I suppose my attending a few A. Philip Randolph institute sponsored local political debates over the years; giving a little bit of money to the United Negro College Fund; supporting some of the mission of the NAACP and supporting and working with Urban League over the years wasnt enough for Jim Walker. Or maybe it made him begin to believe that I was ready to become an honorary member of the Black Panthers or the Black Nationalism group Nation of Islam where Elijah Wood and Malcolm X (and then Hashim Nzinga and Malik Zulu Shabazz with the New Black Panthers Party) made their names respected and feared, depending on which side of town they were spoken. The Nation of Islam under Farrakhan still has its roots in working to uplift impoverished blacks in the poorest neighborhoods by fostering a sense of black pride. They just do it in a way that whites dont understand or are even aware of. Maybe James will pay my dues and sponsor my membership in one of the many militant black groups. Maybe hes just trying to motivate me to work on my tan next summer. Im not certain but Im guessing its somewhere in between. Jim Walker pay my dues? No, apparently not. It seems as though my speaking out with my opinions on race relations and discrimination opinions, some of which fall in line with those of Mr. Walkers militant Black Panther view of the world. He felt that I needed a little kick in the seat of my flat white butt. Jim came to my office this afternoon with a gift of the book titled Black Lies, White Lies: The a Truth According To a Tony Brown. Apparently, James thought today was the appropriate day to exchange Christmas-- er, um, I mean, Kwanza gifts. (HEY!!!!! Is that why they call it Black Friday?) Anyways, we exchanged gifts of the others culture. He presented me with the Tony Brown book Black Lies, White Lies and I gave him my copy of the most lily white thing I could find, Rumsfeld: A Personal Portrait by Midge Dector. The book shows Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld had become the leading spokesman for the Bush presidencys matters related to any military action and its prosecution of the war on terror. His initial successes in Afghanistan and Iraq and his old-fashioned colloquialisms even turned him into an improbable media star. After an initial love affair with America the relationship eroded to a love-hate the just plain hate. Rumsfeld had become an almost universal figure of derision and contempt causing President Bush to Last oust Rumsfeld from his Pentagon job which is remembered now as a mostly disastrous tenure by an innovative schemer skilled at evading responsibility for his decisions. Overall, the account of Rumsfelds contributions to history was persuasive. As a show of gratitude and appreciation, when Jim gave me the tony Brown book I felt compelled to uncontrollably raise my right arm with clenched fist to salute the black power. When Jim was given the Rumsfeld book, he too clenched his fist and raised his arm but looking back it may have been a gesture of aggression and intended harm toward me as punishment and less a black power salute. I have so much to learn. In the spirit of the Civil Rights, the US Supreme Courts 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson decision and an end to the segregation laws during the Jim Crow era, Ive decided to keep both books in my collection and treat them the same but stored on different shelves. This way, they are SEPARATE BUT EQUAL. Id also like to be sure that I have the same number of white authored books as African American writers, but that amounts to RACIAL QUOTAS and racial quotas are a violation of the civil rights act. And I promise I will shelve them together and not have them SEGREGATED, another violation. The author is William Anthony Tony Brown is a journalist, academian,comedian and businessman. He is best known as the commentator of the long running syndicated television show, Tony Browns Journal, often seen on PBS, Internet Television, syndicated radio host, Tony Brown received a Bachelors in Sociology and an Masters a Degree in Psychiatric Social Work from Wayne State University in Detroit. Wayne State is one of the one hundred largest universities in the USA. He was also a member of Alpha Phi Alpha which is the first black inter-collegiate fraternity. He is a former faculty member at Central Washington University, Federal City College and became the founding Dean of Howard University Scripps Howard School of Journalism and Communication until his retirement in 2009. In addition to his being a professor, he has written several movie scripts including The a White a Girl, an anti-drug message film which he also directed, produced and distributed. He has written several best selling books including Empower The a People: A Seven a Step Plan To a Overthrow The Conspiracy That Is Stealing Money And Freedom. He was inducted into the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Silver Circle. Black Lies, White Lies by Tony Brown Is a lot like a series of opinionated and educational talk shows. This somewhat disjointed book raises both interesting philosophies and thoughts as well as half-baked ideas, with no one topic fully developed. Browns is adamant about his most often discussed and basic theme on race relations being a sensible, simple and sound one; blacks shouldnt expect whites to rescue them, but whites must also see that their fate is linked to that of all fellow Americans. Brown addresses many controversial areas including race relations and the way we see it and react to its very mention in the United States. He discusses affirmative action, the impact of the Black vote on national elections, how African Americans can achieve financial independence. He discusses subjects others would avoid with great nervousness. He is quick to give a well thought out perspective about how fear between Black and White races can be fought without violence and bloodshed. As a prominent black Republican, Brown has harsh and sometimes appropriate criticism of black leaders, but he undermines his case with a broad-brush assessment of the black community, riling tempers as he divides African Americans into what he calls the four ``tribes. His exaggerated references to black leaders support for, and Americas obvious drift toward ``socialism. He says it as more of a threat when he intimates that he may run for president of the United States. Brown argues that AIDS is misidentified and connected mainly to drug use. Many readers have said their favorite part of this interesting read were Tonys comments and the discussion regarding the AIDS epidemic. He sees ``cultural diversity which he says is vaguely defined, as a cure for institutional racism and proposes the internet as a new frontier for black entrepreneurship riding an idea for self-help associations ``within electronically-linked neighborhoods. He condemns integration as a disastrous policy, not for just Blacks but for the entire country. If you want to be enlightened and challenged in your thinking, than this book is for you. Truth be told, I am quite fortunate to have as good a friend in James walker as I do. We share a love of politics, reading great books, expanding our minds through learning, white girls, pop culture, history, world travel, good jokes, great stories and fantastic old friends. Its been this way for more than forty years. So thank you, Jim, for thinking of me with this book. I will finish it and have expanded my mind.
Posted on: Wed, 26 Nov 2014 06:58:51 +0000
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