Jasiri X
The Cruxifiction of Van Jones by Jasiri X: Yall know I’m a Media Literist. (Yeah I went Keith Murray on that one.) So when Glenn “Looney Tunes” Beck started to take shots at Van Jones I watched the situation very closely. Of course Van’s old group which he co-founded but is no longer associated, Color of Change set it off on Beck costing him almost 60 advertisers and almost his job, but these Right Wing dudes do not lay down. Beck came out swinging with the heavy lumber, and because he’s at Fox News the story just doesn’t end with him no matter how ridiculous. Once it gained traction Sean Hannity jumped in and then Bill O’ Riley now you got a digital rumble. But instead of coming to his aid the White House let him fight it out himself. (I guess that’s what you call tough love.) When I woke up Sunday Morning and found out Van had resigned I was VERY upset. What made me so mad was Van was the closes thing to having ya partna in the White House. Now I don’t know him personally but I do know he’s a activist straight from the Hood, and everything Fox hatin on him for made him that much more real in my eyes. Plus even with his activist street cred brother has a law degree from Yale and some of the most innovative ideas to help heal our community. That being said I’ve had about enough of Fox News lynching black men (primarily) and all people who speak truth to power. I mean Michael Jackson couldn’t even catch a break! So since Fox is breakin’ out the big guns so am I, and yes I tried my best to wait to September 29 which is the ” Van JonesThis Week With Jasiri X” Season 3 Premiere but I couldn’t let another brother get crucified and remain silent. Strong Shout Out to Paradise Gray who was behind the camera and Track Fiends Production for the hot beat! In closing folks may wanna peep this speech that Van gave at the Powershift Summit in front of ten thousand people. He received a thunderous standing ovation. This was right before he was appointed to the White House. See the video at youtube.com/jasirix or davey-d.com
Van Jones
Davey-D
Conference on Racism, not smashing down on wiretapping, going after Bushes people who committed crimes, single-payer for healthcare etc. With each moan and groan of disappointment, people were told, ‘please be patient-give the President a chance, he’s only been in office for 6 months’. We were told to be quiet and let him do his job, while everyone else from parties and organization that never voted for him and in fact, worked hard to defeat him, were kicking up dust and getting some sort of accommodation. People have tried, but it seemed like with each passing day, a President who holds super majorities in both the house and Senate was being wimpy and at every turn giving into every over the top, race baiting accusations and outlandish assertions from the far right. He was allowing himself to get whoo-rided and that was not cool. Van Jones being in the White House gave many of the folks coming from that perspective some sort of hope that things would be alright. He was one voice, but it repped a lot of folks who were feeling left out. At the very least, one could say President Obama has ‘people of all sizes, shapes and political ideologies at the table. To allow Van Jones to go and not defend him spoke volumes about the character of the guy sitting in that office on Pennsylvania Ave. I liken this who situation to a guy or a girl who keeps doing everything they can to win the attention and ultimately affections of someone they really like. You do everything you possibly can, send flowers, write songs, help them out of bad situations, speak highly of them when everyone else speaks ill etc. Sadly with each gesture and advance you find less attention is being paid. Phone calls aren’t returned. Invites aren’t offered and that person goes out his/her way to avoid you. What makes it worse is the person you like is hell bent on chasing down someone who doesn’t respect him/her, treats them poorly and shows no love at all. It’s even worse when you see that person aggressively courting someone who has mistreated them or has even been brutal. You watch them chase the bad while ignoring your kind heart and the message is soon loud and clear. In this case its simple: President Obama is not really into us. Something to Ponder.
Marc Lamont Hill
Marc Lamont Hill Speaks about Van Jones, Attacks from the Right, Holding Obama Accountable by Davey-D: We sat down and spoke with Professor Marc Lamont Hill of Columbia University and Fox News. We spoke with him on a variety of topics including the controversy surrounding former Obama advisor Van Jones who was forced to retire. Hill talked honestly about the types of mindsets many of his colleagues like Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity have when it comes to dealing with the Left and what sort of steps we as young people, members of the Hip Hop generation, communities of color and progressives need to do in the face of relentless attacks. Hill noted that many on the right see the removal of Van Jones as an indication that there is a serious soft spot within the Obama administration and among those who identify with the left. They understand that if they kick up enough dust and yell real loud there will be some sort of concessions made. They know that if they jump start a campaign that targets people within the administration there is likelihood at the very least they will get an apology from President Obama and the person targeted being tossed under the proverbial political bus. Hill talks about how it’s important that people who helped put Barack Obama into office hold him accountable and that they not blindly vote for people without having them promise to champion important issues. Young people, members of the Hip Hop generation, progressives and communities of color cannot afford to remain silent. We asked Professor Hill, if his fellow pundits actually believe some of the outlandish claims they make and put out over the airwaves i.e Birther claims. Hill said that O’Reilly to his credit is not into the Birther claims, but Hannity and Beck definitely believe in the stuff they put out and are willing to ride hard for them. He talked about how Hannity once remarked that he could not believe Obama won the Presidency after he spent two years throwing everything at him. Hill noted that there are many on the left who are quick to give up and try to make friends with a group of people who absolutely will smash on you and take no prisoners. Hill also talked about the short sightedness we have in believing we should ease back on our demands and let Obama ‘have time to figure things out’. He said if you keep doing that you will find issues for poor people and Black people on the back burner and eventually off the table. He scoffed at the notion that Obama has somehow been doing a strategic ‘rope a dope’ act where he is luring his right wing attackers into a trap. Hill noted that no one allows their popularity to dip below 50% and members of their staff to be picked off. He encouraged folks to organize and seek alternate sources of information and start pushing their issues to the forefront and not to let up until they are addressed. He said it was extremely important that we look at the upcoming 2010 midterm elections where Congress and Senate seats are up for grabs. He said that’s the time to hold folks to the fire. He also said young people and progressive need to be working toward starting or joining a third party that best suits their political needs. Check out the video at thesouthernshift.com/videos
Rosa Clemente
Notes from a Hip Hop Radical: Van Jones & the Politricks of the Obama Administration by Rosa Clemente: Over the Labor Day weekend Van Jones, a member of the Hip Hop generation and special advisor for green jobs at the White House Council for Environmental Quality, tendered his resignation, and it was accepted by the Obama administration. I will be the first to say that I never found Van Jones to be a radical, a Black Nationalist or a communist as Fox News has suggested. Although I appreciate his book The Green Collar Economy, I never believed that a green economy will save working people. I felt that the book gave solutions on how to save the current capitalist system. And fundamentally that presents a problem, as many in this country are suffering because of capitalism and its failures. No matter my political differences with Jones, I will never discount his work, energy, community organizing skills and progressive tendencies, which have reconnected urban youth with Mother Earth and have inspired many in my generation to create space in the predominately white liberal “green” movement. As the former Green Party Vice-Presidential candidate, I am not surprised that Jones turned out to be a high-profile casualty of an administration that started at the center and continues to move to the right. But what has surprised me is that people are not holding the Obama administration for its role in the matter. Do not be fooled. There is no doubt that the Obama administration knew about Jones’ so-called “radical” past. I am not willing to believe that they never did a Google search on Jones or looked at his past comments, speeches or actions. By accepting Jones’ Resignation the Obama administration essentially gave a victory to the very racist Glenn Beck and the most vile “news” station in modern time. They have put a target on all of us who would be deemed activists or radicals. Accepting Jones’s resignation is a slap in the face to all of us. So for those who voted for Obama, when will you let him know that you will not accept Van Jones as a casualty of an administration capitulating to the right? How dare we allow a bunch of white boys whom in the 1950’s would have been wearing hoods and burning crosses on Black peoples lawns have this much power. Where is the movement? Where is our infrastructure? Where is progressive media? So where do we go from here? I caution people, first do not make Jones a martyr. Van Jones is not Jesus, God or Malcolm reincarnated and elevating him to icon status is dangerous and does us no good. I am urging people to go back to the grassroots, go back to local community organizing and support progressives and 3rd party candidates in local elections. Stop thinking that once you vote that is your contribution, the easiest thing to do now-a-days is vote, the work begins after you cast your ballot. Malkia Cyril the Executive Director of the Center for Media Justice the other day on Democracy Now stated, “We need to create an echo chamber of progressive media to counter the echo created by the right.” The Van Jones takedown has revealed our own frustrations and inability to build and sustain a powerful multi-faceted, multi-racial, self-sustaining movement. I do not know all the answers and solutions to the chaos we finds ourselves in at this moment in history, but I do hope that people take one lesson that I learned from Van Jones’ book, “Stop fight against something and start fighting for something.” Maybe our fighting for something began at 11:45pm this past Saturday. If that is the case, we should all thank Van Jones for leaving the manicured green lawns and oak offices of the White House.
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