LOUIS 'HOP' KENDRICK

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a column recognizing those Black people, who served in the role of judges at every level. Several people reminded me that I had omitted two Black females and both have served in Wilkinsburg. The first Black magistrate elected in Wilkinsburg was Judge Alberta Thompson and she served until she decided to retire. The second is the incumbent magistrate, Judge Kim Hoots, who currently is serving her second term in office.

GEORGE CURRY

(NNPA)—When some of us saw the first video of Charles Ramsey, the colorful Black dishwasher in Cleveland who is being celebrated as a hero for rescuing three White women captives from horrid conditions in a Cleveland house, we had a flashback to Antoine Dodson, who became a flamboyant Internet sensation after saving his sister from a would-be rapist in their Huntsville, Ala. housing apartment, and Sweet Brown, who barely escaped a fire in her Oklahoma City complex.

But more than any other famous “hilarious Black neighbor” Internet sensation, the coverage of Ramsey—and his criminal past—raises serious questions about how we treat a hero with a troubled past and, yes, how Blacks and Whites look at the same event through different prisms of race.

First, as they say in TV news, let’s go to the videotape.

“I’ve been here a year,” Ramsey said in an interview with WEWS, a local television station. Referring to Ariel Castro, the suspect arrested for holding the women against their will, Ramsey said, “You see where I’m coming from? I barbecue with this dude. We eat ribs and whatnot and listen to salsa music…

“He just comes out in his backyard, plays with the dogs, tinkers with his cars and motorcycles, goes back in the house. So he’s somebody you look, then look away. He’s not doing anything but the average stuff. You see what I’m saying? There’s nothing exciting about him. Well, until today.”

Ramsey explained that Castro “got some big testicles to pull this off, bro.”

He added, “I knew something was wrong when a little, pretty White girl ran into a Black man’s arms. Something wrong here. Dead giveaway.”

There was plenty wrong, as Ramsey learned when he put down his McDonald’s Big Mac and answered a call for help from Amanda Berry, who had been last seen in 2002 on the eve of her 17th birthday. The two other women were Georgina “Gina” DeJesus, who had been missing since 2004 at the age of 14, and Michelle Knight, who disappeared in 2002 at the age of 21.

While being hailed as a hero, Ramsey was the object of both racism and ridicule.

Though we’re reluctant to publicly admit it, some African-Americans cringed at the sight of Ramsey. His hair, curled in the back like Al Sharpton’s do and as slick as Chuck Berry’s, is interspersed with what we once called post office hair—each nap has its own route. This is one of the few cases where a person’s mug shot looks better than his real life photo.

To put this in context, think back to when Black civil rights protesters dressed up in their Sunday’s best, knowing they were going to get physically assaulted by police and White supremacists. Then, as now, image matters. Especially when one of us appears on TV. Still, there are plenty of people in our community who look like Ramsey and their speech and appearance make them no less valuable than the best dressed and most articulate among us.

Some have suggested than many Whites take delight in seeing Blacks caricatured in the image of Charles Ramsey and Antoine Dodson.

“Perhaps it’s time for the world’s meme artists to stop assuming that any Black dude getting interviewed on local news about a crime he helped to foil can be reduced to some catch-phrase or in-joke,” Miles Klee wrote on Blackbookmag.com. “It’s just baffling that we’re trying to find a way to laugh about what is, in itself, a harrowing turn of events.”

Most of us knew, or at least suspected deep down, that something about Ramsey’s past would surface, causing further embarrassment.

The Smoking Gun website disclosed on May 8 that Ramsey “is a convicted felon whose rap sheet includes three separate domestic violence convictions that resulted in prison terms.”

Blacks instantly asked: Why is something that happened a decade ago—and had nothing to do with Ramsey’s heroism—relevant today? Cleveland’s WEWS-TV, facing a backlash from viewers, apologized for reporting on Ramsey’s criminal past.

“While the story was factually sound, the timing of it and publication of such information was not in good taste, and we regret it,” the station said on its Facebook page.

Normally, I would agree that Ramsey’s criminal past, certainly in this situation, should be irrelevant. But there’s nothing normal about this case. Unfortunately, Ramsey invited the scrutiny when he said he suspected domestic violence because he “was raised to help women in distress.”

In view of that assertion, Ramsey’s domestic violence convictions—hardly a record of helping women in distress—became fair game and should have been reported by the news media. But the reporting should not end there. Ramsey’s ex-wife, since remarried, said Ramsey eventually apologized for battering her and they now interact on “an okay basis.”

In addition, she posted two earlier photos of Ramsey on her Facebook page. She told the Smoking Gun, “For my daughter’s sake I show he didn’t always look hood.”

(George E. Curry, former editor-in-chief of Emerge magazine, is editor-in-chief of the NNPA. He is a keynote speaker, moderator and media coach. Curry can be reached through his Web site, www.georgecurry.com. You can also follow him at www.twitter.com/currygeorge.)

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JULIANNE MALVEAUX

(NNPA)—When Beyonce Knowles sang the Etta James song “At Last” at President Barack Obama’s 2009 inauguration, the song could have had several meanings. At last we have an African-American president? At last, the muscle of the Black vote has been flexed? At last, there is some hope for our country to come together with the mantra “Yes, We Can.”

Watching the President and First Lady Michelle Obama slow dance to the romantic standard reminded us that African-American families have not often been positively depicted. This attractive image of an intact Black family had come “At Last.”  Thus, the song was symbolic of what many folks, and especially African-Americans, believed about the Obama presidency.

Some of us blindly believed that with an African-American president opportunity had come “At Last.” Some believed it so fervently that the least criticism of President Obama, no matter how mild and how lovingly conveyed, could cause you to be run out of the race. An alumnus of Morehouse College, Rev. Kevin Johnson, the selected baccalaureate speaker at his alma mater, wrote an opinion piece that was mildly critical of President Obama. As a result, the former director of the White House Initiative on HBCUs and new Morehouse President John S. Wilson Jr. changed the format of baccalaureate to a panel, not one speaker, as is customary.

The purpose of baccalaureate is to have one speaker to focus on the spiritual dimensions of graduation. There is no way that Rev. Johnson would deliver a political speech. Still, he was essentially disinvited from the baccalaureate because of his views.

President Obama is the president of the United States of American, not the president of Black America, we are often reminded. Yet, it seems that African-Americans have been kicked to the curb in terms of focus and attention. Other groups—the LGBT community, the Latino community—have been mentioned explicitly. However, on African-American issues, our president has been silent.

Now, some African-American people are crooning “At Last.” Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx has been nominated to serve as Secretary of Transportation. If confirmed, Mayor Foxx, an outstanding and eminently qualified candidate would join Attorney General Eric Holder as the second African-American to serve in a regular cabinet post.

Similarly, the nomination of Congressman Mel Watt to lead the Federal Housing Finance Agency is a step forward. FHFA regulates Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and allows Congressman Watt the opportunity to implement some of the Obama initiatives on homeowner recovery from the Great Recession. The raging right has already come after Congressman Watt. The Daily Caller (a political blog) has reported an unsubstantiated claim by former presidential candidate Ralph Nader that the Congressman disrespected him in a letter. Nader has never produced the letter. Thus, the purpose of the claim is to besmirch FHFA nominee Congressman Mel Watt.

If Watt is confirmed, this represents a step forward for both President Obama and for African-American people, and for the entire nation. The issue is, of course, confirmation. Will the White House Congressman, be able to garner the votes Watt needs to be confirmed?
What does the White House gain or lose if Watt is not confirmed. The “At Last” segment of the African-American community will credit the president for making the nomination, even if not confirmed. The more critical segment of the African-American community will view the ways the White House embraces this nominee, and question commitment. Ask UN Ambassador Susan Rice who knows what it feels like to be dropped, when Senate confirmation seemed unlikely.

During President Obama’s first term, his inattention to the African-American community was understandable, though not acceptable. He was busy straddling lines, seeking compromise, and leaving a legacy of health care reform. African-Americans were patient in the hope that “as last” African-Americans would get recognition in his second term. After all, as a lame duck president, he has much to gain, and little to lose in rewarding his most loyal constituency. At last some of us have our disappointment confirmed. Our president’s inaugural speech mentioned every community except the African-American community.
President Obama and his supporters should not be thin-skinned. Philadelphia’s Rev. Kevin Johnson should not be “disinvited” from the Morehouse baccalaureate. Nor should a panel dilute his message, when the tradition is to have a sole speaker. Johnson is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Morehouse College, who deserves to be treated with respect. His column pointed out realities—President Clinton appointed seven African-Americans to his cabinet, President Bush, four, and President Obama, just one. Congresswoman Marcia Fudge, who leads the Congressional Black Caucus, in a letter to President Obama, wrote, “The people you have chosen to appoint in this new term have hardly been reflective of this country’s diversity.

Are the Foxx and Watt appointments a response to criticism? Based on their appointments, should Black folks sing “at last” or “not yet?”

(Julianne Malveaux is a Washington, D.C.-based economist and writer.  She is President Emerita of Bennett College for Women in Greensboro, N.C.)

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ULISH CARTER

Our most important right is to Vote, Vote, Vote.

No matter whom you support make sure you go out and vote in the upcoming May 21 election.

It’s not just for the mayoral race but also for City Council, School Board, Judges and County Council.

The big race of course is for mayor, in which there are three very worthy candidates. Jake Wheatley, Jack Wagner and Bill Peduto are running to be the new leader of Pittsburgh. Conditions are drastically different for Blacks than Whites in this city and we need a mayor who understands this and is willing to make the tough decisions to bring about equality and true diversity. I’m not telling you who to vote for, just learn all you can about each candidate and vote for the one you feel will best serve you and your community’s needs. All three men would make a good mayor, even though they all have their good points and bad.

The second big race is the District 6 City Council race between R. Daniel Lavelle, Tonya Payne and Franco Dok Harris. This is not just the Hill District as some people call it. It includes the Hill but also Manchester, the lower and parts of the middle North Side, North Shore, parts of Oakland and Downtown. There’s no doubt who the strongest candidate is in this race. Lavelle.

With education being probably the most important issue facing Black America, the School Board election is extremely important, with two key areas up for election. However, in District 3, which includes the Hill District, Thomas Sumpter is running unopposed. But in District 1 it should be a very close battle between Lucille Prater-Holliday and Sylvia Wilson. Wilson crossed filed as a Democrat and Republican, but Prater-Holliday didn’t, which could mean they will meet in the general election whereas all the other races are pretty much final. Once again read all you can about these two then vote your conscious. Just remember how important education is to the growth of this city, and how it will affect you and your family.

Blacks showed up in huge numbers during the presidential election to make sure Obama got back into office, and a whole lot of Whites showed up at the polls to make sure he didn’t. Just remember, this election across the board has a whole lot more to do with you. It’s going to affect you at every level, but especially at home.

You have a say in who will be making the daily decisions that will affect your life in employment or lack of it, education, crime and the criminal justice system. This election is right here at home.

But our jobs are not finished after we vote. After we vote we must hold these politicians’ feet—no matter who it is—to the fire. We must make sure they do what they said they were going to do. And even if they didn’t say they were going to do it, if it will help the Black community, we must demand that they either take the lead or join forces with those who are leading in the fight for equality across the board.

Make your voice heard. Vote. Vote. Vote for whomever you feel will make this city a better place to live for all people, not just the White upper middle class.

Remember the date. Tuesday, May 21.

(Ulish Carter is the managing editor of the New Pittsburgh Courier.)

Your comments are welcome.

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