BAYARD RUSTIN: AMERICAN HERO
Perhaps few of the pejorative terms that have been used to describe President Barack Obama both before and during his historic presidency is that of a "Marxist" or "Socialist." While many of his opponents who use these terms probably could not define the terms if their lives depended upon it, suffice it to say that in some circles, the phrase has stuck to the president like white on rice.
Well, today's announcement that Bayard Rustin will awarded a Presidential Medal of Freedom will certainly start the drum beat again from the extreme right as many of the vocal leaders of the same will scream "a-ha!" Obama is a Socialist after all!
When Rustin receives his posthumous award this fall he will join a distinguished group of Americans including baseball legend Ernie Banks, television mogul Oprah Winfrey and former President Bill Clinton, to name a few.
But none will draw the enmity that Rustin will in death as he did in life because of the fact that he was an openly gay black man during a time in which homosexuality was only whispered about if acknowledged at all, and because he was a committed socialist during the advent of the "red scare" age in which politicians and entertainers alike all feared being outed and shunned as communists.
If you have read to the last paragraph and still don't know who Rustin is fret not; Rustin was a graduate of Wilberforce University in Ohio where upon graduating in the late 1930's, he set about the cause of civil rights during an era in which Black American troops fought against Nazism abroad while living in a rigid race based apartheid system here at home. Rustin organized sit-ins and freedom rides during the 1940's, almost 20 years before the terms became forever etched in the American English lexicon during the height of the Civil Rights Movement. Rustin later served as one of the top advisers to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and as we begin to celebrate the 50th commemoration of the March on Washington that King led in 1963, lest we forget that Rustin was one of the chief architects of the original march.
The FBI, then under the leadership of J. Edgar Hoover, in seeking to undermine Dr. King's credibility, focused squarely upon Rustin, so much so that during a meeting at the White House in June of 1963, President Kennedy scolded King about having "communist infiltrators" within his organization and that because of that, the lines of communication between his administration and King was in jeopardy. Not soon thereafter, Rustin's role within the movement begin to wane, but the six years that he had spent advising King and devising grand marches and protest actions still loom large five decades later.
The very fact that Rustin's name is not immediately associated by non lovers of Black History facts goes to show that political fears of a socialist takeover of American politics has often left key figures and players on the sidelines. At least with respect to Rustin, now he can come out of the historical closet and take his place among the noted luminaries of the 20th Century.
RUBIO ON OBAMACARE
Speaking of Socialism, one area in which some conservatives have dogged the Obama administration has been in comparing the Affordable Care Act, or "Obamacare," with socialized medicine. Never mind that some forms of socialism have existed by law since the 1930's including the so-called "third rail" of politics, Social Security, as well as Medicare and Medicaid since the late 60's; again, by calling Obamacare "socialism" and in seeking dozens of times to repeal it in the House of Representatives, Republicans continue to advocate no solutions for making the law better as they only focus upon methods to prevent or delay its October 1st roll out.
Yesterday, while attending an invitation only breakfast with Senator Marco Rubio at the James Madison Institute, a think tank located in Tallahassee, Florida, I was able to listen as Rubio, a key contender for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, described his plans to stall the short term budget next month. Rubio said unequivocally that he does not wish to see a government shut down, but that the only way that he could see the president avoiding the same is to ensure that Obamacare receives no funding.
Well, knowing that such is a non-starter for the president, most Democrats and even some Moderate Republicans like I, I felt compelled to bring to the public square that which I learned in private yesterday and note that yes, the "kick the can" approach with regard to short term budget votes simply allows the rigid partisanship and refusal to budge to remain while federal workers---including the military---pension holders and beneficiaries all could be in limbo.
As I've said before, if such is the case, then the pay and benefits for all executive, legislative and judicial branch employees should be on hold, too, until those elected to serve can figure out how to compromise as opposed to posturing.
CORY BOOKER WINS NOMINATION FOR SENATE
You want to see the second potential black president of the United States? Look no further than Cory Booker, the former Newark, New Jersey mayor who has garnered national prominence for his work in ameliorating the aims of that city. Yesterday, Booker won the Democratic nomination for the US senate and is a favorite to win the seat vacated by the late Frank Lautenberg outright this October. Booker is unabashedly liberal and during a future presidential campaign would have to very likely move his politics closer to the middle, nevertheless, his keen analytical mind, courage and ability to articulate grand visions and ideas certainly make him one to watch from the Democratic side of the aisle. Kudos!
HOLDER TO DECREASE SENTENCES
This past Monday, Attorney General Eric Holder---at long last---announced that the Justice Department will seek to end lengthy incarcerative sentences for low level drug crimes. For many years I have lamented the fact that state and federal prisons are filled with men and women who are drug users or low level dealers. This never ending game of "cat and mouse" finds people in a revolving door that becomes more costly each year to house the same in custody.
While I, for one, would like to see an outright end to the so-called war on drugs and see the same made legal and taxed for revenue purposes, until such gains enough of a nationwide foot hold, eliminating lengthy prison sentences is a good first step, with a second smart step being the removal of all mandatory minimum sentences that tie the hands of prosecutors and judges who cannot use their discretion to fashion an appropriate sentence.
Why do I say end the war on drugs?
Consider the following facts from today's NY Times: "there are 1.57 million Americans in state and federal prisons, an increase of more than 500 percent since the late 1970s, at a cost of $80 billion annually. In 2010, more than 7 in 100 black men ages 30 to 34 years old were behind bars. The federal system alone holds 219,000 inmates, 40 percent above its capacity, thanks to strict sentencing guidelines and mandatory minimum sentences. Of these inmates, nearly half are in prison for drug-related crimes."
The evidence is crystal clear that the war on drugs is not only costly to taxpayers, but that it is having a devastating impact on the black community. As such, I tip my hat to the first black attorney general who serves under the first black president for starting the ball rolling in addressing a system that so disproportionately impacts so many people of color.
Chuck Hobbs, Esq., host and lead commentator for Generation NEXT is a trial lawyer, award-winning freelance writer and lecturer based in Tallahassee, Florida. During the past decade he has appeared in a number of high profile cases including the 2003 gambling trial of former Florida State University quarterback Adrian McPherson and the 2006 Florida A&M University (FAMU) Kappa Alpha Psi hazing trial, both carried live on Court TV; the 2009 Rachel Hoffman murder case featured on Dateline NBC as well as his work as co-counsel in the 2011 wrongful termination of FAMU Marching 100 Band Director Dr. Julian E. White, who was initially fired and quickly reinstated by the university following the hazing death of drum major Robert Champion.
