Defending the First Amendment…For Everyone

IMUS: So, I watched the basketball game last night between — a little bit of Rutgers and Tennessee, the women’s final.

ROSENBERG: Yeah, Tennessee won last night — seventh championship for [Tennessee coach] Pat Summitt, I-Man. They beat Rutgers by 13 points.

IMUS: That’s some rough girls from Rutgers. Man, they got tattoos and –

McGUIRK: Some hard-core hos.

IMUS: That’s some nappy-headed hos there…

Within a week of these comments we Rutgers students flooded from buses toward a normally peaceful grassy knoll.   We stood in a massive semi-circle hoisting homemade signs in the air.  We raised our voices and pumped our fists in unison -protesting against racism and sexism.

A panel of speakers delivered impassioned speeches urging the student body to reject not only Imus’ statements, but all forms of racism and sexism in society.  Their words spread through the crowd like a strong breeze through a forest, lifting the heads and spirits of those that had been weighed down by Imus’ invective.

Tables lined the perimeter armed with the names, numbers, and addresses of the advertising companies that endorsed Imus.

We called.  We wrote.  We signed.  We made them accountable.

This controlled chaos, this organized moment of anarchy, was what I had waited for my entire college career.  Students, faculty, and administration of all genders, races, and ages joined together to fight this injustice.  Finally something mattered enough for us to shrug off the stereotypical apathy said to plague my generation – to gather together and make ourselves heard.

And heard we were.  Within the next week several of Imus’ advertising sponsors pulled their support from the on-air personality, fearing that too much of their core audience would link them to his deplorable remarks.  Following the televised protest he was suspended from the radio station, slapped with a lawsuit, and eventually forced to make an apology to the women’s basketball team.

During the months that this situation unfolded the words of passionate students, sympathetic editorials, and neutral news analysts flooded the Rutgers community. The First Amendment was under attack. Why was the government tolerating racist and sexist ideas?  Why couldn’t freedom of speech apply to just the “good” ideas?  Why couldn’t anyone just shut this guy up?

Let’s face it, the First Amendment is a dangerous and antagonistic concept.  It makes space for all ideas regardless of whether they are rooted in truth or falsehood.  Anyone with eyes, a mouth, or hands can announce their opinions to the world (much like this column) and very little recourse can be taken against them.  Or can it?  Despite the overwhelming desire to just shut a person up, it remains true that mere words – facts, information, debate – have more impact than a roll of duct tape ever will.

It is the protection of the right to express these ideas that improves the cultural conversation about the social politics of race, sex, religion, gender, tradition, and life.  So as frustrating and antagonistic and dangerous as it may seem, this amendment affords us the right to turn instances like the Imus debacle into teachable moments. Just as Imus was protected in expressing his prejudice, we were protected in rising up against it.

As a free and progressive society it is essential that we give all ideas, no matter how base or inflammatory, the opportunity to be expressed and challenged.  The amendment helps us question our core beliefs, search for our own definable truth, as well as dispel myths by seeking out the facts.  Unfortunately this process includes wading through the bigotry and prejudice of people like Don Imus.   Nevertheless you’ll also find that it provides you with rational thought, enlightenment, and intellect-based support for your thoughts.

The First Amendment may seem like a nuisance or a cheap soapbox for any “shock jock” looking for attention, but upon closer inspection you’ll see that it is so much more than that.  It’s a vehicle for enlightenment, a sound stage for justice, and often a creator of communities.

Racists React to Obama Victory

[Disclaimer:  This article was e-mailed to me in the hopes that we remember that although we have come a long way there is still a long way to go.  Hopefully the deplorable acts of a few will not spoil the progressive acts of the many]

By David Knowles
Nov 13th 2008 9:40AM

It should come as absolutely no surprise that, despite the historic election of the first African American president of the United States, the scourge of racism has not been magically wiped away from every nook and cranny of the country. Just dip your toes into the comment section of this, or any other blog that deals with politics and you’ll encounter plenty of it. Despite that regrettable fact, for those who lived through or have studied the milestones marking the advancement of blacks throughout our nation’s history, the seeming lack of racially-motivated clashes has been a noteworthy marker of how far we have come.

That said, just as many of us can feel proud of a country so enlightened that its majority can elect a minority to the highest office of the land, we must not shy away from the uncomfortable fact that a significant number of Americans dislike Obama based, first and foremost, on the color of his skin. By the way, that’s not the same as claiming that if you criticize Obama you are, by definition, a racist. I’m talking about that proud band of citizenry who’ll tell you openly of their disdain and fear of darker skin tones.

Now that the rush of excitement is starting to wane, a spate of media stories is shedding light on those people who wish history had not been made, would never be made, when it comes to black equality. So then, via Editor & Publisher, here’s a rogues round-up. An up-to-the-minute cataloging of that which we all know is out there, alive and well.

1. Yesterday, Tommy Christopher detailed the story of a bus load of Idaho elementary school tots chanting “Assassinate Obama! Assassinate Obama!”

2. In a suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a high school teacher’s aide berated a bi-racial 16-year-old Obama supporter, with the following predictions:

“…[the aide] said that Obama was going to be shot and killed,” Mara Gilligan told KDKA News. ” And that our flag is going to be the KFC [Kentucky Fried Chicken] flag and that the new national anthem will be ‘Moving On Up’–and that all my daughter’s beliefs were wrong and her children’s lives were going to be ruined because Obama was elected.”

3. The Associated Press reports several cars in Long Island, New York, vandalized with anti-Obama messages, including promises to kill the president-elect.

4. At North Carolina State University, four students face expulsion for spay painting the phrases, “Let’s shoot that (N-word) in the head” and “Hang Obama by a noose.”

5. In Texas, Baylor University students awoke the morning after Obama’s victory to find a noose hanging from a tree in front of Morrison Hall.

6. In Maine, several black figures were found hanging from nooses on Mount Desert Island the day after Obama won.

7. California vandals went on a spray painting binge in Torrance, targeting cars with Obama bumper stickers. On one house the words “Go Back to Africa” were inscribed.

8. Of course, we all know of the Tennessee skinhead plot to kill random African Americans, and, with a wing and a prayer, Obama himself.

9. In Pennsylvania’s Apolacon Township, situated in an area known for KKK activity, an interracial couple looked out their front window to find the remnants of a burned cross.

10. Two men in the ironically named Friendsville, Pennsylvania were arrested for “racial intimidation and trespassing.”

These are but ten incidents. Thankfully, none resulted in physical violence.

incARceraTion: Lives in Focus Holds First Art Competition

By Sandeep Junnarkar

Solitude (click image to enlarge)

People who have an incarcerated family member naturally cycle through a range of difficult emotions as the years slowly pass. Some express their sadness, anxiety and fear or hope for the future through art, music or poetry.

To honor that great artwork, Family Life behind Bars is launching its inaugural Annual Arts Celebration & Competition.You are invited to enter the artwork you have produced that reflects the emotions you are feeling during your loved one’s incarceration.

The winners will receive checks for the following amounts: The first prize winner will receive $200; the second prize winner will receive $100; and the third prize winner will receive $50.

All the submissions will be posted on Family Life behind Bars. In the first round of judging, visitors to the site will vote for their top five choices. The top five vote-getters will move to the second round of judging. In this second and final round, visitors to the site will vote for their top three choices.

Please spread the word about this arts competition to your friends and colleagues who might be interested. The competition is open to any and all ages since every family member–from infant to grandparent is affected by incarceration.

You may enter the following types of artwork:

* Paintings
* Tattoos (photos of tattoos NOT in OBVIOUSLY private places!)
* Artistic Photographs
* Written Poetry
* Spoken Word Poetry
* Graphic Art/Comics
* Music
* Performance Art Piece video (no more than five minutes)
* Short Video Film (no more than five minutes)

Please visit this site to enter the competition.

Time line for competition:

* December 1, 2008: Deadline to submit work.

* December 10-Jan. 10: First round voting.

* Jan. 15-Feb. 15: Second round of voting.

* Week of Feb. 23: Winners announced

Good luck!!

The terms: Family Life Behind Bars reserves the right to terminate or postpone the 2008 arts competition if there are not enough entries (a minimum of 20 people entering). So please spread the word about this arts competition to your friends and colleagues who might be interested.

NAACP 4th Annual Conference on Criminal Justice

Empowerment and enlightenment were the consistent themes of the NAACP’s 4th Annual Conference on Criminal Justice at York College on Saturday October 25th.

The conference workshops focused on community action and response to the conditions that incarceration creates for society as a whole. Wanda Best DeVeaux, committee chairperson for the prison project, has been heading these conferences in hopes that residents and community activists will have an impact on state legislation.

Read more…

Lives In Focus Project Gives Families of the Incarcerated Space

Lives in Focus is a project that uses video, audio, and photographs to present the voices and stories of those coping with loved ones being in prison.  The website (livesinfocus.org/prison) provides a space where families of the incarcerated can:

Connect with others going through similar situations and join our free social network
Watch our video blogs or express yourself and submit your own
Read the latest news articles on incarceration
Get info on upcoming events and workshops

The project also trains at-risk community youth in video and audio editing at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism so they can tell their own story in their own style and learn valuable skills at the same time.  To find out more about the project or how to get involved visit the site.

Words, Words, Words!!

Words are one of the most powerful weapons in the universe. They are the making and unmaking of nations, the triumph and downfall of communities, and the cure as well as the disease of the human condition. Individuals have died, ascended to power, been imprisoned, and lived all by words and, more often than not, words alone. Since the naming of Sen. Barack Obama as the Democratic nominee, race has received a center stage platform for discussion. Unfortunately it seems that all anyone wants to talk about is the fact that it’s a problem. The next step however is taking responsibility, holding each other accountable, and truly thinking about the deconstruction of race as a way of life.

Recently the controversy on The View over the use of the n-word sparked a small skirmish of newsroom activity. For me, however it sparked yet another “head-in-my-hands-moment”. What was supposed to be a short segment on a mid-day talk show turned into a dialogue about race for the nation. It is extremely rare that women are seen speaking intensely about race, this conversation is usually reserved for panels of men scowling at rap videos on massive projector screens. This unexpected and heated debate unearthed a lot of confusion, misinformation, and perception than anyone really expected. Each side held valid points

• Children should not be taught hate-speech
• Everyone should be taught comprehensive history
• Cultural sensitivity needs to be apart of the societal conversation

No matter where you lie on the issue, it is more important to remember that one does not speak for all. This was a conversation between a handful of individuals and was the opening act to a fashion show. Not all of any kind of people uniformly think the same thing. That’s what makes debates like this so complex with shades of understanding that take so much more than the roughly 7 minutes The View spent on it. It would be irresponsible to take to heart everything heard on that episode.

Maybe you should go have your own conversation about race with your friends, your family, neighbors, coworkers, and most importantly yourself. Trust me, it makes the fashion show after a hell of a lot more interesting.

The Hidden Face of HIV/AIDS

The face of HIV/AIDS has continuously changed since it’s emergence in the early 1980’s. At first it was seen strictly as a young white gay male disease, however the epidemic has had an overwhelmingly large effect on every other racial, orientation, gender, and age group. Thus spawning several efforts by government agencies to decrease HIV infection as well as improve maintenance once individuals contract the disease.

National days for HIV testing bring this sensitive topic to light from within the communities and provides them with a chance to educate themselves.

One group that, in Hyacinth AIDS Foundation Health Educator Mark Cruz’s opinion, is left under-served by these tactics are Asian-Americans. In his interview he sites a combination of stigma, language, communication, and education as barriers to the treatment and prevention of HIV/AIDS in the Asian community.

Can I Go to the Nurse Please?

According to an article in the New York Times King Middle School in Portland, Maine has voted in favor of providing girls access to oral contraceptives in their health clinic.

Opposition to the new policy argue that impressing sexual responsibility between the ages of 11-13 is unnecessary and sends the wrong message. However with health officials citing that 17 middle school students had become pregnant in the last 4 years (seven of them during the 2006-07 school year), a different message is being heard loud and clear.

Nick McGee, the city’s Republican Party chairman, told the Times, “It is an attack on the moral fabric of our community and a black eye for our state.”

What could be more “morally compromising” than teenage parents that are ill equipped to take care of an infant? Perhaps the parents and educators of those new parents failing to enlighten them to safer sex techniques and strategies necessary to avoid unexpected pregnancy.

Unexpected pregnancy has led to an innumerable amount of problems that make communities look like Mike Tyson after his 1990 pumbling by James “Buster Douglas. So McGee’s comment seems to be glib in light of resulting high school drop out rates, delinquency, increased reliance on social services, and depression.

Surprisingly the new policy has a large constituency of supporters. The Times reported — “I think it’s a great idea,” said Cathleen Allen, whose son is enrolled at King. “Someone is finally advocating for these students to take care of themselves.”

Being emotionally and physically too young to be sexually active is and will continue to be a controversial issue. However educating adolescents about how their bodies work, taking personal responsibility for their health, as well as making them aware of the consequences of their actions have always been key components to ensuring that they have healthy productive lives.

Kudos to King Middle School for taking such progressive steps in the direction of improving their student’s health.

King Middle School is scheduled to have the new policy in action by the end of the year. The services include counseling and examination by a physician or nurse practicioner provided by the school pending a signed waiver by the student’s guardians.