Commentary by Black Kos editor JoanMar
Ooh, chile! I survived the ten days of celebration and glorification of white supremacy!
Of course, American & British media used those 10 days to attempt to rewrite and sanitize the history of an empire led by a family that actively and eagerly participated in and profited from chattel slavery. Monarchists didn’t take too kindly to anyone daring to question the deification of the “Defender of the Faith.” See one response below:
“She isn’t just a 21st century monarch, she’s something more,” Chris Rowe, 60, who was camped out on a grassy bank of The Mall to watch the funeral procession with his wife, told CNN. The Queen represents the “continuity of a hundreds-years-old tradition,” he said, adding that he came to London to see “the continuity of the nation.”
I bolded the sentence in the quote, but isn’t that what anti-monarchists have been saying, Mr. Rowe?
In her 70-year reign, Queen Elizabeth saw the last brutal gasps of colonial oppression, with British soldiers on three continents trying to maintain an imperial government formed in her name. The queen was the last vestige of a British Empire that stole from my ancestors and broke the sub-continent into pieces.
But my goal here is not primarily to revisit the vulgarity of American media outlets devoting hours and hours of prime time to highlighting one white family and all of its ill-gotten gains and undeserved fealty. Rather, my aim is to look at some of what they wilfully ignored in order to lovingly fawn over a family whose history is known to be inextricably linked to the worst of mankind’s evils.
David Cameron on the question of returning Britain’s plunderage including the Koh-i-Noor diamond: "If you say yes to one you suddenly find the British Museum would be empty," he said. "I think I am afraid to say, to disappoint all your viewers, it is going to have to stay put."
Three big stories that the media ignored
1. We found out that multi-millionaire Brett Favre and the Governor of Mississippi conspired to steal money from the poorest of the poor. Of course, Brett Favre is a white man, unlike say Michael Vick, so the media barely touched the story. What’s new? donald-effing-trump did become president of these United States, after all.
2. While the head honchos at media houses felt compelled to broadcast every minute of the celebration...er...mourning across the pond, Puerto Rico and other small islands surrounded by the Caribbean Sea getting pommeled by hurricane Fiona was of no interest to them. Eight dead in Puerto Rico, islandwide loss of electricity, and all the attendant problems that is all too familiar to those living in that part of the world. Sadly, the three million people living in this US territory are also well used to being ignored by media outlets on the mainland...to being treated like unwanted stepchildren.
3. American cops killed 32 Americans in 10 days
Yes, you read that right. American cops killed 32 (!!!) people during the 10 days of celebration. Not that it will make any difference, but for the record, among the 32 killed between September 8 and September 18, 2022, at least two were unarmed, one was armed with a spear, one was armed with a sword, four were armed with knives, one was armed with a tire iron, two had toy guns, one had a stone, one had a sharp object, one armed with a vehicle. One identified as Black, but 30 were simply described as “unknown.” Two were suffering from mental illness including a 61-year-old said to be armed with a knife.
The youngest victim killed in the 10 days was 16-year-old Darryl Rose. The Black teenager was killed by plainclothes undercover cops driving in an unmarked car and who were conveniently without bodycams.
The report goes on to say that Ross, who was armed with a gun began to quickly walk away toward an alley when officers arrived. The officers then followed Ross and claimed they announced themselves as police. According to the report, Ross tripped and fell while he was running away, dropping the gun on the ground. Officers then claim Ross reached for the pistol as officers approached him, prompting them to shoot the young teenager. Ross was later pronounced dead at a local hospital.
But Darryl’s mother, Jukita Johnson, who claims she was at the gas station when her son was killed, says her son should not have died that day and was only at the gas station to buy chicken tenders.
The stomach-churning killing of Christian Glass happened in June, but the footage was released during the days of mourning/celebration. In a sane world, the idea that agents of the government could kill someone who called them because he knew he was in trouble and needed help, and who, in the throes of mental distress, had attempted to stab himself with a small knife would have been big news. The release of the horrific footage did not even merit a half-second on the networks.
The killing of Christian Glass occurred on June 11, 2022, in Clear Creek County, Colorado, near the town of Silver Plume, at approximately 12:30 am. Glass, aged 22, was driving alone in a vehicle in the evening of June 10 when the vehicle went off the road. Unable to get it back on the road, he called 911 for help at approximately 11:20 pm, June 10.[1] When the police arrived, Glass may have had some form of mental distress, and refused to get out of the vehicle. When a police officer, with weapon drawn, asked him why not, he replied "Sir, I'm terrified."[2]
// Eventually, they broke the window of the vehicle, shot bean bags at Glass, and then tased him. Glass turned towards an officer while holding a small knife, then attempted to stab himself. Glass was then shot at least five times with a handgun by a Clear Creek County sheriff's deputy, Andrew Buen. Glass died at the scene
Over the years, some of us on this site have repeatedly tried to get the media to focus on the issues that we think could make a difference in the lives of ordinary people. We have been largely unsuccessful. We all know why. In the immortal words of Michael Jackson, “All I wanna say is that they don’t really care about us.” If foisting donald-effing-trump on us wasn’t enough to convince us, then the 10 days devoted to the buttressing of the British monarchy ought to do the trick. The media, like the GOP, do not reflect the values and interests of the vast majority of the inhabitants of this land.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
News round up by dopper0189, Black Kos Managing Editor
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A number of states, including Georgia, have implemented the controversial laws loosening the restrictions on using deadly force when threatened, stating there is no duty to retreat first.
The case against Wilson was closely watched by legal experts and civil rights advocates who have long criticized the use of “stand your ground” laws as racist. Perhaps the most high-profile case of its kind was the 2012 shooting of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed Black teen. George Zimmerman, who killed Martin, successfully argued that the use of force was justified under Florida’s self-defense laws.
Studies have found a significant racial disparity in whether homicides are deemed to be justified, based on the race of the shooter and that of the person shot. A 2020 study by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights said "white-on-black homicides have justifiable findings 33 percentage points more often than black-on-white homicides,” with “stand your ground” laws exacerbating that disparity.
“This case, among so many others, highlights the urgency in why Georgia must address the racial disparity in Stand Your Ground claims,” Woodall said in a statement to Yahoo News. “It is troubling that people continue to have to defend themselves against violent behavior, only to be further criminalized by an unjust legal system.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Black Americans have always been underrepresented in elective office. But we could see a big increase in representation for statewide offices in the November elections when a record 11 Black U.S. Senate candidates and five Black gubernatorial candidates are on the ballot.
While about 13 percent of America’s population is Black, only 3 percent of the 100-member Senate are Black. That goes up to 4 percent if you add in Vice President Kamala Harris, who can vote to break ties.
Not a single governor in office today is Black.
Fortunately, we have strong representation in the U.S. House of Representatives, where 58 of the 435 members—13 percent—are Black. Many serve as chairs of powerful committees like homeland security, education and labor, financial services and science and technology. But that could fall if Republicans pick up seats during the midterm elections, as all but two Black House members are Democrats.
Black Democrats are also running for other statewide offices. These include candidates for lieutenant governor in Illinois and Michigan and for attorney general in New York and Nevada.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and U.S. President Joe Biden met last week at the White House to discuss trade, climate change, and energy transition. Washington is seeking to bring Africa back into the fold following pledges of neutrality from South Africa and many of its neighbors after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as well as resistance to the U.S. position on the war.
Biden praised South Africa as a “vital voice” on the global stage. The continent’s importance was highlighted after the United Nations voted to condemn Russian aggression, in which half of the abstentions came from African countries. Having been long neglected in U.S. foreign policy, most African countries are now largely aligned with China in their political and economic partnerships. As a result, Africa has played a major role in furthering China’s and Russia’s goal of weakening the United States as the dominant great power.
South Africa’s position is important as the only African member of the G-20. Other African nations have followed its lead in refusing to bow to Western pressure on Russia. As expected, Ramaphosa raised objections to a draft U.S. bill that would sanction Africans doing business with Russian entities that are under U.S. sanctions. The bill, called the Countering Malign Russian Activities in Africa Act, would monitor African governments’ dealings with Russia and has been called “Cold War-esque” as well as described as “offensive” by South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor.
In Washington, Ramaphosa said Africans should not be punished for their historic nonaligned position. “We should not be told by anyone who we can associate with,” he said—a position that has been popular across Africa, Asia, and Latin America, as Shivshankar Menon noted in FP in July, even if the ideology may not have much to offer in this day and age, as C. Raja Mohan argued recently.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It’s been said that when America gets a cold, Blacks in America get the flu. For many Black folks, this “flu” of economic challenges has persisted and even grown generationally, affecting everything from education to housing to health care in an ongoing cycle that keeps many from achieving the American Dream. Economists and others often refer to disparities in wealth in America as the racial wealth gap due to the 6 :1 gap in median net worth of a white family versus a Black family
One significant barrier to closing the racial wealth gap, especially among younger Black people, is student loans. Blacks are more likely to take out student loans than their white peers. Reports show that Black college graduates are entering the workforce with an average of $25,000 more in student debt than white college graduates while barely making enough to pay it off. This last point may be the point.
The disparity in access to equitable, well-paying jobs and careers makes Black talent more vulnerable to defaulting on loans. Some students are paying back student loan debt while working jobs that pay barely above minimum wage. The assumption that everyone with student loan debt actually graduated college, or even that college graduates earned a degree to work in a field with top earning potential, is often an illusion. When it comes to student debt relief, the data suggest that access to well-paying jobs and careers for Black jobseekers is arguably more important than loan forgiveness, as we look for pathways to access better jobs, homes, credit—and better lives.
An in-depth study titled Wealth of Two Nations: The U.S. Wealth Gap, 1860-2020 found that “the racial wealth gap is the largest of the economic disparities between Black and white Americans, with a white-to-Black per capita wealth ratio of 6 to 1.” True wealth in the U.S. is passed from one generation to the next; so, in turn, the majority of Americans have to earn money to support themselves via employment—making jobs, and specifically living-wage jobs—essential.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WELCOME TO THE FRIDAY PORCH
IF YOU ARE NEW TO THE BLACK KOS COMMUNITY, GRAB A SEAT, SOME CYBER EATS, RELAX, AND INTRODUCE YOURSELF.