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4realpeople

Common sense commentary in a senseless world

Author: 4realpeople

I am an African-American woman who has lived my life on the cusp of all of the most significant social, domestic and foreign policy movements of the past half-century. I was born in the middle of the baby boom. I am a personal witness to the March on Washington, the Black Power movement, the rise of feminism and then the first Earth Day. The war in Vietnam and Watergate unfolded before my very eyes. I watched Republicans demonize Jimmy Carter for attempting to bring compassion to government's treatment of the poor and the environment and having the audacity to speak out loud of the coming ideological war facing the nation. I watched as Ronald Regan eased the country into that war and what would become the ever-expanding, insidious and inhumane age of ultra-conservatism, fascism in the name of the Lord and the evolution of ever-present, state-sanctioned racism. My Master's thesis was an analysis of the deal with the Devil that Bill Clinton made as he "changed welfare as we know it" into a punitive, regressive inescapable trap that reinforced and re-institutionalized systemic support for the cycle of generational poverty for people of color. I watched as leadership at the federal state, and local levels colluded in the deconstruction of the domestic policy infrastructure of our government and shredded the safety net of job training, childcare, education, transportation, cash assistance for the poor in an unprecedented rending of the social contract of America with its people. "I am woman hear me roar." Willie Horton and Michael Brown. "I Am a Man" to "Black Lives Matter." These have been the hallmarks of my journey from a tiny town in rural Missouri where Jim Crow ruled to this place where today I work on behalf of urban and rural poverty-stricken and communities of color from the heart of one of the most powerful institutions in the world. I am still living public policy, but now, as we are on the cusp of the end of America as we have known it, I am speaking out loud; sharing my struggle to make sense of the world of increasing senselessness

http://www.linkedin.com/posts/dr-benjamin-ola-akande_activity-6859471415310106624-EeE1

October 31, 2021 by 4realpeople

2022 Midterms: The downside of a sure thing

Interesting and ironic how forty years of dogged gerrymandering to create primary-challenge resistant, pure Republican congressional districts has backfired. Republicans have narrowed their constituencies to the extent… Read more “2022 Midterms: The downside of a sure thing”

March 29, 2021 by 4realpeople

Revelations and activism with the first super moon of 2021?

Astrologers say that this first of three super moons in 2021 will set in motion revelations of secrets, illuminate our paths forward and ignite activism and continued… Read more “Revelations and activism with the first super moon of 2021?”

March 28, 2021March 29, 2021 by 4realpeople

Do not look away: PoliticalFolkArt

http://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/a-trump-tableau

March 28, 2021 by 4realpeople

Group Think: identical legislation in every Republican statehouse?

Have you ever wondered why so many state legislatures seem to introduce remarkably similar legislation and policies almost simultaneously? The current case in point—voter suppression. 45 State… Read more “Group Think: identical legislation in every Republican statehouse?”

March 22, 2021April 5, 2021 by 4realpeople

New Hope at HUD: Marcia Fudge Confirmed as Secretary

Welcome Madam Secretary, Fudge. Help is on the way to our cities, towns and rural communities!

March 10, 2021March 10, 2021 by 4realpeople

St. louis: recovery requires courageous leadership

Economic recovery requires bold vision, collaborative strategy, regional cooperation and economic inclusion.

February 22, 2021February 22, 2021 by 4realpeople

The Trump years showed how much suffering America could live with.

The Trump years tested America’s capacity for indifference, and America failed. — Read on slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/01/trump-what-we-learned-suffering-death.html

February 22, 2021 by 4realpeople

The black church: it’s complicated

http://www.pbs.org/show/black-church/ #BlackHistory If you think you know all there is to know about the “Black church,”—think again. I know it has opened my eyes to an understanding… Read more “The black church: it’s complicated”

February 20, 2021February 22, 2021 by 4realpeople

No Redemption for McConnell

History will not be kind to Mitch McConnell

January 19, 2021January 19, 2021 by 4realpeople

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