Dethroning a King

Dethroning a King:
The White Washing of Black History

Paul Scott


If the late Civil rights leader, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr was able to look down from Heaven at the numerous MLK Day memorial celebrations taking place across the country, I'm sure that he would have one question.

"Who are they talking about?"

Like many black historical icons,the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, has been victimized by revisionist pseudo-historians who take great liberty with the truth when discussing the life of this great man. . Although, he was assassinated over 40 years ago, every third Monday in January his legacy is murdered over and over again. The King who is glorified as the Prince of Peace bears little resemblance to the man who marched in cities from Mississippi to Illinois seeking socio-economic justice for African Americans.

It must be noted that while some Americans now wear the fact that they "marched with Dr. King" as a badge of honor, he was actually hated by many members of society both black and white, who thought that King's form of radical civil disobedience was moving America too fast.

Even those who initially supported his movement dropped him like a hot potato when he used his nonviolent philosophy in the context of opposition to the Vietnam War. Dr. King was considered the most dangerous man in America by FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover, who launched a smear campaign to discredit King that plagued him until the end of his life.

It can be argued that many of the same corporations who are sponsoring MLK Day events and using his image to attract Black customers to their stores would themselves have been picketed by Dr. King if he were alive today. Also, even though many newspapers will devote a lot of ink towards the legacy of Dr. King, he would probably be considered persona non grada by today's newspapers, who would fear that giving the activist too much coverage may anger their advertisers.

While much attention is paid to his nonviolence "turn the other cheek" philosophy, in reality, Dr. King knew that the best way to hurt the rich and shameless person was not to hit them in their heads but in their wallets.Most Americans do not know that according to Kennth O'Reilly in his book "Black Americans: The FBI Files" at the time of his death, King was planning a Poor People's March which would have pressured the government to spend more money social programs. This surely did not sit well with the conservatives at the time who argued for smaller government.

It must also be noted that, while many churches in America will be singing "We Shall Overcome" during their morning services in honor of Dr. King, he was often criticized by his more conservative colleagues in the ministry. In his book "Pillar of Fire: America in the King Years 1963-65, historian Taylor Branch wrote that King was once "excommunicated" from the National Baptist Convention by the former head of the organization, Rev. J H Jackson.

Perhaps, the greatest myth that has been perpetuated regarding Dr. King was that his whole mission can be summed up in the "I have a Dream Speech, where he prophesied that " the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down at the table of brotherhood." While this is the stuff that makes for good Hallmark greeting cards, it does not capture King's idea of race relations in its totality.

In his later years, undoubtedly effected by the growing militancy of black youth in America following the Watts Riot, as well as the activism of rival leaders such as Kwame Ture (Stokely Carmichael) and Malcolm X, King was beginning to sound more like a Black nationalist than a staunch intergrationist.

Although , most people only remember the part of his last speech delivered on April 3, 1968, where he emotionally said that he had "been to the mountain top," in the same speech he not only called for economic sanctions against Coca Cola and Wonder Bread but also asked African Americans in Memphis Tennessee to take their savings out of the white owned banks and put them in black ones. Also, according to Dr. Devin Fergus in his work "Liberalism, Black Power and the Making of American Politics 1965-1980, the day of his assassination, King met with a gang called The Invaders, "a group patterned after the Black Panther Party" in order to "help the group secure funding for community programs."

If we truly want to celebrate the life of Dr. King, we must call for an end to revisionist history. Recent attempts to sanitize American history from the removal of the dreaded "n" word from Huckleberry Finn nor deleting references to slaver when reading the Constitution of the United States will move us forward as a nation. America must face the ghost of her past or forever be haunted by it.

As Dr. King said "truth crushed to the Earth, will rise again."

Paul Scott is a minister, writer and activist based in Durham NC. His blog is No Warning Shots Fired.com

Haters for Hire

Haters for Hire:
Understanding Racism for Ratings

Min. Paul Scott


It all started when, while standing in the checkout line at Community Foods Supermarket, Mike White told a joke that he heard on the local right wing radio morning show. However, Rasheed Blackmon, who was in line behind him was not amused. The simple off-color joke led to a racial slug-fest, as customers throughout the store began clubbing each other with frozen pizzas and boxes of Twinkies.The radio station finally got what they had been pushing for; a race riot on aisle five of the local grocery store...

Since the last presidential election, there has been a growing interest in right wing shock jocks with new ones springing up like weeds everyday in markets across the country. Whether it be Clear Channel's Rush Radio affiliates or Fox News, the line between journalism and entertainment has been permanently blurred. What is passing for examples of intelligent racial discourse are merely cheap one-liners and the conservative equivalent of "yo' mama" jokes.

Racism for ratings has become the order of the day and stations are scrambling to hire their own stable of hired haters.

What is ironic is that I doubt very seriously that most of the pundits who spew the racist rhetoric actually feel that way when they are off the clock nor will they be able to defend their positions in public debates. They subscribe to the old saying, "I'm not a racist; I just play one on TV." For them the profits of racial rage are strictly business, nothing personal.

Unfortunately, if you follow the right wing rhetoric to its logical conclusion, eventually some one's gonna get hurt and it's not going to be one of the media moguls in an office building in downtown Manhattan nor one of the local haters-for-hire hidden away in a DJ booth in some undisclosed location, it's going to be one of your friends or neighbors. After the racial Apocalypse, the head honchos at corporate will just put the racial rebel rousers in their Clear Channel Radio Host Protection Program, change their identities and ship them off to some unsuspecting town in Idaho where they will start the same mayhem over again, while leaving their former city of employment in shambles.

While many will be quick to blame the messenger, it must be noted that as early as the 18th century, Thomas Jefferson warned that if America did not get its collective act together in terms of race relations, according to Bradford Chambers in his book "Chronicles of Black Protests," he foresaw a race war and the "extermination of the one or the other race."

You have folks on both sides of the political gulf that take what they hear on Fox News and conservative radio as the Gospel, a reflection of how the average white American feels about people of color. However, just as the Hip Hop videos on Black Entertainment Television do not reflect the lifestyle choices of all African Americans, neither does Fox News reflect the racial attitudes of all whites.

According to WEB Dubois in his book, "Black Reconstruction in America, " in 1860 only 7% of the total population of the South owned nearly three million of the 3,953,676 slaves. These were the members of the "planter class" who controlled the politics and economics of the southern states. Dubois wrote that the propagation of the doctrine of black inferiority was based on the interests of this planter class by which the majority of the population (poor whites) were manipulated. In modern society, the planter class would be the media moguls and their prophets of rage, while the poor whites would be the majority of their listeners.

One of the reasons why this trend continues is that most Americans have a very lackadaisical attitude when it comes to historical research. It is easier to listen to some bigot on the radio and just parrot right wing talking points than it is to engage in a critical analysis of the race problem. Plus, it's more entertaining to watch Glenn Beck go off one one of his tirades than it is to sit down and read a book. Let's face it, the Right's theater of the absurd sells out every night.

Also, we live in an area where the local newspapers would rather pretend that by ignoring racial issues they will eventually disappear. Racial issues will not make the morning paper until two days after blood is flowing waist high in the streets,evidence of the old adage "if it bleeds, it leads."



Nationally, this has been a long hot summer in regards to the topic of race in America and with the upcoming mid-term elections, you can bet that the heat of the summer will bleed into the fall.

While the media gatekeepers are cashing in on the racial hatred, folks like you and I are just pawns in the game.


***Originally published 8/8/10****

Min. Paul Scott represents the Messianic Afrikan Nation  He can be reached at info@nowarningshotsfired.com

Juneteenth Mental Emancipation Campaign

On June 19th, African Americans across the country will observe Junteenth in recognition of the fact that the enslaved Africans in Texas did not become emancipated until June 19, 1965, even though Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation went into effect January 1st 1963.

Although, African Americans may have been emancipated physically, a NC minister and activist is calling for blacks to be emancipated, mentally.

"Because we do not know our history, many Africans Americans, especially the youth, are still psychologically, 'unemanacipated,' says Paul Scott of Durham, NC. "It is important that we not only embrace our culture during Juneteenth and Black History Month but we must live it 365 days a year."

This is especially critical at a time when many African Americans feel that they have "overcome" because of a black man in the White House and race is no longer an issue.

"It does one no good to be physically chillin' in the Promise Land but mentally still on the plantation, "says Scott

As part of his Mental Emancipation Campaign, Scott is calling for the African American community to become custodians of their culture at a time when there is a "Right Wing Conspiracy" to redefine racism, which he says as become an all purpose term that can falsely apply to any ethnic group.

"Groups like the Tea Party and other Right Wingers have so distorted the term "racism," that they have made the term obsolete when it comes to African Americans and Latinos," says Scott. "We must debunk the myth of 'multi-cultural racism' as the only form of racism is white supremacy and we must define it as such."

Scott, known as the "Hip Hop TRUTH Minista" is also calling on members of the Hip Hop community and black entertainers to stop letting white corporate America define "blackness."

"The black experience is not what you see on TV or hear on the radio, says Scott. "that is a corporate created image."

The activist is also appealing to African American leaders to stop referring to their constituents as "minorities" and "colored."

"As Bob Marley once sang we must emancipate ourselves from mental slavery. None but ourselves can free our minds."

Paul Scott is author of the controversial blog, No Warning Shots Fired.com http://www.nowarningshotsfired.com
He has appeared on many talk shows and lectured across the country about race, religion and rap music .
For more information contact No Warning Shots Fired Media at (919) 451-8283 or info@nowarningshotsfired.com

The Great Race Debate: Time to Put Up or Shut Up!

The Great Race Debate:
Time to Put Up or Shut Up!

Paul Scott



Back in the day, we used to settle arguments over who was the best rapper by engaging in something called "battles." Instead of yellin' "you suck" from the safety of the back of a dimly lit auditorium, rival rappers would grab a couple of mics, jump on stage and let the best lyricist win. However, with the coming of commercialization as well as the Internet, battles for rap supremacy have , largely, been reduced to nasty comments posted at the end of Youtube videos. As it is with Hip Hop, so it is with the fine art of public debate.

While debate has been a time honored tradition, nowadays the art seems to have gone the way of the dinosaur. No longer do we have ideological debates such as Abraham Lincoln vs Stephen Douglas or competing ideologies such as those of Booker T. Washington vs WEB Du Bois. Instead, public discourse has been reduced to cowardly catcalls and Tea Bagger talking points.

This is especially true in this country when it comes to addressing the taboo topics of race and class. Although Americans seem to love the "idea" of having a national conversation about race, in practice, as Attorney General Eric Holder put it, we are a nation of cowards.

Historically, the issue of racism is only put on the front burner after a "Martin Luther King" assassination or a "Rodney King" beating is caught on videotape. Otherwise, it is business as usual.

To be perfectly frank, "racial discussions" have only been used in this country as a type of sedative to calm black folks when they get riled up. At best, they are, simply, used as ventilation devices to let African Americans blow off steam in a controlled environment.

It is the same routine, every time. CNN does a "black outage" story, which is followed by a town hall meeting by some Human Relations Commission. The climax comes when a hand picked black leader issues a widely televised call for calm, reassuring white America that there will be no violence. End of story.

However, during this white male dominated, racially charged climate, I have heard no calls for calm nor media outlets seeking an anointed "white leader" to give a Martin Luther King quote urging non-violence. Matter of fact, the Right Wing incendiary rhetoric has been encouraged as being "patriotic." So the discussion on race in 2010, has been a one sided argument hogged by conservative radio commentators who overnight, have seemed to acquire Ph.D's in African American History, thus, feeling, uniquely, qualified to explain the black experience to their listeners.

The anonymity of social media has also added to the dilemma, as it has allowed mild mannered Jim Bob, the friendly auto mechanic ,by day to transform into "Granddragon666," defender of white supremacy and enemy of all things black, on the Internet, by night.

As columnist Leonard Pitts wrote, recently, "when people don't have to account for what they do, they will often say and do things that would shock their better selves."

Instead of having the guts to debate in a public forum , loud mouth cowards hide behind computer aliases and viciously attack well researched, competing ideologies with cheap one liner "trailer park tweets."

So the sanctity of public discourse has been reduced to something reminiscent of "Statler and Waldorf," the two old fogies from the Muppet Show, heckling Fozzie Bear from the safety of their balcony seats. (I remember, as a child ,wishing that just once, Kermit and the crew would bum rush the balcony and pimp slap the both of them.)

If Robert Williams challenged racism, militarily, Thurgood Marshal challenged it , legally and Martin Luther King Jr, challenged it, morally, it is our challenge to pick up the mantle of scholars such as the late Dr. John Henrik Clark and challenge it, intellectually.

So now is the time to put up or shut up !

To barbecue or mildew..

To (Censored)...Ok, I can't use that one but you get the point...

I am, personally, issuing a challenge to all the race "haters" to engage in a series of public debates dealing with the issues of race and class .

Don't get it twisted. This is not an attempt to issue an Afro-centric apologia or justify my existence to the pleasure of white America because as Du Bois once asked, "what on Earth is whiteness that one should desire of it?"

This is about the self identity of future generations of African American children. Black children need to know that even in the face of a vicious Right Wing rhetorical attack , not all black men and women are tremblin' in a corner mumblin' " ain't nobody here but us chickens, boss."

We, as black folks, must plant in the mind of each black child that you must be the guardian and custodian of your own history, first and foremost. Don't let anyone else tell your history, you must tell it yourself.

So the call goes out to any and all who are bold (or arrogant) enough to accept the challenge. From Right Wing radio hosts to Internet pseudo-intellectuals. We can debate on a street corner or in a college auditorium, it makes me no matter.

However, I feel obligated to warn you to borrow from the Hip Hop group EPMD, intellectually speaking

"If you think about battlin' you'd better come prepared, come with your shield and your armored gear."

Paul Scott writes for No Warning Shots Fired.com. Any organization, educational institution, etc that would like to facilitate a debate contact (919) 451-8283 or info@nowarningshotsfired.com