April: Genocide Awareness and Prevention Month

Just so that we don't forget about the children, women and men who are still dying, raped and tortured in Sudan going on for the last eight years now, I have provided the SaveDarfur.org's Darfur Primer below. Following the primer, I've included a reading and film list on the issue for your enlightenment. Because April has been declared Genocide awareness month (I'm not sure who established that) and because of my past efforts to discuss the 1994 Rwandan genocide, I've decided to be a bit more proactive this month concerning the present day genocide in Darfur, with its lack of American media attention. Please stay informed.

Darfur Primer

The Darfur region is a drought-prone area of western Sudan. By area, Darfur is roughly the size of Texas and is divided into three states that had a collective population of approximately 6 million people before the crisis in Darfur began in 2003. Darfurians exist largely on subsistence farming or nomadic herding. There are between 40 and 80 ethnic groups in Darfur. Most villages are multi-ethnic and, despite ethnic differences, there is a history of peaceful coexistence. Local languages include Arabic, Fur and Massalit.

The conflict in Darfur began in the spring of 2003 when two Darfuri rebel movements – the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) – launched attacks against government military installations as part of a campaign to fight against the historic political and economic marginalization of Darfur. The Sudanese government, at the time engaged in tense negotiations with the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) to end a three decades long civil war between North and South Sudan, responded swiftly and viciously to extinguish the insurgency. Through coordinated military raids with government-armed militia (collectively known as the janjaweed), the Sudanese military specifically targeted ethnic groups from which the rebels received much of their support. The civilian casualties were immense. Over 400 villages were completely destroyed and millions of civilians were forced to flee their homes.

An immense humanitarian crisis resulted from the mass displacement of these civilians. From direct attacks and the deterioration of living conditions, many experts estimate that as many as 300,000 people lost their lives between 2003 and 2005. In September 2004, President George W. Bush declared the crisis in Darfur a “genocide” – the first time a sitting American president had made such a declaration regarding an ongoing conflict. Despite the world’s growing outcry, the violence continued in Darfur and the number of dead and displaced increased considerably.

In May 2006, the Sudanese government signed a peace agreement with one of the rebel movements (SLM-Minni Minawi). However, the Sudanese government continued to fight the two other groups (SLM-Abdel Wahid and JEM) that refused to sign the agreement. The rebels also suffered from serious internal divisions and due to political differences, the movements began to fight one another, making the conflict in Darfur even more complex and jeopardizing the lives of more civilians in the process.

The United Nations-African Union peacekeeping force (UNAMID) now in Darfur replaced an underfunded and underequipped African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur in January 2008. UNAMID to this day remains without the necessary resources to protect the 2.7 million internally displaced persons who live in large camps across Darfur. There are also around 300,000 Darfuri refugees living across the Sudanese border in neighbouring Chad. Overall, the UN estimates that roughly 4.7 million people in Darfur (out of a total population of roughly 6 million) are still affected by the conflict.

Today, fighting between the rebel movements and the government continues. In the last few years, opportunistic bandits and militias have also taken advantage of the anarchy in Darfur. General banditry and looting jeopardize humanitarian aid and gender-based crimes are now being committed by many different sides. Despite this chaotic environment, the Sudanese government remains the most responsible for the violence in Darfur. President al-Bashir and others in his government created the anarchic conditions presiding in Darfur today through their violent violent counterinsurgency campaign targeting innocent men, women and children. Furthermore, the Sudanese government has obstructed the deployment of an international peacekeeping force, avoided serious negotiations with the rebel groups, refused to prosecute any individuals responsible for crimes against humanity committed in Darfur, and most recently expelled thirteen international humanitarian aid groups from Darfur. These actions continue to leave many civilians in Darfur unprotected and dispossessed of their basic human rights.



The following lists come from the Orange County for Darfur website.
Recommended Books:

A Long Day’s Dying: Critical Moments in the Darfur Genocide by Eric Reeves
The Khartoum regime is committing genocide in Darfur while the international community watches in silence or with mere hand-wringing. Action is essential now if we are not to see a further extension of the international failures so conspicuous in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia.

Fighting for Darfur: Public Action and the Struggle to Stop Genocide by Rebecca Hamilton *highly recommended
This is the story of the individuals who organized protest marches, lobbied government officials, and raised funds in the belief that the outcry they created would force world powers to save the millions of Darfuris still at risk.

Heart of Darfur by Lisa French Blaker
An experienced nurse with Doctors without Borders, the author was posted to Darfur in 2005 for nine months to “provide assistance to populations in distress”. In Darfur she found plenty. She worked not only under harsh physical conditions, but also the deliberate brutality and malice of the janjaweed and Sudanese government soldiers.

Not on Our Watch: The Mission to End Genocide in Darfur and Beyond by Don Cheadle and John Prendergast
Don Cheadle teamed with human rights activist Prendergast to plead for greater awareness of the horrors of genocide in Darfur, Sudan, and issue a call to action.

Sudan: Darfur and the Failure of an African State by Richard Cockett
The author provides an account of Sudan’s descent into failure, looking at all of Sudan’s numerous internal wars and rebellions since independence and showing how they are interconnected and looking at the country’s complex relationship with the wider world.

Tears of the Desert: A Memoir of Survival in Darfur by Halima Bashir w/ Damien Lewis *highly recommended
Bashir, a refugee living in London, offers a vivid personal portrait of life in the Darfur region of Sudan before the catastrophe. She anticipated a bright future after medical school, but tensions between Sudan’s Arab-dominated Islamist dictatorship and black African communities’ tribe finally exploded into conflict.

The Translator: A Tribeman’s Memoir of Darfur by Daoud Hari
The Translator is a suspenseful, harrowing, and deeply moving memoir of how one person has made a difference in the world–an on-the-ground account of one of the biggest stories of our time. Daoud Hari has helped inform the world about Darfur.

Recommended Films:

Darfur DiariesIn October, 2004, three activists snuck across the Sudanese border into rebel-held territory to document the atrocities in Darfur. They returned with some of the first footage exposing the massive war crimes being perpetrated by the Sudanese government

Darfur NowTheodore Braun’s absorbing documentary about the atrocities in Darfur, the westernmost region of Sudan, Don Cheadle poses a fundamental question facing moviegoers attending a film about African strife: How do you respond to an event as difficult to understand as a government-sponsored mass murder of part of a country’s civilian population?

On Our Watch *highly recommended
Three years of fighting in Darfur have destroyed hundreds of villages, displaced 2.2 million and led to more than 400,000 deaths. President Bush has accused the government of Sudan of genocide, but the U.S. has taken few concrete actions to stop the fighting. This Frontline documentary tells the story of those who have lost their loved ones to this war, those who are fighting to survive and those who are working to bring peace to the region.

Sand and Sorrow *highly recommended
Offered exclusive and unparalleled access to the situation on the ground inside Darfur, Peabody award-winning filmmaker, Paul Freedman, joins a contingent of African Union peacekeeping forces in Darfur while a tragic and disturbing chapter in human history unfolds.

The Devil Came On Horseback *highly recommended
A documentary that exposes the genocide raging in Darfur, Sudan as seen through the eyes of a former U.S. marine who returns home to make the story public.

To stay informed and to donate to the cause of awareness and prevention, go to SaveDarfur.org.

As we talk about slavery and our country's division...

All of this political party division over the correction of our government officials' fiscal irresponsibility, has invited a lot of discussions about Lincoln, slavery and the civil war. I've found it all rather interesting since the rest of us outside of Washington are going to be severely punished no matter how you slice it, for the muck officials created, who don't seem to have taken their jobs in running a country seriously... I'm sorry, I'm venting.

So, I came across an article excerpt today, that I thought was very interesting (that has nothing to do with Congress or balancing the budget). So interesting, in fact, I was compelled to share it, though it touches on a previous discussion and controvercial comments made by basketball rivals. Now, keep in mind this is an excerpt of an excerpt and is written in a very stylized manner, but you'll get used to it.

Uncle Tom vs. Uncle Tom
by M'bwebe Ajaishangi

JALEN ROSE & 'UNCLE TOM'

(part of this is an excerpt from the article, 'Atheltics vs. Slavery')
March 2011, ESPN released a documentary about Michigan's Fab Five basketball team that starred Jalen Rose and Chris Webber. During one segment, Rose referred to Black athletes who played for Duke University as 'Uncle Tom's."

Let me first say, I got madd love for Jalen Rose. He's a voice to be reckoned with when it comes to speaking truth about sports, but the history of this name must be addressed because most everyone believes this fabrication of a manz life that has endured humiliation for nearly two-hundred yearz.
We all know being called a sell-out, or more precisely an Uncle Tom, is the ultimate diss — especially when called this from another Afrikan. For yearz Afrikan people who did thingz to be in favor of whitefolk were called 'Uncle Tom's'; the problem is, hedz don't even know who Uncle Tom was.

THE REAL UNCLE TOM...
There is a myth about the character known to many American-Afrikanz as Uncle Tom. To begin with, he was not a mythical person, although his character turned out to be. He was created to describe the house negro; a derogatory term used to verbally assault those slaves who worked in the living quarterz of slave ownerz during the plantation dayz.

Afrikanz who were assigned to work as personal assistants, cooks, and nannies were often the ones targeted. The first came from the slave owner who would chose those with special abilities for inside tasks. The other and more verbal (and sometymz violent) torment came from other enslaved Afrikanz.

For nearly two centuries, Uncle Tom has taken the rap for Quimbo and Sambo , two negro supervisorz who lived and worked on a plantation along the Mississippi River. Owned by a barbarous slaveholder, they were forced to brutally overwork lower-ranking enslaved Afrikanz with a wicked and tyrannical disregard for physical limitation or human dignity.

Writer, Bil Carpenter, writer of Destiny Magazine, wrote in an article, "Drunk with power to rule over other slaves their cruelty knew no boundz. The slapstick duo obliged their master, and by doing so were afforded privileges, above and far beyond fellow slaves. They were designated as leaderz by slave ownerz who perceived a willingness on their part to take charge of their brethren on behalf of their masterz. In exchange for the intoxicating false glory attached to the position of leader, they were required to demonstrate an allegiance to their appointing masterz that was tantamount to self-loathing."

Carpenter continued, "The master of this particularly hated pair, known only as Simon Legree, was described by Harriet Beecher Stowe in her 1852 classic, Uncle Tom's Cabin. Quimbo and Sambo took their derogatory names from the warped Mr. Legree. The two were said to evolve into a mirror image of the cruelty embodied by Mr. Legree, who is described by former slaves as the worst owner of humanz the South ever saw. There was, however, a sharp turn in history when Legree received, as payment of an old debt, a slave named Tom from a neighbor. It was Mr. Legree's first encounter with black dignity. This encounter would also lay the foundation for a not-so-subtle division among blacks, which exists, even to this day."

The book, Uncle Tom's Cabin as well as other works describing the history of slavery, referz to Tom as a "rugged individualist who resisted, with dignity, the dictates of an insane system of humanz owning humanz," said Carpenter.

It is said his character mimicked Kunta Kente of Alex Haley's book, Roots. No amount of oppression or cruelty could break his spirit. Word spread from state to state after he challenged his new master to stop the cruelty exacted on field handz by the overseerz. During an incident when the parents of a young enslaved Afrikan female ran to Tom's cabin for his help to prevent Quimbo from raping their daughter, Tom confronted Legree as being the source of the evil that reigned terror on the entire plantation. He offered his own back to the whip in exchange for the freedom of the young woman.

The lack of fear for his own life and his willingness to stand up to Legree earned Tom the respected title of "Uncle," a name reserved in those dayz for the most honorable male in any given plantation. Enslaved Afrikanz adopted Tom as their own uncle and person to go to for intervention between master and enslaved Afrikan.
Carpenter continues, "In addition to performing his assigned chores with the utmost precision, he became champion of the mistreated, and eventually the political opposition to the leaderz. Legree, as well as other ownerz of Tom, found that to mistreat Tom brought about a work slowdown."

Soon, Tom lived in his own cabin, which became the place of counsel and sanctuary for Afrikanz with grievances. His willingness to confront black and white injustice earned him a limited freedom long before the Civil War.

He did encounter opposition however, but it was not from white slave owners. His biggest enemies were those black overseer's appointed as leaders over the people. They were being increasingly challenged by slaves who found the bold courage of Uncle Tom very attractive.

The historical fact is that a quiet but growing movement could be found in plantation after plantation of slaves who wrapped themselves around the concept of individual rights and dignity. By the mid 1820's these rugged souls, who grew in their boldness to stand up to their overseer's, became known as Uncle Tom's.

Black leader's who discovered they had an Uncle Tom among those they supervised were struck with panic at the impending challenge to authority. A line in the sand was drawn which some believe aided the spark we all know as the Civil War. The spark of contention, lit so long ago, continues to burn in the black community even today…"
The real Uncle Tom was a revolutionary and this challenged whitefolks ability to continue oppressing us. When his story was turned into a book and then a movie, the writerz re-worked the script making Uncle Tom's character the exact opposite; a slave who was loyal to his master and all too eager to please whitefolk.

With these works, this became the most commonly known image of Uncle Tom. Through the magic of rewriting history and making it into a book and film, the term "Uncle Tom" became synonymous with "sellout" overnight, putting into hibernation the real story of Uncle Tom.

The "Tom" caricature portrayz Afrikan men as loyal, happily submissive servants. As with the Mammy caricature, "Tom" was born in the era pre-Civil War America; a land very much in the defense of slavery. How could slavery be wrong, argued its backerz, if Afrikan servants were gratified, loyal servants?

"Tom" was presented as a smiling, wide-eyed, dark skinned server: fieldworker, cook, butler, porter, or waiter. Unlike the lower negroes, the "Tom" is portrayed as a dependable worker, eager to serve. Also, unlike the savagely violent negro (as they were labeled), the "Tom" is docile and non-threatening. The "Tom" is often old, physically weak, and psychologically dependent on whitefolk for approval.

This is the same persona given to Stowe's "Tom" in her book. Her version of "Tom" is a gentle, humble, christian slave. Stowe uses this character to show the perfect gentleness and forgiving nature which she believed lay dormant in all Afrikanz — an imbedded psyche the majority of us around the world have psychologically inherited.
Examples of this is seen with Mr. Shelby, Tom's first Master, who is kind. Financial troubles forced Shelby to sell Tom. Tom does not run away despite a warning that he is to be sold. Mr. St. Clare, his second master, befriendz Tom and promises to free him. Unfortunately for Tom, St. Clare is killed before signing his freedom paperz. He endz up bein' sold to Simon Legree.

Legree wanted to make Tom an overseer. When he is ordered to flog a woman slave, Tom refuses. Legree strikes him repeatedly with a cowhide lash. Again, he tellz Tom to beat the woman. Tom, with a soft voice, sayz, "the poor crittur's sick and feeble; 'twould be downright cruel, and it's what I never would do, nor begin to. Mas'r, if you mean to kill me, kill me; but, as to my raising my hand agin anyone here, I never shall, -- I'll die first."

In a later altercation, because Tom refuses to reveal the whereabouts of Afrikanz who broke free, Legree orderz Sambo to beat him until he tellz and if not, to kill him. Tom died as a result of these injuries.

What's deep is despite being a model slave — hard working, loyal, non-rebellious, and often beefed with his overseer — Tom is sold, cursed, slapped, kicked, flogged, worked like a horse, then beaten to death. All this and he never lifts a hand to hit his masters nor to stop a blow. he doesn't complain, rebel, nor run away.

This is probably the reason the names "Uncle Tom" and "Tom" have become termz of disgust for American-Afrikanz: manz loyalty to his master is superseded only by his devotion to religious faith that supports the oppression of his people.

Uncle Tom's Cabin achieved a major feat for its time selling over two million copies within two yearz of its publication in 1853. By 1879 there were at least forty-nine traveling companies performing Uncle Tom's Cabin throughout the United States — all as a form of propaganda selling the stereotype of abiding negroes. The producerz went a step further in changing the book version for the stage which became known as Tom Showz.

Little Eva was now the star; all other characterz became irrelevant. The violence of slavery became a misnomer, almost to the point of mythological. Afrikanz were depicted as "happy darkies" living under a divine and harmonious system. The stage Toms represented a reconstructed contrast to the original Uncle Tom . Stowe's Tom was an obedient, loyal, non-complaining enslaved Afrikan, but he was not weak, submissive, or docile. Tom resisted Legree. He gave his life rather than help Legree find the two women runawayz.

Patricia Turner, author of Ceramic Uncles & Celluloid Mammies, noted the versions of Uncle Tom that entertained audiences on stages were drained of these noble traits. He was an unthinking religious slave, sometymz happy, often fearful. The stage Toms were middle-aged or elderly. He was shown stooped, often with a cane or stick. He was thin, almost withered. His eyesight was failing. These depictionz of Uncle Tom are inconsistent with Stowe's Tom who was a "broad-chested, strong armed fellow." Stowe's original was the father of small children, unlike the desexed Toms of the stage. Stowe's Tom was capable of outworking most slaves.

[Our oppressors] knowing the difference in effects reading has opposed to the ease of simply watching, everything was in place to reinforce the stereotype of the scrawny, god and overseer fearing negro — an image that has haunted us since.

Traffic Manners

We moved to Riverside County from Orange County recently, after I purchased my first house (yaaay me). Because we still work and go to school in Orange County, I knew the traffic I was signing up for on the 91 would be horrible. The Ortega Highway was out of the question - inconvenient and too dangerous. So I’ve been plotting along my little commute without complaint, and have found that there are plenty of folks willing to do it for me when they find out what my drive is like. Contorted face and all.

In order to cut time off my drive, I have to get over immediately from the slow lane to the carpool lane when I exit the 15 onto the 91. People DO NOT like letting other people in front of them, like they are going to be cheated by ten feet of space. It’s kind of annoying. But I don’t complain much. I leave my blinker on for the majority of this task and hope that everyone won’t look at me like I’m an absent-minded commuter, too engrossed in NPR to realize she hasn’t cut her blinker off.

When someone does finally let me in, (this could take several minutes) I am sure to show my gratitude and raise my hand in a wave and say thank you under my breath, hoping the spoken energy I breathe penetrates our windshields. What I noticed, though, is that I rarely see people do that anymore. Wave. The slightest gesture of appreciation. A universal ‘thank you.’

As drivers we are responsible for being courteous on the road, but it’s not really mandatory. It’s manners. So though it’s not mandatory to send up your hand when someone brakes for you to shimmy your way in front of them, surely the simple hand raised in thanks is not too much to ask, right?

Now I don’t know if the gesture means anything to any of my fellow commuters who are thoughtful enough to allow me to make it to the fast lane before the carpool lane opens up, but it makes me feel better knowing that I’m acknowledging them. Courtesy in bumper to bumper traffic deserves a wave.

NAACP – No Longer For Black Americans But For Underrepresented Americans

I was informed yesterday that there has been an increase in elected chapter presidents of the NAACP who are non-Black members. Which is great progress, according to Benjamin Todd Jealous, who says that the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People should incorporate all people of color, and not just Black people.

One Hispanic chapter president of the NAACP has openly announced that there will more active movement from the NAACP to help and incorporate issues that directly affect the Hispanic community.

Upon hearing about the NAACP’s expansion to incorporate everyone, I became instantly distraught. Not because I didn’t believe that people shouldn’t get help, I simply felt that Black organizations did not have to make it their duty to encompass all issues. I felt that it was losing focus on what the founders meant for it to be. I was even considering joining to help right its vision (yeah such strong feelings for a non-member), until I did a little homework and realized that its mission is "to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate racial hatred and racial discrimination."

Though the name of the organization clearly suggest that the organization was constructed for Black Americans (the term “colored” used commonly to describe Blacks, from slavery until the civil rights movement), the mission however can be interpreted to include any race.

And though the realization that the NAACP is graying and blurring, it doesn’t change my disappointment that the racial takeover of our well established historically Black organization is in the works.

Don’t mistake my position. I do believe in racial equality for everyone, but I also believe that Black organizations should not have to feel that they have to broaden their scope just because membership numbers are low. That’s what membership drives are for. Compromise is not always necessary.