Rush: I’m No Coward On Race, I Stood Up To Media’s ‘Slavish Coverage Of Black Quarterbacks’

Related to a couple of my previous posts comes the latest Rush Limbaugh rant on race relations.

El Rushbo as he refers to himself, is commenting on U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder's comments on February 18Th, in which he called America "a nation of cowards' on racial matters at the Justice Department, in honoring Black History Month.

This post and video clip from Think Progress explains El Rushbo's rant and puts it into persective:

Yesterday, Attorney General Eric Holder said that the U.S. has acted as a “nation of cowards” when it comes to discussing the sometimes “awkward and painful” issue of race relations. Today on his radio show, however, conservative talker Rush Limbaugh rejected Holder’s view claiming, “I, El Rushbo, am no coward. … I show bravery on race” by standing up to the media’s “slavish coverage of black quarterbacks”:

LIMBAUGH: I, El Rushbo, am no coward. … In fact, I show bravery on race. I am totally willing to discuss it openly and honestly. How does one show bravery on race as I have? You talk about media bias, you talk about slavish media coverage of Black quarter backs in the National Football League. Then see what happens. Then watch all hell descend upon you from every quarter of this nation’s media. From print to broadcast to internet. … I show bravery on matters of race.



Limbaugh is clearly still bitter about the fact that he was forced to resign from his position as an ESPN commentator in 2003 for claiming that the media were only interested in Philadelphia Eagles Quarterback Donovan McNabb because he is black (despite the fact that McNabb has shown himself to be incredibly talented):

Sorry to say this, I don’t think he’s been that good from the get-go. I think what we’ve had here is a little social concern in the NFL. The media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well. There is a little hope invested in McNabb, and he got a lot of credit for the performance of this team that he didn’t deserve.

By citing the McNabb episode as a “brave” moment in the history of race-relations, Limbaugh actually reaffirmed Holder’s point. As Holder explained yesterday, discussions surrounding race and public policy in American society ought to be “nuanced, principled and spirited.” But too often, we leave the conversation to “those on the extremes who are not hesitant to use these issues to advance nothing more than their own, narrow self interest.”

The result is a de facto acceptance and even endorsement of Limbaugh’s repeated race-based outbursts and criticism of public officials who choose to speak out.

NAACP: We Are 100

By NAACP President and CEO Benjamin T. Jealous

February 12, 2009

One hundred years ago, a small multiracial group of progressive thinkers dared to come together in a tiny New York apartment to share a bold dream: An America free of the racial oppression that sullied the soul of our nation a little over 40 years after slavery. The NAACP was born of that noble vision advanced by such visionary thinkers as Ida B. Wells, Mary White Ovington and W.E.B. Dubois. The new organization, radical for its time, launched a tenacious three decade long struggle to successfully end the horror of lynch mobs. In 1932, we took up the mantle to reverse the destructive, segregating vestiges of Jim Crow, and two decades later, segregation was made illegal. In the 1960’s, a determined effort for economic and political inclusion was initiated that triumphed last year in the election of an African-American president and the most black elected officials since Reconstruction.

The election of President Barack Obama reflects a seminal transformation within the American psyche. Overcoming the limitations of our history fraught with the wrenching divisions of race, a majority of voters embraced our country’s promise - crossing racial, cultural and generational boundaries to set a remarkable example for the world. Yet there is a dichotomy between the symbol of hope and racial progress of Obama’s election and the entrenched realties of our painful racial legacy. While the country has allowed individuals to permeate the barriers of discrimination, entire groups of people still are locked out of the American dream because of race.

The NAACP has always embraced the impossible, fearlessly marching forward at an unwavering pace. Our triumphs have not been ours alone. Ending lynch mobs against African Americans ended the horror for White Catholics, the second largest group of victims. Our fight against discrimination helped all disenfranchised members of our country open locked doors and break through barriers of inequity.

But the journey is not over. Black unemployment is perennially twice that of white Americans. Several studies found that a majority of employers preferred to hire a white criminal than a black man without a criminal record. African American children disproportionately attend segregated, poor quality schools. Mass incarceration is harming far too many people of color when drug treatment and other approaches would have better outcomes. The health disparities in our communities are well-known.

Now as we face our second centennial, we can begin to see the realization of the vision of a new land where all live in safe communities and law enforcement respects and protects our neighborhoods. A land where all children can blossom in a quality school; their potential nurtured and cherished. Where every worker in America has a fair chance for employment, education and advancement. The journey is born anew this year and just as in the past we had the courage to pursue the impossible dream that doubters insisted was illusory , today we will begin again to be fearless as we resolutely move towards a better tomorrow for us all.

Analysis: Republicans struggle with race issue

By Reid Wilson- the Hill

As minority voters abandoned the GOP in droves this past cycle, those who will vote on the next chairman of the Republican Party are struggling with the difficult issue of race.

The Democrats are seen as having advantages: Traditionally they have won more minority voters, and now the party will be led by the first African-American president. And, for Republicans, race proves to be a particularly thorny issue that can cause problems for even the most adept political operators.

The most recent example came when former Tennessee GOP chairman Chip Saltsman, a candidate for chairman of the Republican National Committee, sent a CD with a parody song called "Barack the Magic Negro" to RNC members. First reported by The Hill, the CD set off a wave of criticism and elicited sharp rebukes from several prominent voting members.

That incident came on top of a number of gaffes throughout the 2008 election. In September, Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-Ga.) told The Hill he thought then-presidential candidate Barack Obama was "uppity," a racially tinged word. Rep. Geoff Davis (R-Ken.) apologized in April for referring to Obama as a "boy."

At rallies held for the Republican presidential ticket, media focused on attendees who called Obama a "terrorist" and emcees, most famously Cincinnati radio host Bill Cunningham, who frequently invoked Obama's middle name to rile up a crowd.

Finishing Reid Wilson's article >>> Here

Obama's true colors: Black, white ... or neither?

Does it really matter what color a person is anymore? According to a story at Yahoo News it seems so.  People are arguing over whether or not Barack Obama is really the first "Black" president.

Is he really half-white or half-black, mixed-raced or multi-racial. Why should we even care? As long as he is not referred to as a "N" word, why should people get all worked up over his ethnicity? 

Why don't just get use to calling him Mr. President!

"A perplexing new chapter is unfolding in Barack Obama's racial saga: Many people insist that "the first black president" is actually not black.
Debate over whether to call this son of a white Kansan and a black Kenyan biracial, African-American, mixed-race, half-and-half, multiracial — or, in Obama's own words, a "mutt" — has reached a crescendo since Obama's election shattered assumptions about race.
Obama has said, "I identify as African-American — that's how I'm treated and that's how I'm viewed. I'm proud of it." In other words, the world gave Obama no choice but to be black, and he was happy to oblige..."

Is Art Gallagher one of the confused people we should embrace?

"Nevertheless, here's what I'm clear on: Many people struggle to understand why some blacks still call each other the n-word when the word's history and inherent ugliness make it offensive. Those are confused people we should embrace..."

So starts the final paragraph of Derrick K. Baker's opinion piece "Those who use the n-word must be accountable, regardless of race" which was published in The Philadelphia Inquirer last week.

Mr. Baker explains very well how the use of the N word makes him feel and how he perceives those who use it, whether it is Jesse Jackson, some Rap artist, or just some  plain white folks that are confused.

Click on the headline to read Baker's opinion

Editors' Note from RiseUp

Janice S. Ellis, Ph.D., Founder & Publisher of RiseUP  publications has yet another insightful Editor's Note commentary on color and race relations in our society, that I thought I should share with everyone. 

"Oh, how we carry on a love-hate relationship with color. Color, in all its vibrant variety, is one of the spices of life. It excites and stimulates the imagination. Painters and photographers capture it on canvas. It is captured on the printed page in poetry and prose.
We marvel at the awesome beauty and bounty of Nature’s parade of color — blossoms and flowers in spring and summer, the maple trees and evergreens in fall and winter.

And then, of course, we adorn our homes and bodies with colorful furnishings, fashions and works of art — yes, even body art.

Color, in all of its richness, is welcome in every aspect of our lives except when it comes to other human beings — of color, that is. When it comes to people, suddenly different colors and shades provoke closed-mindedness rather than openness, fear rather than friendliness, oppression rather than freedom, and the baseness within us rather than the beautiful.

Our schizophrenic relationship with color is age-old. We love color in things. We loathe it in human beings. History is replete with examples of humankind’s most unkind behavior toward other human beings who do not look like us, dress like us, talk like us, worship like us, live like us, and are not the same color as us. Through the ages, many have fought and paid the ultimate sacrifice to resist and change this ugliness, and the injustice, discrimination, and persecution perpetrated upon our fellow man because of differences in color.

Imagine the possibilities if we could — if we would — appreciate the richness of different colors in people, just as we appreciate the richness of color in nature and in our own creations.

Imagine if we understood that every child, white, black, brown or yellow has the same needs: caring parents, safe neighborhoods, good schools, an opportunity to dream and to become whatever they dream of becoming.

Imagine if it was natural — a matter of unconscious practice — that every human, no matter their color, was given the benefit of the doubt and treated equally when he or she applies for a job, submits an application for college, applies to buy a house or rent an apartment.

If people of different colors were regarded with the same reverence and respect as the colors in nature, there would be no need for affirmative action, equal rights, equal employment protection, fair housing and other laws. Imagine if we weren’t required by law to do the right thing toward each other, because it just came naturally.

The economic, social and educational caste systems created around color and because of color have done as much to imprison and deprive the perpetrators as the perpetrated.

Great strides and gains may be made if we would only try to better understand our conflicting feelings around color, beginning with the simple acknowledgment of the common color that runs through our veins and binds us all with the gift of life.

Just imagine what might happen if we ceased to allow insignificant differences in skin color to confuse and compromise the quality of life we share as neighbors, colleagues, fellow travelers on the world stage. Just imagine."

The Issue of Race

While thumbing through the Sunday edition of the NY Daily News I came across a special pull out section that I had never scene before, it was titled "Rise Up". Having read the rest of the paper and needing something else to pass the time with I decided to take a look at it and I am kinda glad that I did. I found the contents to be an honest and interesting look at race in our country.  

It seems that the magazines purpose is to address the issues of race in our society by understanding our differences, bridging our divisions and celebrating our commonalities. 

I thought that with the recent controversey surrounding Art Gallagher and his attempt to re- introduce the "N' word into our everyday vocabulary over at his blog, MoreMonmouthMusings, that I should pass along a true representation of how race can be addressed in an intellegent way as opposed to the clumsy and offensive attempt by Mr. Gallagher.

RiseUp's Founder and Publisher, Janice S. Ellis, Ph.D. had the following to say in her Publisher's Note column. I found it to be thoughtful and thought provoking. If Art Gallagher can understand what she has written here maybe he wouldn't be trying to justify the use of such a hateful and offensive word like Nigger! :

"No matter the outcome of the presidential election, one thing is certain, the issue of race will be front and center over the course of the campaign, whether it is openly discussed or remains — uncomfortably — the elephant in the room. The candidates will likely work hard to avoid making race an issue. But on talk shows, in coffee shops, bars and barbershops, and around the dinner table across America, it will surely be a topic of lively — or perhaps heated — conversation.
Such conversations beg for candor.

As we come face-to-face with the powerful influence of race, it will serve us well to truly look at the history of race and racism in America. We must, if we ever hope to achieve a society where race is a non-issue. A society where the question, “Is America really ready to elect a black man or woman, or a brown man or woman president?” seems silly. When the contributions of all Americans are chronicled and commemorated in the same history books. When the rich, complex and complete American story in all its shame and glory is taught and told in classrooms and living rooms everywhere.

But today is not that day. We must acknowledge the role race still plays in American life and engage in constructive, liberating dialogue to minimize, mitigate and ultimately nullify its destruction effect. We must peel away the layers — much like an onion — letting the tears flow, if need be, to get to the heart of things.

Let’s look a little closer at a layer at the very core of our beliefs about race and racial differences: the family unit. This will require an open mind and some painful admissions on everyone’s part about American families — both black and white.

Black and white families in America have traveled different and widely divergent paths. One of privilege. The other of paucity. One is carried forward by a history in which the presence of both parents has been valued and promulgated. The other is burdened by the history of slavery in which the family unit was raped and destroyed; separating mother from father; father from child. One has experienced freedom of movement within society, with automatic acceptance. The other has faced constant rejection, both blatant and subtle.

One has enjoyed a certain level of economic prosperity. The other has too often found itself trapped in a perpetual cycle of poverty. One has benefitted from good schools and educational opportunities; the other subjected persistently to sub-standard learning environments. One lives in a neighborhood free of blight and crime; the other constantly plagued by both.

These realities shape our fears, resentments and biases, and keep us wondering why.

Why, black folks wonder, do some white teenagers from comfortable neighborhoods build bombs and go on shooting rampages, killing their fellow classmates, teachers and family members? Why, white folks wonder, do some black teenagers sell drugs, rob the elderly, and shoot fellow teenagers for money or a jacket?

Black folks think affirmative action and set-asides are needed to level the playing field. White folks think such measures are reverse discrimination.

And, of course, there are black and white folks who think none of the above. They understand that we all are the sum total of our experience that begins with and is shaped by the family of which we are a part.

There are black and white folks who share an immovable faith in the human will and the spirit to overcome adversity and impoverishment. There are black and white folks who fervently believe that some day race will not define how we see each other, how well we work together to build stronger families, stronger communities and a better America."

Click on the headline to be redirected to RiseUp.com