Is Post-Racialism Marching On in America?

Here is a great blog post about Los Almitos Mayor Dean Grose, showing the White house lawn prepped for the annual Watermelon hunt. The blog post outlines how Post-Racialism Marches On in America. H/T and Shout Out to Afrospear blogger Abdul Kargbo for the post. Check out his blog T’ings ‘n Times

Image distributed by Los Almitos Mayor Dean Grose, showing the White house lawn prepped for the annual Watermelon hunt. Grose is claiming he was unaware of the racial stereotype that Black people love watermelon.

Lest anyone was having trouble remembering that we are now living in a post-racial America, here are a few reminders.

In Los Alamitos, Mayor Dean Grose has come under fire for sending a doctored photo titled “No Easter egg hunt this year.” Offended recepients, including Keyanus Price, a Black businesswoman, have demanded an apology from the mayor. Speaking in his own defense, the mayor claimed that he had no idea there was a racial stereotype involving Black people and watermelons.

Rupert Murdoch, owner of the New York Post, issued a reluctant apology for the above cartoon, drawn by Sean Delonas.

Other examples of post-racialism at work have attracted nationwide attention. Take, for example, the New York Post cartoon in which two White officers shoot dead a chimpanzee, and one of the officers says to the other, “They’ll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill.” While the Post and its supporters tried to argue that the cartoon ape and the reference to the stimulus bill were not coded racist references to President Barack Obama, there is no escaping the association. Although admittedly the president is not the bill’s author, a cursory Google search on the term “stimulus bill” turns up tons of articles that reference Obama in their opening paragraphs (see also here). So while the cartoonist may want people to believe that the link was unintentional, the reality is that on one hand, the ape has long been used as a racist caricature of Black people, and on the other hand, there is a long history of White people doing violence to Black people. When the links among the stimulus bill and Barack Obama, the history of police violence towards Black men, and the ape as a racist caricature are considered, it’s hard—if not impossible—not to see the racist overtones in this cartoon.

Sadly, some of the other signs of post-racialism are much more real than a doctored photo or a newspaper cartoon, and the town of Paris, Texas provides a few examples. Paris is where a 14-year-old Black girl was sentenced to seven years in a juvenile prison for pushing a hall monitor. The sentencing judge had earlier sentenced a young White girl to probation for arson! Paris is also home to Turner Industries’ pipe factory, whose Black employees are complaining that nooses, confederate flags, and racist graffitti are prominently displayed all over their workplace.

Ah yes! We are living in heady times! Post-racial fever is sweeping the nation and everybody’s catching the bug! According to CNN, there has been a huge upswing in the number of Americans joining hate groups. Don Black, a former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard (what an unfortunate last name for a KKK Grand Wizard!?), told the cable news network that 2,000 people joined his online hate group the day after Obama’s inauguration: prior to the inauguration, he got about 80 new members a day. More HERE

Cross posted at African American Political Pundit.com

Nelson Mandela on U.S. Terrorist Watch List.

AAPP: Everything has changed in America, and nothing has changed. This story is an American disgrace.

Source; USA Today - 89 year old - Nobel Peace Prize winner and international symbol of freedom Nelson Mandela is flagged on U.S. terrorist watch lists and needs special permission to visit the USA. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice calls the situation "embarrassing."



AAPP: And there are some folks that want Condoleeza Rice to be Vice president under John McCain? - Whatever!

The requirement applies to former South African leader Mandela and other members of South Africa's governing African National Congress (ANC), the once-banned anti-Apartheid organization. In the 1970s and '80s, the ANC was officially designated a terrorist group by the country's ruling white minority. Other countries, including the United States, followed suit.

Because of this, Rice told a Senate committee recently, her department has to issue waivers for ANC members to travel to the USA.

"This is a country with which we now have excellent relations, South Africa, but it's frankly a rather embarrassing matter that I still have to waive in my own counterpart, the foreign minister of South Africa, not to mention the great leader Nelson Mandela," Rice said.

Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif., chairman of the House International Relations Committee, is pushing a bill that would remove current and former ANC leaders from the watch lists. Supporters hope to get it passed before Mandela's 90th birthday July 18.

The Blogger Racial Divide and Blogger Color Arousal

A national conversation about race. When will bloggers as a group address the issue?

Tears flow down the face of supporter Marty Nesbitt as Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama D-Ill., speaks about race during a news conference in Philadelphia, Tuesday, March 18, 2008.(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

wow, I just had the same conversation with Francis L. Holland last night. But the conversation we both thought about was more a national conversation about Color Arousal and bloggers.

As part of that national conversation on race and color arousal, lets include a national conversation on blogger color arousal and the digital blogger divide.

You see what Barack Obama is talking about in the video below, has a lot to do with what is going on in America's blogger community as well. I'm reminded that much of the conversation about race in the presidential election is based on comments made by Hillary and Bill Clinton and their surrogates. I'm also reminded that Bill Clinton and white bloggers met a year ago in Harlem NY without including black folks in the conversation. How interesting. Is there a "connection." ?

I'm reminded about a post a year or so ago, by Liza at the culture Kitchen when she wrote: "These are the 20 liberal bloggers that met with Bill Clinton in Harlem. As you can see, not one of them is black or latino.

Via Republic of T.

This photo proves that It's official : Hillary to run for President, so she kills the Liberal Blogosphere first.

I am just shocked at the glee with which Peter Daou has shown his disrespect for Pam Spaulding, Steve Gilliard, Louis Pagan, Chris Rabb, Earl Dunovant and me when he decided to not invite neither of us, or for that matter, any other black or latino bloggers.

Yes, Steve Gilliard, Pam Spaulding, and me have been vocal about Hillary's run for the presidency. You'd think though our opinions would be given the weight they deserve within the blogosphere itself --let's not even talk about the Clintonites or Washington.

Which is why I stand by what I said : In order for Hillary Clinton to run for president, she will do anything and everything to squash the voices of dissent raised through the progressive netroots. Stuffing their faces with lunch is one tasty way to go about it.

The more pressing question remains :

What does it mean though that there are 20 bloggers invited to this lunch and not one is black or latino? What does it mean for this group of bloggers to be patting themselves on the backs for being with Clinton when they are all in Harlem and not one of them is a person of color? What does it mean for these people to be there and have not one of them raise this issue in their blogs?" More HERE

Has Anything change? Yes, The Afrospear was created because other bloggers did not want to have a discussion regarding color arousal politics, or a national conversation on blogger color arousal and the continuing blogger divide. I Guess francis Holland is in many ways right.

The New Organizing Institutes' Blogger Summit has begun a real national conversation with bloggers about the blogger divide. Leading in that conversation included black bloggers like Pam Spaulding from Pam's House Blend, Citizen Journalist, Faye Anderson of Anderson at Large. Barantunde from Jack and Jill Politics, Gabriel from the Color of Change , Brandon Q, from The Super Spade, Field Negro, and Kevin Myles, president of the Wichita Branch of the NAACP.

Now the question is whether the Pseudo-Progressive 'A list' bloggers like DailyKos, MYDD, and others will continue the conversation started by Pam Spaulding, Steve Gilliard, Louis Pagan, Chris Rabb, Earl Dunovant, Francis L. Holland and others. Recently continued by The New Organizing Institutes' Blogger Summit. The engagement in a national conversation on Color arousal/Race and the Blogger Divide is a critical conversation. Or will this just be allowed to fester, because we can't handle the truth?

Hat Tip to all the bloggers who held it down, and worked to address the issue of the continuing blogger divide. Folks like, Liza, Francis L. Holland, Louis Pagan, Chris Rabb, and Earl Dunovant.