- Cleveland
- Cincinnatti
- Toledo
- Akron
- Columbus
- Youngstown
As the failure of these cities (and the region in general) to provide opportunity for their residents - they have all lost population, particularly their "Black populations".
The state of Ohio is scheduled to lose two congressional seats due to the national reapportionment resulting from the 2010 US Census which noted the migration out of Ohio and other similarly situated states.
With the lack of viability at hand which triggered this mass migration - the political redistricting battle between the two parties which now have a "lower water level in the lake" to fight over for spoils has become interesting.
The most important issue on the minds of the "Protectors of the Black Community's Interests" is that THEY be present in the legislature to "Represent" the interests of "those left behind" within the "Mission Accomplished Cities". More important - it seems - than them showing their worth by actually creating ORGANIC opportunities within the places that they "represent".
As I make my way through the Manning Marable book "Malcolm X - A Life Of Reinvention" the underlying theme of the first portion of the book is the history of Black migration toward OPPORTUNITY in this nation. Always in the backdrop of RACISM(!!!). The type of racism suffered during 2/3rds of the 20th century period which the book covers was allowed to foment due to the second ingredient necessary for the racism to burn - "Actions against Black people that are UNMITIGATED BY LAW".
To say that "White people have not changed their way of thinking in 45 short years is but one component to the reality that Black Americans experience. ["..........Today those type of Whites who stand against Blacks simply wear "Anybody But Obama" buttons instead of hoods." :-) ]. The unchecked portion in which their actions which violate the rights of Black people and go unpunished by the law is the fundamental element that we must focus on.
Failing to apply this discipline creates the condition of "Perpetual Racism Chasing" where incidents of "racism" from Whites are made to be a SUPERIOR concern to Blacks who are bent on turning up an INDICTMENT. They promote the "speech" of this individual White over what the GOVERNMENT has rendered as the word of the people against this individual when it enforces the law against their actions.
Unfortunately "Racism Chasing" also has the effect of "energy zapping" of "The Black Agenda". Instead of enumerating a list of new Organic Competencies that their reign in power have produced THROUGH THE HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTIONS that they now control, the "Favorable People In Power" get on message to note how external powers have conspired to wreck these same institutions because of the new leadership at the helm.
In many cases the blunt instrument found at "the crime scene" that precipitated death was the "abandonment" of the said enemy, who left the favorable people all alone to implement the "public policies" that they preferred. Today we see what amounts to denial - or as I call it "Prevailing Authority Repudiation". This is where those in power and those who invested in them congregationally "self-reject" any possibility that the slate that they have hoisted upon the community and its institutions had anything to do with the "overdose" which placed the victim in her present terminal condition.
"Racism Chasing" is merely "Boiling The Ocean". It allows its practitioners to achieve a state of mental satisfaction that THEY were doing all of the right things as they 'walked down the street', in pursuit of happiness and then an external molester came from behind and assaulted them, striking them upon the head with a blunt instrument. As they identify the indictment - they are loathed to identify any proportional measure of force that this outside agitator applied to their condition. More to the point - this allows them to evade needing to measure the impact that they suffered as they picked up the rock that was thrown at them and "self-struck" themselves upon the head to finish themselves off. The blood gushing from their head still soils the sidewalk as the drought has not produced the rain, enough to wash it off.
The Redistricting Battle As A New Vector Of "Racism Chasing"
I am actually envious of the
The issue by which they have failed to produce organic opportunity within their district and thus the district has suffered from a loss of population gets put to the side as they hold their "State Of The District" rally and proclaim that "RACISM is alive and well in the areas outside of the protection of our beloved district. Foreign enemies are plotting to steal our land. It is up to all of us to stay congregationally united and ensure that we fight back against this Republican.......I mean RACIST threat to the Black community. You have appointed me as your leader in a free and fair election. I was humbled when no one else decided to run against me in the 'Black community general election' - which to others is the Democratic Primary. Now is not the time to have grievances among us. We must get close to each other and FIGHT or the ENEMY will soon be sending you constituent mailings with his face and party propaganda upon it. Think about all of the printing and envelop stuffing business that will be lost to our community as WE get knocked out of power. This all due to RACISM(!!!)."
The ability of certain leaders who should otherwise face a "no-confidence vote" to levitate off of the stage and become the leader of a protest march against "the real villain" is a skill that is mastered only after you "know how your people think" and what they need to find their PURPOSE.
Their purpose is to join the field in the "Malcolm X Political Football Game". Their natural speed provides an advantage to "their team". Their ability to make indictments of RACISM against the Wolf and on behalf of the Fox is the most important attribute that they bring to the team.
Sadly when the "Black Community Development Consciousness" becomes supremely a battle within the political spoils system WE LOSE. As the water level of the lake diminishes and we fail in our having developed the ability to turn the ocean that we are trying to boil into desalinated water that can be used to add to the lake-level - the condition of conscious hijacking that I often speak of is produced.
When you hear a "Negro" suggest "Well if the Republicans had been in power over the Black community for the past 40 years - things would be even WORSE because they don't like Black people" you should know that this is a person who does not know HIMSELF. He has had too many concussions on the field of play that Malcolm X has warned us about. There is not one ounce of self-worth and "knowledge of self" contained within. He has been conditioned to believe that his livelihood depends on mixing it up politically rather than cordoning off a segment of territory and providing a needed good or service as he creates a market, thus employing people.
How Do These Districts Justify Their Continued Existence In Ohio And Elsewhere?
The "Mission Accomplished" representatives go to the state capital to plead their case not based on the production numbers from the "franchise" that they were placed in command over but because their constituents within need protections as a group. They will be marketed as "the vulnerable masses" who, without the proper representation in the legislature will fall prey to the very wolves that they are negotiating with.
Indeed this is a legitimate argument in the context of the "American Political Domain". This is the theory that has created the "Majority Minority" districts in the first place.
I make the case, however, that in as much as many of these same districts have seen a mass exodus of Black people who say "thank you but if you are providing me with PROTECTION I'd hate to see the assault that I would experience if you sit idly by and do nothing".
The truth is that they leave - going out into the greater world for the same reasons that Malcolm Lyttle's parents did during their day - in pursuit of opportunity. They have voted with their feet - the notion that while these protected zones indeed bring more Black politicians to the state house - they have failed to protect the property values of the people back at home. Ironically - many Blacks find that their "permanent interests" are found elsewhere - in districts that are not "favorably represented" BUT the enforcement of civil rights laws have prevented them from being assaulted by their new, more conservative neighbors.
The grand irony of where we stand with regards to the "Black Democratic Legislator Protection Policy" is that the very success of their legislative track record has enabled their "flock" to depart from the roost. Today's struggle over gerrymandered "Minority Majority" districts must be justified by groups such as the NAACP pointing out transactional infractions of "the Voting Rights Laws" as they desperately seek to retain their slate of candidates in power. The threat of RACISM being the main qualifier, certainly not the outcomes WITHIN the Black Community.
The Converse Of Voter Suppression Is "The Prescription That Was Taken But Failed To Render A Cure"
The series of pictures below are from my recent trip to Savannah Georgia. They retrace the steps of Troy Davis, Sylvester "Red" Coles, Larry Young and Michael Cooper. My intent was to understand the community that produced the "rule by the gun".
The Cloverdale Community of Savannah did not fit what I was expecting as I saw the income gradations in a map that I found. Even though it was pegged as a lower middle class community - this community that was contained unto itself (one entrance - from what I could tell) was a tightly packed, well maintained area.
Not one abandoned house. Only a few for sale with no evidence of them being sheriff sale properties. Yes it is true that there was a large gap between what I assumed based on the income map and what I saw with my own eyes. This was a strong, well kept community of Black people who have pride in home ownership despite what the class and income readings say.
(Note: YES I have the right to form a stereotype after seeing how "The Rule Of The Gun" played a part that fateful night that Michael Cooper was shot in the jaw, Larry Young was pistol whipped and Officer MacPhail was shot dead as he attempted to render assistance in the fray. While I in the city the news of one Black man being murdered and another shot in the back by the same Street Pirate was in the newspaper. Yes Savannah has some rough areas to compliment its scenic tourist areas)
The problem that they face can be seen in other areas of the city, however. The abundance of campaign signs spread throughout these parts should also be seen as "finger prints" that point us to the culprit that is responsible for the failed development within.
While the key indictment that is heard nationally is the increased threat from "Suppression Of Black Ballots" - the greater threat to the interests of the Black community is the ingestion of prescription pills for uplift that have little pharmacological effect on the community body.
It seems to me that the next phase in development and complexity of the Black civic engagement is to prove that there is indeed present the protection of institutional integrity. This is seen by which those who received the investments of "The Equal Black Ballots" and who market for their retention as our "investment broker" must now show the INCREASE in our portfolio holdings.
This concept is fundamentally different than the present consciousness as a team member in the "Malcolm X Political Football Game".
If anything - it inserts a hard driving "Sports Agent" between the Team's interests and the player's interests. This player won't take the field until his terms are sufficiently to meet his own interests.
We'll talk about "team ownership" and then later "LEAGUE ownership" with stadiums, concessions and parking revenues at some later post.
For now it is sufficient to say that in the Black community (in aggregate) in Savannah and other places there remains a large gap between what appears in the printed campaign propaganda and what is true on the streets.
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