What if the Tea Party was Black?

Bacchus, did you watch the video / read the essay?

This one is for Maysie:

Quote:

Contrary to popular belief, just because Bill O'Reilly and others may have learned to decipher Hip Hop lyrics does not mean that they have a total understanding of the Black experience. At most, the Right Wing knowledge of Afrocentricity is limited to talking points that come courtesy of the great Conservative "group think" which are repeated, ad nauseam.

So, the fear that giving Black Nationalists air time may infect moderate Civil Rights leaders with a severe case of radicalism and also produce a new generation of converts preaching a doctrine of black empowerment, may be realized in the very near future. Just because Black Nationalism is not a hit at lily white country clubs does not mean that it is not resonating well in barbershops in the 'hood.

Matter of fact, we can see the results already.

Recently, the otherwise mild mannered head of the NAACP, Ben Jealous sounded as if someone had spiked his latte with Red Bull during his recent convention speech when he called some members of the Tea Party racists.

Even in Hip Hop, Pittsburgh rapper Jasiri X is quickly becoming a viral Internet sensation with his YouTube Hip Hop version of Tim Wise's article, "What if the Tea Party was Black."

Also, there are movements forming such as the Militant Mind Militia that are arming the Black community with Afro-centric information to fight against the right wing racist propaganda.

So, although Glenn Beck has recently began promoting himself and the Right Wing as the rightful heirs of Martin Luther King's dream, in reality, he has more in common with Malcolm X in spreading the message of Black Nationalism. Who knows. maybe even black Republicans will get the message.

http://nowarningshotsfired.blogspot.com/2010/07/glenn-x-beck.html

Quote:

The white nationalists want their white nation back. But they can’t have it. And, since there can be no bargaining on that issue, there is no reason whatsoever for Blacks and browns and people of good will to engage or humor the Tea Party’s white nationalists. There is nothing to concede to them, and nothing they can offer us to which we are not already entitled.

Prominent peace activists are eager to engage the Tea Party, in search of common ground in opposition to government waste through war. It is true that Tea Party darling Rep. Ron Paul, the libertarian Republican and former presidential candidate, fights as hard as anyone on The Hill against bloated military budgets. But the anti-war movement will soon discover that all but a sliver of the Tea Party crowd are belligerent hawks, as racist in their global worldview as in their domestic outlook. Just as they reject a national social contract with non-whites, they reject any compact with other peoples of the world, particularly the non-white ones. White American nationalism is warlike, expansionist, and proud of it – a grave danger to the survival of humanity.

http://mostlywater.org/tea_party_movement_white_nationalism_march

Now, for a little bit of historical context.

Quote:

On June 5, 1966, James Meredith, the first black student to integrate the University of Mississippi in 1962, embarked on a solo 220-mile "March Against Fear," designed to encourage black voting in Mississippi. On June 6, 1966 in Hernando, Mississippi, Meredith was shot down by white racist Aubrey James Norvell. Martin Luther King, Jr. heard about the shooting while presiding over the regular staff meeting of the SCLC. On June 7, 1966, King visited Memphis, Tennessee with staff members and CORE director Floyd McKissick. While visiting the recuperating Meredith at the Municipal Hospital, the group is joined by Stokely Carmichael, chairman of the SNCC. Floyd, Stokely and King agree that the march will continue and be jointly sponsored by CORE, SNCC, and SCLC, and that a national call will be issued for support and participation. King and a group of marchers begin the second stage of the march, now known as the "Meredith Mississippi Freedom March," starting from the spot on Highway 51 where Meredith had been shot the day before. The number of marchers eventually reaches several hundred. In Granada, Mississippi, on June 14, fourteen marchers persuade 650 African-Americans to vote. On June 17, Stokely Carmichael addresses a huge mass meeting in Greenwood. The "Black Power" slogan gains its first show of public support as Carmichael proclaims: "What we need is black power." In Philadelphia, Mississippi, on June 21, 300 whites attack the marchers with rocks, bottles and clubs. James Meredith rejoins the march on June 24 and participates in the final rally of 15,000 people at the state capitol in Jackson, Mississippi on June 26.

[url=http://www.johnphillipsphotography.com/Meredith/01029.html]John Phillips Photo Essay related to text above[/url]