Vol. 50 No. 38
January 9, 2020 -January 15, 2020
Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what people will submit to and you have found out the exact amount of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them and these will continue till they have resisted either with words or blows or words or with both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they suppress. —Fredrick Douglass (1849)
A Tribute to a Living Legend: Civil Rights Icon John Lewis
Publisher’s Corner Email: sbamericannews@gmail.com Clifton Harris Editor in Chief Publisher of The San Bernardino AMERICAN News
The Danger of Nationalist” State
John Lewis, who represents Georgia's 5th District in the U.S. House of Representatives, urges people to be engaged in the ongoing fight for social justice. U.S. Rep. John Lewis' Call to Resist: "The Fight Is Not Over" (Photo: Oprah’s Master Class | OWN / YouTube) Millions adore Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) for his selfless and lifelong dedication to civil and equal rights. Some idolize Lewis like a rock star, while most revere him as an icon. It is why presidents, politicians, members of Congress, and everyday people have taken time this week to pay tribute to the 79year-old, 17-term congressman, who announced that he’s battling Stage 4 pancreatic cancer. “If there’s one thing I love about Rep. John Lewis, it’s his incomparable will to fight,” former President Barack Obama wrote on his official Twitter account. “I know he’s got a lot more of that left in him. Praying for you, my friend,” Obama stated. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), and former Tallahassee, Fla., Mayor Andrew Gillum, counted among
the masses to send their prayers and heartfelt support to Lewis via social media. “John Lewis is a giant – an icon of the civil rights movement, a leader in Congress and one of the kindest people I know,” Rep. Omar tweeted. “I’m praying for a speedy and full recovery. We need you making good trouble in the halls of Congress,” she wrote. Lewis is an “American hero and one of the bravest people I know,” Gillum stated. “It was the honor of my life to get into good trouble with him on the campaign trail.” Dr. Charles Steele, Jr., the president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, said the group is praying that Lewis remains strong, vigilant, and relentless in his battle. “There is no civil rights warrior more dedicated to the cause than
John Lewis,” Steele stated. “I know he will wage this battle head-on.” Members of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), the trade association of black-owned newspapers across the country, also offered their support for Lewis. “Rep. John Lewis is a profound leader, humanitarian and civil rights icon who has made his mark on American history and has fought for the rights of all people, especially African Americans in this country,” stated NNPA Chair and Houston Forward Times Publisher Karen Carter Richards. “I am extremely confident and prayerful that Rep. Lewis will fight this battle of being diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer in the same way he has fought and been an example of strength for
others his entire life. Praying for a speedy recovery,” Richards stated. NNPA President and CEO, Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., called Lewis a fearless voice and advocate for freedom, justice, and equality both in the halls of the U.S. Congress and in the streets of America. “John Lewis epitomizes what it means to be a courageous freedom fighter for more than six decades in America and throughout the world,” Chavis stated. “The Black Press of America salutes the tireless sacrifices and triumphant ideals that the Honorable John Lewis represents today as we go into 2020,” he added. “The re-enactment of the full Voting Rights Act should be named The John Lewis 2020 Voting Act that he has worked so diligently to see fulfilled for Black Americans and all others who cry out for equality,” Chavis concluded. Lewis said he’s not looking to give up his work. “I have decided to do what I know to do and do what I have always done: I am going to fight it and keep fighting for the Beloved Community,” Lewis wrote in a statement. “We still have many bridges to cross,” he stated. Born in Troy, Alabama, on February 21, 1940, Lewis and his family were poverty-stricken, but it didn’t stop him from rising (continued on page 3)
African-American or Other? Selecting Your Race and Ethnicity on the US 2020 Census Form Aldon Thomas Stiles | California Black Media
Kanye, Kim and four children Kim Kardashian West will likely check “Black or African American” on the US 2020 Census form when marking the race of her children. In several interviews with various media outlets, the famous media personality and businesswoman, who lives in the San Fernando Valley near Calabasas, has said she’s very conscious of race when it comes to her and rapper Kanye West’s four children. Kardashian, who is half-White
and half-Armenian, has said she identifies the race of her children as “Black” and says the advocacy she has recently been involved in: addressing racial inequities in the criminal justice system - is partly inspired by the race of her children. On this year’s census form, Kardashian’s other option for checking the race box to identify her children would be to select “Other.” That’s if she chooses to count them as bi-racial or mixed race.
Race and ethnicity have often been - and continue to be controversial and misunderstood census categories. Experts suggest that some people might be confused about the difference between the two. On the 2020 census forms, there will be six ways people can identify their race: American Indian or Alaska Native; Asian; Black or African American; White; Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander; and Other. Options will also be available for respondents to include an ethnic identification, too. For instance, a Trinidadian-American of African descent may select “Black or African American” under the racial category and write in “Trinidadian” under the ethnic category. According to the Census Bureau, “Overlap of race and Hispanic ethnicity is the main comparability issue.” For example, the U.S. Census Bureau includes Black Hispanics in both the number of Blacks and in the number of Hispanics. Dr. Walter Hawkins, former California State University San Bernardino Director of Research and Policy Analysis, helped clear some of that confusion by detailing the numerous ways people can self-identify on US 2020 Census forms, mentioning the “100 percent count.”
“Under the Census Bureau, in order to get the 100 percent count, they have to use what’s called the ‘Hispanic exclusive method’ because a person who is Hispanic can be any race. So, if you do not take that into consideration, you end up with over 100 percent,” said Hawkins. Hawkins stated that this distinction affects the overall count for African Americans in California. “The Black alone ‘nonHispanic’ population in California is about 2.2 million compared to about 2.7 million if all racial and ethnic combinations are included,” Hawkins said. Hawkins noted that much of the complication with racial selfidentification originated from an old census rule called “head of household.” “If you marked ‘Black,’ your whole house was Black. And if you marked ‘White,’ your whole house was White,” Hawkins said. Data collected during national censuses, which the federal government conducts every 10 years, directly impacts not only the availability but also the quality of services in communities, according to Dr. Anthony Asadullah Samad, Executive Director of the Mervyn Dymally African American (continued on page 7)
“Ethno-
By Bill Fletcher, Jr., NNPA Newswire Contributor
NNPA NEWSWIRE — In 1965, Lewis and fellow activist Hosea Williams led what was planned as a peaceful 54-mile march through Alabama from Selma to Montgomery. The march, a protest of the discriminatory practices and Jim Crow laws that prevented African Americans from voting, would be remembered in history as “Bloody Sunday,” one of the most dramatic and violent incidents of the American Civil Rights Movement. By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior Correspondent @StacyBrownMedia
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Bill Fletcher, Jr. is the executive editor of globalafricanworker.com and the former president of TransAfrica Forum
One of the most common features of right-wing populist and fascist movements is the demand for ethnic and/or racial purity. During the course of the 20th century we saw it in its most egregious forms in colonial and white minority regimes in the global South, and in the Nazi-led persecution and, later, Holocaust against the Jews. Ethnic regimes were largely ignored in the mainstream media of the global North until the early 1990s, even when troubling events, such as genocide in Burundi, were unfolding. It was only with the disintegration of the former Yugoslavia in the early 1990s and the Rwanda genocide (1994) that it became more than apparent that another wave of ethnic cleansing and ethnonationalist regimes were unfolding. What are ethno-nationalist regimes? They are political systems that quite openly privilege the alleged rights of a given ethnic or so-called racial group. Apartheid South Africa was certainly an example of a long-running such regime. But the Rwanda genocide when rightwing Hutus went to war to openly eliminate Tutsis (and those Hutus who allied with Tutsis) using the pretext of a civil war, was yet another example. Right-wing populist leaders such as Donald Trump in the USA, Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel and Narenda Modi in India are quintessential examples of leaders who promote ethnonationalist regimes. Contrary to early 20th century fascists and 19th century “scientific racists,” they do not rely on the rhetoric of racial superiority or inferiority in justifying their politics. Rather
they argue either the incompatibility of different racial/ ethnic groups and/or that the specific racial/ethnic group which they claim to represent has been, allegedly, aggrieved over the years. The situation in India at this very moment is illustrating the evolving and serious dangers of ethno-nationalist regimes. The political forces around Modi and his political party—the BJP— have been promoting anti-Muslim rhetoric and practices for years. Their objective is nothing short of eliminating the secular basis of India and replacing it with a Hindu ethno-nationalist state. The recent legislation advanced by Modi and passed in Parliament that offers citizenship to refugees from neighboring countries UNLESS they happen to be Muslim demonstrates the depths of depravity of such regimes. It is, therefore, not surprising that India is exploding. Netanyahu is a close cousin— politically speaking—of Modi’s. He and his party—the Likud— have always aimed to eliminate the Palestinian presence from not only the occupied Palestinian territories, but from Israel itself. But it is not only the Palestinians that Netanyahu, et.al. wish to eliminate. The language of the regime when it comes to other alleged outsiders is particularly provocative and echoes that of Hindu fascists in India in describing undocumented immigrants, in the case of Israel, as “infiltrators.” Right-wing populism and ethno-nationalism have become major parts of the global political landscape. It is not only the appearance of Donald Trump; nor is it just Britain’s Boris Johnson. It has emerged, like chicken pox, in numerous places. And, if one is not careful, it can emerge even within the ranks of the oppressed when, in desperation, we sometimes seek to distinguish ourselves from some “Other.” Bill Fletcher, Jr. is the executive editor of globalafricanworker.com and the former president of TransAfrica Forum.
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