Allegheny County Jail and the continued efforts to reduce the population;
• Implementation of Anti-Discrimination and Implicit Bias Training consistent with the 5th Judicial District’s Non-Discrimination and Equal Employment Opportunity Policy that prohibits all forms of discrimination because of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, or religion;
• Prompt investigation and redress of Non-Discrimination and EEO Policy violations to ensure that all individuals including employees, applicants for employment, litigants, witnesses, jurors, and court volunteers are treated in a dignified, civil, respectful, and non-discriminatory manner;
• Collaboration with the University of Pittsburgh Institute of Politics, the Allegheny County Executive, and the Allegheny Department of Human Services to address criminal justice reform.

We have made progress, but the struggle is ongoing. We are committed to collecting and examining the data to identify disparities throughout all divisions of the justice system and will continue to examine our processes and procedures that might contribute to racial and ethnic injustice.

It may be difficult to know where to begin in the quest to create a system of equal justice for all. Consequently, I propose that in order to achieve a system that is both equal and equitable, we begin with a thorough and critical examination of our own mission to the public that we serve. We must have a mission that sets forth the Court’s responsibility to the public and we must evaluate everything that we do in light of our mission.

The mission will conspicuously appear on our website to remind the public that they have a right to justice that is free of bias and that the Court is firmly committed to addressing and eradicating ethnic and racial disparity, implicit bias, and systemic racism in our system of justice. Accordingly, I have asked a diverse group of citizens in Allegheny County and staff of the Fifth Judicial District to assist me with creating a mission for the Fifth Judicial District that truly sets forth our responsibility to all members of the public that we serve.

I am proud to serve as the President Judge of the Fifth Judicial District and thankful for the opportunity to work with judges and court staff who are so deeply committed to public service. In the near future, I look forward to presenting the new mission for the Fifth Judicial District of Pennsylvania.

We will continue to examine our processes and procedures to demonstrate our commitment to equal justice under law and to keep us squarely on the path that will enable us to reach this goal. We will do our best to earn and keep your respect, and to hold ourselves accountable to the public that we serve.

I would like to thank the following people for their input, contribution to, and review of this message: Chris Connors, Angharad Stock, Lisa Herbert, Melinda Sala, Judge Mik Pappas, Lisette McCormick (Interbranch Commission of Gender Racial and Ethnic Fairness) Elizabeth Hughes (ACBA President), and the Administrative Team for the Fifth Judicial District.

“…Well, the only person talking about love thy brother is the preacher

…Segregation, determination, demonstration, integration

Aggravation, humiliation, obligation to my nation

… Fear in the air, tension everywhere…”

-The Temptations-

When it comes to police killing Blacks, the realization of justice demands that we not be victims of gaslighting, i.e., “…a form of psychological abuse where a person or group makes someone question their sanity, perception of reality, or memories…” (Jennifer Huizen, July 14, 2020).  For example, gaslighting would have succeeded if police murdered a Black person(s) and, subsequently, Blacks and others accepted the excuse that the police officer(s) were confused when they committed their heinous crimes.  Consider the following “balls of confusion.”  

• In 1999, Bronx resident Amadou Diallo was unarmed but plainclothes police officers were allegedly confused  when they fired 41 bullets into Diallo.  This so-called confusion took place as Diallo, age 22, stood in a well-lighted area.  

• In 2014, a Cleveland police officer, Timothy Loehmann, arrived on the scene and, within minutes, shot and killed 12-year-old Tamir Rice because Loehmann claimed he confused Rice’s toy gun for a real gun.

• In 2018, Dallas police officer Amber Guyger murdered Botham Jean while he was in his apartment eating ice cream, after she supposedly confused his apartment for hers.

• In 2020, Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old woman was guilty of no crime when confused Louisville police officers  Brett Hankison and Jonathan Mattingly and Officers Myles Cosgrove executed a “no knock” warrant at the wrong home; broke down her front door; awakened Ms. Taylor from her sleep; and murdered her with eight shots.  

• In March 2021, a Chicago police officer Eric Stillman was supposed to be confused when he shot and killed 13-year-old Adam Toledo, after Toledo had raised his hands without a gun in his hand.  Gaslighting the public, Stillman was said to be confused as he made a “split-second” decision, notwithstanding the fact that the gun in question was on the ground a few feet from Toledo.

• In April, 2021, Daunte Wright, a 19-year-old, was killed by police officer Kimberly Potter during a traffic stop in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota.  Officer Potter Wright said she confused her Taser with her Glock.  Coming to her defense, former Brooklyn Center Police Chief, Tim Gannon, attempting to gaslight the public by telling reporters, “This appears to me, from what I viewed in the officer's reaction and distress immediately after, that this was an accidental discharge that resulted in the tragic death of Mr. Wright." 

It would take a tome to tell the extent of allegedly confused cops killing Blacks and, therefore, we can only take momentary solace in the guilty verdict for the vicious cop who murdered George Floyd.  

One convicted cop does not aggrieve centuries of police killing innocent Blacks.  Woke folks must remain in control of their faculties by  remembering “…Black people in America are constantly at risk of state-sponsored violence and death. Police still exist to uphold White supremacy and have been empowered by laws and the courts to inject themselves into Black life for any reason, no matter how minor – even expired registrations. And as long as police continue to act as this occupying force and mechanism for social control in Black communities – horrific acts of police violence will be commonplace…” (Paige Fernandez, Policing Policy Advisor, National Political Advocacy Department, ACLU).  

We must never forget the fact that today’s police abuse of Blacks is rooted in the South where “Slave Patrols” were created to “(1) to chase down, apprehend, and return to their owners, runaway slaves; (2) to provide a form of organized terror to deter slave revolts; and, (3) to maintain a form of discipline for slave-workers who were subject to summary justice, outside of the law, if they violated any plantation rules.  Following the Civil War, these vigilante-style organizations evolved in modern Southern police departments primarily as a means of controlling freed slaves who were now laborers working in an agricultural caste system, and enforcing "Jim Crow" segregation laws, designed to deny freed slaves equal rights and access to the political system…” (Gary Potter, 2013).  

Regarding contemporary Minnesota and alleged police confusion related to deadly choke holds, note that W. Lehren and Andrew Blankstein indicated that as of June 1, 2020, Minnesota police had used “neck restraints” 237 times and that three-fifths of the victims rendered unconscious were Black.  One victim was “…a 17-year-old fleeing from a shoplifting incident. Another involved a traffic stop where the suspect was deemed "verbally non-compliant."  Historically, lest we forget, “neck restraint” is a euphemistic term for the extreme tactic previously known as “lynching.”

No amount of “diversity and inclusion” rhetoric/workshops/sensitivity sessions/virtual meetings, etc. will change the forgoing systemic pathology.   A million public pronouncements full of pathos post the finding of guilt regarding the murder of George Floyd will abate the modern modes of murder of Blacks by police.  What is needed with all deliberate speed is a complete reimagining of what it means to serve as a police officer.  Hopefully, many more convictions of confused cops will serve as a catalyst for this endeavor.  If this does not occur, then the May and June 2021 nightly news will be filled with efforts to gaslight ongoing killings of Blacks and, once again, we are likely to experience a long, hot summer.

“If we must die, let it not be like hogs

Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot,

While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs,

Making their mock at our accursèd lot.

If we must die, O let us nobly die,

So that our precious blood may not be shed

In vain; then even the monsters we defy

Shall be constrained to honor us though dead!”

-Claude McKay-

Jack L. Daniel

Co-founder, Freed Panther Society

Contributor, Pittsburgh Urban Media

Author, Negotiating a Historically White University While Black

April 27, 2021

White supremacy is a long-rooted destructive social determinant that contributes significantly to disparities in education, health, housing, wealth, and, in general, quality of life.  When addressing this Revelations-like “Beast,” we must understand that institutional statements about Affirmative Action, Equal Opportunity, Diversity, and Inclusion are just statements unless oppressed people force institutions to also proactively pursue equity and social justice. Otherwise, we witness appalling things such as the Rooney Rule being adopted in 2003 when there were 3 Black Head Coaches and, in 2020, there are 3 Black Head Coaches. 

Because of its ability to regenerate, White supremacy deserves responses as rigorous as those made to Covid-19, i.e., systemic interventions by all societal sectors. Regarding Blacks’ responses to White supremacy, this article was stimulated by my colleague, Dr. Curtiss E. Porter (Chancellor Emeritus, Penn State Greater Allegheny)  who wrote, “I am concerned about this generation’s response to White Supremacy…  It appears to me, that they think ‘words are enough,’ which I will generalize in the headline ‘Dear White People.’ They are brilliant in articulating the vectors and intersections of racial substance, thought and action, such as the negative outcomes posed by micro-aggression but, in the end, it appears, that much is directed toward some ‘great white ear’ which will hopefully respond munificently.” 

In the spirit of Sankofa, a backward look was taken to recall what “brought us thus far” and, based on current circumstances, discern implications for today’s fight against White supremacy. This brief reflection confirms, for example, that “Freedom only comes through persistent revolt, through persistent agitation, through persistently rising up against the system of evil.” (Martin Luther King Jr.) As corroborative evidence, consider two significant periods during the war against White supremacy.

1663-1865 The African Holocaust in America, also known as slavery, remains one if not the worst example of inhumanity --one that produced such excruciating suffering that “ride-or-die” folks were needed in the pursuit of freedom. The horror produced by demonic White supremacists led to people who [1] leaped from slave ships into the seas; [2] conducted more than 250 slave rebellions; [3] implemented work slowdowns by breaking tools and setting fire to crops; [4] killed newborns rather than let them grow up as slaves; [5] served as “House Negroes” but spied on masters in order to help “Field Negroes” plan attacks against the master; and, [6] fled from plantations. These were the proverbial “desperate times that required desperate measures,” including the fact that  it took the bloodiest American war to end slavery.

1954-1980  Immediately after the Civil War, there were continued bombings, burnings, lynchings, and shootings of Blacks. Jim Crow laws were passed to enforce racial segregation. Racism became institutionalized. For more than a century, by law and in practice, Blacks were subjugated second class citizens. Therefore, the Civil Rights Movement was driven by a sense of urgency as well as commitment to a wide array of direct actions undergirded by Martin Luther King Jr’s exhortation “…that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.” 

Accordingly, instead of simply hoping that White leaders would respond munificently, [1] Black students confronted and made demands on historically White institutions of higher education; [2] Black national organizations won a series of key court cases; [3] Black community activists boycotted, marched, sat-in and made demands on local governments, schools, and businesses; [4] Blacks, by way of urban insurrections, exploded like a “festering raisin in the sun;” and [5] Let us not forget that Dwight Eisenhower sent troops to Arkansas and, later, Lyndon Johnson sent troops to Alabama.

Blacks’ direct action was supplemented by a plethora of efforts to raise “race consciousness,” i.e., [1] to move from an inferior and subservient self-concept as a “Negro” to a proud and self-assertive “Black” mentality; and [2] to gain “Black power” which included Blacks doing for self as well as taking their rightful places in public spaces, e.g., to freely attend public schools as well as build Black owned and operated schools; to work in corporate positions as well as become entrepreneurs; to be fairly covered in the White-owned press as well as create Black newspapers; and to dine at any public restaurant as well as own and operate restaurants. 

2000-2020 “Diversity and Inclusion” replaced “affirmative action” but did not significantly advance “equity and social justice” for Blacks. During this period, members of the “talented tenth” became the first Blacks to occupy various managerial, political, and staff positions; Black students gained a significant but token presence in higher education; and more Blacks escaped the worst of poverty. However, by 2020, disparities were growing like a lethal virus as evidenced by widening gaps in Black home ownership, health, educational achievement, and wealth. This scenario reminds one of when more than 40,000 Blacks got back on the White folks’ buses instead of also building upon the transportation system they developed during the Montgomery boycott. 

Regarding Blacks’ addressing White supremacy, I have a dream that, one day, the very best Black student-athletes, other students, faculty, administrators and staff will choose to take their talents to several leading historically Black colleges and universities and turn them into externally verified world class colleges and universities.  I have a dream that there will be more OWN channels, Tyler Perry Studios, Black law firms, Black banks, Black construction companies, Black grocery stores, and, in general, an exponential expansion of Black entrepreneurship.

In my dream, Blacks will deal with the full implications of Carter G. Woodson’s statement, “The education of the Negroes, then, the most important thing in the uplift of the Negroes, is almost entirely in the hands of those who have enslaved them and now segregate them.” 

I dream of White supremacy withering on the vine when [1] Blacks become the largest active voting block and Black elected officers are multiplied significantly;  [2] Black civic organizations, churches, and families regain their critical importance; [3] Blacks’ undying love for their people is wed to sustained systematic actions; [4] the most talented and highest achieving Blacks constantly speak truth to power instead of being muzzled by “30 pieces of silver;” and [5] the struggle against White supremacy is joined by all people purporting to endorse freedom, justice and equality. 

Jack L. Daniel

Co-founder, Freed Panther Society

Contributor, Pittsburgh Urban Media

Author, Negotiating a Historically White University While Black

May 13, 2020

“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 29, 2020