Contemporary African American history 1995–1999
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- Black nationalist organizations hold
historic summit in Atlanta
- From Arm the Spirit, 16 September 1995. Representatives
of nine Black nationalist organizations met in Atlanta,
Georgia, August 18 and 19, 1995 for a summit meeting of a
coalition which they named the New Afrikan Liberation
Front. It was initiated almost two years ago by several
well known political prisoners.
- Summit Shows Discontent In Black
Communities
- By Sam Manuel, The Militant, Vol.59 No.47, 18
December 1995. A three-day meeting of the National African
American Leadership Summit (NAALS) was a window on the
widespread discontent in Black communities across the
country, and the growing frustration with the
ineffectiveness of traditional civil rights leaders and
organizations.
- Quote from
Identity Crisis
- By Salim Muwakkil, In These Times, 22 January
1996. But part of the reason that practitioners of identity
politics have shunned the class-based politics of the
traditional left is because so many old-line leftists have
been hostile to their concerns.
- Rally Against Klan Drive/Hollidaysburg,
PA
- The Philadelphia Inquirer,16 June
1996. Black and white oppose a Klan rally, but local
politicians refuse to take a stand.
- Divide and Confuse: Selling Nigeria to
American Blacks
- By Ron Nixon, 15 July 1996. How Black conservative
interests exploit color in order to bring part of the
Black community over in support of an oppressive
government. Maurice Dawkins's P.R. blitz, with an assist
from Black newspapers, makes Nigeria's rulers look
good and drives a wedge into the Black community.
- CPUSA replies to slander in NY
Times
- By Gus Hall & Jarvis Tyner, 18 December
1996. The New York Times tries to besmirch
the long association of the U.S. Communist Party with the
Black liberation struggle.
- Honor society must admit student who
rejects pledge
- By Mark Paziokas, The Hartford Courant, 28
May 1997. A young Black heroine from Waterbury High School
who thinks for herself rather than dully submit to the
pressure of white propaganda.
- Saudi Prince Bandar hands out the money
even while many hate and laugh at him (but not usually for
attribution)
- From the Mideast Realities: Washington Scene (MER
Flashback), 7 June 1997. A critique of the Urban
League's effort to make all Blacks into conservative
white capitalists.
- Reclaiming integration
- By Eric Foner and Randall Kennedy, The
Nation, 4 December 1998. Integration has lately
fallen into disuse or disfavor. Many leftists feel that
integration fails to address deeply rooted economic
inequalities; many African-Americans criticize it for
dismantling a distinctive black culture and identity.
- [Pssp!] What happened to the
dream?
- A poem by Rodney D. Coates, 1998. Too many have died;
politicians, teachers, preachers, leaders—fools for
a day, a week, or forever, continue to lie.
- Beyond Color-Blindness
- By Manning Marable, The Nation, 14 December
1998. If anyone talks about the increasing significance of
race, the largely white male social democratic left warns
against sliding down the slippery slope of
identitarianism. Paradox that race-based organizing
remains necessary to dismantle institutional racism.
- The Five Dilemmas of Black Leaders
- A dialog on the Black Radical Congress list, February
1999. Discussion of a position paper by Earl Ofar
Hutchinson. Class Division, political concessions from the
Democratic party, The challenge from the breed black
conservatives, The anointing of the chosen leader, young
Blacks.
- Capitalism, Marxism, and the Black Radical
Tradition
- An Interview with Cedric Robinson, Perspectives on
Anarchist Theory, Spring 1999. Robinson writes that
the evolution of Black radicalism has not been conscious
of itself as a tradition. He attempts to introduce a
self-consciousness to this tradition. He explains why this
is important now to the development of Black radicalism
and radical movements generally?
- Black Leadership and the Masses
- By Rom Wills, Tuesday 29 July 1999. Black leaders, at
least the ones that get the press, are more concerned with
middle class needs and the needs of the corporate sponsors
of their organizations. These same leaders virtually
ignore the needs of the Black masses that include the
marginally middle class, the working poor, and the
poor. Yet these same leaders will seek out the masses when
support is needed for a particular program.
No Piece, No Peace
: Class
Contradictions in the Resurging Black Freedom Movement
- By Sundiata Keita Cha-Jua, August 1999. Two significant
protests, in the hot humid plains between the Mississippi
and Missouri Rivers, centering on minority set-asides for
Black contractors and jobs for Black workers occurred over
the past month-and-a-half.
- We must return to our values
- By Ron Daniels, The Black Collegian, [22
August 1999]. The Dangers Of Skin Politics: A Key Challenge
Facing African Americans. No issue in recent years divided
Black America more than the nomination of Clarence Thomas to
the Supreme Court. Despite suspicions about his commitment
and record on civil rights, labor, and women's issues,
some very prominent leaders in the African-American
community supported his nomination because he is Black.
- Along the Color Line; A dialog between
generations
- By Manning Marable, November 1999. Reflections on the
tradition of democratic socialism in Black history and the
continuing relevance of socialism to the
struggle. Defeatism and the generational gap.
- Calling All Black Organizers
- By Bill Fletcher, Jr., November 1999. The prevailing
ideology on many Black campuses which encourages
entrepreneurialism. There is a political indifference and
little sense of social class. Discusses the role of class
consciousness in the Black experience.