Freedom Road: The Clinton Campaign's Disdain for Democracy

"The Selma of the North": Civil Rights Insurgency in Milwaukee

Between 1958 and 1970, a distinctive movement for racial justice emerged from unique circumstances in Milwaukee. A series of local leaders inspired growing numbers of people to participate in campaigns against employment and housing discrimination, segregated public schools, the membership of public officials in discriminatory organizations, welfare cuts, and police brutality.

The Milwaukee movement culminated in the dramatic—and sometimes violent—1967 open housing campaign. A white Catholic priest, James Groppi, led the NAACP Youth Council and Commandos in a militant struggle that lasted for 200 consecutive nights and provoked the ire of thousands of white residents. After working-class mobs attacked demonstrators, some called Milwaukee “the Selma of the North.” Others believed the housing campaign represented the last stand for a nonviolent, interracial, church-based movement.

Patrick Jones tells a powerful and dramatic story that is important for its insights into civil rights history: the debate over nonviolence and armed self-defense, the meaning of Black Power, the relationship between local and national movements, and the dynamic between southern and northern activism. Jones offers a valuable contribution to movement history in the urban North that also adds a vital piece to the national story.

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Blurbs:

Think you know the full story of the civil rights era? Patrick Jones's masterful study of the movement in Milwaukee will make you think again. Meticulously researched and elegantly written, The Selma of the North provides a devastating rebuttal of many of the conventional narratives of the civil rights movement. Here a vibrant nonviolent movement in the de-industrializing Midwest grows into a Black Power movement led by urban youth and a white Catholic priest who use confrontational direct action to lay bare the fissures of racial inequality in the 'liberal' North.
--Jeanne Theoharis, Brooklyn College, editor of Freedom North and Groundwork

A well-researched, well-written, and important history. Based on a rich array of sources, this book enhances our understanding of civil rights activism in the postwar urban North and establishes a useful foundation for the comparison of similar developments elsewhere in the country.
--Joe William Trotter, Jr., Carnegie Mellon University, author of Black Milwaukee

This book fills a serious gap in the literature of the civil rights revolution, joining studies on other cities in laying the groundwork on race and civil rights in the postwar urban North. Jones tells a good story, capturing events that might otherwise be lost to history.
--Arnold R. Hirsch, University of New Orleans, author of Making the Second Ghetto

The Selma of the North is an insightful and invigorating addition to the growing literature on black freedom struggles outside of the South. Jones's important and informative account writes Milwaukee back into the narrative of the civil rights-Black Power era and in the process expands our understanding of postwar America.
--Peniel E. Joseph, Brandeis University, author of Waiting Till the Midnight Hour

The Selma of the North is a riveting new story of the civil rights movement in America, a tale on par with Selma, Birmingham, and Montgomery in its power and importance. Jones's magisterial research and magnetic prose illuminate the untold story of the battle for the urban north in the 1960s, a battle that shows how race has always been the Achilles heel of white progressives. This story transcends easy dichotomies of black and white, North and South, radical and reformist. How did a group called 'the Commandos' define nonviolence? How did a white Catholic priest become a 'Black Power' leader? If this is not a saga for the age of Obama, I don't know what is.
--Timothy B. Tyson, Duke University, author of Radio Free Dixie and Blood Done Sign My Name

Thursday, February 14, 2008

The Clinton Campaign's Disdain for Democracy

OK. It will be no suprise to readers here that I am not a fan of the Clintons, or their DLC Republican-lite philosophy of Democratic Party politics. In addition, I have found their various attempts to willfully misrepresent or distort Obama's record, and their willingness to play the race card, despicable. It is now clear, in their desperation, that the Clinton campaign is going to drag this whole process back into the mud by going negative. More disturbing, the Clinton campaign has a clear disdain for democracy and for all of the people who don't live in "important" states like California and New York.

For just a taste of this arrogant, anti-democratic attitude, read the following statement by Clinton campaign Chief Strategist, Mark "cocaine, cocaine, cocaine" Penn:

“Could we possibly have a nominee who hasn't won any of the significant states -- outside of Illinois? That raises some serious questions about Sen. Obama.”

So, all of us in "insignificant" states clearly don't matter to the Clinton campaign. This is probably why we were not good enough for her to show up a couple of weeks ago. Yet, if she does steal this thing, I am sure they will try to romance us again in the Fall.

At this point, it is incredibly difficult for the Clinton campaign to overtake Obama in pledged delegates, those delegates determined by actual voters in primaries and caucuses. So, they are turning to undemocratic measures, particularly the super-delegates and the sketchy seating of MI and FL delegates. I doubt this will work out for them in the end, but you never know. The party apparatus is stacked with former Clinton appointees. Also, people know that the Clintons have a history of severely punishing anyone who does not support their every move. If party people think she even has a chance to win, a certain number will jump on board out of fear of reprisal if she does steal this thing. That said, there are many, many in the party who are just looking for a solid opportunity to jump ship on the Clintons and get some payback for the last 15 or so years.

So, we will see which way this thing tips, but the anti-democratic arrogance of Penn and others in the campaign is offensive. Spread the word far and wide about these anti-democratic sentiments. Don't let the Clinton campaign swift-boat Obama...

- Redouble your efforts for Obama.
- Donate a little more money to his campaign.
- Talk to as many people in your circle as possible.
- Write a letter to your local newspaper.
- Write to the Clinton campaign and tell them what you think of their slimy tactics.

Freedom Road

My Book:

"The Selma of the North": Civil Rights Insurgency in Milwaukee

Blurbs:

The Archive:

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Thursday, February 14, 2008

The Clinton Campaign's Disdain for Democracy

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