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A Banner Day

Yesterday should have been declared "David Banner Day" in Jackson, Miss.

Banner, a gangsta rapper, turned the tables on his critics in the media who questioned why the National Black Caucus of State Legislators would honor him at its Youth Congress luncheon.

Banner ripped the MSM for ignoring his Hurricane Katrina relief efforts that raised a million dollars; money that he "brought back to Mississippi."

Mind you, I'm no fan of gangsta rap but I love blues and its double entendres. It's the height of hypocrisy for elders to denounce Banner's lyrics while at the same time get their groove on to the raunchy lyrics of Bobby Rush, another Jackson native.

Banner told a roomful of bright black high school students who whooped and hollered as he walked to the podium:

We are gangsta because the establishment and the situation we live in in Mississippi is gangsta... Critics focus on the lyrics rather than the circumstances in our neighborhoods.

Banner encouraged the kids to "be gangsta about your school work." He pointedly asked his critics:

Where were you when I was passing out boxes standing in water. Where were you? You were not there. Regardless of what people say and do, I'm in the hood...Gangsta rappers are raising your kids because you didn't.

Teach.

They Call Me Peaches

My skin is black
My arms are long
My hair is woolly
My back is strong

Strong enough to take the pain

It’s been inflicted again and again

--“Four Women” (Nina Simone)

This is Day Three of my sojourn in Jackson.  Though I’ve been mostly stuck in the hotel, I have managed to get my walk on.

While there’s not much to see in the Farish Street Historic District, I nevertheless enjoyed walking in the footsteps of blues giants like Elmore James, Sonny Boy Williamson and Little Milton, who used to perform at the Alamo Theater.

From there, it was a hop, skip and jump to the Smith Robertson Museum.  The museum is housed in the former Smith Robertson Elementary School, the first public school for black children in Jackson.  Its alumni include Richard Wright.

The museum’s depository includes artifacts related to black Mississippians’ experiences and contributions in the field, and in the fields of literature, art and politics.

The walls are lined with photographs of black women whose backs don’t bend.  Women like Ida B. Wells, Unita Blackwell and Myrlie Evers.

Before heading back to the hotel, I had lunch on Farish Street at a café that’s been serving soul food since 1961.  And, yes, the proprietor’s name is Peaches. You can find her sitting at the register by the door.

Judging Hastings

The past is never dead. It’s not even past.
--William Faulkner

William Faulkner’s words came to mind as I read Rep. Alcee L. Hastings’ brief that his past should not disqualify him from chairing the House Intelligence Committee (and here).

Hastings recently released a batch of documents to support his argument that his impeachment and subsequent removal from the federal bench was more about “politics” than the “evidence.”  In an open letter to House Democrats, Hastings said:

Because I know you and because many of you are mindful of my 14 years in Congress, and in order not to stoke a simmering fire which had the potential to adversely affect Democrats in the ’06 election, I elected not to participate in the “discussion” about whether I should be appointed Chair of the HPSCI.

The noise and misleading, poorly informed, misinformed, and sometimes venomous attacks on my integrity and character by pundits, politicians, and editors screaming the word “impeachment” (ignoring a Not Guilty verdict in a court of law) in a frenetic attempt to justify denying me a position I have certainly earned and am completely competent to perform requires now that I set the record straight.

House Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi reportedly will announce today that Hastings is not her choice to chair the House Intelligence Committee.  If so, it would be foolish to pick a fight over Hastings with so much at stake and the Republican echo chamber poised to pounce on every Democratic move.

Hastings dismisses his critics as “misinformed fools.”  But it’s evident that his past is enough to cast reasonable doubt on whether he’s “completely competent” to lead the intelligence panel.

On Freedom’s Trail

His name was Medgar Evers and he walked his road alone
Like Emmett Till and thousands more whose names we'll never know
They tried to burn his home and they beat him to the ground
But deep inside they both knew what it took to bring him down

The killer waited by his home hidden by the night
As Evers stepped out from his car into the rifle sight
He slowly squeezed the trigger, the bullet left his side
It struck the heart of every man when Evers fell and died
--“Ballad of Medgar Evers”

In this season of thanks, I have a lot for which to be grateful.  I’m particularly thankful for Medgar Evers (and here), Fannie Lou Hamer (and here) and the Freedom Riders who forced the nation to fulfill the promises of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments.

The civil rights martyrs and pioneers are very much on my mind as I leave today for my first-ever trip to Mississippi, where I'm attending a conference in Jackson.

While there, I plan to pay my respects at the Medgar Evers Home Museum, the site of his assassination, and take a civil rights tour.

And since I like to keep it real, I also plan to scout out some down home blues in juke joints in Jackson and along the Gulf Coast.

Happy Thanksgiving

I'm taking a few days off so I want to take this opportunity to thank you for taking time out of your busy day to stop by my site.

I’m thankful so many readers appreciate my efforts to keep folks informed about issues and events of particular importance to African Americans.

And, yes, I want to give special thanks to those who have contributed so generously to my tip jar (look to your right).  Thanks for showing me some love.

Have a safe holiday weekend.  I’ll see you next week.

Miss Rhythm

I spent the weekend reveling in the power of two sassy women, “Carmen” and “Carmen Jones.”
          

So, it was with extreme sadness that I received the news of the death of Ruth Brown (and here).  From her signature song “Mama, He Treats Your Daughter Mean” to “If I Can’t Sell It, I’ll Sit On It” and “That Train Don’t Stop Here Anymore,” Miss Brown’s music -- and sass -- have been a touchstone of my life.

Indeed, during those moments when I think I should just shut up, Miss Brown’s “Ain’t Nobody’s Business If I Do” emboldens me to soldier on.

Miss Rhythm will be missed.  May she rest in peace.

Why Florida Still Counts

The Class of ’06 is attending freshmen orientation in DC, including two representatives from Florida’s 13th Congressional District.  Why two, you ask?  They’re recounting the votes in the race to succeed Rep. Katherine Harris. Yes, that Katherine Harris.

The uncertified count has Republican Vern Buchanan leading Democrat Christine Jennings by 414 votes.  But 18,382 undervotes were cast on Sarasota County’s paperless voting machines.

Unlike when Harris was counting, or more accurately, not counting the votes, there's a mandatory recount underway.  Jennings says she "will not rest until every vote is counted."

My colleague Lillie Coney, coordinator of the National Committee for Voting Integrity, says that recounting “paperless e-voting systems would yield little chance of a change in the outcome.”

The bottom line: There is no bottom line when there are no paper ballots.

As the New York Times editorialized:

The serious questions about the Buchanan-Jennings race only add to the high level of mistrust that many people already feel about electronic voting. More than half of the states, including California, New York, Ohio and Illinois, now require that electronic voting machines produce voter-verified paper records, which help ensure that votes are properly recorded. But Congress has resisted all appeals to pass a law that would ensure that electronic voting is honest and accurate across the nation.

Rep. Rush Holt is renewing his push for a voter-verified paper audit trail. He's calling for an up-or-down vote on H.R. 550, the “Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act,” early in the 110th Congress.