Guy John: Governor Lester Maddox Says it’s Not About Race

Source: Guy John- Governor Lester Maddox D, GA

Source: This piece was originally posted at FRS Daily Times

Lester Maddux who unless I’m mistaken was Governor of Georgia at one point, but him saying that denying African-Americans service to his business “is not about race”, reminds me of the famous bank robber Willy Sutton saying that robbing banks “is not about the money”. Who are they trying to fool? Of course the racial discrimination that came about in the form of denying African-Americans service was about race. And it was also about skin-color as well. The Anglo-Saxon South lost the ability to treat Africans as property thanks to them losing the Civil War in the 1860s. Their response was that “if we can’t treat them like property, we’ll do the next best things. Separating the Africans from the Caucasians. And denying them the same quality of service that we give ourselves and for the ability for African-Americans to achieve any type of education in life that will allow for them to be successful in America”. They lost all of those battles and losing the ability to deny service to African-Americans, I guess was Lester Maddux’s last straw.

Guy John: Governor Lester Maddox Says It’s Not About Race

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Firing Line With William F. Buckley: ‘Firing Line with William F. Buckley Jr.: The Wallace Crusade’

Source:Firing Line With William F. Buckley– Judge Leander Perez: Louisiana.

Source:The New Democrat 

“Firing Line with William F. Buckley Jr.: The Wallace Movement. Episode 095, Recorded on April 15, 1968: Guest: Leander Perez.”

From Firing Line With William F. Buckley 

“Firing Line with William F. Buckley Jr.: The Wallace Crusade. Episode 088, Recorded on January 24, 1968 Guest: George C. (George Corley) Wallace.”

Source:Firing Line With William F. Buckley– Interviewing Governor C. Wallace in 1968.

From Firing Line With William F. Buckley 

“Firing Line with William F. Buckley Jr.: The Wallace Crusade. Episode 088, Recorded on January 24, 1968 Guest: George C. (George Corley) Wallace For more information about this program, see…

Source:Firing Line With William F. Buckley– Governor George C. Wallace: D. Alabama.

From Rick Donald

Bill Buckley was a true Conservative and he would’ve taken the more progressive or liberal stance against Wallace when it came to civil rights and segregation. Or least that it how it would seem. I even as a Liberal believe you can be a Conservative and still believe in commonsense American values like liberty, equality, equal rights and civil liberties. But that is me.

I never heard of Leander Perez from Louisiana before I saw this video. But apparently he was both Governor of Louisiana and a judge in Louisiana and this interview was done in 1968. And they were talking segregation and the civil rights laws. And the Governor telling Bill Buckley that he’s not a racist even though he says Negros (which is what African-Americans back then were called) are morally inferior to Caucasian-Americans. And Perez saying that he’s being honest and that is the truth, “why hide it”? With Buckley replying “so you are an honest bigot”.

Governor George C. Wallace was a Dixiecrat, a right-wing (at least on social cultural issues) Nationalist who was basically still fighting the Civil War and wanting to lead Confederates in that war. Not ready to perhaps even see African-Americans as people, let alone as Americans deserving of the same rights and protections, as well as responsibilities as European-Americans. Bill Buckley was a Conservative. And one of the conservative values is treating individuals as exactly that. And not treating people as members of groups. Worst or better simply because of their race.

The so-called Wallace Movement of the South of the 1960s and 1970s, was different. And more of a racially based nationalistic movement of Southern Caucasians, predominantly Protestant and perhaps even Anglo-Saxon. Who felt having African-Americans in their community was some type of an invasion. When the fact was and still is that Africans are just as American as Europeans and as such deserving of the same rights as European-Americans and every other race in America. The Wallace Movement simply saw African-Americans as inferior. And not deserving of the same rights and protections.

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The Daily Conversation: Long Lost Martin Luther King Speech

 

Freedom Fighter

Source: This piece was originally posted at The New Democrat

The thing that I may respect most about Dr. King was his ability to make his case to the country simply based on the facts. With a very sober demeanor that was designed to bring people to his cause based on the facts. That what he was talking about in accomplishing were equal rights under the law. That the United States Constitution guarantees everyone and that all Americans were supposed to be treated equally. And that we were entitled to these rights based under the United States Constitution.

Dr. King wasn’t calling for special rights or treatment for African-Americans. Just the same rights that Caucasian-Americans had and that no one was supposed to be discriminated against based on race. And treated better or worst because of their race. That we are all supposed to be treated equally under the law. And that it wasn’t some law that needed to be passed to guarantee our rights, because these rights were already guaranteed to all Americans again under the United States Constitution.

Dr. King also understood that for him to achieve the goals of his movement, which was racial equality under law, that he was going to need help. That African-Americans couldn’t make this happen on their own. That they needed other Americans including Caucasians as well. Simply because his community was outnumbered and need others to make their goals reality.

The Daily Conversation: Long Lost Dr. Martin Luther King Speech

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Chicago Tribune: Clarence Page: ‘Good Luck, Ben Jealous’

“Good Luck, Ben Jealous”

From the Chicago Tribune

Too bad that Ben Jealous is leaving the NAACP because he brought real credibility there that they need to reach out to non-African-Americans and younger Americans who aren’t nearly as race-conscience as the older leadership in the NAACP and truly look at people as people and not members of races.

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RBG Street Scholar: James Baldwin & Dick Gregory- ‘Baldwin’s Nigger (1969)’

Source:RBG Street Scholar– about James Baldwin’s 1969 documentary.

You can also see this post at The New Democrat, on WordPress.

You can also see this post at The New Democrat, on Blogger.

“RBG-James Baldwin and Dick Gregory Baldwin’s Nigger (1969)”

From RBG Scholar

James Baldwin’s message seems to be about individual empowerment and individual freedom, that African-Americans should empower themselves and standup for their own lives and take charge of their own lives. And perhaps even stop complaining. Not forget about all the injustices that came to this community before, but for this community to move forward, they need to take control of their own lives and build their own lives and communities.

Dick Gregory, who what I’ve heard from him, sounds more like Martin King, then Malcolm X, when it came to the civil rights movement, or the Black Power movement. Someone who not only believes in non-violence, but believes in social democracy and democratic socialism when it comes to solving the problems of the African-American community. In this speech, sounds more like Malcolm X. Talking about personal responsibility, to go along with individual freedom and empowerment.

In this Baldwin speech he seems to be arguing that African-Americans, should stand up and take their freedom and build their own community. And not expect others to do that for them. Sounds very much like Malcolm X. Fighting violence with violence, which is essentially what Malcolm X preached when it came to racist Caucasians who abuse African-Americans, would’ve not of accomplished what was needed to end racist laws and state-sponsored racism. Because it wouldn’t have brought other communities to support the African-American freedom fighters.

But individual freedom through education and economic development and infrastructure in underserved communities, would give African-Americans the tools that they need to live in freedom.

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