The resignation of Rachel Dolezal as President of the Spokane Chapter of the NAACP is a loss for the Spokane community, for the Black community, for the social justice community, for the NAACP. See resignation letter
Now who won?
Don’t say no one! That’s EXPLETIVE DELETED! The same folks who always been winning! I’ve seen it happen for the 40 years that I’ve lived in Spokane – always with a scandal.
Historical Spokane African American Voice T Shirt
By Robert J. Lloyd
As for the current scandal, I could care less what Rachel’s ethnicity is. She has been a strong advocate for civil rights, social justice and issues of gender. She is a superb artist. I support her in her advocacy and speaking out on issues. The Spokane Black community has not had a representative voice since Eileen Thomas was president of the NAACP in 1998. Rachel did not seek the presidency of the Spokane NAACP but was recruited to run for the office.
Many people are talking about honesty and integrity. Let’s have the IRS look over their tax returns. Let’s have access to their emails and telephone conversations. Let’s check out their pedigrees. And where have all the investigative journalists been on important issues?
Spokane African Americans love their symbolism: hearing the “I Have a Dream” speech, wrapping up in kente cloth, wearing their dred locks and Easter bonnets. But on substantive matters Black leadership has been absent without leave in the Spokane community for many years. None of the university and city multicultural specialists and advocates have spoken out on the issues with the fervor of Rachel Dolezal. None of the African American History teachers and historians have spoken out on contemporary Black issues in Spokane.
We left a vacuum and Rachel Dolezal and the young college students that she inspired stepped in to fill it with the support of a few progressive community activists and Unitarians.
I plead with those with a sincere interest in the issues that Rachel has championed to keep on fighting. I would suggest that the NAACP Monday night meeting be the largest in the history of the Spokane chapter and that we support Rachel. I solicit the support of MORE white people to walk in our shoes. I welcome MORE white people to share the oppression of Black America.
Posted at: www.4comculture.com Contact: info@4comculture.com
Be prepared to answer the question what will you do to make that dream a reality. Write your name and contact information on a piece of paper and give it to one of the event organizers saying what you are prepared to do. Dig down deep up under both couch pillows find that spare change and make a contribution to the organizations that you think are working for human rights and social justice. Take out a subscription to Spokane’s new black newspaper the Black Lens News, come to this website www.4comculture.com the day after.
On December 23 the Spokane chapter of the NAACP held a strategy meeting where the president-elect Rachel Dolezal presented a PowerPoint of her suggested organizational structure and suggested officers for the new year. It was obvious looking at the room that there is new interest in the organization. See links to older 4comculture posts and pages regarding NAACP activity and compare them to posts of activity since Ferguson. I think this is the beginning of a new movement with a much younger and energetic group. Only time will tell. I would encourage those under 40 to join the civic engagement and that we older folks stay home and send a check to support the youth.
Historical Note: When Dr. King joined the Montgomery Bus Boycott he was 26 years old. When he died he was 39 years old. Below are photographs of the SCLC field staff who were all in their late teens and early 20’s.
Spokane solidarity with Ferguson MO
After the unjust decision by the grand jury, newly elected Spokane NAACP President Rachel Dolezal called for a solidarity rally at City Hall and a march through the downtown business district. Guesstimates of participants ran from 100 to 280. The City Hall Plaza was closed. Demonstrators gathered on the corner in front of the City Hall building. Young African American men lay down on the ground symbolically representing the corpses of Black youth in America’s streets. The group was largely made up of college students including African Americans, Mecha members, Asian and white students. Members of the Spokane Socialist Alternative were represented, as was PJALS and GBLT. Absent Without Leave were the usual participants in Martin Luther King Day march – politicians, preachers and institutional representatives. And maybe that was a good thing. With new leadership coming from a younger generation grassroots organizing may begin.
Add your comments and let us know where Spokane should go from here.
Add your comments and let us know where Spokane should go from here.
The Benson Brothers are “creating a love letter to Spokane” (Spokesman Review) at Maple and 2nd.
More images at Maple Street Art Project
Michael Eric Dyson, Sociology Professor and Media Icon
Wednesday, January 29, 7:00 p.m.
The Spokane Academic Center address is 412 E Spokane Falls Blvd.
For more information contact Yvonne Montoya Zamora at montoyazamora@wsu.edu or 509.358.7554.
Please feel free to forward.
Yvonne
Phillip Jackson, Executive Director
The lack of response to globalization by Black America is frightening and troubling. While much of the world has adapted to the new-world economy and new-world standards of existence, most of Black America is still operating much the same way it did in the 1950s and 1960s. But now, throughout Black communities in America, there is a whisper campaign by Black people who don’t know each other and Black people who live in different parts of the country, saying to each other, “We are in trouble!” We know it and the rest of the world knows it! Black America, as we know it, is in danger of not surviving globalization.
In the 21st century, there are only two kinds of people. Not Black or White, or rich or poor, or foreign or national. The two kinds of people in the world today are those who are educated and those who are not. Although education has become the new currency of exchange in the 21st century, the old American educational paradigm stopped working decades ago for Black Americans. Simply sending Black children to American schools without a clear purpose or goal has contributed to the demise of the Black community. Black America watched formerly third-world countries catapult over America to become educational super powers while America rested on its old, stale educational laurels and fell way behind much of the world in educational performance. And because Black America unthinkingly depended on the American education system to educate its children, we have fallen way behind.
The solution to the issue of Black America’s poor response to globalization is to 1) Deconstruct value systems that have caused Black people to arrive at the precipice of non-existence; 2) Construct value systems that will rebuild the Black family as a purveyor of positive values, cultures, mores and education, and re-establish the Black family as the primary and most important social unit of our culture and society; 3) Embrace education as the highest value in the Black community; 4) Effectively manage the negative cultural influences that hugely impact the thinking and actions of Black boys; and 5) Understand that for the rest of existence, change is a required part of the living process. The faster Black America is able to put this plan into action, adopt these new principles and manage change, the more likely we will survive.
Today, many Black people seem to be having “cosmic flashbacks” to our time in slavery, which was the first crude effort at globalization that helped to set the stage for today’s globalization. For years, Black America was buffered from modern globalization by political boundaries and economic barriers. Now globalization has come to our country, our cities, our communities, onto our blocks and into our homes, schools and workplaces. Globalization has happened, whether Black America is ready for it or not. We still have time to make the necessary changes that will guarantee that Black people will survive into the 21st century and that we will thrive in this global economy. But there is not much time. With globalization, Black America has entered into the “Educate or Die” era. In this era, there are only two questions worth answering: “Will we change? Can we survive?” How we emerge from this era is up to us.
Eighteen Ugandans showed up on my doorstep needing a place to stay. Vince Lemus and his daughter said they would take half. Vince was there helping me to build the community we wanted to live in. He was building that community at the Fairchild Air Force Base, the Spokane Human Rights Commission, Workforce Diversity, Spokane School District and the GLTB community.
Now I am asking you to help build the community we all want to live in. Take a few minutes to read this letter and to respond as you feel appropriate.
Hi Bob! As you may know, our granddaughter, Marleigh Elise (5 years old), is struggling and heartbreakingly, losing her 14 month long, fight against Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). She is currently under Hospice care. My wife and I sat with Becca and Marleigh yesterday. Marleigh proudly showed us her “pain pump.” It delivers pain meds, intravenously, every three hours. As we sat there, we saw the deep seeded pain and anguish in our sweet daughter’s eyes and voice as the cancer slowly continues to consume her baby’s fragile body.
It’s always a horrendous challenge when a family member, especially a child, is sick; however, the emotional challenge is made tougher in the holiday season, knowing it is probably your last, together. Yes, a FB message is quick, convenient and appreciated. As random as it may seem, I am asking, if you have the time and inclination to do so, please mail a short letter, a card, postcard with a few words or something of that nature, to Becca, her husband Matt, and Marleigh. Please send some written words that reflect compassion, encouragement and or empathy in this difficult time. Your act of kindness definitely won’t make the pain go away; however, it will let them know their burden is lighter with your alms of prayer, chants, warm thoughts and understanding. Please let the time you take and words you write, be your gift to this family in this season.
Feel free to send this to friends and family members, even though they may not know Marleigh or her plight. We would like an outpouring of love and support for this family, this season. Until then, let the blessings be.
Sincerely,
Vince and Teri Lemus
Address: Matt and Rebecca Erdahl 2518 W. Broad St. Spokane WA 99205