Best Black Film Actresses By Decade:1980s

The 1980s were an interesting time in terms of growth of opportunity for Black Actresses in Hollywood. At the same time, however, there were still limits and glass ceilings that Black women faced in the movie industry. As opposed to the 1990s and the 2000s, only a slim few Black actresses consistently headlined major films in Hollywood. A lot more found themselves in Made for TV films. This list takes that into account while at the same time trying to remain in the realm of Hollywood cinema and film. With that in mind, here are the top ten Black actresses of the 1980s.

1. Alfre Woodard


Alfre Woodard best known as the mother, Carolyn, in Spike Lee's Crooklyn held court in the 1980s as one of the premier actresses of that decade. Landing an Oscar nomination for her performance as Geechee in 1983's CrossCreek, she was also a strong contender for the role of Miss Sophia in The Color Purple and made splashes across the small screen with major roles in Hill Street Blues and St. Elsewhere. Starting off the decade in Robert Altman's film HealtH, she then delivered a powerful performance in the 1982 screen adaptation of Ntozake Shonge's celebrated Broadway play, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Was Enuf. In 1986, she portrayed Winnie Mandela in the HBO film,Mandela.

2. Lynn Whitfield


The incredibly talented Lynn Whitfield, who brought Josephine Baker's life to the screen in 1991's The Josephine Baker story, was one of the most visible and lauded Black actresses of the 1980s. Beginning the decade with a powerful performance in the screen adaptation of Ntozake Shange's For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow is Enuf, she became highly visible with major television roles on Hill Street Blues,Cagney and Lacy,Miami Vice, and St. Elsewhere. In 1989, she added a major credit to her name with her portrayal of Ciel in Oprah Winfrey's television miniseries,The Women of Brewster Place. She also appeared in two other major films of the decade, Silverado in 1985 and Jaws: The Revenge in 1987.

3. Lonette McKee


Lonette McKee, who has made her career portraying the struggles of African American women of mixed heritage, was one of the most visible and successful Black actresses of the 1980s. Between 1980 and 1989, she appeared in four feature films, The Cotton Club in 1982,Brewster's Millions in 1985, 'Round Midnight in 1986, and Garden of Stone in 1987, a major feat in a decade where even the most celebrated of Black actresses, such as Cicely Tyson, were relegated to the realm of Made for TV movies and the occasional sitcom. McKee scored a major credit in 1989 when she portrayed Lorraine, a lesbian school teacher, in Oprah Winfrey's celebrated miniseries, The Women of Brewster Place.

4. Whoopi Goldberg


It could be argued that Whoopi Goldberg was the most commercially successful Black actress of the 1980s with three blockbuster hits in that decade, The Color Purple, Jumpin' Jack Flash, and Clara's Heart. 1985 was a pinnacle year in Whoopi Goldberg's career with her defining role as Celie in The Color Purple and her subsequent Oscar nomination for Best Actress.

5. Oprah Winfrey


The reigning Queen of Daytime Television and the wealthiest Black woman in the world, Oprah Winfrey made her own indelible mark on Hollywood in the 1980s. Hand-picked by Quincy Jones to play the character of Sophia in 1985's The Color Purple, Oprah etched that character and her own image into the public mind, setting herself up to become one of the most powerful people in the world. After landing an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for The Color Purple and appearing as the mother of Bigger Thomas in 1986's screen adaptation of Richard Wright's novel, Native Son, Oprah set up her own production company and produced the most celebrated miniseries of the decade, The Women of Brewster Place, starring herself, Jackee, Lynn Whitfield, Lonette McKee,Robin Givens, Mary Alice, Cicely Tyson, and Paula Kelly.

6. Jennifer Beals


Jennifer Beals burst out onto the Hollywood scene as the star of the 1983 surprise hit film, Flashdance, which grossed over $100 million dollars worldwide and was number three at the box office that year, behind Return of the Jedi and Terms of Endearment. Flashdance, was her only major film during the decade, but with this film she established herself and the film into the cultural iconography of American cinema.

7. Margaret Avery


Margaret Avery etched her name into pop culture with her unforgettable performance as Shug Avery in 1985's The Color Purple alongside Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey. She along with Oprah and Whoopi were the three Black women nominated for Academy Awards in 1985.


8. Irene Cara


Irene Cara was a major star of the 1970s and 80s, modeled somewhat in the fashion of Donna Summer, a double threat with both an amazing music career(she received the Oscar in 1983 for Best Song for "What a Feeling"-the theme song to the hit film Flashdance and won several Grammy awards) and a lauded career as an actress. Her appearance in the iconic film, Fame in 1980 as Coco Hernandez, lands her on this list. Unfortunately, after Fame, Cara never appeared in another major film.

9. Debbie Allen


Debbie Allen, the dancer, choreographer,director, actress makes this list for her memorable performance as Michelle, one of the wives of Richard Pryor in his 1986 biopic, JoJo Dancer Your Life is Calling. The scene of her dancing on stage at the nightclub is one of the most sensuous scenes in cinematic history and the car scene with Pryor is also quite memorable. Allen also appeared in the 1980 hit film, Fame as well as in the television series of the same name.

10. Rae Dawn Chong


Daughter of comedian and actor, Tommy Chong, Rae Dawn Chong enjoyed a very rewarding career as a film actress in the 1980s, starring in fourteen feature films between 1980 and 1989. Her most memorable roles that decade came in 1985's The Color Purple in the role of Squeaks/Mary Agnes and in 1986's Soul Man playing opposite C.Thomas Howell.

Honorable Mentions:
Jackee
Robin Givens
Paula Kelly
Phylicia Rashad

The 1970s

Best Black Film Actresses By Decade: The 1990s

The 1990s were a great time for Black actors and Black moviegoers looking for representations of Black images on screen. From the visions of Spike Lee and John Singleton being translated onto the big screen, to the prominence of talented Black actors in Hollywood, the 1990s were a decade of a thriving Black Hollywood. The top ten Black actresses of that decade were

1. Whoopi Goldberg


Starting off the decade with an Oscar win for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as psychic Oda Mae Brown in Ghost, Whoopi dominated Hollywood in the 1990s, even enjoying a brief time as the highest paid actress in the industry. Following the success of Ghost, Whoopi scored several times throughout the decade with powerhouse dramatic roles as Odessa Carter in The Long Walk Home, Mary Masembuko in Sarafina,Corrina Washington in Corrina, Corrina and her depiction of Myrlie Evers in 1996's Ghosts of Mississippi for which she was nominated for an NAACP Image Award. In the midst of creating such meaningful and powerful dramas on screen, she also starred in some amazing comedies including, Soap Dish and the box-office-busting megahits Sister Act and Sister Act II: Back in the Habit, two of the highest grossing films of the decade. Whoopi finished out the decade with another notable performance as the best friend in the film adaptation of Terri MacMillan's How Stella Got Her Groove Back. Over the years, Whoopi has far exceeded every measure of success in the entertainment industry, proving herself not only in Hollywood, but on Broadway and in other venues as well. Whoopi Goldberg is one of the most successful entertainers in the world, having earned the rare distinction of winning the EGOT (meaning every major entertainment award in every category-Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony)-something that has been accomplished by only a handful of entertainers throughout history.

2. Angela Bassett


Angela Bassett is one of the most talented actresses to ever appear on film. This Yale graduate made a name for herself in the movie industry nabbing role after juicy role portraying images of strong, powerful Black women on screen. Beginning with her first notable role as the concerned mother, Reva Devereaux in John Singleton'sBoyz in the Hood, she engraved her name into cinema history with her portrayal of Civil Rights icon Betty Shabazz in Spike Lee's Malcolm X and scored an Oscar nomination for her depiction of Tina Turner in 1993's What's Love Got to Do With It. Bassett further entrenched her name into cultural memory of the decade with her crafting of the character Bernadine in 1995's Waiting to Exhale and her performance as Stella in 1998's How Stella Got Her Groove Back, both major vehicle's depicting the lives of Black women. Throughout her career, Angela Bassett has portrayed several significant Black women in American history on screen including Betty Shabazz, Tina Turner, Katherine Jackson, and Rosa Parks.

3. Robin Givens


Robin Givens' career thrived in the late 80s and early 90s, suffering a major decline after her divorce from Mike Tyson and seeing a major come back in 2008 with her appearance in Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys. In the early 90s, however, Robin Givens' was the star to watch, as her stardom headed straight to the top of the industry, placing her above almost every other Black actress in the business. Two roles, her appearance as Imabelle in A Rage in Harlem and her performance as Jacqueline Broyer in Boomerang placed her at the top of the heap as far as Black actresses are concerned. Her portrayal of the savvy, competitive and emotionally detached go-getter opposite Eddie Murphy's playboy who got played in Boomerang was permanently etched into public memory. With that one role, she dominated early 1990s Hollywood and held rank as far as Black actresses are concerned.

4. Lela Rochon


Sweet and sultry are the words that define the image that Lela Rochon created for herself on film throughout the 1990s. Schmoozing off from her role as the sultry Sunshine in 1989's Harlem Nights, she splashed into the 1990s with a memorable cameo role in 1992's Boomerang as the naive dog lover with bad feet, Christie. Rochon followed that up with the role that cemented her reputation as an actress and etched her into the cultural pathos, the high-powered executive with man problems, Robin Stokes in 1995's commentary on Black women's lives, Waiting to Exhale. She finished off the decade with a major role in Mr. and Mrs. Loving, the screen adaptation of the love story between the interracial couple responsible for ending miscegenation laws in the United States and with another notable role as the wife of Frankie Lymon in Why Do Fools Fall in Love.

5. Halle Berry


The illustrious Halle Berry has been a marvel on screen ever since her first notable role as the crackhead Vivian in Spike Lee's Jungle Fever. Throughout the 90s, Halle built momentum in her career, starting with her praiseworthy performance as Angela in Boomerang and building on that as she gained laurels for her performances in Alex Haley's Queen, The Flinstones,B*A*P*S,Bulworth,and Why Do Fools Fall In Love. Her acting career in the 1990s culminated in her winning the Emmy Award for the HBO film Introducing Dorothy Dandridge, the story of Dorothy Dandridge,who was the first Black actress to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. Halle Berry has proven herself to be one of the most formidable and most bankable actresses in the business. One of the highest paid stars in the world, she is the first Black actress to win the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture.

6. Vivica Fox


For a time, no one was hotter in the world of Black Hollywood than Vivica A. Fox. She was Foxy Brown and a bit more. Playing Will Smith's leading lady in his 1996 blockbuster hit,Independence Day,Vivica sprang onto the Hollywood scene grasping major role after major role in Set it Off,Booty Call,Batman and Robin, the epic Soul Food, and Why Do Fools Fall in Love. After the late 90s, her career fell into a major slump, but picked up briefly with 2001's Two Can Play that Game and 2003's Kill Bill: Vol.1.

7. Vanessa Williams


Vanessa Williams is one of the most versatile and successful people in the entertainment industry. Williams began her career by winning the Miss America pageant and being crowned as Miss America for 1984, holding the distinction as the first African American to hold the title. From that vantage point, Williams set off on a successful music and film career, scoring several major hits in the 1980s and 1990s and keeping momentum in her career up to the present day. Two roles defined her career as one of the most successful actresses of the 1990s, her performance as Francine Hughes in 1997's Hoodlum and her noteworthy performance as Teri in the Black epic, Soul Food.

8. Whitney Houston


Whitney Houston carved out for herself a solid film career in the 1990s appearing opposite some of the most popular leading men of the decade including Kevin Kostner in 1992's blockbuster hit The BodyGuard and Denzel Washington in 1996's The Preacher's Wife. All three of her films that decade were popular and have become classics. Had she chosen, she could have matched the success of her music career with her career in film. As it stands, she has still made an indelible mark on cinema and earned her place as one of the top actresses of the 1990s.

9. Lonette McKee


Lonette McKee came into the 1990s with an already solid career built off of two decades of compelling performances such as 1976's Sparkle, 1984's The Cotton Club, and 1989's Oprah vehicle and miniseries The Women of Brewster Place. McKee laid her claim to 1990s cinematic history in two roles,as the avenging wife, Drew in 1991's Spike Lee classic, Jungle Fever and as Louise Little, the mother of Malcolm X, in Spike Lee's epic film, Malcolm X.

10. Lynn Whitfield


Building on a solid career established in the 1980s, Lynn Whitfield emblazoned her image into cinema history with her praiseworthy, Emmy-winning performance as Josephine Baker in the 1991 HBO biopic The Josephine Baker Story, based on the life of Josephine Baker. Whitfield scored again twice in the 1990s with her portrayal of Roz Batiste, the troubled wife and mother in 1997's Eve's Bayou and as the wealthy,scorned wife and mother in 1998's The Wedding opposite Halle Berry.

Honorable Mentions:
Loretta Devine
Janet Jackson
Alfre Woodard

The 1980s

Happy Birthday Barbra!!

Best Black Film Actresses of the 2000s

This post begins a series of posts where I will showcase my selections of the top ten Black Actresses in American cinema for every decade since the 1930s. In coming up with this list, I have had several revelations about Hollywood and its history with Black women, especially those Black women who sought to become actresses in the film industry. This list considers for these best of lists those actresses who constantly capture the big roles and deliver incredible performances on the big screen. Where these qualities get to be somewhat impractical as qualifiers, namely in the decades preceding the 1970s, those actresses whose images are most prominent in the public eye are considered. And so without further ado, this list will begin with the most recent decades and move backwards, listing actresses in no particular rank or order....


1. Queen Latifah


This Oscar nominated actresses has proven her mettle over the past two decades and has emerged as one of the most sought after Black actresses in the film industry. With her acclaimed, Oscar nominated performance as Big Mama Thornton in Chicago and scoring major hits with such films as Beauty Shop, Last Holiday, Hairspray, and The Secret Life of Bees Queen Latifah has dominated the Hollywood scene and proven herself to be one of the greatest actresses of her generation.

2. Halle Berry



Halle Berry is truly one of the most talented actors in the world. From her striking first appearance on the big screen as the crackhead Vivian in Spike Lee's Jungle Fever to a string of notable roles and powerful performances throughout the nineties, Halle Berry has grabbed her privileged position in the new millenium by nabbing the Oscar for Best Actress in 2001 for her performance in Monster's Ball and earning herself the distinction of being the first Black actress to win that distinguished award.

3. Kerry Washington



Kerry Washington is perhaps the best actress, in terms of sheer talent, in Hollywood today. Delivering incredible, Oscar-worthy performances in such films as Ray, The Last King of Scotland, and For Colored Girls, Kerry Washington has earned her spot as one of Hollywood's most bankable leading actresses. An Oscar is most certainly somewhere in her future.

4. Kimberley Elise



Establishing herself in the 90's with memorable performances in Set it Off and Oprah Winfrey's Beloved, Kimberley Elise soared in the 2000s delivering powerful performances in Diary of a Mad Black Woman, The Great Debaters, and For Colored Girls. Elise delivers a sweet vulnerability to the screen that adds a complex flavor to every role she brings to the screen.

5. Regina King



The little girl from 227 is all grown up and has made her way to the Hollywood A-list, pegging her stake into such franchises as the Legally Blonde series and the Miss Congeniality films. Her Oscar-worthy performance as Margie Hendricks in 2004's Ray alone stands to make her one of the best Black actresses of the new millenium.

6. Jada Pinkett Smith



The other half of one of Hollywood's royal couples, Jada holds her own crown as one of the most talented Black actresses in the business. Her most powerful performance to date has been as gun wielding defender of integrity, Sloan Hopkins in Spike Lee's hit film Bamboozled. She has also gotten her share of some major franchises, including prominent roles in The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions. Jada also delivered a powerful performance in 2001's Ali as Sonja Roji.

7. Jennifer Hudson



Jennifer Hudson is by far the most versatile and talented actress in Hollywood today. With her meteoric rise to fame in 2006's smash hit Dreamgirls and her subsequent Oscar win for her performance as Effie White, Jennifer's track record is comparable to that of Barbra Streisand in terms of her versatility and her staying power. She has maintained momentum in her rise to the top with an appearance in 2008's smash hit, Sex and the City and a noteworthy performance in The Secret Life of Bees. She is scheduled to play Winnie Mandela in the upcoming biopic Winnie.

8. Thandie Newton



Thandie Newton's is a quiet, yet powerful force to be reckoned with on the Hollywood scene. From her first tantalizing appearances on screen as Sally Hemings in 1995's Jefferson in Paris and her role as the title character in Oprah Winfrey's Beloved, Newton's career has blossomed into one of the most promising careers in the industry. Her performance as Christine Thayer in 2004's Crash was both unforgettable and Oscar-worthy.

9. Taraji P. Henson




Taraji has solidified her reputation as a serious dramatic actress and one of the most bankable stars in Hollywood. Scoring an Oscar nod with her performance as Queenie in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, she has also made an impact with such films as Not Easily Broken, Talk To Me, Hustle and Flow, and The Family that Preys.

10. Monique



Who would ever have thought that the incredibly funny and outrageous comedienne from all of those B grade movies in the 1990s and early 2000s would not only blossom into a full-fledged actress, but also go on to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Mary in Lee Daniel's 2009 hit Precious? Monique has amazed us all with the depth of her acting ability and leaves us wanting for more from her incredible talent. She is scheduled to play Hattie MacDaniel in the upcoming biopic about the life of that famed actress who was the first Black person to win an Academy Award.

Honorable Mentions:
Alicia Keys
Keshia Knight-Pullman

The 1990s

Does Anyone Remember from the Wendy Williams Show?

When some fine ass boy hit on Wendy. She went up to him with the microphone and he said, "I think I can handle you, Wendy." And She had to remember who she was and where she was and that she was married, then she came back with "I don't think so!" and walked away! Ha!

The Underlying Argument: Tavis

Me Discussing Privatization

The 1980s, Pt. II

Mornings in Harvey
My mother headed to work
bright and early leaving
me and my sister to
get ready for school
my sister with a curling iron
in her hair listening to toni toni tone
and Atlantic Starr and me watching television
and listening to the radio before we head out
Nikki with Toni walking to school
on their own,independent,
so they can sneak boys back to the house after school
and me and Patricia waiting for Mrs. Cobbins to take us to school
Patricia stuffing her purple bag and watching Rainbow Brite
as I wander aimlessly around their kitchen
breaking the handle off of the kitchen drawer
because I didn't know that it served no kind of purpose,
just stuck there,glued to the counter
for some kind of decoration.
Throwing that handle under the sink and
heading to the television because they
didn't have to know I had been in there anyway
so I just plop down in front of the tv
and wait for Mrs. Cobbins to once again ask me
if I want some McDonalds so I can politely refuse
because that is what I'm supposed to do
even though I would like some of those
hotcakes with syrup that Patricia will gobble down
before we even turn the corner.
Out of the car and into the school
where Patricia will cease to know who I am
and I will once again be thrust
into the middle of contained chaos.

RIP Manning Marable

Here is a link to the announcement on the New York Times Blog.

Free Troy Davis. Send him to Cuba if nothing else.

Remember Triangle

New Video from USSF. June 2010

Don't Be A Drag, Just Be a Queen...
I love the creativity...the inventiveness...and the worship of the feminine...the universal...the god of humanity that is in this video....Lady Gaga is beyond incredible...

Workers of the World, Awaken!

Written while Joe Hill was in prison, this song speaks to workers on an international level.

Lyrics:

Workers of the world, awaken!
Break your chains, demand your rights.
All the wealth you make is taken
B y exploiting parasites.
Shall you kneel in deep submission
F rom your cradles to your graves?
Is the height of your ambition
To be good and willing slaves?

Arise, ye prisoners of starvation!
Fight for your own emancipation;
Arise, ye slaves of ev'ry nation, in One Union Grand.
Our little ones for bread are crying;
And millions are from hunger dying;
The end the means is justifying,
'Tis the final stand.

If the workers take a notion,
They can stop all speeding trains;
Every ship upon the ocean
They can tie with mighty chains;
Every wheel in the creation,
Every mine and every mill,
Fleets and armies of the nation,
Will at their command stand still.

-Chorus-

Join the union, fellow workers,
Men and women, side by side;
We will crush the greedy shirkers
Like a sweeping, surging tide;
For united we are standing,
But divided we will fall;
Let this be our understanding-
"All for one and one for all."

-Chorus-

Workers of the world, awaken!
Rise in all your splendid might;
Take the wealth that you are making --
It belongs to you by right.
No one for bread will be crying,
We'll have freedom, love and health,
When the grand red flag is flying
In the Worker's commonwealth.

-Chorus-

Do Read These Important Posts from Corey@Ill Keep You Posted on the rigors of Colonialism in Africa

Part I

Part II

There's A New Day Comin'

Interview with Don Siegelman

Legalized gambling has been a hot button issue in Alabama politics for decades. Many advocates have argued that the revenue from these endeavors could be put to use to fund educational opportunities for the children of the state of Alabama. There efforts have been fought at every step of the way by religious groups as well as vested political and economic interests from surrounding states who depend on the revenue brought in from Alabamians who choose to gamble in their state. The political maneuvering around this issue is filled with intrigue with power plays brought about not only by factions seeking to keep gaming out of Alabama, but also by those who wish to control the politics of this state.

In ironic twists, pro-gaming advocates and elected officials have been targeted twice in this state for federal indictments on corruption charges. In 2004, Don Siegelman was indicted and later convicted on corruption charges tied to his advocacy for legalized gaming in Alabama. In 2010, eleven indictments were brought against elected officials and other pro-gaming interests in the state. The two cases are eerily similar and both brought a resounding close to efforts towards legalizing gambling in the state of Alabama. I recently contacted former Governor Don Siegelman and asked if I could interview him about legalized gaming, his own prosecution , and the current indictments surrounding legalized gaming in Alabama. This is what transpired.


1. With regards to political maneuvering, especially around the issue of legalized gambling in Alabama and the opposition to it, what do you think is going on in this state?

There is an orchestrated effort to shut down gaming in the state of Alabama to protect the economic interests of the Indian casino owners in Mississippi and the casino owners in Louisiana.


2. Who is involved with this political maneuvering, particularly in driving the criminalization of pro-gaming advocates and lobbyists?

Jack Abramoff, Mike Scanlon, Grover Norquist, Ralph Reed, Karl Rove, and the gaming industries in Mississippi and Louisiana. Senator John McCain outlined their involvement on the floor of the senate when he exposed the “Give Me Five” emails exchanged between Mike Scanlon and Jack Abramoff.

3. The GOP now has control of every branch of state government in Alabama. Has the entire political system in Alabama been co-opted by the conservative right? What do you make of this?


Alabama has some difficult days ahead. Like all pendulums, I believe this one will swing again-and Democrats will be electable, particularly as issues of education and economic and social welfare arise in this state.

4. Was there some kind of grand strategy at play in Alabama politics in terms of taking power in the state and going after pro-gaming advocates?

It is a confluence of economic and political operatives. Karl Rove’s stated goal was to control politics in America for the next fifty years. It was Rove and the Mississippi and Louisiana casinos who funneled the money into Alabama in an effort to defeat me in 1999. Both he and former special assistant to George H. W. Bush, Billy Canary are married to women from Alabama. He and Rove ran George H.W. Bush’s presidential campaign in 1992. Bill Canary ran Bob Riley’s campaign for governor in 2002. Canary and Rove also previously tried to take over the Alabama Supreme Court. It was Canary’s wife, Leura Canary who served as prosecutor in my corruption trial.

5. Do you see connections between your prosecution and the 11 indictments handed down last year against public officials and others advocating for legalized gambling in Alabama?

The same people that were involved in indicting me are now involved in the current indictments targeting Alabama Democrats and other pro-gaming advocates.

6. Do you believe Bob Riley had any part in any of this?

No. Riley was not apart of any of this. He was selected because he would play along with the interests of outside casino money from Mississippi and Louisiana.

7. What issues do you feel need to be highlighted with regard to these indictments? Where should people be looking for the hands of extralegal and political influences in these indictments?


The question needs to be asked why an investigation wasn’t brought about looking at the corruption amongst those who opposed me and my efforts to bring the lottery into Alabama in order to provide a free education to all students in Alabama.

8. My observations of the state of Alabama are that a very small, wealthy minority exists at the top in a state that in many ways resembles a third world country. Education, civic engagement, and economic growth are all impeded for the sake of maintaining the social and political order that exists here in this state. Would you agree with this assessment?

It’s not that sinister. Although, the establishment in this state does not care to spend money to educate the poor.


9. Thanks for agreeing to this interview.

MUBARAK LEAVE NOW!!!!

RIP My Grandmother, Thelma Deramus Waller 1921-2011

Blessings on the Egyptian Revolution and all of the revolutions taking place worldwide!

Interview with David McReynolds

David McReynolds has been one of the leading voices in progressive politics since the 1950s. He has been affiliated with the War Resister's League, the Peace and Freedom Party, and the Socialist Party of America. In his lifetime, David has run for president twice, once in 1980 and again in 2000. He has twice placed bids for the U.S. House of Representatives, once in 1958 and again in 1968. In 2004, he ran against Chuck Schumer to represent New York in the U.S. Senate. I met David through our mutual affiliation with Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism (CCDS). Recently, I asked David if I could interview him for JuliusSpeaks. This is what transpired.

1. How long have you been active in Socialist organizations?

I've been active in the Socialist movement since I joined the Socialist Party in 1951 in Los Angeles.

2. Where are you from?

I was born in Los Angeles in 1929 and lived there until leaving for NYC in 1956.

3. What is your social and ethnic background?

My ethnic background is Scottish, English, Welsh, Dutch, French, German. The class is middle middle.

4. What would you say most influenced your political ideology?

Hard to say what "most" influenced my political ideology. Certainly reading The Autobiography of Lincoln Steffans while in High School played an important role. Also the influence of friends at UCLA, and hearing Bayard Rustin speak in 1949.

5. What was Liberation Magazine?

Liberation magazine, founded in 1956, was a monthly publication committed to a radical nonviolent viewpoint. I served, from 1957 to 1960, as the editoral secretary (which really meant the guy who bundled the magazine for the post office, handled the mail, etc.)


6. How did you become involved with the War Resister’s League?

I became involved with WRL before leaving California, as I moved toward a CO position in relation to the draft.

7. When did you become involved with the Peace and Freedom Party?

My only involvement with the Peace and Freedom Party was as their candidate for Congress in 1968 here in New York City.

8. What is your political philosophy?

My political philosophy is democratic socialist, with libertarian leanings, and of course with a pacifist underpinning.

9. What compelled you to run for president on the two occasions that you posed a bid?

Nothing compelled me to run for office, but Maggie Phair encouraged my bid in 1980. I was, in 2000, more genuinely drafted (but happy to accept).

10. What was the platform you ran on in 2004 against Chuck Schumer in the New York Senate race?

The main platform in 2004 in New York was the Iraq War - plus the general Green Party platform.

11. What was your association with Bayard Rustin?

My association with Bayard was his impact on my from 1949 on. He was my boss at WRL from 1960 until he left in his "turn to the right" in 1965.

12. You were the first openly gay man to run for president. You also wrote one of the first exposes on life as a gay man in 1969. What was it like to be one of the lone openly gay public voices before Stonewall?

I did not become an "open gay" until the article in WIN magazine in 1969 - though I had not, with friends and associates, made any secret of my life. And my piece in WIN came just after Stonewall - not before. If the question is what was it like to struggle with "gay identity" that is complex. There was a combination of guilt, confusion, etc. and one must realize that when I "came out" in 1949, and admitted to myself that I was homosexual, that was a period when the whole gay community was - without exception - "underground".

13. Bayard Rustin was both political and openly gay in the 1950s. Do you see your life as parallel to his in any way?

Bayard's life and mine are not parallel. He was not, by the way, "openly gay" in the 1950's, despite his arrest in 1953. Everyone in the movement knew Bayard was homosexual but he himself never made any public statement about it (of course, given his morals charge arrest in 1953 he hardly needed to make a public statement!). His
first response on reading my piece in WIN magazine was to call Ralph DiGia and urge I be fired. I did NOT take offense at that, and understood it very well - Bayard was one generation earlier than me. Later in his life he was open about his homosexuality.


14. Did you know James Baldwin?

I met James Baldwin once when I got him out of the Community Church after a talk he had given for WRL there. I got his cab and went down to the Village with him to Folk City. That doesn't constitute knowing him. His writings are very important.


15. It has been said that you were in a long term relationship with the choreographer Alvin Ailey. What was the nature of your relationship with Ailey?

I did NOT have a long term relationship with Alvin and as noted earlier I've got to write this up before I die and Alvin's own life history gets in any way confused with mine. We were friends from May of 1949 on. But I saw him rarely after he came to New York. I had seen him often in Los Angeles, visited him in San Francisco and in New York, and saw him in London when he was there and we met by accident on the Underground.

16. What are your thoughts on the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell?

I think the repeal of DADT is a very good thing but the more important thing is getting rid of the economic draft which forces youth into the military.

17. How would you grade President Obama on the job he is doing? How would you advise him?

I think Obama has been somewhat of a disappointment but I think he was always part of the establishment- he'd never have gotten the nomination otherwise. He has accomplished more than those of us on the left realize, but he has not met the challenge of the economic crisis and his foreign policy, while better than Bush
(marginally better), is basically very much the same. One has to judge Obama in the context of how he has been "bounded in" by the right wing of the Democratic Party and the fierce (and incredible) attacks on him from the Republicans, driven by racism. Aside from advising him to be tougher with Israel and getting out of Afghanistan, I am not in the business of advising him but of shifting public opinion so that whoever is President has new pressures to face.

18. What do you say is the most pressing issue for progressives and activists today?

There are so many pressing issues. I don't even begin to know what should be done to get the economy moving. I don't think socialists have quick answers to this. Certainly the military - its budget, its role in the culture- is a major (really very major) problem, but so is the environment, and so is the problem of how to get the US to adjust to the fact our role is "sliding downward" in the world.


Thanks, David!

Revisionist Tea Party in Tennessee

A coalition of Tennessee Tea Party groups has formulated a list of "demands" focused on the state's educational curriculum and political agenda that they want the state's legislature to heed this session.



As far as their educational concerns, the panel writes that they want to "compel the teaching of students in Tennessee the truth regarding the history of our nation and the nature of its government," a failure that they claimed had been brought about by "neglect and outright ill will," The Memphis Commercial Appeal reports.


Hal Rounds, spokesman for the group, recently claimed at news conference that there was "an awful lot of made-up criticism about, for instance, the Founders intruding on the Indians or having slaves or being hypocrites in one way or another."
As a result, the Tea Party organizations argue, there should be "no portrayal of minority experience in the history which actually occurred shall obscure the experience or contributions of the Founding Fathers, or the majority of citizens, including those who reached positions of leadership."


"The thing we need to focus on about the Founders is that, given the social structure of their time, they were revolutionaries who brought liberty into a world where it hadn't existed, to everybody -- not all equally instantly -- and it was their progress that we need to look at," Rounds explained of his interpretation of the legacy of the Founding Fathers.


The issue of revising curriculums to teach history in a manner that encourages the glossing over of the uglier factors of the past has popped up in other states over the past year.
In Texas, an ultra-conservative faction of the Texas State Board of Education succeeded in pushing through a drastic overhaul of the state's textbooks and educational agenda. Among those proposals was an effort to replace instances of the "slave trade" with "Atlantic triangular trade."


In Texas, an ultra-conservative faction of the Texas State Board of Education succeeded in pushing through a drastic overhaul of the state's textbooks and educational agenda. Among those proposals was an effort to replace instances of the "slave trade" with "Atlantic triangular trade."


Story continues below
In Tennessee, Tea Party groups have also waded into the ongoing debate over health care reform, attempting to make efforts to repeal the measure a matter of state policy. The Commercial Appeal reports that members of conservative movement call the measure "an insult to Constitutional principles."






http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/13/tennessee-tea-party-demands_n_808508.html

Interview with Cheryl Kilodavis, Author of My Princess Boy

One of the fresh, new voices leading the call for acceptance and tolerance is that of Cheryl Kilodavis,author of the children's book, My Princess Boy. Discovering that her son liked to wear girl's clothing and expressed himself in ways that fell outside of the social norm, Cheryl and her family chose to embrace their son's difference. Cheryl wrote, My Princess Boy as a way to teach tolerance and to spread the message that being different is O.K. Recently, I contacted Mrs. Kilodavis and expressed my interest in interviewing her for JuliusSpeaks. The following is what transpired.


1. As a multicultural family, your family encounters several different cultural attitudes and dogmas on a regular basis. How has your son’s choices and your family’s choice to embrace him been accepted in the various communities in which you interact?

It’s been a mixed bag, but 95% have been supportive. I’d say 3% have respectfully disagreed with our decision but also admit that we put loving our child first. The other 2% have personally addressed us with negativity, which we ignore because it’s not constructive conversation. Not surprisingly, the toughest audience has been the African American community, in large part because of religious and cultural norms. Having close extended family in the south, we knew this would happen when we decided to go public and publish the book. What is refreshing is many men in the African American community are sticking up for love and acceptance, regardless of disagreeing or agreeing with our parenting choice. Dean and I have led African American groups and diversity committees since college so we understand the discomfort. The hope is that the constructive conversations continue so all children who feel different, are different, or choose to be different are accepted for who they are.

2. We’ve recently seen H&M, the fashion brand, come out with a new line of skirts for men. Gender conformity codes are constantly being broken down in society. Despite this, most gender codes remain strongly in place. What do you make of the pace at which these codes are being challenged and torn down? How would you advise others to work towards eradicating these cultural dogmas?

As a family, we use children’s books to help our kids learn about many things – how to share, how to live in a different country, how to cross the street. To my surprise, there weren’t any books about little boys dressing up, so I created one. Girls dressing in traditional boy clothes are much more accepted than little boys dressing as girls. I feel the pace is slow to change on that front. But books like My Princess Boy and the fantastic first step by H&M helps people like my son Dyson to feel that it is ok to go with what feels natural.

3. Do you agree with the concept that there are more than two genders, that the definition of gender should be expanded to include transgender and other forms of gender identification?

I really don’t have enough knowledge to say; I am learning more every minute. However, I do agree with what the psychologist Dr. Vilhauer said on our first TV appearance in Seattle on New Day Northwest with Margaret Larsen – “there is more than one way to be a boy and more than one way to be a girl.”

4. Has your son begun to develop a gender identity?

Dyson is happy being a boy. He actually coined the term Princess Boy when I told him boys were not princesses. In response he told me, “I am a Princess Boy!” Early on we went to doctors because we wanted to know that Dyson was happy within himself. The verdict – we have a healthy and happy little boy. He just loves to dress up and all things pink and sparkly.

5. How old is your son?

Dyson is 5 now.

6. Self-expression is often lauded in this society. However, this society is weighted down by hegemonic and patriarchal dogmas that condition people to conform. How would you propose that we as individuals and as a society break away from hegemony and patriarchy in order to live more fully and freely?

This is a tough one. I do believe dialogue changes suppressed societal norms so conversations are crucial in the transformation of accepting self-expression. However, I am not sure there is one way. At the basic level, when I see something different, I ask myself two questions to use as barometers to my decisions: 1) Why is this bothering me? To answer where is this discomfort coming from? and 2) Is it harming anyone? The first question is a deep dive and when the second answer is no, it allows you to move forward. I also think we need practice on how to be compassionate parents. Learning from children’s choices does not mean we lose our position as strict parents, it means we are accepting the unique person within our children and showing them that their own internal radars are something they can trust. Again, if it’s not harming anyone we should accept and move on.

7. You wrote this book as a means of showing love and support to your son and to teach others the value of acceptance. Has this book helped your son develop as a person?

My Princess Boy has helped our entire family develop as individuals. The story is much more than a boy in a dress. It’s a story of hope, and of the simple need to be liked, accepted – to be friends. Before I self published, I used the book as a tool to help other adults who spent time with my child -- teachers, educators, camp counselors -- so they would accept him and not crush his spirit. Both of my sons carry the book around and used it as a tool for their friends to read, which then extends on to their parents. It really is a story about accepting differences, learning how exclusion hurts, and teaching children how to prevent bullying before it starts.

8. What advice would you give to other children dealing with issues of gender and sexual identity?

I am not a specialist qualified to answer this question -- I am just a mother trying to make the world a kinder place for my child. But I will say that every family is different. Talk to a doctor or someone you trust to point you in a direction for advice and support.

9. What advice would you give to parents dealing with issues similar to yours?

Again, it’s hard to give advice when all parents, children, families are different. But again, talk to a doctor of specialist -- and please know, you are not alone.

10. What does your son dream about? What does he want to be when he grows up?

Dyson has many answers. I just asked Dyson right now and here’s what he told me (as of today)
What do you dream about?
“I dream that the world will let Princess Boys dress up and that I will have friends in the whole world”.
What do you want to be?
“I want to be a Princess Boy model, a gymnast, an artist and a dancer and a Princess Boy who wears dresses when I want to.”

Thanks for agreeing to this interview.

ROSES AND RAINBOWS
(Carole Bayer Sager / Marvin Hamlisch)
Julie Budd


So here I am, alone again.
Not at all like I thought that it would be,
Guess I lost my way,
Seems like yesterday,
Somebody promised me the sunshine,
Somebody promised me the moon,
Somebody told me there'd be roses and rainbows,
I only hope they'll get here soon.
Seems I've been waiting here forever,
Thinking that love would come for free,
Someone's still waiting for those roses and rainbows,
I hope that someone won't be me.
So let go now, you're on your own,
It's okay to be lonely now and then,
Open up your eyes, You are much too wise,
If someone promises you sunshine....
YOU BETTER KNOW THERE'LL STILL BE RAIN!
If someone says he'll bring you roses and rainbows,
You'd better take a look again.
You'd better find out who you are girl,
Before you run to someone else,
instead of waiting for those roses and rainbows,
You'd better give them to yourself.
Somebody promised me the sunshine,
Somebody promised me the moon,
Somebody told me there'd be roses and rainbows,
And now I know they're coming soon!
And now I'm ready for the sunshine,
And I'm as happy as can be,
And all my days are filled with roses and rainbows,
My life belongs to me!
My life belongs, To me!

FBI Subpoenas Four More Anti-War Activists in Chicago

The FBI came unannounced to knock on doors at two apartments in Chicago this morning. FBI agent Robert Parker, under orders from U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald’s office, delivered a subpoena to Maureen Murphy. Murphy, like several other individuals served subpoenas, is an organizer with the Palestine Solidarity Group-Chicago.

This continues the repression unleashed by Fitzgerald on the anti-war movement since September 24th, when fourteen subpoenas were delivered to anti-war, labor, and solidarity activists in coordinated raids involving more than 70 federal agents. Armed FBI agents raided homes, taking computers, phones, passports, documents, notebooks, and even children’s artwork. A total of 23 subpoenas have been served to activists around the country.

Maureen Murphy said, “Along with several others, I am being summoned to appear before the Grand Jury on Tuesday, January 25th, in the Dirksen Federal Building in Chicago. We are being targeted for the work we do to end U.S. funding of the Israeli occupation, ending the war in Afghanistan and ending the occupation of Iraq. What is at stake for all of us is our right to dissent and organize to change harmful US foreign policy." Ms. Murphy is also the Managing Editor of the widely-read website, The Electronic Intifada.

In addition, three women in Minneapolis - Tracy Molm, Anh Pham, and Sara Martin - are threatened with reactivated subpoenas by Fitzgerald’s office and new Grand Jury dates. Tom Burke of the Committee to Stop FBI Repression explained, “It is likely the three individuals, like all the others so far, will continue to refuse to take part in Fitzgerald’s witch hunt. Fitzgerald can then call for putting them in jail as long as he wants.”

For more information: www.stopfbi.net

Contact: Tom Burke, Committee to Stop FBI Repression, 773-844-3612

_______________________________________________
CCDS Members mailing list

CCDS website: http://www.cc-ds.org

CCDS welcomes and encourages the full participation of our members in
this list serve. It is intended for discussion of issues of concern to
our organization and its members, for building our community, for
respectfully expressing our different points of view, all in keeping
with our commitment to building a democratic and socialist society. To
those ends, free and honest discussion of issues and ideas is
encouraged. However, personal attacks on named individuals, carrying on
old vendettas, excessive posts and, especially, statements that are
racist, sexist, homophobic, anti-semitic and/or anti-working class are not
appropriate.

Repeated failure to respect those principles of discussion
may result in exclusion from the list.
Please respect each other and our organization.

Any member of the list who objects to a posting on the list or the
behavior of a particular member should send email describing his or her
concerns to members-owner@lists.mayfirst.org

I Stand In Total Solidarity With The Georgia Prisoners Now On Strike

An Open Letter to the Left Establishment

This letter is a call for active support of protest to Michael Moore, Norman Solomon, Katrina van den Heuvel, Michael Eric Dyson, Barbara Ehrenreich, Thomas Frank, Tom Hayden, Bill Fletcher Jr., Jesse Jackson Jr., and other high profile progressive supporters of the Obama electoral campaign.

With the Obama administration beginning its third year, it is by now painfully obvious that the predictions of even the most sober Obama supporters were overly optimistic. Rather than an ally, the administration has shown itself to be an implacable enemy of reform.

It has advanced repeated assaults on the New Deal safety net (including the previously sacrosanct Social Security trust fund), jettisoned any hope for substantive health care reform, attacked civil rights and environmental protections, and expanded a massive bailout further enriching an already bloated financial services and insurance industry. It has continued the occupation of Iraq and expanded the war in Afghanistan as well as our government’s covert and overt wars in South Asia and around the globe.

Along the way, the Obama administration, which referred to its left detractors as “f***ing retarded” individuals that required “drug testing,” stepped up the prosecution of federal war crime whistleblowers, and unleashed the FBI on those protesting the escalation of an insane war.

Obama’s recent announcement of a federal worker pay freeze is cynical, mean-spirited “deficit-reduction theater”. Slashing Bush’s plutocratic tax cuts would have made a much more significant contribution to deficit reduction but all signs are that the “progressive” president will cave to Republican demands for the preservation of George W. Bush’s tax breaks for the wealthy Few. Instead Obama’s tax cut plan would raise taxes for the poorest people in our country.

The election of Obama has not galvanized protest movements. To the contrary, it has depressed and undermined them, with the White House playing an active role in the discouragement and suppression of dissent – with disastrous consequences. The almost complete absence of protest from the left has emboldened the most right-wing elements inside and outside of the Obama administration to pursue and act on an ever more extreme agenda.

We are writing to you because you are well-known writers, bloggers and filmmakers with access to a range of old and new media, and you have in your power the capacity to help reignite the movement which brought millions onto the streets in February of 2003 but which has withered ever since. There are many thousands of progressives who follow your work closely and are waiting for a cue from you and others to act. We are asking you to commit yourself to actively supporting the protests of Obama administration policies which are now beginning to materialize.

In this connection we would like to mention a specific protest: the civil disobedience action being planned by Veterans for Peace involving Chris Hedges, Daniel Ellsberg, Joel Kovel, Medea Benjamin, Ray McGovern, several armed service veterans and others to take place in front of the White House on Dec. 16th.

Should you commit yourselves to backing this action and others sure to materialize in weeks and months ahead, what would otherwise be regarded as an emotional outburst of the “fringe left” will have a better chance of being seen as expressing the will of a substantial majority not only of the left, but of the American public at large. We believe that your support will help create the climate for larger and increasingly disruptive expressions of dissent – a development that is sorely needed and long overdue.

We hope that we can count on you to exercise the leadership that is required of all of us in these desperate times.

Best Regards,

Sen. James Abourezk
Michael Albert
Rocky Anderson
Jared Ball
Russel Banks
Thomas Bias
Noam Chomsky
Bruce Dixon
Frank Dorrel
Gidon Eshel
Jamilla El-Shafei
Okla Elliott
Norman Finkelstein
Glen Ford
Joshua Frank
Margaret Flowers M.D.
John Gerassi
Henry Giroux
Matt Gonzalez
Kevin Alexander Gray
Judd Greenstein
DeeDee Halleck
John Halle
Chris Hedges
Doug Henwood
Edward S. Herman
Dahr Jamail
Louis Kampf
Allison Kilkenny
Jamie Kilstein
Joel Kovel
Mark Kurlansky
Peter Linebaugh
Scott McLarty
Cynthia McKinney
Dede Miller
Russell Mokhiber
Bobby Muller
Christian Parenti
Michael Perelman
Peter Phillips
Louis Proyect
Ted Rall
Michael Ratner
Cindy Sheehan
Chris Spannos
Paul Street
Sunil Sharma
Jeffrey St. Clair
Len Weinglass
Cornel West
Sherry Wolf
Michael Yates
Mickey Z
Kevin Zeese

Please sign the Open Letter to the Left Establishment.

God Bless the youth of England and God Bless Bernie Sanders....

The military is one of the last bastions of patriarchy...and is exemplary of patriarchy falling apart at the seams.... You have Bradley Manning, a disgruntled, homosexual soldier maligned in the military with DADT and other discriminations and fed up with the acrimony involved in U.S. foreign policy who decided to leak classified information for the world to know....the U.S. military is also loosing in Afghanistan and is stretched and pulled to the max....Oh Rome?...

RIP Elizabeth Edwards

Julius Assange...Angela Davis...Harriet Tubman....

What a Glorious Find!

The Story of Thanksgiving

Most of us associate the holiday with happy Pilgrims and Indians sitting down to a big feast. And that did happen - once.

The story began in 1614 when a band of English explorers sailed home to England with a ship full of Patuxet Indians bound for slavery. They left behind smallpox which virtually wiped out those who had escaped. By the time the Pilgrims arrived in Massachusetts Bay they found only one living Patuxet Indian, a man named Squanto who had survived slavery in England and knew their language. He taught them to grow corn and to fish, and negotiated a peace treaty between the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Nation. At the end of their first year, the Pilgrims held a great feast honoring Squanto and the Wampanoags.

But as word spread in England about the paradise to be found in the new world, religious zealots called Puritans began arriving by the boat load. Finding no fences around the land, they considered it to be in the public domain. Joined by other British settlers, they seized land, capturing strong young Natives for slaves and killing the rest. But the Pequot Nation had not agreed to the peace treaty Squanto had negotiated and they fought back. The Pequot War was one of the bloodiest Indian wars ever fought.

In 1637 near present day Groton, Connecticut, over 700 men, women and children of the Pequot Tribe had gathered for their annual Green Corn Festival which is our Thanksgiving celebration. In the predawn hours the sleeping Indians were surrounded by English and Dutch mercenaries who ordered them to come outside. Those who came out were shot or clubbed to death while the terrified women and children who huddled inside the longhouse were burned alive. The next day the governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony declared "A Day Of Thanksgiving" because 700 unarmed men, women and children had been murdered.

Cheered by their "victory", the brave colonists and their Indian allies attacked village after village. Women and children over 14 were sold into slavery while the rest were murdered. Boats loaded with a many as 500 slaves regularly left the ports of New England. Bounties were paid for Indian scalps to encourage as many deaths as possible.

Following an especially successful raid against the Pequot in what is now Stamford, Connecticut, the churches announced a second day of "thanksgiving" to celebrate victory over the heathen savages. During the feasting, the hacked off heads of Natives were kicked through the streets like soccer balls. Even the friendly Wampanoag did not escape the madness. Their chief was beheaded, and his head impaled on a pole in Plymouth, Massachusetts -- where it remained on display for 24 years.

The killings became more and more frenzied, with days of thanksgiving feasts being held after each successful massacre. George Washington finally suggested that only one day of Thanksgiving per year be set aside instead of celebrating each and every massacre. Later Abraham Lincoln decreed Thanksgiving Day to be a legal national holiday during the Civil War -- on the same day he ordered troops to march against the starving Sioux in Minnesota.

This story doesn't have quite the same fuzzy feelings associated with it as the one where the Indians and Pilgrims are all sitting down together at the big feast. But we need to learn our true history so it won't ever be repeated. Next Thanksgiving, when you gather with your loved ones to Thank God for all your blessings, think about those people who only wanted to live their lives and raise their families. They, also took time out to say "thank you" to Creator for all their blessings.

Our Thanks to Hill & Holler Column by Susan Bates susanbates@webtv.net

I've seen The Blindside about five times now. I must say I very much like it.

Three cheers for my cousin, Betty Deramus, whose latest book, Freedom By Any Means, was tagged as a finalist for the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award!

Free the Scott Sisters

The tragic case of the Scott sisters
By Monica Moorehead
Published Apr 29, 2010 8:21 PM

Anyone who still believes that the U.S. is the most democratic and just country in the world has only to examine the shocking case of the Scott sisters to be disabused of that erroneous notion. While this case is becoming more and more well-known by word of mouth, mainly on the Internet, the 16-year-old case has never received the national and international media attention that it so richly deserves. The facts of the case will explain the reason why.
Gladys Scott

Gladys Scott

Who are the Scott sisters?

Jamie and Gladys Scott are African-American sisters who lived in the small town of Forest, Miss., when they were arrested on Dec. 24, 1993, on a charge of armed robbery of two Black men. The amount involved in the robbery was $11 and nobody was injured. In October 1994, both sisters were found guilty and received double-life sentences. They are not eligible for parole until they spend at least 20 years in prison.

Their sentence is very reminiscent of the life sentence, without the possibility of parole, given to the martyred Black Panther and Soledad Brothers prisoner, George Jackson, in the early 1960s. Jackson was convicted of stealing $70.
Jamie Scott

Jamie Scott

Three teenagers, who eventually admitted that they had committed the robbery, recanted the false testimony they gave during the Scott sisters’ trial. These teenagers stated before the judge and jury that they were forced by local authorities to implicate the sisters, with the promise of a lenient sentence. Even the robbery victims said that the sisters had nothing to do with the robbery. Neither Jamie nor Gladys had a prior record before this outrageous conviction and life sentence.

At the time of their arrest, conviction and sentencing, Gladys was 19 years old and pregnant with her second child; Jamie was a 22-year-old with three young children. Their children are being raised by Jamie and Gladys’ mother, Elaine Rasco. Despite having to move to Florida due to years of emotional stress, Ms. Rasco remains active in fighting for her daughters’ freedom.

The state and federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, have refused to hear the Scotts’ appeals. Since being in prison, Jamie has developed almost complete kidney failure due to poor diet and inhumane prison medical care. She is receiving irregular dialysis treatments and has gone into shock numerous times. If it were not for the pressure and local attention that community, legal and political activists have put on the prison authorities, Jamie Scott could have easily died.

How to get involved

There is a growing grassroots movement to broaden awareness around the Scott sisters’ case, including a letter-writing campaign demanding that Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder release them. The campaign also includes getting petitions signed and getting press releases sent to local, state and national press on the case.

The Scott sisters’ case has put another human face on the constant racist repression that is woven within the very fabric of U.S. capitalist society. In an Aug. 19 article, Jamie Scott wrote: “The injustices that have occurred are patterns within this county and their police departments. This type of injustice and exploitation has been done to many African Americans who have lived in this county for many years. They have been very successful in destroying many lives.”

Jamie continued: “This is a time we show Americans what really occurs in most small towns in the state of Mississippi. We are convinced that once this chain of events is exposed and unraveled, the events that occurred, the lives that have been destroyed, the pain and suffering the citizens of Scott County have endured; everyone will be utterly amazed, astonished and compelled to assist us in our plight for freedom.”

Go to freethescottsisters.blogspot.com to read Jamie’s entire article, find out more information about the case and get involved.
Articles copyright 1995-2010 Workers World. Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article is permitted in any medium without royalty provided this notice is preserved.

This is Important Information From the Southern Center for Human Rights

Debtors' Prisons

Contrary to what many people may believe, there are debtors' prisons throughout the United States where people are imprisoned because they are too poor to pay fines and fees.



The United States Supreme Court in Bearden v. Georgia, 461 U.S. 660 (1983), held that courts cannot imprison a person for failure to pay a criminal fine unless the failure to pay was “willful.” However, this constitutional commandment is often ignored.



Courts impose substantial fines as punishment for petty crimes as well as more serious ones. Besides the fines, the courts are assessing more and more fees to help meet the costs of the ever-increasing size of the criminal justice system: fees for ankle braclets for monitoring; fees for anger management classes; for drug tests, for crime victims’ funds, for crime laboratories, for court clerks, for legal representation, for various retirement funds, and for private probation companies that do nothing more than collect a check once a month.



People who cannot afford the total amount assessed may be allowed to pay in monthly installments, but in many jurisdictions those payments must be accompanied by fees to a private probation company that collects them. A typical fee is $40 per month. People who lose their jobs or encounter unexpeced family hardships and are unable to maintain payments may be jailed without any inquiry into their ability to pay or the willfulness of their failure to pay.



There are more fees for those in jails or prisons. There are high costs for telephone calls. Fees are charged fees for medical services. A new trend is “room and board” fees in prisons and jails. Ora Lee Hurley spent nearly a year at the Georgia Department of Corrections, Atlanta Diversion Center due to her inability to pay a $705 fine from a 15-year-old drug conviction because she was charged for staying there. A court had ordered Ms. Hurley imprisoned until her fine was paid. While held at the Diversion Center, Ms. Hurley was employed full-time at a restaurant which sent her paycheck directly to the Department of Corrections. Although Ms. Hurley never missed a day of work and earned over $7,000, the Department took nearly every penny of her earnings. Left with only $23 per month to buy food, toiletries, and pay her fine, Ms. Hurley was being confined in perpetuity. She was released only after the Center filed a habeas petition on her behalf. For a copy of the habeas petition, click here. To view the Atlanta Journal Constitution article click here.


The Center Ends Jail Fees for Pre-Trial Detainees

In some cases, jails have even charged people room and board fees for people detained on charges but not convicted of any crime. For seventeen years, the Clinch County Jail in Homerville charged those in its custody a daily room and board fee. Even though Georgia law did not authorize – and in fact prohibited – such charges, the Clinch County Sheriff charged inmates $18 per day. Many people were too poor to pay the fees upon their release. The Sheriff and his deputies required them to sign notes promising to pay the fees in installments, or return to jail. On several occasions, the Sheriff charged people thousands of dollars, failing to return the money even when criminal charges were dismissed. A lawsuit filed by the Center, ultimately settled, required the Sheriff to return the illegal fees. For a copy of the Complaint, click here. For a copy of the Plaintiffs’ Motion for Summary Judgment, click here. For a copy of newspaper articles related to the case, click here. To hear a report by National Public Radio on Clinch County Jails, click here.


The Center ends Debtors' Prison in Gulfport, Mississippi

The Municipal Court in Gulfport, Mississippi was one such court. In an effort to crack down on people who owed misdemeanor fines, the City of Gulfport employed a fine collection task force. The task force trolled through predominately African-American neighborhoods, rounding up
people who had outstanding court fines. After arresting and jailing them, the City of Gulfport processed these people through a court proceeding at which no defense attorney was present or even offered. Many people were jailed for months after hearings lasting just seconds. While the City collected money, it also packed the jail with hundreds of people who couldn’t pay, including people who were sick, physically disabled, and/or limited by mental disabilities. SCHR filed suit to stop these illegal practices. For a copy of the Complaint, Tclick here. For related news coverage, click here.


Other financial distortions

Debtors prisons are but one example of financial incentives that have a distorting effect on the criminal justice system. Criminal justice policies - how many prison beds to build, whether to arrest someone or cite them, what sentences to impose - should be primarily concerned with making us more safe. But the profit motive is increasingly distorting the system.



Many counties throughout the South, for example, are committing scarce dollars to building larger jails in anticipation of securing a lucrative contract with the federal government to house detainees for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the United States Marshals Service or even prisoners from other counties or other states. As another example, the design of work release programs - something that should be focused on developing skills and reducing recidivism - is often driven primarily by an interest in collecting as much moneyas possible from the prison er-workers. The privatization of probation, imprisonment, and other parts of the criminal justice system create incentives for expanding the criminalization of poor people.



Financial distrortions in the criminal justice system include the practice of funding government slush funds by adding to someone's sentence. By making it more difficult for people to take care of their basic needs, these additional financial obligations compromise rather than improve public safety.


Southern Center for Human Rights | 83 Poplar St. NW, Atlanta, GA 30303 | p.404.688.1202 | f.404.688.9440

An Essay I am Working On

The old sage beggar addressed it when he called out to the gawking public, “what are you looking at?! Act you ain’t never seen this before!” As Nina and Bulworth appear as a couple in the film Bulworth. J.A. Rogers addressed it in his Sex and Race series, making particular commentary on the compulsion of German women to lose their panties whenever Africans came into town with the P.T. Barnum Circus. Interracial mixing is a wild and radical growth that is native to American soil whose roots run very deep into the American fabric. Its very existence challenges the stalwart conservatism that runs rampant in America today. This vegetation stands testament to the integrity of the American fabric; it shadders the myth of white supremacy and exposes to all the connections that the handlers of America have failed to draw time and time again as a means of maintaining their dominance in a social order beneficial to them. These connections are seen when America lifts the folds of her skirts. Ann Soetoero was not the first white woman to introduce children into the America with footholds inside disparate cultures. Ann Soeteoro, the mother of Barack Obama, fits inside a huge legacy, the trajectory of which continues into the present day as new multiracial alliances are formed, legitimately and illegitimately, and as new casts are molded from the melting pot and served into the American populace. Most folks are aware that the people known today as Afro-Americans have ties to the white male American establishment that run as deep as blood and legacy. The point that must be underscored however, that which must be pointed out, is that the legacy of the illegitimate slave begotten by the master is not the only narrative woven into America’s racial past. There is a legacy of white women having children for men of color, such as my great-great-great grandmother, Caroline Roper. The daughter of a white Methodist minister, she bore seven children for a mulatto slave and bore two more completely white in the decade before the Civil War. During Reconstruction there was a resurgence of white female cohabitation with Black men, particularly in the south where the landscape was devastated, Black men possessed a new found power, and white women were left with few economic resources as their husbands, fathers, and brothers either were killed or mutilated in the Civil War. In the colonial era, racial mixing was such a common practice that laws were passed against it with severe penalties for both the white women who bore biracial children and for the children themselves. Usually, the women were forced into indentured servitude, given a certain number of years to work off their debt and the child was sold completely into bondage. Such cases were found well up until the resolution of the Civil War. These children, and the families created and disavowed within the American social fabric, planted radical and potent seeds within the United States, particularly as such racial mixing included revolts and rebellions and other contestations of white supremacy. The very existence of this biracial population shredded the legitimacy of whiteness and was a threat to the white male power structure. The element of this biracial phenomenon that was grounded in the poor, working class, and enslaved populations of this country made this even more of a threat. This called for even stricter policing of racial boundaries, drawing of racial lines, and stronger penalties for racial mixing. When you add in such information as Noel Ignatiev’s conclusion that the majority of white people who exist as such in the United States today are racially mixed and don’t fit neatly inside the defined lines of white supremacy, the entire foundation for America’s hidden racial habit is nullified, with severe implications for American imperialism, American exceptionalism, and much of the American way of life as defined by this nations fathers over the past two hundred and fifty years. Today, we are compelled to carry out this revolution in the way we think and exist in this country that was begun by our forefathers who clung together across boundaries of race, class, and sex to see a new harmony filled with equality and dignity for all overtake the world.