A Conversation w/ Omali Yeshitela about Black Leadership and The Uhuru Movement

omali Black is BackHere on Hard Knock Radio and Free Speech TV, we’ve been doing a series on leadership and exploring the political philosophy that inform organizers and the movements they are a part of.. We want to give listeners and viewers and chance to hear directly from leaders about their respective organizations without their words being reduced to soundbites or have us distracted by arguments about who is right or wrong..

We understand that many have spent years of their lives and lots resources uplifting their organizations and hence we wanted to provide a platform where they can present their insights and allow folks to follow-up based upon what is said and not interpreted via us in the media.

We recently sat down with Omali Yeshitela who is the Chairman of the International people’s Democratic Uhuru Movement (InPDum) which is headquartered in St Petersburg, Florida and had an in-depth conversation about his organization which is part of the larger

Omali explained that his organization are African Internationalist and they fight for the liberation of African people throughout the diaspora. They also believe that socialism should be the way in which we govern..

Our conversation touched upon a wide range of issues ranging from strategies one must use to obtain a successful movement, points in which movements can compromise, building strong coalitions, the role of women in the movement and how to dismantle sexism. We talked about the importance of culture and artistic expression in building a movement.

We also talked about the Uhuru Movement’s upcoming  African People’s Socialist Party Sixth Congress to be held in St. Petersburg, Florida, December 7-11.

Click the link below to download or Listen

Click the link below to download or Listen

What Lessons Can We Learn from the Chilean Miners? We need Urzualian-type Leadership

News of the rescue currently underway in Chile of the 33 miners who were entombed for 69 days has brought tears to many people’s eyes.  On the surface it appears that all of us like a good story and thus far this has all the makings. We have heroism on the highest levels, both amongst the miners and the teams of people who came together to rescue them. Thus far a horrific tragedy seems headed to a happy ending and while I’m sure there are complications that one could pull out and focus on, most of us are really in need of hero or heroes hence we aren’t gonna go there.

It’s all about sticking to the narrative encompassing the themes of heroism, teamwork and problem solved that we need to stick with.

When watching the nonstop coverage, I cant help but look the story from a variety angles starting with asking why so much coverage?  Aside from the devastating 8.8 earthquake that tilted the planet off its axis this past February many of us here in the US never gave a damn about anything going on in this country. Even with the quake, very few of us sought out or paid attention to any of the heroism going on then. Over the years there’s been lots of tragedy with successful outcomes but for whatever reason this one was inserted into our news cycles and subsequently our consciousness.

I’ll be cynical and say most news outlets covered this story because it netted them high ratings. It fit all the criteria and whatever way this turned out, successful or tragic, the end result would be the same all of us would be glued to our TV sets sharing this experience. What I find most interesting is how we’re sticking to the script no matter what. No one is questioning anyone’s ulterior motives for the rescue, including the President Sebastian Pinera who pushed pretty hard for this. Was he doing it for political points or because he cared?  We’ve heard the stories about the mistresses and wives meeting for the first time while they anxiously await their loved one to surface. The running joke is miners like Yonni Barrios are going from one tight situation into another.

But that’s neither here nor there.. Like I said its all about the heroism and problem solved themes that we’re keeping front and center. But on a deeper level why are we touched and more importantly what lessons should be learned and applied to the Chilean mine rescue?

The first thing that came to mind was teamwork and people coming together. I think deep down in side all of us yearn for the days when we can all truly come together with the attitude that together we rise as individuals we perish. Being each others proverbial keeper is the order of the day..It’s what made this rescue after 69 days possible. How many of us picked up on this lesson and will apply it to everyday life?

Shift foreman Luis Urzua... We need more Urzualian leadership in our world where we have shared sacrifice in times of need

The other thing that stood out was shared sacrifice. I was struck my the leadership that of the shift foreman Luis Urzua who is credited with saving everyone by rationing out supplies and laying out early plans of action for the first 17 days when the miners weren’t in contact with anyone. Hearing how he encouraged everyone to pull together is more than heart warming.

The reason Urzua is going last is because the miners finally decided on a system where the strong and more experienced would go first to help pave the way and correct any unforeseen problems. The weakest would go next so they could be helped and rescued by those behind them and those ahead. In other words there would be a human safety net for those who were weakest. Urzua would go last not because its pride thing, but because he demonstrated a type of strength that reminded us that those who have the most may also give of themselves the most. They have the experience and strength and thus can afford to..I wonder if we picked up on that lesson?

It wasn’t lost on me these types of heroic attributes were taking place as many of us are experiencing the worse economic downturn since the recession of the 1930s. It also wasn’t lost on me that this was playing out while we’re hearing stories that banks who we bailed are now garnering record-breaking profits for the second year in a row with little if any intention of sharing the resources. we keep hearing about those who have the most are hoarding and hoarding. It makes me wonder where’s the Luis Urzua for Wall Street?

These miners stayed underground for 69 days. Most of us can’t sit still for 5 minutes. They sat in this hole and decided with the help of strong experienced leadership that they were gonna pull together and see to it all 33 miners leave. If you was weak they were gonna help. If your freaked out someone would comfort you. But seeing how these miners sitting in that hole for such long time gel together as a team was a lesson for the ages.

Meanwhile back at home in what is deemed the most powerful nation on earth, many of us are going on a second or third year of sitting in an economic hole and instead of encountering Urzualian type leadership, we’re running across people who got out the ‘economic hole’ (bailouts) thanks to our shared sacrifice who once reaching the surface have pulled up the ladder and left the shaft.

Chilean Miners came together as a team and made sure the weakest among them was accounted for

As I’m writing this more miners are being rescued. No one is leaving that shaft till the last one is up and accounted for. No one is running around suggesting that the miners were at fault and thus deserved to wallow in the shaft and die. It’s all about making sure everyone is alive and well.

Could you imagine with all this showing of support and donation of resources if one of those miners who was rescued a year  found himself facing a similar situation where he was making decisions and he decided to NOT rescue those in need? Could you imagine if one of those rescued miners a year down the road faced with similar circumstances decided to tell a new crew of miners stuck in the shaft to pull their own selves up?

Think it can’t and won’t happen? Look at our friends on Wall Street, look at our pompous friends in congress who wanna cut your unemployment while not cutting their salaries. Take a look at those folks who were actually whining on TV that there was a temporary hold on foreclosures to make sure all the paperwork was legal. Hence it meant that thjose crying wouldn’t be able to immediately benefit from the misfortune of others.

Think it can’t and won’t happen? Take a look at the million dollar a year pundits who come on TV every night crying about shared sacrifice, calling evil and socialistic and that its unfair that they have to pay a few extra dollars in taxes and how they’re sick and tired of helping out those in need.

Think it can’t and won’t happen? See if your sneering and rolling your eyes when you hear stories about the poor and downtrodden among us and you entertain the thought that perhaps they deserve to be there because they didn’t make ‘wise choices’. See if your thinking these thoughts and somehow forgotten the day that a Luis Urzua came into your life and helped you out of a hole

Something to ponder

Dave D

 

Drill Baby Drill-Would It be Socialism if We ‘Bail Out’ Those Impacted by this BP Disaster?

Watching this Gulf Oil spill and realizing that when everything is said and done,  the economy and the ecology of the Gulf Coast states are gonna be ruined for years. It’s been 21 years since the Exxon Valdez spill in Prince William Sound up in Alaska and we are still finding contaminated water, so you can only imagine what’s gonna happen here. After all, with the Valdez spill everything was concentrated in one spot. Here with the BP spill its spread over a larger area.

21 years after the Valdez spill, much of the wildlife including, Harlequin Ducks, Sea Otters, Clams and Pacific Herrings have not returned. So as I’m watching this black gooey oil wash up on the shores of Louisiana and Alabama, I’m recalling that the Gulf of Mexico is one of the most fertile fishing grounds in the world and already there is ban on fishing in large parts where the oil has leaked. Its hard not to think about radio host Rush Limbaugh on the air spewing pure ignorance by telling everyone to not worry about the spill. He said we should ‘let the ocean work it out’ and if a few ducks get hurt, then too bad because people are taking a hit as well…

I guess its pretty easy to be so cavalier in the face of an environmental disaster of this magnitude when you make millions of dollars and have the luxury of bouncing out to another state or country when things get too heated. If by chance a guy like Rush has to stick around he has more than enough money to buy what ever scarce supplies of food that’s around. His economic reality is not the same as the millions who will most be effected by this oil spill.. Here’s talk show host Ed Shultz giving a run down of ridiculiness of Limbaugh’s remarks..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzSLBweCgiI

Is it 'socialism' if we go to help those impacted by this oil spill?

The people who are likely to be most affected by this disaster are poor folks who are barely making it. It’s important to keep in mind that many of the Gulf Coast states are among the poorest in the country. What many may find to be a bit ironic is how many of these poor folks have allowed themselves to be seduced by corporate backed, rich media turds like Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and Michael Savage to name a few, who have railed about the ‘evils of socialism‘ and the ‘redistribution of wealth‘. This has resulted in lots of people who don’t have a whole lot of wealth running around holding signs protesting that President Obama is a socialist and how we here in America don’t need like Cuba or China.’.

Certainly, y’all remember the healthcare debates and Tea Party rallies with all those signs?  I’m wondering if all those sign waving folks who are angry and fearful of socialism, tax payer supported bailouts and wealth re-distribution will turn down any sort of financial help being offered by the government in the wake of this oil disaster? If they were upset when tax dollars went to bailout the banks and auto industry, will they be mad if tax dollars are used to bail them out of this ecological disaster?

Is it fair to point out that many of these Tea Party types impacted by this oil spill are also the same folks who told us that they don’t want the government in their business. You’ve heard the rhetoric. The aforementioned corporate backed media personalities have railed and frightened people into demanding that the government NOT put restrictions on big business. They’re the ones that sat up there yelling ‘Drill Baby Drill‘ and were in lock step with politicians like Michael Steele, Sarah Palin, Rudy Guiliani and Newt Gingrich who first uttered the refrain. Y’all remember this right?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRtuKGS-QXU&feature=related

These folks said they didn’t want any government regulation and the end result was a company like BP having one of the worse safety records in the industry. I’m wondering if Gulf State Tea Partiers realize or even care that BP spent millions lobbying politicians so they didn’t have to comply with strict safety standards … The government stayed away, and these idiots went and ruined the ecology and economy of an already fragile system.. People can check out this interview and news story.. http://www.democracynow.org/2010/5/5/bp_funnels_millions_into_lobbying_to.

With all this in mind, should we be helping people who have ferociously campaigned and done everything in their power to shun government help and involvement? If Socialism was bad last summer during the healthcare debates when people were bum-rushing townhall meetings, shouldn’t it be bad a year later even as we are opening the coffers to help victims of this Gulf Oil Spill?  The humanity in me says help these people anyway. That’s what someone with any sense of humanity would do. However, should we be reminding folks that the help being offered is what they have campaigned against?

Many who live in these impacted regions are quick to point out that America is a Christian nation and thus it would be Christ-like to help those who are without..My question is a year from now will those folks who getting helped be running with ‘I hate Socialism’ signs?  If we are using tax payer money to bail them out from the Drill Baby Drill policies they supported is that a form of socialism? Should we be like Marie-Thérese from way back in the days during the French revolution and tell people suffering in the Gulf ‘Let them eat cake’? Should we insist that people own up to their words? Should we demand that those politicians who who pushed hard to eliminate government oversight take care of this situation sans our tax dollars and will the  people in those regions be satisfied?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pZtCzGbsfU

As we close out, it would be wrong for me not ask ‘Where’s PETA in all this? Forget about some actress wearing a fur to an award show,  wildlife was and is being slaughtered in the Gulf thanks to this BP Spill… I would expect to see them picketing the homes of BP officials alerting us to the fact that their corporate negligence led this environmental disaster. Next time anyone sees one of their members them ask if they’ll be hitting up these major killers of wildlife?  Until then ask yourself. should be ‘bailing out’ victims of this BP environmental disaster-after all we wouldn’t to force any sort of socialist action on them…

Something to Ponder..

Davey D

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