The Paradox of Loyalty

An African American Response to the War on Terrorism

Edited by Julianne Malveaux & Regina A. Green

The catastrophe of September 11, 2001 has become a part of the culture of the United States of America. The images of the planes colliding into the World Trade Center in New York and the collapse of the structures are ingrained in the mental inventory of most people. We share the common hurt and grief of the thousands of broken bodies, broken families, and shattered lives.

The political leadership called for a "War on Terrorism" and immediately launched a military campaign on Afghanistan. the ensuing months and the anniversary of the disaster have given rise to questions and concerns of the efficacy and the fairness of the "War on Terrorism" and the other actions of the U.S. government.

This book, The Paradox of Loyalty, contains essays and comments on the "War of Terrorism" -- its causes and the reactions. the writers are all of African descent. They are prominent academicians, political leaders, intellectuals, and ordinary citizens.

In the words of the well-known and widely acclaimed author, Walter Mosley, "To understand America's reaction to the tragedies of 9/11, the deep and responsive insights of African Americans cannot be ignored. Even though this is true, much of Black American leadership has been publicly silent, our leaders and cultural gurus, as a rule, have not translated the broad range of feeling and ideas that arise from our communities. The deep-rooted notions and convictions of the African American community are what America needs to find its way through to righteousness and peace. the knee jerk reactions of uninformed nationalities and capitalist war-mongers will not stem the tide of international unrest. The only way we can solve these monumental problems is by asking the Americans who have suffered the injustices of the American system while, at the same time, have seen the nascent goodness inherent in our way of life."

In compiling, The Paradox of Loyalty, Julianne Malveaux and Regina Green have done America a great service. They have put together a collection of dynamic, insightful and necessary essays that plumb the unexplored dignity and insight of the African-American sensibilities about the so-called war on terrorism and America's unconscious involvement with the world of want and suffering.

Contributing writers

Ron Walters, Orville Taylor, Danny Glover, Laura W. Murphy, john Edgar Wideman, Kimberly C. Ellis, Dr. Karin Stanford, Roland Martin, Marcia Ann Gillespie, Tamara A. Masters Wild, Congressman Barbara Lee, Melanie L. Campbell, Cheryl Poinsette Brown, Brian Gilmore, Rev. Willie Wilson, Askia Muhammad, Haki Madhubuti, Andrea Benton Rushing, and Gail Mitchell.

With a foreword by Cornel West

The voices in this book are important ones that were ignored, attacked, overlooked or silenced in the rush toward reactionary patriotism following September 11, 2001. These essays will provoke, enlighten, validate, educate, and make it clear that, contrary to the subtext of the drums of war, patriotism is neither colorblind nor colorless, nor should be.

--Jill Nelson, Author of Volunteer Slavery and Straight, No Cheer

Denial of history is the unacknowledged component of American power which enables us to do great wrong while assuming we are in the right. readers of The Paradox of Loyalty. Malveaux and Green's riveting anthology, will be cured of that assumption through its large doses of political truth.

--Derrick Bell, Author of Faces at the Bottom of the Well

Reminiscent of DuBois' insights about "double consciousness," The Paradox of Loyalty, illuminates the experience of Africans in America who at once are a part of this nation but feel compelled to challenge its insensitivity, double standards and hypocrisy as it relates to people of color both here and abroad.

--Ron Daniels, Executive Director, Center for Constitutional Rights

Cover Art: Paul Collins is a Michigan-based artist. "The African American" was created especially for The Paradox of Loyalty.

The Paradox of Loyalty Publisher: Third World Press / 7822 s. Dobson / Chicago, Il 60619

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Dr. Julianne Malveaux is a Washington-based author, economist, and media commentator. She is president and CEO of Last Word Productions, Inc., a multi-media production company -- lastwordprod@aol.com She is the editor of Voices of Vision: African American Women on the Issues (1996); co-author of Unfinished Business (2002).

Reginna Green is a writer with a long history of work with social service programs and community activism. A native of South Carolina did her undergraduate work at the University of South Carolina. She is a Research Associate at Last Word Productions, Inc. and a freelance writer. She lives in the Columbia Heights section of Washington, D.C. She has worked at the Applseed Foundation in Washington, D.C., the Health Care for Homeless Veterans Program at the Columbia, South Carolina V.A. Medical center and at the South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center, also in Columbia.

The Paradox of Loyalty

An African American Response to the War on Terrorism

Edited by Julianne Malveaux & Regina A. Green

About the Contributors

Cheryl Poinsette Brown is a graduate of Howard University and Harvard Law School. She practiced law and later worked in a Fortune 500 corporation in San Francisco, California before moving to the South where she is now a writer, mother, and wife. She is currently working on her first book.

Melanie Campbell is the executive director and chief executive officer of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, Inc. She has over twenty years of experience as a civic leader, political strategist and youth advocate. She has been featured in numerous national and local media outlets as an expert on Black civic participation, African American voting trends, and Census, and election reform.

Paul Collins is a self-taught Michigan-based artist. his achievements have won him many national and international honors and awards for his skills as an artist and as an humanitarian. he was named in the Watson-Guptill Publication as one of the top twenty painters in America. He has won the Mead Book Award, Tadlow Fine Art Award, People's Choice Award in Paris, The Golden Centaur, Italy, and the Ceba Award for Excellence. Mr. Collins has served on many boards including the John F. Kennedy Center For Performing Arts, The Martin Luther King Board and the Arts Council.

Dr. Kimberly C. Ellis is Assistant Professor of English and Black Studies at DePauw University. She gives multimedia presentations on the Tulsa story and is currently completing a play based upon her research. Her dissertation on the Tulsa tragedy is entitled "We Look Like Men of War: Africana male Narratives and the Tulsa Race Riot, War and Massacre of 1921."

Marcia Ann Gillespie is a pioneering feminist, trailblazing publishing industry executive, writer, editor, and activist. She has been the Editor-in-Chief of both Ms. and Essence magazines. A popular lecturer, Ms. Gillespie's inspired remarks raise important questions about the intersections of race, class, and gender. A member of the board of directors of Planned Parenthood, Ms. Gillespie lives in New York City.

Brian Gilmore is a D.C. area writer, poet, and attorney. His work has appeared in numerous magazines and newspapers, including the Washington City Paper, The Progressive and the Washington Post. He is the author of Elvis Presley is Alive and Living in Harlem and Jungle Nights and Soda Fountain Rags.

Danny Glover is a critically acclaimed actor on both stage and screen. he has been nominated for an Emmy Award for his performances in the miniseries Freedom Song, the miniseries Lonesome Dove, and the drama series Fallen Angels. Mr. Glover is also Chairman of TransAfrica Forum.

Congressman Barbara Lee has been representing California's Ninth District, which includes parts of Oakland and Berkeley, in Congress since 1998. Formerly, she represented her district in the California Assembly as legislator and senator. Active in global and domestic policy issues, especially around AIDS, poverty and economic development, Lee has been Vice Chair of the progressive Caucus, Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus Task Force on Global HIV/AIDS and a member of the CBC's Minority Business Task Force.

Gail E. Mitchell is a graduate of Boston University and New York University. She is a licensed real estate broker in New York State and on September 11, 2001 worked in the Real Estate department of the New York Port Authority as Senior Lease Account Manager at the World Trade Center. An active member of Delta Sigma Theta, Inc. Ms. Mitchell also serves as Secretary on the Board of Directors of Steinway Child and Family Services, Inc.

Roland S. Martin is editor of BlackAmericaWeb.com and news editor of Savoy Magazine. He is the author of "Speak, Brother! A Black Man's View of America." Mr. Martin is also a nationally syndicated columnist and a national correspondent for the American Urban Radio Network.

Aaron McGruder is the creator of the syndicated comic strip Boondocks which has been "inciting angry black children since 1998." Mr. McGruder is currently working on two television pilots, in addition to his daily work that appears in hundreds of newspaper nationwide.

Askia Muhammad is a photojournalist, poet, radio and television commentator, and author. He is a panelist on Howard University Television WHUT-TV32's "Evening Exchange.' He writes a column for The Washington Informer, is the White House Correspondent for The Final Call newspaper and is a contributor to the Opinion Page of MSNBC.com Interactive.

Laura W. Murphy is the Director of the Washington Office of the American Civil Liberties Union. She is the first woman and first African American to hold the position, and as a lobbyist was instrumental in the passage of the voting Rights Act Extension of 1982. She is the recipient of numerous awards and is the Acting Chair of the D.C. Committee to Promote Washington.

Dr. Karin L. Stanford is a former Assistant Professor of Political Science and African American Studies at the University of Georgia. She also served as Bureau Chief of the Washington, D.C. office of the Rainbow/PUSH the Coalition between 1997-1999. She has received numerous awards, including the National Conference of Black Political Scientists Outstanding Book Award in 1998. Congressional Black Caucus Fellowship and a Post-Doctoral Fellowship from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She is currently a writer and consultant.

Dr. Orville Taylor is a Lecturer in Sociology at the University of the West Indies, Mona in Jamaica. He is also an Associated Faculty at the Center for Labor Research and Studies at Florida International University. A member of the Association of Black Sociologists, he has done extensive research on international labor standards and globalization including collaboration with the International Labour Organization (ILO).

Dr. Ron Walters is Distinguished Leadership Scholar, Director of the African American Leadership Institute, and Professor of Government and Politics at the University of Maryland at College Park. He is a lecturer, media commentator, syndicated columnist, and author of several books on international affairs and Black American politics.

John Edgar Wideman is Distinguished professor of English at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. he has written nearly twenty works of fiction and non-fiction and is the recipient of many awards, including the O'Henry Award for short fiction and the PEN/Faulkner Award.

Tamara A. Masters Wilds is a doctoral student in American Studies at the University of Maryland at College Park. She has worked as the Director of African Outreach at the Democratic National Committee and as a Deputy Field Director for the Gore 2000 campaign. She is the recipient of the Women's Information Network Young Women of Achievement "Campaigner of the Year" Award and devotes much of her spare time to mentoring Washington, D.C. youth.

Rev. Willie F. Wilson is the pastor of the Union temple Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. The church has been recognized by the National Conference of Black Churchmen, an organization representing over 68,000 churches as one of the 100 Model Black Churches in America. In 1997, President William Clinton Award, the prestigious presidential recognition given for community service.

The Paradox of Loyalty Publisher: Third World Press / 7822 s. Dobson / Chicago, Il 60619