Page 12
October 24, 2018
O PINION
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Mobilize the ‘Mob’ to March on Ballot Boxes
Remember Dr.
Christine
Blasey Ford
en Kavanaugh who viciously and
violently assaulted her. The whole
world witnessed her courage and
determination to come forth under
adverse circumstances,
an unlevel playing field,
to tell her story as a mat-
by D r . r on D aniels
ter of non-partisan civic
We must never forget
duty. She was believable
the humble, dignified
and credible. She told
and courageous testi-
the truth!
mony of a Dr. Christine
Then came the calcu-
Blasey Ford before the
lated, angry, defiant, bel-
Senate Judiciary Com-
mittee. With no outside witness- ligerent, hyper-partisan testimony
es being called, the hearing was of the “choir boy,” Judge Kavana-
deliberately rigged to be a “she
said, he said” spectacle. We must
never forget the bias treatment
of Dr. Ford by the committee’s
chairman Charles Grassley, who
complimented her for coming into
the lion’s den, and then attempt-
ed to discredit her in his opening
statement. He also slammed Sen.
Diane Feinstein, ranking member
of the committee, another woman,
for messing up the coronation of
the “choir boy,” Judge Brett Kava-
naugh, by not violating Dr. Ford’s
explicit wish that her story be held
confidential until she was pre-
pared to make it public. Grassley ugh, who proclaimed that he was
and the Republicans were more “100 percent certain” that he did
concerned about the “process” not assault Dr. Ford. The cow-
than a credible allegation of sex- ardly Republican senators quickly
ual assault. To add insult to inju- pushed Mitchell aside, tripping
ry, the hearing proceeded with the over themselves for a turn to heap
cowardly, Republican white men praise on Kavanaugh for his judi-
hiding behind a hired hit woman, cial record and life of public ser-
attorney Rachel Mitchell, to do vice. They expressed sorrow and
outrage over the shameful way he
their dirty work.
Through it all Dr. Ford, who was treated in having to face a de-
volunteered that she was “terri- cades old accusation based on “no
fied,” calmly and courageously corroborating evidence.” Sudden-
told her story, emphatically assert- ly, the alleged perpetrator of the
ing that she was “100 percent cer- sexual assault against Dr. Ford
tain” that it was a youthful, drunk- was being treated as if he were the
victim!
When the Democratic members
sought to question Kavanaugh, he
arrogantly tried to turn the tables
by refusing to answer or posing
questions back to the senators.
When Mr. “choir boy” was asked
about reports by high school and
college classmates that he drank
heavily, he cavalierly dismissed
the inquiries and even insulted
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, another
woman, by asking her if she had
ever drank too much! The sense
of privilege and entitlement oozed
into the halls of Congress to
challenge senators to believe Dr.
Ford’s truth. For a brief moment
a memorable encounter in an ele-
vator, with wavering, retiring Sen.
Jeff Flake of Arizona, gave rise
to hope that an FBI investigation
would reveal the lies of the choir
boy and validate Dr. Ford’s truth.
But, the White House deliberately
limited the scope of the investiga-
tion in a manner that rendered it
a charade. Neither Dr. Ford, Ka-
vanaugh nor scores of witnesses
to the choir boy’s drunkenness
We must never forget the legions
of women and men who courageously
organized protest rallies and demonstrations
in support of Dr. Ford and marched into the
halls of Congress to challenge senators to
believe Dr. Ford’s truth.
out of every pore in his body.
Judge Kavanaugh lied about his
habitual drunkenness and if he
lied about that, he most certainly
lied about assaulting Dr. Ford. The
image of this angry, defiant, belli-
cose, arrogant, truth-denying man
interrogating the members of the
Judiciary Committee is a specta-
cle that should forever be seared
into our consciousness.
We must never forget the le-
gions of women and men who
courageously organized protest
rallies and demonstrations in
support of Dr. Ford and marched
and out of control behavior were
interviewed. It was sham foisted
on the American people under the
guise of conducting a thorough in-
vestigation. The white men, who
controlled the process, were not
interested in justice, they had a po-
litical agenda; the decisive control
of the Supreme Court to sanction
their retrograde policies for de-
cades to come.
Finally, against the backdrop
of the choir boy’s belligerent be-
havior during the fake hearing,
we must never forget the “orange
man’s” despicable, repeated mock-
ing of Dr. Ford at a campaign rally
and his subsequent characteriza-
tion of the women and men who
marched, rallied and protested to
support her as a “mob;” a label
that was subsequently echoed by
Grassley, Senate Majority Leader
Mitch McConnell and Sen. Lind-
sey Graham to feed “red meat” to
the Republican base and fire them
up for the mid-term elections.
These white men readily put pow-
er over principle and their political
agenda over the truth of a victim
of sexual assault; they spat in the
face of the untold thousands, if not
millions of victims of sexual as-
sault, by insulting demonstrators,
many of whom were women by
branding them a “mob.”
But, “truth crushed to earth will
rise again.” The “mob” of righ-
teous, indignant people, some of
whom have never voted before,
must be mobilized to rise up and
defiantly march on ballot boxes
with the words “we remember Dr.
Christine Blasey Ford” reverber-
ating through-out the land. Lest
the nation forget, the images of the
“orange man” mocking Dr. Ford
should be replayed repeatedly on
social media platforms and in cam-
paign commercials. The vile ug-
liness of Trumpism and all that it
represents must be eradicated and
the cleansing must begin with the
massive, irresistible mobilization
of the “mob” to march on ballot
boxes on Nov. 6th in the critical
mid-term elections. We remember
Dr. Christine Blasey Ford!
Dr. Ron Daniels is president of
the Institute of the Black World
21st Century and distinguished
lecturer emeritus, York College
City University of New York.
Endearing and Rewarding Community Activism
Thanks to all
who join in work
for progress
D r . a uDrey t errell
I relocated from the
Midwest seven years
ago to here in the Pacific
Northwest. As you know
there has been an influx
of people moving here in
the past several years. As one of
the relocators, I would like to give
a special thanks to the many peo-
ple who have shown me support in
my various endeavors while living
here.
As a retired International
by
United Auto Worker Union ex-
ecutive from the headquarters of
car-making Detroit, Mich., and as
vice president of the Oregon Co-
alition of Black Trade
Unionists, I have
gained much support.
I have found solidar-
ity among the many
union brothers and
sisters who seek to
broaden the mindset
of the age old labor
movement.
In addition, as a licensed minis-
ter, I have bonded with numerous
community women of faith in the
Women at the Cross Ministry. I
have seen and participated in the
group’s yearly dual events which
have brought tremendous encour-
agement and value to my spiritual
growth.
As President of the Portland
NAACP in 2013 and 2014, and
even when not being a Portland
native, the support and outpour-
ing to my services and the orga-
nization was phenomenal. Port-
land residents rendered special
efforts to bring the chapter into
compliance, increase its mem-
bership, and move the agenda
of the organization. At the year
end of 2014 and with active
community supporters, all the
chapter’s issues had been pos-
itively addressed and $800 was
in the chapter’s bank account to
move forward. Supporters are to
be commended for all your hard
work.
As president and chief execu-
tive officer of Dr. Audrey Terrell
Institute (DATI), the support and
contributions from this area has
been limitless. The International
UAW Education Department sup-
ported my academic goals through
tuition assistance in earning a B.A.
from the California State Hay-
ward, a M.A. from the University
of Massachusetts Amherst and a
PhD. from the California Institute
of Integral Studies.
The importance of education
and working are a necessity in
my personal opinion. In further-
ing this ideology, a special thanks
goes out to churches and pastors,
stores, eateries, restaurants, TV,
print and radio media and most
importantly community organiza-
tions and leaders, and academians
in making the past four years at
DATI growth and accomplish-
ments immeasurable.
Thanks to all who have made
my efforts as a community activ-
ist endearing and rewarding. The
field of activism is broad. So to
those who have set up roots here,
please be encouraged to go forth
to make a difference in the lives
of the many underserved and dis-
enfranchised to gain the quality of
life we all deserve.
Dr. Audrey Terrell is president
and chief executive officer of the
Dr. Audrey Terrell Institute.