‘Commentary’ Archives
Letter to the Editor: Cartoonist Delight!
Kudos to the alley editorial staff for publishing Fire Boy by Jude Anikpo. We’re delighted to see another comic gracing these pages!Jude’s action-packed, nicely-designed panels are inspiring and fun. We hope other artists will be encouraged to share their creative work with the neighborhood – we know you’re out there!In the meantime, we eagerly await Fire Boy II. Dave Moore & Linnea HadawayEast Phillips
Juneteenth
from the series Something I Said By DWIGHT HOBBES Dwight Hobbes Rabble rouser cum activist Al Flowers will be on hand for a good, old-fashioned Juneteenth joint over north at Bethune/Phyllis Wheatley on the 15th. Bet money mainstream notables, stylin’ and profilin’ to see and be seen, will swing by for a foto-opp, maybe sign some autographs. Then, get back to living the boozhie life. Flowers, though, didn’t trade the Civil Rights Era clarion call, “We Shall Overcome” in for “I Have Overcome”. Still grounded in the grassroot, he’ll be there not for show but for grow – as in helping the community honor our past, while putting a foot down about the future.Juneteenth celebrates how Texas slaves, after being hoodwinked for two years after the Emancipation Proclamation, learned they were free and had a real good time! Albeit belatedly - baseball games, fishing, rodeos, street fairs and, of course, tradition that stands to this day. Cookouts.You’ll have the [...]
Democracy and You
from the series Raise Your Voice! By PETER MOLENAAR Peter Molenaar Democracy is by one definition: “a system of government by the whole population or all eligible members of a state.”“All eligible members?” Note: the ancient Athenian democracy emerged in the context of the existing slave system. In the United States, democracy was initiated in the context of a developing capitalism in conjunction with the then modern system of chattel slavery.In our world, the influence of a small minority called capitalists taints democracy. For this reason, many of us don’t vote! Indeed, our bourgeois-democracy is a reflection of the capitalist system. Before too long, our ruling class will be unwilling and incapable of resolving life and death issues confronting the masses.Does the struggle within bourgeois-democratic institutions have any bearing on the realization of our socialist vision? I am not alone in answering: YES!And neighbors beware: Go online to contemplate the Trump [...]
