2014 Links I Like

 

 Colorlines A Racial Justice Bucket List for 2014:

The fresh page of a new year—what a thrilling place to be. And to kick off 2014, Colorlines asked several community leaders to share their racial justice wishes for the year. We wanted to to know, what are some truly attainable victories for justice in the coming year? And how could any one of us help achieve them? Just reading the list we received gives me a lot of life and excitement for what lies ahead.

Three Ways to Fight Racism in 2014

2014 will be the year this is made clear to everyone: Racism is not simply personal prejudice/bigotry that only manifests in the form of being unkind to someone on the basis of their skin color or calling them a derogatory name. Racism is a system of oppression, one that creates a society of first- and second-class citizens by denying rights and access to resources to non-white people. Racism is a system of power created by and maintained through public policy. Racist rhetoric or action is anything that reinforces/upholds that system.

Why do whites hate, demonize and look down on blacks?

• Racist messages in jokes, history books, the news and on television, etc,
• Material self-interest,
• Fear of becoming an outcast among whites

Why Courts should matter to African Americans

We must begin to educate the African American Community to understand the importance of their vote and how these courts impact their lives. Since the war on drugs began, more African Americans have been sentenced to prison under the Federal Court System because of the drug laws that have been implemented. African Americans have been disenfranchised because of decisions by Judges regarding voting rights laws that have been enacted in the states. Employment discrimination suits are heard by federal judges and most of the decisions are rendered by a judge. It is important to understand the power that you, the African American Voter have on your livelihoods and well being. There are environmental issues that physically affect our communities and depending on the position of the judge, these issues results don’t necessarily end in our favor.

KarremAbdul-Jabbar:   Supreme Court "Back Sliding" on Race Relations

When asked how the country was doing “on the racial front” but Rose, Abdul-Jabbar answered, “I think we’ve been doing some back sliding. You know what I’ve seen you know some of the Supreme Court decisions and all this effort to suppress….minority voters. I don’t get it. It seems like we’re moving backwards. But I guess we are just gonna have to keep up the fight.”

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