It's important to speak truth to power. My fellow brothers and sisters... When the Tea Party and their GOP supporters scream about wanting to "Take Their Country Back," they mean that they want it back from us.
I have been making the case for some time now that racism is at the heart of the current vitriol against the President and against the Democratic Party. Everything that I have seen and heard supports this view.
In the past few days, I have been so heartened to see Rachel Maddow covering this racism on her nightly show on MSNBC. It is always a relief when white allies lend their voices to ending racial oppression. Unfortunately, Ms. Maddow is among the few white publlc/media figures who do this regularly.
I heard Jon Stewart's speech at his "rally to restore Sanity" yesterday. It seemed to be his mission to suggest that the "Tea Party" weren't the "real racists." I found that to be both incredible and deeply offensive. Stewart has not found himself to be the target of these bigots. Many people of color have including black and brown members of Congress. I can't even write any more about that spectacle but I found the contrast between Maddow and Stewart to be stark in terms of taking seriously the racism and bigotry of the Tea Party (which had to fire one of their high ranking officials because he was too racist even for them). Hard to believe...
Anyway brothers and sisters... As you contemplate November 2nd. Please think hard about what those who are seeking to take power would like to do once they do. They would like to cut teachers from our schools which are already badly underresourced. They would like to lock more of us up in jails and prisons through their draconian "tough on crime" policies and through their unholy alliances with private prisons. They would like to cut off unemployment benefits for those of us who need a little help while we look for jobs where there are none. They would like to dismantle the vestiges of affirmative action. They would like to ship us to Liberia if they could.
If there is a video that you watch before November 2nd. Let it be this one. It crystallizes who these people truly are. Once you watch this video, find a local place where you can volunteer to GET OUT THE VOTE. If we come out in numbers that are significant, we can turn the tide in this election. It is up to us. Our lives depend on it. Our children's future depends on it. Currently 50% of African American youth ages 16 to 19 are unemployed. A Black boy born in 2001 has a 1 in 3 chance of serving time in prison. Young black girls are the highest rate of new infections for HIV. Our communities are being decimated. This didn't just start yesterday. We have been in this predicament for years. The years of Republican control of government have hit us hardest. We cannot afford more of their tender mercies. Please vote yourself on November 2nd and make sure that at least 2 other black people get to the polls.