Black members of the U.S. House of Representatives have scored their worst grades since the Congressional Black Caucus Monitor watchdog group began issuing twice-yearly Report Cards in September, 2005. Of the 39 members graded for the period September-December, 2007, only five scored 80 percent for a "B" grade:

Not one CBC member scored higher than 80 percent. Twenty-nine members scored 60-70 percent, most of them falling from previous grading period "Honor Roll" (90-100 percent, "A") and "Consensus" (80-89 percent, "B") status. Three members earned "Derelict" grades, at 50 percent:

Only two members, Keith Ellison (MN), a freshman member, and Barbara Lee (CA) retained "Honor Roll" standing based on their averaged scores for all grading periods. Three members, Sanford Bishop (GA), freshman Yvette Clarke (NY), and Artur Davis (AL), rated as "Derelicts" for their combined grading periods.

Two members are "delegates" from the District of Columbia and U.S. Virgin Islands, who cannot vote on the House floor, and one seat was for a time vacant due to the death of Indiana Rep. Julia Carson.

The Big Plunge

Caucus grades were in sharp contrast to the January- September 2007 period, when eight members scored 90-100 percent and only one earned less than 70 percent. This was an "easy" grading period, in which members were called upon to vote on few bills that might bring them into conflict with the Historical Black Consensus on peace and social justice. In the latest period, three of the ten selected pieces of legislation caused most or all members to lose points, at ten percent per vote. The three "tripwire" bills were:

War

Only six members voted against the Continuing Appropriations Bill (HJ Resolution 52), which continued funding for the Iraq war. The "peace" voters were:

All the "peace" voters are members of the Out of Iraq Caucus. Only 13 Democrats and one Republican (Ron Paul, of Texas) voted against the appropriations.

"Free" Trade

Half of the CBC voted against the corporate-backed U. S./Peru Free Trade Agreement (HR 3688), thus lining up on the correct side of the issue:

Homegrown "Violent Radicalization"

Every member of the Caucus lost ten points on the Homegrown Terrorism Study Act (HR 1955), a broadly-worded measure to combat "violent radicalization," described as "an extremist belief system for facilitating ideologically based violence to advance political, religious, or social change." Ominously, the bill states: "The Internet has aided in facilitating violent radicalization, ideologically based violence, and the homegrown terrorism process in the United States by providing access to broad and constant streams of terrorist-related propaganda to United States citizens."

The Act is couched in language designed to calm those concerned about civil liberties: "Any measure taken to prevent violent radicalization, homegrown terrorism, and ideologically based violence and homegrown terrorism in the United States should not violate the constitutional rights, civil rights, or civil liberties of United States citizens or lawful permanent residents." However, any bill that authorizes Congress to commission "studies" and hearings on people's "belief systems" and the definition of "propaganda" smacks of McCarthyism and the old House Un-American Activities Committee, civil liberties assurances notwithstanding.

CBC members Danny Davis (IL), John Conyers (MI), and Eddie Bernice Johnson (TX) did not vote on the measure, but lost points anyway. In the entire Congress, only Dennis Kucinich voted "nay."

The other seven bills on which CBC members were graded were:

Members also lost points for unexplained failure to vote on any of the measures.

Non-Black Members and Caucuses

The CBC Monitor has expanded its Report Card to track the votes of Members representing districts with 25 percent or more Black constituencies, and the Hispanic and Asian/Pacific-American Caucuses. These additional groups are graded on the same pieces of legislation as the Congressional Black Caucus.

The 29 non-Black members of Congress with a quarter or more Black constituents are almost evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans. Seventy-one percents of the districts are in the South, with African Americans comprising one-third or more of the population in six districts.

Only eight of the non-Black members, all Democrats, scored higher than "Derelict":

Of the 22 members of the Hispanic Caucus, all but one scored 60-70 percent. John Salazar, of Colorado, was the low-scoring "Derelict" with 50 percent. It should be noted that only five CBC members scored 80 percent, the top grade this period, while three were "Derelict."

With only five members, the Asian/Pacific-American Caucus tracked closely to the Hispanic Caucus. Two members scored 60 percent, two others at 70 percent. One, Neil Abercrombie, of Hawaii, registered 80 percent.

"The CBC is no longer vigilant in defense of civil liberties that go beyond the right to spend money wherever one wants."

CBC Monitor notes that Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), whom we tracked because of his prominence in progressive politics but who does not fit in any of our Report Card categories, scored 90 percent - higher than any member of the CBC.

The voting behavior of the Congressional Black Caucus shows "by the numbers" that the CBC has been at least half-absorbed by corporate power, that it fails to reflect the near-universal African American aversion to U.S. military adventures abroad, and is no longer vigilant in defense of civil liberties that go beyond the right to spend money wherever one wants. Clearly, a grassroots purge of the congressional ranks is in order, district by district, until the CBC can once again claim to be "the conscience of the Congress."

Leutisha Stills, spokesperson for the Congressional Black Caucus Monitor, can be contacted at LeutishaStills@hotmail.com This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Source: Black Agenda Report

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Super Rich: A Guide to Having it All By Russell Simmons Russell Simmons knows firsthand that wealth is rooted in much more than the stock  market. True wealth has more to do with what's in your heart than what's in your wallet. Using this knowledge, Simmons became one of America's shrewdest entrepreneurs, achieving a level of success that most investors only dream about. No matter how much material gain he accumulated, he never stopped lending a hand to those less fortunate. In Super Rich, Simmons uses his rare blend of spiritual savvy and street-smart wisdom to offer a new definition of wealth-and share timeless principles for developing an unshakable sense of self that can weather any financial storm. As Simmons says, "Happy can make you money, but money can't make you happy."

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The New Jim Crow Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness By Michele Alexander Contrary to the rosy picture of race embodied in Barack Obama's political success and Oprah Winfrey's financial success, legal scholar Alexander argues vigorously and persuasively that [w]e have not ended racial caste in America; we have merely redesigned it. Jim Crow and legal racial segregation has been replaced by mass incarceration as a system of social control (More African Americans are under correctional control today... than were enslaved in 1850). Alexander reviews American racial history from the colonies to the Clinton administration, delineating its transformation into the war on drugs. She offers an acute analysis of the effect of this mass incarceration upon former inmates who will be discriminated against, legally, for the rest of their lives, denied employment, housing, education, and public benefits. Most provocatively, she reveals how both the move toward colorblindness and affirmative action may blur our vision of injustice: most Americans know and don't know the truth about mass incarceration—but her carefully researched, deeply engaging, and thoroughly readable book should change that.—Publishers Weekly

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The White Masters of the World

From The World and Africa, 1965

By W. E. B. Du Bois

W. E. B. Du Bois’ Arraignment and Indictment of White Civilization (Fletcher)

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Ancient African Nations

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posted 6 February 2008