Can Black people be racist?

 

[VIDEO]  From Nothing YouTube channel asks a worthwhile question can Black people be racist. The answer from the YouTube may surprise you or perhaps not.

I always go with, if you spent all your life fighting against racism what justifies you holding those same opinions against others?

It seems appropriate since we just passed the MLK holiday.

Mr. Beat: What is systemic racism?

 

[VIDEO] Happy new years to you.

This video from Mr. Beat just dropped today so I wanted to share this with you all. He discusses the idea of systemic racism and the reasons for it. Expect there to be drops of "white privilege" in this video.

The next question could be what are the most reasonable solutions to this issue of systemic racism? If anyone talks about the idea of eliminating "whiteness" I should laugh you off this blog right now.

What is "Critical Race Theory"?

 

[VIDEO] I've been subscribed to US101 YouTube channel since last year and he hosts a discussion of Critical Race Theory (CRT) with Mr. Beat (you may know him and his videos) and another YouTuber The Cynical Historian. This discussion is about 35 mins.

What do I know about CRT? Well I'm not that educated on that subject myself other than what's in the news or the opinion page about it. One thing I'm clear on is the origins out of the work of academics in graduate school or law school.

I hear it's conflated with discussing race or racism in America. My understanding of where this "theory" comes from is from the ivory tower of higher education. Whether from graduate school or law school. Although I've never taught in a classroom I've heard too many stories about how it's applied in a school.

I've heard one report of where a teacher divided up a class between the white students (oppressors) and the Black students (victims). I would say that's a horrible way of trying to teach this lesson to our young people. In my opinion let's talk about the issues of prejudice/racism, but what we want to do is to encourage our young people to move beyond that.

I do conflate in my mind prejudice/racism. It's not necessarily black/white as it seems to always be framed. Humanity has always divided itself up into differing groups whether racial, tribal, religious, language etc. We should always strive to eliminate these arbitrary divisions and put behind us any prejudice/hatred.

In my opinion, I don't believe that CRT belongs in a K-12 classroom and should remain in higher education. Hopefully undergrad students and above will be able to adequately think critical about what CRT is and some of it pros/cons as a theory. It should never be treated as a fact.

Which is what US101, Mr. Beat, and The Cynical Historian are seeking to do in the above video. At least US101 shared some links for us to peruse to learn more about CRT.

• Education Week: What Is Critical Race Theory, and Why Is It Under Attack?
• Time: 'Critical Race Theory Is Simply the Latest Bogeyman.' Inside the Fight Over What Kids Learn About America's History
• American Bar Association: A Lesson on Critical Race Theory

I suppose this could count for the Shedd School of Political Science or perhaps not since this is more social science than anything else.

Retracing the murder of Emmett Till

 

[VIDEO] If I ever do my Civil Rights tour and go to the sites very important in the Civil Rights era is to go to Money, Mississippi. To visit that grocery store where 14-year-old Till allegedly made a move on the wife of the store owner. What I learned here in this video by Mobile Instinct is we'll never really know what happened here, we do know that Mrs. Bryant allegedly admitted decades later that the story that caused Till's murder was fabricated.

They go to a bridge where allegedly Till's body was dumped into the Tallahatchie River. And yet another site along the river where his body was most likely tossed into the river with a fan attached to his body. They went to the site of Till's torture and murder. They go to the courthouse where Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam were tried and acquitted for murder.

Also another site is the church of Till's great-uncle where they intended to have the funeral and a nearby graveyard where Till would've been buried. Instead as history records Mamie Mobley wanted her son to be sent to Chicago for his funeral. And as disfigured as this boy was by the actions of Bryant and Milam she wanted to show the world what they did to her boy! 

Oh well the bridge isn't used much anymore. The church of Till's family is basically a shell with the earth reclaiming it - not too uncommon in the country unfortunately I know by experience. The store where allegedly Till whistled at Mrs. Bryant is basically a shell also. However, all seen in this video are important places of history.

Also noted for $3,000 back in 1955 Bryant and Milam who couldn't be tried again because of "double jeopardy" were all too willing to take the money to tell their story of their crime to Look magazine.

CapFax: CTU slammed for “clearly racist” tweet

I found out about this tweet from the Chicago Teacher's Union at Capitol Fax today. He's noted what if Chicago's Fraternal Order of Police had tweeted this out. And I'm guessing the police would be universally condemned for this.

Y’all too much sometimes. 😂😂💀#DefundthePolice #PoliceFreeSchools #CopsOutCPS (IG: @electricstripe) pic.twitter.com/I4ryy3vOvM

— ChicagoTeachersUnion (@CTULocal1) June 18, 2020

EDIT 7:53 PM: That tweet has since been taken down so therefore I was prepared with this below screencap. 

"Strategic gentrication"

Before writing about the story below, what I hope to post about later may be semi-related to this. The new distribution center for Whole Foods is now open for business and what will be posted later are ig posts & tweets related to this significant event. I believe this to be a great boost to the south side Pullman neighborhood where the center will be located.

That said, the post to be continued below is about a charge made last week by a gubernatorial candidate of "strategic gentrification". Of which to be fair there are those who are alleging this with the Whole Foods store that is currently open in Englewood at 63rd Street & Halsted. That said the question could be asked is Whole Foods Market a catalyst for change in a depressed neighborhood offering jobs and better food for an area or is it just part of a strategy of gentrification. You be the judge after you listen to Democrat gubernatorial candidate Christ Kennedy below - he seeks to unseat Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner who is seeking re-election

[VIDEO] The comments of Chris Kennedy - who's running in this year's Democratic primary for Governor and a nephew of the 35th President John F. Kennedy - made some comments that got people talking last week. He thinks that there is "stragetic gentrification" going on in Black communities and his evidence are closed schools and social services facilities. Needless to say as he accused Mayor Emanuel of knowing about this the mayor bristled under the suggestion.

Via Tribune:

Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Friday called Democratic governor candidate Chris Kennedy’s claim that the mayor is making Chicago “whiter” and wealthier a “hallucinatory” insult.

Emanuel said he’s “looking forward to ideas, not insults” in his first public comments since Kennedy on Wednesday accused him of leading a "strategic gentrification plan” forcing African-American residents out of the city.

“It is easy to cast blame and point fingers,” the mayor said. “Where are the ideas? Where are the solutions, real solutions to real challenges that make those challenges opportunities?”

Emanuel also quoted a Chicago Tribune editorial that was critical of Kennedy’s comments. “As the Chicago Tribune referred to it today as imaginary, hallucinatory,” he said. “I hope nobody ever describes any of my ideas that way.”
...
Emanuel on Friday said he was troubled by the city’s black population decline and said the factors behind the drop can’t be explained in brief television news segments. “Of course it troubles me, which is why we’re making an investment in the neighborhoods across the city of Chicago. That’s a longer discussion, that’s going to take longer than standing here and get snipped and cut up later when it gets produced,” he said.

Support among African-American Chicagoans remains a potential political weakness for Emanuel as he gears up for a 2019 re-election run.

Over at Capitol Fax an excerpt of a Kennedy press release:

Statement from Rebecca Evans, spokeswoman for Chris Kennedy:

Unlike JB Pritzker, who continues to remain silent to protect the political establishment, Chris Kennedy has the political courage to speak truth to power. He will stand up to anyone regardless of party, position or influence if it means standing up for justice, equality and opportunity for everyone in Illinois.

Chris Kennedy isn’t hiding behind $17 million worth of scripted TV ads. He will use his voice to stand up for what is right even if it’s calling out inconvenient truths that are hurting people of color in Chicago.

He has said from the start of this campaign that he wants to dismantle the structural inequities that exist in our government. He has put forward real solutions and plans on how we can do it. We must allow an elected school board, stop closing public schools, put an end to the discriminatory property tax racket, and fully address the civil rights violations described in the Department of Justice’s report on the Chicago Police Department.

Ah so two Democrats are at odds here. Rahm Emanuel isn't too thrilled with Kennedy's comments and it seems the campaign is going along with it.

Against All Odds: The Fight for the Black Middle Class

Crossposted from The Sixth Ward

[VIDEO] One of the main reasons why I started The Sixth Ward was to in some way highlight the middle-class aspects of the 6th Ward as it was drawn between 2002 to roughly 2015. Chatham isn't the only community with a solidly Black middle-class population, but it has often been considered a bastion of the Black middle-class.

This documentary was mentioned on the ig profile for the new owners of the former Seaway National Bank - Self-Help FCU - doing a quick mention of this documentary Against All Odds: The Fight for the Black Middle Class. It's available for viewing either on pbs.org or you can watch it through the PBS app available on iPhones & iPads and likely Android also.