FOUR WHITE MEN!

The best argument against renewal of Superintendent Joe Burke’s contract is the arrogance of the four, White, male school committee men from Forest Park and East Forest Park who unanimously voted to renew Burke’s contract during the absence of the two school committee women, one of whom is our lone minority representative. Not only did their vote highlight the fact that a majority minority school population’s fate is subject to the political whims of the four, it also confirmed the need for another form of representation. If it must be ward representation, so be it, although it is looking more and more like an appointed school committee would be most desirable. Only problem is that finding an objective appointment process would not be easy in Springfield’s charged political environment.

BARACK ATTACK 1

Keep your eyes on the prize. They’re trying to steal it! The "they" are the Clintonites who intend to use the Democratic Party’s “Super Delegates” to give Hillary Clinton the Democratic Party nomination even if Barack Obama ends up winning the popular vote. I don’t know about you, but if Barack Obama is robbed, not only am I not voting for Hillary but the next time I vote, I will be a registered Independent.

BARACK ATTACK 2

The second way they are trying to steal the election from Barack Obama is familiar to us. They are trying to change the rules. After voting to not seat the Florida and Michigan delegations and asking the candidates not to campaign in those states, Hillary Clinton, who surreptitiously campaigned in both and won both, is demanding that delegates from both now be seated. Barack Obama, who followed the rules and complied with the Party’s request to not campaign in those states, has enough delegates to challenge Hillary all the way to the convention, where it appears he will likely win the nomination unless the rules are changed and Michigan and Florida delegations are seated. Keep your eye on the prize or they’ll steal it!

BARACK ATTACK 3

Nothing is sadder than watching the old guard Civil Rights leaders demonstrating their willingness to cheat to get Hillary Clinton nominated over Barack Obama. Listening to the likes of Andrew Young, Julian Bond, Mary Francis Berry and Roger Wilkins urging the Democrats to change the rules after the fact to favor Clinton’s nomination is nothing short of disgusting. The history of chicanery and treachery that gave White folks the historical advantage over Black folks in the first place is what the Civil Rights movement was designed to correct. It is difficult to ignore or digest the irony of these leaders of the “Movement” calling for some of the same trickery in order to lift a White candidate over the first viable Black presidential candidate to emerge out of the Civil Rights struggle.

BARACK DEFENSE

Have you noticed the positive spin on Barack Obama’s candidacy coming from conservative Fox News and MSNBC’s equally conservative “Morning Joe” and from conservative columnists like Charles Krauthammer? And, I almost fell out of my chair when I read a recent editorial in The Wall Street Journal (February 10, 2008), which summed up the conservative commentary: “”Unprecedented numbers of people of all kinds are attracted to his (Obama’s) campaign. He is gifted with an ability to inspire us unlike any figure in decades….(H)e embodies the spirit of hope and renewal of our quintessential American faith that we can, and must, do better….The progress that Mr. Obama promises is not aimed at any particular group of Americans. It’s a new freedom for all Americans, a freedom to dream again and to believe that we are not stuck in the past….It’s (Obama’s message) opening up the doors to a new generation of leadership, because so many people are tired of the partisan bickering and the status quo cynicism.” Wow! The Wall Street Journal! Of course, the editorial was written by former Virginia Governor L. Douglas Wilder, who was the first Black Governor elected in the entire United States. But, still, it was in The Wall Street Journal.

CLEMENS, CLEMENS, ROGER CLEMENS!

If you saw Roger Clemens (I spelled it “Clemmons” in our last issue, which tells you how much I follow baseball.) testify before the Senate Legislative Committee, then you had to conclude that he is not only a great pitcher but an even greater liar. If the standard applied to Black Barry Bonds is followed, both he and the man who injected him with steroids and human growth hormones will be indicted for perjury. They made Bonds look like a saint. We are watching!

REMEMBERING HAROLD FORD

The Hartford Courant’s Stan Simpson, in a recent article (February 10, 2008), gently reminded us that an earlier up-and-coming Black politician from Tennessee might have easily become America’s first Black President had his meteoric rise (six terms as a Congressman starting when he was only 26) not been interrupted by a close Senate race against a White candidate who, at the last minute, made the race about race. Ford, who lost by only 3%, is now chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council, the same moderate group that catapulted Bill Clinton to the presidency.

SOMETHING IS BREWING IN AMERICAN RACE RELATIONS

A Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll showed that more Americans would be willing to vote for a Black presidential candidate (81%) than for a woman (76%) or Mormon candidate (50%). The stunning numbers may reflect the changing racial climate in America and seem to provide a simple explanation for why Barack Obama is doing so well. It looks like the Republicans were wise to get Mitt Romney out of the race.

AND MAYBE L. DOUG WILDER KNOWS WHAT IT IS

Wilder wrote: “What I’ve seen during my lifetime is a tremendous amount of social, racial and economic progress. And what I see coming in the future is an opportunity to make greater strides. Make no mistake, there are false hopes. Believing that if we ignore problems they will go away is a false hope. Believing that, if we are patient and wait in line, the powerful will give us a turn at the wheel is a false hope. The greatest false hope is perhaps the prejudice that only insiders know what is best, and that only those who have spent time in the White House know how to make government work….We know very well what change means and we know what hope means. That is why we must learn to ride the waves of change and that is why America is crying out for leadership that takes possession of the problems we face….Mr. Obama is a forceful voice on the American scene who will be our agent for meaningful change—a voice committed to carry our nation to greater heights and to heal the divisions within our country. Unlike any other candidate, he inspires so many people of every description to step up and say: Yes, we can. (The Wall Street Journal, February 10, 2008)

BLACK/HISPANIC POLITICAL RIFT IS WHITE MEDIA FICTION

Los Angeles Times columnist, Gregory Rodriguez, in an article reprinted in The Hartford Courant (January 29, 2008) wrote of Hillary Clinton’s large Hispanic vote in Nevada: “…pundits embraced the idea that Hispanic voters simply didn’t like the fact that her opponent was black…” Rodriguez than goes on to rebut the idea by pointing out that: “In 1983, Harold Washington (Black) pulled 80% of the Hispanic vote in Chicago, David Dinkins (Black) won 73% in New York in 1989. And Denver’s Wellington Webb (Black) garnered more than 70% in 1991, as did Ron Kirk (Black) of Dallas in 1995 and then again in 1997 and 1999….In Los Angeles, all three black members of Congress represent heavily Hispanic districts and ultimately couldn’t survive without significant Hispanic support. Five other black House members from elsewhere in the country represent district that are more than 25 percent Hispanic—including New York’s Charles Rangel and Texan Al Green—and are also heavily dependent on Hispanics…So, given all this evidence, why did this notion get repeated so nonchalantly?” Rodriquez preceded his comments by writing: “…the evidence is overwhelming enough to make you wonder why in the world the Clinton campaign would want to portray Hispanic voters as too unrelentingly racist to vote for Barack Obama.” Oh, we know why, Mr. Rodriquez, we know why!

MARY BARKSDALE-LAWS MADE HISTORY FROM MASON SQUARE IN SPRINGFIELD

Born in 1920, Mary Barksdale-Laws attended Spellman College in 1939 and migrated to Springfield in 1940. In 1952 she graduated from nursing school and became a licensed L.P.N. and went to work for the Holyoke Visiting Nurses Association and later for Springfield Hospital (Now BayState Medical). She also became a prominent businesswoman when she opened and operated the Hurstdale Rest Home on Courtland Street for 27 years. Hurstdale was the first and only Black-owned rest home in Western Massachusetts. n