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Doug,

Things will never change....Do you think the likes of Deena Hayes will ever be willing to be labeled just an American??????????

As far as White vs. Black voting Districts,,,Look back at last years School Board elections,,,The predominately Black districts of East Greensboro were the turning point for Dot Kearns Victory.

Granted, many of the Voters had no Idea who Dot Kearns was, but They were told to vote straight Democratic ticket,,,,amazingly Dot Kearns was on this List.

It was brought up in a recent school forum that the NAACP got Dot re-elected, and that she should not back out of her part of the bargain(What ever that Means)....The fear of the Positive Reform of which Jim Kirkpatrick would bring to the School System struck fear in the Black Leaders, so the NAACP went to Work and informed their voters who they would vote for.

A year later, it is obvious that Kearns is still dormant at making positive changes for any Race of Children in our schools.

So,, Yes Doug,, Blacks can vote a White into office, even if they have no Idea who they are or what they believe in.

There's no question that black voters can help elect white candidates. They do all the time. The question is whether white voters will elect black candidates. There are examples that they will. It depends on the quality of the candidate.

Dot Kearns wasn't elected by straight-party Democratic voting because the school board is nonpartisan. At the same time, I'm sure you're right that she won a strong majority of the black vote.

Gen Slak,

What are you talking about? What makes you think the NAACP is telling some people who to vote for? I think most blacks vote straight Democrat because Republicans tend to not respect black people that don't act like an "uncle tom." In my readings I have read where the Republican Party was initially created, wgen Democrats wanted to end Slavery, obviously that was many moons ago, however, the party's principles still remain the same. I am sure you can elaborate, and possibly, quite eloquently (check the spelling)on how this is not true, however, just like your ancestors, that wore white robes and lynched murdered and raped, you are born and bred to deny the racism that occurrs. So a straight ticket is the only way to go for most, however, there are some open minded people out here that are willing to cross over.

Southern white democrats learned a long time ago how to manipulate the black vote, say all the right things etc to maintain their power base. Dot is an absolute master at this, in fact she is such a good con artist I do believe she's conned herself. Also look at other democratic fools like Jesse Jackson and Tawana Sharpton who's meal ticket is to convince the black man that people are out to screw them? If by chance, all the black people stopped beleiving this tomorrow, Jesse and Tawana would be out of a job and they damn well know it. Doug, you know calling Dot Kearns an at-large candidate is a prostitution of the term.

Saying Dot Kearns is an at-large candidate, Doug, you know is a complet prostitution of the term

Mitchell,

Could you give me a more precise definition of an "Uncle Tom"????

Is this a Black person who stands Independent of the Jesse Jackson,"Woe Is Me" mentality.

It still amazes me when a person of color steps outside the box and becomes a Success,,,he often gets the "Uncle Tom" label by his Brothers.

There were no White Robes in my Family tree, Mitchell,,,No murderers,,,No Rapes,,,No Lynch Mobs,,,just good old hardworking Rednecks trying to make a Living,,,,But I do understand that alot of Anger and a Big Chip on your shoulder can allow a person to make Ignorant accusations like the ones you made above.

Doug,

It does depend on the Quality of the Candidate,,,,,

Let's take Hillary Clinton against Condaleeza Rice.

Who would this Middle-aged White Guy vote for?????

It takes NO time for my decision.... RICE WINS hands down....How about Colin Powell against Hillary??????? Powell Wins hands down...

Do you Guys remember J.C. Watts???? Another vote against Hillary, Kerry ,"Pretty Boy" John Edwards or any other Socialist Liberal that would run against these fine AMERICANS.

Doug, I wonder if Mitchell considers Rice, Powell or Watts,,,,"Uncle Toms",,, for their Success in Mainstream America.

Mitchell,

If my history serves me correctly, as I recall the Grand Old Party/Abolitionist (Republican) tackled the issue of slavery in the mid 1800s and was instrumental in emancipating the slaves. In addition, the Civil Rights Act in the 1960s was passed as a result of a majority of the Republican congressmen. The majority of Democrats (the party that most Blacks vote with today)voted against it.

Doug,

It is true that most of us vote along racial lines, especially on a local basis. However, on a local level in many cases we have no choice as a result of the setup of districts. Blacks tend to live in Black districts and vice versa for Whites, thus we vote our color. It is the rare chance that Whites or Blacks or any others have the opportunity to vote for a candidate of their ethnicity as a result of the way local voting venues are organized.

However, on a national or statewide level this is not the case and it's my opinion a White will have a greater tendency to vote for a Black candidate versus a White than a Black for a White versus a Black. And this is represented by the statistics that Blacks will vote around 90% of the time for one party and not crossover, whereas Whites tend to place more emphasis on quality and ability than on party loyalty.

For example, Kenneth Blackwell, a Black in Ohio, will be running as a Republican governors candidate during this upcoming election and will garner a very sizeable White vote turnout and is projected (already leading in polls) to win.

I am champing at the bits just praying that Condi will run in 2008. She's got my vote and I'm as White as freshly fallen snow. Once again, I look forward ability and quality and could care less about the person's ethnicity.

I think all of us would agree we need to become a more color blind society and stop backing/voting for people as a result of race and more for ability & integrity.

The election of a Condi Rice as president on either ticket would mark a big advance in race relations in this country. Unfortunately, if she runs as a Republican she'll probably have to overcome vicious attacks from liberals.

I certainly remember Julius Caesar Watts, Oklahoma quarterback turned congressman. Haven't heard much from him lately, though.

NAACP got Dot re-elected and that is a fact.The gentleman at the Penn Griffin SB forum looked Dot square in the eye and said "we watched your back now you watch ours".

I will never forget that sheepish look in Dots eyes.

Corruption.

End of story.

Yes, Reassigned, I was at the same forum you were and your quote is verbatim. I will never forgot it either. Corruption at its best!!!!!

And Mitchell how dare you assume a person's ancestory has anything to with slavery!!!

Mitchell Jennings,

You must have been asleep in history class when they were teaching about important things like U.S. History. If you had been awake, you wouldn't be believing that the Democrats ended slavery. In fact, the exact opposite is true. The Republican Party was formed in the early 1800's and formally became the Republican Party in 1854, right before the big war, which you might have heard about, if you were awake during that part of the history class.

The early Republicans were formed on the belief that the restriction of slavery was essential to the well-being of the Northern states and the union, in general. While it is incorrect to state that the big war was fought to end slavery, it certainly was a major difference between the North and South. Lincoln and his Republican Party in 1862 moved toward ending slavery, and most of the Democrats of the time opposed measures to destroy slavery. In 1864 the Republican Party declared abolishment of slavery as a major plank of its party.

So, Mitchell, your belief that the Democrats ended slavery is a fabrication. Perhaps, you might want to go back and read that portion of U.S. History that you missed. You've been reading out of the Democrat Party and Dot Kearns playbook way too much.

And, when you mention the fellas that wore the white robes in the South, you need to read that part of the history class as well. The Klan was founded by disaffected members of the Confederate Army to resist reconstruction efforts in the South. It was intent upon intimidating carpetbaggers and scalawags as it was freed slaves. Since the Republican Party was formed in the Northern states during the big war, do you realy think that many of these people were Repulblicans?

Mitchell, do yourself a favor and learn the facts before embarrasing yourself with uninformed drivel on these blogs. You really have to stop reading out of those playbooks and pay more attention to U.S. History before it was re-written.

Doug,

To your point that Dot Kearns wasn't elected by straight Democrat party vote as the school board is non-partisan, you are technically correct. But, the fact remains that your newspaper had a full page ad by the Democrat party a few days before the election and Dot Kearns and Kris Cooke were listed as Democrat candidates for office. If they were running for election for a non-partisan position, then why were they listed as Democrats? Yes, they had to be voted on individually, but they obviously received the endorsement of the Democrat party, and you better believe that many of those who voted for her did because she was endorsed by the Democrat party. And, I'l bet you that her campaign had major support from the local Democrat party operatives.

Stormy,

Thanks for the 19th century history lesson, which parallels my understanding.

As to your second post, Dot Kearns is a Democrat and ran as such for the board of county commissioners in the '80s. I don't know Kris Cooke's party affiliation.

I don't recall whether the Democratic Party officially supported her candidacy but won't question your memory. It's not implausible by any means.

Doug, you contradicted yourself in today's column. You said you'd rather not have a person in office if they were voted in by people who knew nothing about the issues. Do you realize what you're saying? This means no Dot!!! (and probably by extension -no Doug)If it wasn't for
Bennett College and AT$T students and other voters in E. Grrsboro who never even heard of Dot Kearns but had her name on a piece of paper given to them by the "bosses", we'd have an ex-marine on the schoolboard kicking people's keisters to do what needs to be done, instead of race baiters, appeasers, puddin'heads and people milking the taxpayers for "raises" while the schools go without toilet paper.

Additionally Stormy,

Dot's name was on ALL of the flyers the Dem's were handing out at the polling places. I was working several days and on each Democratic Party ticket flyer Dot's name appeared. Her sign was even on the window of a 13 passenger shuttle/van used by the Dems to transport voters!

So much for non-partison races!

Yes, Savage, it's terrible that everyone gets to vote if they want. Positively unAmerican!

Doug,

It is pretty much self-evident that the Democrat party supported Dot Kearns and Kris Cooke in the past election. You don't have to rely upon my memory, just refer back to your own newspaper edition a few days before the election. Dot and Kris were listed as Democrat candidates for BOE. Isn't that prima facie evidence that the party supported her? In a non-partisan race, is it ethical for a party to include the candidate's name in a political party ad? Why don't we just make it a partisan election, that would be more honest? I think that if you looked at the precinct breakdowns, you'd see that Kearns did amazingly well in precincts in which straight party Democrat tickets were voted. Coincidence?

And, what's the point of your last post directed at Savage? Sure every citizen of legal age is entitled to vote for their candidate of choice, but wouldn't it be nice if they were all informed voters, rather than people rounded-up by a political machine, transported to a polling location, and given instructions how to vote? This is troubling in a community such as ours when there are people like Mitchell Jennings voting that have a muddled understanding of history and politics, and the implications that they have on our every day lives.

Additionally Stormy and Tim,

My friends and I were working the predominently Black district polls many of the days for prevoting.

People were brought in by the bus loads from local colleges and elsewhere. Dot's name was listed on every straight ticket Democratic flyer.

Also don't forget about her cute little flyers made to look like church bulletins that were left on the windshields of the Black churches in High Point. Other Dems working the polls even commented how "clever" this was to get the Black votes.

So much for non-partisan! So much for non-color!

I also attended the P-G forum and heard the same gentlemen speaker say the same thing. It was very loud and clear! Let's not forget about B. Sims' comments too.

Here's one more thing to contemplate. During last year's Board of Education election, there were 2 candidates listed on the District 5 ballot: Anita Sharpe and Aaron Richardson.

Aaron Richardson moved to Wilmington at least a month prior to the election, thus making him ineligible to serve, if he were to be elected. He was interviewed (I believe by the N&R) and was quoted as saying that he had tried to remove his name from the ballot, but was unable.

That same Democrat ad mentioned previously also listed him as the candidate supported by the party for the District 5 seat. He was also listed on the yellow pieces of paper given to voters at the polls.

This Aaron Richardson - a real non-candidate, walked away with a sizable number of votes. The person who didn't live in Guilford County, stated publicly he wished to have his name removed, never once campaigned, and failed to attend a single candidate forum could have beat Anita Sharpe just due to the politics being played in that race.

This is scary! Doug - there is NOTHING non-partisan about the School Board elections as far as the Democratic Party is concerned.

All that said, I wonder if the Dems' strategy might do more harm than good.

Including a school board candidate's name on a straight-party list might confuse voters who are unaware that the school board race is nonpartisan. What if they thought that Dot Kearns was running on the Dem ticket and thought that casting a straight Dem vote covered Kearns? They might not then cast that individual vote for her. Possible?

Just to check, I've pulled out last year's election results and looked at some heavily Dem precincts in Greensboro.

In Gso 48, Kerry received 1,014 votes, but Kearns got only 643. In Gso 49, Kerry had 918 but Kearns only 676. In Gso 72, Kerry had 875 but Kearns only 702. That seems to be a pattern in quite a few precincts.

Doug - please clarify your last post. Are you stating that the pattern is heavily Dem precincts voted heavily for both Kerry and Kearns? Or are you saying that the numbers for Kearns was lower than that of Kerry because folks thought a straight ticket vote would include Kearns?

Sorry - couldn't follow your logic here.

Sorry.

I'm really not trying to draw a conclusion, although it seems evident that Kearns did well where Kerry did well -- although not as well.

That might suggest that some voters who came out to vote for the Democratic ticket simply missed Kearns because she was in a nonpartisan race and it took more effort to go down the ballot and vote for her.

If the Democratic Party said, "Here's our slate, vote straight Democratic," and that slate included Kearns, I think it's possible some voters missed her because, in fact, a straight Democratic vote did not give a vote to Kearns.

Just a theory.

I agree with you entirely, Doug. The fact is many states that aren't covered by the VRA have a much greater history of racial divide in elections. The South is more progressive in electing blacks to office than the rest of the country, with or without the VRA.

Consider that Harvey Gantt was nominated for the senate twice with the help of A LOT of white voters. Vernon Robinson was the runner up in the GOP primary (5th District) with the help of a LOT of white voters in a district that is very white and Republican.

Here in Guilford County we routinely elect African American judges and other local officials in at large elections, and our county is only 29% black.

We have made it past the need for the VRA when it comes to districting. History has shown the we do vote for the person and not the color around here.

Lou Ann,

Let's not forget Mrs. Alston!!!!

dOUG, you're the one who implied an uninformed vote is "tainted", not me. I'm not critisizing you, I'm AGREEING with you, by God. The conflict's with yourself, duh!!!!

Savage, what can I say? You said I needed therapy.

Sam, thanks for your post. There are lots of local examples, as you say.

Doug,

I think that you are looking at the wrong data in assessing the last school board election and the impact of politics upon a non-partisan race.

I took a look at 4 Greensboro precincts and 5 High Point precincts that consist predominantly of black voters. I compared the number of Democrat straight party voters to votes for Dot Kearns, and there were some interesting results.

Precinct Kearns Kirkpatrick %Kearns vs.DSP

GO3 510 109 93%
GO4 385 91 96%
GO5 448 94 92%
GO6 453 78 85%
HO7 301 64 65%
HO9 458 76 69%
H10 577 130 81%
H11 557 160 76%
H12 305 168 143%
Total 3,994 970 73%

As you will see, the voters in these voters voted heavily in favor of Dot Kearns (80%), and there is a very close relationship of votes for Dot Kearns and straight-party voters (73%). So, what can be taken from this exercise is that in an election that was decided by about 5,000 votes difference, 60% of the margin was decided in these precincts, primarily by black voters voting closely along Democrat party lines. One could conclude that this was the deciding factor in this election race. So, could this accurately called a non-partisan race?

Thanks for the additional numbers.

It would be a good master's thesis subject for a political science student to answer your question.

Good Work Troops,

I am glad to see the evidence of Corruption involving Dot. Her lack of Ethics and Morals have carried over from her Election Tactics, right into to her GCS decision making.

I bet if we look closer , you could find that the Retirement Centers were also infiltrated by Dot and her Socialist Hyptonists,,,, right before the last election.

How low will Dot go to carry out her Agenda?

And, the Democratic party made a donation to Dot Kearns' campaign. The Republican party made no donation to Jim Kirkpatrick's campaign.

To whom it may concern,

The Republican Party wityhout a doubt has its positive values. However, under the current administration, you know the ones that say "either you are with us or you;re not" something to that effect. has created a division in our society that is really not necessary. Our local and national governments cannot achieve simple goals because the are so out of control with the win-at-all-costs mentality. I dare not say that it's only repubs that do this, however, they do it in a more out of control way, simnilar to a little baby, if they cannot get there way they through temper tantrums and create havoc for all. Last I noticed it was a repub that created a shirt, depicting urinating on the NAACP, also there is a repub out there that is well behind on his taxes, as well as not finishing his product, you know the un-paved roads. Which would not be a big deal accept Mr. Alston is lynched for stairs that passed the inspection....go figure. As a black man my views of the members of that party are not very positive. AS far as JC Watts, I like him he is a man of high esteem, repub or not, but what did he do? He unnatteached himself to this whole current fiasco, Colin Powell, did the same, they may still be registered repubs, but they chose to retreat to the shadows, which is where Bush put Mr. Powell, when he himself said that he didn't think that going to Iraq was a necessity. So like the slogan goes, racism you can't see it but you know it's there, I feel that repubs are the instigators of racism, my opinion. However, if nothing else my post allowed some form of interaction on the subject. Thank you

As I recall Bruce Davis was late in paying his taxes too.

The shirt was one person and not the Republican party.

Then there is the St. James apt., the downtown Woolworth museum and other issues.

So Doug, how's this for irony. The whole HP CP was initiated by two white ladies in High Point who decided there were too many black people at their alma mater, seemingly implying that they are a liability of some kind, and that this must be changed, even if other kids must be kidnapped from someplace else to do it. Schoolboard member Gary Burnette, HP Council member Bernita Sims and the High Point NAACP Alstons actually agree with them. The whole thing snowballs up to Grnboro for the election, and you end up with thousands of people implying by their votes that these white ladies are right-this is "not good". Almost a massive collective self-repudiation.

That's why, even though I think she lessens her effectiveness and credibilty with her obsessive race emphasis, I can't say anything bad about Deena Hayes. She knew the implication stated above, she wouldn't accept this ultimately self-defeating premise, and therefore can begin to proceed to make a change without forced social engineering, which has zero chance of success over the long term.

Doug,

Why do we need a master's thesis in political science to understand this? It should be self-evident to anyone that has an unbiased brain what these numbers tell us. Simply, the election turned on Dot Kearns working with the Democrat party to get black voters to the polls, voting for straight party ticket and marking Dot Kearns'name on the ballot. Your assumption that some of them voted the straight party ticket, but failed to mark Kearn's name is probably accurate, and if they had done so, then the results would have been skewed even more in her favor. The results in just these 8 precincts accounted for 60% of the margin, and additional study would surely show that other precincts were similarly affected.

I stand firm in my position that this was not a non-partisan election. It was very much a partisan election, so let's be honest and admit that politics ruled. Let's simply make the BOE election what it is. Why play the fool's game and think that it really is about the best qualified person, when the person's political party makes too much difference. Others' posts on this site have shown how it was accomplished. Ms. Kearns defeated Mr. Kilpatrick not because she was the best candidate, but by playing a very shrewd political game and leveraging her position as a Democrat operative in Greensboro and High Point Democrat strongholds.

Mitchell,

What makes you think that Republicans and white people have sole rights to racism? There seems to be plenty of it to go around. I see it every day in this county, and it isn't limited to the two groups that I previously mentioned.

Stormy,

Correct me if I am wrong. If white people hadn't used blacks as servants, hadn't forced blacks to sit at the back of the bus, didn't make black and white water fountains, didn't lynch blacks, didn't rape black women, didn't discriminate against in the hiring process, those are just to name a few. There would be no such subject as racism, at least as it relates to the interaction of blacks and whites. I find it kind of comical that so-called intelligent white people,act is if they do not have a clue as to why blacks often porttait them as racist. The you turn around and say we are whining, when yet some of us remember our history, some of us have sat down with mothers, fathers aunts, uncles and grandparents and listened to the stories that they told us on how they were treated. obviously some of us aren't old enough to have experienced that first-hand racism, yet in our love for our relatives and our people in general, we feel the pain that they felt. Of course you yourself or some like you didn't create Jim Crow, but we have no way of discerning between the good whites and the Bill Yow's. So whatever your point is...you can stick itt!

Mitchell,

That must be a heavy CHIP on your shoulder.....Most people in society choose to look at life with a more positive attitude,,,then some choose to mire in Self-Pity.

In an earlier post you accused my ancestors of being in the Klan,,,Now I must ask you, Could your ancestors have been some of the West Africans who chained and sold their own Brothers and Sisters into Slavery????????????

Now Mitchell,,,

Should your soul be tattooed with GUILT from something your ancestors might have done????????? Or do you get on with your life, and try to do something POSITIVE toward Race relations, instead of teaming with the likes of Jackson, Sharpton and Farrakan??????????

Search your Soul, Mitchell,,,The Truth Will Set You Free

Mitchell, Racism is not limited to blacks and whites. Many people have experienced it first hand. My relatives who are Jewish experienced horrible acts in concentration camps. Have I listened to their stories? Was I outraged on what happened to them? You bet! Do I have a chip on my shoulder? No!! Do I expect today's people of German decsent to pay for the sins that were committed over 50 years ago. No!

Have my relatives moved on and created a productive life? Yes! Do they blame others for their successes or failures? No!!!

Nothing can dismiss the horrible atrocities that have occurred thoughout history to ANY race or nationality, but to constantly place blame on the white man is a cop out!!!! Life is about choices and making good ones. If you fail to stay in school, get a good job, and have children you can't support, what do you think will happen? And it doesn't matter if you are black or white.
The outcome will be the same.

Mitchell,

Get a clue, will you? You accuse people of being racist, and you don't know anything about them, their beliefs or their behaviors. I don't think that you even know the meaning of the word, racist. So, I'll provide the dictionary meaning for you.

rac·ism n. The belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability.

Mitchell, this is what racism really is. And, you are assuming that everyone here is a racist and you have no clue about anything about these people. As a matter of fact, based upon your comments about white people which displays your negative attitude about whites in general, you are in fact practicing the dictionary definition of racism yourself. You have the belief that white people account every difference that they may have as a matter of racism. I can assure you that isn't so. And, when you cry racism about everything that happens, you marginalize real racism when it does occur. You can't tell the difference, sir.

Mitchell, you displayed your lack of knowledge and understanding earlier today, and you would be well served to wise up a little before you make uninformed posts. Your credibility on this board is very lacking.

Well said Gilda and the Honorable General. Since the beginning of time various groups have suffered. Look at all of the Europeans who came to America at the turn of the century and live in horrible conditions. They were WHITE. They did not own slaves or bring slaves to this country. See "The Gangs of New York" or read "The Jungle". Read the "Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys" and see what life was like in the tenement houses when the immigrants came over. These would have been the people shoveling the coal on the "Titanic".

People worked their asses off from morning to night in the coal mines, factories and steel mills. Look at all the child labor. Look how many miners contact black lung disease. Look how many people owed the "company store" for everything. Look at how organized labor suffered and were murdered in this country when they first organized. Look at people who survived the Depression.

These Europeans worked. These people survived. Each generation became stronger and better. They did not ask for handouts or welfare or reparations. They had two parent families. They helped each other and took pride. They did not whine and blame others.

Where did the term slave originate? Blacks would have you believe that it's a term or condition peculiar to only them at one point in history.

Not hardly. The term slave originated with the Slavs of eastern Europe during the middle ages.

Keep in mind that for thousands of years, most great civilizations had slaves (held as property) who were not of the Black race. My great ancestors were held in some minor respects as property as late as the 18th century in western Russia. Fortunately, they never used this condition as a crutch to discourage them from encouraging their children, and their children's children to aspire to a better life.

It worked.

AMEN JON!

There have been slaves since early days of history and days of warfare. Every tribe that captured another made those captured slaves. I don't believe that this was a black and white thing. The Mesopetaminia's had slaves, the Romans had slaves, the Greeks had slaves, the children of Israel had slaves, so Mitchell you need to do some reading and not just read what Lewis Farrakhan has to say, or Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, or lest I forget Skippy Alston,one of the biggest race baiters of all time.
Mitchell, as one writer said, you perhaps descended from one of the tribes who took other tribes captive and sold them to the Muslim's and then they sold them to the Europeans, who then brought them to the colonies. You must have slept through that part of history class. OOOPs I forgot, that part of history has been re-written to show that only white people had anything to do with the slave trade.
Your attitude and your lack of knowledge will only keep you in bondage Mitchell. That is exactly what the Jesse's, the Al's and the Lew's of the great Black leadership want to do. Without ignorance and attitudes like your's Mitchell, they would have no one to lead and finally we could all move into a society where we are all AMERICANS, not Afro-American, Mex-American etc. You can choose to be a VICTIM or choose to be a VICTOR. The choice is yours. Just so you won't think I am picking on just you Mitchell, the choice I stated is the choice of all people, not just Black people.

Would like to laud "inski" on telling it like it is. There probably is a difference though between working in a coal mine or a sweat shop and being psychologically tortured for hundreds of years, treated as an inferior race and hung from trees. There were however a hell of a lot of factory workers and miners who had their heads bashed in by goons when they stood up to the owners.Thousands more suffered from religious prejudice and persecution. In the words of eminent scholar-Warren Beatty, from the movie "Shampoo" (and recently driven home by the Dotster): "Everybody F---- Everybody".
So where do we go? History can't be re-written. The irony and fact of the matter is: if they weren't brought to this country as slaves, if they would have been left in Africa, millions of black people wouldn't even walk the earth today. Between famine and disease, they wouldn't have even been born because the environment in Africa wouldn't have supported it. Does this make slavery right? Of course not. Most people would also agree that in the last four hundred years the average black person in ANY country of the world has probably encountered more prejudice and mistreatment than the average white person.

Saying white people as a group are prejudiced against black people as a matter of course in this country in this day and age is ridiculous. At least five of the ten most popular movie stars in america are black. Look at the sports world. Thousands of white kids have jersies with Micheal Jordan or Michael Vick written on the back. The whole culture derives it's strength and vitality from the melding of the European and the African, from blues, jazz, rock, rap. My kids refuse to even listen to white music.

People should never forget what happened in this country. People should never forget horrors of slavery or the grinding indignity of Jim Crow. People anywhere of any color should draw strength and inspiration from what happened at a lunch counter in downtown Greensboro in 1960, when people stood up to the Dots of the world, to somebody who's peeing down their back and telling them it's raining, and told them they aren't gonna take it. Let's move on!!!

Back at ya Skeet Club Sav. Right on all counts.

Same at our house every morning with the music. I grew up on the Four Tops, Temptations and the Supremes. Can's say I agree on my kid's taste in music but I sure hear it all the time.

Ski and others,

You say my "attitude and lack of knowledge will only keep me in bondage." Bondage? I consider it freedom, the freedom comes from the knowledge, so apparently it's apples and oranges to us. I don't think that can be helped, because you see it as you see it and I see it as I see it. Also as a Proud Aggie, I must say thanks for the comparison to Jesse, I must admit, I admire him, as well as Al and even Lewis after he returned from MECCA. My admiration extends far beyond thses gentleman; there's Martin, Julian, Andrew, Marcus (that's Garvey for the black-history challenged)to name just a few. Their efforts are a part of me, with which I take great pride in. Similarly, to hard-core southern good ol'oys that apparently believe that the south won the Civil War and believe it in their hearts to display a confedarate flag, they claim it as their southern heritage. I don't see you chastising them for displaying perceived racist paraphernalia and if the sole meaning of the flag is heritage and not racism, why hasn't there been a mass push to separate themselves from the hate groups? Could it be they are the hate groups? Who knows? If the flag is so sacred, then why would they allow it to be desecrated by racist? So the eloquence that your are attempting to display in your post, it's well appreciated. However, there is still work to do, which is why the NAACP still exist and other organizations that promote the needs of the black community. Actually, it shouldn't even offend you, those organizations don't exist for the sole purpose of getting white people, they are generally for the uplifting of spirits and minds of people that otherwise wouldn't feel any uplifting. Myself, I am fine. I am just fortunate enough to have received an education and feel comfortable articulating my thoughts. That's not threatening is it? If my memory serves me correctly, Bush received only 9 or 10% of the black vote. Trust me, that is not by accident, and it has nothing to do with a sheet of paper that someone hands out at the polls, it's a decisive choice. You may not like it, but it's done with careful rationale, in my opinion. So you can spit your intelligent venom. It's cool! I respect that, respect mine if you can. Denial is a bitch!

Bush got 9% to 10% of the black vote because he wasn't going to waste his time campaigning to a segment of society where he knew he would be wasting his time. The Democrats have been carrying the black vote.

At least you forgot to say you admired Skip in your list.

Three phrases should be among the most common in our daily usage. They are: Thank you, I am grateful and I appreciate.