ChickenBones: A Journal
for Literary & Artistic African-American Themes
www.nathanielturner.com 
The voting behavior of the Congressional Black Caucus shows . . .
CBC has been at least half absorbed by corporate power, that it
fails to reflect the near-universal African American
aversion to U.S. military adventures abroad
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Congressional Black Caucus Grades Plummet
on War, “Terror” and Trade Bills
By Leutisha Stills
Black members of the U.S. House of Representatives have scored their worst grades since the Congressional Black Caucus Monitor watchdog group began issuing twice-yearly Report Cards in September, 2005. Of the 39 members graded for the period September-December, 2007, only five scored 80 percent for a “B” grade:
Keith Ellison (MN)
Eddie Bernice Johnson (TX)
Barbara Lee (CA)
Donald Payne (NJ)
Maxine Waters (CA)
Not one CBC member scored higher than 80 percent. Twenty-nine members scored 60-70 percent, most of them falling from previous grading period “Honor Roll” (90-100 percent, “A”) and “Consensus” (80-89 percent, “B”) status. Three members earned “Derelict” grades, at 50 percent:
Yvette Clarke (NY)
Artur Davis (AL)
Edolphus Towns (NY)
Only two members, Keith Ellison (MN), a freshman member, and Barbara Lee (CA) retained “Honor Roll” standing based on their averaged scores for all grading periods. Three members, Sanford Bishop (GA), freshman Yvette Clarke (NY), and Artur Davis (AL), rated as “Derelicts” for their combined grading periods.
Two members are “delegates” from the District of Columbia and U.S. Virgin Islands, who cannot vote on the House floor, and one seat was for a time vacant due to the death of Indiana Rep. Julia Carson.
The Big Plunge
Caucus grades were in sharp contrast to the January- September 2007 period, when eight members scored 90-100 percent and only one earned less than 70 percent. This was an “easy” grading period, in which members were called upon to vote on few bills that might bring them into conflict with the Historical Black Consensus on peace and social justice. In the latest period, three of the ten selected pieces of legislation caused most or all members to lose points, at ten percent per vote. The three “tripwire” bills were:
HJ Resolution 52 – Continuing Appropriations Bill for FY 2008
HR 3688 – U. S./Peru Free Trade Agreement
HR 1955 – Homegrown Terrorism Study Act
War
Only six members voted against the Continuing Appropriations Bill (HJ Resolution 52), which continued funding for the Iraq war. The “peace” voters were:
William Clay (MO)
Keith Ellison (MN)
Barbara Lee (CA)
Donald Payne (NJ)
Maxine Waters (CA)
Diane Watson (CA)
All the “peace” voters are members of the Out of Iraq Caucus. Only 13 Democrats and one Republican (Ron Paul, of Texas) voted against the appropriations.
“Free” Trade
Half of the CBC voted against the corporate-backed U. S./Peru Free Trade Agreement (HR 3688), thus lining up on the correct side of the issue:
John Conyers (MI)
Elijah Cummings (MD)
Danny Davis (IL)
Jesse Jackson (IL)
Sheila Jackson-Lee (TX)
William Jefferson (LA)
Hank Johnson (GA)
Carolyn Kilpatrick (MI)
Barbara Lee (CA)
Donald Payne (NJ)
Bobby Rush (IL)
David Scott (GA)
Bobby Scott (VA)
Keith Ellison (MN)
Al Green (TX)
Alcee Hastings
Bennie Thompson (MS)
Maxine Waters (CA)
Diane Watson (CA)
Al Wynn (MD)
Homegrown “Violent Radicalization”
Every member of the Caucus lost ten points on the Homegrown Terrorism Study Act (HR 1955), a broadly-worded measure to combat “violent radicalization,” described as “an extremist belief system for facilitating ideologically based violence to advance political, religious, or social change.” Ominously, the bill states: “The Internet has aided in facilitating violent radicalization, ideologically based violence, and the homegrown terrorism process in the United States by providing access to broad and constant streams of terrorist-related propaganda to United States citizens.”
The Act is couched in language designed to calm those concerned about civil liberties: “Any measure taken to prevent violent radicalization, homegrown terrorism, and ideologically based violence and homegrown terrorism in the United States should not violate the constitutional rights, civil rights, or civil liberties of United States citizens or lawful permanent residents.” However, any bill that authorizes Congress to commission “studies” and hearings on people’s “belief systems” and the definition of “propaganda” smacks of McCarthyism and the old House Un-American Activities Committee, civil liberties assurances notwithstanding.
CBC members Danny Davis (IL), John Conyers (MI), and Eddie Bernice Johnson (TX) did not vote on the measure, but lost points anyway. In the entire Congress, only Dennis Kucinich voted “nay.”
The other seven bills on which CBC members were graded were:
HR 4156 – Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act
HR 3685 – Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA)
HR 2895 – National Affordable Housing Act
HR 2740 – Accountability for Contractors Act
HR 3648 – Mortgage Forgiveness Act
HR 3121 – Flood Insurance Reform Act
HR 975 – Renewal of S-Children’s Health Insurance Act
Members also lost points for unexplained failure to vote on any of the measures.
Non-Black Members and Caucuses
The CBC Monitor has expanded its Report Card to track the votes of Members representing districts with 25 percent or more Black constituencies, and the Hispanic and Asian/Pacific-American Caucuses. These additional groups are graded on the same pieces of legislation as the Congressional Black Caucus.
The 29 non-Black members of Congress with a quarter or more Black constituents are almost evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans. Seventy-one percents of the districts are in the South, with African Americans comprising one-third or more of the population in six districts.
Only eight of the non-Black members, all Democrats, scored higher than “Derelict”:
Dutch Ruppersberger (MD) 60% score. District: 27.3% Black
Brad Miller (NC) 60% score. District: 27.1% Black
Jose Serrano (NY) 70% score. District: 36.0% Black
Eliot Engel (NY) 60% score. District: 32.3% Black
Louise Slaughter (NY) 70% score. District: 29.2% Black
Robert Brady (PA) 70% score. District: 44.7% Black
John Spratt (SC) 70% score. District: 32.3% Black
Steve Cohen (TN) 70% score. District: 59.7% Black
Of the 22 members of the Hispanic Caucus, all but one scored 60-70 percent. John Salazar, of Colorado, was the low-scoring “Derelict” with 50 percent. It should be noted that only five CBC members scored 80 percent, the top grade this period, while three were “Derelict.”
With only five members, the Asian/Pacific-American Caucus tracked closely to the Hispanic Caucus. Two members scored 60 percent, two others at 70 percent. One, Neil Abercrombie, of Hawaii, registered 80 percent.
“The CBC is no longer vigilant in defense of civil liberties that go beyond the right to spend money wherever one wants.”
CBC Monitor notes that Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), whom we tracked because of his prominence in progressive politics but who does not fit in any of our Report Card categories, scored 90 percent – higher than any member of the CBC.
The voting behavior of the Congressional Black Caucus shows “by the numbers” that the CBC has been at least half-absorbed by corporate power, that it fails to reflect the near-universal African American aversion to U.S. military adventures abroad, and is no longer vigilant in defense of civil liberties that go beyond the right to spend money wherever one wants. Clearly, a grassroots purge of the congressional ranks is in order, district by district, until the CBC can once again claim to be “the conscience of the Congress.”
Leutisha Stills, spokesperson for the Congressional Black Caucus Monitor, can be contacted at ]]> LeutishaStills@hotmail.com ]]>This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ]]>.
Source: Black Agenda Report
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AALBC.com’s 25 Best Selling Books
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#1 – Justify My Thug by Wahida Clark #2 – Flyy Girl by Omar Tyree #3 – Head Bangers: An APF Sexcapade by Zane #4 – Life Is Short But Wide by J. California Cooper #5 – Stackin’ Paper 2 Genesis’ Payback by Joy King #6 – Thug Lovin’ (Thug 4) by Wahida Clark #7 – When I Get Where I’m Going by Cheryl Robinson #8 – Casting the First Stone by Kimberla Lawson Roby #9 – The Sex Chronicles: Shattering the Myth by Zane
#10 – Covenant: A Thriller by Brandon Massey
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#16 – The Future Has a Past: Stories by J. California Cooper
#17 – Player Haters by Carl Weber
#18 – Purple Panties: An Eroticanoir.com Anthology by Sidney Molare
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#10 – John Henrik Clarke and the Power of Africana History by Ahati N. N. Toure
#11 – Fail Up: 20 Lessons on Building Success from Failure by Tavis Smiley
#12 –The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
#13 – The Black Male Handbook: A Blueprint for Life by Kevin Powell
#14 – The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates by Wes Moore
#15 – Why Men Fear Marriage: The Surprising Truth Behind Why So Many Men Can’t Commit by RM Johnson
#16 – Black Titan: A.G. Gaston and the Making of a Black American Millionaire by Carol Jenkins
#17 – Brainwashed: Challenging the Myth of Black Inferiority by Tom Burrell
#18 – A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose by Eckhart Tolle
#19 – John Oliver Killens: A Life of Black Literary Activism by Keith Gilyard
#20 – Alain L. Locke: The Biography of a Philosopher by Leonard Harris
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Across That Bridge: Life Lessons and a Vision for Change
By John Lewis
The Civil Rights Movement gave rise to the protest culture we know today, and the experiences of leaders like Congressman Lewis have never been more relevant. Now, more than ever, this nation needs a strong and moral voice to guide an engaged population through visionary change. Congressman John Lewis was a leader in the American Civil Rights Movement. He was chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and played a key role in the struggle to end segregation. Despite more than forty arrests, physical attacks, and serious injuries, John Lewis remained a devoted advocate of the philosophy of nonviolence. He is the author of his autobiography, Walking with the Wind: A Memoir of a Movement, and is the recipient of numerous awards from national and international institutions, including the Lincoln Medal; the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Lifetime Achievement Award (the only one of its kind ever awarded); the NAACP Spingarn Medal; and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor, among many others.
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Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
By Michele Alexander
Contrary to the rosy picture of race embodied in Barack Obama’s political success and Oprah Winfrey’s financial success, legal scholar Alexander argues vigorously and persuasively that [w]e have not ended racial caste in America; we have merely redesigned it. Jim Crow and legal racial segregation has been replaced by mass incarceration as a system of social control (More African Americans are under correctional control today… than were enslaved in 1850). Alexander reviews American racial history from the colonies to the Clinton administration, delineating its transformation into the war on drugs. She offers an acute analysis of the effect of this mass incarceration upon former inmates who will be discriminated against, legally, for the rest of their lives, denied employment, housing, education, and public benefits.
Most provocatively, she reveals how both the move toward colorblindness and affirmative action may blur our vision of injustice: most Americans know and don’t know the truth about mass incarcerationbut her carefully researched, deeply engaging, and thoroughly readable book should change that.Publishers Weekly
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Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word
By Randall Kennedy
The word is paradigmatically ugly, racist and inflammatory. But is it different when Ice Cube uses it in a song than when, during the O.J. Simpson trial, Mark Fuhrman was accused of saying it? What about when Lenny Bruce uses it to “defang” it by sheer repetition? Or when Mark Twain uses it in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn to make an antiracist statement? Kennedy, a professor at Harvard Law School and noted legal scholar, has produced an insightful and highly provocative book that raises vital questions about the relationship between language, politics, social norms and how society and culture confront racism. Drawing on a wide range of historical, legal and cultural instances Harry S. Truman calling Adam Clayton Powell “that damned nigger preacher”; Title VII court cases in which the use of the word was proof of condoning a “racially hostile work environment”; Quentin Tarantino’s liberal use of the word in his films Kennedy repeatedly shows not only the complicated cultural history of the word, but how its meaning, intent and even substance change in context.
Smart, well argued and never afraid of facing serious, difficult and painful questions in an unflinching and unsentimental manner, this is an important work of cultural and political criticism. As Kennedy notes in closing: “For bad or for good, nigger is… destined to remain with us for the foreseeable future a reminder of the ironies and dilemmas, the tragedies and glories, of the American experience.” (Jan. 22)Forecast: This may be the book that reignites larger debates over race eclipsed by September 11. Look for a bestselling run and huge talk show and magazine coverage as the Afghanistan news cycle continues to slow; the book had already been the subject of two New York Times stories by early January.Publishers Weekly
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The White Masters of the World
From The World and Africa, 1965
W. E. B. Du Bois Arraignment and Indictment of White Civilization (Fletcher)
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posted 6 February 2008
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