Promoting People of Color at Netroots Nation
Commentary by Black Kos Editor Deoliver47
I attended my first Netroots Nation two years ago - in Pittsburgh. When I came back, I wrote a diary about it, The color of Netroots. It created some controversy, but it also spurred us to get involved and the next year, in Las Vegas, Black Kos had a panel there - Promoting People of Color in the Progressive Blogosphere. This year in Minneapolis, we had a panel with the same name.
We will be posting a diary with the transcript, slides and video of the panel asap (thank you Yasuragi for transcribing).
Were there more people of color at Netroots this year - than in Pittsburgh, or Vegas?- yes.
But that isn't saying a whole lot.
What's wrong with this picture?
We addressed some of those issues with Adam B in CIK's diary after we got back.
Please go and read this thread. Adam's response has prompted this diary today.
Today I'm raising those issues and asking for your input, suggestions and help.
Netroots Nation is going to be in Providence RI June 7-12, 2012.
It will be happening in the heat of the 2012 election season.
Here on the East Coast it is in easy commuting distance from communities of color - black, latino, native american and asian.
The city of Providence has a Dominican-American mayor -one of the few in the entire US.
Here are some interesting demographics:
Belying Providence's traditionally white makeup is the sizable minority presence it has acquired in the last twenty years, embodied in the election of its first Latino mayor in 2010, Dominican-American Angel Taveras. Though nearby cities like Boston, Hartford, New Haven, and Springfield have longer-standing black and Latino communities, Providence now surpasses all of them in the density of its minority population, with non-Hispanic whites comprising less than half (40.9%) of the population. Though salient contributions to this growth have been among Asians and unspecified races, the most dramatic change comes from Hispanics, whose presence has increased fivefold. Having origins in Puerto Rico, Colombia, Bolivia, the Dominican Republic, and Central America (particularly Guatemala), Hispanics have strong influence in the neighborhoods of Elmwood, the West End, Upper, and Lower South Providence. Hispanic impact is even larger in the city's schools. Hispanics represent over half (55%) of all students in the city's school system while comprising only 36% of Providence's population.
In addition, Providence, like the nearby Massachusetts cities of Fall River and New Bedford, has a considerable community of immigrants from various Portuguese-speaking countries, living mostly in the areas of Washington Park and Fox Point. Portuguese is the city's third-largest nationality, (after Italian and Irish) at 4% of the population while Cape Verdeans make up another 2%.
African Americans constitute approximately 17% of the city with the largest percentages in Mount Hope and Upper and Lower South Providence neighborhoods.Asians are 6% of Providence's population and have enclaves scattered throughout the city. Another 6% of the city has multiracial ancestry. Native Americans and Pacific Islanders make up the remaining 1.3%. With Liberians comprising 0.4% of the population, the city is home to the one of the largest Liberian immigrant populations in the country.
So that's the local community. But let's talk about "the Democratic/progressive blogosphere".
We all know that we have had lots of discussions about how many poc's post, or are actually involved here at Dkos. We know our numbers are small, and not representative of our percentages in the party or progressive movements.
But the internet is vast - and we know we are online blogging, as well as organizing and active in our communities.
The Minister of Information of the Black Panther Party Brother Eldridge Cleaver once said:
“What we're saying today is that you're either part of the solution or you're part of the problem”
So today I'm asking you to be part of the solution.
First - what blogs do you regularly read that are poc blogs, or that focus on issues in our communities?
Second - Who are poc bloggers whose voices that you think should be heard at NN?
Third - What issues affecting us should be the focus of some panels?
Take a look at what panels were scheduled this year - what's missing?
We can't gripe about "missing panels" if they weren't submitted. (we can gripe about good ones that were submitted and turned down - but as my grandma used to say "no use crying over spilt milk" ) We have to ensure that we do the footwork and submit good panel proposals.
Fourth: Who are leaders from our communities who could or should be keynote speakers?
We all know and love Van Jones - but Van isn't the only progressive voice of color in the US. Name some names folks.
Fifth: Scholarships. You can't get a scholarship if you don't apply. Let's get committed to a: get some of our folks to apply, and b. make sure we show up when the voting is taking place.
Sixth: Outreach: What can we do to let people know about NN and to encourage them to get involved (using the tools we have) .
I'm going to post some threads in the diary on each of these areas. Please try to respond to the right thread.
Since we talk about a lot of things here on the porch it will make it easier to follow.
Some of you may not be interested in this at all - and that's okay too.
See you in the threads.
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News by dopper0189, Black Kos Managing Editor
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg asks a very important question going forward. Washington Post: Where Are the Black Internet Entrepreneurs?
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Silicon Valley is one of the most diverse places on the planet -- except for the glaring absence of blacks and Hispanics. African Americans are just not visible in this hotbed of technology innovation. Black Web 2.0's Angela Benton is trying to do something about it, reports the Washington Post's Vivek Wadhwa.
According to the San Jose Mercury News, as of 2008, blacks and Hispanics constituted only 1.5 percent and 4.7 percent, respectively, of the Valley’s tech population -- well below national tech-population averages of 7.1 percent for blacks and 5.3 percent for Hispanics. And the Silicon Valley numbers were declining while national numbers were rising.
It is worse in the ranks of tech company founders.
So I was delighted to have the opportunity to visit the NewME Accelerator, last night. This is a group of eight minority-led startups that is renting a house in Mountain View, CA -- in the heart of Silicon Valley. These entrepreneurs are from places like New York and North Carolina, and from other parts of California. They are hosting dinners (hamburgers and BBQ) at their place and inviting Silicon Valley's elite to visit and speak to them. It's a novel concept, conceived by Angela Benton, CEO of Black Web Media, and her entrepreneur friends, Wayne Sutton and Toby Morning.
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Who profits from sexual violence? San Fran Bay View: Who benefits from sexual violence in eastern Congo? Cui bono?
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‘Rebels’? Rebelling against whom, to what end?
Just who are these “rebels” supposed to be rebelling against? With what aim? Identifying the perpetrators as aimless and amorphous “rebels,” the indistinct label for most all gangsters a.k.a. armed profiteers and combatants paid by whomever for whatever in Congo, just creates a vague, insoluble, unending tragedy and benefits no one but the mega-NGOs who raise huge amounts of money to keep responding.
The definition of a “rebel” is always very close to that in Dictionary.com: “A person who rises in armed resistance against an established government or ruler.” So, whose government are these rebels rising in armed resistance against by raping Congolese women? That of Congolese President Joseph Kabila? Rwandan President Paul Kagame? Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni?
Cui bono? (For whose advantage?)
Or are they furthering the aims of those heads of state by shattering communities in eastern Congo, driving people into refugee camps and thus separating them from the vast resources that corporations and government geostrategists of the major world powers – most of all the U.S., its allies and China – are so determined to control?
Even if the “rebels” are simply mineral smuggling gangsters or freelance terrorists serving mining companies and mineral smuggling syndicates, the effect is ultimately the same. They’re not rebelling against, i.e. trying to overthrow, a government. They’re terrorizing people. Not just women. People. They’re driving people from their homes and communities off of their land and away from their resources into refugee camps.
This is the Reuters photo of Congolese rape victims in a refugee camp.
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Haiti’s President Michel Martelly met with members of South Florida’s Haitian community asking them to support his administration. Miami Herald: It’s wait and see for the diaspora
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The crowds were there and the cameras were ready.
But when Haiti’s President, Michel Martelly, swept into Miami Saturday, the scene was in keeping with his first month in office: people waiting, some impatiently, for him to get started.
Martelly, who arrived more than an hour late to a mid-day diaspora brunch, nonetheless received a standing ovation from local elected officials, business leaders and members of the Haitian diaspora.
Though Martelly has made several stops in South Florida since his election, this was his first official presidential visit to Miami.
Back home, the quake-ravaged country is waiting for a functioning government. On Tuesday, Haitian lawmakers rejected Martelly’s choice for prime minister, businessman Daniel-Gerard Rouzier, a considerable setback for the new administration.
Unemployment hovers above 70 percent, while hundreds of thousands remain homeless with little or no suitable options for safe housing during the hurricane season.
Saturday, Martelly reprised his message from previous trips to South Florida, telling the diaspora: “Return home and help Haiti.”
“Everyone here has an important role,” he told the crowd of about 150 at the Florida International University’s Biscayne Bay campus in North Miami.
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Let's just call a spade a spade the "challenges" are Tea Party fueled Republicans indiscriminate cutting of educational funding. Atlanta Journal Constitution: Black college leaders meet to discuss challenges
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As American colleges and universities gear up to meet a presidential goal to deepen the nation's pool of college grads, historically black institutions face extra pressure from threats to the financial support that many of their students depend on, the presidents of some colleges said Thursday.
About 100 presidents of historically black colleges are meeting in Atlanta and will discuss their role in President Barack Obama's call for America to have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world by 2020.
Meanwhile, Pell Grants are under fire as some members of Congress look at cutting such programs to trim the budget. Many minority students depend on the needs-based grants to stay in school.
To meet the president's goal, John Wilson, executive director of the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities, says the country will need to produce about 8 million more graduates — 2 million of whom need to be African-American, and 200,000 from historically black colleges.
"HBCUs and their productivity are built into the way we see this problem being solved," Wilson said. "That means we have to go from about 36,000 graduates per year to somewhere north of 50,000 a year. That is a big challenge."
Wilson said Obama is committed to preserving the Pell Grant program, which has grown from 6 million recipients when he took office to 9 million, and is expected to reach 10 million by 2012. He pointed out that while the program channels almost $1 billion into HBCUs alone, far more white students receive the grant.
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Rise and shine young sister! AOL Black Voices: 13-Year-Old Bronx Prodigy Heads to College
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There's a new star rising on Pelham Parkway and her name is Autum Shante.
This young prodigy is on the road to doing something extraordinary. This fall, she's heading to the University of Connecticut for her freshman year, at the amazing age of thirteen.
Autum has got a lot going for her. She speaks no less than three different languages (Arabic, Swahili, and Spanish), is an accomplished performer of spoken word at various venues around the country, and scored 149 on an IQ test, higher than most college students.
Her father, Ben Ashante, recognized Autum's talents early on and opted for homeschooling. Having retired early, Ben was able to dedicate himself to his daughter's education full time. He also enlisted the help of the community, including local retired teachers.
"What she's doing is groundbreaking but this is not about vanity," he said. "It's about setting the tone for other black and Latino children who will come behind her. They're always being told they are underachievers. We want to show this can be done."
Mr. Ashante said in a recent statement to the Daily News that he wants his child to be a role model for others, especially Black and Latino young people.
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Whether it's access to ball fields, the expense of equipment or opportunities in other sports, fewer African Americans are playing baseball today than in previous decades. LA Times: Baseball's demographics shift away from African Americans
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Although he grew to be as tall as a power forward and as strong and fast as an All-Pro tight end, Dave Winfield was destined to be a baseball player. He even has a baseball date of birth.
David Mark Winfield was born on Oct. 3, 1951, the same day Bobby Thompson hit his "Shot Heard 'Round the World."
More important in his development, though, was that Winfield was raised half a block away from the Oxford Playground in St. Paul, Minn.
Oxford Playground had a ball field.
"I was fortunate," says Winfield, a first-ballot Hall of Famer who finished his 22-year career with 3,110 hits and a World Series ring. "Kids used to go outside for four, five, six, eight hours at a time without coming home.
"And every parent knew how to play baseball, and they taught it."
Not anymore. The number of children aged 7 to 17 playing youth baseball declined 24% in the most recent 10-year period for which statistics are available, according to the National Sporting Goods Assn.
Winfield grew up in an African American neighborhood. The decline in such neighborhoods has been far more precipitous over a much longer period of time. That's one big reason why the percentage of African Americans playing major league baseball has fallen from 27% in 1975, Winfield's second full season, to 8.5% this summer.
"I'd like to see it improve," says Winfield, a vice president and senior adviser with the San Diego Padres. "I can't say it's a problem. It's different. It's a trend. It's unfortunate."
Winfield discusses the trend in his 2007 book "Dropping the Ball: Baseball's Troubles and How We Can and Must Solve Them." In one chapter, titled "The Last Black Major Leaguer," Winfield theorizes that if current trends hold, African Americans and their relationship with the major leagues could soon be back to where they were when Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in 1947.
Dave Winfield, coach of the Culver City Nationals, gives the team a pep talk before a game. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times / May 24, 2009)
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Wisconsin is the political and cultural battle ground of the universe (or at least the United States). Court House News: Feds Take on Racism in Wisconsin.
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A Wisconsin city in the most segregated region in the nation buckled to racist pressure and shut down an affordable housing project, federal prosecutors say. New Berlin has no affordable housing for general occupancy or families - just for seniors - and truckled to fears that affordable housing would draw minorities to the city, which is 95 percent white, according to a Fair Housing complaint.
The city approved a 180-unit project, but "Immediately afterward, and over the next several weeks, city officials received numerous emails, calls, and other communications from residents of New Berlin, the large majority of whom voiced opposition to the ... project. Some of the opposition was based in part on fear that the prospective tenants would be African American or minority. The Mayor, Aldermen, Plan Commissioners, and staff at DCD were aware that community opposition was based in part on race," according to the complaint.
"The communications they received over several weeks contained express and implied racial terms that were derogatory and based on stereotypes of African American residents. These communications referenced 'niggers,' 'white flight,' 'crime,' 'drugs,' 'gangs,' 'families with 10 or 15 kids,' of needing 'to get a gun,' of 'slums,' of not wanting New Berlin to turn into 'Milwaukee,' of moving to New Berlin 'to get away from the poor people,' of not wanting to provide housing to people 'who work but do not live here.'"
New Berlin Mayor Jack Chiovatero initially supported the project, but was worn down by being called a "nigger lover," having his property vandalized and a failed recall effort against him. The pressures upon Chiovatero were revealed in an email he sent to a friend, indicating that he condemned racism, but found himself surrounded by it.
According to the complaint, Chiovatero wrote:
"I am a prisoner in my own home. I have spent several hours a day last week listening and replying to concerned citizens. ... I was asked NOT to attend two functions this weekend for fear it would distract and cause havoc by my presence. Our City is filled with prejudice and bigoted people who with very few facts are making this project into something evil and degrading. ... New Berlin is not ready, nor may never be, for a project like this. Unfortunately, I will be doing whatever is in my power to end this project, it will result in lawsuits and making New Berlin a community of bigots."
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Voices and Soul
by Justice Putnam
Black Kos Poetry Editor
The transportation of goods has always been an important part of any civilization.; especially when a civilization is expanding and far-flung. All the important goods are put upon the conveyence and shipped across vast oceans to a port of eager recipients.
All of the important goods are shipped and transported; sometimes with care, sometimes not. Sometimes even, the goods are lost at sea.
What if then, the goods in question are not merely foodstuffs, machinery or fine material? What if the important goods transported, are people?
Then it becomes a series of...
Migrations
Water rocks the hull of the ship and the dark night comes on the waves
against the dark wood taken from the forests on the island
the people sleep or fight to sleep or smoke the coarse-leaved tobacco
with cans of saltwater at hand nearby for threat of fire
the people dream of rich goods and silk and land and sea
slender bars of chocolate hidden in the trunk with jewelry
stuffed below the bed the people dream of fire and awake
to the damp air salt in the throat and cough to awake
to the dark night that comes on the waves against the dark wood
taken from the hands of the people from the forest on the Island
as the ship moves East leaving the water of the Islands bays rocks and close current
into open sea along the Black Current the Black Sivo the current
that runs along the Islands of the North and takes the ship
into the waters of open sea
On the boats come the goods that cross the waters
like veins and blood rushing
the goods cross the waters
raw silk in bundles the fineness of two strands
thin untwisted silk
white scarlet blue mustard wound in small skeins
quantities of velvets gold embroidered with gold woven and brocades
silver thread upon silk in patterns detailed and rich
damasks satin taffetas linen from the grass called lencesuelo
musk benzoin ivory metal basins copper cast iron pots
bed ornaments hangings coverlets tapestries of different shades
horse-trappings finished with glass beads seed-pearls rubies sapphires
crystals nails sheet-iron tin lead salt petre
gunpowder wheat flour preserves of orange peach pear nectarine plums
cherries nutmeg pepper ginger salt pork chestnuts walnuts chicueyes
thread needles thimbles cushions pins boxes
writing cases engraved with scenes of bamboo and waves
moons and mist
beds chairs gilded benches buffalos geese swans horses males asses
caged birds that sing birds that talk
birds the color of ash the color of sunrise
rum is the cane’s sugar water
invented from smart mouths of slaves
discarded impurities boiled to a bitter blackness
rough as gravel
so unwanted they lined the lips of rain ditches
calcium rich tips
of animal hooves
mixing with rain dirt and mud
old leaves fiber and mangrove
the unwanted collected
yet
in the rich dirt purity of need
a sweetness beyond sweetness
the seven o clock sweat
of an unwashed neck
hair fibers and cane pulp
the foaming rush of juice and song
beaten into barefoot psalms
the simple chemistry of this
distillation of a kiss
thirst
and a word like rum
and a word like rum
and a word like…
achuete
atole
avocado
balsa
banqueta
cachuete
calabaza
camachile
camote
calachuche
chico
chocolate
coyote
nanay
tatay
tiangui
tocayo
zacate
zapote
On the boats come the blood that cross the waters
like veins and goods the blood comes
crossing the waters
Blanco y India = Mestizo
Mestizo y Mestiza = Mulato
Blanca y Mulata = Terceron, Morisco
Indio y Torna-atras = Lobo
Indio y Negra = Zambo
Indio y No te entiendo = Ahi te estas
Indio y Coyota = Chamiso
Indio y Loba = Grifo
Negro y Mulato = Galfaro
Negro y Zamba = Zambo prieto
Mulato y Barzina = Coyote
Mulato (o Chino) y Loba = Jibaro
Mulato y Tente en el aire = No te entiendo
On the boats come the blood
the blood
the blood
a shadow of water
dampens
the curling script of graffiti
a swirling necklage
of smooth-abdomened ants
carry blond eggs
on their backs
the plumb jaws of larvae
undulating
green tufts of grass
shoulder concrete
exhaling in small shatterings
the day’s weightlessness
the sky
the revolting face
of an enraged
and tender lover
promises a flashing echo
and wind
when the rain comes again
you will remember
a certain origin
a canopy of molecules and mist
you will forget to want yourself
a different shade a different shape
instead
another bed
of injury and faith
a quiet quiet some
thing
no stronger than a leaf
or a wave
taking shape
Water rocks the hull of the ship and the dark night comes on the waves
against the dark wood taken from the forests on the island
the people sleep or fight to sleep or smoke the coarse-leaved tobacco
with cans of saltwater at hand nearby for threat of fire
the people dream of rich goods and silk and land and sea
slender bars of chocolate hidden in the trunk with jewelry
stuffed below the bed the people dream of fire and awake
to the damp air salt in the throat and cough to awake
to the dark night that comes on the waves against the dark wood
taken from the hands of the people from the forest on the Island
as the ship moves East leaving the water of the Islands bays rocks and close current
into open sea along the Black Current the Black Sivo the current
that runs along the Islands of the North and takes the ship
into the waters of open sea
-- Dorian Merina
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The Front Porch is now open. Grab a comfy chair and sit and chat with us for a while.