Another Cloudy Day in America.

So What Happened? 

 The University of North Carolina, Harvard University, and Students for Fair Admissions vs. Affirmative Action is what!

“The Supreme Court ruled on June 29, 2023, that colleges and universities can no longer consider race as a specific basis in college admissions. Chief Justice John Robers, a voice for the conservative agenda, said that Harvard and University of North Carolina admissions programs violated the Equal Protection Clause because they failed to offer ‘measurable’ objectives to justify the use of race.” (Cnn Politics)                                                                                                     

Conservative justices claimed it “was not expressly overturning” prior cases that authorized race-based Affirmative Action and that considering how race affected an applicant’s life can still be part of how their application is considered. However, U.S. military service academies could continue considering race as a factor. Hmm, now that’s interesting. Liberal justices said that the decision would make it practically impossible for colleges and universities to consider race.

 

Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, agreed that the decision would result in a less equal education system in the U.S. It “subverts the Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection,” they argued. And that “Ignoring race will not equalize a racially unequal society. “What was confirmed in the 1860s, and again in 1954, is true today: Equality requires acknowledgment of inequality, “Sotomayor wrote.

 

Affirmative Action has been picked on since its beginnings and all along the way. So why are we surprised it finally ended up in the Supreme Court with this decision? Even so-called “Woke” Californian voters approved Proposition 209, an affirmative action ban at public universities, in 1966.

Some argue we are now a colorblind society. And that racism no longer exists in America. No need to pay attention to the historical marker of Brown v. Board of Education (1954), where the Court recognized the constitutional necessity of racially integrated schools due to the history of segregation. The year of my birth, and we still haven’t fixed the problem.

 

One Against the Other.

Used Against Each Other?

Part One. Michael Wang.

Part Two. Michael Wang.

 

 

Smooth and Slick as Ice. 

Out of all the possible cases to overturn or at least limit Affirmative Action, the one that pitted People of Color against each other was used. Was it a mistake for Black people to join the “Colored Peoples Consortium?” Many of the rights other “People of Color” have benefitted from were forged on our backs; tell me if I’m wrong. But when the shit comes down, why do we always get the shorter stick? As with the overturning of Women’s right to choose abortion, Black women suffer more.   Sadly, the closer you are to at least looking Black, the worse your situation is. Race is an issue everywhere.

Again, tell me I’m wrong.

Being blind to that reality is, in fact, ignorance and only seeing the world from your perspective. For example, many Egyptians referred to as White, are shocked when they go to America or any part of Europe and are treated like their Black counterparts. They don’t believe racism exists in their country. It seems wherever the Europeans took over a country, race shaming went with them. And it’s subtle.

 

Black Lives Matter. Yep, they do.

Black folks are the center of any discussion this country has or will ever have for the rest of its existence. I don’t care how many laws are passed or how many new Amendments are added to our Constitution. You can’t erase the legacy of slavery. You just can’t. 

Its wealth was built on the backs of enslaved people. The disparities in our society result from slavery and, of course, the stolen lands of Native people. Simple as that. Name a gap in this country, and I can assure you that somewhere lurking in the mix, the remnants of slavery and stolen land are there.

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised.

The revolution will not be right back
After a message about a white tornado
White lightning, or white people
You will not have to worry about a dove in your bedroom
The tiger in your tank or the giant in your toilet bowl
The revolution will not go better with Coke
The revolution will not fight germs that may cause bad breath
The revolution will put you in the driver’s seat…

 Gill Scott Heron

So are you “Woke” yet?

Just call me a child of the “Woke” generation.

Isn’t it funny how, once again, Black people’s vocabulary has become a national “hit”? Come on, people. We can’t do better than that. The concept of woke has been around for years. It only means awareness of some humans getting more than others and the rights of animals and our planet to survive. Simple as that. This current usage of “Woke” sounds ridiculous coming out of the mouths of racist, conservative White American time travelers. What? Did they hire a P.R. marketing consortium to come up with that tag? That one stolen word is now used to attack anything related to gender, sexual preference, and racial inequality. The original version of “Make America Great!”

 

 

And if you are not “Woke,” then aren’t you asleep? It’s in the Dictionary now; how often does Merriam-Webster update their book, and who does it? I’ll explore that topic another day. But, when I looked up the term “Woke, “it had already been added. 

“Woke aware of and attentive to important societal facts and issues (especially racial and social justice). And disapproving of “Woke” conservatives view today’s liberals as cultural warriors threatening the nation and its traditions.”

Sleep is defined as the natural, easily reversible periodic state of many living things marked by the absence of wakefulness and the loss of consciousness of one’s surroundings, usually considered essential to restoring and recovering vital bodily and mental functions.

 

Has America had a Seizure?

Living the Epileptic Life: Awake but Not.

Epilepsy is a disorder of the brain characterized by repeated seizures. A seizure is a sudden behavior alteration due to a temporary change in the brain’s electrical functioning. People like me living with epilepsy sometimes have out-of-body experience experiences called absence seizures when they quietly “tip” out. (Oh, another Black folks concept, especially for those of us from the East Coast). Sound familiar?

Prodromal Stage.

Sensation or particular feeling that people may experience before having a seizure. It could be hours or days before it occurs. Did we miss the signs leading up to limiting Affirmative Action nationwide?

Stage 1: Aura

This phase happens right before a seizure starts and is a warning that it is about to happen. The symptoms come on quickly and may only last a few seconds. If you have an aura, you may have:

The ictal stage of a seizure is when a person displays symptoms such as involuntary movements and reduced awareness. Intense abnormal electrical activity in the brain occurs during this stage. It may last for up to a few minutes. 

For example, you won’t notice if someone is talking to you. You may stop talking in the middle of the sentence if you are talking to someone. You stare into space; unless someone with you knows you are having a seizure, you might be in trouble. Because you don’t even know you tipped out. Sometimes, I function on automatic pilot. I’ve experienced episodes and made it home from the Mall, totally unaware. And usually, I find my way to a bed, no matter where I am.

The post-ictal stage happens after the seizure has ended. It is the recovery period in which people will feel the after-effects of a seizure. My fellow citizens, are we now in the recovery stage? Did we lose rights after 50-plus years of having them? How do we recover from that?

The Reset Zone

We could consider these moments in America, to being asleep and when we become aware again, as a reset. However, when I wake up from an absence seizure, it doesn’t feel like a reboot and back to the default setting. I’m wiped out for the rest of the day. When I return home to my body, I don’t know how I got there. I’m confused, scared, pissed off, and physically and mentally exhausted. 

 

How long will it take for my country to reawaken from this seizure?

It’s a time when we seem to have forgotten what it was like before Roe v. Wade, Affirmative Action, or even “Save the Whales”? However, we won’t be able to reset the planet because it is pretty capable of taking care of itself, and when it gets tired of us, we will cease to exist. How about making it soo hot that places like D.C. hit over 107 degrees? And that will be that.

Is this far back enough?

What do they want? And how far are they willing to go to get it? Before the Civil War, before White women got the vote (sorry, Black women, you wouldn’t have the vote for another 50 or 60 years). Do they want to go back to the days when the only “legitimate” religion was Christianity?

1. Could Women lose the right to vote? Even those female idiots on the campaign trail are shooting themselves in the foot. How about we take all the books from the libraries about any Women’s accomplishments except Julia Child’s? No women in Congress or on the Supreme Court, and no more women on the moon.
2. Unions banned.
3. Segregated Schools. Alright, calm down. Some still are. 
4. Voting is a privilege and not a right. No mail-in ballots. Special National ID Voter cards, literacy tests, and poll taxes. Why not?
5. There are more Hate Groups to contend with.

Pick anything that led to the advancement of how our country dealt with difference, and flip it. See how long it takes for those who suddenly are not on top to behave. Oh, and since we don’t want to deal with Climate Change, how about another few more tornadoes or two blowing Texas, Kansas, and Nebraska (Tornado Alley) right off the map? “The 2023 tornado season has been busy, with at least 995 preliminary reports of tornadoes and 827 tornadoes already confirmed in 2023 within the U.S. as of June 27.”

 

The Man Behind the Push to End Affirmative Action.

“Asians were standing in as proxies for white students,” says Jeff Chang, a writer and activist who has long fought for Affirmative Action, essentially the strategy that Ed Blum used.”

Edward Blum has worked for years to remove what he calls ‘racial gerrymandering’ from college admissions. He is responsible for targeting Harvard University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the University of Wisconsin at Madison to attract plaintiffs and file lawsuits to end civil rights policies, affirmative Action, biculturalism, and redistricting. 

Well damn, Edward. Who hurt your feelings so you made it your entire life’s desire to overturn everything that opened the previously closed doors to everyone, including some White folks? I see it as a personal attack on me. After all, I am a product of the Affirmative Action program METCO. Black students were bussed to an all-white school. Inner-city, mainly Black kids were transported to majority-white suburban cities for better education opportunities. 

And now he’s after Freeless Fund. Blum claims the firm is practicing unlawful racism by making only Black women eligible in a grant competition. The program awards Black women small business owners “$20,000 in grants and digital tools to help them scale their businesses. Additionally, mentorship opportunities in partnership with Mastercard are available to winning participants.” And not only that, he’s on a larger mission to go after private organizations that, in his opinion, discriminate against White counterparts and toss in some Asians to spread it out. Funny how Mexicans and other Hispanics aren’t included in his war on civil rights,

As a result, my high school in Marblehead, Massachusettes, was an all-white wealthy suburban school. About an hour’s ride every day on a yellow school bus—a place where kids are groomed and prepared to go to College before they come out of the womb. I’m sure some of these would be considered “Legacy” students.

But, I was accepted to every College I applied to with scholarship money offered (though not in some cases enough because out-of-state tuition is higher). Do you think it made a difference that I went to Marblehead High as opposed to any in the Boston Public School system?

Would it matter, as was the case, that I was damn near an A student even during my years in Boston Public Schools? What do you say?

Now Where Asian Students Duped?

Blum enticed some Asian American litigants, primarily Chinese, who felt they were kept out of prestigious universities like Harvard and UNC at Chapel Hill because there were just too damn many qualified to keep out.

The colleges would only pick the ones who stood out in some way unique, they claimed. Ultimately, it wanted to keep White students in the first place. “Hiding the fact that it wasn’t about race but racial balancing, according to the ‘New Yorker magazine.

Turn back to the clocks, then “Turn Out the Lights.” 

So, where are we heading here? Equal to men now, I imagine gender will no longer be considered when discussing inclusion in America. But we won’t have to worry about that one so much as the overturning of Roe v. Wade already gutted Women’s right to choose.

Or at least be honest: Conservatives only banned abortions because of the diminishing White race as the majority. You, White ladies, are the target of the overturning of Roe, not me. And if they want more White babies to keep up their majority, then ban all vasectomies for White men.

But, no! We can’t do that. It would deny Men the right to choose to father children. It seems this country never has a problem getting in women’s panties but not men’s briefs. I guess half-white babies don’t count in America.

Racism, like sexism, will always be a part of the United States culture.

It is written in our Constitution, after all. There will also never be acceptance of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer (LGBTIQ+) persons unless you are okay with all priests in the Catholic church and Boy Scouts. I had to go and look up exactly what each side of this “Woke” argument wanted and found this table below from Diffen.com.

 

	Left Wing	Right Wing
Political Philosophy	Liberal	Conservative
Economic Policy	Income equality, higher tax rates on the wealthy, government spending on social programs and infrastructure, and stronger regulations on business.	Lower taxes, less regulation on businesses, reduced government spending, and a balanced budget.
Healthcare Policy	Believe that access to healthcare is one of the fundamental rights of all citizens. Support universal healthcare, the Affordable Care Act, and the expansion of Medicare and Medicaid.	Oppose government-provided universal healthcare and the Affordable Care Act. Favor competition to Medicare from private insurance companies; oppose Medicaid expansion.
Immigration Policy	Pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants; moratorium on deportations or prosecutions of undocumented immigrants who are young adults and have no criminal record.	No “amnesty” for undocumented immigrants; store robustder patrol and fence to check illegal immigration. The belief is that illegal immigration lowers wages for citizens and documented immigrants.
Education Policy	Favor expanded free, public education.	I believe parents who want to home-school their kids or send them to private schools should be able to get vouchers for opting out of the public school system. Generally not opposed to public education.
Abortion	Generally in favor of unpenalized access to abortion and of both adult and embryonic stem cell research.	Generally against abortion rights, support only adult stem cell research.
Gay Rights	Generally support gay marriage; support anti-discrimination laws to protect LGBT against workplace discrimination.	Generally opposed to gay marriage are opposed to specific anti-discrimination laws because they believe such rules conflict with certain religious beliefs and restrict freedom of religion.
Gun Rights	In favor of gun control laws like background checks or waiting periods before buying a gun, banning automatic weapons, and disallowing concealed weapons.	Vehemently opposed to gun control laws, strong proponents of the Second Amendment (the right to bear arms) believe it’s a deterrent against authoritarian rule.
Environmental policy	Generally conservative, preferring to ban economic activity that may create jobs but could potentially harm the environment.	Generally more permissive, considering the economic impact of environmental regulation. I believe the free market will find its solution to ecological problems.
Voter ID Laws	Against voter ID laws, citing (a) undue burden on lower income groups causing them to be disenfranchised, and (b) virtually no evidence of voter fraud occurring.	For voter identification laws to combat voter fraud.
% of the U.S. population self-identifying	23%	38%
Associated Political Parties	Democratic Party, Green, Socialist	Republican Party; Constitutional Party
Associated Media	The New York Times, MSNBC, Washington Post, CNN	National Review, Fox News, Wall Street Journal, Washington Times
Ideologies	Social Democracy; Federalism; Socialism, Communism; Collectivism; Marxism	Capitalism; Conservatism.
Famous Proponents of Ideology	Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Einstein, Barack Obama, Francois Hollande, Barney Frank, Nancy Pelosi, Noam Chomsky, Warren Buffett.	Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, George Washington, Winston Churchill, George W. Bush, Mitch McConnell, Rupert Murdoch, Rush Limbaugh, Tony Abbott, Mitt Romney
Core Beliefs	Minority rights, economic equality, gun control, environmental protection, expanded educational opportunities, and social nets for those who need them.	Limited Government at the National or Federal Level. Local Governments should have the most control over decisions affecting the local population: individual freedom and personal property rights.

Fact: Europeans ran Native folks off their lands.

In the wake of these differences, the one that concerns me the most is banning information on my country’s true history. And limiting school curriculum, libraries, and what our children should and shouldn’t learn.

For example, in 1890, U.S. Soldiers killed hundreds of Lakota men, women, and—children—the first of many attempts to suppress a people’s religious beliefs. Many were awarded medals of honor for their acts of violence. Isn’t that why so many Europeans left Europe in the first place? Religious freedom I was taught. And anything related to the extermination of people should never leave a sweet taste in our mouths. 

Fact: We were taught sanitized stories.

All American kids are told about the early Pilgrims in New England. Will we finally expose the physical savagery that America’s radical dissenting Protestant settlers wreaked on the original inhabitants? How about we get “woke” info like that taught in our schools? But, oh no, we do not want to traumatize White children. Does it matter that I was never taught about any of the accomplishments of my people? Now, per the racist beyond belief Florida “snowflake,” DeSantis wants to teach our children that slavery was suitable for Black people. 

Or that the only history was that my people were enslaved. I dreaded when we got to the Civil War section because the only pictures in my history book showed me as an enslaved person, cook, servant, or picking cotton. I can still feel the eyes of those other kids in my class looking at me since I was one of a group of three in my grade.

Question: Does eliminating the truth of our history fix the wrong of it?

I cried more tears at the National Museum of Native Americans than I did at the African American Museum in Washington, DC. I walked through the displays and saw treaty after treaty broken by the United States. Of the nearly 370 treaties between the U.S. and tribal leaders, 15 broken treaties were negotiated between 1777 and 1868.

 

Question: Does being “woke” mean putting our children to bed and keeping them there?

Let’s not tell them about the number of Treaties we broke with Native people in America. There certainly couldn’t be a problem with that. After all, it’s our American history, our gift to the world, right? And, recently, didn’t our Government acknowledge those wrongs and apologize? Was that being too woke? To say I’m sorry when I do something wrong. What about the Germans for teaching their children about the massive extermination of Jews and others who didn’t fit the model? Why? Because they never want it to happen again. I’m sure some oppose this, but the overwhelming population sees it as a positive.

And whoever said it was only White children’s sense of identity hurt by the telling the truth? Aren’t we all Americans? It is our shared history, after all. Stuff that happened decades ago does affect the present. I believe those with the most to benefit from the inequities will have the most to lose due to “wokeness.” If my Great-Grandfather was a murderer, does that make me one? Of course, I would be embarrassed, but that is a fact.

 

Question: Is it fear?

Will those folks who had a step ahead have to hand it back? I doubt all those bennies will or could be returned at this point. Is it the feeling of guilt? Must we all go to sleep and pretend none of these horrors happened and that everything is —a dream—a scary dream? But we are all over the place with no real plan to fix some wrongs. But we are trying, at least on paper.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2005


                                       U.S. Senate,
                               Committee on Indian Affairs,
                                                    Washington, DC.
   
 The committee met pursuant to notice, at 10:07 a.m. in room 
485, Senate Russell Building, Hon. John McCain (chairman of the 
committee) presiding.
    Present: Senators McCain and Dorgan.

   STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN McCAIN, U.S. SENATOR FROM ARIZONA, 
             CHAIRMAN, COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS

    The Chairman. Today's hearing addresses S.J. Res. 15, a 
joint resolution to acknowledge the contributions of Native 
Americans to this country but also the long history of official 
depredations and ill-conceived policies by the U.S. Government 
regarding Indians.
    The resolution apologizes to Native Peoples on behalf of 
the United States. I commend Senator Brownback for introducing 
the measure and I look forward to his testimony. I note that he 
introduced an apology resolution in the last Congress. That 
resolution, passed by unanimous consent of this committee with 
an amendment in the nature of a substitute, was never acted on 
by the full Senate.
    S.J. Res. 15 apologizes for the several hundred years of 
wrongs the Federal Government has perpetrated against Native 
Americans. Reviewing the history of this Government's treatment 
of Native peoples makes painfully obvious that the Government 
has repeatedly broken its promises and caused great harm to the 
Nation's original inhabitants.
    While remembering our past wrongs is important, it is also 
important that we answer those wrongs with vigorous actions and 
policies that actively promote the well-being of Native 
Americans today.
    [Text of S.J. Res. 15 follows:]

 

Does being considered “Woke” make me? Anti-American?

The only immigrants allowed would be from Europe. Only pictures of Native Americans wearing war rangers and riding alongside the Lone Rangers would be allowed. For Goddess (oops, that is sacrilegious; God is masculine), Black people, shut the fuck up; you are always starting trouble. Just say it. Make it clear: It’s in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, for goodness’ sake “https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/woke. They better remove that from the libraries. So, “Woke” is against everything I supposedly believe in and see as something that should be my rights as a citizen of the United States.

But wait, I don’t get to talk about anything related to my experience and my people’s experience in this country. So what’s a Black woman to do? I’m “Woke” enough to acknowledge that I will not stay in a country where I must awaken during my ten years living in Arizona. There, I saw more American flags swaying in the breeze (some so old and dirty that they are frayed) than I saw “back in the day” on the 4th of July. Or even worse, have a Born-Again-White Supremacist claim to be Christian anti-God behavior as the next President.

 

I’m Tired of America Drama: Anger and Revengeful Behavior.

Where can I go? I would never move to Texas, where Republicans have seized control of Houston’s public school system. Installed their own choice for Superintendent and will set up a board “overseeing” the elected School Board. Is this a hint of what will come in the other Republican-controlled States? Where will I live the rest of a happy and “Woke” life in peace? The thought of one of these self-righteous Republicans becoming our next President horrifies me.

I’ve left the U.S. and live in Alexandria, Egypt, for the moment. If anyone wants to know what it looks like without a conscious “woke” effort to improve people’s lives, come here and see it yourself. This country doesn’t want to deal with the mess of overcrowding, old and broken infrastructure, and on and on, and just picked up its capital and moved it to a new one in the desert. Could we break off a part of the U.S., and those who want it the way it was can live in their new settlement? You know, like the Confederate States back in the day. That could be a solution.

 

In the spirit of being “Woke,” stream some music to remind you there is nothing wrong with being aware of the world around you. 

 

“Mother, mother, there’s too many of you crying. Brother, brother, brother, there’s far too many of you dying. You know we’ve got to find a way to bring some lovin’ here today. Father, Father, we don’t need to escalate. War is not the answer, for only love can conquer hate. Picket lines and picket signs; don’t punish me with brutality. Talk to me so you can see what’s going on.”

– What’s Going On by Marvin Gaye

 

Picket lines, school boycotts, they try to say it’s a communist plot. All I want is equality for my sister, brother, people, and me.”

– Mississippi Goddam by Nina Simone

 

With music by our side to break the color lines, let’s work together to improve our way of life join voices protesting social injustice. A generation of courage comes forth with me, people of the world today. Are we looking for a better way of life? We are a part of the rhythm nation; people of the world unite! With strength in numbers, we can get it right one time. We are a part of the rhythm nation.

– Rhythm Nation by Janet Jackson

 

Look at the situation they got me facin’
I can’t live an everyday life; the state raised me
So I gotta be down with the hood team
Too much television watchin’ got me chasin’ dreams
I’m a educated fool with money on my mind
Got my ten in my hand and a gleam in my eye
I’m a loc’d out gangsta, set trippin’ banger
And my homies is down, so don’t arouse my anger, fool
Death ain’t nothin’ but a heartbeat away
I’m livin’ life do-or-die; what can I say?
I’m 23 now, but will I live to see 24?
The way things is goin’, I don’t know…

Gangsta’s Paradise by Coolio

 

 

And, of course, no “Woke” lyric list would be complete without  Ghetto written by Mac Davis and performed by Elvis Presley.

People, don’t you understand
The child needs a helping hand
Or he’ll grow to be an angry young man someday
Take a look at you and me
Are we too blind to see?
Do we simply turn our heads?
And look the other way.

History of Affirmative Action.

A short history of Affirmative Action.

The entire list is linked below;

1961 – I was seven years old when President John F. Kennedy’s Executive Order (E.O.) 10925 used affirmative Action for the first time by instructing federal contractors to take “affirmative action to ensure that applicants are treated equally without regard to race, color, religion, sex, or national origin,” Established the Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity. I’ll be 70 on my next birthday.

1964 – The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed into law prohibiting employment discrimination by large employers (over 15 employees), whether or not they have government contracts. They established the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

1965 – President Lyndon B. Johnson issued E.O. 11246, requiring all government contractors and subcontractors to take affirmative Action and job opportunities for minorities. He has established the Office of Federal Contract Compliance (OFCC) in the Department of Labor to administer the order.

1966 – EEOC promulgates regulations that require employers with at least 100 employees or government contractors with 50 employees to fill out the EEO-1 Private Sector Report annually. This report is a snapshot of how many racial and ethnic minorities and women work in a company. 29 C.F.R § 1602.7.  

1967 – I was 13 when President Johnson amended E.O. 11246 to include affirmative Action for women. Federal contractors must now make good-faith efforts to expand employment opportunities for women and minorities.

1970 – The Labor Department, under President Richard M. Nixon, issued Order No.4, authorizing flexible goals and timetables to correct the “underutilization” of minorities by federal contractors.

1971 – Order No. 4 was revised to include women. And almost every year until today, it has been messed with, tightened up, cut down, limited, and expanded. 

 

Black Lives Matter: A Movement in Pictures.

Stages of Epilepsy

What to do if you see a person having a seizure.