A few years ago, I purchased a book entitled, War Against The Panthers: A Study of Repression In America by Huey P. Newton.
This book is a reproduced copy of Dr. Huey P. Newton's doctoral dissertation, (Yes, by the time of his death in 1989, he had earned the title doctor!), submitted by Huey P. Newton for his degree as Doctor of Philosophy in History of Consciousness at the University of California Santa Cruz.
In the preface to his paper, he writes:
What is perhaps most significant about [this study] is that it suggests how much we still do not know. How many people's lives were ruined in countless ways by a government intent on destroying them as representatives of an "enemy" political organization? What "tactics" or "dirty tricks" were employed, with what results? Perhaps we shall never know the answers to these questions, but this inquiry about the BPP and the federal government will hopefully help us in our search for "the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth."
We who have lived through the 60s must understand how those of consciousness and those involved in any aspect of developing consciousness about themselves and their place in America and the world, were targeted for attack by the U.S. government under the FBI program called COINTELPRO.
It is known during the years 1956 through 1971, the FBI had implemented the Counter Intelligence Program or COINTELPRO, which functioned as an instrument used by the U.S. government to identify, isolate and neutralize elements within U.S. borders considered a threat to national security. As was standard practice at that time, the FBI used the excuse/reason of possible communist influence of groups or individuals for any and almost everyone it chose to target.
Of specific concern to the U.S. government, in the guise of the FBI, as revealed in declassified documents, was the desire to “..... prevent the rise of a Black messiah.” For the FBI, there were few distinctions to be made between pacifist organizations, as was Dr. King's Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam (NOI) or what were termed more radical elements, such as those like the Black Panther Party (BPP).
The United States of America has entered a new or extended phase of COINTELPRO. The enemy this time isn't communist inspired but a carefully orchestrated and staged war against terrorism, which, as conceived by the government, is a war without borders, with ever changing and morphing enemies.
Any individual or group that seeks to speak in opposition to governmental actions, as relate to the so called war on terror or raises any voice against injustices within U.S. borders, and the ever evolving strategies being crafted and used against U.S. citizens within U.S. borders, must prepare for possible acts meant to deter, prevent and silence their voice of dissent.
Anti war sentiment is gaining momentum and is likely to continue to do so. It was reported by NBC during the winter of 2006 that a leaked Department of Defense (DOD) document listed students attending anti military recruitment rallies on the University of California at Santa Cruz campus, the institution where Dr. Newton submitted his dissertation, as a “credible threat”, although the demonstration was peaceful.
It was reported that 1,500 demonstrations across the country were covertly investigated by the federal government according to the Defense Department document. The same document states the University of California Berkeley, New York University and the University of Wisconsin were also part of a ten month investigation by the Pentagon.
The distinct difference to be underlined concerning what has been and is occurring today, using the excuse and the aftermath of September 11, 2001 as justification, is that unlike the period during COINTELPRO, which is alleged to have ended in 1971, almost all of the actions deemed unconstitutional and illegal under that program have now been sanctioned and approved under the newly drafted and enacted laws under the Patriot Act and the Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003, also known as Patriot Act II.
During the period of COINTELPRO, there was a supposed distance meant to be maintained between local, state and federal agencies, allegedly to assure the protection of citizens' rights. However, those lines of separation were not observed and in fact the separation mainly existed on paper. Today, after September 11, 2001, the lines have been erased, with interjurisdictional involvement legalized, sanctioned and encouraged.
Now is the time to study aggressively and learn from history. I recommend War Against The Panthers by Dr. Newton, as a starting point for understanding how the government handles those considered internal threats, from the perspective of one of the founders of the Black Panther Party, himself, fellow Panthers and his organization, all victims of COINTELPRO.
This is a scholarly work that provides a glimpse into the actions taken by the US government during its war against African people and others during that period.
Another excerpt from this dissertation/book states:
From December 1963 until his assassination on April 4, 1968, Dr. King was the subject of an intensive COINTELPRO campaign. In the testimony of William Sullivan, who was in charge of the FBI campaign against Dr. King:
No holds were barred. We have used [similar] techniques against Soviet agents. [The same methods were] brought home against any organization which we targeted. We did not differentiate.36
At the time of his death in 1977, William Sullivan was among six former FBI officials scheduled to appear before the House Select Committee on Assassinations.
Among these six men included two men identified as special assistants to J. Edgar Hoover, head of the FBI, with the others being identified as the former head of a forensics lab, fingerprint analyst and document experts involved with the investigation into the assassination of President Kennedy.
Within a six month period, all six men died before their scheduled appearances to testify. It can only be speculated what may have been learned, if anything at all, about those within the Black Power/Civil Rights Movement that met their end through assassination under COINTEPRO. It is, however, certain that William Sullivan would in all likelihood have had information about the campaign of terror waged by the FBI at that time and would have helped conceive of and implement those plans.
Due to the popularity and far reaching influence of the mediums of television, cable access, radio, print media and the internet and most organizations' affinity with what can be called the established governmental policy and way of thinking, the viewpoints of those in opposition to the so called mainstream news and opinions, delivered to everyone for mass consumption, are often not heard nor as widely distributed.
Therefore, it is important that clear, articulate views be provided as a balance, beyond the lock step march down a path most often provided because it's parroted that everyone says that's what happened or that's what should be done.
Any literature written by any who considered themselves revolutionaries during the period between 1956 through 1971 and any group or individuals that have written of their experiences as victims of COINTELPRO should also be read.
The main purpose for reading the historical accounts of those targeted during the COINTELPRO era, a period when what have been labeled abuses occurred in relation to activities conducted against U.S. citizens, abuses whose defense in most cases was that the guidelines were unclear and in reality and by design, were meant to be nebulous and undefined, is for gaining enlightenment regarding how events transpired, to understand the extent of infiltration of any number of organizations, not only those identifed as socialists or communists but also peace groups, anti war groups, so called civil rights and Black Power groups, with infiltrators using their most effective weapon, disinformation, to create dissention, confusion and distrust among those who may have potentially become allies but instead became ideologically entrenched enemies and combatants.
A record must be created that documents the ideological struggles waged for the hearts and minds of the African community, of the skirmishes that were won and those lost, so that the next generation that follows has the benefit of our experiences and can begin a tally list of what did and did not work during our struggle for justice and freedom. This is the duty of each generation until we have achieved all we, as a whole race of people, can achieve.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Black Folks and the Election Process
The United States presidential election is looming in 2008 and most of the nation is bracing for what is viewed by many as yet another opportunity for the, quote, unquote people of the United States to use their vote to choose the next leader of this republic and therein lies the key to this whole exercise.
The United States of America is a republic. That means that any and all votes cast by the populous do not translate directly into representing the interests of whomever cast the vote. It means that the voter chooses someone, acting on their behalf, to vote on matters and concerns that impact the voters or the electorate.
In the case of electing the president, remember, whomever gets the most electoral votes from the Electoral College, not the popular vote, wins the presidency. With this process, each state is allotted electors equal to the number of representatives of each state plus each states' two senators.
For instance, there are 13 representatives and 2 senators in New Jersey. That total equals 15 electors with 15 electoral votes. Each party selects its own method for choosing electors to the Electoral College. Ultimately, this process of voting results in a tally of votes that are read before both houses of Congress on January 6.
The subject of voting among those of African descent (Black folks) here in the US is an extremely sensitive issue in the African American community. Many have heard of the horrors endured by the ancestors and relatives of those of African descent as they sought this basic citizen's right.
It must be remembered that upon the earliest participation of those of African descent in this process, during the period commonly referred to as Reconstruction, beginning in 1865, where it is estimated over one thousand persons of African descent held office in the South after the so called Civil War, shortly thereafter the Black Codes were established to halt any further progess made during the period and to wrest power from the hands of the former enslaved.
The loyalties of the descendants of Africa during the period of Reconstruction, in terms of voting, had been to the Republican Party because that was the party of Abraham Lincoln, misidentified as the Great Emancipator, with most unaware of exactly what the Emancipation Proclamation states as fact. When it is read, it is understood that only the enslaved persons within states that had declared their secession from the U.S. were declared to be free.
In states and in portions of states that remained true to the Union, as stated in the document, such as in a number of counties within Virginia and the counties contained in what was now called West Virginia, the Emancipation Proclamation, first read in 1863, declared “....and which accepted parts are for the present left precisely as if this proclamation were not issued”, meaning that slavery was not abolished outright at the time of the Proclamation was put to paper by Lincoln.
After the presidential election of 1876, an agreement known as the Compromise of 1877, settled the disputed election results of the 1876 presidential election by giving the White House to the Republican candidate Rutherford Hayes, with the agreement that he would remove federal troops from the South, troops whose presence aided in supporting the former enslaved and the gains achieved during the twelve year period of Reconstruction, from 1865 through 1877, by the newly freed descendants of Africa, including the right to vote.
Once troops were removed from South Carolina, Louisiana and Florida, Republicans ceded their power in the South, leaving office or changing their party affiliation to that of Democrat. This ended the period of Reconstruction, replacing the Republican Party machinery put in place by the party of Lincoln during Reconstruction, with those former Republicans becoming known as the Redeemer Democrats.
In the North, after the turn of the century in the 1900s, it was the job of the Negro politician, who was most often groomed and solicited by the newly developing immigrant European worker class, no matter what party affiliation, to 'get out the Negro vote', with the promise of some benefit, sometimes personal, by way of money or perceived power and sometimes by some task or deed wanted or needed in the African community, being the reward bestowed for the support given.
It is not my intent to demean those of us of African descent whose ancestors or relatives have engaged in and contributed to this process, my paternal grandfather being among them.
If there is any doubt what African Americans endured as individuals to become participants in this process, research the history of Sister Fannie Lou Hamer and listen to her impassioned testimony as she addressed the Democratic Credentials Committee meeting as a founding member of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, telling of the beatings and torment she suffered, questioning if indeed America, “... was the land of the free and the home of the brave?”, when those seeking to be treated as human beings are threatened with death for trying to register to vote, proclaiming her party's right to be seated in addition to the all white delegation sent to represent Mississippi at the Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey in 1964.
The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, with 68 delegates, was offered 2 seats by the credentials committee at the national convention, which they refused, with Sister Fannie Lou saying, “We didn't come for no two seats when we all is tired.”
Today, in the U.S., there are those of African descent that occupy positions of power who, at first glance, seem to reflect the condition that all of African descent have equal access to power. The success and power of a small percentage from among a group, viewed and assessed as reflective of the whole of a group's success and progress results in a skewered perspective. Click here to view an executive summary of the latest State of Black America report.
At best, the world of politics is a game of 'good cop' versus 'bad cop', with those playing the roles exchanging hats periodically and frequently. Each political party takes a turn being the 'bad cop', enacting legislation while the other side, playing 'good cop', cries foul or laments the betrayal of the will or interests of the constituency, each blaming the other side for the woes of the nation.
For those who choose to participate in this process, become part of the informed constituency. Please participate by forming or joining a political action committee or PAC, composing a list of goals and issues you want addressed by any and all candidates seeking your vote and the votes of those within your PAC.
Recruit others with the similar desire of accountability from candidates into the PAC or as citizens in agreement with the goals and issues addressed by your PAC, with the object being to galvanize and energize the voting base with those interested in doing more than picking the lesser of the two evils, as is often lamented when an unfavorable and unexpected outcome occurs after that choice.
Insist that anyone that has succeeded in winning your vote make good on their word or promise to address the issues raised by the PAC. If the issues and concerns are not addressed, whomever did not keep their word must be revealed as having betrayed the people within the PAC's trust.
The urge to hang on to them may be great, making excuses for those candidates', now elected officials', disloyalty, but as happens with most bad relationships or alliances when they fail to be loyal to us, if their word, on more than one occasion, has been broken, as with those other cases of disloyalty, it's time to let that elected official or those officials go and move on.
Be prepared, through the political action committee, to inform other voters outside of the PAC of the promises made and broken by that elected official to your political action committee the next time that official is seeking reelection or another office. It should be known by all engaged in this process when someone seeking votes to represent his or her fellow citizens as a representative has not lived up to his or her word.
Remember, the United States of America is a republic and as such, one man, one vote, does not determine the lot of the citizenry. The supposed will of the people, is determined by those elected who, in turn, wield power on behalf of the citizens, through the use of laws written and enacted by those elected into office.
It has never been a wise decision for anyone to vote for a candidate because he or she looks good, speaks well, is personable, they quote, unquote look like us or be impressed by their ability to fit in, 'keep it real' and kick it with the homies.
So, let's stop behaving like star struck worshippers of a cult of personality of the rich, the famous and the infamous. Demand that any and all candidates who seek the power to govern prove their desire to serve you, the people, through their commitment to specified goals and issues, submitted to them by you, the people, before you give your vote to them to represent you.
The United States of America is a republic. That means that any and all votes cast by the populous do not translate directly into representing the interests of whomever cast the vote. It means that the voter chooses someone, acting on their behalf, to vote on matters and concerns that impact the voters or the electorate.
In the case of electing the president, remember, whomever gets the most electoral votes from the Electoral College, not the popular vote, wins the presidency. With this process, each state is allotted electors equal to the number of representatives of each state plus each states' two senators.
For instance, there are 13 representatives and 2 senators in New Jersey. That total equals 15 electors with 15 electoral votes. Each party selects its own method for choosing electors to the Electoral College. Ultimately, this process of voting results in a tally of votes that are read before both houses of Congress on January 6.
The subject of voting among those of African descent (Black folks) here in the US is an extremely sensitive issue in the African American community. Many have heard of the horrors endured by the ancestors and relatives of those of African descent as they sought this basic citizen's right.
It must be remembered that upon the earliest participation of those of African descent in this process, during the period commonly referred to as Reconstruction, beginning in 1865, where it is estimated over one thousand persons of African descent held office in the South after the so called Civil War, shortly thereafter the Black Codes were established to halt any further progess made during the period and to wrest power from the hands of the former enslaved.
The loyalties of the descendants of Africa during the period of Reconstruction, in terms of voting, had been to the Republican Party because that was the party of Abraham Lincoln, misidentified as the Great Emancipator, with most unaware of exactly what the Emancipation Proclamation states as fact. When it is read, it is understood that only the enslaved persons within states that had declared their secession from the U.S. were declared to be free.
In states and in portions of states that remained true to the Union, as stated in the document, such as in a number of counties within Virginia and the counties contained in what was now called West Virginia, the Emancipation Proclamation, first read in 1863, declared “....and which accepted parts are for the present left precisely as if this proclamation were not issued”, meaning that slavery was not abolished outright at the time of the Proclamation was put to paper by Lincoln.
After the presidential election of 1876, an agreement known as the Compromise of 1877, settled the disputed election results of the 1876 presidential election by giving the White House to the Republican candidate Rutherford Hayes, with the agreement that he would remove federal troops from the South, troops whose presence aided in supporting the former enslaved and the gains achieved during the twelve year period of Reconstruction, from 1865 through 1877, by the newly freed descendants of Africa, including the right to vote.
Once troops were removed from South Carolina, Louisiana and Florida, Republicans ceded their power in the South, leaving office or changing their party affiliation to that of Democrat. This ended the period of Reconstruction, replacing the Republican Party machinery put in place by the party of Lincoln during Reconstruction, with those former Republicans becoming known as the Redeemer Democrats.
In the North, after the turn of the century in the 1900s, it was the job of the Negro politician, who was most often groomed and solicited by the newly developing immigrant European worker class, no matter what party affiliation, to 'get out the Negro vote', with the promise of some benefit, sometimes personal, by way of money or perceived power and sometimes by some task or deed wanted or needed in the African community, being the reward bestowed for the support given.
It is not my intent to demean those of us of African descent whose ancestors or relatives have engaged in and contributed to this process, my paternal grandfather being among them.
If there is any doubt what African Americans endured as individuals to become participants in this process, research the history of Sister Fannie Lou Hamer and listen to her impassioned testimony as she addressed the Democratic Credentials Committee meeting as a founding member of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, telling of the beatings and torment she suffered, questioning if indeed America, “... was the land of the free and the home of the brave?”, when those seeking to be treated as human beings are threatened with death for trying to register to vote, proclaiming her party's right to be seated in addition to the all white delegation sent to represent Mississippi at the Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey in 1964.
The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, with 68 delegates, was offered 2 seats by the credentials committee at the national convention, which they refused, with Sister Fannie Lou saying, “We didn't come for no two seats when we all is tired.”
Today, in the U.S., there are those of African descent that occupy positions of power who, at first glance, seem to reflect the condition that all of African descent have equal access to power. The success and power of a small percentage from among a group, viewed and assessed as reflective of the whole of a group's success and progress results in a skewered perspective. Click here to view an executive summary of the latest State of Black America report.
At best, the world of politics is a game of 'good cop' versus 'bad cop', with those playing the roles exchanging hats periodically and frequently. Each political party takes a turn being the 'bad cop', enacting legislation while the other side, playing 'good cop', cries foul or laments the betrayal of the will or interests of the constituency, each blaming the other side for the woes of the nation.
For those who choose to participate in this process, become part of the informed constituency. Please participate by forming or joining a political action committee or PAC, composing a list of goals and issues you want addressed by any and all candidates seeking your vote and the votes of those within your PAC.
Recruit others with the similar desire of accountability from candidates into the PAC or as citizens in agreement with the goals and issues addressed by your PAC, with the object being to galvanize and energize the voting base with those interested in doing more than picking the lesser of the two evils, as is often lamented when an unfavorable and unexpected outcome occurs after that choice.
Insist that anyone that has succeeded in winning your vote make good on their word or promise to address the issues raised by the PAC. If the issues and concerns are not addressed, whomever did not keep their word must be revealed as having betrayed the people within the PAC's trust.
The urge to hang on to them may be great, making excuses for those candidates', now elected officials', disloyalty, but as happens with most bad relationships or alliances when they fail to be loyal to us, if their word, on more than one occasion, has been broken, as with those other cases of disloyalty, it's time to let that elected official or those officials go and move on.
Be prepared, through the political action committee, to inform other voters outside of the PAC of the promises made and broken by that elected official to your political action committee the next time that official is seeking reelection or another office. It should be known by all engaged in this process when someone seeking votes to represent his or her fellow citizens as a representative has not lived up to his or her word.
Remember, the United States of America is a republic and as such, one man, one vote, does not determine the lot of the citizenry. The supposed will of the people, is determined by those elected who, in turn, wield power on behalf of the citizens, through the use of laws written and enacted by those elected into office.
It has never been a wise decision for anyone to vote for a candidate because he or she looks good, speaks well, is personable, they quote, unquote look like us or be impressed by their ability to fit in, 'keep it real' and kick it with the homies.
So, let's stop behaving like star struck worshippers of a cult of personality of the rich, the famous and the infamous. Demand that any and all candidates who seek the power to govern prove their desire to serve you, the people, through their commitment to specified goals and issues, submitted to them by you, the people, before you give your vote to them to represent you.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
What Doesn't Kill You ....
Whenever my two daughters and I are riding together, there is usually a minor skirmish for control of the radio. I'm a nester; I have a favorite station, which plays R&B, and I stay at that location on the dial. My oldest, the driver, jumps from station to station, hunting for tunes, with my youngest back seat station suggesting, when she hears songs she likes on any of the stations.
Since I'm outnumbered and since my oldest claims my music and National Public Radio unnerve her and, if subjected to listening to it, it may cause her to have an accident, I am almost always besieged by an endless barrage of music that, for the most part, I'm continually wondering to myself how and why anyone chose to give most of these artists contracts!
If, by chance, I do express an appreciation for any song or artist, most often my act of enjoying that song or artist earns that song or artist an automatic demotion from being liked to 'diss' status by the girls! If I like it, in our house, that's the kiss of death!
So, as we make our rounds and with determination as I steel myself for the duration of the ride, my mind usually engages in some form of out of body activity and in this case, the other day, my thoughts turned to more serious contemplation when I heard an old adage amended in a line of a Kanye West song.
Whenever I think of the conditions of those of us of African descent in the Diaspora, mainly when I think of us here in the U.S., I can compose a very long list of struggles we have overcome, beginning with our forced emigration to this land. Every day, month, year, decade, century since our arrival here has resulted in the need to develop adaptations and make adjustments to continue to survive. As time marches on, we encounter a variety of situations of the same nature, yet each presents its own unique sets of challenges.
No, we aren't physically enslaved any longer but, as a group, we are the recognizable representation of the foundation upon which this country was built and because of that, we will always be entrenched in some form of exercise meant to prove something to someone, if we allow it to be so.
We must take others, and their beliefs regarding us, out of the center of our universe, which results in us looking outside ourselves for validation and proclaim that we are a self determinant people and that we will continue to survive because we know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, like old folks used to say, what don't kill you, makes you stronger!
Since I'm outnumbered and since my oldest claims my music and National Public Radio unnerve her and, if subjected to listening to it, it may cause her to have an accident, I am almost always besieged by an endless barrage of music that, for the most part, I'm continually wondering to myself how and why anyone chose to give most of these artists contracts!
If, by chance, I do express an appreciation for any song or artist, most often my act of enjoying that song or artist earns that song or artist an automatic demotion from being liked to 'diss' status by the girls! If I like it, in our house, that's the kiss of death!
So, as we make our rounds and with determination as I steel myself for the duration of the ride, my mind usually engages in some form of out of body activity and in this case, the other day, my thoughts turned to more serious contemplation when I heard an old adage amended in a line of a Kanye West song.
Whenever I think of the conditions of those of us of African descent in the Diaspora, mainly when I think of us here in the U.S., I can compose a very long list of struggles we have overcome, beginning with our forced emigration to this land. Every day, month, year, decade, century since our arrival here has resulted in the need to develop adaptations and make adjustments to continue to survive. As time marches on, we encounter a variety of situations of the same nature, yet each presents its own unique sets of challenges.
No, we aren't physically enslaved any longer but, as a group, we are the recognizable representation of the foundation upon which this country was built and because of that, we will always be entrenched in some form of exercise meant to prove something to someone, if we allow it to be so.
We must take others, and their beliefs regarding us, out of the center of our universe, which results in us looking outside ourselves for validation and proclaim that we are a self determinant people and that we will continue to survive because we know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, like old folks used to say, what don't kill you, makes you stronger!
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Honoring The Memory Of Our Ancestors
A portion of my family's genealogy was chronicled by my late cousin Houston D. Snowden, several times removed from myself as they say, which resulted in the book, From Whence Cometh being published in 1980. Cousin Houston documented five generations of our family through one of our ancestors.
This book begins with an autobiography written by his great grandfather, John Baptist Snowden, born into slavery in 1801 in Maryland. The second part of the book is written by my cousin's grandfather. In the final part of the book, it was my cousin's intent, as he says in his own words, “.... to help the present generation know some of the highlights ....”, and in this attempt, he has included biographical sketches of his paternal grandparents and their children and grandchildren.
My maternal grandfather and his nine brothers and sisters, listed in the book, provide the closest genealogical link spreading toward one of the branches of the family tree that leads to myself.
This book, now out of print, was a gift to me from my late dear aunt, Aunt Pauline Elizabeth Jones, the eldest sister of my Mom, Mary Barbara, two years before my aunt's death.
This book had always been a much treasured possession of my aunt's and when she gave it to me, I was honored she trusted me with one of her most precious belongings.
In chapter one of the first portion of the book, John Baptist Snowden, one of my family's enslaved ancestors, in the first sentence identifies his maternal grandmother as an African woman from Guinea, stolen from the southwest coast of Africa around 1767 or 1768, named Sarah Minty Bannikee. She was sold upon her arrival in America in the state of Maryland, for a few hogshead of tobacco and renamed Sal.
I was saddened to learn that although the book provides invaluable information about our family, the majority of the book documents the family members whose common ancestor was John Snowden, the only known grandparent on the paternal side of John Baptist Snowden's family. The first chapter is the only chapter that gives details about the only ancestor known to our family to have lived free in Africa.
I am truly happy my cousin had devoted the years he did to create this historical document for our family. But, among myself and my cousins, when the book was discussed and mentioned, what caught my attention was the mention of the African woman that I heard was in the book.
I recall the late fall afternoon, somewhat with shame, that my Aunt Pauline and her son, my first cousin Harold, were in my home in 1995. My best and closest friend, my Mom, had passed away after a brief illness and my aunt and cousin had dropped by to pay their respects and visit.
I had not seen the book nor heard any details of the story of Aunt Sarah until that day during Aunt Pauline's visit. Aunt Pauline began to retell the story, about the relationship that identifies a white Englishman as the man who fathered Aunt Sarah's two daughters.
Reminisces by Aunt Sarah's grandson tell of her delight in speaking of her home in Africa, its customs and beauty and her fine singing voice, causing those who heard her to, “...listen with breathless silence as if held by some magic power.” There is no information given about the two daughters fathered by the Englishman other than their names, Fannie Bannikee and Kate Bannikee.
In the book, the words of Ancestor John Baptist, the grandson of Aunt Sarah, describe that it was according to the “law of man” that the marriage of a white person to a colored one, as African people were called in those days, was illegal.
Aunt Sarah's grandson describes that despite this reality, “....we believe they were man and wife, before God, united by bonds of love and affection....”. He also states that these same laws, however, “....have nothing to say when the white man lives with his colored mistress and begets children which the law does not acknowledge as heirs.”
As I've stated, Aunt Pauline and Harold were over my house. Aunt Pauline was talking about the loving relationship that the man she called Uncle Thomas had with Aunt Sarah. It is unclear whether Thomas had purchased and claimed ownership of Aunt Sarah.
I know I was deeply saddened, distraught and emotionally drained over Mom's death and my nerves were on edge but that does not excuse my behavior. I listened to my aunt go on and on about this love between Aunt Sarah and Uncle Thomas and how well he had treated Aunt Sarah, the things he gave her, yada, yada, yada. Before I even thought about it, I snapped at my aunt, asking if this white man had ever freed Aunt Sarah, saying if he hadn't done so, it seemed to me that he hadn't treated her that well!
I'm still distressed years later for having spoken to my aunt in that manner but, my aunt knew me to be a plain speaker, as was she and my outburst did not harm our relationship. I cannot justify my behavior but, I would like to share my reasons for being so infuriated by my aunt's statements.
There seems to be some sort of mental disconnect or illusionary, delusional process that occurs when we, in modern times, speak of or think about slavery. Maybe it is the inevitable exercise of those not of a period, imprinting concepts and motives on periods that could not have been and were not fully explored or chronicled by all involved. I am speaking of the concept of love.
I have listened to a family of African descent here in the States and their family's hundreds of years old oral tradition that traces their family's descendants into the family of George Washington, one of the original so called founding fathers and the first president of the United States, with Washington having fathered a child with an enslaved African female known as Venus. The family has been attempting to document this link between themselves and the descendants of Washington through genetic testing.
After it was acknowledged and reported in 1998, that DNA evidence appeared to show a genetic link to Thomas Jefferson, another so called founding father, and confirm that at least one of Sally Hemming's children but, most possibly all six of Sally Hemming's children may have been Thomas Jefferson's, the white descendants of Washington declined providing biological material for DNA analysis.
Sally Hemming, who at the time was a teenager, was an enslaved person whom Thomas Jefferson inherited from his wife and was believed to be the half sister of Jefferson's wife, with Sally Hemming said to favor Jefferson's wife, with a hint of color, as a result of a union between Sally Hemming's mother and Jefferson's wife's father.
When the stories of Sally Hemming and the family descended from Venus, believing to share ancestry with Washington are told, several accounts have spoken of the bonds that existed between these enslaved women and those who held them captive. The accounts point to items that were owned or conditions that seem to denote some form of privilege as indicators of affection shown to these enslaved women.
I ask this question. Given all the possible outcomes that may have resulted in events that would have been disastrous for those women and any and all women of African descent, if they found themselves the object of some white slave holder or white man in general's advances and the women sought to reject the white man's advances, can the emotions or feelings of the enslaved women ever be truly known?
As long as one individual in this alleged couple, the white slave holder in this supposed loving relationship, held the life and death of the other component of that couple in his hands, and that of all those in her circle she calls family and as long as he held the power to allow families and alliances to stay in tact, with the enslaved fearing being sold away, brutal punishment and any of a variety of known and unknown forms of actions, among those being death, meant to assure the compliance of the enslaved woman to the advances of any white man, her responses or the responses of any enslaved woman of African descent to the advances of any white man cannot be said to be that of freely given love and affection.
I'll only address one reason that seems a clear, simple motive for actions on the part of the slave holder to provide better living quarters, furnishings or any perceived accommodations superior to others of the enslaved community, if any were actually provided for any enslaved woman of African descent who found herself in this unfortunate set of circumstances, and that reason is comfort.
Consumed with carnal desire, giving no thought to any of the enslaved women's souls that shriek a silent scream each and every time he steals her most intimate embrace, Massa or his brothers, sons, nephews, cousins or any of his visiting companions, stroll into the quarter to have their way with whomever they choose to violate whenever the occasion suits him.
It makes sense he wouldn't want to lie on that piece of burlap sack stuffed with straw or corn husks, used as a bed by the enslaved. He wouldn't care to sit on the bare ground in the dust. Any number of conditions including, the cold, biting wind, endured by the enslaved, as it whistled through the gaping holes between the logs or boards of the small structure where he finds his intended victim, would not be to the liking of any white man that showed up to claim from an assumed possession that which she possessed.
In December 2000, the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, announced that in observance of Black History Month in 2001, it would display two documents that showed payment made to men identified as the owners of enslaved men of African descent known only as Tom, Peter, Ben, Harry and Negro Dick. Two of these men were said to be owned by the architect of the President's house in Washington D.C.
Much was made of the fact that no placard or document honored these individuals' participation in what is considered in some circles an important and major event, questioning the omission of these persons role in an event that shows the involvement of members of our race, side by side with others, helping to build the nation's capitol.
If we, as African people, thought for a few minutes about the circumstances under which we labored as enslaved people, there would not have been a need to ask why nor would there have been any confusion about why we were not acknowledged.
The majority of people of African descent that lived and died for centuries in the United States were considered, by those who called themselves slave holders and to the rest of the nation and the world, livestock property.
Once one wraps their mind around this reality, it becomes foolish to think African people would be acknowledged or recognized through some special commendation for their part in building anything in this country as an enslaved people.
Does anyone expect to see all the names of the horses, mules, oxen or any other form of livestock that may have been used while building anything in the United States listed in some place of honor? Of course not!
And it is for this reason, it is beyond rational comprehension for those of us who live in the present to look back into the past, into an institution that denied African people their humanity, during the most brutal, dehumanizing reality of our existence and interject, in the majority of cases, fabricated love stories between those who were enslaved and were believed to be livestock and the property of those who bedded them, to be used as any personal possession would be used, solely for the owner's pleasure and amusement.
This book begins with an autobiography written by his great grandfather, John Baptist Snowden, born into slavery in 1801 in Maryland. The second part of the book is written by my cousin's grandfather. In the final part of the book, it was my cousin's intent, as he says in his own words, “.... to help the present generation know some of the highlights ....”, and in this attempt, he has included biographical sketches of his paternal grandparents and their children and grandchildren.
My maternal grandfather and his nine brothers and sisters, listed in the book, provide the closest genealogical link spreading toward one of the branches of the family tree that leads to myself.
This book, now out of print, was a gift to me from my late dear aunt, Aunt Pauline Elizabeth Jones, the eldest sister of my Mom, Mary Barbara, two years before my aunt's death.
This book had always been a much treasured possession of my aunt's and when she gave it to me, I was honored she trusted me with one of her most precious belongings.
In chapter one of the first portion of the book, John Baptist Snowden, one of my family's enslaved ancestors, in the first sentence identifies his maternal grandmother as an African woman from Guinea, stolen from the southwest coast of Africa around 1767 or 1768, named Sarah Minty Bannikee. She was sold upon her arrival in America in the state of Maryland, for a few hogshead of tobacco and renamed Sal.
I was saddened to learn that although the book provides invaluable information about our family, the majority of the book documents the family members whose common ancestor was John Snowden, the only known grandparent on the paternal side of John Baptist Snowden's family. The first chapter is the only chapter that gives details about the only ancestor known to our family to have lived free in Africa.
I am truly happy my cousin had devoted the years he did to create this historical document for our family. But, among myself and my cousins, when the book was discussed and mentioned, what caught my attention was the mention of the African woman that I heard was in the book.
I recall the late fall afternoon, somewhat with shame, that my Aunt Pauline and her son, my first cousin Harold, were in my home in 1995. My best and closest friend, my Mom, had passed away after a brief illness and my aunt and cousin had dropped by to pay their respects and visit.
I had not seen the book nor heard any details of the story of Aunt Sarah until that day during Aunt Pauline's visit. Aunt Pauline began to retell the story, about the relationship that identifies a white Englishman as the man who fathered Aunt Sarah's two daughters.
Reminisces by Aunt Sarah's grandson tell of her delight in speaking of her home in Africa, its customs and beauty and her fine singing voice, causing those who heard her to, “...listen with breathless silence as if held by some magic power.” There is no information given about the two daughters fathered by the Englishman other than their names, Fannie Bannikee and Kate Bannikee.
In the book, the words of Ancestor John Baptist, the grandson of Aunt Sarah, describe that it was according to the “law of man” that the marriage of a white person to a colored one, as African people were called in those days, was illegal.
Aunt Sarah's grandson describes that despite this reality, “....we believe they were man and wife, before God, united by bonds of love and affection....”. He also states that these same laws, however, “....have nothing to say when the white man lives with his colored mistress and begets children which the law does not acknowledge as heirs.”
As I've stated, Aunt Pauline and Harold were over my house. Aunt Pauline was talking about the loving relationship that the man she called Uncle Thomas had with Aunt Sarah. It is unclear whether Thomas had purchased and claimed ownership of Aunt Sarah.
I know I was deeply saddened, distraught and emotionally drained over Mom's death and my nerves were on edge but that does not excuse my behavior. I listened to my aunt go on and on about this love between Aunt Sarah and Uncle Thomas and how well he had treated Aunt Sarah, the things he gave her, yada, yada, yada. Before I even thought about it, I snapped at my aunt, asking if this white man had ever freed Aunt Sarah, saying if he hadn't done so, it seemed to me that he hadn't treated her that well!
I'm still distressed years later for having spoken to my aunt in that manner but, my aunt knew me to be a plain speaker, as was she and my outburst did not harm our relationship. I cannot justify my behavior but, I would like to share my reasons for being so infuriated by my aunt's statements.
There seems to be some sort of mental disconnect or illusionary, delusional process that occurs when we, in modern times, speak of or think about slavery. Maybe it is the inevitable exercise of those not of a period, imprinting concepts and motives on periods that could not have been and were not fully explored or chronicled by all involved. I am speaking of the concept of love.
I have listened to a family of African descent here in the States and their family's hundreds of years old oral tradition that traces their family's descendants into the family of George Washington, one of the original so called founding fathers and the first president of the United States, with Washington having fathered a child with an enslaved African female known as Venus. The family has been attempting to document this link between themselves and the descendants of Washington through genetic testing.
After it was acknowledged and reported in 1998, that DNA evidence appeared to show a genetic link to Thomas Jefferson, another so called founding father, and confirm that at least one of Sally Hemming's children but, most possibly all six of Sally Hemming's children may have been Thomas Jefferson's, the white descendants of Washington declined providing biological material for DNA analysis.
Sally Hemming, who at the time was a teenager, was an enslaved person whom Thomas Jefferson inherited from his wife and was believed to be the half sister of Jefferson's wife, with Sally Hemming said to favor Jefferson's wife, with a hint of color, as a result of a union between Sally Hemming's mother and Jefferson's wife's father.
When the stories of Sally Hemming and the family descended from Venus, believing to share ancestry with Washington are told, several accounts have spoken of the bonds that existed between these enslaved women and those who held them captive. The accounts point to items that were owned or conditions that seem to denote some form of privilege as indicators of affection shown to these enslaved women.
I ask this question. Given all the possible outcomes that may have resulted in events that would have been disastrous for those women and any and all women of African descent, if they found themselves the object of some white slave holder or white man in general's advances and the women sought to reject the white man's advances, can the emotions or feelings of the enslaved women ever be truly known?
As long as one individual in this alleged couple, the white slave holder in this supposed loving relationship, held the life and death of the other component of that couple in his hands, and that of all those in her circle she calls family and as long as he held the power to allow families and alliances to stay in tact, with the enslaved fearing being sold away, brutal punishment and any of a variety of known and unknown forms of actions, among those being death, meant to assure the compliance of the enslaved woman to the advances of any white man, her responses or the responses of any enslaved woman of African descent to the advances of any white man cannot be said to be that of freely given love and affection.
I'll only address one reason that seems a clear, simple motive for actions on the part of the slave holder to provide better living quarters, furnishings or any perceived accommodations superior to others of the enslaved community, if any were actually provided for any enslaved woman of African descent who found herself in this unfortunate set of circumstances, and that reason is comfort.
Consumed with carnal desire, giving no thought to any of the enslaved women's souls that shriek a silent scream each and every time he steals her most intimate embrace, Massa or his brothers, sons, nephews, cousins or any of his visiting companions, stroll into the quarter to have their way with whomever they choose to violate whenever the occasion suits him.
It makes sense he wouldn't want to lie on that piece of burlap sack stuffed with straw or corn husks, used as a bed by the enslaved. He wouldn't care to sit on the bare ground in the dust. Any number of conditions including, the cold, biting wind, endured by the enslaved, as it whistled through the gaping holes between the logs or boards of the small structure where he finds his intended victim, would not be to the liking of any white man that showed up to claim from an assumed possession that which she possessed.
In December 2000, the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, announced that in observance of Black History Month in 2001, it would display two documents that showed payment made to men identified as the owners of enslaved men of African descent known only as Tom, Peter, Ben, Harry and Negro Dick. Two of these men were said to be owned by the architect of the President's house in Washington D.C.
Much was made of the fact that no placard or document honored these individuals' participation in what is considered in some circles an important and major event, questioning the omission of these persons role in an event that shows the involvement of members of our race, side by side with others, helping to build the nation's capitol.
If we, as African people, thought for a few minutes about the circumstances under which we labored as enslaved people, there would not have been a need to ask why nor would there have been any confusion about why we were not acknowledged.
The majority of people of African descent that lived and died for centuries in the United States were considered, by those who called themselves slave holders and to the rest of the nation and the world, livestock property.
Once one wraps their mind around this reality, it becomes foolish to think African people would be acknowledged or recognized through some special commendation for their part in building anything in this country as an enslaved people.
Does anyone expect to see all the names of the horses, mules, oxen or any other form of livestock that may have been used while building anything in the United States listed in some place of honor? Of course not!
And it is for this reason, it is beyond rational comprehension for those of us who live in the present to look back into the past, into an institution that denied African people their humanity, during the most brutal, dehumanizing reality of our existence and interject, in the majority of cases, fabricated love stories between those who were enslaved and were believed to be livestock and the property of those who bedded them, to be used as any personal possession would be used, solely for the owner's pleasure and amusement.
Monday, November 26, 2007
The Partnership Between Government, Business and Genetic Research
The field of genetic research has been an expanding and growing field for several decades. Since the completion of the mapping of the human genome, which was announced in 2003 as a result of the partnership between the Human Genome Project, funded and managed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and a private consortium of pharmaceutical companies, there have been proclamations from that field of study declaring the discovery of various genes.
Currently, there is ongoing and continued research worldwide, at hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, universities and other private entities, meant to unlock the secrets of numerous diseases and conditions, in an effort to gain information that it has been stated will be used to improve the human condition. At present, materials harvested from aborted and stillborn remains are of paramount importance in this research, most notably and always in the news, the use of stem cells.
There are three primary sources for obtaining these aborted and stillborn remains in the U.S., from health care clinics and hospitals, abortion clinics, like those in operation and use at Planned Parenthood Parenthood Federation of America Inc. and from private physicians. Most physicians are linked professionally with hospitals and clinics. The majority of clinics and hospitals are linked to colleges and universities, with both often involved in research with the aid of government funding. Pharmaceutical companies are involved in this research process on any number of these levels as well.
According to the Planned Parenthood web site of Amarillo and the Texas Panhandle, these aborted and still born remains are the major source of embryonic stem cells and fetal tissue. Researchers, from various settings like academic institutions, commercial companies and institutions outside of the US, usually acquire these remains through private arrangements from nearby individual obstetricians because of the need for immediate delivery to the researchers' laboratories to prevent deterioration.
Allegedly, there is no formal national organization that accomplishes these tasks. Organizations wanting access to these remains deal directly with private laboratories or pharmaceutical companies.
After women have given consent in writing for abortions, they are solicited to donate the remains for research.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Revitalization Act of 1993 prohibits these women, if they choose to allow the remains to be used in this manner, from knowing who will receive the remains or voicing any form of opposition to who will receive the remains. This act authorizes federal support for research on those materials obtained from those remains, whether from spontaneous or induced abortions or stillbirths.
Genetic research on any number of genes, in it's preliminary stages, is being funded and supported by governmental agencies and pharmaceutical companies, with a new strategy of funding for the drug companies coming from individuals and foundations and going directly to the drug companies.
Massive government studies around the world are engaged in doing basic genetic identification, to aid in the process of targeting specific genes, as a cost saving measure for the pharmaceutical industry and other possible researchers. The primary revealed use for this research has been for the development of genetic prenatal testing for determining birth defects.
Will the connections and relationships between business, in the form of the drug industry, health care facilities and research institutions result in an increase in abortions as a result of future mothers being informed that their unborn children will be born defective and victims of some horrible condition or disease?
As the demand for more diverse genetic samples and materials are desired, are any of our biological samples safe when we go to the hospital, clinic or physician unless we specifically dictate exactly what we will allow to be done with any parts of ourselves we are asked to provide for testing?
Appearing at Stem Cell Information, a web page maintained by the NIH, under Research and Policy Questions:
1) Which research is best to pursue?
The development of stem cell lines that can produce many tissues of the human body is an important scientific breakthrough. This research has the potential to revolutionize the practice of medicine and improve the quality and length of life. Given the enormous promise of stem cells therapies for so many devastating diseases, NIH believes that it is important to simultaneously pursue all lines of research and search for the very best sources of these cells.
We must make ourselves aware of the links and connections that power this current technology because, for a great many involved, this is business and business exists to turn a profit. These profits must not come at the expense or as the result of an uninformed populous, that waits silently on the sidelines, ignorant and oblivious to the possible danger of misuse and abuse that awaits.
Currently, there is ongoing and continued research worldwide, at hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, universities and other private entities, meant to unlock the secrets of numerous diseases and conditions, in an effort to gain information that it has been stated will be used to improve the human condition. At present, materials harvested from aborted and stillborn remains are of paramount importance in this research, most notably and always in the news, the use of stem cells.
There are three primary sources for obtaining these aborted and stillborn remains in the U.S., from health care clinics and hospitals, abortion clinics, like those in operation and use at Planned Parenthood Parenthood Federation of America Inc. and from private physicians. Most physicians are linked professionally with hospitals and clinics. The majority of clinics and hospitals are linked to colleges and universities, with both often involved in research with the aid of government funding. Pharmaceutical companies are involved in this research process on any number of these levels as well.
According to the Planned Parenthood web site of Amarillo and the Texas Panhandle, these aborted and still born remains are the major source of embryonic stem cells and fetal tissue. Researchers, from various settings like academic institutions, commercial companies and institutions outside of the US, usually acquire these remains through private arrangements from nearby individual obstetricians because of the need for immediate delivery to the researchers' laboratories to prevent deterioration.
Allegedly, there is no formal national organization that accomplishes these tasks. Organizations wanting access to these remains deal directly with private laboratories or pharmaceutical companies.
After women have given consent in writing for abortions, they are solicited to donate the remains for research.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Revitalization Act of 1993 prohibits these women, if they choose to allow the remains to be used in this manner, from knowing who will receive the remains or voicing any form of opposition to who will receive the remains. This act authorizes federal support for research on those materials obtained from those remains, whether from spontaneous or induced abortions or stillbirths.
Genetic research on any number of genes, in it's preliminary stages, is being funded and supported by governmental agencies and pharmaceutical companies, with a new strategy of funding for the drug companies coming from individuals and foundations and going directly to the drug companies.
Massive government studies around the world are engaged in doing basic genetic identification, to aid in the process of targeting specific genes, as a cost saving measure for the pharmaceutical industry and other possible researchers. The primary revealed use for this research has been for the development of genetic prenatal testing for determining birth defects.
Will the connections and relationships between business, in the form of the drug industry, health care facilities and research institutions result in an increase in abortions as a result of future mothers being informed that their unborn children will be born defective and victims of some horrible condition or disease?
As the demand for more diverse genetic samples and materials are desired, are any of our biological samples safe when we go to the hospital, clinic or physician unless we specifically dictate exactly what we will allow to be done with any parts of ourselves we are asked to provide for testing?
Appearing at Stem Cell Information, a web page maintained by the NIH, under Research and Policy Questions:
1) Which research is best to pursue?
The development of stem cell lines that can produce many tissues of the human body is an important scientific breakthrough. This research has the potential to revolutionize the practice of medicine and improve the quality and length of life. Given the enormous promise of stem cells therapies for so many devastating diseases, NIH believes that it is important to simultaneously pursue all lines of research and search for the very best sources of these cells.
We must make ourselves aware of the links and connections that power this current technology because, for a great many involved, this is business and business exists to turn a profit. These profits must not come at the expense or as the result of an uninformed populous, that waits silently on the sidelines, ignorant and oblivious to the possible danger of misuse and abuse that awaits.
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