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Hasn’t The Government Done Enough
want to tell you a story. It is a story deeply rooted in the bowels of the State of
Michigan. It’s a story that oc- curred in a small, nearly all- Black town of Flint. There isn‘t a word of joy in this story. This story details the criminal ac- tivity of a Governor who placed money above the safety of the citizens of Flint.
This story began to unfold when a group of Black citizens came to the authorities with containers fill with black, dirty drinking water. The water was carried to the Department of
Environment Protection and they found “nothing wrong.”
Fortunately, for the town of Flint, it had a young African American Mayor who knew something was wrong. She wanted to know what it was. She involved the governor’s of- fice where a shocking discov- ery was made.
It was found that the water was poison from being filter through poison pipes; worse than that, the Governor’s Of- fice knew about the problem already, but chose to ignore it to save a few dollars. That is an
example of how much Black Life means to some people.
Children and their parents got sick and a few died. The sickness in Flint was awful.
The Flint situation was so bad until it became a national story of disgrace and all this Governor chooses to do was to ask for forgiveness. That sounds pretty good except the problem still existed.
The NAACP got involved and threatened to call for a na- tionwide period of unrest.
Neither the City of Flint nor the State of Michigan needs that publicity. I believe this governor has done enough to send him to jail for a while. After all, poisoning young chil- dren should be a crime.
The least should be done with this fellow is to call for his resignation. After all he has done enough.
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The Real Miss Pittman Visits The White House
hen actress Cicely Tyson starred in the 1974 film, The
Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, the fictional story of a Black woman born into slavery who later lived to be 110 years of age, Virginia McLaurin was only 64 years old. Born at the turn of the century in South Carolina where she picked cotton and shucked horse-corn, there’s the possibility that if someone had mentioned either the name of Cicely Tyson or Jane Pittman, Virginia McLaurin might simply have asked, “Who are they?”
But little did she know that reality – as far as her future was concerned – would turn out to be more uncanny than fic- tion. Forty-two years later, four years shy of the 110 years of Miss Jane Pittman, Miss Virginia McLaurin would herself be the focus of an occurrence that in its moment would symbol- ize the meaning of the entire Black Experience.
Virginia McLaurin, daughter and granddaughter of a slav- ery South, got to dance with the President of the United States of America who, by the way, was a Black man. GLORY HALLELUJAH!! Stop the press! If there is a more deserving editorial that needs be printed, we are not aware of it.
Could any of you who are reading these words have any idea how she must have felt? If she had been you, what would you have said or done? And so, she hugged the first Black man in history to become President of America . . .and sud- denly, her feet spoke up and demanded, “Dance, why don’t you?” And that is exactly what she did, with the President and his lovely First Lady.
And when Miss McLaurin had finished her dance, she turned to the world and said, “I never thought I’d live to see this day . . . and now that I have, I’m ready to die.”
Neither Cicely Tyson who played Jane Pittman, nor Ernest J. Gaines who wrote the novel upon which the movie was based, nor anyone since Abraham Lincoln could have said anything more eloquent.
Too Black Beyonce
n the past when someone
would mention the name Beyonce, the only image that came to mind was that of an attractive woman on stage somewhere, wearing a long blonde wig, singing and danc- ing. Never once did it occur to me that this entertainer, known mostly for her overt sexuality and radio friendly pop music, could possess a so- cially conscious bone in her body. But, as is often the case, looks can be deceiving.
Beyonce showed me, through her halftime perform- ance at the Super Bowl and the release of the music video for her song "Formation," that she doesn't mind stirring the pot. And, boy, is that pot boil- ing.
As I write this a large por- tion of white America is furi- ous at the woman affectionately known as "Queen Bey" for showing a side of herself that they didn't know existed.... Her Black- ness.
Up until this point, I imag- ine, most of America viewed Beyonce as a figure who tran- scended race, a talented Michael Jackson-type per- former, who just so happened to be born with a little darker pigmentation.
Now, to their dismay, Bey- once has displayed, by cele- brating the Black Lives Matter movement with her song and honoring Malcolm X on the
field, that she's not only aware of who she is, but she em- braces it fully. Her bold ges- tures stand in stark contrast to what many in white America expect from those smiling Black faces that they allow to slip through the cracks.
Of course, this is what I re- spect the most about Mrs. Knowles-Carter. The fact that she can piss people off so profoundly means, at least to me, that she's doing some- thing right.
I mean, she could have eas- ily played it safe and made a typical video for her single and gone completely vanilla for her live performance. Instead, she courted controversy by shining light on the contentious rela- tionship between Blacks and police agencies across the country and even used the 50th anniversary of the Super Bowl to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the cre- ation of the Black Panther movement. Two moves that were as genius as they were creative.
Some may try to downplay the significance of her actions by saying that she's already ex- tremely wealthy, so she really had nothing to lose. But, to the contrary, I believe that, be- cause of her immense wealth, status and popularity, she risked even more.
The #boycottBeyonce movement that has been cre- ated in response to Bey-
once's "I'm Black And I'm Proud" coming out party isn't surprising because some whites have always had a problem with Blacks who re- fuse to live inside of the boxes that make White America comfortable. The only thing about it that bothers me is the police unions who have joined with the protesters.
The interesting and ironic thing about law enforcement officers deciding to support the boycott is that these are the same officers who we never hear about protesting against being forced, or ac- cepting off duty pay, to protect members of the Klu Klux Klan or other openly racist groups when they hold demonstrations. Do these cops seriously want us to believe that Beyonce showing pride in her identity is more offen- sive and dangerous than cross- burnings?
In the end, regardless of what the haters say or think, it was refreshing to see someone with such a powerful voice showcase a level of courage by standing up for what she be- lieves. With her actions Bey- once has shown that a person doesn't have to choose be- tween being famous and being Black. As it turns out you can actually be both.
It is just too bad that peo- ple like Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods never figured it out when they had a chance to make a difference.
Reality On Ice is © by the Florida Sentinel Bul- letin Publishing Com- pany. Anyone wishing to contact Clarence Barr can email him at: realityon- ice@yahoo.com.
Police Should Back Off Beyonce
erhaps, we should blame high school history teachers
for the fact that most of our readers under the age of 40 have no idea who or what was the Black Panther Party is. Therefore, a firestorm of confusion has ignited as to why po- lice organizations across America (Tampa included) are call- ing for a boycott of recording artist Beyoncé’s Formation concert tour.
We are told, Beyoncé and her dancers’ routine that re- ferred to the Black Panther Party because of its black uni- forms, raised fists and a postgame placard calling for justice for a young Black man was a Halftime Super Bowl perform- ance that did not set well with police officers.
Consequently, the men and women in blue are up in arms. But before we judge this latest snit as “much ado about noth- ing,” let’s take this opportunity to educate the public.
The Black Panther Party for Self Defense was a revolu- tionary Black Nationalist and Socialist organization founded in 1966 and dissolved in 1982. Its original purpose was to arm its members (using open-carry gun laws) to patrol and
monitor the behavior of police and to challenge police brutality in Oakland, California. The group also opposed de facto segregation, the military draft, and provided free lunches for hungry children.
During that era, less than three percent of Oakland police officers were Black, and tension between the Black community and police was always high. Indeed, charges of police harass- ment and brutality across America were rampant during those years.
In the context of history, there was indeed, bad blood between Black Panthers and many police agencies. But such bad blood does not deserve to stain the rights of one of the world’s most beloved recording artists. Police officers, we suggest you rethink your anger.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2016 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 5-A
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