Page 18
August 2013
The AC Phoenix
Making History..
Again
By Benjamin Todd Jealous
Ben Jealous
Remember the March on Washington?
August 28, 1963. Tens of thousands
of activists on the National Mall. A
preacher's son from Atlanta talking
about his dream for the country.
We don't need a history lesson. Even if
we weren't at the March itself - even for
those like me, who were not yet born
- Dr. King's words are etched into our
minds as deeply as they are inscribed
in stone at the base of his memorial.
The preacher's son has taken his right
ful place in the pantheon of national
heroes.
We don't need to watch a rerun of that
fateful day. We need a sequel.
On Saturday, August 24th, the NAACP
is co-hosting a sequel to the March
on Washington for Jobs and Justice:
the 2013 March on Washington. The
march begins at 8:00 am, at the steps
of the Lincoln Memorial. Join us.
If this year has shown us anything, it's
that the work of the 1963 march is not
yet finished. Texas and South Carolina
are sprinting forward with voter ID
after the Supreme Court gutted the
Voting Rights Act. African American
unemployment has flat lined. Our
children are gunned down each and
every day in senseless acts of violence.
Trayvon Martin lies in the ground after
one such senseless act.
At the same time, our culture of civic
engagement is experiencing a renais
sance. In the past month, hundreds of
cities held vigils and rallies to protest
the Zimmerman verdict.The nation is
having a serious conversation about
racial profiling for the first time since
9/11. In North Carolina, Moral Mon
days has grown larger with each pass
ing week.
We have the numbers, and we have
the capacity for motivation.The ques
tion is whether we will allow ourselves
to be motivated.
So join us - NAACP, National Action
Network, Realizing the Dream and
others - on the National Mall on
August 24th. If you live within two
hours of Washington, DC, hop in a car
or on a bus - or even better, organize
a bus. if you live farther away, you are
still encouraged to come and be a part
of history.
The 2013 March on Washington will
be a people's movement. It will not be
fueled by cash - it will only be ener
gized by your decision to participate.
We need you there to help us gain a
critical mass of voices, and prove once
again that organized people can beat
organized money anytime.
On this fiftieth anniversary of the March
on Washington, we should celebrate
our history, but it's more important that
we never stop making history. Meet
us at the Lincoln Memorial. Join us on
August 24th.
Ben Jealous is president/CEO of the
NAACP. Contact: Ben Wrobel 917-
846-0658 bwrobel@naacpnet.org @
NAACPPress
Trayvon Inspired
Obama to Act Like
the First Black
President
By Raynard Jackson, NNPA Columnist
Trayvon Martin
In 2004, at the Democratic National
Committee's presidential convention,
I was mesmerized by Barack Obama, a
little known state senator from Illinois.
He electrified the convention and cre
ated a global buzz among those who
watched on TV. In 2006,1 was proud
to see him elected to the U.S. Senate
from Illinois.
In 2008, I was even more proud to
see a Black man elected to be presi
dent of the United States. Americans
throughout the U.S. celebrated this
historic accomplishment.This was one
of America's best moments.
In 2013,1 am most proud that the first
Black president finally seemed to find
his voice before the American people
on an issue that was of particular con
cern to the Black community. After
more than four years in the White
House, President Obama finally spoke
to America and directly to Black Amer
ica simultaneously.
For the first time, Obama did not
lecture or speak down to Blacks. He
spoke as one of us. He spoke from his
heart to our hearts, to my heart.
He did not give a speech, for that
would have been cynical and would
have fallen flat. He simply exposed his
soul to us; but he also allowed us to
penetrate the veil that he had erected
that prevented him from connecting
■with his own people. For the first time,
he actually showed an emotional con
nection to the plight of Blacks in this
country.
Lord knows, in my columns, I have
been one of his biggest critics of how
he interacts with the Black community,
i would be nothing short of a hypocrite
not to praise him for speaking directly
to the American people in the after-
math of the Zimmerman trial, espe
cially in a way that connected to Black
Americans.
He didn't take a position one way or the
other on the jury's verdict; that wasn't^
the important thing at that moment.
He spoke as president of all of America,
but at the same time spoke directly to
the Black community without separat
ing the country. Non-Biacks of good
will for certain will understand my
statement.
This is the Obama I have been seeking
for almost five years. It was quite obvi
ous that Obama was touched by the
emotions that were raging from within
the Black community since the tragic
night of Trayvon Martin's death.
Policy considerations aside, Biacks have
always wanted Obama to show us that
he understood the plight of being Black
in America. We have wanted him to
connect to our issues like he showed
the residents of Newtown, Conn, after
the massacre last year.
Sometimes one can be so beat up that
you just want someone to say, "I feel
your pain, i understand what you are
going through, "even if you can't make
the pain go away. Nothing Obama said
will bring Trayvon back. But for once,
America saw its first Black president in
public.
Some of my readers will not under
stand anything i am writing; it is not
you to whom i am writing. Those with
similar backgrounds and experiences
as mine will understand intrinsically
what I am saying.
i don't expect some to understand why
i behave the way I do when a police
man pulls me over or approaches me
while I am parked.
Policemen will ask me why I am put
ting both of my hands out of the
driver's window like i did two weeks
ago. i tell them because I don't want
them to have any allusions about my
being armed and to make sure they
know that i am no threat to them. They
don't seem to understand that before i
reach into my glove compartment that
I tell them that I am about to reach into
the giove box to retrieve my car infor
mation that they are requesting (title,
proof of insurance, etc.).
In my professional life, i constantly have
to prove my abilities, even though my
records of accomplishments are part
of the public domain, as any Google
search would reveal. In meetings, i tell
the attendees that I will call a certain
person and get them to do a certain
thing, i report back to the group oniy
to be asked, "Wow, so you really do
know that person?" They are actually
amazed that I have personal relations
with some of the most powerful people
in the worid; they have a hard time
reconciling my background (being a
Black kid from the hood of St. Louis)
with knowing certain types of people.
Yes, America has come a long way since
the days of Jim Crow and segregation;
but please don't criticize our president
or the Black community for wanting,
every now and then, for the leaders
of our country (regardless of color) to
be touched with the feelings of our
struggles.
Sometimes we just want to be told that
together we will all be OK.
Raynard Jackson is president & CEO
of Raynard Jackson & Associates,
LLC., a Washington, D.C.-based public
relations/government affairs firm.
He can be reached through his Web
site, www.raynardjackson.com. You
can also follow him on Twitter at ray-
nard1223.
Vo!, No Low
Ridort Allowed!
rACDi
Voung men
were
molested
by older
and
stronger
Inmates.
They
became
suicidal
because
of what
happened
to them.
Prison
officials
toob
away
their
belts to
prevent
them
from
hanging.
That ended
up being
a symbol
that the
young
man was
actually
someone’s
This style began
in PRISON!
MCeiM
This Is not cool! It's o cihgrace!
Sogging is “Not Coot!"
it
to giflt,
Homeii and ladies!