Afro-Netizen

A Slice of Life and Wisdom over 100 years

David Whettstone
Guest Contributor

"Who is Lawrence Lucie?," you say.  Why, he is the charming centenarian who was a lead jazz rhythm guitarist whose career has spanned more than seven decades.

A New York Times feature notes that he has played with the likes of Louie Bellson, Coleman Hawkins, Fletcher Henderson, Billie Holiday, Jelly Roll Morton, and Big Joe Turner.  It also states:

"He is the last living person to have performed with Duke Ellington at New York’s legendary Cotton Club. He played with Benny Carter at the Apollo Theater in 1934, the year it opened its doors to black customers. He played with Louis Armstrong for several years and was the best man at his wedding."

Mr. Lucie, you have been on so many records and you have set several yourself.  We salute and celebrate your latest record.  Happy 100th! Happy birthday and congratulations.


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For more information on Lawrence Lucie and his music, you may want to check out this link to a commercial web site.

David Whettstone is a Washington, DC based public policy advocate and writer who works at national and local levels, particularly in the areas of civil rights and criminal justice.  A native New Yorker, he’s proud that his hometown has folks like Mr. Lucie and plenty of jazz – a genre that he hopes is infectious.

 

 

Barry Bonds, Victim of Out-of-Control IRS Agent

By Ron Howell
Guest Contributor

I remember being in front of the television once, mindlessly watching a stupid movie, and this guy on the screen pulls out a gun, identifies himself as an I.R.S. agent and begins firing at some poor fellow, a shocked tax delinquent. 

I thought the scene was hilarious. I always had this notion of I.R.S. agents as trigger-happy, overly zealous, poor excuses for law enforcement officers.

And now, having read the recent New York Times exposé revealing that it was a wild I.R.S. agent who targeted Barry Bonds, things began to fall into place for me.

All along I had been wondering what the big deal was. Why were “they” going after this guy who in his 40s did an amazing thing – hit more home runs than anyone before him in professional baseball?

All of a sudden there's a mission to go after athletes for using drugs?In this case Barry Bonds for allegedly using body-building steroids? 

And now the answer. An agent named Jeff Novitzky – who seems almost high on speed in his zealotry and who tried to get the Times not to publish his name or use his picture – is the one who went after Barry Bonds. 

Herewith is the story and above is the photo, showing I.R.S. Special Agent Jeff Novitzky, left, walking ahead of Barry Bonds in 2003 when Mr. Bonds gave his grand jury testimony.

The picture was originally taken by Paul Chinn and published by the San Francisco Chronicle. 

(Most of you know that Bonds was recently indicted for perjury and obstruction of justice related to the steroid using case.)

 

Ron Howell is a veteran journalist and neophyte blogger. Over the years, Ron has been a reporter – domestic and overseas – for Newsday, The Associated Press, Ebony Magazine, The New York Daily News and The Baltimore Evening Sun.

The Political Wisdom of Stevie Wonder

By David M. Whettstone
Guest Contributor

Stevie Wonder is completing concert tour after a ten-year absence. Here at the Verizon Center, he kept the sold out crowd “Too High” for two and a half hours. Introduced and accompanied by his daughter Aisha with an awesome complement of backup band and singers, Wonder did not exhaust his endless stream of hits. His music and lyrics are undoubtedly spectacular. Yet it is his spirit, words, and messages that seek to reach the listener’s heart. And this may be the more important thing.

At the start of the concert, Wonder let us know that his tour was in honor of his mother who died on May 31, 2006. What a fitting memorial to be given by a most beautiful son.

Anyone familiar with Lula Mae Hardaway, Wonder’s mother, also knows that she prevailed against tremendous odds and had her son to do so as well. She co-wrote three of Wonder’s biggest hit singles, "Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours" (1970), "Don't Know Why I Love You" (1969) and "I Was Made To Love Her" (1967).

Wonder’s performance is an act of commitment, renewal, and reinvigoration. But these attributes are not just for Wonder himself. He extends these virtues to the audience for them to partake.

His energy seems effortless and without limits. He kept reaching back and giving. But the charm of it all – in his being his natural self – is his simplicity.

Wonder spoke, as he has done throughout his career, to the social and the political things of our lives. He can forcefully preach without seeming preachy. He had power and authority in his engagement of us. And for all the immensity of the moment, he makes a simple request of us: love. Everything leads to that. Anything that is meaningful, purposeful or worthy in his book (and probably in ours as well) is based on love.

Wonder hammered poverty, war, racism, and hate. He called for the ending of war in Iraq and Afghanistan. He highlighted the conflict and dilemma of Darfur. And he surely did not overlook the problems of cities throughout the United States.

He was appropriately hard on poor leadership and mass inaction. Without being didactic or maybe it was unconscious, he attacked learned helplessness.

Politicians say a lot of things are not possible, but Wonder insists and proclaims otherwise. The people have to leverage political will to make things happen. Community and all good things are the possible. I don’t think you’d find a single person who would disagree with him this concert night or at any other time.

Wonder was there with us not just to entertain us, but to lift us up. Indeed, it’s fair to say his mission in life is to uplift people. He spoke both to Black folk and any folk. The message and audience for him are universal.

His bold remarks weren’t broadsides but very precise and practical – clear. His focus is always at the grassroots. He called on churches, mosques, and other places of worship to be cultural centers – particularly conduits to help children grow and mature.

When his comments addressed the confusion of our time (and the perpetrators thereof), he had this to say, "Haters might as well go on [if they continue hatin’] and go to hell." Youch!

But for the most part Wonder stayed on the positive. So it comes down to … and ends in this:

These three words
Sweet and simple
These three words
Short and kind
These three words.

Let’s take the time to find different ways to say and act upon: I love you.

David Whettstone is a public policy advocate, educator and writer who works at national and local levels, particularly in the areas of civil rights and criminal justice. Based in Washington, D.C., David recently finished an eight-year tenure as a religious lobbyist and advocate on Capitol Hill. A native New Yorker, David has studied in the areas of religion and theology, political science, and urban studies.

Race & Baseball: The Story Continues ...

By David M. Whettstone
For Afro-Netizen

As the summer closes, a number of significant mileposts have occurred regarding America's favorite pastime, baseball. 

Jackie Robinson was again commemorated.  To honor him this year, Major League Baseball (MLB) players donned Number 42 (the number now retired is no longer worn) for Jackie Robinson Day.  The season has complemented this event with repeated recognition of Mr. Robinson's life and the 60th anniversary of his entry into the National Leagues with the Brooklyn Dodgers, April 15, 1947.

Some fans suggest MLB retirement of Larry Doby's No. 14 be as he endured hardships similar to Robinson's when he was the second African American to enter the Major Leagues and the first for the American League, 11 weeks later playing for the Cleveland Indians.  The team has retired his number.  It took 33 years for Mr. Doby to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998.

Homage has been given to other superstars as well.  Many who have baseball on their minds perennially think of Roberto Clemente and Willie Mays, who was honored at this year's All Star Game. 

This year (2007) marks the start of the MLB's annual Civil Rights Game which will always be played in Memphis, Tennessee.  The city was chosen to honor Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King.  However, the inaugural match up between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Cleveland Indians was not without controversy.  The identity and participation of the latter team poses an affront to First Nations people.  Cherokee people populate the Memphis vicinity and were part of the Native American tribes (i.e., bands/nations) forced to sojourn The Trail of Tears which passed through the area.

August has brought two other notable baseball occasions:

San Francisco Giant Barry Bonds surpassed Hank Aaron's leading record of 755 home runs.  In the midst of controversy and mixed feelings, Mr. Aaron graciously recorded a video message to congratulate Barry Bonds.  Readers may want to check out Terence Moore's Atlanta Journal-Constitution column, Aaron Happy to Be Finished with It All, and an Associated Press feature at SI.com regarding this hallmark.

Henry Louis Aaron will always outstandingly represent endurance, courage, wisdom, poise, and dignity to say the least.

Facing overt and subtle racism, one wonders how he and other veterans of color of the game thrived.  This may still be an issue for present times.  There's a new twist to the matter of subtlety, recent news indicates:

One pitch can make a difference.

A study concludes that major league home plate umpires are more likely to call strikes for pitchers of the same race or ethnicity.  The research team was led by Daniel Hamermesh, an economics professor at the University of Texas at Austin.  They analyzed every pitch from the 2004 through 2006 major league seasons, about 2.1 million, to see if discrimination occurred with calls for either balls or strikes. 

Disparities were found to involve one percent of pitches.  This would at least average to one pitch per game. It does not take long (even for the non-fanatical baseball observer) to realize that one pitch does count, possibly affecting the outcome of a game.  By some estimates, a typical game may involve about 75 - 135 calls on pitches for each team.

Allegedly, potential disparities are mitigated when the umpire's calls are more closely scrutinized.  Such factors would include ballpark electronic monitoring systems, watchfulness of full count situations (a pending pitch on the count of 3 balls and 2 strikes), or play under the auspices of well-attended games.

Is this another case for civil rights monitoring ... analogous to efforts preventing racial profiling?  One is also reminded of heated debates, earlier this year, as to whether National Basketball Association referees exercised racial bias with their calls.  Questions give new meaning to the phrase, "Let's go to the video tape."

There may be other implications as well.  The power to evaluate and judge a player's performance remains  overwhelmingly White, 87 percent of umpires and 71 percent of major league pitchers are White.  Blacks make up three percent of pitching staffs. This study did not find disparities associated with racial differences between batters and umpire.   

A pitcher's record, his value individually and that associated with a team's record of wins and losses, speaks volumes for further employment and lucrative compensation.  The whole nature of baseball's labor market/force can be impacted.  According to The 2006 Racial and Gender Report Card: Major League Baseball from the DeVos Sport Business Management Program of the University of Central Florida,  there were 707 White, 100 African American, 350 Latino, 29 Asian, and 3 other players.

Black players made up about a peak 27 percent of players in the mid-1970s; last season they were slightly over eight percent share.  Dare to think about and compare this sport to other sport industries.   The MLB is now at work to attract more players of color ("minorities").

With baseball's mileposts and a cavalcade of heroes and legends there is an acknowledgment of individual achievement.  Yet an engagement with the systemic is also needful.  In the larger frame of things -- our institutions, organizations, history, and activities of life -- systems affect the advancement and thriving of all people.  Recognition is useful regarding the past and present, but action is needed for securing the best future.  Let's (everybody) play ball.

Negro League Baseball

Negro League Baseball Museum

Negro League Baseball Museum - E Museum

The Negro League Baseball Players Association

David M. Whettstone is a Washington, DC-based public policy advocate and writer, who works on national and local issues (including civil rights and criminal justice) and with religious and community-based organizations. By now you probably know he likes baseball.

Jazz Great, Drummer Max Roach Dies at 83

Let's take time to remember jazz great, drummer Max Roach who died at age 83, August 16, 2007. 

His life spanned many generations and eras.  A prodigy, virtuoso, composer, and activist, he often cited as a founder and leader of modern jazz.  He collaborated and played with the company of greats --  Clifford Brown, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Coleman Hawkins, Abbey Lincoln (at one time, his wife), Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, and Sonny Rollins. 

Mr. Roach is credited with taking us through bebop to hard bop and beyond.  A powerful provider of imagination and innovation throughout the ages, a phrase frequently used regarding Mr. Roach is "he rewrote the rules of drumming."

Impeach Cheney

To sign the petition to get this ball rollin', click here.

Should Roberto Clemente's number be retired?

I'm hard-pressed to think of any good reasons why not, but Afro-Netizen will assuredly be open to hearing a range of counter-arguments.

In the meantime, read this piece by writer Willie Perdomo brought to our attention by fellow digital ethnoratista Donna Hernandez of ARC. Thanx, Donna!

RETIRING ROBERTO CLEMENTE'S NUMBER? IT'S A NO-BRAINER
By Willie Perdomo
The New York Post

MLB icon Clemente deserves his props.

Should MLB retire Roberto Clemente's 21 like it did with Jackie Robinson's 42? Vote Now!
June 6, 2007 -- In A RECENT profile of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, one of his closest advisors commented on the in-fighting amongst Latino politicians and said, "We have a propensity, like other minorities, to screw one another."

I've erased the word "minorities" from my vocabulary a long time ago, but the comment made me think about Sharon Robinson (the daughter of the great African American baseball player Jackie Robinson) and her reluctance to endorse the retirement of Roberto Clemente's jersey, No. 21.

Ms. Robinson was quoted in a January 2006 Associated Press article as saying that her father's situation was "very unique and historical. (Roberto) Clemente did an awful lot of good things and was a terrific ballplayer, but I don't think it's the same type of situation as Jackie Robinson."

Ms. Robinson's type of thinking is endemic to the racial divisions that currently plague our major cities. For her to imply that "the situation" was different for the Puerto Rican ball player is to negate the struggle that Clemente endured as a dark-skinned, Spanish-speaking man in this country.

Did he not encounter the same Jim Crow injustices that were experienced by Robinson, Willie Mays and Don Newcombe? Did he not, unlike the aforementioned players, have the courage to speak up about these injustices? Must an argument really be made to retire the number of a baseball player who was called a prince?

A player who consistently got the good wood on a bad pitch and a consummate All-Star who made playing baseball look like modern ballet.

A ball player who hit a cool 3,000 hits, won 12 Gold Gloves in twelve consecutive seasons, four batting titles and virtually ensured the Pittsburgh Pirates a victory in the 1971 World Series by hitting safely in every post-season game for a .421 average.

Sure, Jackie Robinson was the first African-American man to wear a Major League Baseball uniform, but ask the million-plus Puerto Ricans who will be parading up Fifth Avenue on Sunday if Clemente's number should be retired. I guarantee that you will hear a resounding "Claro, que si" and "Hell, yeah!" followed by a "Wepa!" and then a symphonic clanging of cowbells to rally the issue.

If the problem, as W.E.B. Dubois reflected, within our Latino and African-American communities (and I include myself as a member of both) is that we fall prey to the "crabs in the barrel phenomenon" then Sharon Robinson is acting like a queen crab to a man, Roberto Walker Clemente, who died en route to a humanitarian mission to feed the poor in Nicaragua.

A man who, after having reached the top of the barrel, would undoubtedly grab a rope and throw it back down to help lift up some of his fellow crustaceans.

Willie Perdomo is the author of the upcoming children's book "Why They Call Me Clemente" (Henry Holt/BYR). He's also the husband of Tempo Editor Sandra Guzmán.

Glover & Venezuela's Chávez; Hillary & Gretna, Louisiana's Sheriff Lee

Politics produces strange bedfellows, as the saying goes (or words to that effect). But strange or not, bedfellows do speak volumes about the public figures they're in bed with -- even for just a one-night stand.

Case in point: actor/progressive activist, Danny Glover, has just inked an $18-million deal with Venezuela's new Villa del Cine, a state-owned movie studio, to produce a feature film on Toussaint L'Ouverture, the father of the New World's first Black republic, Haiti. Kudos, Brother Glover!

This is not the first time Glover has worked with Venezuela and its internationally popular president, Hugo Chávez.

I have no beef with this union. In fact, I think it's a good thing. However, it is sad that a respected actor such as Glover cannot raise a measly $18mm (by Hollywood standards, anyway) for a Black, 18th-century version of 'Braveheart' which his old 'Lethal Weapon' sidekick, Mel Gibson, could raise (even post-anti-Jewish rant) by close of business today.

It's a testament to the general public's appetite for all things Black and non-stereotypical. Or perhaps, more accurately, it's indicative of how Hollywood and Madison Avenue grossly underestimate the general public's interest in all things Black and non-stereotypical. Remember 'Roots', anyone?

30 years ago it was aired (before sweeps) as America's first prime-time (unintended) mini-series because the white TV executives didn't think it'd last as a regular weekly TV series. 30 years later, it still remains the most watched mini-series in American television history.

I suspect much of the problem (besides good old-fashion racism qua industry myopia) is that the folks best able to market substantive Black-themed movies, etc. are rarely the ones doing it.

Put such marketing in the right hands (how about qualified, experienced and creative folks who just happen to be Black, for instance) and with a sufficient budget, and I'm certain things would look much better at the box office for past and future movie projects.

(Granted, these folks aren't magicians. So, don't go thinking they could've made 'Soul Plane' worth watching.)

Bedfellow #2: Sheriff Harry Lee of Jefferson Parish

Remember way back when shortly after Hurricane Katrina, and Afro-Netizen blogged on this story: "After Blocking the Bridge, Gretna Circles the Wagons"?

Well, now a few years later, the wagons are circling again . . . around Hillary and her friendship with Sheriff Harry Lee of Jefferson Parish. Let's just say that ole Sheriff Lee of the infamous largely white New Orleans suburb of Gretna ain't so much "a friend of the negro" by many accounts, and no affected twang of Hillary's (or however many gratis commencement speeches she makes at HBCUs) will diminish the . . . interesting nature of this relationship she has with the sheriff.

(Afro-Netizen can't wait to see how the Clintonistas spin this one!)

A former beauty queen speaks truth to power with a dazzling smile

In a New York Daily News op/ed piece written by the 2001 Miss America first runner-up winner Faith Jenkins, the former beauty queen bemoans her lack of moral courage to have responded strongly to the question that was posed to her in the competition 6 years prior: "What do you think of rap music?"

Instead, she confesses, she shied away from addressing the question head on and distracted the interviewer by discussing adult illiteracy, poverty and high school drop-outs. Shame, shame, Ms. Jenkins.

As we all know full well today: the root cause for all of these inconveniences is rap music. So, don't listen to those fatties who think conglomerate-dominated media have more power, money and control over these vile words and images than these influential young Black rappers.

Instead, revel in the powerful subtext of Ms. Jenkins' clarion call:

Whether your long-legged, slim-waisted or perky-breasted, women and young girls must stand up proud in your swimsuits, pantyhose and high heels against the misogyny of hip hop. For it is the last remnant of socially acceptable sexism and the sole source of all evil. So, whether you participate in the Miss America pageant, junior Miss America, junior-junior Miss America, or pre-pubescent Miss America, let these pro-hourglass women movements be your international platform for speaking out for talented, conventionally beautiful women with straight-hair everywhere (but mostly America)!

Preach on, sister!

Who's to blame?

Thoughts on Imus & Hip Hop

By Imani Perry
Contributor
Afro-Netizen

In the waning days of the Imus controversy a backlash has appeared. Pundits comment “Imus was fired for the kind of language black rappers use every day” and “the black community should look inside itself before pointing the finger at someone like Imus.” The critique at first blush may seem reasonable but it masks some insidious truths.

We have to reveal a deep fallacy in the assumptions behind such statements. First, whatever your thoughts are about the appropriateness of Imus’s firing, one cannot in good faith consider him innocent in this matter. He was being intentionally provocative and insulting. 

Second, many, and I dare say most, members of the African American community are troubled by images in popular music and news media, images which degrade women, which trivialize violence, and which celebrate conspicuous consumption; images which stereotype black people in ways that are neither new nor novel.

Whoever believes that there is no hand-wringing over this within the black community has not spent much time around black people. It is talked about constantly. The reality is, however, that the “black community” does not control the media industry, even those branches that have a black public face. Record companies, business enterprises which effectively have no color in their pursuit of revenue, control the recording industry.

Third, the numbers of people in the recording industry who are implicated in this problem in popular music are far greater than the handful of rappers. They are producers, video directors, and most importantly record company executives, who are economically exploiting the (largely non-black) market for this kind of entertainment. It is absolutely the case that each individual from rapper to stylist to A&R person bears responsibility for his or her role in the music on a moral level, but we should ask, who are the decision makers in this industry and why aren’t they held accountable too? The decision-makers at CNBC said they didn’t want to be associated with the kind of language Imus spewed. We as consumers should challenge record companies and video channels to take similar stands.

The dramatic drop in sales for hip hop over the past two years, indicates that the music will be forced by market pressures to change. Hopefully, this will provide an opportunity for the wonderfully creative and innovative voices in hip hop that can be found on myspace and in local communities, to come to the fore. This means that all of those who are so busy complaining about negative images in the music they listen to, should expand beyond corporate-owned radio, music channels, and record companies to look for entertainment.

But back to Imus. The rush to detract attention away from Imus, and point the finger at rappers reveals another problematic truth. American culture is currently obsessed with blaming black people for all the social challenges we face, even our experiences with blatant racial discrimination like that exhibited by Imus. The common narrative now is: the disparities that exist between blacks and whites are overwhelmingly the result of the failures of blacks, not racial discrimination, current or past, or other forms of social inequality. Out of wedlock births, high rates of crime in black communities, and relatively high rates of use of the welfare state, are described as the root of all problems for African Americans.

This continues to be the argument made despite well-documented patterns of discrimination in hiring, salary, access to housing, urban renewal, financial institution lending, quality of health care, and quality of education, that have nothing to do with individual behavior but everything to do with inequality and racial bias. With the growing evidence of pervasive unconscious and implicit bigotry on the part of all Americans, it is clear that black people continue to suffer from the weight of racism, even though a substantial group of us have achieved educationally and economically despite those obstacles.

The long standing “self-help” tradition in the black community has not been enough to tackle the impact of sustained inequality faced by African Americans in particular, and the impact of ongoing racism, the growing gap between the haves and the have nots, and the backlash against civil rights have weakened many of our strongest institutions.

The fact that Imus and many of his listeners appear to hold deep animosity towards black people is interesting but mostly beside the point. The point is, rather than suggesting Imus is a victim, or blaming black people for being subjected to and victimized by stereotypic images that come from white or black voices, we must focus our attention on how so much wealth production in our society comes at the cost of dehumanizing so many of our citizens. It was the withdrawal of sponsors that led to Imus’ firing. But it was his inflammatory and bigoted behavior in the past that made his show lucrative.

As long as Fox News generates enormous revenues by depicting black people as leeches on society, then it will continue to do so, and as long as mainstream hip hop generates lots of revenue by depicting black women as promiscuous gold diggers, it will continue to do so. It will not be the individual rapper saying “I won’t use this word” that turns the tide, and it won’t be Imus making an apology that does it either,  it will be the collective activism of consumers, the kind who angrily posted Imus’s comments on Facebook and YouTube, the kind who write letters to the FCC, that will turn the tide.

In the words of "Boots" Riley (a politically progressive hip hop MC) “Choose your side, get up and let’s ride.”