That Conversation

Sex work has long since gone digital but hatred for adult content creators has once again been realized. Onlyfans has chosen the side of misogyny in their decision to ban explicit content from their platform and the internet is in an uproar! Incels from SoundCloud rappers to Twitch content creators alike have been ridiculing Onlyfans sex workers that have been pink-slipped and the audacity is seething. I recently saw a meme that said that sex workers would have to go out and get a “real job” in the fast-food industry since their accounts were shut down so I’m peeved with the chauvinism and classism intersectionality. We need to have a conversation about the oldest profession in history, a culture that promotes pedophilia, and the patriarchy that oppresses us all.

Church leaders in medieval times made an effort to rehabilitate prostitutes and pay for their dowries while the institution itself was still protected by law. The phrase “sex sells” isn’t just a marketing strategy but also a historically accurate statement. In Toulouse, the profits from the brothels were distributed between the city and the university. The Bishops of Winchester licensed bordellos in England until Parliament took over; but now that sex work is uploaded to modern computers, religious groups have been targeting platforms like Onlyfans under the guise of stopping kiddie porn. I recall back in April when the culture vulture herself Danielle Bregoli uploaded her Onlyfans account just hours after she turned 18 and made $1 million. The content creators of Tiktok pointed out the pedophilia encouraged in our society because of the thirsty comments and how fast the barely legal teen became a millionaire. In a “what’s classy if you’re rich but trashy if you’re poor situation,” Hollywood didn’t seem to have a problem with Tyga and Kylie dating or Elvis Presley marrying a 14 year old but the porn industry is once again under scrutiny. Investors will show disdain for companies that promote sex work and even create an environment where platforms are discouraged from supporting content to the point where a ban is necessary to stay afloat.  But since when have capitalists grown a conscience? This ploy was brought on just to appease payment processors like Visa and MasterCard because of their decision last year to ban purchases on Pornhub thanks to evangelical groups. Exodus Cry is a Christian nonprofit organization that claims that it’s against sex trafficking and exploitation but they have yet to target the powerful “Johns” that create the demand such as Matt Gaetz and members of the Southern Baptist Convention. This may just be me being cynical here but I believe that the t.v. show To Catch a Predator has done a better job of stopping sexual predators than the Exodus Cry organization. An assistant district attorney from Texas doesn’t just accidentally send pictures to who he believed was a 13 year old boy so why create a campaign against adult content?

 Being anti-pornography does not stop sexual predators but it does take away the livelihood of the sex workers that found ways to make money during a pandemic without risk of exposure. Before the pandemic Onlyfans had around 20 million active user accounts and then experienced a 533% increase after the fact. What the U.S. has witnessed during the pandemic is the collapse of the customer service industry, a skyrocketing unemployment rate, and a sex worker friendly platform being one of the most popular sites on Earth. Now we’ll witness a similar pitfall like Tumblr come October because Onlyfans has decided to become more palpable for venture capitalists and banks alike while throwing sex workers under the bus. The trend that I’m seeing is men in power who are freely able to prey on our society’s most vulnerable while women are demonized for making a living through sex work. The answer doesn’t start with punishing women, it starts with holding men in power accountable. Enabling a silent and compliant society is what breeds pedophilia-not sex work.

Sources:

https://www.britannica.com/topic/prostitution 

https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/onlyfans-banning-explicit-content-won-t-end-well-anyone-n1277342 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/onlyfans-war-adult-content-online-1.  

6148524 

https://pagesix.com/2021/04/02/bhad-bhabie-claims-she-made-1m-hours-after

    Well if it isn’t the consequences of our actions come back to haunt us in the form of a coup d'état. I remember writing about a certain pernicious party back in February regarding their hand in high treason in the 80s and acquitting former President Trump. There are many things I disagree with libertarians on issues in favor of capitalism but for once, I agree with Spike Cohen’s statement on the recent events in Afghanistan. He mentioned on Twitter, “Thousands of American lives, hundreds of thousands of Afghan lives, trillions of dollars. All for nothing but the lined pockets of bankers and weapons contractors. End all of the wars, and bring all of the troops home.” Southern Oregon I want to point out that local republicans don’t see the irony in being against the Taliban when they both have similarities in faith and violent extremism. This is the perfect time to discuss the lack of accountability in military spending, toxic belief in a singular faith being taught in schools, and white nationalism as the influence in history books.

    According to Brown University, the United States has managed to spend $822bn between 2001 and 2019, not including the base in Pakistan used for Afghan-related activity. If I could describe my thoughts about the U.S. military, I would say that I am pro-veteran and anti-military because of my time working at the Department of Veterans Affairs in White City, OR. I asked one veteran why he joined the military in the first place and he said because he was homeless. That conversation led me to believe that his story among many others here in the United States involves exploitation as the main reason for joining the military, not because they were feeling particularly patriotic. What if instead of spending hundreds of billions of dollars on sending troops overseas, we used that money on ending homelessness nationally? Instead of spending trillions of dollars to line the pockets of weapons contractors, we make college accessible to all U.S. citizens? Ok, now I’m finished with my soapbox speech for the time being so now let’s observe what Governor Brown’s response to the Afghanistan crisis is. Kate Brown stated in a letter, “As we watch the current situation unfold in Afghanistan, Oregon stands ready to help the federal government resettle Afghan refugee families…” but something about her statement doesn’t sit right with me. Here in Southern Oregon, our local government encourages inhumane sweeps of homeless people and continuously fund high barrier shelters! In this state, republicans associate terrorism with the Black Lives Matter movement and justify their islamophobia because of 9/11. They never mention that thanks to Reagan, Scott Weekly, and James Gritz trained the mujahideen which led to the attack in the first place! I remember seeing a news article about Eric Osterberg who experienced a literal hate crime at a Klamath Falls council meeting not too long ago. Instead of addressing the racism and homophobia that exists here in Oregon, the comments on social media were using Islam as a scapegoat for their bigotry. This is the knee-jerk reaction when Christianity is critiqued for hate crimes committed in the name of the faith. My concern is why the Governor has failed to address the actual climate here in Oregon and chose to paint this false picture of inclusivity. We can’t ignore the islamophobic tension that will increase the moment that Afghan refugees touch American soil so let’s talk about the elephant in the room-white supremacy.

    I’m sure by now everyone has heard about yet another threat in D.C. but this time it wasn’t a mass gathering of Trumpers, just a lone bomb threat with some GOP sympathy from Rep. Mo Brooks. Floyd Roseberry told law enforcement he had a bomb in his truck which resulted in immediate evacuations of buildings near the Library of Congress. There were no viable explosives but according to this man’s live stream, he was very anti-immigration and pro-Afghanistan airstrikes as part of his list of demands. Because he also demanded Biden’s resignation, we can all assume he was on the Trumper bandwagon. There have been some memes going around on social media insinuating that the Taliban equates to the insurrectionists on Jan. 6th. The Trumper terrorists had help from those that currently hold public office and they had merchandise indicating when they would be attacking the capitol. There was no clear plan of action when they stormed the capitol in the first place and one of them was wearing buffalo horns! The Taliban on the other hand seized control of the government and demanded state governors to release political prisoners previously arrested by the Afghan National Security force. When the U.S, forces withdrew from Afghanistan, former President Ashraf Ghani fled to the United Arab Emirates to ensure a safe transition of power to the Taliban. The Trumper terrorists couldn’t handle a mask mandate let alone public policy so these two groups are different in that regard but their ideas are similar. Trumpers want Christianity to be the center of legislation, the curriculum they want to be taught in schools is similar to what’s going on in Texas, and to overturn Roe v. Wade. Between residential schools that natives were forced to go to and forced sterilization imposed on welfare recipients in this country’s history, when have we ever been a safe space for women’s rights?

 Governor Brown’s written statement on accepting refugees is inclusivity that was never the foundation of this country. Hatred for women and people of color is woven into its design but state representatives are trying to shield that truth from the public curriculum. Their actions lead me to believe that those in power have no interest in changing the system that oppresses us so who are we to look down on the Taliban when we won’t address our flaws.

Sources:

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/taliban-key-facts-islamic-militant-group-2021-08-15/ 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-47391821 

https://www.kdrv.com/content/news/Gov-Brown-state-lawmakers-say-Afghan-refugees-are-welcome-in-Oregon-575124031.html 

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/12/us/politics/domestic-terror-white-supremacists.html 

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/capitol-police-investigating-bomb-threat-near-library-congress-n1277159 

https://www.kdrv.com/content/news/575124532.html 

If you are a proud Irish-American and you gas light Black people with the phrase, The Irish were slaves too, then buckle up buttercup because history has documented your forefathers' hatred of my ancestors through the centuries. The problem is that American textbooks have strategically omitted that little snapple fact and for a good reason- to prevent unity. The topic of discussion is going to be centered around the struggle of Irish-American plight to assimilate into being white by being Anti-Black. The history of labor in America is deep rooted in wage exploitation and racial hierarchy perpetuated by the ruling class.

Before I talk about the Irish Famine, I want to take another look at the Civil war and the mandatory draft. The Conscription Act of 1863 was what fanned the flame of tension further between Irish-Americans and Black people, because poor Irish were forced to fight in the war while free African-Americans could volunteer through the Emancipation Proclamation. The overall attitude of Irish-Americans was that they believed that the very institution of slavery was wrong but it wasn’t their problem. When their forefathers reached American soil from their native home, they were welcomed with  No Irish Need Apply signs posted in store windows and caricatures of “Bridget and Patrick” in the newspapers. The Irish-Americans were forced into shacks and were in no way welcomed by English Protestants. The way that the Irish immigrants were treated in the 1800s is similar to how America treats homelessness in present day- newspapers depicting them as “drunkards” and them filling up the jails and workhouses. The Great Hunger resulted in an estimated amount of one million deaths, with around the same amount of refugees having no choice but to leave their homeland. During this devastating time, the British ruling class exploited the Irish by benefitting from the blight through export records. Exports such as peas, butter, and livestock actually increased as malnutrition and death ransacked the countryside. The passage to the New World was no easy feat either, because the Irish were met with death and disease on the ships thanks to cholera. The dreaded road to hell being paved with good intentions is echoed through the actions of the Liberator himself- Daniel O’Connell. 

Once upon a time, abolitionists were thrilled to partner with O’Connell because of his influence amongst the Irish-Americans based on his track record in Emerald Isle. The Great Liberator was known for spearheading the Catholic Emancipation which was successful in 1830 and leading the campaign of repealing the Act of Union of 1800. Repealing the Act of Union would restore an Irish parliament under the crown so why wouldn’t O’Connell be world famous amongst the Irish? He definitely had some choice words about America’s biggest hypocrisy in 1829 when he said, “ Let America, in the fulness of her pride...wave on high her banner of freedom and its blazing stars...In the midst of their laughter and their pride, I point them to the negro children screaming for their mother whose bosom they have been torn...Let them hoist the flag of liberty, with the whip and rack on one side, and the star of freedom upon the other.” Surely his words would sway the opinions of the Irish in America to believe in the liberation from bondage in all forms but, the more prestigious Irish that resided in Philadelphia disagreed with the Liberator’s approach. These men of means sent a letter expressing to O’Connell that the admiration was there for a man of his character but they believed that, “Here they have rights, privileges and immunities of native Americans.” They wanted O’Connell to ‘remove from the Irish-Americans “the odium which...had been cast upon them…’” Elizur Wright, corresponding secretary of the American Anti-Slavery Society, reached out to Daniel O’Connell about addressing the Irish-Americans on the topic of slavery because of his strong public views against the institution-and he agreed. Another prominent figure amongst the Irish caucus was James Haughton, founder of the Hibernian Anti-Slavery Society and Dublin grain merchant, also reached out to O’Connell about the political climate amongst the Irish-Americans stateside and said, “[T]he Irishmen in that country...are such a powerful and influential body that they exercise a paramount influence in the election of the president and in the elections of various members of various legislatures there; but most unfortunately that influence has been given heretofore in favor of slavery…” The anti-slavery address was introduced to an American audience on January 28th, 1842 and Bishop John J. Hughes was none too pleased. The “good” Bishop was the most influential figure of the Irishmen in America and he wrote that it was, “ the duty of every naturalized Irishman to resist and repudiate the address with indignation. Not precisely because of the doctrine it contains but, because of their having emanated from a foreign source, and their tendency to operate on questions of domestic and national policy. I am no friend of slavery, but I am still less friendly to any attempt of foreign origin to abolish…” O’Connell’s true colors began to show when there was talk of abolitionism threatening the dissolution of the Act of Union and key abolitionists called him out on it!

Wendell Phillips was an abolitionist that supported the repeal of the Act of Union and even made a statement at the Boston Repeal Association. However, when he and the other abolitionists brought up the topic of slavery, they were quickly dismissed from the floor. According to a letter written by Phillips to a fellow abolitionist by the name of Richard Davis Webb he stated, “He dares not face the demon when it touches him. He would be pro-slavery this side of the pond...He won’t shake hands with slaveholders, no-but he will shake their gold” and referred to O’Connell as “The Great Beggerman”. Irish-American laborers made their stance  very clear on  Anti-Blackness through their enforcement of a color caste system in the workforce. The Pennsylvania Abolition Society did a survey to point out the inconsistencies of labor among freed Black men. The conclusion was noted in 1838 that 30% of 506 Black tradesmen did not practice their trade due to prejudices. In 1851, the African Repository- an official publication of the American Colonization Society, stated that “In New York and other eastern cities, the influx of white laborers has expelled the Negro almost en masse from the excerise of ordinary branches of labor...White men will not work with him.” Frederick Douglass stated in 1853 that, “Every hour sees us elbowed out of some employment to make room for some newly-arrived emigrant from the Emerald Isle, whose hunger and color entitle him to special favor.” If a white employer attempted to hire a Black apprentice, the Irishmen would collectively walk out in protest or react with direct violence. Between 1858 and 1859, white mobs raged against Black people who were working in Baltimore City as caulkers and effectively hired white laborers in their place. In 1862, another example of mob violence against Black people occured in Brooklyn, where primarily women and children who were working in a tobacco factory were attacked by mostly Irish laborers. The mob forced their victims into the upper floors of the building and set the first floor on fire. The factory was allowed to reopen only under the condition that they refuse employment to Black people and hire the Irish. The Conscription Act of 1863 as mentioned earlier, played a significant role in adding fuel to the color caste fire that led to a full-scale riot on the docks. The Irish laborer made the conclusion that if chattel slavery was to be abolished, then they will have unwanted competition with the newly freed Black man. The Irish made their assimilation into whiteness known  with the Longshoremen’s United Benevolent Society established in 1852. Their banner was decorated with flags from France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Ireland, Denmark, Hungary, and Italy. It’s safe to say that this form of unity was very much Anti-Black without actually saying it and American textbooks leave this chapter blank. How much longer in present-day will Irish-American descendants continue to refuse the Black Lives Matter movement? How much longer will America convince the masses that “All Lives Matter” as they attempt to erase the part where Black lives never have?

Sources:

How the Irish Became White Noel Ignatiev, 1995.

https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-2003-06-29-0306280006-story.html 

https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/immigration/irish/racial-tensions/ 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Irish_Americans_in_Philadelphia 

http://www.victoriana.com/history/irish-political-cartoons.html 

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wendell-Phillips 

    Presidents’ Day is a slap in the face to the Black community for a myriad of reasons, but voter suppression and fiscal disenfranchisement are at the top of the list! Tupac was right when he said that America is run on gangs, he then proceeded to list the FBI, both political parties, and of course the police as prime examples.  I want to talk about how the U.S. government is a glorified crime syndicate because history is happening before our very eyes-but instead of repeating it’s escalating! Let’s talk about the impact that prior presidents such as Bush, Clinton, and Reagan have made for Black America and the toxic outcome.

    Thanks to the Reagan Administration, the war on drugs was code for the very real war on Black people! The recent events from the acquittal of former President Donald Trump, was not the first time that the Republican Party was responsible for high treason.  As much as I would love for the 1980’s to be the decade of neon spandex and aquanet, it actually was the year of arms dealing, drug smuggling, and the events that inspired the movie Rambo. Our contenders in this little tale of espionage are Scott Weekly, James Gritz, and of course Oliver North who are just some of the names involved in state-sanctioned war crimes. Weekly was arrested with a few other Americans in a small Thai village while on a covert mission to gather intelligence on prisoners of war. Former Army Green Beret lieutenant colonel James Gritz was at the helm of this endeavor even though he “retired” from the military in 1979. Gritz worked for the Intelligence Support Activity (ISA) unit of the army trying to locate POWs in Southeast Asia.  According to congressional testimony, operation “Grand Eagle” was “discontinued” after a bureaucratic dispute with the Defense Intelligence Agency. Deputy DIA director Admiral Allan Paulson informed congress that the operation was denied “at the first level of the approval process.” So of course under a different code name “Operation Lazarus,” Gritz and Weekly had the equipment and ISA funds to move forward with the first mission resulting in a firefight with Laotian forces. There was another attempt to infiltrate Laos in 1983 but the mission leaked to Soldier of Fortune magazine and then amplified by the Los Angeles Times and the Boston Globe. The team was arrested by Thai police and charged with possession of an illegal radio transmitter which was the latest in U.S.-made spy equipment. I bet you’re wondering if the CIA-DIA came clean about providing this all-star team with high-tech gear for this infiltration operation and the short answer is no. The arms dealing and the drug trafficking comes next and ties into increased law and order legislation by congress through the decades to target Black and Latinx communities specifically.

    The contenders in this line-up of corruption are drug trafficker Danilo Blandon, his money launderer and mule ex-police detective Ronald Jay Lister, and the Mujahedeen! Blandon was head of a major cocaine distribution ring in Los Angeles from 1981 to 1991. In 1992 he was convicted of cocaine trafficking and became a DEA informant. Lister’s extra-curricular activities include arms dealing for the Contras, security work for Salvadorian politicians, and Iranian exiles. He was convicted of drug trafficking and followed suit with being an informant to the FBI, DEA, and local law enforcement. Scott Weekly a.k.a Dr. Death met with Lister frequently about military related systems that were declassified and hence legal to sell. Lister claimed that in addition to Weekly being his CIA contact, he was also involved in at least two covert operations involving the National Security Council, and a special unit inside the U.S. State Department that was working with Oliver North and the CIA. In 1986 both Weekly and Gritz testified that they were asked to conduct training exercises for the anti-Communist Afghan resistance movement a.k.a the Mujahedeen! They of course asked permission of two State Department officials before commencing the program because Gritz wanted to make sure what they were doing wasn’t illegal! In federal court, Weekly and Gritz testified that the money for the program came from Stanford Technology which was the  shell company of Lt. Col North. It was essentially an arms dealership at the epicenter of the Iran-Contra scandal. North used Stanford Technology to launder profits of Iranian missile sales which amounted to approximately $900,000!

    If you were a registered voter in the 80’s, then your idea of the Black community was already skewed by the war that the federal government waged on the Black Panther Party under Nixon. So when Reagan and H.W. Bush started to cause mass public concern over street corner drug dealers as a red herring, to mask the fact that they caused the crack/cocaine epidemic, and downplayed the spread of AIDS- the Black community and homosexuality was further demonized! The presidents have washed their hands of their own money laundering, war-for-profit schemes, and drug smuggling only to paint 9/11 as an unforeseen national tragedy caused by brown people-instead of an attack that the U.S. instigated by training the very men that did it! Scott Weekly said that he reported to the people that report to Bush and at the time he meant H.W. Bush so, Bush Sr. supported government funded training for future terrorists that would eventually make his son George W. Bush a hero for his leadership during a national tragedy. When the Black community was overrun by crack/cocaine at the hands of the U.S. government, Black people were arrested left and right in Florida especially. When George W. Bush ran against Al Gore back in 2000, Florida was run by George’s brother Governor Jeb Bush where voter intimidation in “democratic” Black areas were terrorized by cops at the polls. Does that mean that the Democratic party is the savior of the Black community? The short answer is no, but let’s highlight some hallmark moments of the Clinton administration that doesn’t relate to workplace sexual harassment. The nerve of Hillary Clinton referring to Black people as “super predators” and Bill Clinton’s 1994 crime bill where to this day, is the reason white people say “Black on Black crime” is how I would describe America as a whole. If conservatives are going to mask their racism as concern for the Benghazi scandal, then let’s gather all the money grubbing, coup-loving, crooked, war criminals from George Washington to Joe Biden while we’re at it and hold accountability where it’s due!

Sources:

Dark Alliance. Gary Webb. 2014 Edition.

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/florida-gop-takes-voter-suppression-to-a-brazen-new-extreme-184830/#respond

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-live-biden-expected-to-deliver-remarks-during-visit-to-pentagon

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/02/11/national/japan-us-base-costs/

https://www.kdrv.com/content/news/573760022.html

https://www.opb.org/article/2021/01/26/us-military-bases-saudi-arabia-iran/?outputType=amp

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/10/jeb-bush-florida-felon-voting-rights-clemency/

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1991-03-12-9101230002-story.html

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2000/dec/04/uselections2000.usa1

https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna14059113

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-idUSKCN0X412G

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2008/01/black-americans-love-for-bill-clinton-is-built-on-a-fallacy.html

https://www.salon.com/2016/04/16/racist_then_racist_now_the_real_story_of_bill_clintons_crime_bill/

Southern Oregon you know I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to talk about Black sitcoms, Black women, and my least favorite-Blackfishing! Black representation in Hollywood is an essential part of making our mark in a country that still views my race as caricatures. Before there was a Black Vice President, Congress member, or lawyer, there were Black sitcoms that inspired their audience like Living Single and Girlfriends! People of Color working in positions with prestige instead of  the gangbanger or drug addict stereotype. Each character in both of these sitcoms had actual depth to them where they could introduce the issues facing Black America in their storylines from hair discrimination to cultural appropriation. Yet the sitcom that’s deemed as the most iconic from the 90s is Friends and T.C. Carson had some insight as to why. Carson told Comedy Hype that he was fired from Living Single because he spoke out against the favoritism that Warner Bros displayed towards Friends. The Black woman behind the magic was Yvette Lee Bowser and she says that, “For me, it began with the realization that if this industry was really only going to cater to and embrace white people, and white men in particular, and have them in positions of power behind the scenes...I wasn’t going to be here for long.” The show may have gone off air in 1998 but her Black Girl Magic echoes in another iconic show called Girlfriends written by Mara Brock Akil.

    Black History Month is here and for the culture, I want to talk about the political platforms of some of our veteran rap artists. 2020 was a rollercoaster ride to say the least especially since some of the more well  known anti-law enforcement lyricists decided to board the Trump Train. Kanye West, 50 Cent, and Lil Wayne shocked Black America with their compliance for former President Donald Trump especially his pardons that overshadowed his executions. Ice Cube brought the Reparations Contract to light while Sean “Diddy” Combs started a political organization called “Our Black Party” in the midst of the lynchings still happening in America. The most important question that I have for my other melanated kinfolk is where do we draw the line when it comes to representation? Hip-Hop is by the very definition an art form that reflects the self expression of Blackness in America but a toxic double edge sword. The infamous industry has sexism, colorism and I want to know if tokenism has landed a permanent role.

    It was Prince who said back in 2015 that, “Jay Z spent $100 million of his own money to build his own service. We have to show support for artists who are trying to own things for themselves,” after releasing his album HitNRun solely to Tidal. He even went on to say that record contracts were synonymous to slavery because artists have little power over how labels profit from their work! We all remember the golden shower that Kanye West gave his own grammy awards ranting about the situation between him, Roc-A-Fella, Universal, and his publishing company-EMI; But he traded in one master for another so-to-speak with his open support for Trump! If a predatory record contract is modern-day slavery, does that make “Diddy” an overseer? The shady business practices of the icon himself was called out by Mase on social media when he wrote, “This is not black excellence at all. When our own race is enslaving us.” Of course Diddy denied the allegations, as he stepped up this year to provide financial relief to families that needed it due to COVID, but is the Black caucus swayed by this charity? We all remember the infamous “rap beef” between The Notorious B.I.G and Tupac Shakur that busted the industry wide open with the sketchy backstory between their  producers. Retired LAPD detective Greg Kading wrote a book titled Murder Rap: Inside The Biggie & Tupac Murders, where he explains that Sean Combs hired a Crip gang member to kill Tupac and Suge Knight. September 7th, 1996 “Baby Lane” Anderson shot Tupac while Suge Knight hired a Blood gang member to retaliate, which led to Biggie Smalls being shot by “Poochie” Fouse on March 9th, 1997! I am all for the political advancement of the Black community but should “dirty dealer” Diddy Combs really be at the forefront?

    The internet remains undefeated as the memes have documented the new Wolf on Wall Street-GameStop. Reddit users have taken the Revolution from the forum to the fiscal platform of the stock market in just a few months! Thanks to r/WallStreetBets the GameStop stock increased to more than 822% and millennial nostalgia stocks such as BlackBerry and AMC have also made a dramatic comeback. Pay attention Pacific Northwest proletariats because we could bring the bourgeoisie to their knees  with a similar Attack on Titan strategy starting with some of the biggest publicly traded companies in Oregon! Nike, Lithia Motors, and Schnitzer Steel  Industries are just some of the big names that influence the climate here in the Rogue Valley and I’m concerned with the lack of support towards anti-racism. We know that the local big wigs aren’t going to make such a “political” argument without some costly coercion so what can the average Oregonian do?

The GameStop Gambit on seasoned Wall Street investors has shown us that collectively as a community we can be an unstoppable force and emphasize that it’s people over profit. I encourage every concerned citizen to take a good look at the SOREDI action plan and reflect on where our voices can hold the most impact. At first glance, the Rogue Valley is a fertile landscape with plenty of homegrown revenue but at what cost? There are plenty of underpaid, overworked, and overlooked seasonal workers that have some horror stories that every union representative should hear but why don’t they? Well first let’s call these hard-working citizens what they actually are-exploited workers. If English isn’t your first language, some of your family members are considered “undocumented”, or if you don’t understand the legal jargon on a predatory labor contract then congrats you are subject to exploitation. If you’ve worked as an independent contractor on the farm or on a construction site then SOEQUITY wants to hear from you! We have some big plans brewing for March Madness and we can’t do it without you the citizens to hold these predatory employers accountable.

I suppose the collective Black caucus of America should give the Republican Party a cookie for their petty sentiment on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day; Or perhaps a pizza party for remaining calm in the wake of the patriot pandemonium that other developed countries would classify as domestic terrorism. What I’ve come to understand during these past 9 months is the true meaning behind the phrase Black Live Matter-justice. The World saw what “patriots” truly thought of the Blue line flag as they killed officers in an effort to re-establish that the lives of Black people don’t matter. It was never about law enforcement, just their lifetime membership to white supremacy and if there is doubt the bodies will fall.

Loyalty to the status quo is the main reason why Dr. King detested the white liberal moderate and his word still holds true today. To those that are starting their journey on systemic racism education and abolition,  there are some key points that you have to look for when topics of white supremacy are addressed in the media. The common phrase I see on social media is white supremacists are infiltrating the police force and the military, as if the foundation of this country isn’t white supremacy itself. My inner cynic is wanting to draw the conclusion that neoliberalism is the new “watered down klansmen” and it's all because of references to what happened in Portland, OR. The media painted Portland as an anarchists’ playground and quickly associated BLM with destruction of property and not the “Proud Pansies” that caused the damage or the peaceful protesters getting tear gassed by federal agents! Trump supporters couldn’t wait to mask their internalized racism towards people of color as concern of easily replaceable inanimate objects that were damaged. In the wake of this race war, the only thing we have to show for it in the Pacific Northwest is Ted Wheeler wanting tougher law and order and more police tools. In 2019, text messages between Oregon police and the white supremacist group “Patriot Prayer” leaked into mainstream media and the public demanded an independent investigation. As we have all seen lately, there wasn’t much cracking down on extremist groups like Patriot Prayer because they represent the historical mob mentality that has kept certain neighborhoods white for years!  It infuriates me that Oregonians are even surprised that the attack on the state capitol occurred when just this past summer, law enforcement incriminated themselves on video! In the video the cop was warning the white supremacists to hide so they can avoid arrest so how exactly can we reform white nationalism?

I think America is coming down with a strange case of deja vu because President Donald J. Trump has been impeached for the second time as his term in office comes to a close! Under the blue line banner of law and order, domestic terrorists stormed the capitol and killed an officer in the process so, where’s the outrage from the Grand Old Party? The complicit actions from Republicans voting "No" on impeachment to the officers that took selfies with terrorists has shown how little democracy and the constitution matter to those with power. Southern Oregon hear me out, the inside job that occurred on the other side of the Mississippi should alarm you because of the white supremacy in our own backyards!

Let’s start with the man of principle himself Cliff Bentz, the only Oregon representative to vote against impeachment under the 25th amendment. Bentz believes that the right thing to do is difficult sometimes as he voted against the Pennsylvania results of the electoral college. He presumed that the state of Pennsylvania violated the constitution and he wasn’t in favor of that. Barely after getting sworn in, the domestic terrorist attack occurred on our Nation’s capitol and Cliff Bentz stated that, “our focus should be on unifying our nation, ensuring a peaceful transition to the Biden Administration, and working on more pressing issues…” It seems that this Oregon representative is unable to determine what a violation of the constitution is and apparently is unable to multitask resolving  systemic issues in this country. Oregon is a blue state but trust me the true colors are purple. The rural and sleepy towns that sum up the majority of this state are tired of being overlooked by “Portland democrats”.  Why else would such an incorrigible pro-life republican be elected to represent the largest district in the state?

Congressman Peter DeFazio who represents the state’s 4th district voted to impeach the president but let’s look at one particular county that I still have conflicting thoughts about visiting-Coos County. The scenery is beautiful but the racism makes me want to leave a bad yelp review. I had the pleasure of meeting some wonderful activists for the Alonzo Tucker Project and the turnout was incredible. Community members came together with tri-fold display boards, textbooks, and of course snacks because revolutions burn up calories! However, it wasn’t all festive music and granola bars because, in the seasonless recesses of Coos Bay there lurks a “western chauvinist” named Rob Taylor and his constituents. As the  product of toxic masculinity and poorly funded public education-this fragile creature frequently associates the Black Lives Matter Movement with Marxism and Socialism as if those terms are interchangeable! He believes in “anti-racial guilt”, “anti-political correctness”, pro 1950s housewife, and obviously anti-fashion sense! Seriously, the last time I was in Coos Bay, this man was wearing the tackiest American flag violation complete with wrap-around sunglasses! He has a popular following among those committed to white supremacy, especially law enforcement. Speaking of law enforcement, Medford Police Chief Scott Clauson is a proud supporter of our twice impeached bunker baby, Ben Shapiro, and PragerU so what does that say about the core values of Oregon? To all my ladies and femmes, if the man has any of the aforementioned on his social media likes section- run and run fast! In my opinion, democracy isn’t exactly at the top of the list of priorities for the public servants or some of our neighbors for that matter and the white supremacy shows.

Southern Oregonians, January is the month of my birthday and National Hot Tea month! The pandemic has made it impossible for me to turn up the way I want to but at least I can serve the “hot tea” on Black history while making the racists mad as I do it. This week’s hot tea is about one of the oldest demeaning phrases republished in the Trumper handbook! It’s time we talk about the period in history America had the idea of “sending the problem away” and how there were Black leaders that agreed and those that disagreed. Southern Oregon, let’s talk about that historical passage to Africa and the audacity that some of the key figures had in this little scapegoat endeavor.

Abraham Lincoln is the figure head that Republicans love to boast about as their Party’s centerfold of equality but I gotta say the narrative is getting old! It was in 1858 that “Honest Abe” stated in a debate against Senator Stephen A. Douglas, “I am not nor ever have been in favor of making voters or jurors of Negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people.”(Freedman, 2012) The Great Emancipator was just as diet racist as they come but his anti-slavery beliefs were bad for the economy. From 1840 to 1850 The U.S. produced 2 million bales of cotton a year and by the end of August 1860, 5 million bales of cotton was produced where a little more than 1 billion pounds was exported to Great Britain’s factories. There was one man that was fed up with the complacency of abolitionists-John Brown. He was more enraged at the abolitionists that wanted slavery to end peacefully so this true ally was destroying property and disturbing the peace in Virginia to wake people up! The uprising John Brown led in Harpers Ferry ended with him being lynched by the “patriots” of the establishment. Frederick Douglass was a known abolitionist of the time and there was correspondence between him and Brown 2 years  before the insurrection. Douglass opposed the plan to begin with and told him to call off the rebellion. Authorities were anxious to get their hands on Frederick Douglass despite the fact that he had nothing to do with the uprising of Harpers Ferry, so he fled to Canada then England. He came back  in time for the 1860 presidential election where he stated that Lincoln was, “a man of will and nerve, [who] will not back down from his own assertions...”(Freedman, 2012)

This is the part where political beliefs should always ruin a friendship because Fredrick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln had very different viewpoints of anti-slavery. “Lincoln and the Republicans opposed the expansion of slavery but believed that the Constitution protected slavery in the Southern states,”(Freedman, 2012) while Douglass endorsed Radical Abolitionist nominee Gerrit Smith. There are still some Oregonians that say that the “Stars and Bars” are their heritage and I’m wondering if anyone told them about April 12,1861. This was the date that the Civil War started but more specifically, the rebel cannons opened fire on the American flag at Fort Sumter and replaced it with the rebel flag declaring themselves an independent nation. As we have all seen, there are still supporters of the Confederacy among us but they’re never called terrorists or foreign agents. A key player in the African-American Exodus was Bishop Henry M. Turner who was born free in South Carolina and became a preacher before the Civil War. During the era of Reconstruction he held minor positions in office as a Republican but the upward mobility he wanted for the Black race was denied by white-controlled Georgia because the Legislature refused to seat Black people. The Supreme Court ruling in 1883 that the Civil Rights Act of 1875 was unconstitutional was what sealed his belief that white people were vehemently opposed to Black equality. At an emigration convention in 1893 he stated that, “‘For God hates the submission of cowardice. But on the other hand to talk about physical resistance is literally madness...The idea of eight or ten million ex slaves contending with sixty million people of the most powerful race under heaven!’ Obviously the only alternative was a mass exodus.”(Fredrickson, 1995) Lincoln held a meeting in 1862 mostly Black clergymen and promoted the idea that Black people should emigrate to Central America and he went on to say that, “Your race are suffering, in my judgement, the greatest wrong inflicted on any people. But even when you cease to be slaves, you are yet far removed from being placed on an equality with the white race...Perhaps it is better for both of us to be separated.”(Freedman, 2012)

Frederick Douglass was correct in calling Abraham Lincoln a  genuine representation of American prejudice because the white mans’ idea of a Black mans’ freedom is lukewarm and the rights of Black women are nonexistent. The handful that raged against the machine of colonialism were not marked heroes of their day but they’re glorified now for doing the bare minimum. The descendants of colonizers are quick to compare a minor inconvenience to slavery but bear no witness to the system that enforces the oppression and continue to profit from it.

Sources:

Abraham Lincoln & Frederick Douglass: The Story Behind An American Friendship Russell Freedman, 2012.

Black Liberation George M. Fredrickson, 1995

Brace yourselves Southern Oregon because the Why We Can’t Wait challenge is but an appetizer to the cause! Yours truly is working with Black Alliance & Social Empowerment (B.A.S.E) on the project of reading the book Why We Can’t Wait written by Dr. King and comparing the civil rights movement to what we see today. Change starts with action and I encourage everyone to read the book as a stepping stone in their research of other America. With that being said let's talk about the role of the Black church from enslavement to liberation movements because have you seen what’s happened in the Georgia Senate race? We can’t just overlook the historical significance of a pastor from the spiritual home of Dr. King competing with a Senator that confidently poses in pictures with known white supremacists. 

It’s no accident that the key players from Reconstruction to Black Power have been men of faith. In 1865, Reverend J.W. Wood of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church introduced a series of reforms considered “radical” including the right to vote for Black people, “Without exaggeration, it can be stated that almost every Black minister was something of a politician, and that every aspiring Black politician had to be something of a minister.”(Marable, 2015) The foundation of modern Black politics rests with the Black church and in 1910 there was a decrease in clergy. It was W.E.B Dubois that stated the Black church was an expression of the “Negro’s soul” and organizational ability but he along with other key figures had choice criticisms of the church.(Marable, 2015) Historians and sociologists alike that specialize in 20th century Black liberationist ideologies, have traced the ambivalences that set Black Christianity apart from the mainstream and debate on whether it’s been an obstacle or a blessing in the struggle for liberation. V.F. Calverton for example, declared in 1927 that the  Judeo-Christian ethics of submissive behavior and tolerance towards Earthly oppressors only sustained white racism and exploitation of labor power from the Black proletariat. An unsettling number of ministers were silent as Dubois, Paul Robeson, and other socialists and progressives were arrested with tarnished reputations but the buy out of other Black ministers was the most despicable! If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s to follow the money which always pays corporate interests instead of the laborer. Henry Ford was among many capitalists of his time to pay off Black ministers for their influence to convince the Black working-class to accept low pay and reject unionism. Tokenism is no stranger to the pulpit so the real question is when will the general population focus on the politics of the person instead of their color?

In the early stages of my personal involvement with the cause, I came across a unique Christian bigot with the sexist, transphobic, and  homophobic attitude to match. Interacting with him on social media made me realize my own intersectionality and how this bigot’s melanated skin is more detrimental than a Black Trump supporter. He boasted that he rejects Western Christian doctrine because the Ethiopian bible was the true path as he “corrects me on my learned self-hatred.” The doctrine that he’s referring to dates back to when the “Ethiops” joined the Crusaders in the war against Islam and just like a toxic breakup, the Europeans ghosted the Africans after the fact as the slave traders made their big debut. As a Black woman in America I realize that my heroes will contrast dramatically from that of male counterparts both Black and white. While W.E.B Dubois could labeled as the feminist of his time, he still talked about the emancipation of women in his essays as he invited Margaret Sanger to contribute to the pages of his periodicals. Margaret Sanger was the peak of white feminism that’s responsible for the Negro Project. This “ally” used Black stereotypes in order to reduce fertility in African American women. Religious Black separatists often referred to her work in later years to sway my melanated sisters from participating and who could blame them? But as Dubois noted, “The mass of ignorant Negroes still breed carelessly and disastrously, so that the increase among Negroes, even more than the increase among whites, is from that portion of the population least intelligent and fit, and least able to rear their children properly.” (Washington, 2006) Thanks to Dubois’ advice Sanger recruited ministers like Dr. King to promote such a project.

The liberation of Black people has never been so cut and dry but the deliberate lack of knowledge within American textbooks ought to be incriminating. Replacing representation with tokenism should’ve been clear to us from Kamala Harris to Kelly Loeffler and from ministers on capitalist payroll to Ben Carson. We are still met with indifference as women of color and members of the LGBT+ community on the topic of basic human rights including adequate access to medical care. We may have avoided the full cancelation of “democracy” by voting out Donald Trump but the Black caucus has not forgotten the “jungle” that Joe Biden thinks we belong in.

Sources:

How Capitalism Underdeveloped Black America Manning Marable 2015.

Medical Apartheid Harriet A. Washington 2006.