THE SAN BERNARDINO
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AMERICAN
“A Man In Debt is So Far A Slave” -Emerson
NEWSPAPER A Community Newspaper Serving San Bernardino, Riverside & Los Angeles Counties Volume 51 No. 19
Mailing: P.O. Box 837, Victorville, CA 92393
August 27, 2020 - September 2, 2020 Office: (909) 889-7677
Email: Mary @Sb-American.com
Website: www.SB-American.com
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 with both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance those of whom they suppress. —Fredrick Douglass (1849)
Dems Wrap Historic Convention: Harris Makes History, Obama Eviscerates Trump
The Truth Sometimes is Black and White By Rev. Professor Keith Magee
NNPA NEWSWIRE — “The one Constitutional office elected by all of the people is the presidency. So, at a minimum, we should expect a president to feel a sense of responsibility for the safety and welfare of all 330 million of us – regardless of what we look like, how we worship, who we love, how much money we have – or who we voted for,” Obama declared. By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent @StacyBrownMedia
Rev. Professor Keith Magee
As Democrats wrapped their four-day national convention filled with hope and promise for the future of America, many might well harken back to day three and determine it as the turning point of the 2020 election season. That might indeed be the case if Joe Biden wins election as the 46th president of the United States. Biden closed out the fourth and final day of the virtual convention by promising stronger leadership, civil and equal rights for all, and to bring a divided country back together with a platform that certainly promotes the reasonable and humane belief that Black lives matter. “All elections are important. We know in our bones this is more consequential. This is a lifechanging election,” Biden stated. “We can and will overcome this season of darkness. I will be an ally of the light, not the darkness,” Biden declared from his home state of Delaware, as he formally accepted the Democratic presidential nomination. “It is with great honor and humility that I accept this nomination for President of the United States of America.” Biden’s speech punctuated a night filled with passionate pleas for Americans to vote their conscious. The fourth night included speeches from actress Julia Luis Dreyfuss, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, and others. It also included a special performance by singer John Legend and hip-hop star and actor Common. While Biden appeared to get his message across on the final night of the convention, it was his choice for vice president, and the nation’s 44th president on day three that
may have made it difficult even for reasonable Republican voters to cast a ballot for President Donald Trump. On day three, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) became the first Black and South Asian woman to officially accept the nomination as vice president from either of the two major political parties. After being introduced by her sister, Maya Harris, her niece Meena Harris and stepdaughter, Ella Emhoff, the California senator, stated her impressive resume and attacked Trump. “I’ve fought for children and survivors of sexual assault. I’ve fought against transnational gangs. I took on the biggest banks and helped take down one of the biggest for-profit colleges. I know a predator when I see one,” she said in a reference to accusations some women have previously made against Trump. During his 2016 presidential campaign, Trump’s rallying cry was “lock her up,” claiming that the then-Democratic Presidential Nominee Hillary Clinton was a criminal. Harris turned the tables this time. “I am eager to prosecute him,” Harris stated, adding that the president has failed America and has divided the country with racist and sexist rhetoric. While Clinton also addressed the convention as did her husband and former President Bill Clinton, another ex-commander-in-chief stole the night. Barack Obama broke with the long-standing but unwritten tradition of a former president criticizing one currently in office. Speaking live from the Museum of the American Revolution in
Philadelphia and in front of a display about the writing of the U.S. Constitution, Obama took direct aim at Trump. “The one Constitutional office elected by all of the people is the presidency. So, at a minimum, we should expect a president to feel a sense of responsibility for the safety and welfare of all 330 million of us – regardless of what we look like, how we worship, who we love, how much money we have – or who we voted for,” Obama declared. “But we should also expect a president to be the custodian of this democracy. We should expect that regardless of ego, ambition, or political beliefs, the president will preserve, protect, and defend the freedoms and ideals that so many Americans marched for and went to jail for; fought for and died for.” In his continued evisceration of Trump, Obama noted that he’s sat in the Oval Office with both of the men who are running for president – the current president and Biden, Obama’s former vice president. “I never expected that my successor would embrace my vision or continue my policies. I did hope, for the sake of our country, that Donald Trump might show some interest in taking the job seriously, that he might come to feel the weight of the office and discover some reverence for the democracy that had been placed in his care,” Obama said. He continued: “But he never did. For close to four years now, he’s shown no interest in putting in the work; no interest in finding common ground; no interest in using the awesome power of his office to help anyone but himself and his
friends; no interest in treating the presidency as anything but one more reality show that he can use to get the attention he craves. “Donald Trump hasn’t grown into the job because he can’t. And the consequences of that failure are severe. 170,000 Americans dead. Millions of jobs gone while those at the top take in more than ever. Our worst impulses unleashed, our proud reputation around the world badly diminished, and our democratic institutions threatened like never before.” Obama echoed his wife, former First Lady Michelle Obama, who opened the convention two days earlier with a passionate plea for voters to cast their ballot for Biden. “Now, I know that in times as polarized as these, most of you have already made up your mind. But maybe you’re still not sure which candidate you’ll vote for – or whether you’ll vote at all,” Obama stated. “Maybe you’re tired of the direction we’re headed, but you can’t see a better path yet, or you just don’t know enough about the person who wants to lead us there. “So, let me tell you about my friend Joe Biden.” After spending several minutes expounding the virtues of Biden and Harris, Obama closed by noting that “we have to get busy … by pouring all our efforts into these 76 days, and by voting like never before – for Joe and Kamala, and candidates up and down the ticket, so that we leave no doubt about what this country we love stands for – today and for all our days to come.”
Before I belong to a race, party, or gender, I belong to God. I believe that we're all made in the image of God. As a follower of Jesus, I'm committed to the greatest of his commandments: to love the Lord my God with all thy heart soul and mind, and to love my neighbor. America has long suffered from the sin of racism. Race is a social construct that was designed to create powerlessness, division, and fear amongst those who had been enslaved and deemed soulless. Today, as the election approaches, we stand at what I hope will be a key turning point in history. In the midst of the terrible division, sickness, fear, and grief we have experienced in recent months, we have a real chance to unite all America's people in the causes of civility, healing, hope, and justice. To do this, we must remove Trump from office. On Wednesday, August 19, Kamala Harris, an Americanborn, Jamaican-Indian United States Senator, became the first woman of color to be the vicepresidential nominee to a major US political party. As we celebrate this important moment, let us also rejoice in the myriad things that make us all so different and yet all so alike, all so unique, and yet all God's children. Although 60.3% of Americans are white, and 52.9% of them are women, no white woman has ever been President. However, it is now crucial that white women are galvanized to vote overwhelmingly for a male Democrat to take that office and perhaps pass the mantle on to a Black woman (in what would be another historic first). I believe that, as running mates, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris embody the unity and solidarity we all long for. Women understand perhaps more than anyone our country's need for togetherness right now. But we have to ensure that all women feel part of our movement, and that must include white women.
I am a Black man for whom many pivotal moments in life have come through white women believing in me. Marie Bennett hired me, in spite of my dyslexia, to work on a project of federal significance. Caroline Cracraft, whom I adore as my British Mum, is the reason why I have a life in the United Kingdom. It was a 'Karen' who gave me courage to soar beyond where I was eight years ago and to flourish, fulfilling what I thought at the time were unrealistic expectations. My first "granddaughter", Eleanor Irene, was born on 07/07/2020. She happens to be white. She's the daughter of my Jordan, who came to work for me as an intern in 2009. Jordan had lost both of her parents and was navigating her life as a beautiful soul without them. Ever since, I have loved her, and her growing family, as my own, because that is what they are. I want our Democratic party to reflect all their hopes, needs, and aspirations, just as it must those of their Black sisters and friends. I am so grateful to the white women who did and do understand the call of justice and equality within their hearts and souls. Many have stood beside us in the fight for equal rights, including Juliette Morgan and NAACP founders Mary White Ovington and Florence Kelly. Countless white women played an active role in recent anti-racism demonstrations, not just in the US, but all over the world. They give me hope. But I am also afraid. We are at a daunting place. Our opponents may outnumber us in some of the states we need to carry, and they may well not play fair. I am worried for the America that our ancestors died to build, where our parents endured so much for us to have fairer opportunities and where is so much still to overcome. I am worried that as we rejoice continued on page 2