"Free" Political Education in Brooklyn

Seven political parties circulated independent nominating petitions for this year's gubernatorial race in New York. A political party with ballot status had the option of circulating designating petitions or nominating candidates for statewide offices. These seven political parties lack ballot status. Thus, they had to go to the people.

Although many activists say "power to the people", it is not easy going to Black people to ask for support for Black freedom. On the other hand, it is easy for whites to go to any people to save the environment or to reduce taxes. The Green Party purportedly stands for environmental concerns. Many corporations are going "green".

Freedom is another issue. It is not easy to sell freedom to Blacks and whites are not buying Black freedom. Harriet Tubman had to pack a pistol before enslaved Africans would even listen to her. Dr. Martin L. King, Jr. was unable to defeat Dr. Joseph Jackson as president of the National Baptist Convention. Jackson was advocating slavery in religion.

Far too many Blacks took flight in 2010 when they were asked to sign a "freedom" petition. Most Blacks, who had failed to craft an exit strategy when confronted with a freedom petition, were concerned about the damage that a signature would do to the Democratic Party and Andrew Cuomo. It reminded me of Malcolm X describing "house Negroes" praying for rain to save the "Big House" which was on fire.

House Negroes are at it again. They equate the "freedom" petitions as an attempt to burn down the "Big House". The Democratic Party was the political party for the Confederate States of America. The Civil War involved a clash between the Democratic and Republican parties.

An all-out effort will be made by "house Negroes" to save the Confederacy in addition to the racist efforts of Councilman Lewis Fidler who has filed a frivolous General Objection to the Freedom Party's petitions. Fidler, a Democratic is acting on behalf of Cuomo.

Of the seven political parties that circulated independent nominating petitions, only the Green Party collected more signatures than the Freedom Party. This list included the Tea Party and the Taxpayers Party sponsored by multi-millionaire Carl Palodino who is also vying for the Republican nod for governor.

These seven political parties and their petitions will be dissected at the Elks Plaza, 1068 Harriet Tubman (Fulton Street) in Brooklyn on Wednesday, August 25 at 7:30 p.m. Blacks also must be able to identify those persons and parties that still seek to suppress their constitutional guarantees. A political party falls under the protection of the First Amendment.

Several years ago, Kwame Ture asked me to devote my energies to providing our people with a political education. Through previous writings in the New York Amsterdam News and through the Internet, I have sought to satisfy his command. The experiences with the Freedom Party this summer have amounted to political internships for its supporters. "If there is no struggle, there is no progress" -- Frederick Douglass.

The most prestigious institution for white politicians is JFK School of Government at Harvard University. For Black activists, the counterpart has been the University Without Walls which has been based mostly on "Harriet Tubman Avenue" in Brooklyn. It has sought to undo The Miseducation of the Negro.

In a morontocracy, no need exists for a political education. It is unnecessary to be a Black elected official because all proxies must be assigned to either the Democratic Party or the Republican Party. See, for example, the January 6, 2010 vote in the New York City Council. This is called constructive disenfranchisement. Whites hold proxies for Black, Latino and Asian elected officials.