Blacksmythe - Latest Comments

Re: It’s not racism…it’s the blacks

Bill-D — Sat, 14 Nov 2015 14:24:44 -0000

Even Jess Jackson is afraid of seeing Black men around when he is out on the street. This pathetic Black (liar) just can't seem to get it right. No wonder the Black Community is such a failure. Idiots who can not and will not tell the truth. You can walk the streets anytime of the day or night in a White city (for now) and you won't be harmed. Take your sh*it to a Black city and see what happens. Ignorant and confused......TOOL!!!!

Re: Tragedy, White Supremacy, and American Politics

Doctsc — Tue, 04 Aug 2015 13:13:18 -0000

Everyone gets feeling discouraged and defeated and hopeless. Like nothing he/she could do would make a difference. The "final straw" is different for each person, and the straw just before that. We wait for a critical event, and wonder if this time it will catalyze action sustained enough to force change. This does not feel like progress. But that does not mean an objective judgment of progress is false. It may make that judgment meaningless.

Re: Is Obama becoming the President Blacks Wanted?

makheru bradley — Wed, 22 Jul 2015 02:06:20 -0000

“Cowardice asks the question - is it safe? Expediency asks the question - is it politic? Vanity asks the question - is it popular? But conscience asks the question - is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular; but one must take it because it is right.” -- Dr. Martin L. King, Jr

Obama’s 2015 NAACP speech was driven by safety, expediency, and vanity. Conscience is never a factor with this politician. He recognized the problem when he spoke to the NAACP in 2009: “We know that even as we imprison more people of all races than any nation in the world, an African American child is roughly five times as likely as a white child to see the inside of a prison.” Obama did not offer any policy or legislative solutions in 2009. Apparently it was neither politically safe, nor politically expedient, nor politically popular for him at that moment.

When Congress debated what became the Fair Sentencing Act in 2010 Congressman Bobby Scott presented a bill that would equalize the crack to powder cocaine sentencing ratio 1:1. The Obama Administration accepted a compromise bill which reduced that ratio from 100:1 to 18:1. Given the opportunity in 2010 to push for equality in cocaine sentencing, Obama did what he does best--expediency.

However, the decision by his administration in 2013 to oppose a ruling in Blewett v United States was nothing less than an “illicit intercourse between injustice and immorality.”

“Last month (May 2013), President Obama quietly did something that should shake every American to the core. Seeking to enforce federal crack cocaine laws that have since been repealed, the Obama administration asked a federal appeals court to ensure that thousands of human beings, mostly poor and mostly black, remain locked in prison – even though everyone agrees that there is no justification for them to be there.” --By Alec Karakatsanis / The Guardian July 23, 2013

Let us not forget that Radley Balko identified “7 Ways The Obama Administration Has Accelerated Police Militarization.”

What changed between 2009 and 2015? Michelle Alexander’s “New Jim Crow” thesis (mass-racial incarceration) gained a lot of traction. The Ferguson Rebellion spurred consciousness and activity which called the entire criminal justice system into question. Clearly Obama was on the unjust side of the criminal justice equation. Bipartisan support for some criminal justice reforms provided him with enough cover to politically shift his position. Does anyone believe that these bedfellows who periodically engage in illicit intercourse will produce anything approaching true justice?

Obama isn’t becoming anything other than the opportunistic mirage he is. The next time he starts singing to Afrikan people they should sing this Smokey Robinson classic back to him.

“You only filled me with despair

By showing love that wasn't there

Just like the desert shows a thirsty man

A green oasis where there's only sand

You lured me into something I should have dodged

The love I saw in you was just a mirage”

Re: Knocking the Hustle: Against the Neoliberal Turn in Black Politics (FAQ) (Updated)

blacksmythe — Mon, 13 Jul 2015 08:08:53 -0000

I just added a link (and the cover). You should be able to order it through the usual online suspects as well as through Punctum's website during the Fall.

Re: Knocking the Hustle: Against the Neoliberal Turn in Black Politics (FAQ) (Updated)

Myron — Mon, 13 Jul 2015 01:49:37 -0000

How do I "buy" or get this book. Thanks.

Re: Quick thoughts on the Baltimore rebellion

E. P. Stone — Thu, 07 May 2015 15:14:16 -0000

I heard your comments on C-SPAN and you are so right about organizing co-ops in poor communities in Baltimore. I would like to hear you speak on the inflexible rules that govern welfare. That system seems to punish those who try to get ahead and rewards those whose behavior is reprehensible. Also why not demand that schools be open all year long and available to the community. Any welfare recipient who has no high school degree should be required to attend school to get a degree. Why not have police provide security in the schools and have a program like explorers or woodshop so that they have a positive fellowship with boys and girls. Would it be so difficult to set up co-op food mart, co-op baby-sitting service, co-op garden, cleaning service, etc. It is going to take someone like you to organize a program that supplies the rules and operational expertise to accomplish this. Cities need taxpayers to survive. Detroit, Philadelphia, Baltimore are the tip of the iceberg. I hope you fine a way to turn things around.

Re: Knocking the Hustle: Against the Neoliberal Turn in Black Politics (FAQ) (Updated)

Tbird — Thu, 30 Apr 2015 18:28:43 -0000

Good Evening Dr. Spence, I'm pleased to make your acquaintance. I just now saw your appearance of a couple of nights ago on PBS with Ta-Nehisi Coates, of whom I am a regular reader. I am a JHU alum and am looking forward to reading both the e-book version of your current effort as well as "Stare in the Darkness...". I regret not having been aware of your work earlier, but better late than never. Take Care, Tbird.

Re: Quick thoughts on the Baltimore rebellion

makheru bradley — Wed, 29 Apr 2015 00:03:02 -0000

Based on what I've read your quick thoughts are on point. Mother Jones provides some details. The letter was a false flag to justify any police violence if necessary. Police definitely wanted to keep people from downtown after what happened on Saturday. They apparently decided to sacrifice the Mondawmin area and created the cannon fodder by confining young people to that area. There is no doubt that there were deep state agents, agent provocateurs, and anarchists embedded in the rebellion. Any thoughts on the torching of the church project in E. Baltimore?

http://www.motherjones.com/...

Re: Thoughts on Dyson, West, and the Black Public Intellectual

Jason Schulman — Thu, 23 Apr 2015 14:46:05 -0000

West getting six-figure checks doesn't bug me -- it depends on how he spends those checks, what organizations he's giving serious dollars too. I know he gives significant cash to Democratic Socialists of America.

I suspect he also took a pay cut when he quit Princeton to work full-time at Union Theological Seminary.

Re: Thoughts on Dyson, West, and the Black Public Intellectual

makheru bradley — Wed, 22 Apr 2015 22:29:28 -0000

"West ended up not voting for Obama. He couldn't bring himself to do it." I'm glad you posted this because I have been lambasting Dr. West for 2 1/2 years for saying that he would vote for Obama in a Vice News interview published 10/18/2012. I assumed based on that interview it was a done deal. On 10/23/2012 I wrote the following in an email:

"Because Romney is unfit to be president, some are inclined to vote for Obama out of fear. I too am afraid—not just of a Romney administration, but also of another Obama administration and of the complete loss of a government for anyone other than the 1%. Voting for Romney would be irresponsible. But … voting for Obama is equally reckless.” – Dr. Bart Gruzalski

“I’m strategic. We have to tell that truth about a system that’s corrupt—both parties are poisoned by big money and tied to big banks and corporations. Speaking on that is a matter of intellectual integrity. American politics are not a matter of voting your moral conscience—if I voted my moral conscience it would probably be for Jill Stein. But it's strategic in terms of the actual possibilities and real options available for poor and working people.” – Dr. Cornel West

My plug nickel: When we compare Bart Gruzalski's analysis to Cornel West's analysis, it becomes crystal clear that people like Dr. West, who know better, are sacrificing truth on an altar of rationalizations. I understand those who have been seduced by “spiritual wickedness in high places,” butCornel West is a self-proclaimed “revolutionary Christian” yet for him political strategy trumps moral conscience. I don’t know how we will ever build a world based on truth, justice, and righteousness, as long as people who clearly know better allow themselves to be mentally incarcerated by the limited parameters of a corrupt system. The scripture says, “Righteousness exalts a nation,” not a lesser evil. Surely Dr. West, if anyone, knows this.

Your post led to this research: In an interview with Time for 10 Questions, Cornel West says he didn’t even vote in 2012. “I couldn’t vote for a war criminal,” he said, calling President Obama’s administration “a Wall Street presidency, a drone presidency, a national surveillance presidency, that violates rights and liberties.”

I owe Dr. West an apology. His moral conscience trumped his October rationalizations on Election Day 2012.

Re: Thoughts on Dyson, West, and the Black Public Intellectual

blacksmythe — Tue, 21 Apr 2015 17:04:21 -0000

On this we disagree. I think when it comes to political identities we should take more into account than individual ascriptions. And I'm also thinking about those six figure checks he likely still gets.

Lester Spence :: Associate Professor, Political Science, Johns Hopkins University :: http://lesterspence.com :: protocol.by/lks

Re: Thoughts on Dyson, West, and the Black Public Intellectual

Jason Schulman — Tue, 21 Apr 2015 16:57:43 -0000

At this late date I think someone in West's position who calls himself a socialist (and he does) probably is one. I admit that his politics have been inconsistent over the years. I used to be very critical of him. But the role he's playing in U.S. (extraparliamentary) politics is (almost) all to the good.

If he was really just a poseur (and I think after Race Matters was a hit he'd become one, for too long) I don't think he'd be giving interviews like this:

http://newpol.org/content/p...

(BTW: West ended up not voting for Obama. He couldn't bring himself to do it.)

Re: Thoughts on Dyson, West, and the Black Public Intellectual

blacksmythe — Tue, 21 Apr 2015 16:48:52 -0000

First thanks for the link (and for reading!).

Second you're right. Along with West's support of the Steven Salaita case I do think it's important to note that West sacrificed a great deal in his decision to take the stances he has. But I'd neither call him a black socialist, nor would I defend him in this particular case.

Re: Thoughts on Dyson, West, and the Black Public Intellectual

blacksmythe — Tue, 21 Apr 2015 16:46:45 -0000

Both your question and your suggestion make sense. Thanks for them.

No individual has the power to kill an idea. I was being purposely provocative. I do think though that our ideas about politics are partially shaped by intellectuals.

As for the link suggestion, I provided the link to Reed's piece (and would've provided the link to the other one if it were available) as a public service. I didn't do it for the Dyson piece because I'd prefer people find it on their own. Not to make them do more work but rather because I don't really want to contribute to the click economy.

Re: Thoughts on Dyson, West, and the Black Public Intellectual

Jason Schulman — Tue, 21 Apr 2015 15:59:06 -0000

Reed's critique of West had real bite in the '90s. Not so much anymore. He's made genuine sacrifices because of his opposition to Obama (churches once open to him won't speak to him anymore -- for someone with his background, this matters). Yeah, he wrote some genuinely screwed-up things in the past and he hasn't done real scholarly work in a long time. I don't care very much in this case. At the moment his influence as a famous outspoken black socialist who's willing to call Obama what he is -- a war criminal and representative of the ruling class -- is the most important thing.

As far as "defending the relatively powerful black professional managerial class" goes, well, you might be surprised as to what West wrote about the "parvenu black petite bourgeoisie" in Social Text in 1984, in a piece about the '60s black liberation movement. One of the best things he's ever written. See:

http://academiccommons.colu...

Re: Thoughts on Dyson, West, and the Black Public Intellectual

Ward Bell — Tue, 21 Apr 2015 13:05:42 -0000

Good piece of commentary, Lester!

One question: you said "... if black public intellectuals like West and Dyson hadn’t helped to kill it off." I'm not certain how West and Dyson helped to kill off "... the idea that local politics matters, that mundane political organizing matters ....?" Clearly, there must have been some organizing on a local basis to bring the voters out during the off-year elections in Ferguson? National actors like West and Dyson can certainly inform local action but they cannot trump effective local action to register and get out the vote. Those not voting are not likely to be influenced by West and Dyson in the first place.

One other thing: I think that you should put the link to the Dyson piece in your references. In this sound-bite world we live in, it is possible to miss things and it would seem to be a good service of your blog to make access to source materials easily available -- like you did with the one Reed piece.

Re: Adolph Reed on culture, politics, and #Blacklivesmatter: A commentary

blacksmythe — Mon, 26 Jan 2015 06:16:06 -0000

Sorry it took me a bit to respond to this. White poor voters, just like most voters, are held hostage by the two party system. But at the same time, every piece of data I'm aware of, from voting behavior at the local, state, and national level, to survey data, shows that white poor voters tend to support conservative ideas and policies, even those that go against their material interest. As it relates to the police it's complicated. They tend to support the right to bear arms as a way to protect themselves from government....but this rarely translates into support for victims like Michael Brown.

Re: Adolph Reed on culture, politics, and #Blacklivesmatter: A commentary

Will Shetterly — Tue, 20 Jan 2015 17:14:00 -0000

What are you basing this on? Poor whites vote for conservative Democrats because that's who rich Democrats give them to vote for. Most of the white poor know the police are not their friends. You seem to be confusing the white middle-class with the white poor.

Re: Adolph Reed on culture, politics, and #Blacklivesmatter: A commentary

blacksmythe — Tue, 20 Jan 2015 16:49:16 -0000

This is misleading. They vote democratic (although this is changing) but the Democrats they tend to vote for are incredibly conservative on issues of social justice. They tend to be anti-union, anti-minimum (much less working) wage, pro-guns, anti-government (but NOT anti-police). Along these lines to the extent they are organizing in rural areas they are organizing mostly (note MOSTLY) around the types of policies that go against their class interests. THEY too are "identitarians"...however while blacks and Latinos tend to (note TEND to) organize around race issues that simultaneously fit their class interests, whites tend to organize around race issues that go against their class interests.

Re: Adolph Reed on culture, politics, and #Blacklivesmatter: A commentary

Will Shetterly — Tue, 20 Jan 2015 15:35:10 -0000

As for ideological predispositions, as Krugman noted long ago in a piece called "Bubba Isn't Who You Think" (it's online), the white poor, even in the South, vote for Democrats. But as for organizing, the white poor are far more rural than the black poor, so organizing is harder. This is part of the reason it's sad that identitarians choose to ignore them.

Re: Adolph Reed on culture, politics, and #Blacklivesmatter: A commentary

blacksmythe — Tue, 20 Jan 2015 15:27:48 -0000

This is an important question. Where are the white poor organizing? What are they organizing for? What ideological predispositions do they have?

Re: Adolph Reed on culture, politics, and #Blacklivesmatter: A commentary

Will Shetterly — Tue, 20 Jan 2015 08:51:55 -0000

I want to think the ripple effect matters. Since there's no way to know what would've happened without OWS or #blacklivesmatter, I won't quibble there. The bigger question: How do you win issues of economic injustice by excluding the white poor who, as in King's day, outnumber the black poor two-to-one, or, if you include Hispanic whites, three-to-one?

Re: Adolph Reed on culture, politics, and #Blacklivesmatter: A commentary

blacksmythe — Mon, 19 Jan 2015 11:53:42 -0000

Thanks for expanding. I disagree in two different ways.

First I don't think either OWS or BLM are insignificant. Thinking locally about Occupy Baltimore for example, there've been a variety of important spinoffs and legislative victories at the local level, spinoffs that wouldn't have happened without OB. For example, one of the most important public housing activist groups in the country is a spinoff of OB. A plan to privatize Baltimore's water system was (easily) defeated by a coalition of people who came together because of OB. I suspect the same thing is going to happen as a result of BLM. This is a lot more than angry chatter. Just because I'm not willing to call it a social movement yet doesn't mean I think it's insignificant. The organization and planning required to coordinate massive highway disruptions across the country isn't insignificant.

Second Harvey is wrong about the role race plays in the neoliberal turn in general. What stands out about Ferguson isn't just that Michael Brown was killed in cold blood and left for hours. Ferguson's second highest revenue generator (to the tune of 21%) is tickets and fines. The average Ferguson household has 3 warrants I think. In the wake of the neoliberal turn, municipalities are forced to become more and more entrepreneurial. Part of this move involves imposing a variety of control taxes on poorer citizens. These policing tactics are predominantly used on black and brown bodies, regardless of their level of income. Harvey (and Reed's) old school Marxism hurts their analysis here. They may very well reproduce neoliberalism in their failure to call for more public resources, but to the extent they've made mistakes focusing on the peculiar relationship between police and black citizens isn't one of them.

Re: Adolph Reed on culture, politics, and #Blacklivesmatter: A commentary

CNu — Mon, 19 Jan 2015 10:50:11 -0000

The left not only lacks collective discipline, it lacks the technical and operational skills required to do, have, or be anything sustainable. In the game of musical chairs on the deck of the Titanic, the notion of paying a "basic income" to infantile oxygen thieves who can't get their shit together is a political non-starter.

Re: Adolph Reed on culture, politics, and #Blacklivesmatter: A commentary

Will Shetterly — Mon, 19 Jan 2015 10:17:07 -0000

I think #blacklivesmatter serves neoliberalism unintentionally. A great many white people have also been killed by the police for things like carrying a toy gun or a cell phone—one white kid was killed for coming to the door with a WII controller—as well as for being unable to respond as the police expected them to because of medical or psychological reasons. By making this a racial issue, the effort to address it is diffused. I expect there'll be a great deal of angry chatter online, but nothing significant will come of it, just as nothing significant came of OWS, a movement I respected up to the point that it refused to actually propose any specific solutions, like Martin Luther King's favorite, Basic Income.

Mind you, I hope I'm wrong. I want change. But like Reed, I've watched an awful lot of short-term outrage dissipate.