where in the world is Phil Donahue?

i just found this video of an old Phil Donahue show entitled "The Issue of Race" in eight parts. what ever happened to the Phil Donahue show anyway? another video popped up on the sidebar of his show entitled "Was Jesus Black?". lol...if Phil isn't dead by now, can we start a petition to get this man back on television? give him the rights of the BET network since they clearly don't know what to do with it...

anyway, this episode includes Sistah Souljah (hip hop artist and activist), Dhoruba Bin Wahad (a former Black Panther), Cornel West, Alan Keyes (republican asswipe) and others. i really like how everyone just threw themselves out on the table, some let go of some rage.

it's interesting to look at this-filmed sometime in the last 80's/early 90's and see that a lot of the things they are discussing; problems in the black community; problems in dealing with race have not really changed. i had never heard of Dhoruba Bin Wahad, but he brings up some really good points and i really respect how he integrated the issue that is patriarchy into his arguments when the others were mainly focused on race. and Cornel West brings up some very good points as well. i figgin love him. i love how he seems so passionate about everything he says. theres much i disagree with him on (in the area of religion), but i don't see how anyone cannot like this man. and aside from that white man who was talking nonsense i didn't really dislike anyone with the exception of Alan Keyes. i don't know if anyone remembers, but he was in the primaries of the presidential race in '04. and he was exactly the same in '04 as he was in this video-a joke. talking complete nonsense nowhere near the core of the problem. he's like a black Sarah Palin with a penis. and it's sad that he and Michael Steele are poster children for Black Republicans.

interestingly enough, it seems as though all the people on the panel want the same things for our communities and our relations, but are still arguing.

here is the first clip (1 of 8):

The Black Agenda

i did a post not too long ago about the Tavis Smiley and AL Sharpton disagreement, and not too long ago the 'We Count! The Black Agenda is the American Agenda appeared on C-Span. i missed it when it came on television, and forgot about it until i read about Farrakhan speaking at it in The Final Call newspaper. its almost 4 hours....kinda long. but theres a lot to be discussed, and you should watch all of it when you get the chance.

i think this was a good discussion that was much needed. i would like to know who put forth or made the final decision on the panel. well, i guess thats obvious-Tavis. my point though, is that if someone has a point they want to get across, then they'll pick a larger number of people to represent their stance, and fewer that don't. i'm not saying Tavis did this, but it would be nice to know how this panel was come to. i would have liked to see more women on the panel as well as others that aren't necessarily in this black leaders group that we usually see. like Van Jones or Ben Jealous and although i think he's a Republican lapdog, Michael Steele too.

something Tavis said towards the beginning was that people are constantly asking whether these discussions he hosts do more than just talk. he says that this program is supposed to lay out a Black Agenda that we can discuss, edit and then work towards as a community, but i'm not sure whether or not that was accomplished. most of the panels' sentiments were... "black folk need to....", "we should start...", "we need to stop....". which if good for those that that mobilize and work towards these things through organizations and voting, however, there are many people that need direction and a systematized plan. but a plan for what?

i like what Jackson said when he interrupted Tavis at one part when he was talking about the Black Agenda. he said that there is not one single black agenda. and i think that was a very good point. to act as though there is a black agenda is to think that all black people want the same thing. MANY black people want the best for all black people. but that is not ALL black people. and even that "many" has their own ways they feel would be best as well as their own agendas. some black people want environmental justice and things like climate change to be assessed above all; some blacks want better healthcare and more jobs available; other blacks just want to see more black faces in the government; some blacks' main concern is the war; some are just trying to remove themselves from poverty, and some are just trying to make money; some blacks understand the patriarchy and racism that this country is saturated in, and some do not; some want the best for all blacks and consider the black community in all that they do, and some just want to succeed on their own; some want to look past race, while others want it to be embraced. we are not one monolith of voters; of citizens; of people. its arguable whether thats a good or a bad thing (or beneficial or disadvantageous), but it is what it is.

although it was said a number of times, as in the title of the program, that the Black Agenda, apparently, is the American Agenda. yet, Cornel and later, Dyson, spoke about how much we did to get Obama elected, and how he, in a sense, owes us as blacks our due respect with a separate agenda. on another note, i liked that Ronald Walters (later reiterated by Farrakhan) pointed out that there doesn't need to be this much discussion about Obama because Obama does not run this country. he is in the government, but he is by no means the most powerful individual in the government-no individual is. we should be criticizing not only Obama, but black acitivists, mayors, senators, governors, and so on.

i think all of what was said about Obama was much needed constructive criticism. one criticism that should be noted was that Obama has no qualls about helping Asians and their goals, Native Americans and their goals, Jews and their goals, and so on....but falls short or backs away from blacks and our goals. but, like i just showed, we are not one monolith of people with the same goals. and this is possibly why he has not addressed or worked toward it. he cannot just listen to these self-appointed black leaders and fulfill whatever they say our goals are, because he knows they do not represent ALL black people. but that is just a possibility. its also possible that he understand what is best for all black people whether all of us understand what that is or not, and simply chooses not to work towards that because he doesn't want to be called a separatist or a president that focuses more on race than all else.

the panelists i most liked were Michael Eric Dyson, Cornel West, Dorothy Tillman and Louis Farrakhan. Tillman had an attitude i liked. she reminds me of a church lady that took up politics as opposed to the ministry. she was honest and straightforward about what she wanted to be accomplished in the education system, mainly.
i grew a little more live for Cornel. i love his spirit and enthusiasm and lack of inhibitions. i liked how he got up to high five Tillman at one point and to hug Dyson at another point. and all thats aside from his wicked fro.
the individual whose message(s) i most liked, whose intellect and statements i most respected was that of Michael Eric Dyson. around 108 minutes, Dyson speaks for the second time with much more passion than his first time around. he said Obama was analagous to Jackie Robinson who was the first black man to integrate professional baseball, but not the best. "...at the end of the day-he's Jackie Robinson. i'm waiting for Willie Mays to come behind him cuz willie's got a hell of a swing. .....dealing with the black agenda is what every president before you had to deal with, how are you [Obama] any different?" he also scoffed at the comparison between Obama and Martin Luther King Jr. which is made so often.
Farrakhan is probably the most controversial person on the panel. and i spoke about my feelings about the Nation of Islam in another post. Farrakhan speaks more bluntly than anyone else, which is not only refreshing, but also mperative. sometimes we need someone that isn't afraid to offend and simply speaks the truth when it needs to be spoken. there are many criticisms i have of The Nation of Islam, however, during this discussion, he was on point. he said "i am very proud that a brother sits in the......WHITE. HOUSE. .....how long are you gonna sit around asking white folk to do what we can do for ourselves?...we have been looking at the wrong people to fulfill our agenda!" that being said, i respected how Tom Burrell said that we need to stop focusing on white people (i believe he was speaking to Farrakhan) because it reinforces that superiority complex.

all in all, it was a productive discourse. theres more and likely some new perspectives that all of us heard and found necessary for the struggle.

criticize. comment. think. question.

Tavis Smiley vs. Al Sharpton

my dad sent me this e-mail about this "feud" thats going on between Al Sharpton and Tavis Smiley about Obama and a "Black Agenda".
this is the audio of Al Sharpton's show that Smiley called in on. here are some more words Sharpton had to say on the subject along with Boyce Watkins chiming in. and this is what Cornel West had to say about it.

basically, the problem is that Tavis wants some sort of open dialogue between black leaders (some self-proclaimed "black leader"....some not) about whether or not they think Obama should have a "black agenda"-that being a separate agenda for black people, such as him directly addressing the the black unemployment rate (which is at least 4 or 5 times higher than whites), the state of health for blacks, racial profiling, black on black crime, and overall racism.
Sharpton feels as though Obama does/has begun to address these needs, and feels as though Smiley ignores these advances while waiting for Obama to openly say "this is my BLACK agenda" or....walk around with a Black Power shirt on.
Tavis has been one of the biggest critics of Obama since he was in the primaries. he has called Obama out on just about everything a citizen can call their president out on (some being legitimate criticisms, some not). he feels as though Obama does not have a black agenda, fails to address the needs of blacks, and that he definitely SHOULD have a black agenda mainly and/or solely because he is black.

now, i will be the first to admit that i don't like Al Sharpton. i think he's a media pundit that hypes things that don't need to be hyped and acts as if speaking about things and appearing on talk shows, radio shows, and the like are going to change the state of black affairs. nor do i like the way that he comes off as if he speaks for all blacks and is the black leader for this generation. he isn't. we don't have one (nor do i think we need one. we need solidarity, not a sole leader). and all that is aside from his PERM!...which i won't get into.

and i don't have much respect for Smiley either. aside from him having people like 50 Cent on his show, conversing as if Fitty is someone that should be a respected member of the black community who helps out teens (while ignoring the facts that he has done so while doing a modern day minstrel show that he labels "hip hop")and some other mess. he also is sponsored mainly by Wal-Mart and State-Farm-two of the biggest and most corrupt companies in the United States. Wal-Mart shuts down mom and pop businesses by selling dirt cheap crap made is sweat shops overseas by people of color and State Farm was one of the many insurance companies that had some of the most complaints filed against them after Hurricane Katrina (treating blacks that had been paying insurance for 500 years as if they weren't owed a dime). and he's questioning Obama's commitment to blacks? i guess that only after he's been paid a nice sum by these companies that exploit people of color.

but i can see both their points. Obama does need to address some needs of black people. although he could very well have been elected without a single black person casting a vote in his favor, i think it would say a lot about him if he did nothing to help out other minorities in this country, knowing himself how hard it is as a minority....in the same way that i would have expected Hilary to do something beyond the norm in the areas such as reproductive rights, gender relations, and other womens' issues.
on the other, i can see Sharpton's point that he is doing some things, such as working on healthcare and that he has to be the president for all of America. he should not have become the POTUS if he wanted to be the leader of only a certain group of people in the Unites States. he also said that Obama shouldn't be held solely in charge of handling things we as blacks need to be doing ourselves. and that is so true.
on another note, it's a bit absurd to expect someone working in the system to change the system. we cannot expect Obama to end the forms of oppression that people of color, that women, that LGBT's, that all groups of oppressed people feel while working for the people that legislate, enforce and encourage these types of oppression. it just does not happen that way. so, in a way, i think Smiley is asking too much from Obama.

but all this is assuming either of these men are being genuine. in reality, these two men are media pundits that need coverage and attention in order to get paid. i wouldn't be surprised if something comes out in a month that Tavis shot Al while Al is saying he caught Tavis smoking crack. i mean, its all for show with some of of these celebrities and you can never quite tell when they or their statements are completely legit.

i found this clip of The Boondocks (love this episode. LOVE the show.) of Rollo Goodlove (who is basically Al Sharpton with a different name. McGrduer's portrayal of Al is so spot on) and Ann Coulter fighting on television, then showing their true colors backstage:


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