Reclaiming Our Destiny

My neighbor Cheatara has one thing to say about her own black church (and by implication her pastor): she sees certain people come to church and look all holy then go back home and deal crack. It bothers her. And it makes me wonder: does the pastor not know his people? Or does he know his people but not confront the problem? Or what’s going on there?

I am courious about Condi Rice. My certainty is that she would be well to right of any Democrat nominee for President. I also know that many Republicans doubt her “conservative” credentials.

I would like to see her be President to break the two big molds at once: black and female.

My question is, what effect would this have on the black electorate in general? Would she still be a “Tom” and not “black enough” for the general black electorate? Could a Rice presidency have a major impact on breaking the Democrat stranglehold on the black vote?

As if Peterson is any worse than so-called “anointed” black leaders Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, et. al…..

If Jesse Petersen is “inarticulate and simple-minded”, then I pray for the same blessing.

“No doubt Leftists also believe you and I are also “Inarticulate and simple-minded.”” - Frank.

I’m a Leftist and I find LaShawn neither inarticulate nor simple minded. But anyone that thinks large groups of people all think the same…..

I’d certainly support Condi for President.

Is Rev. Peterson Black? He refers to Blacks as “they”, not “us”. And his statement that MOST Blacks are immoral is hyperbole fit for this media age. Brutha is doin what he gotta do to get paid. But you know what the say - hate the Playa, not the Game. His direct plea for more funding for Black Right Wingers was met with a shudder at the Vanguard I - he should know that those things shouldn’t be discussed in public. Racial entrepreneurisms growth market is certainly on the right wing.

My Dear Lashawn Barber, For starters I have no right to call you ‘dear’ for I have never met you have no personal interest other than to let you know I have a great deal of respect for your positions. I am currently watching the show on C-SPAN-2. I am an American citizen of African decent. I recently changed my political affiliation to the Republican party shortly after Pres. Reagan died, so I guess we have that in common that we came to the movement late in life. As it pertains to Katrina, I feel families have the utmost responsibility to take care of or families. I also feel that this is a land of opportunity and like you said immigrants know that more than the ones that were born here. My hope is that you continue on and get the word out about how we can change as a people and grow and prosper. I have been trying to figure out how I can get my feelings heard on this matter and others, and I am very happy and satisfied to have found this program and your website. Please have a wonderful day, evening and the remaining part the year. Sincerely, Robert W. Bostic

What is really exposed about saying “he’s inarticulate and simple minded” is; “I am what he says.”

Wow, what an enlightened forum I just witnessed. If a few more people had this attitude racism would be dead dead and done.

Dear La Shawn,
I tuned in to hear the program on, “Reclaiming Our Destiny” and found people with whom I could identify. Thanks. So much to be done with relations among both peoples. I am currently in a dialog with a teacher at Emory in Atlanta and we find more areas to agree on than not. It’s time regular “folks” took the issues of poverty, race relations, etc back from those who would merely profit from the discussion and pain.
You’ll be hearing more from me.
Sonny Harmon

I’m on the road. I hope I get to see a replay.

I’ve heard Rev. Peterson called all sorts of awful names. I’m not sure why this is, because from what I see his only real sin is too much generalization. He does seem to lump too many people together at times, but that alone can’t explain the anger he causes in some folks.

“Most Black preachers are not called by God, but by their mommas.”

“If you want to be saved, don’t go to a Black church.”

“Most Blacks, not all but most, are lazy and don’t want to work.”

“Most Blacks, not all but most, are unreliable.”

1. How can you “prove” or “disprove” all of his statements?

2. Why would anyone, who is logical, NOT respond in a negative way to those comments?

La Shawn,

I was so impressed and encouraged as I watched C-Span today. I felt uplifted to know that there are those in the black community who do not hold me accountable for what happened years ago and don’t expect me to pay for the sins of my father. I was a secretary at a Junior College working in the TRIO program which works to help first generation students of all color make it through college without dropping out. The issue of whites paying back the black generation was something that I totally denounced. A young black student could not understand why I would oppose it. I told him that I had never done anything to hurt him or any other black person and that I did not owe him anything. I owed him respect as a human being and I owed him the same courtesies that I would expect back from him but nothing more or less. It is good to hear that we all are accountable for ourselves. It is our choice what kind of person we turn out to be. I enjoyed Mr. Steele, Linda Baker, Mr. Phillips and yourself. I hope there are more of these debates. Thank you for participating.

I am also Pro-Life and wondered why people do not understand that if you have an abortion, you are destroying a piece of yourself let alone a little person and your next generation. Pro-Choice advocates believe that they should have a choice. Well, they do have a choice. Like Mr. Phillips said today they can either choose on the front end or the back end. Choosing to make an informed and moral choice in the beginning can keep you from making “a bad choice” in the end. How many choices do you get? How many choices do you allow the little person to have? Mr. Phillips was so passionate and used such good logic that anyone who HEARD him would have to agree. Thanks again for being an advocate for equality. Look forward to reading your blog.

Within the first 50 minutes, joseph c phillips stated the same things i have stated concerning the message coming out of black conservatives. he took jesse lee peterson to task.

I’m a white college student in North Dakota, and was so pleasantly surprised when I found this talk on C-SPAN. I listened and heard so many things i’ve felt all my life, and gave me a better outlook on improving race relations wherever i can, and not being afraid to.

Ms. Barber;
I was awake at 2:30 this morning, probably something I ate, and happened upon C-SPAN. I was fascinated by the dialog I witnessed. You asked a question about why are whites afraid of being called a racist. I wanted to shout out loud. I was raised in the north, in a white rural town, and in 1967 a black family moved in across the street. There were no other blacks in my world at that time, and we grew up together, went to school together, and played together. I didn’t know about racism. We watched Archie Bunker and laughed at the ridiculousness of the character.
Today I live in the Metro-Atlanta area and work with more blacks than whites. I also work for the Federal Government.
There are some co-workers that I can discuss black issues with, and some I can not. Were I to be labeled a racist, I would lose my career, so I have to walk on egg-shells around most.
The reason I care to discuss black issues is because I want to know and understand blacks and what is important to them. I found that from watching TV, reading the newspaper, and my experience in the military has taught me that blacks really don’t like whites. The only way to get to know someone, white or black, is to discuss family, politics, and religion. I know it is said that you should never discuss these things, but I find in my own family, we discuss them and really get to know what someone is thinking. We can exchange ideas and gain understanding. I see a trend in whites to sort of “give up” on trying to understand blacks. It is easier to ignore this particular part of America than risk being labeled a racist. I have never been one to evade responsibility, and as an American of Irish descent, I believe that my ancestors were able to succeed in America because they policed themselves, assimilated, and took advantage of opportunity. I know that any segment of America can do the same. I agree with Dr. Steele that when the day comes that anyone entering a room to take the SAT looks around to view their competition, they will be as apprehensive of the black as they are the Asian.
I have just found your website, so I will spend some time exploring it. Thanks for the forum.

Matt Nash

How do you know your God is loving and caring since you said we can’t know what God really is?

I dug through cspan’s terrible web coding(broken JS and whatnot..). Here is a direct link:
rtsp://video.c-span.org/15days/e101105_vanguard.rm

Just take that link and paste it directly into real player. I am using htis link to play the conference right now.

You can keep trying to post, but until you get it right, that is, refrain from snide personal remarks about the blog hostess, you’re comments will not see the light of day. Echo chamber, one-sided “dialogue” - call it whatever you want. I’m the queen of this domain. - Admin

This is my first time writing on any blog. I come to this experience now because of the panel discussion I heard on C-Span, in which you and other black conservatives talked about race and morality. Initially, I found the conversation disturbing. Comments by Rev. Peterson were illogical, unproductive, and not supported by fact or reason. His arguments were disjointed and lacked clarity which had the effect of diminishing what I acknowledge is a needed discussion, whether I agree with the viewpoints or not. It was, however, interesting to listen to, what at times appeared to be, a uniformity and rigidity of thought that failed to account and consider countervailing, legitimate arguments. While I agreed with some statements made by the panel and disagreed with others, I found the demagoguery inappropriate for an intellectual discussion. People on the left or right of the political and social spectrum must understand that debate is only effective when discourse involves the exchange of ideas, not name-calling. If arguments are prefaced with petty barbs, how can black conservatives ever have a constructive dialogue with black moderates and liberals to ultimately effect positive change in the black community?

Diverse viewpoints must be expressed in a civilized way to reach solutions that address the decline of the black family, crime, and poverty in the black community.

James Newman, my belief in my God keeps me sane. I don’t know that it is loving and caring. I could not be a good person without that belief.

LaShawn, my mother suggested that I watch the C-SPAN program hosted by the Heritage Foundation, and I did. I hope that Tavis Smiley will allow for more conservative (republican) blacks to appear on his C-SPAN forums, as I think it only benefits the black race as a whole to do so. Black people are NOT monolithic, and I think that the more black people are exposed to differing points of view the chance for greater intellectual stimulation among the masses increases.

With all of that said, I must admit…

Jesse Lee Peterson adds nothing to intellectual discussion. I appreciate his candor, but he could at least be more rational when it comes to expressing his thoughts. For example, I was pleased when of the panelists had the courage to challenge Peterson’s absurd commentary about black elected officials, as a whole. I’m from Chicago, and Harold Washington was quite competent! Chicago did not fall apart under his administration. In fact many decent white Chicagoans respected and liked Harold Washington, as his record shows. Furthermore I was very pleased that the panelists who challenged Peterson was able to provide irrefutable examples of how Peterson was WRONG!!!! Though, I wish that someone would have cited Harold Washington on the show as an example of an adept black Mayor.

I find it disturbing and unfortunate that whites promote Peterson, and I have to wonder what is behind their agenda? I would feel more comfortable with blacks such as Shelby Steele and others on the panel being promoted more often, as I think that a more rational, intelligent, black conservative can better articulate the perspective. If Peterson represents conservative Christian blacks who were born on plantations and are uneducated, that’s fine! He needs to state that. I take issue with the notion that he represents the black conservative point of view.

For the sake and credibility of black conservatism (non-Christian or Christian), and its dignity, please let more refined blacks speak!!!!!

“Reclaim destiny”?

Everyone claims and creates their own destinies by their actions.