|
 |
|
Politics and the black community
 | |
By David L. Horne, Ph.D.
OW Contributor
Even at a cosmetic level of analysis, 2008 is an extraordinarily rich and dynamic electoral season. Although this is not the first time we have seen exciting female and black American male candidates run for the nation’s highest office, (remember Shirley Chisholm, Jesse Jackson, etc.), this is the first time in the nation’s history that a female candidate and a black American male candidate both have a significant opportunity to win their party’s nomination by the summer, and the general election for U.S. President in the fall.
And that’s not all. For the first time in history, we have two sitting state governors, Deval Patrick elected in Massachusetts, and David A. Paterson, who was elevated from Lt. Governor to New York State Governor.
In California, the Honorable Karen Bass was just elected as the state’s (and the nation’s) first African American female Speaker of the State Legislative Assembly, one of the three most powerful political positions in California state politics.
Speaking of California, we also currently have the highest number of elected U.S. Congressional and State Assembly/State Senate members (12), even when comparing that number to the heyday of black politics in California during the late 1960s and early 1970s when Wilson Riles, Mervyn Dymally, Leon Ralph, Theresa Hughes and others were setting the standard for effective public service. Out of approximately 12,000 elected officials in some level of California state government, we presently have over 180 black American elected officials, from the Water District Boards and an Orange County Sheriff to the State Assembly and Senate. That’s 1.5 percent of California’s elected officials for a population that stands at 7.5 percent of this state.
But beyond those optimistic statistics (if you see the cup half full) lies a pervasive and dangerous trend: African American citizens are not taking the American political system seriously enough to be able to maintain the advances they have made, let alone build on and expand those numbers to higher ground. In essence, we are allowing ourselves to be marginalized by taking the status quo for granted and falling in love with political mediocrity.
“Humbug,” some will say. “The current numbers speak for themselves.” Yes, they do, but that’s an entirely different argument, including the fair share consideration. Without even bringing up the issue that a large number of our California black elected officials do not see themselves as either solely or primarily responsible to the black community-a great many of them will overtly make the point that their constituencies are multi-ethnic and multi-racial so they cannot afford to focus on black concerns– we are already in deep trouble.
Why? First, there is the simple and natural change in demographics that has diluted three current “black” city council districts to one (the 9th and 10th are not “black” districts in population anymore), and there is no dominant black population in any of the five current Los Angeles county supervisoral districts. Most analysts predict the upcoming election to replace Yvonne B. Burke in the 2nd supervisoral district, to be the last one at that level which will have the presumptive winner as black.
Second, politics has become so much about money that too many highly talented African Americans just won’t bother to organize and run for office, or even when they do register to run they won’t be taken seriously. They will generally earn the ignominious label of “fringe candidate.”
Thirdly, coalition politics has already become such a persistent presence in California that more and more citizens see color less and less as a requirement to represent their interests in public office. Thus, black interests can be just as well, if not better, represented by candidates who are Asian Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, or habitually Anglo Americans.
Fourthly, there is very little training going on by the current crop of black elected officials of new, young public servants. The political pool of black candidates is at a very low point, and in most of the races we have a merry-go round of the same faces. During the 1970s and early ‘80s, the Honorable Mervyn Dymally and other California political activists maintained an effective ‘young black political leaders training process’ that produced some very successful public servants who well represented the black community. Currently, that process is noticeably absent. What happened to it and why hasn’t that successful pattern been duplicated and re-introduced in California?
With all that as a context, there is a strange belief currently existing within the California black community that black folk do not have to “be political,” yet blacks will still get their due. This belief further holds that blacks don’t need to study intensively and become at least literate in and informed about the American and Californian political system. This belief, which is as pernicious and nonsensical as the one which says doing well in school is a “white thing,” is also a lead weight that has but one logical consequen, the crashing and burning of meaningful African American participation in public policy decision-making in this state and the further marginalization of the California black constituency. And this is not a projection for the far off future. This consequent can be seen in the haze-filled air just over the horizon.
The African American community in California cannot afford the luxury of its wide-spread ignorance and disregard of the political system in which that community lives, works, procreates and dies. Waiting for the American and California political system to be fair and to do the right thing is like waiting to win the California Super Lotto. Both are exercises in relentless exasperation for the vast majority of us and both cost far too much in the short and long term with little, if any, reward.
Here’s the skinny: Politics is not and will not be fair, and politics will not , without serious pressure, do the right thing. Neither is in the nature of politics. In fact, politics works for and benefits best only those who can articulate, advocate and defend their own interests, and the history of politics in this country clearly bears that out.
So, wake up, black community!! Just because you are being taken for granted by others in the system now is no reason for you to take your own political intellect for granted. Don’t politically punk yourselves. How many of you know your eight direct representatives (from at least the federal level to the district and community college board levels)? No, the Honorable Maxine Waters does not represent all of you at all levels. Do you know how to contact each of your representatives? Do you know how to get service from them? Do you know what relevant questions to ask of them when they run for re-election? Do you have an effective measuring stick to assess their performance level in office? Do you know how to articulate to them your own interests?
To be sure, having a significant number of black elected officials in California and in the USA overall is a grand achievement. In 1965, just before the passage of the Voting Rights Act and its several amendments, there were less than 30 African Americans in elective office in the entire country. In California, there were less than five. Currently, according to census data from the federal government, there are over 9,900 black elected officials in the USA, and, as stated above, over 180 in California. The accomplishment of such a dramatic shift in less than 45 years is remarkable, but the other part of the coin, the necessary follow-through, (if you will), is to maintain a vigilance and accountability regarding those elected. After all, simply being black does not mean an elected representative will understand, agree with or articulate black interests any more than being female means the representative will effectively advocate and defend feminist issues, or being overweight means one will well represent the obese.
Lack of this follow-through is the most critical political issue facing the black community in California.
Are we, for example, keeping up with the presidential race beyond the personalities of the two leading Democratic candidates? Do we understand the DNC’s delegate structure, including regular and super participants? Do we understand the difference between those California Democratic Party delegates elected in caucuses across the state on April 13, and the electoral college delegates California will elect in November?
In the race for L.A. County Supervisor, District 2, have we asked all of the candidates running enough questions to determine who is best qualified and best oriented to become our representative on the most powerful county board in California, and possibly the entire USA? It will not be in our collective best interest to elect someone we will not have access to after they are comfortably in office, who will not be responsive to community concerns, and who will arrogantly abandon us. Thus, we need to put the candidates through a rigorous and relevant job interview every time we have the chance.
On Saturday, April 26, for example, there was a 2nd district candidates’ forum at CSUDH (California State University, Dominguez Hills), sponsored by the California African American Political and Economic Institute on the Dominguez Hills campus, and the Carson Martin Luther King Jr. Democratic Club, for all of the current 11 candidates for that position. Due to an administrative mix-up and miscommunication, three of the candidates who confirmed and neither of the two leading candidates participated, but the show went on well without them. Through the prism of presentations and responses to questions, the five candidates who did participate clarified plainly that only two of them knew enough about L.A. County government to even be in the race, and all five candidates kept confusing Los Angeles City government with Los Angeles County government. There was, for instance, a lot of discussion about getting the Mayor of L.A., the LAPD and the LAUSD to change their policies and procedures and not nearly enough discussion and comment about Sheriff Baca, the County Jail, and the L.A. County Department of Education. Out of the five, only one presented proof of a plan he had devised that the public could peruse about resuscitating Martin Luther King Hospital, which is one of the central issues in this campaign.
There are several other very important races on the political agenda for 2008 in California. We can take care of all of them and demonstrate our political literacy by paying attention, going to candidates’ forums and asking for tangible proof of plans to improve our community, and by staying informed. Or we can keep doing what we have been doing and thus keep getting what we’ve gotten, disregard, disrespect and being taken for granted.
Wake up, black community!! Your political future, and that of your children, is on the line.
OW Endorsements
After careful consideration and weighing candidate responses to questions posed at the OurWeekly debate; other local forums and debates; responses to survey questions; and job performance evaluations of incumbants, the following candidates have garnered OurWeekly’s endorsement for the June 3, 2008 election:
Congress
District 33 Diane Watson
District 35 Maxine Waters
District 37 Laura Richardson
State Senate
District 25 Mervyn Dymally
State Assembly
District 47 Karen Bass
District 48 Mike Davis
District 51 Curren Price
District 52 Isadore Hall
District 55 Warren Furatani
County of Los Angeles
Supervisor, 2nd District Mark Ridley Thomas
District Attorney Steve Cooley
Demystifing the DNC’s delegate structure
The origin and role of super delegates
By David L. Horne, Ph.D.
OW Contributor
Among the truisms shared by many of the old school civil rights activists who later became Democratic Party insiders, there is a direct causative line between the Fannie Lou Hamer led Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party’s (MFDP) 1964 protest against the exclusionary white Primary, and the birth of the Democratic Party’s Super Delegates.
Hopefully, many of us still remember that painful, yet triumphant odyssey that on the one hand left a very sour taste about racism and white politics, but on the other demonstrated what a collective, never-say-die group of 64 blacks and a few whites could do when they stood up for right and justice. After pushing the Democratic National Convention (DNC) into crisis mode by challenging the legitimacy of the regular all-white Mississippi delegation (and making a steel-trap argument to support their position), the MFDP leaders were offered a compromise: “we can’t send whites home in order to seat blacks, even though your point is entirely correct, so we’ll instead give you two non-voting seats in the Convention to observe the proceedings and learn how it all works.” Saying, “We didn’t come all this way for no two seats, cause all of us is tired,” Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer, Aaron Henry and the others there simply said no. Our respect is worth more than two seats.
How much of an influence this embarrassing scenario had on a major shift of Democratic Party procedures, is of course, speculation. But it is a fact that the 1970 creation of the Super Delegate category by the McGovern-Fraser Commission, which was also known as the Commission on Party Structure and Delegate Selection, had as one of its prime directives how to improve the representation of racial and ethnic minorities.
In Democratic Party delegate elections, the recommendations and most of the changes made by this Commission were not implemented until 1984, and that is the year of the first usage of the Super Delegate category by the Democrats.
Essentially, Super Delegates are elected members of the Democratic National Committee (approximately 450 people), registered Democrats who are elected governors, U.S. Senators and members of the House of Representatives (including non-voting Washington, D.C. and Virgin Island representatives), plus former elected Democrats at the level of U.S. President, Vice President, Senate and House leaders, DNC chairs, and lastly unpledged Democrats appointed by the current DNC Chair. Although no one right now seems to know the exact number of Super Delegates in the Democratic Party (the Republicans do not have this category), at minimum for the 2008 presidential nomination there are 796 and at maximum, there are 850.
In all, the Super Delegates represent either 24.5 percent or a more solid 25 percent of the total 4,049 Democratic Party convention delegates. In order for any candidate to win the nomination straight-up, he or she has to obtain at least 2,025 delegates from a combination of the state primaries and caucuses, and the Super Delegates. With no candidate obtaining that minimum, there will be a direct vote and intense negotiations at the Democratic National Convention in August, 2008, in Denver, Colorado.
For the nominated candidate, there will be an entirely new slate of electoral college delegates listed in the background on the November general election for President of the United States. Some of the same people who were originally convention delegates can run.OW Candidate Survey
Three local races examined
By Kathy Williamson
OW Editor in Chief
OurWeekly recently offered all candidates of three local races the opportunity to answer surveys on a variety of issues particular to the seat that they are seeking and the constituents of the respective districts.
Candidates vying for positions as Supervisor, 2nd District; State Senator, 25th District; and State Assemblymember, 52nd District responded to the surveys.
Each question required a maximum word count of either 50 or 100 words. This proved to be a challenge for some of the candidates.
The responses are unedited, except where the word count was too excessive. Then, the last sentences were trimmed and edited for readability only.
If the word count was within the limit, the responses were printed exactly as submitted.
2nd District, Supervisor
Q: There is tremendous racial/ethnic diversity within the 2nd District, not simply African Americans and Latinos. How do you plan to bring all the groups onto the same page without isolating or upsetting one group in favor of another?
MORRIS GRIFFIN – As a LA County Supervisor, I plan to invite, each year, all ethnic groups to one of the Hotels on Century Blvd. I also plan to hold Town Hall meetings regarding issues of concern such as gang violence, foreclosures, universal health care, etc. I would like to arrange outings to Dodger Baseball games, Lakers and Clippers Basketball games, soccer and hockey games with bus loads of ethnic diversity. In addition, I plan to arrange fishing outings at any of the many LA County parks. I’m thinking of arranging summer camps for boys and girls.
THOMAS NEUSOM – One of the strengths of the 2nd District is its diversity. The district wasn't always this way. My grandfather moved into a neighborhood in the district from Michigan in the 1940s and my family has lived in the area for many years. We need to remember that when it comes to economics the pie can always keep getting bigger if things are handled properly. A common mistake is to think that if A and B get this then that meens there won't be any left for C. Under my leadership as Supervisor A, B, C, and everyone else is going to work together to increase the prosperity of the district. This type of vision distinguishes me from the other candidates.
BERNARD PARKS – Ethnic diversity is a source of strength and pride to our community. It need not and must not mean division and conflict. An elected official has an obligation to assure that the public’s business is conducted evenly, that services are provided equitably, that the administration of justice is color-blind. We cannot abide government officials or work force who are racially insensitive, lack diversity and culturally ignorant, for example, and we cannot have large swaths of our County that happen to be “minority-majority” park-poor, service-poor and violence-ridden. Cross cultural education, events and activities should be the norm. Fairness and fair play have always characterized my public service and will continue in my role as Supervisor.
DR. DELANY SMITH – The Second district is perhaps the most ethnically diverse district of any county within the United States. Our ethnic diversity should be viewed as a strength and not a weakness. Divisiveness between the various ethnic groups can be best overcome by education that includes ethnicity related courses that cover a broad spectrum which begin in grade school. I should add that the concept that different means... "different" and not "bad"... should be introduced to our children at an early age. Ethnicity sensitivity education related training should be part of the orientation of every new employee. Complaints of discrimination in the workplace should be taken seriously by employers, and if there is evidence of racial discrimination the responsible party should be punished with time off (without pay).
MARK RIDLEY-THOMAS – I am proud to have the most ethnically diverse group of endorsers of any candidate in this race. I have earned these endorsements because I have spent my lifetime in public service bringing diverse communities together around common issues of concern to change public policy; access resources; and create safer and healthier communities. Together we worked hard to close liquor stores and motels which contribute to crime in our communities; brought health care services to women in South LA; created the Empowerment Congress to facilitate greater public participation in government decision-making; and facilitated city-wide dialogues on issues including the health care crisis, homelessness, school campus violence and police conduct.
DR. FLORIAN THOMPSON – Black and Latino unity will rebuild our community. National statistics in the Pew report show that 1 out of 36 hispanics are in Prison, and 1 out of 15 Blacks are in Prison. The critical problem facing the second district is that Blacks and Latinos are lagging far behind all racial and ethnic groups in Los Angeles County in Health Care, Education, and earnings. If Blacks and Hispanics can unify our common goals, we can open our hospitals, raise our quality of education, and rid ourselves of poverty, blight, and the scourge of gangs.
[More...]OW Candidate Surveys
52nd District, State Assembly
Q: How can you reduce crime, particularly gang violence, in the 52nd District?
LINDA HARRIS-FORSTER – I will actively secure state funding for after school enrichment programs, summer jobs, adult education, vocational training, and to bring the staffing deployment of law enforcement to a safe level that is necessary for them to do their job effectively. In addition, I will support gun control legislation. Residents in my district are traumatized regularly by gang violence and our children cannot play safely outside without fearing for their lives. I aim to ensure public safety in my role as a parent, social worker, community leader, and first responder.
ISADORE HALL, III – I will reduce crime, particularly gang violence in the 52nd District by continuing to fund youth and after school programs. Our youth need something to do. While a member of the Compton City Council, I proposed the additional funding for youth and after school programs and I am confident that the reduction in major crime across the city by 50% was a result of these programs.
DEBORAH SIMS LEBLANC – I will make increasing public safety and crime prevention my number one focus. I would offer rewards to assist in solving criminal cases. I will make a priority the solving of cold cases from 2005, 2006, and 2007. I would invest in hiring more law enforcement officers and providing training on effective community relations between the officers and the public; I would use a percent of the sales taxes on services to pay for the increased public safety in my district.
GWENDOLYN PATRICK – The reduction of crime can only be implemented by a joint effort of citizens, law enforcement, businesses, students, and law makers who meet regularly for evaluation and implementation of current laws. Unchecked graffiti writing-tagging-must be done away with daily. Eliminating tagging ends communications within hostile gangs and reduces threats to opposing gangs. We have to end the “code of silence” and become vocal and report suspicious activity to law enforcement, who in turn must commit to respond to urgent calls from this citizens group. This initial first united step is probably the least costly (donation of paint and volunteers of time) approach to change.
[More...]Karen Bass sworn in
 | |
First African American woman elected speaker of the house
OW Staff
Beaming with pride and cradling a large bouquet of flowers, Assembly Member Karen Bass made history Tuesday at the California State Capitol when she was sworn in as the first African American woman to lead a legislative body in the United States.
Several hundred people were on hand to witness this historic moment, which included a special poetic reading from academy award winning actress and activist Alfre Woodard and a special presentation from Congresswoman Diane Watson. Attendees included federal, state and local elected officials; representatives for business, labor and community sectors, including members of the Community Coalition, an organization that Bass founded in 1990 located in South Los Angeles.
After the swearing-in, which was conducted by Speaker Emeritus Núñez and attended by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, speaker Bass electrified the assembly with a vigorous speech that outlined her immediate plans to tackle California’s budget crisis. Excerpts of her speech are as follows:
“Members….honored guests…dear friends and family….since my election on February 28th to be the 67th Speaker of the Assembly, I have had the opportunity and experience to be part of an incredible transition - part of a complex and comprehensive process of receiving the torch from the 66th Speaker of the Assembly, Fabian Núñez.
Mr. Speaker, thank you so much for your leadership, your friendship, and, especially, for the enormous generosity of spirit you have shown me during this seamless transition.
I do feel the weight of history on my shoulders today - as the first African American woman in U.S. history elected to head a state legislative body.
Members, throughout the past 18 months I have experienced the best of your hearts - and I’m not sure I can fully express how much that has meant to me.
If we could only harness the power of our common humanity, I don’t think there’s anything we couldn’t do for the people of this state.And members, they truly do need us now. [More...] |
One killed, one wounded in officer-involved shooting
 | |
Inglewood police investigating incident
By Shirley Hawkins
OW Staff Writer
A fatal Mother’s Day shooting that occurred on Sunday at 1:40 a.m. has left a mother distraught and prompted the launch of an investigation by the Inglewood Police department.
Inglewood detectives are investigating he deadly incident that involved an oncoming car in the 3000 block of Manchester Boulevard in Inglewood. Two of the three men which were riding in the car were hit by gunfire. One person, Michael Byoune, 19, was killed and another sustained a gunshot wound to his leg. A third occupant was arrested and later released.
According to Byoune’s mother, Jackie Roberts, her son was not involved in gangs or drugs.
“He was at Rally’s (fast food chain) simply to get some hamburgers,” Roberts told news reporters. “I don’t understand what happened,” she said.
“I want to express my sincere condolences to the family of Mr. Michael Byoune, the deceased,” said Inglewood Police Chief Jacqueline Seabrooks at a press conference held Monday morning. “And I’d like to express my condolences to Mr. Larry White, who was also injured during the incident, which occurred at 1:40 a.m. in the morning on Sunday.”
The incident is under civil and criminal investigation and is also under investigation by the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.
Two officers were on patrol near Crenshaw Boulevard and 85th Street early Sunday morning when they said they heard gunshots coming from the parking lot of a Rally’s Restaurant located at Manchester and Crenshaw Boulevards. [More...] |
08.MAY.08 Above the clouds
08.MAY.08 Ray Charles’ family in battle over father’s fortune
08.MAY.08 ‘A river of tears’
08.MAY.08 Gardena residents protest sex offenders
08.MAY.08 Mother’s Day meals and memories
08.MAY.08 Tablescapes
08.MAY.08 Community rallies over massive healthcare cuts
01.MAY.08 Young, gifted and in business
01.MAY.08 Who stole the slave ship?
01.MAY.08 Judge acquits detectives in 50-bullet shooting of Sean Bell
01.MAY.08 Rev. Della Reese speaks out on diabetes
01.MAY.08 From tragedy to triumph
01.MAY.08 Special legislative committee established to examine re-opening MLK Hospital
01.MAY.08 A fiesta of flavor!
24.APR.08 Cloning the new frontier
24.APR.08 Compton man rescues victims of plane crash
24.APR.08 Blessing of the Bikes and a healthy life
24.APR.08 Remembering sister soldiers overseas
24.APR.08 Dr. Verna B. Dauterive bestows $25 million to USC
24.APR.08 Villaraigosa releases L.A. gang reduction plan
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
