The Black Struggle, Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing and the NAACP

By Scotty Reid, October 2, 2007

Since the Jena Six case in Louisiana hit the mainstream news, politicians and others have sought to portray themselves as being sympathetic to the plight of African Americans in the United States Justice System. Politicians like Hillary Clinton and Barrack Obama are tentively scheduled to appear on the nationally syndicated “black” ABC radio program, The Michael Baisden Show. Michael Baisden announced on air that he talked with two of the Democratic presidential candidates concerning the Jena Six case, which is just one case of injustice among many cases past and present of African Americans in the United States. It will be interesting to see if Mr. Baisden does his homework in researching the background of these two Democratic presidential candidates and if he will ask them the tough questions. It will also be interesting to hear what questions are posed by his listeners.

Perhaps a good question to ask of Hillary Clinton is why her husband’s administration, former President Bill Clinton, who has been making his rounds of black radio programs on behalf of her campaign, had such a poor record in addressing the Human Rights Violations of African Americans in the United States during his two terms. It is a shame that Bill Clinton was not ask this question as he shucked and jived with well known black radio hosts when he appeared on their programs. Human Rights Watch issued a 2001 World report that stated:

“As the Clinton Administration's second term ended in 2000, evidence of its domestic human rights legacy was scant. The country made little progress in embracing international human rights standards at home. Most public officials remained either unaware of their human rights obligations or content to ignore them.

As in previous years, serious human rights violations were most apparent in the criminal justice system-including police brutality, discriminatory racial disparities in incarceration, abusive conditions of confinement, and state-sponsored executions, even of juvenile offenders and the mentally handicapped. But extensively documented human rights violations also included violations of workers' rights, discrimination against gay men and lesbians in the military, and the abuse of migrant child farmworkers………

The initial report of the U.S. to the United Nations Committee against Torture-produced four years after it was due-acknowledged areas of "concern, contention and criticism" with regard to police abuse, excessive use of force in prison, prison overcrowding, physical and mental abuse of inmates, and the lack of adequate training and oversight for police and prison guards. Nevertheless, the initial report was incomplete and misleading in several important aspects. It failed to acknowledge crucial weaknesses in laws and mechanisms to protect the right to be free of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, as well as the serious obstacles abuse victims face in securing legal redress. It failed also to confront forthrightly the prevalence of abuses against detained and incarcerated men, women and children throughout the United States.”

Now fast forward to 2007 and with the Democrats in control of Congress of which Senator Hillary Clinton can be perceived as a leader, has done little to repeal the Military Detainee Act of 2006, which allows persons to be detained without due process or access to civilian courts. Hidden within the legislation is immunity for U.S. officials who were involved with the torture program ran by the Bush Administration dating back to September 11 2001. One thing is for certain, Hillary Clinton, as First Lady had not shown herself to be an advocate for African American’s plight as was former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. It would be foolish to think that she that suddenly she is concerned about them now.

Michael Baisden stated that Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama referred to him as “brother” when he greeted him and committed to appearing on his national radio program. Perhaps a good question to ask “brother” Obama is what he meant when he stated that black people have come “90% of the way” in issues of equality as reported by Black Agenda Report . Glen Ford writes:

“Obama tells us that Black folks are already "90 percent of the way" to equality, when all the objective data say differently. In this way, he most resembles the snake-oil salesman Bill Clinton, who threw more Black people in jail than any previous president, destroyed the very concept of governmental obligation to the poor, and laid the institutional foundations for the de-industrialization of America - all the while visiting Black churches and giving feel-good gospel-laden speeches.”

A good follow up question to brother Obama would be that if African Americans finally get permanent voting rights protections that do not have to come under review every twenty years, would he then consider us to have come 100% of the way in achieving our God given right of equality in the eyes of the U.S. Government?
Michael Baisden generated a lot of publicity for the Jena Six case although it was long beforehand being reported online by bloggers and other online publications before mainstream finally recognized the case. Michael Baisden did make a personal trip to Louisiana to participate and lend support to those marching in support of the young men involved in the case. It is reasonable to assume that he spoke with Dr. Ernest Johnson, the president of the Louisiana, NAACP chapter. Perhaps he should invite Dr. Johnson on the show.

In 2001, George W. Bush appointed Dr. Johnson as a public delegate to the U.N. General Assembly. In a brief telephone conversation with Dr. Johnson, he stated that issues involving the September 11 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and mostly consumed his appointment that was only one year long. Considering his brief experience at the UN and his involvement in the Jena Six Case and asked if he thought the issues concerning the documented racial injustices faced by African Americans should be linked to lodging formal complaints to the United Nations and if the NAACP had considered such action. He communicated that he does believe that these are Human Rights Violations and should be brought before the United Nations. He did not know if The NAACP should note that their charge of racial discrimination in the United States does fall under the same umbrella of Human Rights.
A report prepared for the United Nation’s Human Rights Committee in May 2006 titled In The Shadows Of The War On Terror: Persistent Police Brutality And Abuse In The United States and includes documented cases of violations that have grown worse under the Bush Administration. The report states:

“This report was prepared by U.S. non-governmental organizations in response to the USA’s Second and Third Periodic Report to the Human Rights Committee (the “Committee”) regarding its compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (the “ICCPR” or “Covenant”). It focuses on ongoing and pervasive police brutality and abuse in communities of color across the U.S. which, despite this Committee’s previous expression of concern about this issue, continues to take place, in violation of Articles 2, 3, 6, 7, 9, 10, 17, 20, 25, and 26 of the Covenant”.

The NAACP is listed in the United Nation’s NGO/DPI directory with its main activity listed as Human Rights. The directory also states that the 2007 Accreditation Form has not been received. If the NAACP is to be taken seriously not by the UN body but by young African Americans who are becoming increasing critical of the organization but have shown a willingness to get out and fight for their rights, then the NAACP should start taking its role as advocate seriously. Young African Americans increasingly see them as an extension of the Democratic Party. African Americans may start seeking other groups to take up the new social political revolution that is manifesting at the grass roots level. In 1947, the NAACP appealed to the UN and presented the body with vital statistics and facts concerning the human rights violations of African Americans in the United States. However, it did not address possible solutions to the problems presented. Today there are many civil rights advocacy groups presenting statistics and facts but politicians are mostly unwilling to accept their recommendations for change.

While the George W. Bush parades around and gives speeches before the UN critical of other countries human rights records to further justify and excuse his administrations all out military assaults on sovereign nations, perhaps someone should be pointed out the United States its abysmal record on Human Rights towards African Americans and other minority groups. It has been 60 years since the NAACP appealed to the United Nations and 60 years later, African Americans are still faced with the same problems and under the Bush Administration worsened. Perhaps the NAACP should be seeking UN resolutions against the United States along with the same economic embargos it has tried to strangle Cuba with since the 1960’s.

Young African Americans who are the frequent targets of these Human Rights violations are tired of hearing wealthy and well off black men make speeches about the obvious. They are seeking real leadership from individuals who are not afraid to put their careers and even their lives on the line for the cause. The United States Government has gone virtually unpunished for its egregious crimes and average everyday citizens are outraged and have had enough. When will these media personalities start asking these politicians the hard questions instead of inviting them to shuck and jive sessions where they joke and laugh their way through interviews? Are they afraid security officers for the politicians will hit them with tasers if they ask the wrong questions? Perhaps that is the real reason why the top Republican candidates decided to decline their invitations to a recent debate centered on African American and Latino issues.