How Republicans are Modernizing Slavery Era Tactics

Throughout the 2015-2016 election campaign, there has been discussion of Republican efforts to “turn back the clock”—to dilute, and indeed reverse, a broad range of civil rights related to race, gender, sexual identification, etc.  However, as the Trump era begins to take shape, we are starting to see that conservatives are not only turning the clock back in terms of general philosophy, but in regards to specific tactics as well.  And they’re not just looking backwards by a few decades; they’re taking it all the way back to slavery.

Show Me Your Papers

Among the more troubling members of Trump’s deplorable transition team is Kris Kobach, currently Kansas’ secretary of state.  Kobach’s anti-civil rights pedigree isextensive, and includes the controversial 2010 Arizona law which made it a state crime for an undocumented immigrant to be in Arizona without carrying their legal paperwork. It also allowed members of law enforcement to stop anyone and ask for their papers if they suspected the person might be undocumented. 

The Arizona law is reminiscent of slavery era “Black Codes”, sets of laws which were designed to limit the rights of free Blacks (in contrast to “Slave Codes” discussed below, which dealt specifically with those still enslaved).  Free Blacks faced the threat of being captured and re-enslaved at any time, and one tactic which facilitated such re-enslavement was the requirement that free Blacks have their “freedom papers” with them at all times—documents that could verify that they were indeed “free”.  The Arizona law is also similar to apartheid era laws in South Africa, requiring Blacks to “show their papers” on demand.

Of course, the impact of the Arizona law extends beyond immigrants—documented or undocumented—and will impact U.S. born citizens as well.  All a law enforcement officer needs is a belief that a person is undocumented, which can essentially amount to “you look Mexican”.  With Donald Trump setting the standard with his attack on U.S. born Judge Curiel, whom he repeatedly referred to as Mexican, it’s clear that law enforcement will feel able to racially profile and use the law as pretext to harass and potentially arrest Latinos for a variety of offenses, many of which will have nothing to do with immigration status.

Criminalizing Support for Freedom

Similarly, in the state of Washington, a Republican state senator who supported Donald Trump is seeking to intensify the criminalization of protests by declaring certain forms of protest as “economic terrorism”.  While many of the activities included in the proposed bill are already punishable as misdemeanors, the bill would classify these activities as felonies, significantly increasing the possible fines as well as jail time involved. 

While the attack on protestors is insane in and of itself, another feature of the bill is equally draconian, if not more so.  The bill seeks to punish those who fund, organize, and/or sponsor such protests, a provision which could have a chilling effect on those individuals who for whatever reasons cannot directly participate in such activities but who would support in other ways.  While the bill’s supporters claim that such limits are aimed at billionaires who are allegedly sponsoring the protests (a complete lie), such a law could be used against a random supporter who donated materials for signs or who contributed $10 in support of the cause.

Such a policy, which seeks to criminalize not only participants but supporters, has its roots in slavery era “slave codes”.  Some are aware of how slave codes denied rights to enslaved Africans, but many of us are not as familiar with the restrictions placed on Whites.  For example, laws which forbade enslaved Africans from reading were often accompanied by language stating that it illegal for a White person to *teach* a slave to read.  More importantly, fugitive slave laws not only made it illegal to support those who had escaped, but went as far as to require on demand that any individual actively assist in capturing a fugitive.

Imagine the modern-day implications of such a policy, perhaps as applied to requiring assistance with mass deportations.  Or try extending Donald Trump’s comments during debate #2 regarding Muslims watching their neighbors and reporting (which launched a comical #muslimsreportstuff), and imagine that as a legal requirement.

Local Control

Several months ago, all eyes were on North Carolina as the state legislature and Governor McCrory passed HB2, “the bathroom bill”, which allowed for discrimination against LGBT individuals.  Although the civil rights issue involved with the bill rightfully received a lot of attention, an underlying issue was only discussed on the margins, and that was the fact that the state bill was actually nullifying a municipal law passed by the city of Charlotte.  While the issue itself is obviously truly important, the tactic used may turn out to be the bigger story over the next few years.

A similar example can be found in Birmingham, Alabama, which in 2015, passed a city ordinance to increase the minimum wage.  However; in February 2016, the state government passed a law which prohibits all local governments, including Birmingham, from enacting higher local minimum wage ordinances.  Again, a state government nullified a city’s attempt to support its residents.  In this case, the racist aspects of the state action are painfully clear; Black residents would have accounted for an estimated 70% of the beneficiaries of the increased minimum wage.  In essence, a predominantly White state government was telling a predominantly Black city to “stay in its place.”

Such action is not new in Alabama, which is governed by a constitution that severely restricts the ability of city and county governments to pass legislation covering their own jurisdictions.  It’s no coincidence that the Alabama constitution has been in effect since 1901, and that many of its provisions were specifically created to roll back Black progress made during Reconstruction and to control any future attempts at the local level.  Thus, the state nullification of local law tactic that we are seeing has its roots in the slavery era—or at least the post-Reconstruction era.  This tactic is guaranteed to become more prevalent as cities continue to try to pass progressive policies. 

The point here is not that we must run and hide.  Quite the contrary, the point is that we must be aware of these tactics and use *our* knowledge of history, combined with our modern strengths and resources, to implement counter-strategies.  We can and will defeat these efforts to turn back the clock, but only if we are clear about the nature of our opponents.  As David Walker said in 1830, “do not trifle, for they will not trifle with you.”

Election 2016: How and What Now? (Part 1)

A lot has been said and written about the election since last Tuesday, and certainly, there’s lots more to come.  For my part, I can honestly say that I saw this coming.  I had been telling people for months that any polling data that showed Clinton with less than a 5 or 6 point lead meant she was actually behind.  That’s because I knew that, although some ridiculed the notion, there was a certain percentage of voters, mainly White, who simply would not reveal that they planned to vote for Trump.  As Dave Chappelle said the other night on SNL, “I know the Whites… You guys aren’t as full of surprises as you used to be.”  I figured no matter what the polls said, Trump had at least 3 or 4 more points than everyone believed.

I also knew that regardless of what the polls said, that Clinton would not get as many votes as people believed.  That’s because this was, in fact, the first presidential election since the gutting of the Voting Rights Act.  Some folks may have missed this critical point, because as the Nation recently pointed out,it was the most undercovered story of 2016.  People showing up as Clinton supporters in the poll would never make it to the voting booth, either because they didn’t have ID, or their name had been removed, or their polling location had been closed, or Sheriffs had been sent to their house to intimidate them (yes, that happened) or some other tactic that Republicans (and some Democrats in red states) used to minimize the voting by people of color.  They even bragged about this being their purpose in TV interviews and in official party memos.  Well, in case we didn’t already know it, guess what… voter suppression works, especially when those who have the ability to protect those rights are unwilling or unable to do so, and when those who have the responsibility to report on those rights are preoccupied with email servers.

So yes, I saw this coming.  But that doesn’t change the fact that, after spending all of election day coordinating and canvassing with workers in one Georgia legislative district that we actually successfully flipped, I returned home and watched in disbelief as state after state went for Donald Trump.  A friend of mine posted that it’s amazing how many radicals actually believe in the system and are shocked by these results.  I’m not sure if the shock and pain is so much a reflection of a belief in the system, as much as a painful, stinging reminder of our status in this country.  No matter how often we are reminded, there is still the sting of being reminded of how much hate there is in this country.  It’s the kind of momentary sting we feel with every policy shooting—not disbelief that such a thing could happen but disbelief that it has happened again, and again… and then again.  It’s the kind of sting that makes you wonder, not whether we’ll eventually win (we will!), but why the fight is even necessary to begin with.  It’s the kind of shock and pain that I don’t ever won’t to NOT feel when such events occur, because that would mean that my *own* humanity has been changed.

Nevertheless, I’m not writing to say “I told you so” or to explain my own reaction.  I’m writing so we can better understand why this happened and where we go from here.

A Lot of Blame to Go Around

A lot of folks played a role in the election results, starting with the candidate herself and her campaign team.  Yes, the email story received far more attention than it ever should have, but at the end of the day, 1) it was stupid, and 2) I still don’t understand how, after two years, she and her team NEVER found a good response to the question.  More importantly, her team made several strategic mistakes, including chasing fool’s gold in places like Arizona and Utah without consolidating her base in states where they HAD to know she was vulnerable (e.g. Michigan, Wisconsin and others). 

And speaking of her base, I’m not particularly interested in giving advice to the Democratic Party, but if they expect to make gains either in Congress or in the next presidential election, someone better pick up Brown is the New White or listen to any of the Black and Brown commentators who have been trying to make it clear that the Democrats have all of the votes they need if they would simply pay serious attention to addressing the needs of Black and Brown communities and then truly investing in mobilizing voters of color. 

In terms of the voting population, as The Root explains, “Black women were the only ones who tried tosave the world.”  Black men gave only 80% of support to Clinton, compared to 93% of Black women, so a significant group of us are apparently unwilling to vote for a female president.  It’s also possible that Trump’s anti-immigration message resonated more with Black men than women, but I’m thinking it had more to do with sexism.  We’ll see if someone studies that further.

As for the Latino vote, I’m confused by the 30% of Latinos who saw fit to vote for the man who called many of them murderers and rapists.  I’m guessing a significant segment of the Cuban-American community in Florida probably felt that Trump was just talking about Mexicans and that they’re exempt from his racism.  I haven’t seen the Florida voter breakdown, but we’ll see. 

White Folks

With all that said, I in no way intend to ignore the elephant in the room.  White people elected Trump.  It’s that simple.  Trump and his team waged a campaign based on the belief that if he could galvanize enough White people, he could offset the minimal support he expected from people of color.  Trump basically nationalized the Southern Strategy of the 60s and 70s.  And it worked.  Every demographic of the white vote—men, women, college educated, non-college educated—each segment gave Trump a majority of their support.  A vast majority of White America voted for Trump either because they agree with his racism or because they simply aren’t that concerned with his racism. 

I don’t want to minimize the role of Trump’s sexism and misogyny, nor do I want to assume that just because a majority of White women voted for Trump that sexism was not at play.  Certainly, we should all know that women can internalize sexist oppression just as people of color often internalize racist oppression.  Every oppressed group has a tendency to participate in their own oppression to one degree or another.  But what we saw at play here was not only that White women chose to vote in support of sexism; what we saw was that White women chose race over gender.  Again, to those of us who study history, this should come as no surprise, and yet it has been astonishing to watch it play out.

The Media

A couple of weeks ago, on the radio show that I co-host with Heather Gray on WRFG, I pointed out that Trump’s campaign was highlighting several contradictions in the electoral process, and that in a strange way, he was correct in some of his critiques.  He was absolutely right that the media rigs campaigns, but he was absolutely wrong in pretending he was the victim of this rigging.  For more than a year, Trump benefited from free advertising as the networks sought big ratings by covering everything he did or said.  Even CNN’s presidentrecently admitted it was a mistake giving Trump so much coverage.  Perhaps he should also admit that it was a mistake giving nightly access to not one, not two, but often three of his surrogates.

The media strengthened Trump in other ways as well.  But what’s more important now is that they are continuing to do what they did throughout the election campaign—they are normalizing Trump.  With the exception of a few journalists, mainly Black and Brown, the media is moving on from Trump’s racism, misogyny, religious intolerance, etc. to discuss standard transition plans.  And in doing so, they are spreading the mantras of “give Trump a chance”, “let’s wait and see”, and “maybe he’ll be different”.

Most of the those who are spreading this narrative have something in common—they are not the ones whose lives are in grave danger right now. They are not the ones facing increased stop and frisk. They're not the Muslims being attacked and in at least one case killed, like the Muslim brother in Wisconsin. They're not the Latino children being taunted at school, not only by students but by TEACHERS as well! They're not the girls being sexually assaulted and told that it's okay because the president can do it.

For everyone who is tempted to go with the "let's wait and see", I encourage you to read Dr. King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail". I suggest reading the entire letter, but especially the section on why we can't wait:

For years now I have heard the word "Wait!" It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This "Wait" has almost always meant "Never."

The paragraph that follows that quote contains a beautiful defense of extremism, which is exactly what is called for at this time.  Not less, but more protest.  In fact, when confronted with forces that have such little respect for your lives, or the lives of those you call allies, friends, and loved ones, extremism isn’t even the correct word.  Some, like Thomas Paine, might call it “Common Sense”.

Speaking of common sense, part 2 of this Cliff Note will explore Malcolm’s “The Ballot of the Bullet” and discuss potential electoral and non-electoral responses to our current situation.  Stay tuned!

My Cliff Notes to Ernie Johnson Regarding the Election

In the video below, Ernie Johnson, an NBA on TNT sports commentator, offered his thoughts about the election and its aftermath.  I saw the video in a friend's Facebook post, and I then posted the comments shown below the video link.  I've not edited them since the Facebook post, but I will be expanding on some of the points in a separate article.  

No sir, Ernie Johnson. Completely disagree on all three counts, starting with the false equivalency of a man who is by his own words a sexual predator, bigot and hatemonger compared with a woman who set up an email server.

Second, no sir, we do not have to give him a chance. That is NOT the definition of democracy. If he seeks to do all that he SAID he would do, then our obligation is to NOT give him a chance. And it starts today, as the stories of stone cold racists and misogynist across the country who now feel emboldened to intimidate, assault and chant at people of color and grab women (and little girls!) spread, we cannot allow him to just wink at them and act like he hasn't unleashed this.

And third, I'm not trying to hear about how important your Christianity is as you sit by and watch a man who violates at least 4 of the 10 commandments on a daily basis. I'm not trying to hear about you speak about Jesus (whom I love, in all his Blackness) as you ignore that this man violates what Jesus said was the heart of the word: by his own words he has never asked God for forgiveness which makes it hard to believe he loves God with all his heart, and it's certainly clear that he does NOT love his neighbor as himself. I'm not trying to impose a Christian analysis on ANYBODY, but if that's how you chose to use the national airwaves to rationalize your position then perhaps you need to rethink yourself.

Support Needed for Election Day GOTV in Georgia!

Georgia is in position to play a critical role in Hillary’s path to 270. In polls taken as late as this weekend, data suggests that the presidential race in Georgia is a statistical dead heat, with Hillary trailing by just 1%. In a race that will generate roughly 3.8 million votes, a 1% margin means that our state could be decided by less than 38,000. Just 500 votes in every Democrat leaning district could be the difference. Now, more than ever, EVERY VOTE MATTERS! With the closing of the early voting period this past Friday, the focus is now on our election day Get Out the Vote (GOTV) efforts, and we need your help.

In the process of mobilizing the votes necessary to “turn Georgia blue” in the presidential race, we will simultaneously be mobilizing votes to impact key races for the Georgia State House. During this election cycle, the Georgia Democratic Party, House Democratic Leader Stacey Abrams, the Georgia donor table and others have felt that flipping 2-3 state house districts would be an important step in weakening the Republican majority and making sure that Republicans do not capture a “supermajority” – 66% of seats which impacts veto overrides, constitutional amendments, census redistricting, etc. Regardless of what happens with the presidential election, Georgia will not be able to move forward with progressive and equitable policies until we change the makeup of the state legislature!

One important district where there is a tight race and a great opportunity for Democrats to flip a seat is House District 138, covering the counties of Sumter (Americus), Chattahoochee, Marion and Schley. Currently, District 138 is represented by Republican Mike Cheokas, a local liquor store owner who has supported dangerous and discriminatory legislation, voting for campus carry and the so-called ‘religious freedom’ bills. According to Better Georgia (www.bettergeorgia.org), Cheokas faced controversy earlier this year over his support of several pro-confederate bills. He continued to support the bills, even after the lead sponsor, Rep. Tommy Benton defended the KKK, saying, they were “not so much a racist thing but a vigilante thing to keep law and order.” Cheokas has also repeatedly supported policies which hurt a majority of the district’s residents. Cheokas recently sponsored legislation that changed the structure of the Sumter County School Board in order to dilute Black representation.

With your help, we can implement our election day GOTV strategies which can help win House District 138 while increasing voter turnout that can help “dump Trump” and turn Georgia blue! Financial support will help provide extra workers for canvassing teams, rides to the polls, snacks and water (for canvassers and voters on long lines) and other logistical needs. Donations can be made online at www.blackvotersmatterfund.org. Donations by checks can be made payable to “Black Voters Matter Fund” and sent to:

Black Voters Matter Fund
c/o Cliff Albright
6486 Stonelake Place
Atlanta, GA 30331

BVMF is a 501c4 organization and donations/gifts are NOT tax deductible as charitable contributions.

Where Simone Manuel and Langston Hughes Meet Donald Trump

When I was young, I used to love watching the Olympics. I remember watching, at the age of 10, the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics and following every game of the U.S. hockey team’s journey to gold, and I can still hear Al Michaels’ “do you believe in miracles” as if it were yesterday. I remember watching the 1984 Summer Olympics, cheering for Carl Lewis and Mary Lou Retton as if they were personal friends of mine.

I can even remember how excited I was when I found out that handball was an Olympic sport, only to find out that the Olympic version was far different than the handball I was exceptionally good at playing on handball courts in the Bronx. So I wasn’t likely to have my own moment on the podium, but I could still feel a sense of pride and joy watching U.S. athletes receive gold as the flag was raised and The Star Spangled Banner was played.

As I became older and more politically conscious (now known as “woke”), the Olympics became more problematic. To be sure, I still loved the athleticism and the incredibly human stories behind every athlete in every event. But the questions of who I was cheering for, and why, were far less clear than in my youth. And the U.S.-centric television coverage, only occasionally muted by a fascination with European athletes, became outright irritating.

Watching the Olympics became another manifestation of W.E.B. DuBois' “double consciousness”. If you’re not familiar with the concept, this quote from his classic The Souls of Black Folks should make it plain: “One ever feels his two-ness— an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder.”

Nevertheless, like most Black folks, I have always reserved special hopes and prayers for athletes of color in events where we don’t usually participate. Whether Debi Thomas in 1988, Dominique Dawes in 1996, or the Jamaican bobsled team for that matter, I feel a personal connection to every Black athlete trying to become “the first”. When Debi fell in ’88, my heart sunk, and when Gabby nailed her landings in 2012, my heart raced!

Which brings us to yesterday—a day on which we saw the expected coronation of Simone Biles in the gymnastics all-around competition. However, what was far less expected was the performance of “the other Simone”, swimmer Simone Manuel. I say, “far less expected”, but perhaps it should have been expected, considering she had the second fastest time in the semi-finals. AtlantaBlackStar.com has written about how her performance in the semis received almost no attention from the NBC commentators. And as Slate.com points out, NBC’s pattern of ignoring Simone continued in the finals.

Before the race began, NBC focused its narrative on Australian sisters Cate and Bronte Campbell, whose father was in the stands... If Simone Manuel’s family members were cheering her on, NBC didn’t show them. “And then there is Simone Manuel, the other American in the final,” Dan Hicks said as the camera showed Manuel adjusting her goggles. "The other American in the final"—that was how Simone Manuel was introduced to NBC's star-spangled audience.

The commentators then spent 80% of the race obsessed with the two Australian sisters in the race—neither of whom ended up with a medal. In fairness, NBC did a decent job of capturing the aftermath of the race, capturing Simone’s classic reaction upon seeing her winning time on the board, and an emotional moment with her coach and teammates after leaving the water. But the network then embarrassed itself and infuriated viewers by NOT showing Simone’s medal ceremony live, and instead broadcasting videotaped footage of Russian gymnasts.

So by the time I finally got to watch her ceremony at around midnight, I was already feeling some type of way. And as I watched a tearful Simone during the playing of the national anthem, I couldn’t help to think about (and not for the first time during these Olympics), Langston’s Hughes’ poem, “Let America Be America Again”. I hesitate to excerpt a few verses here, because the entire poem is a must-read, but nevertheless, here are the first few verses:

Let America be America again.
Let it be the dream it used to be.
Let it be the pioneer on the plain
Seeking a home where he himself is free.

(America never was America to me.)

Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed—
Let it be that great strong land of love
Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme
That any man be crushed by one above.

(It never was America to me.)

O, let my land be a land where Liberty
Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath,
But opportunity is real, and life is free,
Equality is in the air we breathe.

(There’s never been equality for me,
Nor freedom in this “homeland of the free.”)

As powerful as the opening verses are, it was only after re-reading the entire poem, that I realized why this poem has been on my mind. In truth, it’s been on my mind not only since the Olympics started, but ever since the Democratic convention. After four days of praise for American Exceptionalism, the final verses from Langston’s poem have been somewhere in my subconscious. They read:

O, let America be America again—
The land that never has been yet—
And yet must be—the land where every man is free.
The land that’s mine—the poor man’s, Indian’s, Negro’s, ME—
Who made America,
Whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain,
Whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain,
Must bring back our mighty dream again.

Sure, call me any ugly name you choose—
The steel of freedom does not stain.
From those who live like leeches on the people’s lives,
We must take back our land again,
America!

O, yes,
I say it plain,
America never was America to me,
And yet I swear this oath—
America will be!

Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death,
The rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies,
We, the people, must redeem
The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers.
The mountains and the endless plain—
All, all the stretch of these great green states—
And make America again!

As so, I’ve come to this conclusion: Donald Trump is right.

We must make America great again.

Not by returning America to some mythical time period, but by demanding that it actually be what it has always claimed to be.

At times, I’m not sure that’s ever going to be possible.

But then I experience some #BlackGirlMagic… and I believe.