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O je ^ r t l a t i b © bseruer
p e r s p e c t i v e s
F I a in b o W
African American Spirituality: A
Universal Inheritance
by
P rof . M ckinley B urt
Tw o recent headlines for major
news articles by New York Times
colum nists scent at first blush to reach
to the heart of m odem m an’s spiritual
dilem m a. Within a week we had,
“ Baby Boomers, Now Parents, Turn
To C hurch”, and “ New Age Spirit
Q uest Leaves Indians Decrying C ul
tural T heft”.
Just what is it that is driving this
frantic search for answers to a world
wide phenom enon of disillusionment
and uncertainty ? Is this a new crisis of
beliefs, religion - about one’s place
in the universe, in the scheme of
things? A nd, more importantly, why
now? Has the failure o f institutions,
long trusted and revered, long de
pended upon for balance and support
in an otherw ise uncertain w orld
brought our fear and trepidation to a
critical mass? In these frantic (be
lated) searches for answers some even
wonder if it is safe to look too deeply
within. The human psyche suddenly
seems too fragile, too vulnerable as
senseless violence reaches a crescendo
in the nation, throughout the world,
in fact: not just among strangers but
neighbor against neighbor, children
against parents and other children,
class against class, and even the peace
makers quarrel bitterly. It seems that
a terrible sense of “alienation” has
gripped mankind, transcending race,
consequent and geography. Nighdy,
blood drips from television set.
W ebster’s dictionary describes
“alienation’: “A withdrawal or sepa
ration o f a person or his affections
from the values of one’s society or
family - from a position o f former
attachm ent.” Others, like the aca
demic spokepersons for those “baby
boomers” (bom soon after W orld War
II), describe the current era as one of
“enorm ous fragm entation o f the
spirit” with parents expressing con
cern about the moral and religious
socialization of their children. Well
and good from the pundits and social
arbiters for the articulate m iddle class,
but how is it with the ethnic and
economic m inorities?The Blacks, the
Indians, the poor.
That New York Tim es article
about the “New Age” spiritual guest
of middle class whites (Oregonian,
12/27/93) was merciless in its indict
ment of a blatant “m ockery” o f the
original A merican’s reverence for the
nature o f the world. “W isps o f smoke
rose from burning herbs...a prayer to
mother earth and father sky... a song
about the return of the bison and
reverent words offered for the ‘red
nation ’... All that was missing among
the forty was an 'In d ia n ’”.
The kind of activities bring on
comments like those o f John Lavelle,
a sioux who is director o f the Center
for Support and Protection of Indian
Religions and Indigenous Traditions:
“This is the final phase o f genocide.
First whites took the land and all that
was physical. Now they are going
after what is intangible”. Speaking of
the “intangible”, how much of the
residual rights in the block buster
movie “Geronomo” will find its way
to Indian institutions? Not much if
any, considering the mounting envy
and jealousy over Indian Casino op
erations (and Salmon fishing). Some
say small compensation for the tril
lions in land and resources taken.
And lives?
But, wait a minute now. What
about this African American spiritu
ality that springs forth from an A fri
can tradition that was recorded many
thousands o f years ago when the rest
of the world was in a barbaric stupor.
Can today’s blacks reassert a moral
authority and tradition that is docu
mented in the Bible and other reli
gious writings—in Greek and Roman
history, on Egyptian papyri and pyra
m ids, on E th io p ia n and N ubian
Temples? Can they reinstitute the
soul-sustaining reverence for God and
man they brought with them as slaves
in an alien land?
This is the moral im perative
which enabled blacks to not only
maintain sanity and a sense of self,
but to move forward and build those
institutions, spiritual and secular, that
have sustained them to date. It is now,
in this universal crisis o f spirit and
soul, that we must wonder if that
millenniums-old consciousness o f the
order of things which brought the rest
o f the world out o f spiritual darkness,
can again bring the light. Especially
when the very A frican American
youth is in violent and destructive
ferment.
Next week: how we did it before
and how w e m u std o ita g a in if we are
to survive. O ur spiritual inheritance
from day I in Ethiopia.
C S fe A : L
I T
I Ö
N
New Year’s Resolution
state and local level, thereby threat
ening the hard-won gains in minority
representation made because o f the
1965 Voting Rights Act; and
W hereas, HR-2862, which has
98 co-sponsors and is currently pend
ing before C ongress, threatens to
codify the Shaw decision which would
be a major setback to equal voting
rights and representation in this coun
try; and
W h ereas, even with the 1965
Voting Rights Act, African A m eri
cans and other minorities continue to
face barriers in achieving a fair share
o f political power nationwide as evi
denced by the fact that there are nearly
500, OOOpublicly elec ted or appointed
officials in our country, yet African
Americans, who represent 12.8 per
cent o f the total population and would
hold approximately 60,000 of those
offices, hold only 7,500 or a mere 1.5
percent o f those offices; and
W hereas, this is the only court
case in which the Supreme Court has
created a remedy without a violation
- i.e., a showing that anyone’s rights
have been violated; and
W h ereas, the im plications o f
Shaw for reducing the mere 1.5 per
cent o f African Americans who hold
political office in our country is a
W hereas, The President has yet
toappointan A ssistant Attorney G en
eral for the Office o f Civil Rights,
whose duties would include enforc
ing the provisions o f the 1965 Voting
Rights Act; and
W hereas, the rights o f those citi
zens who arc protected by the Voting
Rights Act are now more vulnerable
than any other time in this decade;
and
W h e re a s, for the d isen fran
chised, the 1965 Voting Rights Act is
the most important piece o f social
legislation o f this century; and
W hereas, the Suprem e Court in
the case o f Shaw V. Reno, ruled that
irregularly shaped minority districts
are subject to Constitutional chal
lenge and therefore threatens to un
dermine the 1965 Voting Rights Act;
and
W h ereas, our President, in his
advocacy for color-blind constituen
cies, recently stated, “ too many o f us
are still too unwilling to vote for
people w hoaredifferent than w earc;”
and
W h ereas, the U.S. Congress is
currently considering legislation that
would seek to use the interpretation in
Shaw as a basis for challenging m i
nority districts in court at the federal,
major threat to Black social, educa
tional and economic progress at many
levels and areas beyond the political
arena; and
W hereas, these attacks on the
1965 Voting Rights A ct by the C on
gress and the Courts will potentially
instill a chilling effect on the w illing
ness of state legislative redistricting
bodies to draw electoral districts with
the aim of remedying the past effects
o f voter discrimination;
N ow , th e re fo re , Be It R e
so lv ed th a t (Y o u r O rg a n iz a tio n )
go on re c o rd as se e in g the Shaw
d e c isio n as the g re a te st th re a t in
our day to eq u al re p re se n ta tio n
for p e o p le o f c o lo r a t the fe d e ra l,
sta te and lo cal le v e l; and Be It
F u rth e r R e so lv e d th a t (Y o u r O r
g a n iz a tio n ) u rg e D e m o c ra ts in
C o n g re ss to u n an im o u sly o p p o se
H R -2862.
Be 11F urthcr Resolved that (Your
Organization) urge the President o f
the United States to appoint an Asst.
Atty. Gen. for Civil Rights who has a
track record consistent with the In
tent of the 1965 V.R. Act.
Respectfully su b m itted to,
T he P resid en t
T he W hite H ouse
W ashington, DC 20500
C e le b ra te D iversity
Most Insured Americans Will Get Better Health Benefits
M ost A m ericans w ho now have
health insurance will get better ben
efits under the C linton Health Re
form, according to a report released
today by the consum er group Families
USA.
“ In su red A m erican s are B IG
W inners under the Clinton R eform , ’
said Ron Pollack, executive director
of Fam ilies USA.
“ M ost A m ericans with private
insurance will get better benefits and
m o re s e c u rity u n d e r P r e s id e n t
C linton’s Health R eform ,” Pollack
said.
The new report looks at the num
ber o f insured A m ericans in every
state to get im proved coverage in five
benefit areas under the Clinton Re-
form --prescription drugs, long term
care, vision services, dental care, and
mental illness or substance abuse treat
ment. The report also calculates the
num ber o f insured A m ericans who
will pay less in d e d u c tib le s and
copaym ents, and the num ber o f in
sured Americans w ho will get strong
new protection against insurance com
pany discrim ination.
The report finds that 53 m illion
insured A m ericans will gain new or
improved coverage for prescription
drugs by 1998,121 m illion currently
insured A m ericans will gain dental
benefits by 2001, 139 million will
gain new vision protection by 1998,
153 million will gain improved ben
efits for mental illness and substance
abuse by 2001, 2.6 million will be
eligible tb receive new long term care
service at home by 2003, 37 million
will pay lower amounts in deductibles
and copayments in 2001, and 31 m il
lion will gain protection against in
surance company discrimination by
1998.
The Families USA report does
not count those on M edicaid or the
uninsured, most of whom will also
benefit.
Four out of five elderly use pre
scription drugs, yet fewer than half
have private insurance coverage for
drugs. Medicare does not now cover
prescription drugs. Under the Clinton
Reform, 22 million older Americans
will gain new coverage for prescrip
tion drugs under an expanded M edi
care by 1998, according to the report.
“ Under the President’s Reform,
our grandparents will no longer have
to choose between buying groceries
and buying their m edicine,” Pollack
said.
The prescription drug benefit will
also help 32 million Americans under
age 65.
The greatest numbers o f Ameri
cans of all ages will gain new or
improved drug coverage under the
Reform in California (5.6 m illion),
New York (3.9 million), Texas (3.1
million), Florida (3.1 million), Penn
sylvania (3 million), Illinois (2.5 mil
lion), Ohio (2.3 million), New Jersey
(1.8 million), M ichigan (1.8 Million),
and North Carolina (1.4 million).
The insurance m ost Americans
have today does not cover dental care.
Under the Clinton Reform, 121 mil
lion privately insured Americans will
gain dental benefits by 2001, accord
ing to the study. O f those, 87 million
will be adults and 34 m illion will be
under 18.
The greatest numbers o f privately
insured Americans will gain dental
benefits by 2001 in California (12.3
million), Texas (8.4 m illion), New
York (8.3 m illion), Florida (6 mil
lion), Pennsylvania (5.9 m illion), Illi
nois (5.8 million), Ohio (5.5 million),
Michigan (4.7 million), New Jersey
(3.9 million), and Virginia (3.5 mil
lion).
M ost insured A m ericans now
have policies that exclude vision cov
erage. american consumers pay for
the vast majority o f vision products
and services out-of-pocket. Under the
Clinton Reform, 139 million privately
insured Americans will gain new vi
sion protection by 1998, according to
the report.
T hegreatestnum bersof privately
insured Americans will gain vision
benefits in California (14.2 million),
Texas (9.9 million), New York (9.1
million), Florida (7 m illion), Illinois
(6.7 million), Pennsylvania (6.6 m il
lion), Ohio (6.4 m illion), Michigan
(5.4 million). New Jersey (4.3 m il
lion), and Virginia (4 m illion).
Americans whose insurance po
lices include some mental illness or
substance abuse benefits today often
have very limited coverage. Under the
Clinton Reform, 153 million A m eri
cans will gain improved benefits for
mental illness and substance abuse by
2001, according to Families U SA ’s
report.
T hese sta te s have the h ig h e st
num bers o f in su re d w ho w ill gain
im proved c o v e ra g e fo r m en tal ill
ness or su b sta n c e a b u se in 2001:
C a lifo rn ia (1 6 .3 m illio n ); New
Y ork (11.1 m illio n ); T e x a s (9.4
m illio n ); P e n n sy lv a n ia (8 .2 m il
lio n ); Illin o is (7.7 m illio n ); O h io
(7 .6 m illio n ); M ic h ig a n (6.2 m il
lio n ); New Je rse y (5.4 m illio n ):
an d N orth C a ro lin a (4 m illio n ).
Nearly every American family
eventually faces a long term care cri
sis. Very few Americans can afford
insurance to protect them from the
bankrupting costs o f long term care.
Under the Clinton R eform , all A m eri
cans with severe disabilities will be
eligible to receive new long term care
services at home. It is estimated that
2.6 million Americas will actually get
this care in 2003.
The greatest numbers of Ameri
cans will get long term care at home
under this new coverage in 2003 in
C a lif o r n ia (2 7 4 ,0 0 0 ), F lo rid a
(184,000), Texas (174,000), Illinois
(115,000); Michigan (78,000), New
Jersey (76,000), and North Carolina
(74,000).
M illions o f Americans pay high
deductibles and copayments today.
A bout 25 m illion A m ericans had
health expenses that amounted to ten
percent or more o f their income in
1993.
Under President Clinton’s Re
form , nearly 40 m ill ion insured Ameri
can will have low er deductibles and
copayments by 1998.
The greatest numbers of Ameri
cans will have lower copayments and
deductibles in 1998 in California (5.7
m illion), Texas (3.4 million), New
York (2.7 m illion), Florida (1.9 mil
lion), Illinois (1.4 million), Pennsyl
vania (1.4 million), and New Jersey
(962,000).
Today, millions o f Americans
with health problems face discrimina
tion by insurance companies. Some
are denied health coverage for condi
tions they or their family members
already have, or are charged higher
premiums. By 1998, underthc Clinton
Reform, 31 million potential victims
o f insurance company discrimination
will gain new protection, as the dis
criminatory practices are outlawed,
according to the report.
T he g re a te s t n u m b e rs o f
people w ill b e n e fit from these in
su rance refo rm s in C a lifo rn ia (3.5
m illio n );T e x a s (2.2 m illion); New
Y ork (2.1 M illio n ); P e n n sy lv a n ia
(1.5 m illio n ); F lo rid a (1.5 m il
lion); Illin o is (1.5 m illio n ); O hio
(1.4 m illio n ); M ichigan (1.1 m il
lion); N ew Jersey (1 m illio n ), and
G e o rg ia (8 4 5 ,0 0 0 ).
“ Insurance companies w on’t be
able to discriminate against Ameri
cans who are old or sick or have sick
children under the President’s Health
Reform. Such insurance companies
practices will simply be banned,” Pol
lack said.
The estimates in the report are
based on several government data
sources: the National Medical Expen
diture Survey, the Survey of Income
and Program Participation and the
Current Population Survey. The data
in the report was calculated by Fami
lies US A with the assistance o f Lewin-
VHI, a technical health care consult
ing firm.
The new report, “ Better Benefits:
Millions Helped by Clinton Reform,”
was produced by Families USA Foun
dation.
Families US A is the national con
sumer group fighting for health and
long term care reform.
THIS WAY FOR BLACK EMPOWERMENT
Minister Farrakhan And Black-On-Black Violence
O n Saturday, D ecem ber 17, I
had the privilege of addressing M in
ister Louis Farrakhan’s “Stop the
K illing” rally at the Jacob Javits C on
vention Center in New York City. I
was particularly honored to welcome
the minister to New York and deliver
the first speech o f the rally.
M inister Farrakhan ’s appearance
before a crowd o f 25,000 African
A merican New Yorkers was an ex
trem ely important event, not simply
because it was the m inister’s first
public appearance in New York City
since 1985, but also because it cam e at
a time when the Black com m unity o f
the c ity -a n d the nation-finds itself in
a leadership crisis.
In the wake o f Mayor David
D inkins’ defeat, Black politicians are
circling like vultures. T hey’re ru n
ning every which way (mostly to the
right) in an attem pt to make th em
selves acceptable to the white pow er
structure. T hat’s why the arrival o f ing. W e ’ve got to turn out those
M inister Farrakhan-a man o f p rin w ho m a n ip u la te our fe a rs for their
ciple who puts the needs o f the com ow n p o litic a l g a in .”
munity before political am bition-w as
“There are wealthy power bro
kers
in this country who are making
so welcome.
W e’re all aware o f the epidem ic millions off of our kids doing crack.
of violence,crim eanddrugabuse that
There are corrupt police officers liv
is destroying the very social fabric of
ing in style by confiscating and
our communiues. Some of our politi
reselling guns and drugs while our
cal leaders are responding to this
kids go to jail and the politicians turn
their heads. And there are Black
crisis by blaming our young people.
leasers who maintain their positions
The Reverend Jesse Jackson, for ex
ample, has been touring New York of power in the Democratic party by
schools and churches calling on our exploiting our despair and our power-
chi ldren to turn their friends and peers lessncss while they bow down to the
Zionist elements who maintain un
in to the police.
B ut as I p u t it a t the ra lly , due influence in this city and die
“ T h e B lack c o m m u n ity h a s to corporate elements who dom inate th is
co n c e rn its e lf less w ith w ho it country.”
D issin g our c h ild re n may win
tu rn s in an d c o n c e rn its e lf m ore
w ith w ho it turns o ut. W e ’ve got you a D em o cratic p arty nom ina
to tu rn o u t those w ho th riv e on tio n , b u t it p la y s rig h t into the
v io le n c e , w e’ve g o t to turn o u t h an d s o f the w hite ra c ists. As the
th o se w ho b e n e fit from the k ill M in iste r put it at the rally : “ You
say this is a tough g e n e ra tio n . We tion, independent of the m anipula
p ro d u ced it. D o n ’tc h e c k the fruit. tion, leaders such as Minister Louis
L e t’s check the tr e e .”
Farrakhan, Reverend A1 Sharpton and
Our Black misleaders-in New
myself.”
York and nauonally-are doing virtu
M inister Farrakhan and I do n ’t
ally nothing to help our people over see eye to eye on everything, but we
com e the poverty, racism and hope agree that there are solutions to the
lessness which produces self-destruc violence that plagues our communi
tive violence and drug abuse. Instead
ties. The Nation of Islam had dem on
they’re busy trying to figure out how
strated the success of some of its
to broker our misery into getting
solution to fighting drug dealing and
elected mayor or senator or governor
drug abuse. Activists and leaders who
or whatever. If the African American
work with me have created program
community is serious about doing
after program-including the All Stars
something to stop the violence, w e’re
Talent Show Network, the Barbara
going to have to make some tough
Taylor School, Pregnant Productions-
decisions.
which provide non-violent environ
“The issue,” I told the crowd at
ments where our young people can
the Javits C enter,“ is whether you will
grow and develop in positive direc
have the courage and the intelligence
tions.
to stand up on behalf of our people to
These solutions have been de
turn out the Judases am ongst us and
nied and in many cases attacked be
to stand up with the Black leader who cause the leaders who have generated
strive lobe independentof the corrup-
thcm -M inister Farrakhan and mv-
k
k
«
self-are independent. But that, of
course, is exactly why they work.
M inister Farrakhan and I can see and
implement solutions to violence and
crime precisely because w e’re inde
pendent, politically and financially,
of the Democratic and Republican
Parties. Those who control the two
old parties aren ’t interested in a solu
tion; they would just as soon see us
kill ourselves off. All they’re con
cerned about is keeping a lid on the
Black community, which means mak
ing sure we do n ’t shake things up too
much.
The question facing the Black
community is: are we going to follow
the independent road which will lake
us to the end o f violence or will we
once again settle for a Democratic or
Republican Party-controlled approach
that is more about power and privi
lege for the few than dealing with
violence in our communities?
Jj1 J., f