PAGE 4 • DECEMBER 21 - DECEMBER 27, 2017
Opinion
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African Americans do not understand their power executive positions and the leaders are reluctant to spend money in the Black community. But if the Democratic Party during the mid-term elections spends millions of dollars in the Black community and treat us as the cornerstone of the party, the results will be phenomenal. Democrats have the opportunity to win back the Senate, and make the House more competitive and closer in terms of numbers. There is power in the Black vote, and the Black community is not taking full advantage of their influence and power. Once the Black community takes full advantage of their power, there will be a major transformation in American politics. Our leaders must work for the majority of the American people, as opposed to the rich and major corporations.
There is something happening in America, and it starts with the power of Black women. It started a long time ago when they were queens, and we see the evidence in their work ethic and their ability to achieve under impossible odds. When Black women are behind you, their passion and drive can move mountains. In the 2017 Alabama senate race, the largest voting segment of the population was Black women, in which 98% of that group voted Democratic. Black men voted at 93%, and together they were the largest core group of Democrats in the election, and many experts think this was the reason Doug Jones won the election. “We learned valuable lessons last month and last night – we invest early and in our communities, we win. The DNC knows Black voters are a force to be reckoned with at the ballot box, and that’s exactly why we used a nearly $1 million investment to mobilize Alabama’s African American, millennial, and faith communities. And to help boost turnout, we made sure we had our own staffers on the ground
engaging Black leaders and implementing organizing programs,” says DNC Black Caucus Chair, Virgie Rollins. Democrats now have a template that they can use around the country to get the Black vote out. Investing a large part of $1 million into the Black community is a significant amount of money that will change Black voting habits during mid-tern elections. When Black voters are informed and mobilized, they vote. According to the New York Times, “the Black voters turned out in force, handing Mr. Jones a decisive lead in Alabama’s cities and predominantly Black rural counties. In Jefferson County, home to Birmingham and its whiter suburbs, turnout exceeded the 2014 governor’s race by about 30%, and Mr. Jones nearly matched Hilary Clinton’s vote total there. Other populous, heavily African American counties, including Montgomery and Dallas County, where Selma is, also exceeded their 2014 turnout.” As I talk to many African Americans in Orlando, many have a pessimistic attitude about organizing and mobilizing the Black vote in 2018.
Many think we have lost our excitement with the voting process, and even with the Democratic Party. But I believe the problem in the Black Community is leadership, financing and supporting the Black media. In order to galvanize our community, our leadership must agree on a strategy, communicate the information with our media, and stay organized and be determined. “And so for all little girls out there who need somebody to believe that you’re better than your circumstances. I need you all to remember that Black girl magic is real,” says newly elected Mayor of Atlanta, Keisha Lance Bottoms. Many experts expected Keisha Lance Bottoms to lose this election to a White candidate, but she won by 800 votes. She won with help from the hip hop community, and a collaboration of progressive Whites, Black women, Hispanics, and the LGBT community. The African American community is making the difference if a candidate wins or loses an election all around the country. The Democratic Party understands the power of the Black vote, but Black folks are not in the powerful
She Said - She Said
By Kerlande Patterson Nicole Nutting
NAACP denounces FCC Pastors Not Above Jesus vote to end net neutrality By Kevin Palmer
By Roger Caldwell
‘Let them eat cake!’
Kerlande: Hey Nicole, I’m going to turn to you for some wisdom on why this is an issue. The Supreme Court is set to decide whether a baker can refuse to bake a wedding cake for a gay wedding, based on his religious convictions. The question is, shouldn’t a person’s labor be theirs to decide with whom they want to share it?
Nicole: We should remember that discrimination against the LGBTQ community is the last frontier in the battle for Civil Rights, and there is no Federal protection yet. Public merchants, no matter how they feel in private, don’t get to cherry-pick their customers! A cake is just a cake, not an endorsement of any particular lifestyle. The couple could buy this cake unadorned. Most of the gay guys I know are FABULOUS decorators! Boom, issue solved! Kerlande: In this case, a cake is not just a cake. The same-sex couple wanted the cake specifically for their wedding. For many Christians, baking a cake specifically for a union in which they do not believe, would feel like a tacit endorsement of something that violates their conscience. Are the rights of gay people more important than Christians? Imagine a gay artist not being able to refuse to create a homophobic painting commissioned by a Christian. Should a gay artist not be able to refuse? Nicole: An artist without a “Public Storefront” can choose what he wants to paint. However, the rights of gays are as important as anyone else’s. When you open a “Public Storefront” then fairly the bar rises. What next? Separate drinking fountains labelled (Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)
BALTIMORE, MD. – The NAACP, the nation’s premier civil rights organization, denounces the Federal Communication Commission’s decision to eliminate critical safeguards for ensuring an accessible internet and thus end net neutrality. “The internet fuels economic opportunity, civic engagement, and social action. It allows us to communicate instantly and effectively, and, in recent years, it has facilitated innovative, impactful social justice action,” said Derrick Johnson, NAACP president and CEO. “Throughout our 108-year history, the NAACP has continually opposed discrimination and fought for justice and equal opportunity for all. We see the fight for net neutrality as an extension of that mission. The NAACP is staunchly opposed to any attempt to censor or manipulate information on the internet, especially if it creates a barrier to entry for people of color. “Like the tax plan on which Congress is currently deliberating, the (Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)
The bible refers to Jesus as the Chief Shepherd and church members are his sheep. Similarly, pastors who have been called by the Lord are subordinate shepherds. Like Jesus, they are expected to love and care for all the sheep. No less is expected from the shepherds at the historic Tabernacle Baptist Church in Augusta, Georgia. Therefore, it is unacceptable for a recent marriage of a 50 year Tabernacle member, who has been a faithful, humble servant, to be ignored by the church leadership. Contrary to modern church protocol, the pastor is not above Jesus, nor is the pastor an entertainer to be idolized. Neither, are pastoral duties to be treated like a gig or a side hustle. The bible commands pastors in 1st Peter, chapter 5, “Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them – not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.” Therefore, a caring, competent pastor must organize a congregation’s leadership in such a way as to stay informed of all important life events of each member, including marriages. In this way the church will fulfill the scripture verse in 1st Corinthians, chapter 12, “If a member suffers, all (Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)
Stop Trump movement By Tom H. Hastings Since the #GagMeElection of 2016 we have heard a great deal about “resistance.” Nevertheless, we’ve seen relatively little of it actually happening. Who is doing what toward what announced goal? The War Resisters League (full disclosure: I was on its National Committee years ago and especially love its secular nonviolent philosophy) is claiming to be doing a lot but nothing much to show for it, nothing mentioned since the inauguration really, and no reference to numbers involved. Discouraging.
Moral Monday movement, led by Rev. William Barber II, is possibly the most ambitious, with designs on establishing campaigns in every state. Encouraging. The movement in and out of Congress to impeach Trump is lurching into view, but is yet to gather enough steam or coordinated constituencies. One is reminded of both JFK and (Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)
The Gantt Report
The Gantt Report Holiday Love for Media Icons By Lucius Gantt It’s December 2017, holiday season and around the time of year when I thank all of the readers and supporters of The Gantt Report, one of America’s most informative, provocative and controversial independent opinion columns. Thank you. But this year I think it’s important for me to recognize, remember and thank several of the founders, mentors and icons of modern day Black media and how they helped get The Gantt Report started. When The Gantt Report came on the scene in Florida 37 years ago, Lucius Gantt was immediately welcomed and supported by the Sunshine State’s legendary Black media owners. My boys, and girls, Ike, Marilyn, Levi, Cleve, Les, Eric, Beasley, Stucks, Lee, Gwen and others gave me a platform to share my opinions that started in Florida and went worldwide! I want TGR readers to know when The Gantt Report started it was modeled after The Kiplinger Report and was a four-page newsletter. Nearly 40 years ago, that fourpage newsletter about African American economics and politics had a cost of $50.00 for only 12 issues a year. My friend, Garth Reeves, of The Miami Times, was the very first person to purchase a subscription. In a way, Garth Reeves started something that can’t be stopped. I love you Garth. The honors and recognitions you are getting these days are well deserved. (Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)
Republican Tax Bill Robs the Poor to Feed the Rich Marian Wright Edelman says that the Republicancontrolled Congress and the Trump Administration seek policies to reward millionaires and billionaires. By Marian Wright Edelman (President, The Children’s Defense Fund) The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act recently passed on a nearly straight party line Republican vote in the U.S. Senate is, like the House-passed bill, a moral abomination. Their enactment would be the death of America’s dream for tens of millions of children. The House and Senate bills favor the wealthiest Americans and most powerful corporations over poor and moderateincome children and families— billionaires over poor babies and powerful corporations over poor children. They are evil. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. warned that “America is going to hell if we can’t use her vast resources to end poverty and make it possible for all of God’s children to have the basic necessities of life.” With both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives now having passed extremely unjust tax bills, I must ask—how can 278 political leaders, 51 Senators and 227 House members, act against the best interests of so many in their states and across our nation to line the overstuffed pockets of powerful special interests with government money? (Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)
Sixty-three percent of white Alabama Lessons from theAfricanAmerican Vote in Alabama women voted for Roy Moore Dr. John E. Warren says that African Americans should be focused on “voter registration” and not candidate endorsements at this stage of the game.
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By Dr. John Warren (San Diego Voice and Viewpoint/NNPA Member) The African Americans who have convinced themselves that one vote doesn’t matter should take a very close look at what happened during the recent special election in Alabama. In spite of the endorsement of President Donald Trump and the extremely conservative White voters who supported Roy Moore, Doug Jones, the Democratic candidate won the for the United States Senate seat vacated by
Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Jones was the first Democrat elected to represent Alabama in the U.S. Senate in 25 years. How he won is very important to African Americans across this nation. Exit polls showed that 98 percent of African American women who voted supported Jones and 93 percent of African American men who voted chose the Democratic candidate. The Jones’ victory by 1.5 percent clearly shows that, without the Black vote, Jones wouldn’t have won the special election. Equally important is the fact (Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)
By Oscar H. Blayton It is hard to understand why, in Alabama, white voters professing to be staunch Christians tried their best to send Roy Moore, a man widely believed to be a child molester, to the U.S. Senate. These evangelicals are the same people who, for decades, have asserted that they hold the moral high ground in this country. Yet, they believed that sending an accused child molester to Washington was God’s will. What is even more difficult to understand why (as Newsweek reported) 63% of the white women who voted in Alabama supported a candidate who has been credibly accused of preying upon
teenage girls when he was a prosecutor in his thirties. It is crucial to the political, economic and civic wellbeing of Black folk for us to understand the reasons for such insane political positions. Without this understanding we are unable to be fully equipped to force this nation to become truly the land of liberty and justice for all. The near success of Roy Moore’s candidacy gives us an excellent window into the soul of many white Southern evangelicals, and we should not look away. The “religious right” came to prominence in the 1980s, claiming to be the “moral majority” of America. It soon (Read full story on www.thewestsidegazette.com)