"There clearly is some racial leaves in their tea bag..." - part 2

by: Michael Bersin

Mon Aug 09, 2010 at 16:50:29 PM CDT

....And there are, there is once again an insurgent movement in this country to tear this country apart. And if we pull off the veneer what we see behind them are wealthy law firms and fancy lobbyists like Dick Armey, this faux populist rage represented by the Tea Party. There is nothing new, and what is new  is that this group of people is smaller than they have ever been in our society, smaller than the White Citizens Council, smaller than the Klan of the nineteen-twenties, but divisive and dangerous....

Representative Sheila Jackson Lee, NAACP National Convention, July 11, 2010:

....And I thank you professor very much. I'm going to be engaging you with those very powerful numbers that you have offered on what the tea party recognizes, uh, or is recognized as. Might I add my own P.S.? All those who wore sheets a long time ago have now lifted them off and started wearing [applause], uh, clothing, uh, with a name, say, I am part of the tea party. Don't you be fooled.  [voices: "That's right.", applause] Those who used to wear sheets are now being able to walk down the aisle and speak as a patriot because you will not speak loudly about the lack of integrity of this movement. Don't let anybody tell you that those who spit on us as we were walking to vote on a health care bill for all of America or those who said Congresswoman Jackson-Lee's braids were too tight in her hair had anything to do with justice and equality and empowerment of the American people. Don't let them fool you on that [applause]....

Reverand Al Sharpton, NAACP National Convention, July 14, 2010:

....You cannot have people who are now trying to have tea party for state's rights coming and celebrating the day that asked the federal government to overrule where states were segregating and allowing segregation to go forward. There clearly is some racial leaves in their tea bag, but this is not just about race. This is about how you see government....

Well, this is interesting (via Think Progress):

2010 Multi-state Survey on Race & Politics

....the 2010 Multi-state Survey of Race & Politics examines what Americans think about the issues of race, public policy, national politics, and President Obama, one year after the inauguration of the first African American president.

The survey is drawn from a probability sample of 1006 cases, stratified by state. The Multi-State Survey of Race and Politics included seven states, six of which were battleground states in 2008. It includes Georgia, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, and Ohio as the battleground states. For its diversity and its status as an uncontested state, California was also included for comparative purposes. The study, conducted by the Center for Survey Research at the University of Washington, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percent and was in the field February 8 - March 15, 2010....

....Since the public has become aware of the data, several people have come forward to challenge our initial findings, specifically, that supporters of the Tea Party appear racially intolerant. A principal charge, one not without intellectual merit, is that the observed relationship between support for the Tea Party and racial resentment is more about the relatively conservative politics of Tea Partiers than racism. Indeed, conservatives tend to believe in a small government, one that doesn't do much to help people who, they believe, should make an effort to do for themselves. This is certainly a legitimate view; it's one to which many Americans have adhered from the beginning of the Republic. In short, some of our critics charge that, instead of the racism we observe associated with support for the Tea Party, we're merely observing Tea Partiers' conservatism at work. In other words, support for the Tea Party, they suggest, is simply a proxy for conservatism.

To address this issue, we turn to regression, a statistical technique that allows analysts to tease out how one variable affects another. This is important because it permits us to account for the presence of other variables that may also affect the outcome while isolating the impact of the effect of the variable of interest on the result. So, in this case, if support for the Tea Party is truly a proxy for conservatism, the relationship between racial resentment and support for the Tea Party should evaporate once we control for conservatism. Otherwise, there's something else going on with support for the Tea Party; it's not just conservatism. To make things a little easier, we combined all of the items (questions) that comprise racial resentment, making them into a scale.

As the figure shows, even as we account for conservatism and partisanship, support for the Tea Party remains a valid predictor of racial resentment. We're not saying that ideology isn't important, because it is: as people become more conservative, it increases by 23 percent the chance that they're racially resentful. Also, Democrats are 15 percent less likely than Republicans to be racially resentful. Even so, support for the Tea Party makes one 25 percent more likely to be racially resentful than those who don't support the Tea Party....

Obviously not everyone, but a few. Wasn't that the point of the NAACP resolution?

Welcome to post-racial America.

What are the odds that Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder (r) will walk this back?

by: Michael Bersin

Wed Jul 21, 2010 at 06:10:08 AM CDT

Missouri Lieutenant Governor Peter Kinder (r) via Twitter yesterday:

Tell him how proud we are of him! RT @DLoesch: . @andrewbreitbart on today's show 2pm cdt #dlrs #STL #tcot #pdk     about 18 hours ago  via UberTwitter  

None. This has been another edition of simple answers to simple questions.

ACORNed again by the mighty wurlitzer

by: Michael Bersin

Tue Jul 20, 2010 at 17:45:35 PM CDT

Wurlitzer, the Mighty, or Wingnut Welfare Wurlitzer - Professional media outlets dedicated specifically to promulgating right-wing propaganda, such as Regnery Press or Fox News. In the modern era of media consolidation, it may be difficult to separate the deliberate organs of misinformation from the incessant general tinkle of infotainment. The term 'Mighty Wurlitzer' itself is pre-Internet, said to have been coined by an early CIA operative in reference to Cold War propaganda efforts.

July 20, 2010 5:37 PM
Shirley Sherrod Helped Keep Us Out of Bankruptcy, Farmer's Wife Says

Shirley Sherrod was forced to resign from the Department of Agriculture because of recent remarks she made that, taken out of context, suggested she discriminated against a white farmer. That farmer's wife, however, is saying Sherrod is a "friend for life" who saved their family farm from foreclosure....

At Digby:

....Breitbart had edited the video, of course, and he refuses to release the whole thing, naturally. But that didn't matter in this case any more than it mattered in the ACORN case....

....But I also have to wonder if they know what the optics of this are. If two-bit sociopathic wingnuts can scare them to this extent with obviously doctored videos, what happens when they see a real threat? Are they going to flap their arms like penguins and run around in circles screaming "they're coming to get us, run for your lives!!?" At this point, that doesn't seem entirely ridiculous.

Seriously, this shows tremendous weakness. Andrew Brietbart is a con artist and and right wing entertainer whose antics should always be met with a cynical laugh and a shake of the head. To fall for his schtick more than once is political malpractice....

Well, at least the NAACP corrected the record:

NAACP in Kansas City: Rev. William Barber - "...we have to have more than words..."

by: Michael Bersin

Sun Jul 18, 2010 at 10:12:48 AM CDT

Reverend William Barber, NAACP National Board Member.

On Sunday afternoon, July 11th, Reverend William Barber, NAACP National Board Member was the first speaker at the legislative workshop titled "Engaging Congress: the NAACP's Legislative Agenda to Achieve One Nation, One Dream":

Reverend William Barber: Good afternoon to all of you who have gathered here today for this legislative workshop. My name is, uh, William Barber, State Conference President, member of the National Board, and chair of the Legislative and Political Action Committee of the National Board. It is good to have you all, others are making their way as they come here today.

This is such a critical session...

NAACP in Kansas City: Rep. Barbara Lee - "Power concedes nothing without a demand..."

by: Michael Bersin

Sat Jul 17, 2010 at 16:49:57 PM CDT

Representative Barbara Lee (D-California), Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus.

On Sunday afternoon, July 11th, Representative Barbara Lee (D-California) was part of the panel for a legislative workshop titled "Engaging Congress: the NAACP's Legislative Agenda to Achieve One Nation, One Dream". Representative Lee spoke on health care reform and other issues:

Representative Barbara Lee (D): [applause]....Thank you so much. Good afternoon. [voices: Good afternoon."] Hilary [Shelton], first of all, thank you so much for that very warm and humbling introduction. But also, I just have to thank you for your leadership. And, uh, during those very difficult days in two thousand and one I, I want to tell you, it was very difficult to be the only one to vote against giving any president a blank check to go to war forever endless war. But, Hilary, many of you, all of you really stood right there by my side because you knew what that was about. And I really want to thank you so much for your support. [applause] And also I just have to say, yes, we're trying to end this, uh, endless war. The American people are war weary. And I was so humbled the other night when we took one step toward that and the Lee Amendment got one hundred votes with the majority of the members of the black caucus voting for us to begin to get out of Afghanistan. [applause]  So that was a major, major step in the right direction...

NAACP in Kansas City: press conference Q and A - "...we'll keep our eyes on that prize..."

by: Michael Bersin

Thu Jul 15, 2010 at 14:01:36 PM CDT

"...I'd rather have a guy calling me a name with no power, than a guy smiling at me that has state's rights power as the government..."

Reverend Jesse Jackson.

There was a question and answer session with the media at the end of yesterday's press conference:

....Question: ...Dave Helling, Kansas City Star.  Uh, Reverend Jackson, you suggested the tea party resolution was a diversion. What did you mean by that? And maybe some of the other members, uh, could, uh, address today's pushback, Sarah Palin and others that issued statements calling it divisive, inappropriate, that type of thing, sad. Could you talk just a little bit about the tea party resolution?...

(left to right) Reverend Jesse Jackson, Reverend Al Sharpton, NAACP National Board Member Clayola Brow, NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous, NAACP Vice President for Communications Leila McDowell.

NAACP in Kansas City: Benjamin Todd Jealous - "...we all need a testament of hope..."

by: Michael Bersin

Thu Jul 15, 2010 at 07:53:26 AM CDT

(left to right) Benjamin Todd Jealous, Reverend Al Sharpton, Clayola Brown, Reverend Jesse Jackson.

....Benjamin Todd Jealous, NAACP President and CEO: Thank you, good afternoon. [voices: "Good afternoon."] There's no one in this country who works harder on behalf of working people than the three people standing right behind me. It's an honor to be on the stage with all of them.

Eight twenty-eight will be a springboard to ten-two-ten. It'll be a wake up call to, to the country. We will be asking faith leaders across the country the month of September to preach and teach at their houses of worship about the values of human rights and human dignity, true meaning of Dr. King's words and the words of all the others who spoke that day in nineteen sixty-three and all of those of us who believe in human rights and human dignity.

Ten-two-ten is being put together by over a hundred and fifty organizations, including many of the largest civil rights organizations, religious denominations and labor organizations in this country. It is intended to show that we are at a place in this country where the majority of people just want to focus on what's important - be able to put food on the kitchen table, be able to be treated fairly, insure that this economy works for all of us - [inaudible] working class people of all colors, struggling families of all colors. And this march on ten-two-ten really will be a reminder, will be a reflection of the country. You will see Teamsters there, you will NAACPers there, National Action Network and Rainbow and PUSH and National Council of La Raza and LULAC and Jews and Christians and Baptists, Episcopalians and Muslims and Buddhists - all together.

We are one nation and we all need a testament of hope. And that testament of hope for so many families is simply a job and a fair shake.  So I want to thank Reverend Sharpton, I want to thank Reverend Jackson, I want to thank Miss Brown, President Brown of the Randolph Institute {AFL-CIO], for their support of ten-two-ten and for coming together with us to say put America back to work, pull America back together. Thank you very much....

[question and answer session followed]

Benjamin Todd Jealous was also on Keith Olbermann last night, in reference to the NAACP national convention resolution on racist elements in the tea party:

....Benjamin Todd Jealous: You know, we got death threats at our office in, uh, Los Angeles today. And, you know, if there aren't violent racists in the tea party then why are people calling threatening to kill us for speaking out about violent racists in the tea party?

Keith Olbermann: I don't mean to laugh, but it does sort of prove your point, uh, rather self evidently....

Evidently.

Previously:

NAACP in Kansas City: Rev. Jesse Jackson - "We want jobs, justice, and education for all."

by: Michael Bersin

Wed Jul 14, 2010 at 22:54:34 PM CDT

....Reverend Jesse Jackson: Thank you very much, Clayola, to Reverend Sharpton, to, uh, President Jealous.

This week, fifty years ago, July sixteenth, nineteen sixty, along with eight classmates, uh, I was jailed for trying to use a public library. A season of great uprising. January first, nineteen sixty NAACP led a march in Greenville, in the airport, because people could not sit in, uh, open spaces. February first, nineteen sixty, sit-ins took place in Greensboro, North Carolina [inaudible] took a dynamic the like of which we'd never seen before. [inaudible] in April of nineteen sixty. Greenville exploded in July of nineteen sixty. Between sixty and sixty-three there were twenty thousand arrests. In nineteen sixty-three alone there was fifteen thousand arrested. A thousand demonstrations by SCLC and CORE, NAACP marched to pull down the walls of racial segregation.

The March on Washington was a culmination of that phase, collecting those activities around the nation. On that day Jim Foreman could not make it, Floyd McKissock spoke in his place, he was in jail in Louisiana. Fannie Lou Hamer could not make it, she was in jail and beaten by prisoners in Sunflower County, Mississippi. I  just left jail [inaudible] of inciting a riot. The season of our global uprising for justice.

Here we come again, forty-seven years later, demanding a national job uprising. Here'll be a march in Washington , [inaudible] Along with UAW will be marching in Detroit, urging people around, wherever you are, around the nation, have prayer vigils that date, around the nation at unemployment compensation offices. A national jobs and justice day uprising to fulfill the promise of the dream.

UAW had a million five hundred thousand workers ten years ago now it's down to four hundred thousand. Today it's USA GM. USA GM, uh, now number one market for Buick is China. So plants are closing, jobs are leaving, drugs and guns are coming and violence is intensifying. So urban America is in a state of emergency. We march, therefore, to address the attacks diminishing  life options of people who live in urban and rural America. Our cities are under siege.

Every city we visit [inaudible] transportation. Cutting public transportation, laying off workers, and raising fares. If you're on welfare you can not own a car, so without public transportation you cannot get to the hospital, or school, or work, or shop, or recreation. Cutting public transportation, in part because in nineteen ninety-eight Gingrich put in a bill that cities above twenty thousand get zero public transportation money, zero public for workers. Ten percent for capital for buses and trucks, but not for workers. So when we're in Atlanta, Georgia  or Memphis, Tennessee, or New York or Chicago - one thing you'll see in all these cities is public transportation cut, workers laid off, and fares [inaudible]. Cities under siege. Public housing cut. Private housing in record foreclosure. The banks have been bailed out and they rejoice, billions of dollars in bailout, not linked to lending nor to reinvestment. So the banks rejoice. We project four million foreclosures this year. More foreclosures than there will be modifications this year because the bailout was not linked to lending.

Public schools are closing. Teachers are being laid off by the thousands. First class jails and second class schools. Today there is a plan, a plan for comprehensive immigration reform. A plan for Afghanistan, we commit resources, a hundred billion dollars for a hundred Al  Qaeda. A plan, don't ask, don't tell, for gays. A plan for national reform. But no plan for the investment for urban policy to put America back to work. So, we bail out the predators, the bankers that drove us in this hole. The victims remain on the sideline desperately looking for a job.

Lastly, while there's a lot of focus today on, so I think it's a diversion, the issue really is not the tea party it's the coffee pot. In the coffee pot there's room for cream and sugar for all of us. It's about connecting our, connecting our, Alabama and connecting that with, uh, Appalachia. It's about a plan to put America back to work. Focus on jobs and job training, opening up trade unions,  [inaudible] to cut down on the growth and the anxiety and the crime.

I want to thank the NAACP for being that ship across these years, across this century. It's kept us on the ultimate focus of a big tent America, where all are involved and none are locked out. A change takes place when those at the bottom rise up and have a quest for dignity. Just as we rose up in the thirties demanding workers have the right to organize and, and paid the price. And the sixties rose up and demanded public accommodations for all. Now we demand that there be a job rising. August twenty-eighth let us in the name of the dream march for jobs and justice all the way to ten-two-ten in Washington where we shall again [inaudible] the White House, the Congress, the government must see our quest. We want to work, the dignity of work. We want jobs, justice, and education for all.

Thank you very much.

Previously:

NAACP in Kansas City: Rev. Al Sharpton - "There clearly is some racial leaves in their tea bag..."

by: Michael Bersin

Wed Jul 14, 2010 at 20:21:25 PM CDT

Clayola Brown: Good afternoon everyone. Good afternoon everyone. [voices: "Good afternoon."] We wanted to take this opportunity to address the media before the economic justice forum to talk with you a little bit about the One Nation movement. On October the second, the ten-two-ten, we will be marching on Washington with some of the leaders you see here, Reverend Sharpton, Reverend Jackson, as well as other leaders throughout labor, civil rights and the community to demand the changes that we voted for. Civil rights are under attack in this country and even Glenn Beck is holding a rally on eight twenty-eight, which is the anniversary date of Dr. Martin Luther King's historic March on Washington. And this is certainly not what this country needs right now. It is my pleasure this afternoon to introduce to the mic first, Reverend Al Sharpton, a renowned leader across this country who really needs no introduction whatsoever. Reverend Sharpton...

Reverend Al Sharpton and Clayola Brown.

....Reverend Al Sharpton: Thank you Miss Brown. I come as President of the National Action Network to join others in pledging our support for the march of labor and others joining us on the second of October in Washington. And also there'll be a big gathering on the twenty-eighth of August, the date that Miss Brown just referred to. Uh, forty-seven years ago there was a march in Washington for jobs and justice, and which Martin Luther King made one of the addresses that became known as the famous "I Have a Dream" speech. It is an absolute outrage that Glenn Beck and the tea parties are coming to Washington on that day, claiming to restore dignity. It is not about race. It is about their belief in government that is so [inaudible].  The idea of the civil rights movement is to get a strong federal government to protect the people against state's rights that has been those that kept people down based on going by state to state laws. The tea partiers are a state's rights philosophical group. The cannot march in the name of Dr. King's dream, which was totally antithetical to their idea of government. So Martin Luther King the third and Marc Morial of the National Urban League and [inaudible] and others will be joining us on the twenty-eighth in Washington. We will not be marching were Beck is. We will be at Dunbar High School and go to the site where Dr. Martin Luther King monument will be unveiled next year, the last monument on the Potomac. We're not going to react to Beck. We're going to raise what the real dream was on the anniversary of the dream. The dream was about jobs, the dream was about economic justice, the dream was about making sure that states could not interfere with the rights of labor, the rights of women and the rights of people. You cannot have people who are now trying to have tea party for state's rights coming and celebrating the day that asked the federal government to overrule where states were segregating and allowing segregation to go forward. There clearly is some racial leaves in their tea bag, but this is not just about race. This is about how you see government. And those of us that see government the way that Dr. King and Roy Wilkins and Dorothy Height saw it will be in Washington to raise the right banner on the twenty-eighth of August and be there in mass with everyone, One Nation, on the second of October. I close by reminding you, if you read the whole speech of Dr. King, Dr. King said that America had given the negro a check that had bounced in the bank and it was returned insufficient funds. Uh, I submit that that check has been written again with an African-American president, this time the bank bounced, 'cause there's no money. So we really need to press for jobs, we need to press for jobs, economic equity and we cannot return back to states deciding on immigration, states deciding on labor. That's why we're going to Washington on twenty-eight, that's why we'll be there in mass on the second. We see from Arizona, we see from the tea parties, they're trying to bring us back to pre King days. While they talk about restoring dignity they're really talking about restoring a time before the federal government intervened and protected the rights of people. Again, this is not about race, this is about how you see the role of government and how Beck and that crowd sees it is the opposite of why they marched in nineteen sixty-three....

Previously:

NAACP in Kansas City: Wednesday afternoon press conference - photos

by: Michael Bersin

Wed Jul 14, 2010 at 18:31:25 PM CDT

BGinKC Jobs, and Justice and Peace. Keep our eyes on THAT prize. --Jesse Jackson #NAACP101 #NAACP about 3 hours ago via web

Waiting for the start of the press conference.
(left to right) Reverend Jesse Jackson, NAACP President and CE0 Benjamin Todd Jealous, Reverend Al Sharpton.

Reverend Al Sharpton.

Reverend Jesse Jackson.

Benjamin Todd Jealous.

(left to right) Benjamin Todd Jealous, Reverend Al Sharpton, NAACP National Board Member Clayola Brown, Reverend Jesse Jackson.

Previously:

NAACP in Kansas City: Representative Emanuel Cleaver - "Don't you forget it!"

by: Michael Bersin

Tue Jul 13, 2010 at 08:36:53 AM CDT

Representative Emanuel Cleaver (D): ....Welcome to Kansas City, Missouri. And, uh, we don't say Kansas for short. Uh, this is Kansas City, Missouri. It's not, don't worry, we don't get upset, just don't say it. [laughter] Don't tell people I've been to the NAACP convention in Kansas. You haven't. [laughter] Uh. You didn't land in Kansas. If you'd landed in Kansas you'd  have been dead, there's no airport [inaudible]. [laughter] [applause]

Welcome to Kansas City, Missouri, the largest city in the State of Missouri. This is the home of Charlie "Yardbird" Parker. [applause] This is the place where the Negro Leagues were formed. [applause, cheers]. This is the place where Satchel Paige pitched two games in one day. This is Kansas City, Missouri. Not far from this place a young haberdasher decided to go into county politics and eventually became the President of the United States. This is the home of Harry Truman. This is the home of Jean Harlow. This is where McDonalds created its happy meal. [laughter] M and Ms were created here in Kansas City. This is the world headquarters of Hallmark Cards, H and R Block, Sprint, Faultless Starch. This is the home of Walt Disney. This is where he first drew a little mouse, named him, and named him Latimer [Mortimer]. Went to California, his wife changed, convinced him to change the name to Mickey. [laughter] But this no Mickey Mouse town, this is Kansas City, Missouri. [applause] We welcome you to Kansas City, Missouri. Missourah, uh huh. Missouri. [laughter]

Now let me just tell you, in my real life I'm a United Methodist pastor. Um, even when I served as mayor I continued to pastor at our church here. One Sunday morning a young man came back into the office and he had glee written all over his face. And you could tell that exuberance was boiling over. And he came back in and he said. "Rev, how much did you get today?"  And so I said, this counts and I [inaudible], and you don't people [inaudible]. [laughter] And I said, you know, "Young man don't, you know, you don't ask people that." And said, "No, no [inaudible], you got to tell me, how much did you get today?" And I said, "I, I didn't get anything. What, I'm understanding your question."  He said, "You know, how much did you get when they passed that tray around?" He said, "I took out a twenty." He said, "So I." [laughter, applause]  He said, "So I want to know how much what you get?" [laughter] So I said, "Well, wait just a minute, I didn't get anything." But I thought about it. And that young man actually was profound. When you go to a church or a convention you ought to get something out of it. [laughter, applause]

And, what I hope you will get out of this is that no matter how much the pundits say we are in post racial era, no matter how much that you believe that everything is fine, it's not. [applause] We need the NAACP now as much as ever [applause, cheers]. I hope you get out of it that you are needed. [applause] We have seventeen members of the United States Senate voting "no" for unemployment benefits. We need the NAACP [inaudible] right now! [applause, cheers] We need it! We need it! Don't you forget it! [applause, cheers]

Previously:

NAACP in Kansas City: Senator Claire McCaskill (D) - "Now is no time to quit."

by: Michael Bersin

Tue Jul 13, 2010 at 06:37:47 AM CDT

Senator Claire McCaskill (D): Welcome to all of you. What a grand and glorious sight you are. It is terrific to have you here in Kansas City in this state I love so much, in this city I love so much. Thank you for blessing us with your presence here in Missouri. [applause] One nation, one dream, one people. We live in a wonderful country where so much more unites us than divides us. But so much work remains in this great nation.

I know many of you may realize that I share the pride of a nation on that special night in November when Barack Obama was elected President of the United States. [applause] This nation delivered on its promise of equal opportunity. This nation delivered on its promise that all things are possible for anyone in America. What a moment it was. Exultation. It was thrilling. It made us all so proud.  And we were so caught up in the top of the mountain that I think we forgot to look out and see that there were many valleys that remain. Too many of us thought the hard work was over. The hard work remains.  This nation needs our passion and our energy. Our President needs our passion and our energy. We soared but now we have [inaudible] jet lag.

I certainly hope the NAACP continues its important work because there is a lot of pain still in America. We need good jobs, we need affordable college education [applause], we need quality day care [applause], we need to make sure that that opportunity remains for everyone in this great nation. [applause]

I hope the NAACP continues to take a leading role in voter education, voter registration. I hope everyone turns their eyes towards November, the next big election in this country, because it's an important one.

And remember, President Obama, like all of us, is one of God's children. He needs our prayers [applause], he needs our energy, he needs our passion [applause].  If I could leave you with any message this morning that you might take from this great hall, it is simply this, now is no time to quit. Now is no time to quit. [applause]

Thank you so much. God bless you and have wonderful time. [applause, cheers]

Previously:

NAACP in Kansas City: Representative Sheila Jackson Lee on the tea party and human rights

by: Michael Bersin

Mon Jul 12, 2010 at 21:41:09 PM CDT

On Sunday afternoon Representative Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) was part of the panel for a legislative workshop titled "Engaging Congress: the NAACP's Legislative Agenda to Achieve One Nation, One Dream". Representative Jackson-Lee spoke on the tea party movement and immigration reform among other issues:

Representative Sheila Jackson Lee: ....And I thank you professor very much. I'm going to be engaging you with those very powerful numbers that you have offered on what the tea party recognizes, uh, or is recognized as. Might I add my own P.S.? All those who wore sheets a long time ago have now lifted them off and started wearing [applause], uh, clothing, uh, with a name, say, I am part of the tea party. Don't you be fooled.  [voices: "That's right.", applause] Those who used to wear sheets are now being able to walk down the aisle and speak as a patriot because you will not speak loudly about the lack of integrity of this movement. Don't let anybody tell you that those who spit on us as we were walking to vote on a health care bill for all of America or those who said Congresswoman Jackson-Lee's braids were too tight in her hair had anything to do with justice and equality and empowerment of the American people. Don't let them fool you on that [applause]....

....But let me just say this. We have had a challenging time with African-Americans on the question of immigration. As it first begun, uh, it looked as if it was a job killer bill for all of you. It looked as if these were folk who were interlopers who were attempting to move in on your territory. My brothers and sisters, once they begin to divide us [voices: "That's right."], once they begin to point out this one and that one [voices: "Yes."], for many of you don't realize that immigrants are Haitians, they are Liberians, they're Nigerians, and they come to this nation as we did, first in the bottom of a belly of slave boat, to make for a greater time. Wouldn't it be better if we linked arms with them to find the justice that is [inaudible] our people. [applause]....

....Immigration reform is not something we should be frightened about. We should grab it and make it ours and make it work for us as it works for those who are seeking a better life. Now let me just pose why you should look to this, uh, if you can't bring yourself to, uh, use the terminology civil rights, uh, then use the terminology human rights and human dignity. For I would compare two disparate situations which will hopefully turn the light bulb on - Arizona, there might be some of our constituents saying, go ahead, right on. But if you understand what the Arizona law says, and thank you NAACP, it says that if you as a police officer, police state that we are fighting against [voices: "Yes." "That's right."], all the places that we look askance and say oh my goodness, look what they're doing in Sudan. But if you are in Arizona the police officer has a right, if they have reasonable suspicion, and I am strong supporter of law enforcement, I'm on the Judiciary, I want them to be treated fairly, but every human being has the ability to have human error....so if they have reasonable suspicion, uh, masterful attorney, they can stop you, they can ask you papers that you left at home because you were going to Seven Eleven, they can arrest you criminally and immigration in the United States is a civil responsibility, it is not a criminal responsibility unless you are someone who perpetrated a criminal act, but they can arrest you criminally, put you in jail and throw you out of the country....

[Discussion of New York's "stop and frisk" procedure affecting a disproportionate percentage of minorities.]....

NAACP in Kansas City: Michelle Obama - photos

by: Michael Bersin

Mon Jul 12, 2010 at 15:31:05 PM CDT

First Lady Michelle Obama speaking at the NAACP National Convention in Kansas City.

Yeah, we know. The main press riser was 110 feet from the stage and we weren't lugging a 400 mm telephoto lens because they're really heavy and we can't afford one.

Senator Claire McCaskill (D).

Representative Emanuel Cleaver (D).

Photographers on the main press riser.

The much smaller cut riser to the right of the stage was so packed it looked like a raft with survivors of the Titanic, except in this case they were holding really expensive cameras.

NAACP in Kansas City: Sunday - photos

by: Michael Bersin

Sun Jul 11, 2010 at 23:07:53 PM CDT

A drill team makes their entrance to a midday event.

The lines for registration have continued throughout the convention.

In the afternoon Hilary Shelton, the NAACP's Washington Bureau Director, and four members of Congress presented a workshop titled: "Engaging Congress: The NAACP's Legislative Agenda to Achieve One Nation, One Dream." Each of the panelists spoke at length. There was an opportunity for questions from the audience at the end of the workshop. The event went overtime - going for over two and a half hours.

Senator Roland Burris (D-Illinois).

Representative Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas).

NAACP in Kansas City: report on the impact of the BP oil spill in the Gulf region

by: Michael Bersin

Sun Jul 11, 2010 at 06:24:49 AM CDT

Jacqui Patterson, NAACP Climate Justice Initiative Director - speaking on the NAACP's report on the impact of the BP oils spill on the Gulf region at the opening press conference.

At yesterday's opening press conference the NAACP released a report of an investigation conducted by their national office to "document the impact of the BP Oil Drilling Disaster." From the report overview:

...The PB Oil drilling Disaster has overlaid another travesty over a region devastated by Hurricanes Rita and Katrina when communities were still far from recovering from the impact of those disasters of 2005. Therefore the largest disaster in US history was visited upon communities who already suffered from compromised economic status, displacement and substandard housing, fragile mental and physical health status, and socio cultural disruption.

The timing of the tragedy also places the disaster at a time when it has the most potential for negative impact. It comes at the nexus of great economic impact because it occurred at the beginning of harvest time for shrimp, crabs, and oysters. There is also the threat of elevated pervasive impact because of the start of hurricane season, which has the potential to setback clean-up efforts as well as accelerate and intensify the onslaught of oil and dispersant on the shores of the Gulf Coast....

The report provides a synopsis of the disaster impact on communities in the region, a critique of the "mitigation systems/processes", and a list of thirteen recommendations from those communities.

After the press conference I spoke with Jacqui Patterson, the NAACP's Climate Justice Initiative Director, about that impact on the region:  

Show Me Progress: How long did you spend on the Gulf?

Jacqui Patterson, NAACP Climate Justice Initiative Director: Three weeks in total.

SMP: And, and you traveled through the communities  just gathering information?

Jacqui Patterson: Yes.

SMP: What's the most striking thing?

Jacqui Patterson: The most striking thing. The most striking thing is the kind of, what do you call it, the fantasy of the notion of making people whole again. Because, like people talk about making people whole? And it's just, a, it's just, uh, the, the, the devastation is just so pervasive that, you know, there's no one outside of that person that can really do that. You know what I mean? So people who lo, lost, not just their, people have a lot of focus on livelihood and so forth, but people who, like the, the Houma Nation that's connected, that's really connected to the land spiritually, culturally, etcetera, to have that land defiled in a way that's not gonna be reversible, really, in their lifetime, you know. And to have that, the generations of connection to that land just, you know, gone in some ways, or at least defiled, that like was the most overwhelming thing to me. Like the notion just, not just the Houma Nation, but the Vietnamese, Vietnamese folks who have just kind of, not just when they are here, but back when they were in Vietnam their, um, their connection to, to shrimping, to crabbing, to fishing that's just gone now. They're not, they're not, a lot of the folks aren't speaking English because that's just what they've been doing, just been them on the water with their, with their craft. So, just the obliteration of like everything that, you know, what's made people, what's kind of comprised the majority of their life was kind of the most striking thing for me.

SMP: Is there a  realization, um, obviously in the communities, but of people that you've talked to outside of those communities that this is the case?

Jacqui Patterson: I don't think, no, because people do kind of focus narrowly on like this or that. But you don't really hear people talking about the totality as much. You know, some people, of course, that the totality of the loss, you know. So, yeah, that, so that struck me.

SMP: Um, were you able to actually witness some of the devastation yourself?

Jacqui Patterson: Yes. I mean, 'cause I was in the, the various communities where I spoke with the Vietnamese, I spoke with the Houma Nation, I spoke with the, you know, all the various folks and so, and, you know, went out and saw the oil situations and that kind of thing, so I was in the communities, very much so.

SMP: Well, thank you very much.

Jacqui Patterson: Yeah, sure. All right.

NAACP in Kansas City: EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson at the opening press conference

by: Michael Bersin

Sat Jul 10, 2010 at 21:27:44 PM CDT

EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson at the opening press conference of the NAACP national convention in Kansas City.

Lisa Jackson, Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, spoke on the subject of the Gulf oil spill at today's opening press conference for the NAACP national convention:

....Lisa Jackson, Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency: ...I'm honored to join the NAACP at their annual convention, their hundred and first convention. And it makes me, uh, very proud to know that this organization continues to fight the fight for environmental justice in our country.

This morning I had a conversation with the local Chamber of Commerce which has done a great job supporting a green economy here in Kansas City. I spent time with Congressman Cleaver and the green impact zone in this fair city which he has been so passionate about, not just defining, but devoting real resources to. I've just discussed, I was a few minutes late, I was with the NAACP's Gulf Coast leadership, uh, to talk about the status of our work in the Gulf and hear their concerns, hear their concerns. And we're gonna have a, another, uh, great step this afternoon, I'm going to leave here and go to a Congressional Black Caucus environmental justice town hall with Representative Cleaver. I'm sure he'll mention [inaudible]. He's been my host, he's been a wonderful partner.

I just want to echo what we just heard the President of the NAACP say, we take it for granted, the air in the Gulf Coast is not safe. But it's not because of the BP spill. In fact, we can't differentiate the contamination that we see and have been measuring for months now. You can't attribute any part of that to the BP oil spill. That makes some sense, it's happening fifty miles out at sea and there's a lot of other things going on. But, it's those other things going on that I hope we don't forget as a whole...

NAACP in Kansas City: Benjamin Todd Jealous at the opening press conference

by: Michael Bersin

Sat Jul 10, 2010 at 18:15:38 PM CDT

Benjamin Todd Jealous, President and CEO of the NAACP.

There was an extensive opening press conference for the NAACP national convention this afternoon at the Kansas City Convention Center. Benjamin Todd Jealous, President and CEO of the NAACP, spoke on the economy and the goal of the convention:

Benjamin Todd Jealous, President and CEO, NAACP: ....These are tough times in our country. History has shown us that in tough times like these, great recessions and great depressions, there's really only two choices, people of this country. Either we run downhill towards hate and division or we continue to push uphill towards progress and hope.  That choice of hope, not hate, the choice that the NAACP made a hundred and one years ago during a period of tough times - our country was being torn apart when black men were being burnt, hung from trees and burned, Catholic men and Jewish men, to a lesser extent. We were founded to resurrect the dream of Abraham Lincoln that this be truly one nation.  Because we knew that all of its people only had one dream. Which is the great American dream - universal access to prosperity and the things needed to realize the full potential within all of us...

The 101st NAACP National Convention in Kansas City

by: Michael Bersin

Sat Jul 10, 2010 at 10:36:35 AM CDT

The Kansas City Convention Center, site of the 101st NAACP National Convention.

Yes, they gave us media credentials, so we'll be pedaling as fast as we can when it comes to trying to keep up with content.

We have the credential on the far left. Photo courtesy of the NAACP.

This afternoon we'll attend a press conference with EPA Administrator Jackson and the national leadership of the NAACP.