Moving Forward Together Against Racism

As published by the Chicago Tribune, July 24, 2020 by William J. Booker

Racism has hurt America in many ways, from policing our citizens, to housing and voting, to someone simply taking a jog. And although we appear to be moving backwards as a nation, in many ways, we are also moving forward towards racial tolerance. 

"If Trump was not president, the conversations we have about race and racism, infecting this country like a virus of its own, might be a mute talking-point."

It is because the majority of Americans agree that racism is a horrible thing, and that something needs to be done to root it out of institutions and expose people who perpetuate racism, and promote hate; that better days are ahead of us. 

"In the wake of the death of Civil Rights leader, U.S. Rep. John Lewis, America is moving forward together, and against symbols of hate." 

Gone are the days of honoring Confederate generals, or taking pride in the flag of the Confederacy for no good reasons. We no longer value racist opinions, or views no matter who it's coming from, whether the name of a football team, the views of a well-known celebrity, or the name brand of maple syrup; times are changing and history will judge us on how we respond to this moment. 

We are a nation of people who will no longer stand for the killing of unarmed people of color by the police under any circumstances. And it would appear that the whole world is in agreement with us. As crazy as it may sound, America is going through a metamorphosis and a purge at the same time, and will become a much better place despite the president's divisive, and shameful attempts to stoke the flames of hatred and cultural divide.

Black Lives Matter Powerful Reckoning

As Published by the Chicago Sun-Times, July 7, 2020

I was watching a discussion about Black Lives Matter on the TV program “The View” and it dawned on me that some people really believe the BLM movement will someday end. Allow me to clear up a few false assumptions. Black Lives Matter won’t ever end. Public support for the movement has increased steadily over the years, since the fatal shootings of Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown to the deaths of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery.

"As long as racism and racists exist, threatening the lives and livelihood of Black people, the BLM movement, which has transcended globally, will continue to thrive."

BLM is not a fad political statement. It is not some bill waiting to be passed by Congress. BLM is a proclamation, made by the emergence of liberated, socially conscious and economically empowered group of people who refuse to allow this country to further systematically kill, imprison, terrorize, marginalize or oppress Black people. BLM is unequivocally the beginning of a modern-day Renaissance. 

It will define the future of this country for generations to come — for all people.

As crazy as it may sound, America is going through a metamorphosis and purge at the same time. History will be rewritten, and America will become a much better place despite the president’s divisive and shameful attempts to stoke the flames of hatred and cultural divide.

William J. Booker

Founder of Black Men Matter

Chicago

Calling on Black Fathers

By William J. Booker, as published by the Chicago Sun-Times, June 17, 2020

The guidance and support from black fathers is needed more than ever. Our sons and daughters are on the frontlines in the fight for racial equality and justice in a world where black lives seldom matter. As we enter the 5th week of protests for criminal justice reform, our children need their father's crucial involvement to help set the course for future generations to come.

"They will not get there alone, though their tireless efforts are heroic, if the lives that they fight for don't include the voices of black men and fathers, the struggle may very well be lost."

Many people have lost their lives due to police brutality and excessive force, but it is a call to action, for black men who believe and want to see real change. The whole world may very well be watching, but as fathers it is our solemn duty to love, support, and protect our kids by any means necessary. This Father's day we honor all fathers who want to see a brighter future for their kids, and those who have died trying to make a world of difference.

The Legacy of Slavery Continues

By William J. Booker, as printed by the Chicago Tribune, June 1, 2020.

They did it without any moral conscience for the human lives they were taking, destroying, raping, killing, torturing. There was no game plan when white America enslaved African Americans, and sought to deprive us of our rights. There was no game plan when our culture was taken from us, our dignity stomped out of us, our women and children raped, our civil rights leaders murdered. There was no game plan for what would happen if the people from s---hole countries were suddenly free. There was no game plan because all the cards were on the table. Any and everything America wanted to do to black people, they did. They lynched us and smiled about it.

"Slavery was started more than 400 years ago, and still today we suffer from the abuse from many white Americans who believe that black lives don’t matter, and black votes don’t count. They wave their American flags, and wear their MAGA hats with pride."

When will the violence end? When will the destruction and looting stop? I don’t know, you tell me. When will America own up to over 400 years of injustice? When will we be finally free of the tyranny from racist police officers we face every day in our communities? You want peaceful protest? The day America decides to take its knee off the necks of black and brown Americans, and give us equal justice, is the day we won’t need to loot or burn down buildings to express anger and outrage. You say we’re in this together — then tell me, why the hell are we the only ones dying? 

Kardashian: Sex Trends & Black Men

The Kardashian's brand of promiscuity has contributed to their sensationalism, and prominence in mainstream America. However, the Kardashians are not only exploiting their own sexuality, but black men and black culture too.

"Kardashians have amassed great fame and fortune. Despite having no real talent, their ability to appropriate black culture into their family-brand has undoubtedly been a great factor in helping them overcome any and all prerequisites for stardom, and success with an estimated wealth at a Billion."

The hall-mark to their success is due in part to the infamous Kim Kardashian and Ray J sex tape that was leaked and sold to Vivid Entertainment for an estimated $1 million.

By William J. Booker

Their attraction and sexual appetite for wealthy and influential black men has fueled their seductive persona world-wide, and has subsequently created an uncanny trend of sorts among women who aren't black, but who now claim to date black men exclusively. Non African-American women are following the Kardashian blueprint for success, but whether it has any merit beyond the sexual objectification of women is left to be seen.

The irony is that the popularity of black men in reality TV franchises like the Kardashians, Love and Hip Hop and Basketball Wives, has had some impact in galvanizing Millennials who side with black men and minorities against President Trump's racists policies and Tweets condemning immigrants, and black athletes who silently protest at NFL games. Black men are truly at the pinnacle of a new world order. The question is, at what cost? NIKE, now in the spot-light for upholding the merits of social justice, has proven that you can be profit-wise and have a corporate moral, ethical and social responsibility at the same time.

Many people applaud Kim Kardashian-West for using her celebrity to get President Trump to commute Alice Marie Johnson's life sentence. Though her talent is not that of a great negotiator, she used her fame and the power of her brand to accomplish something that many people had been trying unsuccessfully to do for years. It was a win-win for her multimillion dollar brand, President Trump, Alice Marie Johnson, and everyone who supported her release from prison. The simple truth is, Kardashians have always loved sex, black culture and black men. It's what made Kim Kardashian-West and her family rich and famous.

:: Stepping Into Fatherhood ::

As printed by the Orlando Sentinel, by William J. Booker, June 16, 2019

There are many men helping to raise children that aren't their biological kids. These men have changed diapers, helped with science projects, dropped off and picked up kids from school, attended recitals, baseball games, and have been the voice of reason in an otherwise chaotic world. Some of these men have even helped put kids through college, and taught them a thing or two about remodeling a bathroom, fixing a leaky faucet and changing a car tire. It's the small things that theses men, better known as stepfathers, do that sometimes go unnoticed but are appreciated by their children. Stepfathers are men who have accepted the responsibility of being a parent to children who are not theirs, but love them just the same.

"We shouldn't forget about all the things stepfathers do everyday to help make their children's lives more enjoyable..." 

They may not have asked to be fathers, but they have embraced fatherhood and all the joy, inconvenience and laughter that comes with it. They love and support their spouse's kids as their own. And while any man can essentially conceive a child, let's be especially thankful for all the stepfathers, who have stepped up and shown us what it truly takes to be a great dad!

 “Any fool can have a child. That doesn’t make you a father. It’s the courage to raise a child that makes you a father.” -Barack Obama

Criminalization of Black Men: Social Impact & Bias

I hate it when I hear Black people say, I wish Black lives mattered to Black people. White people kill White people, but I never hear White people say, I wish White lives mattered to White people. As Black people, we're constantly reminded and programed to think by the media and others that because of Black-on-Black crime, we as a people don't value our own lives. 

The media is guilty of reporting far more stories about Black-on-Black crime; satisfying and confirming many White viewers fears and prejudices about Black men in efforts to garner high ratings. These distorted portrayals of Black males perpetuates a narrative that Black neighborhoods and Black people are more dangerous than White people and White neighborhoods. This often fosters a notion that Black communities don't deserve the same kind of investments, or improvements as White ones. As a result, our properties are devalued, improvements and services to our communities are very seldom made, and many blue collared Blacks inevitably move to the suburbs--taking with them the only sustainable community investments.     

Contrary to what most people think, Black people don't have a monopoly on crime. Although if you listen to the media you might think otherwise. 

"As sick as it sounds, the criminalization of Black men in America seems to be one of America's favorite pastimes. Today, racists have taken extreme measures to exclude Blacks from even socializing in public places by simply calling 911 to have them arrested." 

White Americans have benefited tremendously from keeping valuable resources and investments out of Black neighborhoods. The common practice of redlining by banks and mortgage institutions led to the creation of the National Housing Act in 1937. The Fair Housing Act followed in 1968, but the damage to many Black communities had already occurred. The outcomes were systemic and are still being felt today, and highlighted by the media in their daily bias, and salacious commentary of Black crime. 

What they don't tell you is that the lack of community investment in disenfranchised neighborhoods trap the people who live in them, and has fueled poverty and left many Black neighborhoods in ruins. And while the media tries to remain liberal, their unbalanced perspective of Black men in many cases contributes to racial profiling by the police, stereotypes and creates a more racist sociality.  

It is a sad truth, the American Dream was never meant for Black people. The thought that anyone could come to this country with nothing, work hard and be successful never materialized for many Black folks who were born here; yet faced discrimination around every corner. The ideal of hope and prosperity seemingly overshadowed by a country so filled with hate, that it elected a racist president to lead the nation and its promise of a better America for all people regardless of race, color or national origin. 

Racial equality will always be a challenge in America, but the media must do a better job with its portrayals of African-American males, and provide greater social context, and understanding for how their (the media's) impact on public opinion influences the lives of Black and Brown families.

Pulling the plug on the NFL

As published in by the Washington Times by William J. Booker, October 10, 2017. 

One thing black folks have in common with the #NFL is the billions of dollars we represent in sports marketing. We must learn to use our collective influences to affect change where there is racial injustice and disparity in our communities.

The NFL is the most successful sports league in history, garnering over $13 billion annually. Yet the handful of white owners who control the 70 percent of African-American football players representing the majority of the league have a lot to lose when they forget who really controls their bottom line. It's TV revenue, not ticket sales that makes the NFL a lucrative business model. However, it's advertisers who would really have something to say if Black players failed to show up for work on Monday.

The “psychographics” behind TV commercials is how advertisers target us for our dollars. When you see a commercial with only white people but you hear black music (i.e. the Temptations or Stevie Wonder) in the background, who do you think the target market is? If you guessed both black and white folks, you’re right. It’s how advertisers get away with taking millions from people of color without hiring one. Needless to say, one commercial in a thousand markets is far cheaper than two commercials (one with a black family and one with a white family) in a thousand markets.

So how do we use this information to our advantage? Licensing deals advertisers make with R&B artists must be STOPPED! When advertisers have to pay more money to target us for their products, our fight becomes their fight, too. The sound of money being made or lost is the only sound some people — black or white — will be willing to listen to and take a knee for under any circumstances.

Repost: Washington Times: 10/10/17

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/oct/10/letter-to-the-editor-pull-the-plug-on-the-nfl/?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=socialnetwork

A History Lesson for Black Youth

Surviving Police Encounters 101

By: William J. Booker, As Published by USA TODAY, 10/2016   

The history lesson is right outside our doors!!!! Black people don't ask much of this country, because frankly we don't expect much. But it's time our youth learn a different kind of a lesson outside of the classroom, the way our Brothers and Sisters did during the Civil Rights Movement. Black kids must learn how to embrace their culture, love and respect each other, and acknowledge their history in order to create real change in their communities. 

It is a life lesson for all black and brown children--one that is more important than anything they could ever hope to learn at school. Our history has taught us how to fight and survive in a country that is fully prepared to kick you while you're down, and pretend that you and your rights as an American citizen don't matter.

"Our young brothers and sisters are on the front lines against a growing culture of hate and implicit discrimination by law enforcement officers who have no regard for black lives."

As our kids prepare to return to school with books in hand, it is unfortunate that public and private schools in Illinois are now required by law to teach children how to deal with confrontations with the police. The Bill that was recently signed into law by Governor Bruce Rauner authorizes a new curriculum for driver’s education classes which includes interacting with police, (instituted for the 2017-18 school year). But will it be enough to put an end to the police involved killings?

The issue of police brutality and killings of unarmed people of color has gotten so common place in this country that a Felony Street Law course is even being offered to young black men by The Dovetail Project, a foundation for African-American men ages 17 to 24, aimed at teaching life skills, as well as how to avoid and survive escalating conflicts with police.

But parents must also take a proactive role in their children's lives. They must plan to attend the very next community police (CAPS) meeting in their neighborhood, and let the police know that they're concerned about how the police handle situations involving Black and Hispanic youth. And hopefully the beginning of this school year won't end with a police officer taking a paid vacation--because he took the life of another unarmed person of color.

Repost: USA Today 10/2016 

###

Black Lives Matter :: Stop the Violence

"Stop hunting down your Brothers and Sisters. You have nothing to gain from the senseless destruction of your own people. If you must kill something, kill the enemy within you that keeps you believing that in order to have something in life, you have to take something from someone else. You are capable of great things. Don't allow yourself to fail simply because you have decided to give up. Your life is not over. You can change, if you truly desire to. We all make mistakes but they don't define who we are; absent a father or mother. Now that you have learned how to fail, you can't help but to succeed."

The Impact of ‘Mass Incarceration

Black & Brown Children

By William J. Booker, As Published by: Chicago Defender, June 22, 2016

This Father’s Day, over two million American children may not have an opportunity to celebrate Father’s Day with their fathers because they are in prison.  It’s a sad fact, that the United States has the largest prison population in the world. There are over 2.3 million people in prisons throughout the United States, and though the United States represents less than 5 percent of the world’s population, it houses an astounding 25 percent of the world’s prisoners. Since 1981, the increase in prison population has surged the number of children of incarcerated parents by 80 percent. 

There are now 2.7 million minor children (under age 18) with a parent behind bars (The Pew Charitable Trusts). The vast majority of these parents are African American and Latino fathers. In state prisons, 42% of fathers are African American.  1 in 9 African-American children (11.4 percent), 1 in 28 Hispanic children (3.5 percent) and 1 in 57 White children (1.8 percent) has an incarcerated parent (John Jay Center for Criminal Justice). 

Mass incarceration cripples families and communities, perpetuates poverty, recreates conditions for crime, waste trillions of taxpayers’ dollars, and has underlying racial bias implications. The tremendous increase in the prison population has changed much of the debates on just about every social and economic issue you can think of from the war on drugs to parental rights. The battle between the rights of custodial parents and non-custodial parents, (particularly concerning incarcerated fathers) are a mute subject due to mandatory minimum sentencing.   

Moreover, indigent fathers, who are incarcerated, leave prison with an average of $20,000 in back debt, according to the Federal Agency for Child Support Enforcement, and 70 percent of all back child support is owed by men earning less than $10,000 a year, landing the majority of men of color back in prison--without being provided an attorney.

"Many incarcerated fathers have become trapped in a system that has failed to recognize that African Americans and Hispanics men earn less than white men, even when both have comparable incarceration and criminal offense records, making it almost impossible for them to pay back their child support." 

This modern day debtors prison system is destroying the relationship fathers have with their children and makes it difficult for fathers to reconnect with their children once they are finally released.  It is no doubt that people of color have been incarcerated disproportionately, but it’s children that hurt the most when their parents are behind bars and absent in their lives. Children of incarcerated parents often suffer from poor health, behavior problems, emotional difficulties and poverty. 

In light of this, courts and policymakers must understand and consider all of the challenges children of incarcerated parents face when making decisions about sentencing that affects the lives of millions of children, and legislators need to recognize how critical comprehensive criminal justice reform is to reducing state and federal prison populations. Reducing mandatory minimums, support for ‘Ban the Box’ bills, and state supported transportation for children to visit their incarcerated parent, are great efforts towards reform, but more needs to be done.  Funding is needed for programs and services that directly address issues that impact the day-to-day lives of children of incarcerated parents.

Fortunately, some states are starting to implement a wide array of reforms in their own prison systems to reduce incarceration rates and offer some optimism for incarcerated fathers which are being recognized as models for the entire nation. In Illinois for example, the Turner bill is being vote on sponsored by Rep. Arthur Turner, D-Chicago, if passed, the bill would wipe out arrest records for ex-offenders that don't end in a conviction — because charges are dismissed, or because a judge grants a conditional discharge, meaning no conviction is recorded if the defendant stays out of trouble for a specified period.

In New Jersey, voters and lawmakers gave judges more power to release low-risk defendants who can’t afford bail, letting them go home rather than sit in jail while they await trial. In Idaho, a new law created 24-hour crisis centers to help keep people with mental health issues from being locked up unnecessarily. Georgia and Louisiana established courts for military veterans accused of crimes, and Hawaii is funding programs to help reunify children with parents who are behind bars. 

These are just a few examples of criminal justice reform that states around the country have put in place over the last two years, according to a new report by the Vera Institute of Justice. 

"Mass incarceration has destroyed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, but a prison sentence for a father shouldn’t result in a life sentence for a child." 

This Father’s Day, let’s hope that all incarcerated fathers can find a way to spend more time with their children--and less time in prison.

"The hole a man leaves when he abandons his responsibility to his children is one that no government can fill." -President Barack Obama

Repost from the Chicago Defender: 06/22/16
https://issuu.com/chidefender/docs/06222016_chicagodefender/6