My Reaction to the Storming of Capitol Hill

by with One Comment FeaturedPolitics

One of the things I’ve found really interesting about the events of the last year is that feeling of “what now?” that seemed to be ever-present. Just when we thought things couldn’t get any worse or even in those brief moments when we got the opportunity to take a deep breath or a sigh of relief, there was a consistent dark cloud figuratively looming overhead.

Now, on a day when we’re finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel with the impending Senate flip, we’re reminded that it ain’t over yet. It’s infuriating to see people, who had their fingers pointed during the fight for Black and Brown lives, storm the Capitol in the name of being sore losers.

I am mind boggled at the fact that they were able to enter the walls of the Capitol building without even the threat of a rubber bullet or tear gas. Where was this calm when people were genuinely and peacefully seeking justice?

I’m appalled at the lax reaction from people watching this all unfold and I hope the actions of these thugs force those who have been silent to hold up a mirror to themselves and audit their inactions that have emboldened these domestic terrorists. These hooligans have identified themselves, and we as a country have to decide how we are going to proceed.

No more standing by idle. It is time for action. It is time to make our stance clear. We cannot continue to be passive. We must continue to disempower the system of bigotry and hate that has fueled this country for so long. Enough is enough!

RBG… A Critical Look at Our Leaders Staying in Office Too Long

by with 3 Comments FeaturedPolitics

2020 has struck again. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has died at the age of 87. Her appointment to the court was historic and she fought long and hard as a liberal justice. While America mourns her death, I can’t help but worry about whom President Trump might pick to replace her.

It’s actually quite a paradox that America can’t fully grieve her death because we are more concerned about her replacement. And while we must be equally concerned about her replacement we should take a critical look at what led us to this juncture. A critical look at our leaders staying in office until their death is worth a discussion.

This year alone we have seen Representatives Elijah Cummings and John Lewis die in office. Both were ill before their deaths, just as Ginsburg. So why didn’t they expedite their retirements upon learning of their illnesses? There’s an argument that once you reach a certain age the brain slows down when you retire. There’s something about a routine work life that helps senior citizens age well and stay mobile as their mental faculties continue in full force. But what happens when our leaders get sick and refuse to step down with a proper succession plan?

I want to first examine former Washington DC, “Mayor for Life” Marion Barry, who died in office while serving as the city’s Ward 8 Councilmember. When he died in 2014 there was no plan on whom would succeed him in office. One day he was the council member and the next day the seat was vacant with no heir apparent. The political fallout resulted in nearly 20 people running for office.

We can look at the deaths of Cummings and see a similar pattern. He died, his wife ran along with several other people but ultimately Kwame Nfume wins, who was the previous US Representative for Maryland’s 7th District. Cummings didn’t have an heir apparent.

With Lewis, his death was a bit different. While it wasn’t anticipated, a replacement was quickly named, Georgia State Senator Nikema Williams. She will still have to run after completing the remaining of his term, but the point here is that he died in office.

In Ginsburg’s case, she could have retired while President Barack Obama was still in office. She would have been 82 at the time of her retirement during his last days as president. One can assume she hoped Secretary Hillary Clinton would win and wanted to leave the opportunity for Clinton to appoint the next Justice, but that’s not how the story ended. Clinton lost.

Now we have Donald Trump and we are in a position where we are wondering whom he might select as he’s already given the public a preview of his likely picks. But we arrive back at our original question. Why didn’t Ginsburg retire when she had all her mental faculties? Why not put America and a democratic president in the best position to appoint another liberal justice? Was it because the appointment would have gone to a Black leader? Was maintaining White Supremacy working in her hope that the next president would be Clinton? We don’t know, but what we do know is that her dying wish was to serve out her term and let the next president choose her replacement. Maybe she thought she would make it to 2021 to see if a new Democratic leader would be elected. And even that isn’t a given.

While her service to this country’s justice system is laudable, the way our leaders prepare to leave is important. And Ginsburg did not do her liberal colleagues on the bench any justice by staying in longer than her health would allow. America must learn this lesson. President Trump and Senate Majority Leader are already planning to push a nominee through for confirmation before the election which is in less than 50 days.

We can mourn Ginsburg’s death but we must learn a critical lesson. Banking on a Democrat leader to help save our country may never happen. And even when Democrats win we don’t know what he or she will exactly do.

Pass the button while there is still time. Time to recruit a new leader, time to mentor a new leader, time to truly show a successor the road map to be successful. We can admire legacy more when it is properly preserved.

Washington, DC US Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton is aging in her seat and should consider early retirement so she doesn’t go down in history like these other great leaders… leaving a powerful office untended due to political prowess to hold on.

Similar Read: GOP Hypocrisy Laid Bare

GOP Hypocrisy Laid Bare

by with No Comment FeaturedPolitics

Mitch McConnell intends to have this Senate vote on Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s replacement for the Supreme Court. Trump is planning to announce a nominee as early as Monday before RBG is even laid to rest.

This is in direct opposition to statements that Senator McConnell and other Republicans made in their defense of the historic blocking of President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland.

Of the many statements made to justify their unprecedented (yet legal) stonewalling, only one needs to be brought forth as evidence of the clear hypocrisy, dishonesty, and inconsistency of the means the GOP used to attain its ends:

“The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice. Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president,” McConnell said.

This was 11 months before the 2016 election. The 2020 election is already underway.

Many Republicans expressed dismay at the dangerous precedent it would set to not only block the nominee, but to refuse even a debate. Lindsay Graham said, “I want you to use my words against me. If there’s a Republican president in 2016 and a vacancy occurs in the last year of the first term, you can say Lindsey Graham said let’s let the next president, whoever it might be, make that nomination.”

There is bad faith here. There is deceit.

If McConnell and the GOP are more focused on war and victory than peace and compromise, they will be sad to learn that those who live by the sword also die by the sword.

Consequently, if a Trump Supreme Court pick is rushed through the confirmation process before the next Presidential inauguration, and the Democrats win back the Senate and Presidency…

The 2021 Democrats should balance the Supreme Court and appoint two additional Justices. They should also approve statehood for The District of Columbia and Puerto Rico to gain four more senators. These are legal maneuvers and turnabout is fair play.

Similar Read: The Legacy of Notorious RBG – Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

The Legacy of Notorious RBG – Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

by with 2 Comments FeaturedPoliticsWomen's Rights

On Friday, September 18, 2020, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was the pillar of the current Supreme Court. She served as the Senior Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States of America. Affectionately known as Notorious R.B.G., to emulate late rapper and icon Notorious B.I.G. (Biggie Smalls), because of her strong passion to keep pushing regardless of life’s circumstances or obstacles that she may have faced… whether it was discrimination, health issues, or other challenges she faced.

She is known as the most powerful liberal Justice on the Supreme Court. Ginsburg became a US Court Appeals judge in Washington DC Circuit Court in 1980 when she was nominated by President Jimmy Carter. She was then nominated by President Bill Clinton as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court in 1993. She was confirmed by Congress 96-3. An impressive confirmation you almost never will see in Congress today. She served as the second woman to be on the Supreme Court.  The first woman of the Supreme Court was Sandra Day O’Connor who served from 1980 to 2006 when she retired. Justice Ginsburg has served the people for many years. 

It was at Columbia Law School where she became the first woman to tenured. There she also co-authored the first law school casebook dealing with sexual discrimination. She co-founded the Women’s Right Law Reporter in 1970, the first law journal in the United States that focused exclusively on women’s rights. In 1972, she co-founded the Women’s Right Project at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU); she also became the General Counsel for this project. She has fought time and time again for women’s rights, including women’s right to choose what to do with their own bodies, rights to not be improperly searched as a woman, rights to fight for equal pay for equal work, rights for the LGBTQ community, women’s voter right, as well as many other civil rights issues.  

Her legacy must live on and we should always remember and celebrate what she fought for and whom she fought for. But we are living in a time where those who are supposed to protect the law are covering up and ignoring the law. A time, where people who claim they believe in the rule of law only believe in the rule of law against minorities. A time, where women’s Right to choose to have an abortion could possibly be abolished. The Affordable Care Act (Obama Care) could no longer be the law of the land causing millions of people to lose their health care in the midst of a horrific pandemic. Her legacy is of utmost importance, considering Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has done nothing but stack the federal courts with far-right judges who will do everything they can to uphold discriminatory policies and inequalities.

Ginsburg’s last wish she dictated to her granddaughter was that Congress would not replace her seat until the country gets a new President. Within just a few hours of her death, Mitch McConnell said he would put her replacement up for a vote on the Congress floor. This is a time where the person who can be selected on the Supreme Court could change the lives of America for decades. We say this often, election after election; if there ever was a time we need to vote that time is now. That time to vote is seriously now. Justice Ginsburg passed on the same day the nation begin voting for this election year. It is important that we the people vote not just for the President and Vice President but straight down the line, US Congress, State Congress, State, Local, Judges, Sheriffs, Prosecutors, and School Board Members. We need to exercise our right to vote and maintain the legacies of the late Georgia Representative John Lewis and late Senior Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. We need to be Notorius Citizens exercising our right to vote.

Similar Read: Legal Attack on Women’s Right to Choose (How Did We Get Here?)

An Icon on the Hill & Beyond

by with No Comment CultureFeaturedPolitics

Georgia Representative John Lewis was labeled as the humble giant on the Hill. However, his colleagues referred to him as the Conciseness of Congress. He’ll be remembered for his continuous fight for Voter’s Right, his lifetime fight for all people. 

At the 1963 March on Washington where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” address, Civil Rights leaders asked John Lewis to tone his speech down afraid that it would be too much and would cause controversy. Lewis was the last living speaker at the march on Washington.

On October 8, 2013, Lewis was arrested outside on Capitol Hill for civil disobedience while he was standing up with protestors for Immigration reform. Nothing new for Lewis… he had been arrested 40+ times for peacefully protesting when the stakes were just as high. On October June 12, 2016, the nation was shocked by another shooting. This time it was the Pulse Night Club, a gay night club that was personally targeted in Orlando, Florida. On June 22, Rep. Lewis held a floor sit-in on the floor of The US House of Representatives just ten days after the Shooting. The sit-in protest, which was to fight specifically for gun control, lasted for more than 12 hours with roughly 40 Democratic House Representatives by his side. 

Lewis was not just an icon on the Hill, but beyond. In fact, he was mainly known for his work and legacy off the Hill. He was born the son of sharecroppers on February 21, 1940, outside of Troy, Alabama. He was inspired by the activism surrounding the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the words of the late Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., which he heard on radio broadcasts. He made a decision at a very young age to become a part of the Civil Rights Movement. While a student at Fisk University, John Lewis organized sit-in demonstrations at segregated lunch counters in Nashville, Tennessee. In 1961, he volunteered to participate in the Freedom Rides, which challenged segregation at interstate bus terminals in the Deep South.

From 1963 to 1966, Lewis was named Chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), which he helped form. John Lewis led over 600 peaceful, orderly protestors across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama on March 7, 1965. The marchers were attacked on that bridge by Alabama state troopers in a brutal confrontation that became known as “Bloody Sunday.” He suffered a skull fracture and was one of 58 people treated for injuries at the local hospital. Despite more than 40 arrests, physical attacks and serious injuries, Lewis remained a devoted advocate of the nonviolence philosophy.

In 1981, he was elected to the Atlanta City Council. And in November 1986, he was elected to Congress and served as U.S. Representative of Georgia’s Fifth Congressional District since then. Earlier this year, Lewis attended the 55th-anniversary of the march in Selma, which was a surprise appearance considering his illness. One of his last public appearances was in DC on Black Lives Matter Plaza (16th Street) with Mayor Muriel Bowser. He not only was there to see the name change of 16th Street, but also to witness in person the large display of Black Lives Matter painted in yellow. Such an iconic moment for one of the original fathers of the Black Lives Matter movement to witness. 

In December 2019, Lewis presided over the House vote to restore voter’s rights. The House voted and passed this bill. The Senate never even brought the bill to the floor for a vote. That bill still remains on Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell‘s desk still today. Lewis made his transition from this earth on Friday, July 17, 2020, after his battle with pancreatic cancer. Whenever I now hear the sound of the thunder it will remind me of his thunderous voice of advocacy. His legacy will live on.

Similar Read: You Are NOT Your Ancestors!

Not What I Ordered

by with 2 Comments FeaturedSports

The Washington District of Columbia Football Club…

For the first time in my lifetime, there’s a serious call for changing the nickname of the Washington DC professional football team. The team’s nickname is not one of opinion… it has never been a question of whether or not it’s racist or offensive. 

Real simple, would you ever call anyone a “bleep-skin”? If you didn’t know the team name, would you even know the term existed? No… because it’s a terrible name and needs to be changed immediately. No one uses this term in real life, we all know why, let’s not play dumb. 

Nowhere else in the world do you see sporting teams named after whole peoples. There is no such thing as the “Berlin Russians” or the Paris “Italians,” no because it sounds stupid and without substance. 

So that’s that…

Now what should be the new team name? 

I’ve seen a number of suggestions and they’re all over the place. From the respectable nickname of the “Red Tails” (to honor the Tuskegee Airmen) to the boring and lame “Presidents” and “Generals” to simply being called the “Americans.” 

NOOOOOOOO!!!!

Just call it the “Washington District of Columbia Professional Football Club,” with no gimmicks, no mascot, no cheerleaders, no band. Just the coaches, trainers, scouts, and players. 

Why? 

For starters, we as Washington area sports fans already went through a terrible team name change. The Washington Bullets was a great nickname for our professional basketball team. No one, and I mean no one, hunted down anyone in the name of the “Washington Bullets” and shot them for said reasons. The reason for changing the name due to Washington’s murder rate is one thing, but to change it to the Wizards is just whack. Luckily our old red, white, and blue colors are back. But for years we were the laughing stock of the league due to lack of talent, ugly jerseys, and a terrible nickname. 

Secondly… the new team name NEEDS to be done quickly, to revert the media’s attention and focus back to the game of football. Outside of a couple RGIII’s here and a Sean Taylor (RIP) there, my childhood team has been ridiculously awful. 

A no-nonsense type of approach and new name is exactly what that organization needs to change its image. 

Lastly, the new name should be simple and straight forward, for it may bring some seriousness to Washington as a whole. The past few years we’ve seen the most illogical and asinine stances from people. Flat-Earthers to Trump voters refusing to wear masks amongst a health pandemic, it’s been a lot to take in. Maybe, just maybe, a team in the nation’s capital once named as one of the worst racial slurs in history could turn around and be a symbol of reason and progress. If the team were to change its name, show success, be a lead voice for what’s right, it COULD have an impact and trickle effect for the rest of the NFL and beyond. 

Similar Read: John McGraw, Andy Reid, And Black Quarterbacks

Trump Is Wrong, And So Are We

by with 3 Comments CultureFeaturedPolitics

This is America. Where a President can insult a city of 600,000 residents over his own conflicts with Representative Elijah Cummings. The truth is, our border is being run with wild incompetence and cruelty. The harder truth is, so is the city of Baltimore. Don’t all jump at once – I am a firm supporter of Baltimore, but the city has been left behind time and time again. It has seen its share of scandals and – wait, am I talking about Baltimore or our president? Truth is there are gross similarities here. And let’s get one thing straight, Washington, DC, where Trump calls home, is experiencing a historic rat infestation all over the city. Like, real rats, not the folks cycling in and out of the White house tearing our democracy apart and then running to the hills when they realize the president is Master Shredder. 

As a very wise Facebooker recently said, “Baltimore deserves our own AOC or Ilhan Omar.” It is time for someone to FIGHT for the people of Baltimore and challenge the status quo. Cummings has retained support by relying on voters in Baltimore being uninformed and voting against their own self-interests. This is also how our president maintains a 40% approval rating on average – it has been reported that the educational level of Trump’s supporters averages an 8th-grade reading level. Our democracy is no longer based on facts, truth, and real issues. And Trump attacking Cummings because he has not been a strong enough advocate for Baltimore is interesting considering our country is the laughing stock of the developed world. 

So what can we do? Well, we need to get informed. Those that are informed need to take an Each One, Teach Twenty-One approach. We don’t have time to just hope for the best. It is time that we as a nation get the facts, learn the issues, and challenge those who we vote into office to DO WHAT WE NEED THEM TO DO. This includes every level of elected office starting with the school PTA, city and county council, state legislatures, and our national elected officials. You want to stop having to deal with Trump and Cummings? VOTE THEM OUT. We have a rat infestation. Not just in Baltimore, not just in DC or New York – we have an infestation of rats who have pimped all of us into electing them so they can do as they please with the power we hand them. Trump is dead wrong. And now that we know better, we are dead wrong if we do nothing to change the fabric of our nation, including Baltimore.  

Similar Read: War Taxes And Other Radical Ideas From the Left

Reflection… When Trolling Backfires

by with No Comment Uncategorized

Two weeks ago, a New Jersey high school decided to travel to Washington DC to tour our Nation’s capital. Lunch at Howard University’s Bethune Annex Cafeteria was on their schedule, and two of their female students decided to wear Trump tee shirts and Make America Great Again (MAGA) hats during their visit. Needless to say, or I wouldn’t be writing about this, their experience did not go as smoothly as planned. The two girls would later post a lengthy tweet detailing the “harassment and racism” they experienced while on campus. Howard University’s social media accounts were in an uproar and many alt-right and Trump supporters responded posting negative comments on every post mentioning Howard University.

This incident is nothing more than trolling gone bad.

Founded in 1867, Howard University, is a private research university comprised of 13 schools and colleges. Most importantly, Howard University is a Historically Black College/University (HBCU). HBCUs were created in the post civil-war era as institutions of higher learning where African Americans were welcome to attend, at a time when most Predominately White Institutions (PWIs) banned Blacks from stepping foot on campus. For years, HBCUs have provided African Americans a safe space to learn and grow without the constant second-guessing because of the color of our skin. As an alumnus of an HBCU, I will say an added benefit is learning more about Black American and African history that is not traditionally taught in school. Learning this history establishes pride and teaches you to love your Blackness, though the world tries to convince you it’s a negative.

Knowing this history of Howard University – what made these girls, White girls at that, think parading around an HBCU in Trump and MAGA paraphernalia was a good idea… a week after Trump refused to immediately denounce white supremacists in a press conference following the Charlottesville incident? Maybe that’s the problem, they didn’t know the history of HBCUs, which is indeed a part of American history. It has been noted that black students on the tour advised them not to go on Howard’s campus wearing that particular shirt and hat. Also, some upperclassmen who saw the girls walking towards the Annex cafeteria told them it’s best not to wear that shirt and hat on campus simply because Howard University is an HBCU. The two girls, unfortunately, chose not to heed the multiple warnings, which makes many people believe their true intentions were to bait a reaction out of the Howard students (in true troll fashion).

I am sick of hearing the freedom of speech/expression excuse when a person is blatantly disrespectful. Just because you can say and do what you want does not mean you are free of consequences and get to play the victim. If you choose to not pay your taxes, that is perfectly fine as it is your choice. However, there is a high probability that you are eventually going to jail. If you walk down the street in an area where there is a lot of gang activity wearing the opposing gang members’ colors, be prepared for the backlash. These girls were warned yet they chose to be disrespectful and offensive in someone’s house, disturbing their peace. Just as it is viewed as disrespectable for an American woman to walk around in a Muslim country wearing booty shorts and a low-cut shirt, it is just as offensive to walk around an HBCU wearing paraphernalia of a man who refuses to denounce white supremacists, but wants to bring back Stop and Frisk (a tactic which disproportionately targets African Americans). I blame their chaperones, the supposed adults, on the trip as well. Why did they not say anything to these girls? Why were they not inclined to have a conversation about etiquette and courtesy in someone else’s space? Why did they not do research on the history of Howard University if they planned to visit the campus? Were these teachers not trained in cultural sensitivity? I have so many questions for these so-called adults. Overall, there is too much political correctness in letting the oppressor continue his oppression, and Howard University students weren’t about to sit around and be trolled in their safe space without speaking up for themselves.

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