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“My Country Used To Be”: When Change is Not Progress

6/29/2014

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“To grow up once you’re all grown up is the hardest thing to do. It’s harder to accept the things you could when you were two.” From, “Growing Up Again” © 2002 Poetry Emotion By Jay, LLC 

That above referenced line represents a period in my life when I was homeless and destitute. Apart from the gift of writing, which God has so blessed me, I had no other way of sustaining myself - which I did by selling my poetry on the streets. The experience of this moment often left me reminiscing about the past when I was happily married and enjoying watching my children grow. Moreover and perhaps to a larger extent, I often reminisced about my childhood circa 1963-69 and growing up in the sleepy town of Franklinton, NC -  population approximately 1500-1800 people.  

Back then schools, despite the 1954 Brown v Board decision, along with water fountains, diners, churches, funeral homes, the parks and the pools remained segregated. Speaking of ‘the pool’, there was only the one or so blacks either suffered the heat or did whatever. Fortunately for us, as time passed, my friend Reggie’s, (Publisher, Maryland Daily Examiner), father would take my siblings and me along with his family to the pool in Wake Forest, thanks Rev. Kearney. Aside from that I, and my three brothers’ and two sisters’ lives consisted mostly of school, church, and in a manner of speaking, working the land. Meaning that we helped raise the chickens, shuck the corn, snap the beans, preserve the fruits, slaughter hogs, and gather firewood for heat and for cooking. We also primed tobacco and picked cotton although to this day my brother Solomon swears I never did (pick cotton). However, my recollections of those sweltering hot days differ immensely.

Yeah, when I look back on those days I realize that for all the changes occupying the space between 1963 and 2014, I question how much of that change was or is actual progress. You see, back in 1963 blacks knew who the enemy was. There was no guesswork involved. No one needed to furrow his or her brow in an attempt to figure out who was who. We (blacks) knew who hated us. We knew what streets and neighborhoods to avoid. We knew automatically to go to the rear of the movie theater or to go to the side window of Robin’s grill - God help us if we attempted to go inside. Furthermore, it would not have been surprising to hear politicians such as Senator Jesse Helms R-NC or Alabama’s republican governor George Wallace railing against desegregation or to even refer to blacks as niggers. Not that they ever did so publicly, but had they, it would not have come as a surprise.

Blacks in those days knew not to trust the police although in all fairness that has not changed. Hell, if anything has changed it’s that we understand now that law enforcement’s attitude toward blacks was not limited to just the Jim Crow south. Back then existed as I am sure exist now, one or two genuinely sincere police officers, you know the ones who really believe in protecting and serving the whole community and not just their own. For us it was Police Chief Leo Edwards. Chief Edwards enjoyed a somewhat informal relationship, as informal relationships went in those days with the woman who raised us, Martha Ella Perry or as he would say ‘Martha’. To us and all the other neighborhood children she was simply “Ms. Marthella.” Everyone loved her, and I have no doubt that her sterling reputation and her Godly character fed us many a night. But alas change came along in the guise of progress and well, things changed. But did they or have they changed?  
Despite their long-winded resistance, white folks in Franklinton finally came to grips with reality and integrated schools in 1970. Gone were the days for blacks in the town of being taught by teachers who truly had their best interest at heart whom we also called neighbors. Gone also was the sense of self that for some blacks meant much more than drinking from the same water fountain or attending the same schools as whites. Perhaps for some, change represented progress, but for others, change meant just that - CHANGE.

Can we talk?  You see, for some breaking down barriers to socialize with the enemy made no sense. There were those who recognized that separate and unequal mattered only if you wanted to be like somebody else.  

Many adults in the black community believed the negative portion of the picture should have been the focus of the country’s attention. Yet instead, passion and not reason persuaded and prevailed. If we were to compare achievements whether educational or professionally (sports notwithstanding) among blacks in the sixties versus present day America we would find that many of the problems cited in the 1965 report by then assistant secretary in the Department of Labor the late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan remain and in many cases have worsened. His report, “The Negro Family: The Case for National Action,” identified the breakdown of the nuclear family as the primary reason for the dysfunction within the black community. Citing high unemployment, poverty, crime, out-of-wedlock births in addition to a myriad of social calamities, which he called a “tangle of pathologies,” Moynihan argued that without government intervention black families would forever inhabit a cycle of poor education, limited job prospects and dysfunctional long-term poverty.

In June 2013, the Urban Institute released a report, which, re-visited the ‘Moynihan Report’ and pointed out what may have been some of the negative behind the passion. For example, the Moynihan Report posited that the rise of female-headed black households decreased the authority of the black man in the eyes of their families, rendering them helpless and unable to fulfill their roles as responsible fathers and providers, in part because of limited job opportunities. Anyone familiar with tradition within the black family would be hard pressed to argue against the importance of the black man within the family unit particularly concerning discipline in matters of behavior, (socially and morally) as well as educational aspirations.

According to Gregory Acs, Director of the Urban Institute’s Income and Benefits Policy and one of the authors of the Urban Institute report, “African-Americans have made substantial progress in high school graduation rates, college enrollment, income and home ownership rates since the 1960s, however, vast disparities still remain in comparison to whites on a multitude of social measures.”

Facts established by the Urban Institute Report:
  • Early 1960s, approximately 20 percent of black children were born out of wedlock
  •  In 2009, that number increased to 75 percent of black births
  • Marriage rates suffered the same declining path. In 1960, more than half of all black women were married
  • In 2010, those numbers decreased to 25 percent

Other negatives of the 1960s left unresolved by integration include:
  • As of 2014, nearly half of all poor black children reside in neighborhoods with concentrated poverty
  • 76.6 percent of black children attended majority black schools in the 60s. 
  • As of 2010, 74.1 percent of black children attended mostly nonwhite schools
  • Black unemployment during the 60s was about 2 to 2.5 times that of whites
  • As of 2012, the black unemployment rate was 14.0 percent, 2.1 times the white unemployment rate (6.6 percent) and higher than the average national unemployment rate of 13.1 percent during the Great Depression, from 1929 to 1939

So then, given these facts we must ask ourselves what really has changed. Sure, we have a black president but we also have politicians willing to say things publicly that even the most fervent racist politician in 60s would not say in public. Blacks are having a harder time deciphering the enemy in present-day America partly because we have become our own worst enemy, the result of over-assimilation. The black family has changed. So much so that following in your father’s footsteps means going to jail. Educational achievements relating to magnitude of degree or number of degrees obtained individually may have increased but collectively as a people, those numbers are shameful.

When I was six, I accepted things as they were. I didn’t care what water fountain I drank from so long as the water quenched my thirst. I didn’t care from what window my ice cream cone was served so long as it was ice cream. I didn’t care that I went to an all black school so long as I learned something. I didn’t care if my mother felt liberated like white women or whether my father felt equal to a white man so long as they were at home and there for me. PROGRESS indicates moving forward in a positive manner and that situations have CHANGED. I dare say the evidence points to anything positive as it relates to what blacks clamored for in the 60s. Congratulations folks you got what you wanted. Are you happy now?     

~~ Written by Jay Arrington
     Maryland Daily Examiner


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The Dark and Unexplored Corridors of Mental Illness within the Black Community - Part Four: Navigating the Corridors

6/29/2014

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Parts one thru three of this series explored the myths, stigmas and to some extent, symptoms associated with the most commonly known mental illness, bi-polar disorder/manic depression. Now, we will explore some of the causal factors involved. Because many African-Americans are less likely to receive diagnoses and treatments for their mental illnesses than Caucasian-Americans, 
African-Americans tend to rely on family, religious and social communities for emotional support, rather than turning to health care professionals, even when necessary. However, those few who wish to seek treatment often find themselves at a socioeconomic disadvantage in terms of accessing both medical and mental health care – in 2001, 20.2% of African-Americans were uninsured.  

Surprisingly however, many of those insured who do receive medications often abandon treatment. Some studies suggest that African-Americans metabolize medications more slowly than Caucasian-Americans, yet they often receive higher doses of psychiatric medications, which may result in increased side effects and decreased medication compliance. In addition, Somatization – the manifestation of physical illnesses related to mental health - occurs at a rate of 15% among African Americans, as compared to only 9% among Caucasian-Americans.

Other contributing factors include:
  • Exposure to violence increases the risk of developing a mental illness; over 25% of African- American children exposed to violence meet criteria for post-traumatic-stress disorder.

  • Children in foster care and the child welfare system are more likely to develop mental illnesses. African-American children comprise 45% of the public foster care population.

  • African-Americans comprise 40% of the homeless population and only 12% of the U.S. population. People experiencing homelessness are at a greater risk of developing a mental illness.

  • Prison inmates are at a high risk of developing a mental illness- half of America’s inmates are African-American.


~~ Written by Jay Arrington
     Maryland Daily Examiner
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The Dark and Unexplored Corridors of Mental Illness within the Black Community - Part Three: Turn on the Lights

6/29/2014

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As mentioned, in part two of this series, many African-Americans view those who suffer from depression as weak and inferior. Moreover, African-American women believed they were not susceptible to depression and that individuals develop depression due to having a “weak mind, poor health, a troubled spirit, and lack of self-love.” However, if one were to enter the corridors where those who suffer dwell, you would find a variety of personalities, each one groping the cold walls as they attempt to navigate their way out of the agony under which they live. 
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Turn on the lights and instead of scrambling for cover, victims of depression will more than likely cower. I can attest to this because my oldest sister Dawn suffered from bi-polar disorder, also called manic-depression illness. 


On St. Patrick’s Day 2001, Dawn suffered a severe episode after choosing once again to not take her medication, which attacked her with severe side effects. Dawn went to an emergency room where instead of treating her they (emergency room attendants) called the police, causing Dawn to flee. She began walking down a highway in a torrential rainstorm and was struck and instantly killed by a drunk driver. Bipolar disorder often starts in the teen years, can emerge in later life, and can be a potentially life-threatening illness that a person cannot handle alone. Tragically, one of five people with bipolar disorder commits suicide. The signs of bipolar disorder include:

Mania
  • Excessive energy, restlessness, racing thoughts and rapid talking
  • Denial that anything is wrong
  • Extremely happy feelings
  • Easily irritated
  • Needing little sleep
  • Unrealistic belief in one’s ability
  • Poor judgment
  • Sustained, unusual behavior
  • Increased sex drive
  • Substance abuse
  • Aggressive behavior
  • Paranoia


~~ Written by Jay Arrington
     Maryland Daily Examiner
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The Dark and Unexplored Corridors of Mental Illness within the Black Community - Part Two: House of Shame & Hall of Myths

6/29/2014

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In the first part of this series, I briefly discussed the attachment of shame (stigma) by many African-Americans to mental illness. Not unlike other groups, but certainly to a larger degree, African-Americans allow these beliefs to become roadblocks to treatment. While for many, issues of racism, lack of insurance and mistrust of the system are valid - stigma and lack of being well informed prove the greatest obstacles.  

Subsequently, according to statistics, only 1 in 3 African Americans who need mental health care receive it. Noted Black psychiatrist Dr. Sarah Y. Vinson, founder and chief editor of BlackMentalHealthNet.com says, "Stigma often stifles the conversation regarding mental illness in the Black community," and "families too often base decisions on little information or misinformation.” 

A 1998 study commissioned by the National Mental Health Association, found that surprisingly many African-Americans looked upon those suffering from mental illness as inferior saying, they (patients) should be kept away from society sans “keep an eye on Baby.” Moreover, a public opinion poll taken during the 90s showed that 63% of African-Americans believed depression was a personal weakness, and that only 31% believed depression was a health problem (NMHA). Beliefs such as these, in addition to the shame and embarrassment associated with mental illness affect both the individual and the family… causing them to hide the illness rather than seek treatment and is a persistent problem in the African-American community. And while these beliefs are not gender specific, a recent study by Waite & Killian, 2008 found that African-American women believed they were not susceptible to depression and that individuals develop depression due to having a “weak mind, poor health, a troubled spirit, and lack of self-love.” 

~~ Witten by Jay Arrington
      Maryland Daily Examiner
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The Dark and Unexplored Corridors of Mental Illness within the Black Community - Part One: Opening the Door

6/29/2014

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Growing up in North Carolina in the 60’s, I witnessed behaviors within the African-American community that at the time I never associated with mental illness. Unfortunately, as children, we would laugh at the man or woman we would see rocking back and forth, as they sat, some quietly, others as they mumbled to themselves. Then there were those who would constantly display a whimsical yet disturbingly haunting smile - looking more through you than at you. In those days if you ever visited anyone with that type of family member, that family member was often rustled off into another room within earshot of the person assigned to “keep an eye on baby.”

The visiting adults would fawn over the person and say “poor thang” and “it’s a shame” and just as quickly upon leaving, would make a joke about “the whole family being crazy” and how surprised they are the entire family isn’t locked-up. Laughed at, hidden, disregarded, stigmatized and more important, misunderstood, that pretty much sums up the attitude towards mental illness within the African-American community then and now. In addition to the stigma associated with mental illness, cultural biases against mental health professionals and health care professionals in general prevented many African- Americans from accessing care because of prior experiences with historical misdiagnoses, inadequate treatment and a lack of cultural understanding. Moreover, only 2 percent of psychiatrists, 2 percent of psychologists and 4 percent of social workers in the United States are African-American. As a consequence, today, just as in the 60’s, African Americans tend to rely on family, religious and social communities for emotional support rather than turning to health care professionals, even though this may at times be necessary. 



~~ Written by Jay Arrington
      Maryland Daily Examiner

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About Face: Oliver North vs. Bowe Bergdahl & How the Face in The White House Determines Perspective

6/14/2014

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By now, I am sure all of you know who Bowe Bergdahl is, but just in case some of you don’t, Bergdahl is the American soldier who, until May of this year was held captive by the Taliban-aligned Haqqani network in Afghanistan since June 2009. The circumstances surrounding Begrdahl’s capture remain the subject of much debate. Initially, Bergdahl’s release by his captors in exchange for five Taliban terrorists, held for nearly a decade at Cuba’s Guantanamo Bay prison, was met with cheers and the ole “we don’t leave a man behind” cliché. That is until the GOP realized that attitude helped the current occupant of the White House, President Obama.

However, once that brain freeze lodged in the head of the GOP thawed the scripted talking points of criticism began to play themselves out on the stage of dirty politics, innuendo, and in the case of some, blatant hypocrisy. Not surprisingly, lead characters including the usual big name method actors such as House Speaker John Boehner, Senator John McCain, Senator Lindsey Graham…et al were cast for type and sadly did not disappoint. Of course then there are the up and comers like Senators Ted Cruz, Mark Rubio, Kelly Ayotte and some Congressman who if I were to name would only add to our malaise. Last, but not least, as it relates to the usual suspects there is the supporting cast studio of Fox News and its stable of the only skid-row actors known to pawn off delirious improvisation as fact-filled news reporting successfully.

However, once in a while there emerges onto the scene an actor of old. Although the face and name are familiar, the role of his lifetime, the one for which he is famous, is archived in the vault alongside another actor’s lost episode. I speak of none other than Colonel Oliver North and the actor alongside which his story is archived is President Ronald Reagan.  So, let’s dust off the film canister and take a walk down memory street.

However, for some perspective before we remove the lid, let’s find out what the Colonel said to warrant a ‘for old times’ sake’ viewing of his most famous role. During a Newsmax radio show, North accused the Obama administration of paying a ransom for Sgt. Bergdahl North saying, “Someone paid a ransom,” North said. “Whether the Qataries paid it, or some big oil sheik, or somebody used our petro-dollars, there was a ransom paid in cash for each one of them.  My guess would be somewhere in the round numbers of $5 or 6 Million to get Bergdahl freed. I know that the offer that was on the table before was close to a million.”

This past Tuesday while a guest with Sean Hannity on Fox News, North said President Obama might believe “unilateral surrender is the way to end the war,” and once again demanded to know whether a ransom was paid to the Haqqanis. North went on to add, “and if a ransom was paid, either at our behest or with American tax dollars, it means this government is causing to be funded a criminal enterprise that kills Americans, the Haqqanis.”

Mind you, this is coming from someone who admitted his role in the Iran–Contra affair, a political scandal that rocked the second term of President Reagan’s Administration.  North acknowledged his role in aiding the sale of weapons through channels to Iran with the profits going to the Contras in Nicaragua. North was accused of forming an undercover network, which subsequently funneled those funds to the Contras in direct violation of the Boland Amendment that prohibited the appropriation of U.S. funds by intelligence agencies for the support of the Contras. The money was passed through a shell organization, the “National Endowment for the Preservation of Liberty”, to the Palmer National Bank of Washington, D.C., and then to the Contras.

 The scheme’s initial plan had as its objective freeing the American hostages taken and held in Iran during the Carter Administration.  However, North along with other Reagan administration officials illegally used the proceeds to finance rebels in Nicaragua. It remains a widely held belief that the Iran-Contra scandal spawned not only the arms for hostages scandal, but also the crack epidemic of the American inner cities.

*This was prompted by the journalist Gary Webb‘s report in the San Jose Mercury News alleging that the CIA was behind the 1980s crack epidemic. Gary Webb alleged through his Dark Alliance series that the government had been complicit in the trade of drugs in the inner city through the use of a kingpin named Freeway Ricky Ross. According to the Oakland Tribune, “In the course of his rise, prosecutors estimate that Ross exported several tons of cocaine to New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and elsewhere, and made more than $600 million in the process.”

Crack allegations notwithstanding, North along with other Reagan Administration officials were indicted on multiple charges in 1988 relating to the Iran –Contra arms for hostages scandal. However, with assistance from the American Civil Liberties Union, North appealed and his conviction was overturned.

House Speaker Boehner said on Tuesday regarding the swap for Sgt. Berghdal, “We’re going to pay for this.” Well, Speaker Boehner according to Colonel North and your GOP, and Fox News cohorts we already have.  Oh, sorry folks, no time for the movie.
*(Source, Wikipedia)

~~ Written By Jay Arrington

      Maryland Daily Examiner

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    Jay Arrington

    Jay Arrington is a featured staff writer and reporter for the Maryland Daily Examiner.  

    Jay's political commentary is cutting edge, and stands on truth and justice.  

    An activist and advocate for civil rights and a fair judicial system, Jay reports with the conviction of equality for all. 

    Jay Arrington's EMAIL

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