Beck to 7-year-old: "You want to go to Africa? I will personally purchase your airfare"
SUMMARY: Glenn Beck relayed a message to a 7-year-old New York girl who wrote a poem titled "White Nationalism Put U In Bondage": "You want to go to Africa? I will personally purchase your airfare." Beck added: "You have to sign a contract that you will never return to the United States."
On the March 16 edition of his nationally syndicated radio show, host Glenn Beck relayed a message to a 7-year-old New York girl: "You want to go to Africa? I will personally purchase your airfare." Beck made his remark in a segment on Autum Ashante, who garnered public attention after reading a controversial poem -- titled "White Nationalism Put U In Bondage" -- to a February 28 Black History Month assembly at a public school in Peekskill, New York (news accounts vary as to where she spoke and how many times). The Peekskill City School District reportedly sent an apology for any offense taken, in the form of recorded telephone messages to parents of students enrolled in the Peekskill Middle and High Schools. Ashante has since made public appearances to discuss her work.
Beck paraphrased a March 14 article in the Westchester, New York, Journal News that quoted Ashante as saying, "Even the ones [white people] that try to fix up with us, they're still devils. I feel they're devils and they should be gone. We should be away from them and still be in Africa."
As Media Matters for America has noted, Beck -- who was recently hired to host a new program on CNN Headline News -- has repeatedly made controversial remarks on his show. During the same March 16 program, for example, he asked if America was "as dumb" as Nigeria.
From the March 16 edition of Premiere Radio Networks' The Glenn Beck Program:
BECK: She [Autum Ashante] has told the Westchester Journal News that "white people are devils. And should be gone. We should be away from those devils and we should still be in Africa." I will gladly send you a ticket. You want to go to Africa? I will personally purchase your airfare. I'll do it. It's one-way. You have to sign a contract that you will never return to the United States. Of course, if you go there, remember -- I mean, they seem to be having a problem with the bird flu.
Blacks in America have to deal with a double consciousness that many whites will never recognize or comprehend until they (Whites) admit that there is indeed white privilege in America.
These fifty wife marryin hundred children makin polygamist white racists who just recently decided blacks are allowed to go to 'heaven' (gee thanks but it can't be heaven if I see you there) need to go back to Utah. I'll pay the ticket as long as we can fence you in.
I understand that you hate a religion that is so conservative but is he LDS? I just don't understand why you are making the reference.
an LDS. Heard it my own ears.
Disgusting.
Any time anyone claims to be a con, they should have to either defend or denouce this scumbag. Con man, on another thread you called someone out who ragged on beck's religion, defend your religious pal now. He's a filthy, ugly bully of a mormon. Just like Pat Robo is a filthy ugly bully of a christian. Just like bush is a filthy ugly fraud of a christian. Defend this scum.
Sorry for the delay, I just now saw you asked for me.
I don't blindly defend of denounce anyone. I like to think before I speak and believe.
On this case, Beck is within his right to say this. It has nothing to do with him betraying the tenets of his Mormon religion. She said that white people are the devil and how bad the U.S. is. She said that Black people should all be back in Africa. He simply said that if that's how she really felt, he would gladly pay for the ticket.
What is so wrong here?
Nice con man, do you have holes in your sheets too?
The comment didn't have to do with race. It had to do with someone bad-mouthing America and saying it would be better in Africa. The fact that she is Black is a non-sequiter. Sorry to burst your bubble.
Autum is correct. White nationalists did kidnap Africans from Africa, brought them to America and enslaved them. Thats true history, not bad-mouthing. Bad mouthing is making something good appear to be evil. What she did is make something evil appear to be what it was.
The history of slavery is horrible, and no one should defend it. But that's not what this issue is really about. It's a red herring. She said that America was horrible because of white people, and Africans, not "African-Americans", should be back in Africa. Beck said he'd buy the ticket if she really wanted to go. It wasn't a racist comment on his part.
If I said, "MMFA is horrible and destroying conservative values. No conservatives should be here. MMFA just hurts them and destroys their life. Conservatives should be over at Free Republic", wouldn't you say, "Then go. No one is holding you here."? Would that not be an appropriate response?
"If I said, "MMFA is horrible and destroying conservative values. No conservatives should be here. MMFA just hurts them and destroys their life. Conservatives should be over at Free Republic", wouldn't you say, "Then go. No one is holding you here."? Would that not be an appropriate response?" --Con Man
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Are you a 7 year old girl? If so, the analogy would be perfect and you would be right.
do you think it would be a great idea if someone dressed their kids as a KKK member and did poetry on white supremacy?
Or maybe dress one up as a little Hitler and do poetry about burning Jews?
The kid is a racist, if you can be one at age 7. If not, the father sure is. She performed this at a school for black history month. When the school issued an apology to those in attendance her father called them "racist crackers."
She's just a talented kid who was brainwashed by her school and her father. She went to an Islamic school and is now homeschooled by her Nation of Islam father who wrote this wonderful little diddy.
I don't listen to Glen Beck but I can understand telling her if she wants to go back to Africa, good riddance. Or at least send Daddy back, since he wrote the words.
It is a shame such obvious talent is being manipulated by a bigot.
Do you have a source that he authored the poem, or are you just making an assumption? I heard she was a very smart girl, so it isn't totally unbelievable that she wrote it. Thanks in advance.
There is no way this 2nd grader wrote that poem, that is my claim. No one can verify it either way, of course. She is home-schooled by her father who is, oh what a surprise, a poet -- and one who is a nation of islam activist.
"The older Ashante, who is also a poet, said his daughter's strong language is her own and denies that he wrote the poems for her or is teaching her hatred. He said he introduced her to black history and poetry, but that much of her writing is influenced by current events, including what some see as the poor treatment of blacks and poor after Hurricane Katrina"
She claims: "She also said she wrote the poem herself, receiving help from her dad only with “spelling and pronunciation"" [link to www.eurweb.com]
Oh, and she wrote it after watching a video on Charles Darwin's effects on racism in the 20th century. I am sure that is standard home schooling curriculum.
If she did write all by herself, I apologize. Mozart composed at age 3. That Suzuki kid played a mean violin. I have no doubt she is an extremely bright and talented kid, but it sure doesn't pass the smell test.
By the way, Remember these two lovely little girls? Their parents also claimed it was all the girls' ideas. Does this story line sound familiar?
[link to abcnews.go.com]
and have no proof to the contrary.
do you think it would be a great idea if someone dressed their kids as a KKK member and did poetry on white supremacy? ------------------------------------------------------ Her poem had nothing to do with black supremacy nor terrorism against whites. The analogy fails. -------------------------------------------------------
Or maybe dress one up as a little Hitler and do poetry about burning Jews? -------------------------------------------------------- Her poem had nothing to do with black tyranny or genocide against a people. The analogy fails. --------------------------------------------------------
The kid is a racist, if you can be one at age 7. --------------------------------------------------------
No you cannot. Only a scumbag neocon would stoop to arguing with a baby. -------------------------------------------------------
I don't listen to Glen Beck but I can understand telling her if she wants to go back to Africa, good riddance. ---------------------------------------------------------
I think you just proved her point.
I would admit that when I first heard the poem's language, I thought it seemed fishy. But until proven otherwise, we have to assume she wrote it herself. If she really is as smart as people are making her out to be (speaking 6 or 7 languages, etc.), then there is a good chance she actually did it herself.
How do you know that her father wrote the poem? Please provide some proof, I'd be interested to read it.
When asked if she had received help with the poem she stated that her father had helped with grammar and spelling. I can't find any evidence that her father actually wrote the poem. Please provide proof.
If you can't provide proof then you should retract the accusation.
The kid is a racist, if you can be one at age 7. If not, the father sure is. She performed this at a school for black history month. When the school issued an apology to those in attendance her father called them "racist crackers By Leather Helmet.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ A seven year old can't be anything but a seven year old. A seven year old can't be anything but a seven year old. Seven year olds have no views they simply parrot what they hear from the adults that rear them. So Beck's wanting to send a seven year old out of the country is dumb.
It's very funny they didn’t attack the girls from the group trueblue or whatever the twin girl singing group who are children of Nazis called themselves. The attacks were rightly directed at the parents and the adults in their lives who were indoctrinating them. Don’t attack the children it isn't their fault; we adults screw them up with our issues. So why don't you un-bunch your leather panties and consider that.
Great Post. I was thinking the exact same thing. A seven year old cannot really be a racist. At that age, she is just repeating what she hears from her environment. The parents should be to blame, but arguing with a 7 year old about her outrageous political views is a hilariously stupid idea.
What exactly is Beck trying to prove, that he can outwit a 7 year old? Bravo!! That was tough.
I am no big fan of the reverse racist, which is what she is but your response is typical of the sheet wearing right. Not surprised
This thread has me lost. Are you referring to my response? Thanks.
Of course the thread is lost.
When senseless idiots turn the comments into personal 'chatroom-style' bickering, then yes, the comments thread is lost.
I usually consider it intentional on the part of some, and just a form of argumentative insanity on the part of others.
It doesn't seem intentional on your part.
Well, I will put aside the fact you basically called me a senseless idiot and suffering from argumentative insanity, and say, yes, I was seriously asking if they were referring to my response or someone else's.
But that's okay... I'll blame it on my lazy eye. Damn lazy eye.
She is a seven year old being mislead. The ADULTS here should keep that in mind.
In another thread on the charming Mr. Beck you took exception to my mentioning of Glen special Mormon underwear - perhaps these underwear are too tight. I want to point out, I have nothing per se against the Mormon religion. And I especially have nothing against Mormons as people. I do however have something against this hatefully happy jerk-off Glen Beck. On more than one occasion he has ridicule Tom Cruise and his religious beliefs (again I have no problem w/ Cruise's religion) while sitting there in a diaper. I just like to point that out, I think it's somewhat ironic. Have a wonderful day, Pal.
I have no problem if you want to comment on Beck being nuts, but the way you had done it just struck me as odd. Do Mormons actually wear different underwear as part of their religion? <-- Serious question. I wasn't even defending Beck, but pointing out that we can do better than criticise someone solely on their religion or beliefs. If he's nuts, say he's nuts... don't bring religion into an issue where religion plays no role.
Glen is nuts. And he seems to appeal to the portion of the population that is so filled with hate and bile that they turn on the radio 3 hours before Rush - cause they just can't wait. To evoke the diaper again, they are literally wetting themselves in anticipation. Again, Glen is nuts. And his boy Stu is crazier than a rat in a tin can.
Fair enough.
If you honestly can say you "have no problem" with the Mormon religion, I suggest you read up about it. Or, better yet, talk to an EX-Mormon, preferrably a woman.
I know, I know, everyone always says, "but they have such good family values," etc...
It is a religion created by a group of grifting scheisters based on halucinations and gibberish. And it speaks directly to the insanity that is Glenn Beck.
and I am pretty sure they don't believe black people can go to heaven.
Those are some storng words... got a source on these claims?
personal correspondance with ex-mormons.
just google it yourself and see what you find.
"On this case, Beck is within his right to say this. It has nothing to do with him betraying the tenets of his Mormon religion. She said that white people are the devil and how bad the U.S. is. She said that Black people should all be back in Africa. He simply said that if that's how she really felt, he would gladly pay for the ticket." --Con Man
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Really classy. Arguing with a freakin' 7 year old about their woefully misguided politics. Nice.
Beck really blew her out of the water. He is so macho. I bet he feels like a real man now.
If Beck were more effective in his arguing technique he would have just told the little girl there is no Santa Claus, Tooth Fairy or Easter Bunny. That would have shown her.
He wasn't arguing with anybody. And he wasn't just talking about the little girl. Although, the multiple times you have said something to the effect of "she's just a child" makes me laugh. 7 year olds are a lot smarter than you think. Especially ones that speak 6 or 7 languages. I am not saying Beck probably couldn't have handled himself better, just that you people are cracking me up with how far you stretch things. I love this country!!! :-)
Beck wasn't really arguing with a 7 year old girl...He was attacking her personally. Much better.
My bad.
Feels good to admit it, eh? Just kidding. I just think you are not giving 7 year olds enough credit. In the U.S., I think your legal system has established that 7 year olds can fully determine right from wrong, so she should probably start taking some responsibility for her words.
However, I would agree with you and Lynn (I think) in that it also lies with her parents. Anywho, back to using my dog to dry my hands. Cya.
You are falsely equating different kinds of knowledge/intelligence.
7 year olds have a great capacity for memorization and language skills, but lack maturity necessary for abstract ideas involved in forming political opinions. Intelligent children learn to mimic their environment and feed it back in order to gain approval.
The child is using her well-developed language skills to parrot what she hears (from her parents, presumably). I don't see any evidence she is really thinking on her own here.
Even the most precocious of 7 year olds is not fair game for an adult to attack as Beck shamelessly did.
7 year olds 'do' know right from wrong. Or at least they should. By 7, kids already know all about "hate" and the like. They know what is good and what is bad. Just because she was raised in a home where they did not teach her the correct values (i.e. not racist), you are just giving her a free pass? Then at what age do "little people echoing their racist parents" become "little racist people"? Is there some magical age that a switch gets flipped? The U.S. legal system has established that by the age of 7, you should know right from wrong. By 7 you should know that racism is wrong, no matter who is espousing it, even a parent.
What age would she have to be to make what he said appropriate, or is it now nothing to do with age? Thanks. And thank you for discussing this rationally, without name-calling and the like.
Do you actually know any seven year olds? My daughter is 27 but 20 years ago her "views" were my views. That seems to be even more of the case with this child. She is being home schooled and I imagine there is little exposure to any outside influences. Why can't you admit that Beck's attack on a 7 year old child was wrong. BTW, which country do you and Beck suggest we send the pretty little blue eyed nazi 13 year old singers to.
I cannot speak for Beck, so do not ask me to. I would send them wherever they specifically said they should be. This girl specifically said "Africans" should be in Africa. Assuming you are right, her parents feel the same way. So what exactly is stopping them?
Anyone who would get upset enough to comment on anything a child under the age of 12 has to say should go sit in the corner and count to 10.
What an a-hole. Anyone who can defend this racist, is just as sick and vile as he is.
Wow.... He actually is taking on a SEVEN year old! You go, Beckie!
Maybe he will come off as 'just making sure everyone knows blacks (assuming Ashante is) are deep down racists'. I can already hear the news blogs tomorrow....Is racism in black childrens' genes?, or, How bad must her (black) parents BE? , or, Blacks (and whites) should SHUN this girl for the rest OF HER LIFE!
And, she is so damn close to the truth anyways... It was Europen colonialism that f-uped the entire continent of Africa. It demolished cultures, ethnic ties, and future generations through the gun and the bible...
Glenn Beck is NUTS.... how do people listen to this guy?
I guess the listeners must also be nuts.
Beck bullys 7-year-old girl. What we have here is a moron er.. a mormon who wants to be Bill boy. Being nasty for the repug means $$$$$$$.
A couple of things in this one strike me as incredible:
A 7-year-old girl has an opinion on "nationalism"? (I know what "nationalism" means; "white nationalism" I've never heard of, and a 7-year-old's opinion on either, is nothing that matters to me.)
Does this guy really think you could sign a contract with a 7-year-old kid?
Is CNN really giving this guy a TV show? (I've heard about the airwaves, the People's airwaves, being sold by the Bush Administration's FCC: Is that how this guy gets a TV show?)
You've never heard of "White Nationalism"?
gives this Beck guy a show, Anderson Cooper has got to beat him up or I will never watch a tear of his again. EVER!!!!
Ok,
First, I want Glen Beck to know that he is an idiot and wouldn't know how to be a decent person if you painted by numbers how to do it!!
While I disagree with Becks attacking a seven year old.....I guess when your a bully that can't stand criticism or someone that could fight back (say...a seven year old) instead of say..... this childs parents.....
Shame on the parents for bringing up a child that thinks this way....... there is no way to ever make the scars of history as it pertains to slavery hurt less.......but.....its 2006.......get over it!!.......
Yes.....there are still rasist pigs and jerks out there that can't or won't grow up......but there are many that believe that the only way to defeat rasism is to get over your own personal issues on the subject.......
As a white guy I have no idea what it feels like to be discriminated against......but I have seen it and I have spoken up against it!!
I'm very passionate about all of us getting along and hope that racism will someday be eradicated.......sadly....as I said.....there are to many racist pigs (on all sides of the aisle) in the world and it will be some time before it goes away!
As for Glen "The Bully" Beck........he should have picked his fight against the parents....not the child!!.......
Oh wait......Glen Beck is a bully (like Bill and Rush and Sean) so like them he chooses to go after someone that can't defend herself.......
Congratulations Glen.......you picked a fight with a seven year old.......you big lug!!
VERY WELL PUT
I've never listened to Beck's radio program or have ANY recollection of having seen him on TV. In fact I NEVER even heard of him till reading about him here at MMFA.
While I suppose it's POSSIBLE that a very precocious 7 year old actually wrote this poem without a great deal of input from her father [or some other adult] I remain skeptical.
I have a feeling (though I obviously am only guessing) that Beck MIGHT be the type who "privately" likes to express that 'Blacks should go back to Africa'....and now thanks to a 7 year old he got to say it publicly.
As far as the poem goes I personally found it distressing&depressing that a child so young has already had her mind filled with such hateful sentiments as the expression "white devils".
And what Beck continues to sow. Unfortunately, the rest of us reap it also.
there is no way to ever make the scars of history as it pertains to slavery hurt less.......but.....its 2006.......get over it!!.......
Yes.....there are still rasist pigs and jerks out there that can't or won't grow up......but there are many that believe that the only way to defeat rasism is to get over your own personal issues on the subject.......
As a white guy I have no idea what it feels like to be discriminated against......but I have seen it and I have spoken up against it!! -------------------------------------------------
Get over it??? That's easy for you to say. If you have no idea what it feels like to be oppressed what qualifies you to tell the oppressed what to do about it?
As far as the poem goes I personally found it distressing&depressing that a child so young has already had her mind filled with such hateful sentiments as the expression "white devils". ---------------------------------------
Even more distressing and depressing is that whites acted like devils toward blacks for 500 years and we are still paying for it.
"Even more distressing and depressing is that whites acted like devils toward blacks for 500 years and we are still paying for it."...by heru
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You're right of course...and I understand why from the days of slavery through the 50's&60's [and yes beyond that to a lesser extent] the term "white devil" was an apt description (and sentiment) of how MANY African-Americans felt towards MOST Caucasians. And I don't think anyone would blame them OR argue that they shouldn't have applied THAT term to those that enslaved or oppressed them.
BUT I'd like to believe that today, in the 21st century, that THAT term would have become archaic by now. Of course racism STILL exists, and will probably NEVER be completely eradicated. All the Laws on the books cannot reach into a heart or mind. But Heru even you must admit great strides have been made for Blacks and in race relations over the past 30-40 years. Of course things aren't perfect...BUT I do find it sad that this 7 year old girl is OBVIOUSLY being "taught" to HATE by the adults in her life.
I agree these sentiments are reflective of the adults that have isolated her. It's sad and it borders on emotional abuse in my opinion. If it continues this child's ability to function in a world filled with people of all types will be non existent and responsibility for that can be laid directly at the feet of her parents.
We all know that children are NOT born as racists. It's the adults in their lives that shape their young minds for the better or worse. We as parents should TRY our best to help our kids by reinforcing positive attitudes towards others, then HOPE that will combat the negative stereotypes they are bound to encounter out in the "real" world.
"white devils" is a commonly used term that I don't think has gone archaic in ethnic vernacular. I really wouldn't put much stock in the term as having much racist venom unless you also get offended by being called a "cracker".
Sorry, but blacks can't just "get over" 400 years of racism and oppression. It's not a "personal problem" that they need to get over and just forget about. Would you suggest that Jewish people just "get over" the Holocaust and stop reminding us about it? Hey, it's 2006, why do we have to keep hearing about slavery and genocide? Everybody will be happy if we just forget about how whites have systematically oppressed every minority on the planet. See, just like the the Native Americans. We forgot all about them and they're happy now, right?
Whitey hasn't oppressed every minority. There is at least one minority they have not oppresed... men. But I have a feeling their time will come. ;-)
I meant to add, "That's a joke for those of you in the media".
Men as a whole are a minority, but men as a whole have not been oppressed. It was a joke.
We have been too busy doing the oppression to be oppressed ourselves.
Before this thread strays farther from the comments of Beck to Ashante and more toward "White Man's mistakes", I'd like to submit a few things. For one "white man" has oppressed other "white men" (Irish?), so let's be careful about how we casually link the words "white" with "oppressor", this I believe is Ashante's (father or daughter) mistake. Also, in regards to oppression if the history of all peoples is looked at thoroughly one can see that the excercise of oppression has been performed by virtually anyone in a position of power. The trick to getting rid of it is to find out who is most profitting from it and stop it there. Honestly, who is benefitting from it more than those who are running our country into the ground while we, the people, bicker and argue about what color one another is?
Spoken like a typical liberal racist that doesn't even know he's a racist. May well be the worst kind of racist.
wow, a 7 year old racist vs. Glen Beck, the symmetry of intellectual power is striking! i could only imagine what would happen if they joined forces.
Here you have a young girl who feels like this country is not her own, that she and those like her will never be given the dignity and respect afforded white people. Whether this feeling specifically comes from the way she sees the world or she is abosorbing and commenting on the discontent by those around her, I don't know. But she is commenting on feeling like a second-class citizen. And here comes White McWhiteWhite to essentially agree with her, tell her to hit the road, here's your hat, don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.
To quote Monty Python: So Much for Pathos
What racists do.
Glenn Beck is doing exactly what he's paid to do, which is the truly disgusting part. If you had listened to Beck a few years ago, you wouldn't have heard anything like this. I don't doubt that he is a big-headed bigot, but now he feels as though he has to be more provocative, like B'ORE.
So, herein lies the real trouble: Americans want this trash on TV and radio.
They seem to fight in the same category:
the 7-year-old level debating.
and I'd like to see him tell her to go to Africa, here's your ticket, to her face! What a coward hiding behind his microphone.
This girl has an opinion. Is it informed by her parents? To be consistent, the rightwing would say they HOPE it is. Is it informed by schooling? Again, one would HOPE so.
Is it informed by TRUTH? Does she have a point? Is there an issue of race in America that would make a black girl feel discriminated against? This is the discussion, and any objective examination of our society would show that, while we have made considerable progress on race relations in the past century, there is still a long way to go.
So, this brings about PROBLEM SOLVING. One way to address this girl's concern is to face up to TRUTH, and work towards a day when it wouldn't occur to a little girl (OR her parents) to compose such a poem.
Then, there is Beck's solution, the rightwing way of PROBLEM SOLVING: Ship her off. Banish her. Don't listen, don't consider, don't think, don't work towards making a better society. Just hate, and turn a blind eye. Arrogantly broadcast your racism, your lack of consideration, your callous disregard for TRUTH.
That's Beck, and that's the Rightwing.
who are such fans of home schooling bothered by this. This is why you need a functioning public education system, so that you have a functioning society. Not little pockets of idiots forming their own fiefdoms? Becks a jackass, as is the girl's father, and as for the 7 year old -- God/Allah/whoever help her. The poor kid stands little chance of becoming a full fledged member of society with her parents and their adversaries vulturing her.
Now do you understand what you are getting? It's never too late to admit you've made a mistake.
Beck, despite his claims, is at best little more than a right-wing hack and at worst a moron.
Sorry, I'm a liberal but not a liberal robot. I'd chip in on that plane ticket for the kid and the whole family. We don't need this kind of racism from either side.
"We don't need this kind of racism from either side."
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But the kind of racism you show here is OK?
What is that? Calling racism what it is.
maybe my last post was not real clear.
Is what you are saying is that I am the racist. I didn't cowardly write a racist poem for my kids to insult other children with.
Sorry, this white devil does not have white guilt.
This, whatever you choose to call him, is an absolute disgrace and an apology for a human being. I suspect that given his hatred for anything or anyone, who does not prescribe to his daily dose, must not be allowed to drag the entire human race into the cesspool from where he emerged. This , whatever you cal him, probably forgets that the Nigerians do have a culture that they can actually trace, which ofcourse, he cannot. And as for CNN, each and everyday they demonstrate their pathetic indulgence by hiring sub-humans like Beck. CNN lacks the moral compass and the honesty and decency to media call a media outlet. They are purveyors of trash!
What the "Cons" here are doing is holding a 7-year old's poem up as if it were some Democratic Party Manifesto that people want taught in schools.
It's a poem. Like, "One fish / Two fish." (Oh, and the Cons hated Dr. Suess too.)
The Con Men here are treating a seven year old as an adult. Which is an idiotic thing to do.
Who here knows this child? Who here has spoken with her or her family or her teachers? Who can judge the world on a few paragraphs on a website about a complex subject.
The issue here, should be, what a redneck TV Radio Show host said. Not the meaning of a 7 year old's poetry.
There is so much more to this story than the Con Men here are assuming.
[link to www.nypost.com]
[quote] March 13, 2006 -- YOUNGSTER'S BLACK-POWER POEM RILES SCHOOL A 7-year-old prodigy unleashed a firestorm when she recited a poem she wrote comparing Christopher Columbus and Charles Darwin to "pirates" and "vampires" who robbed blacks of their identities and human rights.
Hundreds of parents of Peekskill middle- and high-school students received a recorded phone message last week apologizing for little Autum Ashante's poem, titled "White Nationalism Put U in Bondage."
"Black lands taken from your hands, by vampires with no remorse," the aspiring actress and poet wrote. "They took the gold, the wisdom and all the storytellers. They took the black women, with the black man weak. Made to watch as they changed the paradigm of our village.
"Yeah white nationalism is what put you in bondage. Pirates and vampires like Columbus, Morgan and Darwin."
Autum was invited to speak at the Westchester schools on Feb. 28 by Melvin Bolden, a music teacher at the middle school who advises the high school's Black Culture Club and is a member of the Peekskill City Council.
Autum, whose résumé includes several television appearances and performances at the Apollo Theater and the African Burial Ground in Manhattan, told The Post that her poem was meant to instill pride in black students and to encourage them to steer clear of violence. [end quote]
I haven't said anything like the poem is the DNC platform. Quit trying to put words in my mouth. Of course no one knows the kid. (No one also knows Beck, but you seem to be able to criticise him just fine... but I digress.) It isn't just what she wrote in her poem. It is what she said around the poem, and things her father has said. This is not a Republican/Democrat issue. Quit trying to make it one.
Since when is telling the truth about things that occurred and continue to occur racism? Columbus facilitated the theft of this land from it's original inhabitants, Darwin's pseudo-science did promulgate the current unlegitimized theories around race and J.P. Morgan did use slaves to amass wealth.
European nations like Britain and Spain did take the gold of Ghana and Turtle Island without compensation ie they stole it.
Black women were raped and violated during slavery by white slave owners.
Europeans did provide the indigenous people of Africa and Turtle Island with alcohol in many instances upon their arrival. (Opium was the poison of choice in China) Africans were shackled and forced into slavery by white slave traders.
Those are the topics that she covered in her poem none of them are false. All of them have been proven where is the racism?
but I've always have to chuckle whenever I hear someone WHITE {whose ancestors STOLE this land from Native Americans} telling someone they should leave the country and never come back . . . that's like telling the residents of a home you just broke into that they have to go . . .
Wouldn't it be great if people actually read a little about the history of this continent? But it's so much easier just to put on the sweat pants and head out to wal-mart.
This guy sounds like a worthless scumbag. Obviously someone told this 7 year old girl to write this. I don't think a 7 year old would have the capacity to think like this unless she was told. But, I could be wrong. glenbeck, whoever this tripe little dungheap is, should be ashamed of himself by further exploiting this little girl.
is astounding.
Here's what they're saying with a straight face:
1) The girl did not write the poem.
2) She's a racist for writing the poem.
Guess that speaks for itself. And thanks for the get over it comment.
Not all conservative posting here are saying those things. In fact, I, someone you would probably consider conservative, was one of the first people to refute the blind statement that she did not write it herself. Pointing out hypocrites is great, just be careful not to go overboard. Thank you.
This is a total disgrace. Knocking 7 year 0lds is for the birds. Get a life Sir. Alice Wolf. San Diego.