An Evening With Black Agenda Report - 7th Anniversary

From BAR Website

As promised I am sharing my experience while attending Black Agenda Reports (BAR) 7th Anniversary on October 18, 2013 in New York City. It has taken sometime as my laptop no longer would allow WORD, Excel or my peripheral keyboard to work after I returned. How convenient. I went and purchased a Google Chromebook for reasons I will not discuss here. Now I am able to share my experience, what I was able to take with me and inspiration.

My Get on The Bus:

As with my attendance at the 1997 Million Woman’s March in Philadelphia, I had my real life experience as I chose to travel by bus. For the Million Woman’s March, when I got on the bus there was only one sister from Buffalo, New York. As I reached the Pennsylvania border and on into the state, it was filled with Black women going to the March. The number one topic was how White teachers treat our children. Yes I made it to the March. That is another post.

When leaving for the bus station this October 18, 2013, I chose to do so via taxicab. My driver was conveniently from Africa. Due to events of attention around my protest of the Iraq War, the possible invasion of Iran, bombing innocent people in Syria, being anti-capitalism and other activists activities I was a little suspect. Well before we reached the bus station I was not an African to him, I was westernized, lost my heritage, should not call myself an African and he was informed neither should he as he wore western clothes and had been brainwashed to hate his brothers and sisters here in America. Eyes opened with more information from me, we were good friends by the time we reached the station and we were both Africans.

Why I Attended:

For sometime I have been a faithful reader, follower and sometime commentator on Black Agenda Report. I am Radio Free America there as I am on NBC Newsvine. It is sarcastic contradiction of the Radio Free America airing pumped into the old USSR. It was not free but, propaganda by the other side. I seek for my airings to be free. On Google Plus I am E. Walker. As promised, I will also share this experience on Google Plus.

One member of the “middle class” (and upper middle class) that has failed us greatly is Barack Hussein Obama. As mentioned it is almost a sin to speak out against him for his failures to his people.  BAR shared their experience with him prior to his running for president.  They also extended the freedom to acknowledge his failures along with Eric Holder.  For me such honesty and enlightenment was greatly appreciated.  

I wanted to talk about Obama not being the first Black President.  He is the first African American President.  Black, is conception and used to refer to a state of mind, a way of thinking.  This state of mind was taught to us by our Black parents, Black extended family, our parents friends and our Black community. Growing up, Obama had none of these.  What will hurt us forever about Obama’s presidency is that they now can say you had one of your own (including attorney general) and he did not do anything for you so why should we?  We will have to still wait for someone Black enough to be our first Black President.  

I cannot begin to express the salvation I have found on the Black Agenda Report website.  I am of the 1960’s so BAR is a refreshing reminder of what was to be accomplished and a true reporter of how past accomplishments were diminished, awareness of the current forms of oppression and what needs to be done.  I often refer to their articles and site as a foot soldier in the current protests and activism done via the Internet.  I wished to share the uplifting, self empowering, truth seeking investigative reporting done on Black Agenda Report with all my brothers and sisters.  So attending their 7th Anniversary Celebration was a must.

I was not surprised that they are all original Black Panthers.  Unlike the stereotype of the Black Panthers being anti-White, they are still pro-human rights.  I had someone at work say to me “you know the Black Panther type.”  I asked how many Black Panthers do you know to say what the Black Panther type is?  He responded none.  He did not know he was talking to a former Black Panther.  I did not attend long as I live in conservative western New York where they were not like the Chicago and California Black Panthers, I so respected.  

My reason for attending other than to support BAR was the topic on how the Black Middle Class has removed itself from and hurt the accomplishment of the movement.  They have done much damage especially in the workplace under the guise of Human Resources to keep the dissenters in line for the master.  BAR pointed out that they are too far removed from what the rest of us go through.  They are so far removed they do not realize they are going through the same thing trying to keep their good paying jobs.  Dr. Cornel West was to be keynote speaker but was not able to attend and was to be the main speaker on this topic.  Please see LINKS below to connect to a video of Dr. West on this topic.

The Black Agenda Report staff was even more informative as they took this topic further than the workplace to those in public office.  They did an excellent job.  I was surprised to learn how those of us in public office, Obama included has change our perception of war.  We by culture are not a warring people.  BAR point out how under Obama and the current Black leaders our approval of war has gone from the single digits to above 20% approval.  They pointed out how he as puppet of the powers that be orchestrated this change in opinion.  We had refused to go to war in Iraq. Elders discouraged our young men and women from fighting a rich White man’s war.  We were not to go and kill other oppressed, poor and brown people of the world.  We were not to fight in die in their war while their sons and daughters stay home go to college and have elaborate weddings. The Black Middle Class is preparing us to fight and die in a war for the master as we did in Vietnam.  We must stay informed.

There was a brother from Africa, I believe his name was Maurice Carney of Friends of the Congo.  He shared the plights of our brothers and sisters in Africa as they suffer the ills of the same European oppressor.  Pan-Africanism was given more life.  We are all the children of mother Africa no matter how we are brained washed that our long absence prevents such.  We allow them to write our history, our story if allow this brainwashing.

I left early as with Sister Marsha Coleman-Adebayo of No FEAR Coalition, my activism has brought attention.  My usual entourage of those who surveill for national security or other agencies arrived.  I already wondered if there was a connection with my attendance and Dr. West’s absence.  By leaving early, I missed some of the panel discussion on resolutions.  Yes BAR did not just leave you in the dark with issues.  Of course in a capitalistic society and the economic oppression that follows, the role of money as part of the solution was discussed.  For me personally, I say let them surveill themselves into debt and a worthless dollar. We should not spend our lives under the control of pieces of paper and round metal.  The only thing I would have wanted to see different at the end was to have allowed open discussion.  The second reason for my attendance was to share what I have seen and to question the staff of BAR on other concerns within our community.  

I wanted to talk about:

I wanted to talk about the current cream in the coffee.  It is the cream called Diversity poured into Affirmative Action and Title VII.  As with the pouring of cream by including Whites in the protests of the Civil Rights Movement, leaving the movement no longer a Black power, diversity has taken attention away from the oppression of Black and Brown minorities in the workplace.  The oppression of minorities, especially Blacks in the workplace is diluted by spilling a need to care for the oppression of all.  Who is more oppressed in this country than minority America?  How did Whites become of the mindset, they need the same protection and are the oppressed in the workplace?

Affirmative Actions did not create set-a-sides as politicians proclaim in an attempt to divide and conquer.  It changed the percentages of the set-a-sides that have existed in America for hundreds of years.  Traditionally the percentages have been 0% to 100%. The percentages in the hey-day of Affirmative Action were at most 4% to 96%.  Currently, that ratio is even less as those from the 96% have been added to the 4%. If the 4% is discriminatory towards the 96%, then the 96% is 24 times as discriminatory towards the 4%.  Diversity has cooled the gains of Affirmative Action by decreasing the 4% to near 0%.  

I wanted to talk about the recent form of discrimination that is ever increasing. With so many Black men in jail and Black women being used to fill the small portion of the 4% that is given to us, Black women are left vulnerable in the workplace.   Then there is also the suffering brought on by Women’s Lib.  Black women can be counted twice in the 4% therefore freeing up space for a White employee.  We are counted once as a minority and once as a female employee.  Those who most benefit from Women’s Lib, the ones who are the descendants of those who oppressed our ancestors, are the creators of the recent form of discrimination.  Unlike our ancestors who worked for these women, we now work with these women.  Under the recent form of discrimination, we are victimized in the workplace by the same treatment from these benefactors of Women’s Lib as were our mothers, grandmothers, great grandmothers… as domestics and slaves.

As the old saying goes, “when White America has a problem, Black America suffers.”  White America in following the Civil Rights Movement sought to have the movement, Women’s Lib. As when the master’s wife feeling slighted asked for the same treatment the master gave his favorite slaves, so have her descendents requested the same post the Civil Rights Movement.  They have requested to be included in its accomplishment, Affirmative Action.  As with slavery, she was given dominion over the slaves as a false sense of freedom.  She had dominion over the slaves, especially the female slaves.  She will never has dominion over her oppressor, the White male.  As with slavery where the slaves did not oppress her, neither have we their descendants.  It was not and is not our issue to suffer.

As the master's wife was brutal to the female slaves, especially the master's favorites, so are her descendants brutal to minority women in the current workplace.  As during slavery when her abusiveness was challenged and she ran to the master for protection, so do her female descendants run to a White male for protection from what they create. I have witnessed or been made aware of Black and other minority women leaving their jobs, abruptly quitting their jobs, seeking mental health professionals, taking mental health leave of absences, having nervous breakdowns and even one having a heart attack due to the current and increasing form of discrimination in the workplace.  This is from the lack of recourse and the stress it brings.  The book "The Help" which is on the lips of many Black women addresses this very well.  The Black middle class in my workplace have never even heard of this book.  They are not aware of its importance and meaning to Black women in the workplace.  The only difference from the book is that the master's wife is now in the workplace and we suffer her anger by way of her B-ism.

Finally I wanted to talk about the new slave traders called temporary agencies.  Just like the original traders they are hired by the employer and make deals for the labor of workers who are not involved in the negotiations.   Like the original slave trader employer relationship, the labor does not know the particulars of the contracts, has no say in the particulars and is subject to the needs of the agent and the employer.  The slave trader called a temporary agency has only the employer's interest at heart.  Many minority laborers are employed through temporary agencies. Oppressions never go away.  They take a different form.

I will without question continue to be informed by Black Agenda Report and attend future events.  There is much work to be done and they are doing more of this work than any other Black organization or leader.  Thank you Black Agenda Report.    

LINKS

Black Agenda Report Website

BAR 7th Anniversary

Black Agenda Television

Dr. Cornel West On The Black Middle Class

My NSA entourage while in New York City.
He stay with much of the time