Tuesday, October 2, 2012

National Writers Union, NYC Chapter News

National Writers Union - New York Chapter
Between the LinesNWU-UAW Logo

October 2012
Monthly Newsletter of the New York Chapter
of the National Writers Union (UAW Local 1981)
212-254-0279, ext. 7


Table of Contents
1. Getting It Write, from the editor
2. Three Important Chapter Events in October
3. NY Steering Committee Meeting, November 11, Sunday
4. First Mondays
5. Union News/Events
6. Upcoming Events
7. A Note from the Editor
1. Getting It Write                          
By Nina Flanagan, BTL editor

Nina FlanaganPhotographer: 
Mark Grussel

In a surprising decision, U.S. District Judge Denise Cote approved a controversial e-book settlement with HarperCollins, Hachette, and Simon & Schuster on September 7. These publishers are now required to allow e-book retailers to sell their books at any price, even below cost for a 12-month period. This decision originated from a lawsuit filed this spring in which the Department of Justice (DOJ) sued five publishers (the ones listed above, plus Penguin and Macmillan) and Apple, alleging they conspired to introduce price fixing ("agency pricing") for e-books with the launch of the iPad in 2010.

This pricing arrangement, established by Apple, allowed publishers to set their own prices and keep 70% of the retail price, with Apple receiving a 30% commission. However, the company also insisted publishers could not sell more cheaply to its competitors. The publishers then imposed the same model on Amazon.

Amazon's pricing policy of selling bestseller e-books at a loss has   enabled the company to gain a 90% share of the e-book market (according to DOJ), essentially eliminating the possibility of any competition. Not only does this hurt bookstores, but authors as well.

"This ruling ignores writers' rights and effectively throws them under the bus," says Susan E. Davis, NWU Book Division Co-Chair. "It will devastate the income affected writers will receive from their e-books. As it is, writers have already been squeezed by many publishers into accepting e-book amendments or new contract terms that limit their e-book royalties to 25 percent of net receipts. This settlement can only decimate e-book royalties for affected writers, pushing them down as low as 5 to 10 percent, when writers should be receiving at least 85 percent for e-book royalties. The NWU is working to change these industry conditions so that writers receive their fair share of e-book royalties."

Critics of the decision also say that the DOJ did not submit any economic studies about the potential effects of the settlement on the market. It's appalling the court did not require this in order to arrive at a fair ruling. Apple, Macmillan and Penguin have chosen to fight the charges in court. The trial is scheduled for June 2013. 
2. Three Important Chapter Events in October

~ An Evening with NY Times Labor Journalist, Steven Greenhouse, October 5, Friday
By Nina Flanagan
 
Steven Greenhouse 
Photo: Courtsey of Author

The NWU's Pay The Writer campaign presents an evening with Steven Greenhouse, a labor reporter for the New York Times. Greenhouse has reported on labor and workplace issues since 1995. His 2008 book, "The Big Squeeze: Tough Times for the American Worker," won a 2009 Hillman Prize, which recognizes investigative reporting that serves the public interest. He has reported on topics ranging from 
labor unions and child labor to the way major corporations treat-and mistreat-their workers.

The evening will also include information on the Pay the Writer campaign; initiated in 2011 following AOL's purchase of the
Huffington Post for $315 millionOrganizeAndrew Van Alstyne says he hopes the event will offer a networking opportunity for those involved with the campaign to meet NWU leaders and members. Currently, the campaign focus is to connect with online writers and bloggers and to help them identify their value. "Our longterm goal is to generate freelance best practice standards that publishers will adopt," says Van Alystne. The campaign's efforts include participation in Netroots Nation last June, demonstrations against Arianna Huffington, and development of the New York Pay the Writer committee, with plans to expand to other states. 
 
Volunteers from the NY Chapter are needed at 6 p.m. to help set up the room for the meeting. RSVP to help: info@nwuny.org

NWU/UAW 12th Floor Conference Room
256 West 38th Street (between Seventh and Eighth Avenues), Manhattan
7 p.m.
Refreshments will be provided.
For more information, email Andrew Van Alstyne: ptw@nwu.org.

~ Second Annual NY Chapter Writers Conference:
"Publish & Sell to the World," October 20, Saturday
By Tim Sheard, NY Chapter Treasurer
 

Writers, want to raise your career to a higher level? Attend this     day-long conference. You will learn how to develop a productive, collaborative relationship with an editor; how to self-publish, distribute, and market your work; how to employ social media - Facebook, Twitter, Linkdin, websites, and more - to build your brand; how to protect your intellectual property from theft and obtain payment from recalcitrant publishers; and how to run a small business as a professional writer.  
Bill Fletcher, Jr.

The high point of the day will be the luncheon keynote address by Bill Fletcher Jr., the renowned labor historian, journalist and editor. For years Fletcher has provided trenchant, insightful analyses of the decline of the labor movement and the political forces behind these attacks on labor. His presentation, "The Role of the Writer in Rebuilding the Labor Movement," will inspire writers to fight the cuts in our reimbursement rates and stop the online content providers from demanding free content from writers.

The cost is just $15 for NWU and UAW members, $20 for students and seniors and $40 for non-members. Non-members who join the NWU during the conference will receive a $25 reimbursement. A full day of informative, inspiring speakers, two meals (breakfast and lunch), and a cocktail party: there's no better deal anywhere in NYC!

Presenters: Don Lafferty, social media coach; Susan E. Davis, National Contract Advisor and NY Chapter Co-Chair Tim Sheard, author, publisher and NY Chapter Treasurer; Bill Fletcher Jr., award-winning labor historian and organizer; Sarah Grey, freelance editor; Alina Adams, e-book marketing coach; and Alexandria Faiz, business development consultant and NY Chapter Steering Committee member.

Seating is limited, so reserve your place today. To register, email 
info@nwuny.org

NWU/UAW 12th Floor Conference Room
256 West 38th Street (between Seventh and Eighth Avenues), Manhattan
8 a.m.-5 p.m. Cocktail party and mixer 5-7 p.m.
For more information, contact Tim Sheard: (917) 428-1352

~ President Obama Calling
By Loretta H. Campbell
 
The UAW is asking all its locals to support the reelection campaign of President Barack Obama. Through labor walks, car caravanning, and phone banking, locals across the country will get out the vote.

The calls will be made from the UAW New York City headquarters at 256 West 38th Street, 12th floor conference room. However, NWU members across the country will also be engaged in the phone banking campaign.

At the Community Action Program Council (CAP) meeting where this decision was announced, Scott Sommer, New York Subregional Director at UAW Region 9A, explained the campaign schedule: "Phone banking will be done for three days a week beginning in the first week of October. The next week, it will be done for four days. During the few weeks before the election, phone banking will be done seven days a week."

Sommer stressed the importance of canvassing in the "battleground state of New Hampshire." Neither President Obama nor Mitt Romney has overwhelming support in this state. Consequently, the UAW campaign will include a virtual Obama blitz of New Hampshire during October and early November. Labor walks are scheduled in New Hampshire for every Saturday as well as in Connecticut and Massachusetts.

NWU members can also lend their support by including information about the UAW campaign on their blogs and Facebook pages.

The campaign is also important to NWU members because of President Obama's Information Literacy Awareness program and his stand for teachers and education, which speaks to the concerns of writers in the NWU. Indeed, educators make up a large percentage of our membership.

Contact Scott Somer at (212) 529-2580 to participate in the Labor Walks or car caravans.

To participate in phone banking, contact President Larry Goldbetter at the NWU National Headquarters at (212) 254-0279, or send him an email to 
lgoldbetter@nwu.org. Please put "Phone banking" in the subject line.

3. NY Chapter Steering Committee Meeting, November 11, Sunday 
 
The NY Chapter Steering Committee will meet Sunday, November 11, 2-4:30 p.m. in the 12th floor conference room at the NWU/UAW office (256 West 38th Street (between Seventh and Eighth Avenues), Manhattan). All members are welcome. Please send an email to info@nwuny.org in advance if you would like to attend.

4. First Monday 
 
The NY Chapter's free monthly First Monday program (6-8:30 p.m.) will not take place in October because of the Writers Conference on October 20. However, it will resume on November 5 and will feature Jo Anne Meekins and Lora Rene Tucker presenting "Write & Market the Spiritual Growth and Development Book." Both authors have written and lectured about spiritual and personal development. Learn how they use their vocation to sell their books.

New Location
: Ben's Restaurant (in the back room), 209 West 38th Street (between Seventh and Eighth Avenues), Manhattan. Free drinks for the first ten attendees. For more information, emailinfo@nwuny.org, or call (917) 428-1352.

5. Union News/Events

~ NWU Supports Teachers' Rally
By Roy Murphy
 
The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) sponsored a rally in Union Square, Manhattan, on September 10, in support of the striking Chicago Teachers Union (CTU).

About 300 people participated, including Larry Goldbetter representing the National Writers Union. Additional unions included the Professional Staff Congress (PSC), American Postal Workers Union (APWU)-NY Metro, and members from various carpenter unions.

The main target of this local demonstration was the Democrats for Education Reform (DEFR), a group of hedge fund managers and charter school executives. The protesters said that DEFR has campaigned to make anti-teacher, pro-privatization reforms and charter schools a part of the Democratic Party's education platform.
DFER drafted legislation in Illinois, which weakened teacher tenure and made it difficult for teachers to strike. The group has funded anti-CTU ads and petitions in Chicago, and is a major supporter of Chicago's Mayor, Rahm Emanuel. The protesters marched up Broadway to the DFER offices, chanting along the way: "Ye-eah Ra-ahm, we know you! Bloomberg is a scumbag too!"

The demise of inner-city schools is attributed to the debilitating effects of poverty, not the teachers' unions. Charter schools are not the solution - their overall performance is no better than that of many public schools.
America's education system no longer offers an opportunity to rise, but cements inequality from one generation to the next. This is why school reform is so critical. The protesters are angry at the corporatization of education. They want teachers to teach, not earn profits.

To read more writing by Roy Murphy, go to: 
www.murphyroy.com

~ Brooklyn Book Fair - A Great Day for the Union
By Tim Sheard, NY Chapter Treasurer
 
The Brooklyn Book Fair, held on September 23, was a great day for the union. Eleven NWU members read from their latest works, hawked their books and talked about the benefits of joining the NWU. Underneath blue skies on a crisp fall day, we talked and listened as a huge crowd passed by in the largest turnout ever at the annual book fair. We also listened to many new writers, who shared their hopes, dreams, promotional efforts and obstacles to publishing. They received encouragement, business advice and an invitation to attend our upcoming Writers Conference.

Paul Werner read his sparkling poetry, bringing passersby to a stop and wowing them with his sublime writing that is reminiscent of Osip Mandelstam. Tim Sheard read the creepy opening chapter to his latest crime novel, raising smiles from a pair of mystery lovers. Carren Stock read from her informative book about how to get published and succeed in marketing your work, which sparked several conversations among young writers. Hugh Samuels, a military veteran, read from his eloquent, powerful poems about love, family, and stopping the violence in the African-American community.

Jo Anne Meekins changed the tone, reading from her sweet book of poems about love and spirituality. She was followed by the dynamic Lora Rene Tucker, who attracted a large crowd with her ringing poems about growing up in Brooklyn. Maddy Lederman read the opening chapter of her ironic novel about a mixed-up teen, sparking a lively conversation about parents and growing up. Mireya Perez read from her beautiful poems about community and family.

This article continues on the NWU/NY Chapter website: 
www.nwuny.org
To read more writing by Tim Sheard, go to: www.timsheard.com

6. Upcoming Events

~ NWU Member Talks at NYU School of Law, October 3, Wednesday

Edward Hasbrouck, award-winning travel journalist and NWU's Book Division Co-Chair, will give a talk about his work entitled "Government Surveillance of Travel," moderated by Rachel Levinson-Waldman, counsel, Liberty and National Security Program.

Hasbrouck works with the Identity Project on travel-related civil liberties and human rights issues. He will provide an introduction to government surveillance of travel, including the Department of Homeland Security's "Automated Targeting System" (ATS), and the civil liberties and human rights issues it raises.

The Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law

161 Avenue of the Americas (Sixth Avenue at Spring Street), 12th Floor, Manhattan

12:30 p.m.-2 p.m.

Lunch will be served.
Free, but space is limited.

RSVP: jafreen.uddin@nyu.edu, or call: (646) 292-8345.

~ National Executive Board Annual Meeting, October 6, Saturday, and October 7, Sunday
 
The National Executive Board (NEB), the governing body of the NWU, will hold its annual meeting October 6 and 7, Saturday and Sunday. This involves the National Executive Committee, all chapter chairs, co-chairs, and the national newsletter editor. This year's agenda will include a budget discussion and priorities for 2013, chapter reports, and a review of current campaigns. A reception will be held Sunday, October 7 from 6-8 p.m. at the NWU/UAW 12th Floor Conference Room, 256 West 38th Street (between Seventh and Eighth Avenues), Manhattan. All members welcome at the reception.


~ Tribute to Revolutionary Poets: Pablo Neruda & Louis Reyes Rivera, October 25, Thursday
 
Celebrate the life's work of our late chair, Louis Reyes Rivera, at the Brecht Forum. The NY Chapter was asked to help organize this tribute to Louis. By teaming Louis with Neruda, the Brecht Forum is honoring Louis as the world-class poet he was. Even though the NY Chapter held its own tribute to Louis in July, we hope members will turn out for this bilingual event. 

The Brecht Forum, 451 West Street, Manhattan
7-9 p.m.
Donations accepted at the door. For more information: (212) 242-4201, or contact Tim Sheard: (212) 254-0279 X7.

7. A Note from the Editor
 
If you have attended an NWU event and wish to share your experience, please send your copy by the 25th of the month and we will publish the first 250 words in BTL, with a link to the remainder of the article on the NWU/NY website. We will also post a link to your website highlighting your work.

Please note
: We cannot use reprints (and accompanying photos) without written permission from the publisher or copyright owner. The permission must accompany the submission of your article and/or photograph to Between the Lines. We will be posting our submission guidelines shortly on the NY Chapter website.

________________
National Writers Union
New York Chapter
212-254-0279, ext. 7

From the Archives: Dr. M on Islam Needs a Martin Luther



Islam Needs a Martin Luther
By Dr. M

Revised 10/2/12

The Islamic world needs a Martin Luther, someone to usher in an Age of Reform that will radically alter some of the fundamental values of Islam that are retrograde, archaic, primitive and must be discarded into the dustbin of Muslim history so that Islam can regain its position as a culture of enlightenment rather than darkness.

At an Islamic Art Conference I attended this past weekend in Oakland, California, along with Muslims from around the world, there was discussion of how Islam has suppressed artists, calling Muslim art haram (religiously proscribed), shirk (associating partners with God) and other negative terms that essentially condemn Islamic art as evil.

When I addressed the audience, I noted that I am the “father of Islamic literature in America” by default because other Muslim writers were told to give up the art of writing by Elijah Muhammad, i.e., creative writing, but I (being hard to lead in the right direction but easy to led in the wrong direction) ignored the ban and thus my work continued throughout the years, although many of my Black Arts Movement comrades such as Sonia Sanchez, Askia Muhammad Toure and Amiri Baraka wrote Islamic inspired poetry and plays. But aside from poet Sam Hamad, my work stood alone until the Rap era.  Not only writers, but painters, musicians, dancers, singers and others were suppressed in the Nation of Islam. Even minister Farrakhan, a musician and singer, was made to give up his art. Of course there were many Muslim musicians influenced by Sunni, Sufi and Ahmedism who produced Islamic inspired art, e.g., Ahmed Jamal, John Coltrane, Dakota Stanton, Sun Ra, Pharaoh Sanders, et al.

But we know artists give visions and prophecy, thus when they are suppressed, the people walk in darkness as we see at the present moment with rampant emotionalism, fundamentalism, honor killings, suppression of the human rights of women, partner violence and sectarian mass murder. Even the so called revolutionary Arab Spring has been infiltrated by reactionary elements that would take Muslims back to the Stone Age or Ya'um Jahiliah, the so called days of ignorance before the advent of Prophet Muhammad pbuh.

In my remarks at the conference, I challenged the Muslim artists to be revolutionary and yes, disobedient — to hell with those who desire to suppress Muslim art, they are the backward ones, they are the evil ones and must be opposed by, yes, any means necessary.

So much that goes for Islam is ancient and primitive, really, not worthy of discussion in the modern world among people of intelligence. Elijah Muhammad used to say the wisdom of this world is exhausted, and this includes Islam. It must be revolutionized or thrown into the dustbin of ancient thought.

The Islamic revolution must, will and shall be led by Muslim artists with vision for a day when Islamic culture will be the vanguard of world culture, projecting the most positive and scientific aspects of the new millennium.

Islamic culture must come from behind the veil, or if anything, put the veil on men and let the women march forth as harbingers of the new world order. Contrary to what men think, women have been found to be the most advanced sector of society, intellectually and spiritually, so we would do well to listen to them for answers to the right path. 

Clearly, Muslim men are not on sirat al-mustaqim (“the straight path”). Over a billion people of Islamic faith are currently steeped in poverty, ignorance and disease, wallowing in political oppression of the most backward, Stalinist variety. And when the politicians are not oppressing, the mullahs and Imams do the same work, even to the point of following the Christians in the sexual exploitation of boys and girls in the madrases and elsewhere.

Let a Muslim Martin Luther step to the front of the line and represent the way of truth, freedom, justice and equality. Muslim collaborators with imperialism, colonialism, and all manner of retrograde religiosity and political oppression must be condemned. Islamic scholars whose theology is based on primitive laws, edicts, fatwas must be ostracized because their actions only add to the utter confusion and ignorance pervading the Muslim world. The brutal regime in Syria must be smashed along with the Stone Age Islam emanating from Saudi Arabia and Bahrain's suppression of its majority Shia Muslims.

Surely, the destruction the Tsunami brought to South Asia is a sign of Allah’s displeasure with the Muslim people, along with Christians, Hindus and others. If we continue down the path of primitive worship of myths and rituals, surely Allah has even greater destruction planned for those without eyes, ears, the deaf, dumb and blind. After Allah has blessed us with light, how can we yet walk in darkness? How can we possess “supreme wisdom” yet have nothing, behave as spiritual slaves to any storefront imam with a rote memory of Al-Quran?

Let a Martin Luther Muslim arise to destroy idols of ignorance and suppression of creativity. Yes, let everything praise Allah, from the flute to the lute, from the dancer to the poet. Let the Sufis whirl, let the Islamic rappers give us the Adhan to revolutionary Islam, beyond ignorant ritual and rote memory of Qur'an, blind and debased interpretation of Hadith and Sharia.

See Dr. M's Beyond Religion, toward Spirituality, Black Bird Press, Berkeley, 2007.

From the Archives: Dr. M Reviews the Great Debaters






The Brotha on the far Right played Melvin B. Tolson


Marvin X Reviews The Great Debaters


This is a coming of age film of the North American African Nation. It is about a people regaining their consciousness after decades of obscurity. This film puts them back properly in the time and space of history, for they present themselves as a civilized people, the children and the adults, thus making it a movie on the goodness of life and the power of consciousness to reveal the very best of a people, thus regaining their self respect before the world community. It shows the intelligence and leadership of American African youth-- of adult leadership and intelligence as well, including the radical activist tradition in North American African History. 

Every North American African, every Pan African, can be proud that Oprah Winfrey and Denzil Washington produced this. Perhaps we have reached that moment in time when our people have no choice but to be their true selves, their best selves.

For the first time in a long time, we see the intellectual genius of a people during the turbulent 1930s. This should be a lesson to all North American Africans that we have a dignified liberation tradition to uphold, thus we cannot sink into the morass of today, but in the manner of this film, take a great leap forward into dignity, respect, and intelligent behavior.

As a people, we must be proud of the young performers in this drama. They have exhibited the very best in us as human beings, as African people. The children teach us and themselves in this movie. They teach us the worst in human consciousness with their remarks on a lynching. 

They repeatedly show us the power of using the black mind for intellectual dexterity rather than barbarity and expressions of animal consciousness. 

This film is in the genre of Akila and the Bee, except that it goes deeper socially, intellectually, historically and spiritually. While it reveals the utter racism and white supremacy of this nation, it also depicts the resistance and transcendence to this unique American evil, especially in the present era.

The music is excellent, the visuals as well, including the acting and dance, giving us a sense of the ritual life of our people during the 1930s. The young character Henry who became a debater after a riotous life is exemplary and a clear example to other wayward youth struggling to survive in the hoods of America . You can come up if you get up! Yes, it takes energy: the same energy it takes to stay down it takes to get up!


Denzil Washington must be given kudos for his role as Melvin Tolson, the great poet of our people. Denzil proves his acting ability in presenting Tolson as the intellectual/activist, a tradition often represented by the artists/activists of the 1960s. But in the character of poet Tolson, we see the roots of the Black Arts Movement artist/activism that would emerge in the 60s with Amiri Baraka, Sonia Sanchez, Askia Toure,Larry Neal, Marvin X, Haki Madhubuti, Ed Bullins, June Jordan and others. But this tradition had its origins in the Harlem Renaissance of the 20s, and the poets, writers, and artists of the 30s, 40s and 50s, from Langston Hughes, Claude McKay, Richard Wright, James Baldwin, Sterling Brown, Gwen Brooks, Ralph Ellison and others. 

Forest Whitaker as the senior James Farmer maintained a certain dignity early on that his character revealed later in The Deacons, his character kept its self respect when confronted by white racists after he accidentally ran over their hog. This scene is a survival lesson for young black men. I tell young black men on the street and in the schools and colleges that they must pass the tone test when confronted by police: depending on their tone of voice, they can be killed, arrested or released. 

But imagine, so-called Negroes having an intellectual debate, even a team of debaters with a coach who apprises them on the Willie Lynch syndrome, who tells them straight out white supremacy has made them insane, thus confirming the sister who says it is not white supremacy but white lunacy, thus we are victims of an insanity far beyond the economic implications. I love James Baldwin's quote's, "It's a wonder we haven't all gone stark raving mad" dealing with white supremacy for four hundred years. The Debaters is a hopeful sign that we can and shall overcome, that we can and shall regain our collective sanity.

Sign up for the next session of the Pan African Mental Health Peer Group. In Houston check with Khepera Books and the Secret Word Cafe. Dr. M can be reached at 510-200-4164.

Monday, October 1, 2012

Richard Aoki: Lessons for the Movement


Richard Aoki and Lessons for the Movement

The recent releases of information about Richard Aoki have generated quite a stir. For those who haven’t been following and aren’t familiar, Aoki was a well-known Japanese-American radical starting in the 1960s and ’70s who played a key role in the Black Panther Party in the San Francisco Bay Area and who died in 2009. Unexpectedly, on August 20th the journalist Seth Rosenfeld with the Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR) announced, in conjunction with a book that he was about to publish on the FBI’s historical attacks on student radicals, that FBI documents identify Richard Aoki as an FBI informant.
Richard Aoki
Richard Aoki
The allegations raised a furor on the Left. At the center of the debate was the question of whether the evidence presented by Rosenfeld could be trusted or whether it was misinterpreted and/or manufactured. This debate was fired by the fragmentary nature of the evidence released at that point. Based on that initial evidence, it was broadly felt in the movement that Rosenfeld hadn’t proved his claims.
Subsequently, on September 7, Rosenfeld and CIR released a flood of over 200 pages of further documents from the FBI informant file in question that appear to solidify the most basic claim that Aoki was an FBI informant. There remain unanswered questions and contradictions from these files, illustrating the kind of sloppiness typical of FBI work in general.
To sum up the history, Aoki become an informant by at least 1961 after he had gotten in trouble with the law at a young age. He informed first on the Communist Party and the Socialist Workers Party, and then most importantly on the Black Panther Party. However, there is evidence that as Aoki involved himself more deeply in the movement and became radicalized, the FBI found his reliability as an informant to be increasingly questionable. Ultimately by the early 1970s his role apparently ceased. Various people have speculated that in the latter years of this relationship Aoki may have started acting as a double agent, providing information to the movement about the FBI at the same time he was providing information to the FBI. Aoki became an educator at UC Berkeley and Merritt College and continued for decades raising the political consciousness of subsequent generations of Asian American youth.
The most important value for the movement in discussing Richard Aoki’s history is to draw out political lessons for the future. In that vein, here are some points.
Avoiding both credulity and denialism
These are the two basic dangers in confronting an allegation of snitching. First, it should hopefully go without saying that we should never take information from the FBI or similar enemy sources at face value. It should be scrutinized closely and carefully, preferably by people with relevant knowledge, expertise, and politics. There’s a long history of snitch-jacketing being used as a weapon against the movement. This refers to when an innocent activist is framed as a snitch or agent either by a political rival to undermine them or by an agent in order to sow dissension and divert attention away from himself or herself as an actual agent. It has been a very powerful and destructive tactic at various points, and we need to be sharply on guard against it.
However, in this case the main error that seems to have manifested itself is denialism. Quite a few people, including some who knew Aoki personally, have come out taking the position that the allegation couldn’t possibly be true and that it’s defamation of Aoki’s character even to suggest it. Others have acknowledged the possibility that some of the evidence may be accurate but have felt political pressure to express a one-sided skepticism of the claims.
These positions appear to be driven by a tendency to put Aoki on a pedestal. This is a real danger. We shouldn’t use the defense of the honor of a heroic figure as a measure of our political commitment and ideological purity. One’s ideological stand does not provide answers to questions like these; examination of facts is the only thing that can. The danger here is that if we become one-sidedly skeptical of all such evidence, that creates an opening leaving us more vulnerable to snitches in the future.
What we need to do is keep our brains turned on, and maintain a commitment to rational, dispassionate assessment of evidence. Nobody should be a priori above suspicion, and nobody should be subjected to suspicion without real evidence above and beyond the claim of another individual. It’s also important to remember that even with serious investigation we’re not necessarily going to get a definitive, certain answer, especially in a case like Aoki’s where the events happened decades ago and various people involved are dead. Handling such situations will take thoughtfulness.
A snitch is not the same thing as an agent provocateur
There have been further assertions made by Rosenfeld about Aoki’s role that are important to untangle. Rosenfeld claimed at first that Aoki was not merely informing but was acting as a provocateur, meaning someone actively working to sabotage an organization. Rosenfeld stated in particular that Aoki’s well-established role in providing guns to the Panthers was a purposeful attempt to discredit them. This claim is unsupported by the evidence and by basic logic. Armed self-defense was an intrinsic part of the BPP’s politics and not something that they were tricked into. This claim appears to be driven by Rosenfeld’s white liberal ideology in wanting to depict the practice of armed self-defense in the movement as a departure from a pure nonviolent ideal, as well as by his economic interest in generating buzz and controversy to help him sell his book. These two factors definitely shaped Rosenfeld’s overall distorted interpretation of Aoki’s role. Fortunately, after being challenged by others Rosenfeld appears subsequently to have backed off from some of these claims.
Being a snitch is certainly serious enough, but just because someone is informing doesn’t mean that they’re purposely working to sabotage the movement. Snitches who start out as genuine activists are often enlisted by the state by way of vulnerabilities arising from preexisting threats of criminal prosecution held over their head or from economic distress. If someone is discovered and confirmed to be an active snitch, they should be forced out of the movement and their role publicized so that they can’t do the same to others elsewhere.
An agent provocateur is more serious yet. This might be an actual FBI agent or a civilian in the employ of the state. One recovered COINTELPRO memo from the FBI’s war on the Black Liberation Movement sums up the goal: “Through counter-intelligence it should be possible to pinpoint potential trouble-makers and neutralize them…” If someone is discovered actively trying to disrupt and destroy the movement in active concert with the state, they should be dealt with more harshly than a mere informer, such that future agents might have second thoughts about engaging in disruption.
People make mistakes, but they can also learn and grow
There’s a generalized tendency toward one-sidedness in our thinking that we really need to break out of: Aoki’s either a people’s hero OR he’s a snitch. One of the most important things to emphasize about the Aoki case is that not only did he eventually break off his contact with the FBI, but he also contributed enormously to the movement, as the existing histories about him have covered in depth. Aoki himself, when asked in an interview if he had been an informer, captured a vital point: “People change. It is complex. Layer upon layer.”
When people make mistakes but are able to show through their practice that they have genuinely corrected them and have gone on to make substantial contributions, our general approach should be to set those previous mistakes aside. Let’s not fall into the bourgeoisie’s error of punishment for the sake of punishment. The fundamental principle we should follow is the advancement of the interests of the people. Everything else is in service of that goal. Regardless of whether someone has made mistakes in the past, if they are now contributing positively toward that goal and present the prospect of continuing to do so in the future, they should be welcome in the movement.
Even more than that, such people should even be held up as paragons. We’re trying to transform a sick society into a healthy one; individuals who have made their own transformation into true servants of the people are living examples that such transformation is possible. Such people are of great value to the movement. So we should reject any assessment of Richard Aoki that seeks now, as a result of the new evidence, to cast him and his legacy aside while also rejecting those assessments which dismiss evidence to the contrary without a thorough examination.
Limiting the damage agents can do
We can’t completely prevent snitches and agents from entering the movement. One of our tasks is thus to figure out how to organize ourselves to minimize the impact that such people can have.
Most fundamentally, we should use social practice as the most basic criterion for assessing people, not just whether someone can talk a good line. This is what we should be doing under any circumstances. Where agents do infiltrate our organizations, holding everyone to a high standard of practice will force them to do significant good work that benefits the movement in order to maintain their cover.
Here are some signs we should watch for:
• Systematically divisive behavior, setting one person against another, talking behind people’s backs about them to other people (note that encouraging principled debate about substantive political questions is a wholly different matter)
• Lack of a reputable background, having appeared seemingly from nowhere.
• Vague and dodging responses to questions about one’s background, attacking the questioner, or giving background stories that don’t hold up to subsequent investigation.
• Pushing to quickly take up positions of authority in the organization without having spent a fair amount of time earning one’s stripes. [This is a failure of the organizational model as well…]
• Pushing for illegal activity that seems to depart from where the majority of the group is at and what’s appropriate to the current level of the struggle; offering resources to engage in that activity, particularly resources of mysterious origin.
• Fingering other people as agents without clear evidence.
• Lack of interest in helping other people develop their leadership, political understanding, and general skills.
As discussed previously, a balance needs to be found between appropriately scrutinizing suspicious behavior and not falling into paranoia or falling victim to snitch jacketing. We also need to be careful not treat as agents those who engage in destructive behavior simply due to incorrect ideas, bad judgment, or psychological/emotional difficulties. Such people should be criticized, struggled with in a constructive way, and helped so that they can improve their practice.
The bottom-line lesson to take away from the Aoki controversy is that snitches and agents are a real thing that we need to deal with in a practical, principled, and serious way. They are not just something that took place in decades gone by, as the experiences with the snitch Brandon Darby in the demonstrations against the 2008 Republican Convention, undercover FBI agent Karen Sullivan in the Twin Cities Antiwar Committee, and others in the recent period have shown. Because Richard Aoki grew as a person and eventually broke off his relationship with the FBI, we should continue to hold him up as a model of oppressed-nationality revolutionary unity. We can learn not only from his early mistake in informing but even more from the great contributions he went on to make to the revolutionary cause.

Friday, September 28, 2012

Question for Plato Negro from Gregory Fields, Professor of law and student at Academy of da Corner

Dr. M and Professor Gregory Fields at Academy of da Corner, 14th and Broadway,
downtown Oakland CA.  photo Walter Riley, Esq.

And Professor Gregory asked Plato Negro: "Most humble master teacher, Plato Negro, Dr. M, Rumi, Saadi, Hafiz, the consensus is that you are one of the wisest persons in the world, especially here in the Bay Area. It is conceded you know 99% of what is to be known or is known, therefore, we ask you kindly, is it possible that you will allow us humble ones to claim possession of the1% that you do not claim to know?"

Plato Negro: Absolutely, you may claim the 1%. Of course it is also known that a wise man can play a fool but a fool cannot play a wise man. In the 1% that you know, I know you know that I have been known to be a fool.

American Education Dead in the Water

The American educational system as with all American institutions, e.g., political, economy, religious, family, is suffering the last stages of full blown addiction to white supremacy mythology and ritual and shall find itself in the dustbin of history. There is no reform capable of making the needed structural changes, only revolution shall suffice. We shall continue being reactive rather than proactive in approaching the problems confronting our children, students and adults. Stop nick picking and cherry picking a social order that must be destroyed for its myriad cancers and pervasive class and racial quagmire.
--Dr. M


The Urgency of NowSchott Foundation: America's Education System Neglects Almost Half of the Nation's Black and Latino Male Students
Click below:
http://www.blackboysreport.org/urgency-of-now.pdf]

New report cites need to address students being pushed out and locked out of opportunities to learn; Schott Foundation joins call for a moratorium on out-of-school suspensions

The research for this report was conducted by Michael Holzman. It was edited by John Jackson and Ann Beaudry, with assistance from Emily Dexter and Kalycia Trishana Watson. The report was designed by Patrick St. John.
The Schott Foundation for Public Education September 19, 2012 
http://www.blackboysreport.org/schott-black-males-report-press-release.pdf 

[moderator: the full report may be found here - http://www.blackboysreport.org/urgency-of-now.pdf]

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - A new report from the Schott Foundation for Public Education finds that only 52 percent of Black male and 58 percent of Latino male ninth-graders graduate from high school four years later, while 78 percent of White, non-Latino male ninth- graders graduate four years later. The report suggests that without a policy framework that creates opportunity for all students, strengthens supports for the teaching profession and strikes the right balance between support-based reforms and standards-driven reforms, the U.S. will become increasingly unequal and less competitive in the global economy.

According to The Urgency of Now: The Schott 50 State Report on Public Education and Black Males, the national graduation rate for Black males has increased by ten percentage points since 2001-02, with 2010-11 being the first year that more than half of the nation's ninth- grade Black males graduated with a regular diploma four years later. Yet, this progress has closed the graduation gap between Black male and White, non-Latino males by only three percentage points. At this rate, it would take nearly 50 years for Black males to achieve the same high school graduation rates as their White male counterparts.

"We have a responsibility to provide future generations of Americans with the education and the skills needed to thrive in communities, the job market and the global economy. Yet, too many Black and Latino young boys and men are being pushed out and locked out of the U.S.
education system or find themselves unable to compete in a 21st Century economy upon graduating," said John H.
Jackson, president and CEO of the Schott Foundation for Public Education. "These graduation rates are not indicative of a character flaw in the young men, but rather evidence of an unconscionable level of willful neglect, unequal resource allocation by federal, state and local entities and the indifference of too many elected and community leaders. It's time for a support- based reform movement."

Among the states with the largest Black enrollments, North Carolina (58%), Maryland (57%), and California
(56%) have the highest graduation rates for Black males, while New York (37%), Illinois (47%) and Florida (47%) have the lowest. Arizona (84%) and Minnesota (65%) were the only states within the top ten ranked states, in graduation rates, with over 10,000 Black males enrolled.
Among the states with the highest enrollments of Latinos, Arizona (68%), New Jersey (66%) and California
(64%) have the highest graduation rates for Latino males, while New York (37%), Colorado (46%) and Georgia
(52%) have the lowest.

Three of the four states with the highest graduation rates for Black males were states with a relatively small number of Black males enrolled in the state's
schools: Maine (97%), Vermont (82%), Utah (76%). This seems to indicate that Black males, on average, perform better in places and spaces where they are not relegated to under-resourced districts or schools. When provided similar opportunities they are more likely to produce similar or better outcomes as their White male peers.
The report cites the need to address what the Schott Foundation calls a "pushout" and "lockout" crisis in our education system, in part by reducing and reclaiming the number of students who are no longer in schools receiving critical educational services and improving the learning and transition opportunities for students who remain engaged. Blacks and Latinos face disproportionate rates of out-of-school suspensions and are not consistently receiving sufficient learning time
- effectively being pushed out of opportunities to succeed. Many who remain in schools are locked out of systems with well-resourced schools and where teachers have the training, mentoring, administrative support, supplies and the facilities they need to provide our children with a substantive opportunity to learn. In the foreword to the report, Andrâ€Å¡s A. Alonso, CEO, Baltimore City Public Schools, described his city's efforts to keep kids in schools: "We could not have made these strides without asserting unequivocally that we had no disposable children, and that we needed everyone's help to make things right." Alonso concludes, "I am confident that we as a nation will rally and we will succeed. The cost of continued failure is around us, a disservice to our best hopes. The cost of continued failure should be abhorrent to contemplate."

To cut down the alarming "pushout" rate, the Schott Foundation is supporting the recently launched Solutions Not Suspensions initiative, a grassroots effort of students, educators, parents and community leaders calling for a nationwide moratorium on out-of-school suspensions. The initiative, supported by The Opportunity to Learn Campaign and the Dignity in Schools Campaign, promotes proven programs that equip teachers and school administrators with effective alternatives to suspensions that keep young people in school and learning.

Schott also calls for students who are performing below grade level to receive "Personal Opportunity Plans" to prevent them from being locked out of receiving the resources needed to succeed. The report highlights the need to pivot from a standards-driven reform agenda to a supports-based reform agenda that provides all students equitable access to the resources critical to successfully achieving high standards.

The Urgency of Now also provides the following recommendations for improving graduation rates for young Black and Latino men:

End the rampant use of out-of-school suspensions as a default disciplinary action, as it decreases valuable learning time for the most vulnerable students and increases dropouts.

Expand learning time and increase opportunities for a well-rounded education including the arts, music, physical education, robotics, foreign language, and apprenticeships.

States and cities should conduct a redlining analysis of school funding, both between and within districts, and work with the community and educators to develop a support-based reform plan with equitable resource distribution to implement sound community school models.

"There is no doubt that the stakes are high. Black and Latino children under the age of 18 will become a majority of all children in the U.S. by the end of the current decade, many of whom are in lower-income households located in neighborhoods with under-resourced schools," said Michael Holzman, senior research consultant to the Schott Foundation. "We do not want our young Black and Latino men to have to beat the odds; we want to change the odds. We must focus on systemic change to provide all our children with the opportunity to learn."

Happy B Day, John Gilmore, My Main Man!


We so remember John Gilmore, not only one of the greatest sax men ever, who took music beyond the sound barrier into deep outer space, but he was one of the most humble men who visited this planet, especially in his long devotion to Sun Ra. We remember performing with John as part of Sun Ra's Arkestera.
--Dr. M

Let it Stand
Blowing in from Chicago


from the album "Blowing in from Chicago" (1957)
John Gilmore was born in Summit, Mississippi, but grew up in Chicago and originally played the clarinet, taking up the tenor saxophone while serving in the United States Air Force from 1948–1952.

Gilmore played briefly with pianist Earl Hines, and in 1957 then pursued a musical career, playing briefly with pianist Earl Hines before encountering Sun Ra in 1953.

In 1957 he and Clifford Jordan recorded a Blue Note date that is regarded as a hard bop classic: Blowing In from Chicago. In the mid-1960s Gilmore toured with the Jazz Messengers and recorded with Paul Bley, Andrew Hill (Andrew! and Compulsion), Pete La Roca (Turkish Women at the Bath), McCoy Tyner (Today and Tomorrow) and a handful of others.

His main focus for the next four decades remained with the Sun Ra Arkestra. Many who noted Gilmore's talent, and thought he could be a major star like John Coltrane or Sonny Rollins, were puzzled by his dedication to Sun Ra.

Gilmore's explained that his devotion to Sun Ra was because of Ra's use of harmony. He said that Sun Ra was "more stretched out than Monk."

In 1990, he told Graham Lock in The Wire that "I'm not gonna run across anybody who's moving as fast as Sun Ra ... So I just stay where I am."

After Sun Ra's death in 1993, Gilmore led Ra's "Arkestra" for a few years before his own death from emphysema in 1995.

Video: Clifford Jordan, tenor sax; John Gilmore, tenor sax; Horace Silver, piano; Curly Russell, bass.

For more John Gilmore videos, click here