The Congressional Black Caucus Starts New Session

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The Congressional Black Caucus held an orgy this week, celebrating their new position of power in the 110th Congress. (You may not want to watch this video on a full stomach).

I hate these kinds of celebrations by the Black elite. They are always more about style than substance, which is why few people take the CBC seriously.... I stopped taking them seriously some time ago. Despite their elite parties and slogans, poor folks on the ground (myself included) seldom feel any benefits or see any results from their time in Washington D.C.

These people have no business celebrating. They don't have a damn thing to celebrate about. I don't see how they could party while their people are suffering (both in the U.S. and overseas).
While they are partying, so called Black culture continues to degenerate, wealth inequality is still a serious problem, the crime rates (especially black on black) have shot up over the past couple of years all over the country, the poor struggle to get decent healthcare, Blacks struggle to find decent economic opportunities, inner cities are crumbling, gangs are making a comeback, and urban school systems are a disaster.

So I wish I could have asked these folks.... "what's the occasion?" I just don't see the cause for celebration by these Black elites. Mr. Cosby has called them poverty pimps.... I won't go that far, but I may end up taking that point of view at some point, if they don't roll up their sleeves and get to work. (For those who may not know... I am firmly in the Cosby camp).

Some of these CBC characters have been around for 30 years or more. But look at the inner cities where most of their constituents live! These communities are devastated. This is partly due to the fact that these politicians have never been able to remedy many of the problems that plague so-called "Black America". Access to education, economic empowerment, and the dying Black American culture are the real issues here, NOT the lack of entitlements, or civil rights problems alone. Black America has to look inward.

And as soon as these Black politicians begin to think that they are there to govern only for Black Americans instead of all Americans, that is when the entire Democratic Party will suffer and will start to lose elections again. Because white America will reject the racial politics of the past. the CBC has to redefine itself and let the race based politics go. White Americans will have none of it....and the CBC only has a short time to show the country what they will do and what they are capable of doing.

I will be keeping an eye on the CBC. I will particularly be interested in what they do about election reform. Will they push for real, substantive, fundamental change (revamping the undemocratic system, giving real power to voters), or will they simply attempt to do a patchwork job within the existing flawed and broken voting system? What will they do about jobs? What will they do about education? What will they do about job training and economic opportunities in the inner cities?

And one other thing that I will be looking for is their assertiveness in the international arena. International Affairs is one of my special areas of interests....and has been for several years now. The CBC can no longer look at issues like AIDS in Africa, poverty at home and abroad, genocide in Darfur Sudan (and other places), and out of control militarism and fail to even speak out. Now they have the power to actually do something about these issues. Not only must they speak out, but they must follow through and act.

The Master of Ceremonies for this orgy... I mean swearing-in event.... is none other than the intellectual thug extraordinaire Michael Eric Dyson- someone whom I disagree with 97% of the time. William "Dollar Bill" Jefferson is also in attendance....and they heap all kinds of praise on this guy (under investigation by the FBI for taking a bribe). Black Democrats are still whining about what they see as the poor treatment of Jefferson and Alcee Hastings. Boo hoo! How crazy can they be to seriously believe that either of these guys could hold their positions with the backgrounds that they have?

I sometimes wonder if there is even still a need for self segregated organizations like the CBC. Has time passed them by? Has the CBC outlived its usefullness? I think that it probably has.

And I get a little weary with Black folks getting this much power....for one thing, I am afraid that they are going to be an embarrassment to the people if they screw something up....and also because Black folks in charge and having this much power often run things into the ground. I have seen it too many times. Not in all cases of course. But in many cases.

I still wish them luck in the 110th Congress....and will be watching to see what they do. Part of the sarcasm stems from my desire for results...and seeing nonsense come from these folks so many times in the past.....and that goes for Black folks in power in all sorts of environments....not just in the political sphere. I just want to see some results.... like one of my teachers (Dr. Cornel West) says.... I don't like seeing these people acting as celebrities, "strutting like Peacocks". I want to see some real action and real results.

Watch the CBC Swearing-in Event Here.