Thoughts on Netroots Nation, Detroit and activism
Commentary by Black Kos Editor Denise Oliver-Velez
I had planned to write a simple report on my impressions of Netroots Nation 14 in Detroit for today but my fingers and brain keep straying into other waters that lap onto the shores of the future and Markos' announcement that he—the person, and Daily Kos—the business won't be attending/participating in Phoenix.
I won't be focusing on AZ and why I'm not going. Time enough for that later.
I spent most of my time at NN with shanikka. We buddied up and made decisions about what we would or wouldn't be attending. My main focus (and hers) was going to see Rev. Barber. That had me fired up. Keynote speaker, opening night - just wow. Y'all already know how I feel about the Moral Mondays Movement and the dynamism of Rev. Barber as its architect. So an opportunity to get to hear him again—live—was my top priority. Was also hopeful that since NN is a gathering of bloggers, that his presence would assist in garnering better coverage in the lefty/liberal blogosphere for what is happening in North Carolina, and across the south. See shanikka's diary today on this "Sad, But True: Activism Just Ain't Sexy to the So-Called Netroots".
David Dayen, at Salon wrote [my bold]
Over the years, the Netroots conferences have transitioned, from the passion of activism to something like a trade show for the Professional Left. Organizations dominate the space and a number of the panels, and networking often takes precedence over idea formation. But the embers of hardcore activism do remain at a conference big enough to encompass a variety of perspectives. In Thursday night’s keynote address, told to a half-empty crowd at around 9 p.m., the Reverend William Barber, founder of North Carolina’s Moral Monday movement, took those embers and built a fire.
Appealing to history in a lengthy address, Barber noted America’s habitual phases of moral reconstruction, where people came together for renewal (for example, Barber excerpted long passages from the 1868 North Carolina constitution, the first after emancipation, which called for voting rights, asserted a right to public education and warned against big-money factionalism, the very issues the state deals with to this day). Every time a moral fusion movement sought great changes among the populace, Barber explained, they invited a backlash, from extremists wanting to deconstruct this moral foundation. The way to deal with them was not through rational compromise or horse trading. Barber stated firmly that they need to be fought, that a movement must grow and bear witness to the most basic rights of citizenship, and show America the “higher ground.”
Barber’s theory of change stems from planting your feet firmly and defending immutable values from injustice and racism. Not only that, Barber said, it has worked; his movement rallied North Carolina to his cause, brought low the approval ratings of the extremists who have curtailed voting rights and unemployment benefits and resources for education in the state (“never call those who would do these things Republicans,” he cautioned), and showed the possibility of a new dawn. And as you might expect from a preacher, he explained it in waves of testimony, eliciting applause and laughter and exhortations from the audience
This observation echoed my feelings.
Though too few bore witness to Barber’s remarks – and nary a soul in the press – they encapsulated the other spirit of the netroots, not of an interest group subject to ingratiation by ambitious politicians but of outsiders, armed only with their moral convictions, using the tools they have to fight for change. Between Joe Biden’s paean to consensus and Rev. Barber’s plea for moral reconstruction, I know what I’d choose.
I concur.
I had planned to spend some time talking with Rev. Barber, and was going to start writing a front page piece immediately after his speech. TrueBlueMajority had volunteered to once again do a transcript, as she did for his "If We Ever Needed to Vote" speech at the NAACP Convention in Houston. That plan fell by the wayside, since the video team couldn't get it together to post the video - the priority wound up being Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren. They did get it up - days late and a dollar short - thankfully Egberto Willis was able to post it here on Sunday, (he keynoted on Thursday) and Frederick Clarkson has also posted an analysis.
I did get to talk to him very briefly backstage, and we are in touch via email, trying to arrange me going to NC or me hooking up with him in New York. I promise—it will happen!
Finally—the panel with "the locals" (no name identification) was put up. Skip to about 32 minutes in for the panel.
The first speaker on the panel portion was Peter J. Hammer, Professor of Law at Wayne State University and Director of the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights. For those not familiar with
Damon J Keith:
Damon J. Keith was born in Detroit, Michigan, and has served as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit since 1977. Prior to his appointment to the Court of Appeals, Judge Keith served as Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Judge Keith is a graduate of West Virginia State College (B.A. 1943), Howard University Law School (J.D. 1949), where he was elected Chief Justice of the Court of Peers, and Wayne State University Law School (LL.M. 1956).
As a member of the federal judiciary, Judge Keith has consistently stood as a courageous defender of the constitutional and civil rights of all people. In United States v. Sinclair, commonly referred to as the Keith Decision, the Supreme Court unanimously affirmed Judge Keith’s landmark ruling prohibiting President Nixon and the federal government from engaging in warrantless wiretapping in violation of the Fourth Amendment. Judge Keith was heralded for that decisionin Joseph Gouldens' book, "The Benchwarmers," as “a prime example of an independent federal judge” who “had the courage to say ‘no” in the face of “a presidency which likened itself to a ‘sovereign.” “The strength of the judiciary,” Goulden wrote, “is rooted in just such independence as that displayed by Keith.”
Before his address Hammer called for a moment of silence for Charity Hicks—whose slogan was “Wage Love”.
From the East Michigan Environmental Action Council:
Charity Hicks - a clearing house of knowledge and passionate warrior for justice - joined the ancestors on Tuesday July 8, 2014. She joined EMEAC's staff as a Fellow for the EAT4Health initiative of the Jesse Smith Noyes Foundation in August 2012. During her tenure, she was a force behind a number of efforts throughout the city, nationally and globally, particularly in the area of food sovereignty and more recently, around water rights. Charity shared with folks around the world the struggles children and families in Detroit faced. She challenged power structures and institutions for their complicity in conditions that led to disproportionately high health challenges. And she called on all of us to walk the talk.
Charity brought so much passion, fire and knowledge to her work; many referred to her as a walking encyclopedia. Further, she brought so much of herself into all the spaces of which she was a part. She gave of herself selflessly. Charity's work and powerful spirit remains alive in our hearts and continues to inspire us in ways far beyond words. At EMEAC, we are so grateful to have shared time and space with her during this lifetime.
Here she was speaking about "about "Visionary Organizing in an Age of Climate Crisis" in Montreal.
Hammer's presentation (with slides) addressed "Race, Regionalism and Reconciliation". Be sure to watch.
Next up was Abayomi Azikiwe, from Moratorium Now. He is a Detroit organizer of the Workers World Party and editor of the Pan-African Newswire.
He was followed by Monica Lewis-Patrick, co-founder of We The People of Detroit,Meredith Begin — Education & Outreach Organizer for Food and Water Watch,Joan Ross - National Nurses United and Maureen Taylor,Michigan Welfare Rights
Here's a short clip of Maureen Taylor at the rally:
Shanikka and I did go to a very well attended panel "Black Feminism’s New Wave".
Black Feminism’s New Wave, panel at NN 14
I learned a lot from the sister's who spoke. They had a lot to say about the power of social networking with twitter as an organizing tool, and also about the racist trolling and threats of violence they face and deal with daily online, which it is very painful. They
raised the funds to get to NN from their online followers. There is no video that I have found, and no audio. Imani Gandy, who many of you may know as Angry Black Lady does have a page with
many of the tweets.
I'm not sorry I went. I really enjoy getting to meet, and reconnect with many folks I know from here on Dkos face-to-face and to meet new people who are engaged in organizing and activism.
This isn't my first time writing about Netroots Nation. When I was still Deoliver47 I went to my first NN in Pittsburgh, and wasn't pleased with what I saw in terms of representation of people of color, on panels and as attendees. I went back and re-read it today: "The Color of Netroots". I told Adam B. in Detroit that they have gotten better, in terms of attendees of color and panels. But there is still more work to be done, and frankly the claims of NN and aiding local activism as a call to go to Arizona for me is still very thin gruel. I haven't forgotten the hard work done to try to get Minneapolis activists a seat at the table in 2011...Native American (Brother Carter Camp was supposed to be there...that panel wasn't accepted...and now he walks the Spirit World), Hmong, Black, Latino...it never happened.
I've already said I won't be going to AZ, and look forward to what Sis Navajo is planning for regional hookups. I was glad to do my little bit to march for the people of Detroit's right to have water. I plan to write more about my support for the battle for ethnic studies in AZ this Sunday.
I hope that the Board of Directors, and staff of Netroots Nation will think long and hard about how to connect and promote more activists. Most of us deal with online media. Those of us who can't afford to attend should be able to see the panels that are relevant to our political work. I have nothing against Joe Biden or Elizabeth Warren, but they get press coverage.
Our folks don't.
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News by dopper0189, Black Kos Managing Editor
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Black history in the Middle East often gets overlooked. The Root: Historical Black Slave Revolt in Iraq.
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“But, wait!” you say. “Black slaves in Iraq? The Middle East?” Today, American children—thanks to the revolution fostered by the institutionalization of black studies starting in the late 1960s—mainly learn about slavery starting with the Middle Passage, the tens of thousands of slave ships that headed west from Africa across the Atlantic to the Americas between the 16th and 19th centuries. But, it turns out, there’s a good chance the European powers that backed those ships learned to link slavery and race from the eastern powers that once occupied the same lands. That’s what the dean of the history of slavery, David Brion Davis of Yale University, posits in his 2003 book Challenging the Boundaries of Slavery. To be sure, Iraq wasn’t called Iraq back then (its current borders weren’t established until after World War I). It was known generally as Mesopotamia, the land of the Tigris and Euphrates, and was part of a sprawling caliphate empire that stretched from southern Asia to North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula.
As old and as violent as the conflict is between Sunni and Shiite Muslims, slavery is even older. It predates the written historical record, Davis writes, and at critical turns was supported legally by the major religions of Judaism and Christianity. Islam followed. And as the teachings of the Koran spread from Mecca to the conquered lands of Africa and beyond, beginning in the seventh century, the lucrative slave trade expanded from Africa back to the Middle East. (For those who don’t know, there are only 20 miles from the Horn of Africa to the Arabian Peninsula at its closest point, across the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, linking the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean by way of the Red Sea.)
Don’t get me wrong: Africans were not just slaves in Mesopotamia. Some played key roles in the formation of Islam, as Leyla Keogh notes in her entry on the Middle East in Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience, Second Edition. But, over time, the enslavement of African men and women went hand in hand with the maturation of Islam, and the caliphate’s reliance on foreign, non-Arabic-speaking slaves, black and white, intensified as the empire grew.
"A Slave Gang in Zanzibar"
THE ILLUSTRATED LONDON NEWS (MARCH 16, 1889), VOL. 94, P. 343. ENGRAVING BASED ON SKETCH BY W.A. CHURCHILL.
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Maricopa County (Phoenix) Arizona lawsuit has earned it's bad reputation for POC not just because of its treatment of Latinos. Good to see them do the right thing here. The Grio: Shanesha Taylor, mom who left kids in hot car, avoids prosecution.
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Prosecutors and a Phoenix woman reached a deal Friday that would allow her to avoid prosecution for leaving her two young sons alone in a hot car while she was at a job interview.
Shanesha Taylor, who faced being tried on two felony child abuse charges, said gratitude was the only thing she felt.
“I’m grateful for the offer that was extended to me and the opportunity to resolve this situation as well as to show my intentions,” said Taylor, who shed a few tears while standing outside the courthouse.
Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery said his office and the 35-year-old mother of three have an agreement under which he’ll dismiss the charges against her if she meets several conditions.
Shanesha Taylor is hugged as Rev. Jarrett Maupin looks on, outside Maricopa County Superior Court, Friday, July 18, 2014 in Phoenix. (AP Photo/The Arizona Republic, Tom Tingle)
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President Obama announces 'My Brother's Keeper' expansion. Black Voices: Obama Touts Expansion Of Program For Minority Boys.
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President Barack Obama announced a major expansion of his initiative to improve the lives of boys and young men of color, with educators, star athletes, companies and foundations announcing partnerships to help minority boys in conjunction with his "My Brother's Keeper" program.
Obama, who first announced his initiative in February, said Monday they plan to continue to build support for the program around the nation to ensure those who are the most risk will get the help that they need.
"This is a movement that we're trying to build over the next year, five years, 10 years, so we can look back and say we were part of something that reversed some trends that we don't want to see," said Obama, who made the announcement at initiative at the Walker Jones Education Center in Washington, D.C.
Obama unveiled the "My Brother's Keeper" program at the White House in February. Under the initiative, businesses, foundations and community groups coordinate investments to come up with or support programs that help keep young people out of the criminal justice system and improve their access to higher education. Several foundations pledged at least $200 million over five years to promote that goal.
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Voices and Soul
by Justice Putnam
Black Kos Poetry Editor
The indignities of life seem to follow us everywhere. We live in a nation where no part of our existence is outside scrutiny. Banks now acknowledge they investigate our Twitter and Facebook posts and friend lists to deny or approve credit; we are subjected to full body scans at the airport; we have to urinate in a jar to flip a burger. Affrilachian Poet, Amanda Johnston, tackles these intrusions with a particularly powerful and dark élan. She goes for the jugular when the application for employment asks...
Have you ever been convicted of a felony? If so, explain.
Fighting devils ain’t new to me. Hell, I’ve been fighting them since I
was born. They always come looking like men I love. Mama showed me how
to cradle their fire until the heat no longer singed my arms. We
learned to swallow our salt and peppered tongues with ease. One will
sacrifice everything in hell’s kitchen, but not my babies. I always
fed them something sweeter, saving the brine and rinds for myself. I
like to bake. Even know how to make most stuff from scratch. I can
dice, julienne, and score an apple pie crust like in Woman’s Day
Magazine. Didn’t mean to make his face flower like that, forgot I was
even holding the knife. Boom, Boom, Boom – ever heard the devil
beating at your front door hungry and clawing for neck bones? Forgot
exactly how the blood spilled, tried to tell the police that. I like
to bake. My babies need to eat. For years I cooked for other inmates.
Guess you could say I’m experienced. Let me show you. I promise I’ll
do a good job.
-- Amanda Johnston
"Have You Ever Been Convicted of a Felony? If So, Explain"
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