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Glenn Beck; Race Relationships or Health Care Reform

Glenn Beck calls Obama racist

Americans may recall, it began with a Sweet aside and grew into a [Glenn Beck] beckon.  Now, the stage is set.  The audience is explosive.  Words of woe are shouted from every hall.  For more than a month the media has given rise to the troublesome message.  The reason for health care reform; the Obama Administration yearns to provide a platform for "stealth reparations."

Black History Month; The Subject that Segregates

copyright © 2009 Betsy L. Angert.  BeThink.org The history of Black Americans is a glorious one.  It is a chronicle filled with much triumph, as well as many trials and tribulations.  Yet, many debate whether a month that commemorates people, pitch in color, defies reason.  Do the days dedicated to the acknowledgement of African American achievements divide us as a nation?  The answer, some say is a complex one.  Consider the thoughts of Columnist, Clarence Page of The Chicago Tribune.  Is Black History Month already history?  Well, it depends.  Another view comes from a fellow Journalist and contributor to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Cynthia Tucker.  She is more emphatic in her evaluation.  Ms Tucker writes; Month robs blacks of part in U.S. history,  It seems the subject, Black History Month, segregates opinions.

An Inauguration Invitation

copyright © 2009 Betsy L. Angert.  BeThink.org I am asking you to believe, not just in my ability to bring about a real change in Washington, I'm asking you to believe in yours.  ~ Barack Obama The invitation arrived in an electronic mail.  As much as America wishes to be hopeful, I had none.  I saw the communiqué and thought it would not be possible.  I would never be selected to attend the inauguration.  Of all the millions who are moved by this historic occasion, while I am amongst these, my anecdote is and would be far less remarkable.  My personal reflection on the Obama election, would not be tragic.  Nor would any thought I might muse of move a reader to say, "Yes.  She should be seated at the swearing in ceremony." Whatever I might communicate is certainly of little interest to most, if not all.  Surely, the saga of a grandson, or grand-daughter, of a slave, one who worked as their ancestors had, might mesmerize more, or at least a legend such as this would enthrall me.  Indeed, it did.  Only yesterday, I saw and heard a film essay on James "Little Man" Presley.  This steady man in Mississippi began his career when he was six [6.]  On camera, this glorious gent recounted his reality of fifty years of work in the cotton fields.  He shared his sorrow; as a Black man, he was barred from restaurants and royalties that might be awarded to a white man.  "Little Man" Presley also presented his pleasure.

Katrina's [America's] Hidden Race War

Katrina's Hidden Race War: In Aftermath of Katrina, Vigilantes Shot 11 Blacks in New Orelans (1 of 2)

copyright © 2008 Betsy L. Angert.  BeThink.org Racism, in reality, is fear of the unknown.  It is apprehension for what is alien to us.  A bigot is often one who claims to be colorblind.  However, indeed, he or she is more likely colormute.  Rarely do persons who think themselves tolerant speak of the scorn they feel for those who differ from them.  Often the intolerant are not aware of the rigidity that rules their lives.  Few amongst Anglos in America, since most appear as they do, consider what the life of one whose complexion is cause for rejection.  However, in an exposé, A.C. Thompson muses of what most rather not mention.  The author addresses"Katrina's Hidden Race War."

Race Relations; Reflections, Realizations, Reactions, and Rejections

copyright © 2008 Betsy L. Angert. BeThink.org

"Nothing is more certainly written in the book of fate than that these people are to be free.
Nor is it less certain that the two races, equally free, cannot live in the same government.
Nature, habit, opinion has drawn indelible lines of distinction between them."
~ Thomas Jefferson (Autobiography, 1821)

It was a Saturday morning, late in June. The year was 2008. In the background, radio broadcaster, Scott Simon could be heard. The host of Weekend Edition offered his Reflections on Race and the Presidential Election. Alexander listened halfheartedly. It was not that he was not interested in the topic; he is and he was. Alex was distracted. The gentleman glanced over at Donna, a young Jamaican woman he knows so well. Donna's skin is as Black as pitch coal and as rich as sweet crude. She gracefully moves across the room. He thinks of how he loves the way her hips sway to and fro. Her voluptuous bosom fills the full cup of her brassiere. As she bends down to feed his ailing cousin Anna, Alex reflects on how lovely the dark skinned woman is. His sentiment is not sexual in nature. Alexander is analytical.

Clinton And Obama Call For Truce; Racism Battles On

Martin Luther King Jr. Oratorical Contest Toledo, Ohio 2000

copyright © 2007 Betsy L. Angert. BeThink.org

On the first day of the New Year, a banner headline screamed to elite readers of The Wall Street Journal, "What Kucinich Saw: Witnesses Described His Close Encounter." Murdoch News Corporation Journalist, Michael M. Phillips offered what booklovers yearn to learn, the personal history of each of the players in a Presidential campaign. Tall tales and tittle-tattle capture the attention of Americans. The substantive information provided in these yarns, is scant. Nonetheless, the entertainment value is vast. An expectant public wants the dirt. We are happy to sling mud and spit in the face of historical leaders.

Exit Exams, High School Dropouts; Cause and Effect

copyright © 2007 Betsy L. Angert. BeThink.org

In California, students are crushed by the weight of exit exams. Some feel defeated. After numerous failures on test after test, pupils presume, rather than make another attempt, it is best to just dropout. In 2006, 24,000 high school seniors dropped out, about 10,000 more than just four years earlier.

Please also peruse Dropout Nation; Communities Can Cure The Silent Student Epidemic. The causes and effects of "dropping out" are explored in greater detail in that treatise.

Not In My Name? I Am An American; I am Culpable

copyright © 2007 Betsy L. Angert. BeThink.org

I hear the claims and the clamor. "This is George Bush's war!" This Administration instituted a "war on science." Federal funding for research was reduced in recent years. Laws meant to protect the environment were repealed. I would love to say that much of what occurs in America today is not done in my name. It is not my fault or folly. However, I cannot make this assertion. I am an American; I am culpable.

Little Rock Nine Commemorated; Separate and Unequal Survives

Little Rock 9 - 50th Anniversary

copyright © 2007 Betsy L. Angert. BeThink.org

It has been fifty years since America sought to integrate its schools. It was September 25, 1957. The Little Rock Nine, a group of young Black pupils, crossed the threshold into history. Three years earlier, the Supreme Court of the United States of America ruled educational institutions could no longer remain separate and unequal. Unity in our schools was sanctioned in 1954. Brown versus Board of Education was the catalyst for change. However, even after the judgment was handed down, in actuality, few Districts altered enrollment. Assimilation was slow and frequently forced.

Jena Six. Justice: Permission Granted. Judgment: Permission Denied

copyright © 2007 Betsy L. Angert. BeThink.org

Please listen to the audio presentation. Interviews Tell Tales. Jena Six: Black Students Charged w/Attempted Murder

I am thankful, not for the strife, the situation, or the state of affairs in Jena, Louisiana. I am grateful for the discussion, the focus on what for too long remains beneath the surface. For weeks, race relations, a topic conveniently hidden, is in the news again. I think this inconvenient truth must be made visible if we are to move beyond the bigotry that is America's signature.