Racism

In the library in my city, one can check out a wide selection of DVDs, from feature films, to documentaries, to foreign films, and whole seasons of a television series. One day I noticed a few DVDs of the series All In The Family.

Luis Ramirez, a Latino immigrant, is dead. Why? Racism is alive and well and running ramp id in the United States. The deep rooted seeds of racism that laid dormant in many people were brought to the surface post President Obama's victory and we're witnessing the ugly results of it. This is not an isolated event, Louis unfortunately is one of many immigrants that have suffered the same fate. According to the FBI, hate crimes against Latinos rose 35% between 2003 and 2006.

Louis Ramirez had no chance in the town of Shenandoah, PA. The jury foreman for the case was quoted as saying:

"I believe strongly that some of the people on the jury were racist. I believe strongly that some of the people on the jury had their minds made up maybe before the first day of trial...And I believe the four boys that were involved the most are racist. I absolutely do..."

We, the Board at IPC, embrace the decision of The Department of Justice to further investigate the findings of the jury in Shenandoah, PA. Please join with us and our friends at Maldef by signing the following petition: http://maldef.org/

"When a foreigner lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him. The foreigner living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God." Leviticus 19:33-34

As we near the inauguration of our first African American President, it would be timely to reflect upon the organizations that have played a large part in fighting for the rights of African Americans in our country's history. Darryl Fears wrote an article for the April 14, 2008 issue of the Washington Post Weekly on the state of the great civil rights groups that were so involved in the 1950s and 1960s struggles to fight to topple segregation laws, empower people through laws to protect voting rights, and overcome prejudice in the law books and in people's attitudes. Fears found that after the 1960s, when these organizations were at the peak or their influence, many of these organizations have either declined in membership, face financial problems, or have simply disappeared.

Several reasons are offered for the decline of these organizations. Many of these civil rights groups were subject to government harassment and spying. The rise of more radical groups like the Black Panthers made older civil rights groups seem timid in their efforts and attracted younger African Americans.

A week or so ago, an insightful person wrote a post to me telling how prejudice affects the way a person lives out their daily lives. Instead of walking in confidence, people who are discriminated against often live in fear of being harassed. After reading her comment, I tried to think of examples of where prejudice eventually leads. In societies that embrace a prejudiced view of a group of people, they often take harsh measures to keep a member of a marginalized group in their place. In extreme cases, this may even result in lynchings and murder. The deaths of Emmett Till, Joseph Smith and Matthew Shepard are examples of where prejudice eventually leads.

Sermon: the 26th Sunday after Pentecost, Year A
The Community Church of Wilmette
November 9, 2008

Trimmed and Burning

Did you ever think that you would see the day?
Did you ever think that you would see the day?
Did you ever think that an African-American man would be elected President of the United States of America in our lifetime?

I am not sure that I truly believed it. I still have images of the intense segregation of my home town, Richmond. I still struggle with the deep divisions and segregation that exists in Chicago. Those wounds run so deep. The struggles and the blight of racism is still so very real...even here in the so-called enlightened north.

I was so disappointed the day that I realized how divided Chicago was. I came here thinking Chicago would show me a different way of living in a multi-racial community.

I never thought I would ever see an African-American elected to the highest office in our country. Never.

This year has been one most interesting election years in my years of voting. The primaries with divervse views represented by Dennis Kucinich, Joe Biden, John Edwards, Mike Huckabee, and Ron Paul. The contest for the nomination between Hillary and Obama. The resurrection of McCain in the Republican race. The emergence of Sarah Palin. This election season has gone through so many twists and turns. I’m excited by these elections because the Obama, Clinton, and even Palin candidacies are breaking down barriers of racism and sexism. These candidates have faced their share of racism and sexism to break down these barriers and these reactions show how far America has to go to be rid of these vices.

I voted for Hillary during the California primaries, but I have to admit that I didn’t have the same fervor that some of my friends had for Clinton. My mom, sister in law, and several close friends were Hillary enthusiasts and they were deeply angry at the way Hillary was treated during the primaries. I’ve always wondered, “How was she treated that would cause such anger among these women?” An article in the September 13th edition of the Economist titled “The Triumph of Feminism” wrote:

Given the racism that Obama is confronted with, and that presumably will become more prevalent and vicious later on in the campaign, it's a lot easier for Nader to make a (nuanced) commitment to Affirmative Action than it is for Obama. So don't take my posting of this part of Nader's platform as a criticism of Obama for not stating a position on Affirmative Action. Rather, it's a defense of Nader from the charge of "racism".

Obama has suggested in one of his debates with Hillary Clinton that affirmative action in higher education might switch from a focus on race to one on class. See http://insidehighered.com/news/2008/04/17/qt and http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2008/05/12/kahlenberg. That's probably a viable way to go for all forms of affirmative action. Class has been under-emphasized for too long, so that's a plus for those of us who think that "class consciousness" is a good and necessary component of progressive strategies for change. A broad and expanded program of affirmative action based on class would be of practical value to African-Americans, although many are wary that they might be short-changed in its politically sensitive implementation. And there's some loss of historical consciousness and sense of social responsibility if the idea of "reparations" is embedded so deeply in a class-based program that reparations disappears as a distinct factor.

Well, it was only a matter of time I guess, but Fox News had a graphic calling Michelle Obama, Barack's "baby' mama." This of course is black slang usually referring to unmarried woman who has kids. Its usually derogatory and I would say in this case racist. Between that and the "terrorist fist bump", its just ridiculous what's being said over there.

http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_update/20080613_ap_foxnewsreferstom...

Are there still any conservative hold outs who still think this is a real news station? And the argument about similar liberal bias has no basis in fact.

The good news: Fox and the conservatives are losing! They wanted us to rush to war, they wanted tax cuts for rich people, they said global warming was a farce and now most people realize that the conservative position on these issues is backwards and wrong! There will be a group of holdouts who will still watch Fox New to reinforce their worldview, but most people see the racist language and associated Obama with terrorism as just plain wrong.

In his landmark speech about race, Barack Obama apparently has chosen to ignore some difficult claims raised by the sermons of his former pastor, Jeremiah Wright, in favor of seeking unity. He said that Dr. Wright's comments “expressed a profoundly distorted view of this country – a view...that elevates what is wrong with America above all that we know is right with America.” He also called them “ not only wrong but divisive, divisive at a time when we need unity.” It is one thing to disagree, but to do so with an appeal to unity is effectively to dismiss dialogue altogether.