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Rabi al-Awwal 6, 1434/ January 19, 2013 # 3
African American intellectual Dr. Wilmer Leon, concedes
President Obama's achievements but notes the deep ironies at
inauguration time which might be set to ruin his presidency.
He has forgotten his support base. Brilliant, thoughtful
article.
Please scroll to end.
Canada's injustice against political prisoner Momin Khawaja
has gone beyond all limits. He got a life sentence for a
victimless non-violent "crime." Canada thinks Muslims will
remain silent. Take a few minutes to reach out to Canada.
Please scroll to end.
[Remain polite but firm.]
Spotlights
Imam Badi Ali, National Shoora leader of Jamaat
al-Muslimeen, Holds the Mirror to the French
-
They will defeat us if we allow them to defeat us.
-
We have leaders who do not have a road map nor a sense
of direction.
-
Politicians are politicking in Washington, DC, but the
ones in Paris are busy with cologne and perfume, putting oil
in their hair and womanizing.
-
Surely there are better people than Hollande in France
but they are busy cutting their hair and coloring their
hair.
-
I want Sarkozy and Hollande to explain what happened to
the slogans of the French revolution: Liberty, Equality,
Fraternity. How do they fit into the invasion of Mali.
-
Small organizations, poorly equipped, have succeeded in
making superpowers look like a bunch of fools. The French
army looks like a third world bunch of recruits.
-
For the liberation of Palestine, this is a good lesson:
Small groups can actually confront highly organized and
heavily armed forces.
Khutba on Africa
Islamic Texts Connect us with Africa: Invasion of Mali &
Algerian-French Collusion condemned
On January 18, the Juma' Khutba was given in central
Baltimore [Maryland] by Br. Kaukab Siddique. It was very
well received. Here are the main points for countrywide
distribution.
-
The Qur'an says that Allah created the human being from
dust, from clay, and from black mud. Thus we are all by
origin Black regardless of what color we may have now.
-
The founder of the holiest city of Islam, Makkah, was an
African woman, Hajira, r.a.
-
The first hijra was to Africa and those who did the
first hijra included those most beloved of Muhammad, pbuh,
including his daughter Ruqayya, r.a., and his son in law
Usman, r.a.
-
The Negus of Ethiopia embraced Islam. His passing away
was known to the Prophet, pbuh, by wahy [revelation] and the
Prophet, pbuh, prayed janazah ghaibana for him, which is the
basis of prayer in absentia in Hadith.
-
To make the connection absolutely clear, Muhammad, pbuh,
married an African woman, Maria, r.a., a Christian who
embraced Islam. His son from her, Ibrahim, died as a baby
and again this is related to the Hadith about the eclipse.
This was the rare occasion when Muhammad, pbuh, wept,
affirming his humanity.
Part II
-
When the people of Africa became uncaring about the study
of Qur'an and Hadith, they were enslaved and conquered by
the Europeans who divided Africa among themselves.
-
With the growth of nationalist movements and the impact
of World War II, the Europeans withdrew but they left behind
local rulers who looked African but were mentally "White."
and enslaved.
-
Africa is the richest continent in the world but its
wealth is in the hands of Europeans, be it gold, uranium,
diamonds, rubber or coffee.
-
Islam is resurgent again in Africa and there have been
peaceful movements in Egypt and Tunisia and armed uprisings
in Algeria, Somalia, parts of Nigeria, and now most
important of all in MALI.
-
The Europeans are uniting to crush the Islamic people of
northern Mali. The French aggressors are bombing Mali and
have landed several thousand troops to occupy Mali. The
french are backed by Israel, UK, Italy and USA. Algeria is
supporting France.
-
All the puppet rulers of Africa planted by the West are
rushing to help the French.
-
The Nigerians are in the lead in this puppetry. The
Nigeria army, from top to toe is funded, armed and supported
by the USA and Israel. They have been massacring supporters
of an Islamic movement in northern Nigeria, sending tanks
into mosques and ruthlessly shot down Yusuf, the muttaqi
leader of Boko Haram and hundreds of his unarmed supporters.
-
Algeria a few years back ruthlessly crushed an elected
Islamic movement known as FIS. Seldom has history seen such
brutality. With 100% support of France, the Algerian army
killed more than a hundred thousand Muslims. The army used
death squads and slit the throats of little children and
hijabi women and claimed that it had been done by Islamic
terrorists.
-
Washington Post supported the Algerian lies, just as
today the NY Times, NPR and BBC are calling the people of
Mali 'terrorists.' Only when Algerian intelligence officers
defected, it became known that the children and women had
been killed by the regime, not by the Islamics.
-
The French bomb Mali. Obvious to everyone, it is State
Terrorism. The US supports the French terrorist bombing. Now
we have the Islamic takeover of French related gas
installations in Algeria and USA is screaming "they are
terrorists."
-
Pray for the victory of Islam in Africa. Inshallah, the
future of Africa is with Islam, not the grave worshipping
"islam" but the authentic Islam of the Qur'an and the
Hadith.
Note: In the incident in Algeria, Mokhtar Bel Mokhtar, the
mujahid leader, called on the US to exchange his two
American captives with the Blind Shaykh Dr. Omar Abdel
Rahman and Dr. Aafia Siddiqui. The US refused the offer.
Muhammad, pbuh, is dearer to us than our own lives:
Sis. Aisha Munawar Hasan, Pakistani Woman leader.
At the start of the month of Rabi al-Awwal during which
Muslims remember the birth of the last messenger and prophet
of Allah, Muhammad, pbuh, a large gathering was addressed in
Lahore by Aisha Hasan, a top leader of Jamaate Islami's
women's wing.
Sis. Aisha said that nothing is dearer to us than the
messenger of Allah, pbuh. He is the example for us in every
aspect of life. That is why, she added, the evil forces in
the West are attacking the Prophet, pbuh. Just as physically
we are attacked by US drones, spiritually we are assaulted
by those who insult our leader Muhammad Mustafa, pbuh.
She urged Muslim men and women to vow to bring themselves
nearer to the example of the messenger of Allah, pbuh and to
oppose Zionism and Imperialism.
Photo shows rally of Pakistani women supporting Jamaate
Islami movement for peaceful Islamic transformation.
Jamaat al-Muslimeen Urges Boycott of Israel
Are you helping to feed Israeli Occupation?
by Sis. Sherry Garris [Virginia]
Pepsico "spun off" a resturaunt chain in 1997 called Tricon
Global Restaurants Inc., since renamed YUM! Brands. By
definition of "spin off" Pepsico is still the parent company
with equal stocks in the YUM! company. The shareholders of
Pepsico Inc., including Strauss Group ( aka Israel)
received 0.1 shares of YUM! Brands for every share of
Pepsico they owned. Strauss Group owns 50% of Pepsico!
A "spin off" is when a division of a company becomes an
independent business but maintaining shareholder rights with
the parent company receiving equal shares in the new
company. The ownership of the original and spun off
companies are identical.YUM! Brands which include Pizza Hut,
Taco Bell and KFC has a lifetime contract with Pepsico with
a few contract exceptions with HMSHost (airports and highway
food service company) and college-operated locations who are
contracted with Coca Cola.
And, with the majority of these restaurants contracted to
serve pepsi products for life it is definitely beneficial to
Israel to eat at these places! Why would you want to feed
your children food whose profits go to support the Genocidal
Occupation of other children! Its easy just eat somewhere
else!
Be good and strong in your choices. Set an example for
others to follow! Our Ummah is large and growing! If all
muslims just say NO!!! to buying products which clearly
benefit a terrorist regime, we can make a real difference in
the quality of life for our brothers and sisters! Do not buy
Bombs and Bullets! for Israel!!!
www.israel-food-guide.com This is what feeds the Genocidal
Occupation!!!
www.yum.com
www.seekingalpha.com
www.wikipedia.org ( Pepsico and spin off)
www.strauss-group.com
www.pepsico.com
Our America
A Voice for the Voiceless: Let Justice be done.
America's Top Imam: Jamil al-Amin Should be re-Tried and
Released
by Obaid Siddiqui [Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]
[Br. Obaid is a freelance writer and independent journalist
based in Philadelphia. He is a contributor to the anthology
"All-American: 45 American Men on Being Muslim."
His voice had power. His booming delivery was infused with
rousing socio-political rhetoric. With a rhythmic cadence,
tone, and inflection, his voice kept a beat. It emboldened a
generation of black youth, and frightened the white
establishment. His voice organized black voters in rural
southern towns. It later pushed drug dealers and prostitutes
out of his Atlanta community. As he aged, the provocative
rhetoric gave way to a mellow, measured and direct recital
of religious discipline. He traded his iconic black beret
and black sunglasses for a knitted kufi and wire-rimmed
glasses. Despite his garb, at a lean 6'5", he always cut an
imposing figure - a revolutionary unafraid to speak truth to
power.
But now, that voice has been muted; muzzled underneath the
wailing screams of the mentally ill as they bang on the
walls of their prison cells - walls on to which they spread
their feces. Men who mutilate their bodies with and swallow
razors, shards of glass, sharpened chicken bones and writing
utensils howl and weep at all hours of the day and night. It
is within these hellish confines that a Civil Rights icon
sits shackled in an underground cell. Silenced.
Let me declare before the families of these men, before the
state, and any who would dare to know the truth, that I
neither shot nor killed anyone. I am innocent...
For over 10 years now, Imam Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin has been
under perpetual solitary confinement, for usually 23 hours a
day with almost no human contact. Al-Amin, once known as H.
Rap Brown during his involvement in the Civil Rights
Movement, is now referred to as 99974-555 - his inmate
register number at the federally run Administrative Maximum
Facility (ADX) Penitentiary in Florence, Colorado. He is
serving a life sentence for a crime many people believe he
never committed.
Al-Amin was convicted of murdering a deputy sheriff and
wounding another during a gun fight in March of 2000 and was
sentenced to life in prison two years later. Then, on July
30 into August 1 of 2007, Al-Amin was secretly transferred
overnight to the super-maximum security ADX prison, without
the knowledge of his family or legal counsel. It is there
where he now resides, 1,400 miles away from home, shackled
in that underground cell. Although housed in a federal
facility, Al-Amin is imprisoned on state charges and is
still being paid for by Georgia state tax payers.
Al-Amin has always maintained his innocence. In a statement
released after his arrest, he wrote:
Let me declare before the families of these men, before the
state, and any who would dare to know the truth, that I
neither shot nor killed anyone. I am innocent...I am one
with the grief of this mother and father at the loss of
their son. I am joined at the heart with this widow and her
children at the loss of a husband and a father. I drink from
the same bitter cup of sorrow as the siblings at the loss of
a beloved brother. I am powerless to do anything to ease
your pain and suffering except pray that Allah comforts you
in your hour of need and grants you peace for the remainder
of your days.
Later, prior to his trial, a gag order was imposed on
Al-Amin, preventing him from professing his innocence
outside of the trial. Even now, a request sent to the ADX
prison to interview Al-Amin has gone unanswered.
To give a voice back to the man who once vociferously spoke
for the voiceless, over 200 supporters of Al-Amin gathered
under the dome of the Georgia State Capital building in
Atlanta for a national day of action on March 19, 2012. The
rally, which featured many speakers including former U.S.
Attorney General Ramsey Clark and Imam Zaid Shakir, was
coordinated to demand that Al-Amin be released from federal
detainment and transferred back to the Georgia State Prison
in Reidsville, Georgia.
"We're certain the F.B.I. has a role in (his transfer to the
federal prison)" said Heather Gray, host of the Just Peace
radio program on WRFG in Atlanta and an organizer of the
rally. The F.B.I.'s presence in the conviction of Al-Amin
has been visible since the beginning, where "the F.B.I. met
with the judge in her chambers during the trial," said Gray.
Gray, who also serves on the board of directors for WRFG and
Pacifica National Radio, has been involved in the Civil
Rights Movement and started publicizing Al-Amin's case at
the request of his late brother, Ed Brown. Brown and Gray
worked together during the anti-apartheid movement and then
again soon after Al-Amin was arrested over a decade ago.
"[His transfer] seems to be a punitive thing, not based on
anything he's done in prison," said Gray.
Indeed, Al-Amin has been the focus of federal surveillance
since the 1960's. In an August, 1967, letter to all F.B.I.
offices focusing the infamous Counter-Intelligence Program
(COINTELPRO) against "Black Nationalist Hate Groups," J.
Edgar Hoover specifically called out H. Rap Brown and three
other men - Stokely Carmichael, Elijah Muhammad, and Maxwell
Stanford - as targets of the program. The surveillance
continued throughout the 1990's, as the F.B.I. placed
informants in Al-Amin's Atlanta community to try and connect
him with criminal activity. Despite developing a 44,000-page
file on Al-Amin, the F.B.I. was unable to pin a single
charge on him - until his murder conviction and subsequent
move to the federal ADX prison.
Throughout his incarceration in solitary confinement, which
according to Mauri' Salaakhan, a human rights activist and
Director of The Peace and Justice Foundation in Washington,
D.C., "violates Al-Amin's constitutional rights of (being
subjected) to cruel and unusual punishment," Al-Amin
maintains his innocence and mental clarity. "Despite the
brutal conditions, he's holding up well. He's a man of deep
faith. He has a strong constitution," said Salaakhan, who
has been closely following the case since he released a
booklet in 2002, "The Case of Imam Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin:
Is it a Government Conspiracy?" The brutal conditions
Salaakhan mentions are now the subject of a June 2012
class-action lawsuit brought against the ADX prison for its
inhumane treatment of mentally ill inmates.
The organizers of and speakers at the rally aim to petition
the state of Georgia to stop spending state tax-payer
dollars to incarcerate Al-Amin in the federal ADX prison in
Colorado. According to Bethany Whetzel, assistant counsel
for the Georgia Department of Corrections, the current per
diem rate to house Al-Amin at the federal ADX prison is
$80.04 - over $140,000 to date. The office of Georgia
Governor Nathan Deal refused to comment on the situation.
"It's a two-prong approach" Salaakhan said. The first step
is to bring Al-Amin back to Georgia; the second step is to
petition the state courts for a retrial in order to free
him.
The second step has been tasked, among others, to C. Allen
Garrett Jr., a partner at the law firm of Kilpatrick
Townsend & Stockton (KT&S). Garrett, based in Atlanta, has
been working on Al-Amin's case pro-bono since 2007. The law
firm originally was assigned Al-Amin's case when he brought
a suit against the warden of the Georgia State Prison, Hugh
Smith, and other prison officials for illegally opening mail
from his legal counsel, which is protected by
attorney-client privileges.
As he researched the case, Garrett, and lead counsel and
senior partner at KT&S, A. Stephens Clay, discovered
retaliatory actions on the part of prison officials against
Al-Amin. Moreover, they came across the work of G. Terry
Jackson and Linda Sheffield, Al-Amin's attorneys from his
state appeal case in 2007. Jackson, who passed away in March
of 2012, and Sheffield found major flaws with the initial
trial in 2002 and revealed important evidence that was never
presented. Jackson's and Sheffield's discovery uncovered
what Garrett refers to as the "ineffective assistance of
counsel" on the part of Al-Amin's original defense team,
thus leading Garrett to file various petitions with the
state of Georgia for a retrial based on ignored evidence.
Al-Amin's petition for a retrial sits with the U.S. District
Court for the Northern District of Georgia, which issued an
order on July 3, 2012, directing the respondents (Georgia
state Attorney General, Samuel Olens; ADX Warden, Blake
Davis; and Georgia Department of Corrections Commissioner,
Brian Owens) to address why Al-Amin's challenge should not
be granted. On August 17, the respondents replied by
dismissing Al-Amin's claims and urged the court to deny a
retrial.
Now, within a federal facility reserved for the most
dangerous criminals who pose a national and international
security threat, Al-Amin must quietly await a court to once
again rule on his fate. That fate, which is linked to an
inconsequential traffic stop in 1999, was put into motion
during his role as a Civil Rights leader, when he first
garnered the watchful eye of the federal authorities.
Our Amertica
It's not Easy to Please Obama: Egypt's Morsi retreats on
Anti-Israel Remarks but ...
Obama is pressing President Morsi to ensure that anti-Israel
remarks are not repeated.
Here is an extract from the Israeli paper Haaretz of January
17 which notes Morsi's remarks in 2010 and his current
position.
"In the video, Morsi refers to "Zionists" as "bloodsuckers
who attack Palestinians" as well as "the descendants of apes
and pigs." He says Egyptians should nurse their children on
"hatred for them: for Zionists, for Jews. They must be
breast-fed hatred." He also calls President Barack Obama a
liar.
Morsi has promised to abide by Egypt's 1979 peace treaty
with Israel and has continued security cooperation with
Israel over the volatile Sinai Peninsula and their border.
In November, Morsi brokered a truce between the Jewish state
and Gaza's Hamas rulers in November, a feat that won him
warm praise from the
Americans."
In Search of Justice for Mohammad Momin Khawaja in Canada,
Against Supreme Court of Canada final verdict of December
14, 2012
In March 2004, when arrested on bogus accusations of
"terrorism', M. Momin Khawaja was 23 years old, recent
graduate in computer science, hafiz of al-Qura'an and active
community worker. In March 2009, the trial judge sentenced
Momin Khawaja to 10.5 (ten and half years) with 5 years to
serve for parole eligibility accused of "terrorism" in
Canada and abroad. But there was no tangible evidence except
his e-mails to prosecute him in a court of law. When in
2008, he was tried in Canada, he had already spent almost
five years in detention but was not credited for this time
as most inmates are under the laws. The trial Judge
acquitted him of terrorism charge related to London Bomb
accusation due to lack of evidence - this was the focal
point of the prosecution. A US informant turned witness
Junaid Babur testified in the trial that Momin Khawaja had
no involvement in any bomb making nor had knowledge of the
London Khyam group terrorist plan.
The original sentence was based that he donated $859. to a
Pakistan-based afghan charity fund of displaced women and
children that they claim had link to al-qaeda. He attended
one day camp in northwest Pakistan, traveled to UK to meet
some youngsters who were later charged with certain crimes.
This was appealed at the provincial court and three judges
extended the original 10.5 years into life time and 24 years
sentence without hearing any evidence or facts of the case.
The same formula is being used by the Supreme Court to
authenticate the previous appeal's verdict and gave him
consecutively one life sentence and 24 years to start
consecutively with 10 yrs to be served for parole
eligibility. There is no surety, he will be allowed for
parole. The Supreme Court used the official myth of Islamic
terrorism, making claim to be sending a strong message to
all concerned. There is no "terrorism" flourishing in Canada
except propagated by the few warmongers and the war
industries. Momin Khawaja has not committed any crimes of
terrorism nature, nor harmed anyone anywhere on this planet.
His e-mails were used to prosecute him essentially based on
thought crime. One of the Supreme Court judges hearing the
appeal, made it known that there was no crime committed by
him (Momin) nor charged to be given the life sentence. Few
others judges had similar questioning of the previous unfair
verdict. Yet, all have signed the final verdict.
It demonstrates built-in prejudice and unfair treatment
towards Muslims and the people of Arab origins mostly
covered by the term "terrorism."
We request all concerned citizens of the global humanity to
write to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada
and to the Prime Minister of Canada asking to revisit the
case or other legal options to deliver justice. The
important points should be
-
What rational or justifiable criteria is implied to
deliver an exceptionally harsh and unfair sentence to Momin
Khawaja? The original sentence of 10.5 yrs was increased to
a life plus 24 years consecutively to be served with 10
years for parole. The final judgment lacked any
evidence-based reasoning to substantiate the conclusion
except political and religious animosity.
-
Momin Khawaja was acquitted by the trial judge of
involvement in the London bomb plot. He has no criminal
record and never posed any threat or violence to anybody on
this planet.
-
Momin was not considered for double credits of the time
served (9 years) as it is applicable to all inmates under
the Canadian laws and justice system.
-
There were wide range of opinions and discussions amongst
the judges at the final Supreme Court hearing in June 2012,
questioning the previous unfair verdict of the Ontario
Appeal Court. But at the end, they all signed the document
perpetuated most unfair and unjust conclusion lacking
evidence and rational justification.
-
There is no balancing act between the original sentence
of 10.5 (ten and a half years sentence with 5 years for
parole) and unusually increased harsh sentence to Life with
24 years to be served consecutively - 10 years for parole.
This is clearly a travesty of justice.
-
The writer should ask the Chief Justice and the Prime
Minister (politely and logically) to review the case and to
deliver justice based on the merits of the case. Surely,
public concerns will have direct impact. Both addresses are
as follows:
Right Honorable Beverley McLachlin, P.C.
Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Canada
301 Wellington Street, Ottawa, OntarioK1A 0J1Canada
Fax: 1- 613-941-5817
Right Honorable Mr. Stephen Harper
Prime Minister of Canada, Office of the Prime Minister
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa, ONK1A 0A2 Canada
Fax: 1- 613-941-6900
E-mail: pm@pm.gc.ca
President Obama's Second Term: Symbolic or Ironic?
by Dr. Wilmer Leon
On Sunday, January 20th at 12:00pm, America's 44th
President, Barack Obama will be sworn in for his second
term. The public celebration of his inauguration will take
place on Monday, January 21st which is also the legal public
holiday celebrating the life of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr.
Many see the public swearing in of the first president who
is African American taking place on the same day we
celebrate the life of one of the greatest Americans as
another invaluable symbol, a breakthrough for America, a
double helix. Some see the reelection of President Obama as
the realization of Dr. King's "Dream", while others see the
inauguration as an incredible irony, an incongruity between
the literal and the implied meaning of the events.
The symbolic significance of the reelection of President
Obama cannot be understated. It took this country 219 years
to elect its first African-American president (George
Washington was elected in 1789). In spite of Americas
schizophrenic perspective on "race" (race is really an
artificial construct) this country swore in its first
president who is African American on January 20, 2009. As I
reflect upon the historic election of Senator Obama, my
thoughts go to the Constitution and three specific
provisions:
-
Article 1, Section 2, the Three Fifths Compromise;
-
Article 1, Section 9 which allowed for the importation of
slaves for 21 years after the Constitution was ratified;
-
Article 4, Section, the Fugitive Slave Clause that allowed
for escaped slaves to be returned to slaveholders.
These constitutional provisions come to mind since they were
the legal and conceptual foundations of the oppression that
Africans in America, and later African-Americans, have been
subjected to since the founding of this nation. The election
and re-election of President Obama does represent how far
African Americans have come.
The Obama administration has done great work. The President
is able to claim a number of legislative successes during
its first term. For example, the Obama Administration
passed or supported:
-
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010;
-
Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
-
Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention
Act
-
The repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell and supported marriage
equality;
-
Appointed first black Attorney General, Eric Holder and
appointment of first Latina to the Supreme Court.
These are all significant actions and should be recognized
as such.
Some see President Obama as the fulfillment of Dr. King's
"Dream." Not so fast! Never confuse a down payment with the
balance being paid in full. The "Dream" was never about
electing an African-American president. The Dream was about
freedom, justice and equality for the least of us so that
the true meaning of the American creed could be enjoyed by
all of us. As Dr. King said, "And if America is to be a
great nation, this must become true."
We must always remember that before Dr. King made reference
to "The Dream" he said, "But one hundred years later, the
Negro still is not free... the life of the Negro is still
sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains
of discrimination...the Negro lives on a lonely island of
poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material
prosperity...the Negro is still languishing in the corners
of American society and finds himself an exile in his own
land."
Hence, the irony of America publically swearing in its first
president who is African American for his second term on the
legal public holiday celebrating the life of Rev. Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr. is that the nightmarish conditions that led
to articulation of The Dream still exist in America
today!
The Dream cannot be fulfilled when a candidate for president
has to run a deracialized campaign in order to make the
masses comfortable with the obvious aesthetic. The second
inauguration of President Obama does not negate the reality
of Driving While Black. It does not erase the fact that
unemployment in America is 7.8% but over 17% for African
Americans. We cannot ignore the fact that African Americans
make up 13% of the population and 53% of those incarcerated.
Dr. King's dream was about using the power of government
and its resources to eradicate poverty yet today 14.5% of
U.S. households—nearly 49 million Americans, including 16.2
million children—struggle to put food on the table. Nearly
one in three African American and Latino children is at risk
of hunger. All of this while conservatives want to destroy
the public safety net and create a permanent underclass in
this country.
It is ironic that in spite of these stark realities for the
poor in America and specifically the poor in African
American communities, African Americans gave President Obama
95% of its support and none of these issues were addressed
during the 2012 presidential campaign. As leaders of an
invaluable political constituency too many in African
American leadership are either unwilling or unable to
challenge this president to use his bully pulpit to address
them
It is also ironic that as we celebrate the civil rights
legacy of Dr. King, a man who vehemently opposed the War in
Vietnam, President Obama has a "kill list'. He supports
warrantless wiretapping, the indefinite detention of
American citizens, drone attacks that kill innocents through
collateral damage and the assassination of American citizens
any place in the world without judicial review.
The president can proclaim his support for Israel to all
corners of the world. He can support marriage equality;
immigration reform and through executive order support the
Dream Act but African Americans are supposed to sit quietly
and Hope for Change.
Never confuse a down payment with the balance being paid in
full. This inauguration is a great step forward in America
but remember, we have miles to go before we sleep.
Dr. Wilmer Leon is the Producer/ Host of the nationally
broadcast call-in talk radio program "Inside the Issues with
WilmerLeon," and a Teaching Associate in the Department of
Political Science at HowardUniversity in Washington, D.C.
Go to Dr-Leons-Prescription@facebook.com,
www.wilmerleon.com , email: wjl3us@yahoo.com.
orwww.twitter.com/drwleon
2013-01-20 Sun 06:06:46 cst
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