Should we ask this question: Why *IS" the Peace Movement so White? [View All]

Reading this article by Rev. Yearwood who protested in Conyers office for Impeachment...and the Comments to the article, it brought to mind the same question I asked myself at the protests I was able to attend before Iraq Invasion and after when there were so few African-Americans who attended. Even viewing C-Span's coverage of the DC Marches, I wondered why the movement was so White. Is this a question that is being brought up to divide us? Or, is it a question that deserves some further thought. :shrug:

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Race is the Tripwire for the Progressive Movement: John Conyers and Impeachment
Submitted by davidswanson on Thu, 2007-07-26 18:23. Impeachment

By Rev. Lennox Yearwood, Jr.

On July 23, Cindy Sheehan, Ray McGovern and I met with U.S. Rep. John Conyers about the issue of impeachment. We delivered a petition for impeachment with one million American signatures. While we met, 400 activists waited in the halls outside of his office along with a hoard of media to find out what the outcome of the meeting would be. The meeting was a very significant moment for the progressive movement from a historical standpoint. The movement for impeachment and the immediate reactions to why John Conyers was publicly targeted on this issue reflect how race continues to be, as my dear friend Bill Fletcher says, the tripwire for the progressive movement.

Rep. Conyers is a great mentor to me and my respect for him is unquestionable. He has been fighting for peace and justice and civil rights for decades inside and outside of Congress. He is a man for the people and for America. So, it was a truly disappointing moment on Monday, when we realized – as mentor and mentee – that we do not agree on his role as the Chairman of the U.S. House Judiciary committee to uphold our constitution by holding our President and Vice President accountable for their impeachable offensives.

-snip-

This moment is not about race, it is not about John Conyers, and it is much bigger than the divides within our movements. This moment is about our future as a country, because humanity is at stake. The Bush administration’s hunger for war has caused so much instability in our world that we face a state of permanent wars.

The challenge we face as activists and leaders is how can we possibly bring an end to this madness when the Democrats in power are not with us? We need a broad-based movement that can hold our elected officials accountable and to create such a movement we need to address our internal divides. The reason many African-Americans have interpreted our action against Rep. Conyers as racial betrayal goes deep into the tradition of the progressive movement. How we can begin to address this is something I will discuss in an upcoming article.

In the meantime, for the sake of our country and our world, let us all work to impeach Bush and Cheney now.

Rev. Lennox Yearwood, Jr. is the President of the Hip Hop Caucus. The Hip Hop Caucus is a national, nonprofit, non-partisan organization meant to inspire and motivate those of us born after the ‘60s civil rights movement.

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/25125