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Opinion 50 Years Later — Still Marching “Challenging People to Shape a Better Future Now” B ERNIE F OSTER Founder/Publisher B OBBIE D ORE F OSTER Executive Editor T ED B ANKS Advertising Manager J ERRY F OSTER Account Executive L ISA L OVING News Editor H ELEN S ILVIS Multimedia Editor B RUCE P OINSETTE Reporter D AVID K IDD Graphic Designer M ONICA J. F OSTER Seattle Office Coordinator J ULIE K EEFE S USAN F RIED Photographers The Skanner Newspaper, established in October 1975, is a weekly publica- tion, published each Wednesday by IMM Publications Inc., 415 N. Killingsworth St., P.O. Box 5455, Portland, OR 97228. Telephone (503) 285-5555. F or a while, it looked like the 50th anniversary observance of the March on Washington would expose a sharp split in the Civil Rights Movement. Al Sharp- ton jumped ahead of his col- leagues by cornering Martin Luther King III and the two of them announced a March on Washington for Saturday, August 24. Other civil rights leaders were planning events around that time and complained privately that Sharpton and Martin III had locked up key funding from major labor groups, a primary source of funding for the movement. A series of high-profile events – the Supreme Court’s deci- sion in Shelby County v. Holder gutting the heart of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, remanding a Univer- sity of Texas affirmative action case back to the appellate level for stricter scrutiny and George Zim- merman being found not guilty of second-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of 17-year-old unarmed Trayvon Martin in San- ford, Fla. – left African-Americans and their supporters clamoring for an outlet to express their disgust. Suddenly, the march organized by Sharpton became the focal point. With Sharpton still working on other leaders in the back- ground, urging them to come aboard, the pieces began to quick- ly fall in place. At this point, it looks like all of the major civil rights leaders – including Marc Morial, president and CEO of the National League; Charles Steele, CEO of Dr. King’s old organiza- tion, the Southern Christian Lead- T HE C URRY R EPORT George E. Curry ership Conference (SCLC); Jesse Jackson, founder of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition; Ben Jealous, president and CEO of the NAACP, among others – will join Sharpton and King as headliners of the Aug. 24 march. Urban League convention assess- ing the progress made since the original March on Washington, Al Sharpton said, “You say why march about voting? Well, that’s how we got it the first time. We did not get voting rights at a cock- tail sip, trying to have racial har- mony sessions. We got it by organizing and galvanizing and the only way we are going to make changes is by organizing and gal- vanizing.” Let’s not forget that Trayvon Martin’s name became a house- hold word only after marches led by Sharpton, college students and activists around the nation, insist- ing that George Zimmer- man be brought to trial for murder. It’s the combination of marching and a specific agenda that leads to change. And while we’re on the subject of marches, not everyone marched in the demonstrations of the 1960s. There was not unity among civil rights leaders – Roy Wilkins, for example, was intensely jealous of Dr. King – and many people did not jump on the King bandwagon until after he was assassinated in Memphis and lived thereafter through his “I Have a Dream” speech and on U.S. postage stamps. Unfortunately, there will be two observations of the 1963 March. One on Aug. 24 co-chaired by Sharpton and Martin, III and another one, more of a celebration of Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, on Aug. 28, the actual date of the original March. President Obama, who has had difficulty in the past uttering Dr. King’s name We should have reached wherever we were marching to by now. The reality is that we haven’t reached our destination Of course, there are the usual detractors who argue, as conserva- tive talk show host Armstrong Williams does, that we’ve been marching so long that we should have reached wherever we were marching to by now. The reality is that we haven’t reached our destination. Black unemployment has been twice that of Whites for the past five decades. The progress made by expanding the Black middle class has been eroded by the Great Recession and Blacks are profiled while walking the streets of New York City or Sanford, Fla. At a panel at the recent National in public, will speak at the second event organized by Bernice King, the sole surviving daughter of the slain civil rights leader. To those who question the need for another march, they should examine a graphic created by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) that compares goals of the 1963 March with today’s reality: Goal: We Demand an end to ghet- tos. Reality: We still live in ghettos. Forty-five percent of poor Black children but only 12 percent of poor White chil- dren live in neighborhoods of concentrated poverty. Goal: We Demand an End to School Segregation. Reality: Seventy-four percent of Black children attend schools that are 50-100 percent non-White, resulting in fewer resources than majority White schools. Goal: We March for Jobs for All. Reality: In 2012, the Black unemployment rate –14 per- cent – was 2.1 times the White unemployment rate (6.6 per- cent). Goal: We March for a Living Wage. Reality: The minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, well below the $11.06 an hour a full-time worker needed in 2011 to keep a family of four out of poverty (36 percent of Black workers make poverty- level wages). That’s why we’re still marching. George E. Curry, former editor- in-chief of Emerge magazine, is editor-in-chief of the National Newspaper Publishers Associa- tion News Service (NNPA.) E-mail: info@theskanner.com World Wide Web site: http://www.theskanner.com Fax: (503) 285-2900 The Skanner is a member of the National Newspaper Pub lishers Associ- ation and West Coast Black Pub lishers Association. All photos submitted become the property of The Skanner. We are not re - spon sible for lost or damaged photos either solicited or unsolicited. © 2013 The Skanner. ALL RIGHTS RE SERVED. REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT PERMISSION PROHIBITED. To see The Skanner News on your smart phone go to theskannermobile.com or scan this QR code with your app. • • • • • • • • Local news Opinions Jobs, Bids Sports Entertainment Music reviews Bulletin board RSS feeds Hip Hop Artists Avoiding D.C. March B eginning this weekend, there will be two celebra- tions of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom – one on Saturday, Aug. 24 and another one on Aug. 28, the actual anniversary of the march. Yet, I haven’t heard or seen much enthu- siasm from the Hip Hop commu- nity and began to wonder what it is going to take to bridge the gap between these two generations. While no one can argue the impor- tance and significance of the orig- inal March, we may have to pull teeth to get this generation to par- ticipate wholeheartedly. Let’s examine why. If you analyze many Hip Hop songs, the content con- tains much of what each indi- vidual sees or interprets during their life experience. Many even fabricate or over exaggerate their experiences to emphasize their point. Lis- teners respond because they can relate to or vividly visualize the subject matter. When it comes to the Civil Rights Movement, young people simply don’t see the benefit. Hip Hop has a ‘prove it to me’ mental- ity. It is also suffers from an instant gratification syndrome. If we want to successfully connect the generations we have to present a transparent agenda that leads to direct and tangible results for everyone. The Hip Hop communi- Page 4 The Seattle Skanner August 21, 2013 H IP H OP U NION Jineea Butler ty analyzes through sharp lenses and is slow to trust anything that is presented by people who are considered outsiders. That is also why anyone who poses as Hip Hop’s ally gets away like a fat rat. sponsored by Councilman Ras Baraka, will provide a local forum for those unable to attend the Aug. 25 march in Washington. Hip Hop artists Brand Nubian, Dead Prez, EPMD, Wise Professor, Mr. Cheeks, Naughty By Nature, Jasiri X, Redman, Lakim Shabazz and Savion Glover have all answered the call to use their voices to end violence and uplift the cause in the 24 Hours from 6 P.M. on August 23 to 6 P.M. on August 24. Hakim explained, “There is a large amount of work still to do, I hope we honor peace over violence, love over hate and building over destroying.” Another recording artist, P.S. Dot, said, “I appreciate and definitely respect it, (the 50th anniversary march) but there is so much that needs to -- Tyrone Price be done. While we have a Black president in office, we still have incidents like Trayvon Martin with virtually on Washington. Even though I the same response we had 50 years can’t make it, I hope the outcome ago. Nothing. Personally, I feel is quality over quantity, and the like there needs to be a new right people show up to Washing- avenue of protest. We in the Hip Hop community need to know ton.” When asked about the lack of what is the next course of action. interest in the Hip Hop communi- There is only a certain amount of ty, Hakim further emphasized times I am going to ask for some- that Rap community, (not to be thing before I start demanding.” confused with the Hip Hop com- munity) is not in tune. Hakim’s 3nd annual 24 Hours of Read the rest online at www.theskanner.com Peace Event in Newark, N.J., Peace founder and Hip Hop artist Hakim Green from Channel Live to weigh in with his perspective, “Considering it’s the 50th anniversary of the March, it’s a shame that we aren’t more focused on it and haven’t risen to the level that inspired the original March. I don’t understand why our elders haven’t been galvaniz- ing people to honor the 50th anniversary as soon as President Obama started his second term in office. The Million Man March for me was the commemorative event that carried the spirit of the March ‘I am tired of hearing that things are going to change if I go out and March for their agenda. Things haven’t changed’ Tyrone Price, a loyal follower of Hip Hop and the Five Percent Nation, says he is sick of the illu- sions. He reasons, “You only have one time to convince me that the apple is green, before I look at it and see that its red and after that I will never trust you again. I feel that way about civil rights lead- ers. I am tired of hearing that things are going to change if I go out and March for their agenda. Things haven’t changed.” I also reached out to 24 Hours of
