EDITORIAL BLACK HISTORY MONTH 2015: GAINS AND LOSSES By Phil Seahorn February 11th, 2015 ALL THIS MONTH I WILL BE POSTING ON FACEBOOK UNDER THE BANNER “BLACK
HISTORY MONTH� EVENTS THAT REFLECT THE NATURE OF BLACK HISTORY TODAY IN 2015 IN AMERICA TODAY. History is being made now in the African American Diaspora. This year (2015) will mark the beginning of the final two years of the first (arguably) person of color to hold the office of the president of the United States. These are times where we also see the worst racial conditions in this country since 1968.The events in Ferguson, Missouri showed the world the ugly undercurrent of a disenfranchised section of America and the militarization of the American police departments to deal with this segment of society. With that, the events in Ferguson have also opened the doors to the extent of police malfeasances to the American public as a whole. It has also marked just how America feels about the communities of color in the U.S. while the acting president is a person of color himself. So, here we are in 2015 in America: my dream of wanting to live during the tumultuous sixties has borne fruit. And it’s a bitter fruit indeed.
While the irony of having the shortest month of the year dedicated to black history month is not lost to very few, the importance and significance of events happening right now portends to what may lie ahead in later months in this country. And God help us if we have another “Ferguson, Missouri”. So, an analysis of where the community of color in the United States stands in this Black History month of 2015.
THE GAINS: •
FERGUSON, MISSOURI
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NEW MEDIA
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MEETING THE 1,000 POUND ELEPHANT IN A LOT OF AMERICAN’S LIVING ROOMS: RACISM IN THE U.S.
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PRESIDENT OBAMA BEING CALLED TO TASK ON CONDITIONS IN THE COMMUNITIES OF COLOR IN THE U.S.
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WORLD ATTENTION TO THE DANGEROUS AND INSIDIOUS RISE OF A POLICE STATE IN THE U.S. AND CONDITIONS IN COMMUNITES OF COLOR IN THE U.S. THE LOSSES: •
FERGUSON , MISSOURI
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LOSS OF CONTROL OF MEDIA COVERAGE AND THE USAGE (OR NON USAGE) OF NEW MEDIA
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FAR MORE MEDIA REPORTS ON JUST HOW FUCKED UP THE BLACK COMMUNITY IS IN AMERICA
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MORE PRESSURE ON “BLACK LEADERS” TO, WELL, FUCKING LEAD (INCLUDING THE PRESIDENT )
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BLACK CELEBRITIES BEING TARGETED (HOW CONVENIENT) AND VILIFIED IN THE PRESS AND PUBLIC
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WHITE RACISTS IN AMERICA GETTING BRAGGING RIGHTS BECAUSE OF THE CONDUCT OF SOME FOLKS IN FERGUSON,MO
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PRESIDENT OBAMA BEING ABSOLUTELY ‘TOO SOFT” ON RACE IN AMERICA
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KANYE FUCKING WEST
Okay, Kanye don’t even need to be represented, but that motherfucker is REALLY doing a lot for the image of African American males in the U.S. Make no fucking mistake on this point, though: this is absolutely NOT a fucking apology to white America for the shit that is going on in black communities in the U.S.
HOWEVER, the image that has been created in the media of the black community in the U.S. has warranted KILLING
BLACK MEN IN
THE U.S. AND THE RISE OF OVERT RACISM AGAINST THE COMMUNITIES OF COLOR IN AMERICAN MEDIA AND SOCIETY NOT SEEN SINCE THE EIGHTIES. This image has to change. That’s one of the main reasons I left employment at Washington University and got the fuck out of St. Louis to get 1,200 miles away from the motherfucker just as soon as I got my fucking degree. Black history Month in 2015 leaves a whole helluva lot to be desired in terms of a community that has risen. But the events in this country in the coming months will definitely show the significance of the times that we are living in the U.S. in relation to black history. We as Americans in 2015 are history in the making.
p
eace