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COMMENTARY: Facts Rarely Discussed About Blacks and the Democratic Party.

Published

12 years ago

September 4, 2014

“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” ~ James Baldwin

May 22, 1856 Republican US Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts was nearly beaten to death on the floor of the US Senate by US Representative Preston Brooks, a member of the Democratic Party of South Carolina.

Not one Democratic member of the House or Senate voted for the 14^th Amendment to grant citizenship to former slaves.

The White League was a paramilitary arm of the Democratic Party and started in 1874 to terrorize white Republicans and Blacks. The White League was credited with contributing to the Democratic Party takeover of the Louisiana legislature in 1876, members of the White League were absorbed into the state militias and the National Guard.

Described by a federal grand jury in 1870 as a terrorist arm of the Democratic Party the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) was founded in 1866 to wage an underground war of violence and intimidation on white and Black Republicans.

The first grand wizard of the KKK was honored at the 1868 Democratic National Convention.

With the regaining of political power in all Southern states in 1877 the Democratic Party legislators passed state laws known as the Black Codes and Jim Crow which would stay in effect until the Civil Rights legislation of the ‘60s.

White Primaries in which any nonwhite was prohibited from participating were established by the Democratic Party and state legislators after 1890. The last case ruling on the White Primaries was by the Supreme Court in 1944 with the Smith vs. Allwright case.

Black Americans were not permitted to attend the Democratic Party Conventions until 1924,

In response to the Brown vs Board of Education decision 99 members of congress signed the “Southern Manifesto” denouncing the decision, ninety-seven of the signers were Democrats, and two were Republicans.

Democratic Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus refused to admit Black students to Little Rock Central High School after the court decision of Brown vs Board of Education and Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower sent federal troops to Little Rock.

Democratic Alabama Governor George C. Wallace in his 1963 inaugural speech proclaimed “I say segregation now, segregationtomorrow, segregation forever.”

During Lyndon B. Johnson’s first 20 years in Congress “he opposed every civil rights measure that came up for a vote” said Barack Obama. LBJ is also credited with watering down Eisenhower’s 1957 Civil Rights Bill beyond recognition.

Karen Watson is author of the book, “Being Black and Republican in the Age of Obama”

And again I say this is only a small snapshot of the intertwined history of Black Americans and the Democratic Party.

Is the Democratic Party racist? No, the Democratic Party is not racist. And yet I do acknowledge that there are racist Democrats just like there are racist Republicans and racist Libertarians within each political party.

Now that we have split our facts from fiction let us begin in honesty and truth a dialogue that will take our communities far and away from the status quo. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in his last speech foretold of a “promised land” and I too believe that we as a people will get there.

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Four Candidates, Including Incumbent Barbara Lee, Qualify for Oakland Mayor’s Race

POST NEWS GROUP — Four candidates, including incumbent Mayor Barbara Lee, filed their papers to run for office by last Friday’s deadline, and the City Clerk issued a list this week of those who are qualified to run.

Published

21 hours ago

August 15, 2026

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View of downtown Oakland, California and City Hall. iStock photo.

By Post Staff

The four mayoral candidates who will appear on the Nov. 3 ballot are:

Brenda Grisham. A business owner in East Oakland and public safety advocate, Grisham led the successful recall campaign against Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price. As part of her platform, she pledges to work with local, state, and federal partners to secure stricter gun control measures and investments in community violence intervention programs.

Barbara Lee. A former congressional representative and state Assembly member, Lee was elected by voters in a special election last year for a two-year term. Now running for a four-year term, she points out that her administration achieved major successes in addressing some of the city’s major challenges, including balancing the city budget, dramatically reducing crime, and making significant inroads into homelessness and illegal dumping.

Mindy Pechenuk. An educator and activist, Pechenuk is a registered Republican and supporter of Lyndon LaRouche, who has been described by observers as a conspiracy theorist and cult leader. She ran unsuccessfully for mayor in last year’s special election and for the at-large council seat in 2024. She seeks to end Oakland’s police commission and MACRO and invest in more police while launching a new local war on drugs.

Julius Robinson. While little information is available so far about Robinson, he was quoted in a KTVU story about Thao’s recall, stating that people in Oakland want to come together as a community but lack infrastructure and leadership.

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Black History

Oakland Observes Black August with Block Parties, Film Showings, Workshops

POST NEWS GROUP — Beginning in 1979 in San Quentin State Prison, the Black Guerrilla Family called for the remembrance of political prisoner George Jackson and his brother Jonathan Jackson who were assassinated in the early 1970s. George Jackson was considered a political prisoner in that it was the anti-Black justice system that led to his incarceration for armed robbery with a sentence of one year-to-life in 1960.

Published

24 hours ago

August 15, 2026

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George Jackson wrote two books: “Soledad Brother,” and “Blood in My Eye” before her was killed in an attempt to escape prison on Aug. 21, 1971.

By Jana Lang, Propel Youth Reporter

Study. Train. Fast. Fight.

These are the four tenets of Black August, a month dedicated to commemorating the sacrifices of political prisoners and Black revolutionaries in the struggle for Black liberation.

Observers are urged to study the history of the Black struggle for freedom, train their bodies for health and self-defense, fast to cleanse the mind, body, and spirit, and fight ongoing oppression alongside their communities and local political organizations.

Beginning in 1979 in San Quentin State Prison, the Black Guerrilla Family called for the remembrance of political prisoner George Jackson and his brother Jonathan Jackson who were assassinated in the early 1970s. George Jackson was considered a political prisoner in that it was the anti-Black justice system that led to his incarceration for armed robbery with a sentence of one year-to-life in 1960.

While in prison, George befriended fellow prisoner W.L. Nolen, who introduced him to the works of Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, Mao Zedong, and Frantz Fanon. This radicalization coupled with his experiences of violence while imprisoned led to him writing and publishing two books, “Soledad Brother” (1970), and “Blood in my Eye” (1972). In January of 1970, George and two other prisoners were charged with murdering a corrections officer at Soledad State Prison in Monterey County.

On Aug. 7, 1970, Jonathan Jackson burst into a Marin County courtroom armed with a shotgun to demand the freedom of the Soledad Brothers. He, along with the inmates he freed, was shot and killed while driving away. This involved one of the Black Panther Party’s most notable associates, Angela Davis, because the shotgun was registered in her name. She was later acquitted of charges of conspiracy, kidnapping, and murder in 1972.

On Aug. 21, 1971, George Jackson was assassinated by a corrections officer after attempting to escape and free other inmates. As a result, there were uprisings and protests within prisons all over the country that year, calling forth resistance against racial oppression and mass incarceration.

Since its outset, Black August has evolved across the country, taking many forms to honor this history and embody the four tenets.

In Oakland, the upcoming Black August Experience, hosted by Youth Alive! and the East Oakland Boxing Association (EOBA), is a free, family-friendly event celebrating the legacy of Black August. Activities include free food and drinks, a kids’ activity zone, interactive workshops, live cooking and boxing demonstrations, and more.

Happening on Aug. 21 from 4-8 p.m. at the EOBA Patio, Carolyn Flynn, director of administration at EOBA, said the event, in its second year, will be an opportunity to engage with people in person through food, shared space, and education.

“We do regular classes in education, and those are ongoing programs that we offer, but we wanted to have [an opportunity] for our neighbors to utilize this space.” Combined with Youth Alive’s work in community violence prevention and youth leadership, this event surely aims to bring the Oakland community together to capture what Black August means today.

Here are additional Black August events happening in Oakland:

Forum and Community Discussion hosted by the Oakland Liberation Center, 1499 Fruitvale Ave., Aug. 14, 7 p.m.

“George Jackson/San Quentin” Screening hosted by Nostalgic for Nothing Cinema at Moments Co-Op, 410 13th St., Aug. 16, doors at 6 p.m., show at 6:30 p.m. (Masks required and scent-free)

Commemorating the Struggle, Building the Altar for Liberation: Black August at Bandung Books, 2269 International Blvd., Aug. 23rd, 1-5 p.m.

Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency (BOSS), will host “Black August: The Arc of Liberation” at Oakland City Hall on Sat. Aug. 29, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.