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Discussing the Diaspora as seen through an internal Black lens
While Obama Is At the Convention Podium, There Will Be Almost No Blacks On The Floor To Document History
June 6th, 2008
The Democratic Party’s convention committee has made a conscious choice not to include Black bloggers on the floor of the convention. In forming their blogger pool for the Democratic National Convention in Denver in August they chose to create separate classes of blogger access and privilege. They then determined that the privileged class would be those who have insider status and political connections; not to mention creating ostensible criteria that would almost guarantee minorities would be excluded.
The DNCC separated what it calls the State Corps Pool (which receives permanent floor privileges) from the General Pool of bloggers. It then set criteria for the privileged State Corps Pool, which are essentially akin to a poll tax or better yet a poll test. Selection of the State Corp Pool would primarily rely on the Technorati ratings of each candidate that applied. It is well understood, documented and without dispute that people tend to mostly congregate with those of their own kind; both racially and on other socio-demographics, and then subset wise along world view lines. Setting a criteria based so strongly on viewer-ship per state, when almost every single state in the union is majority White, and most vastly majority White; pre-set the conditions that minority operated blogs would not be chosen for the floor of the convention. This is because, as prefaced, social behavior based on the demographics of almost all states dictated an extreme likelihood that few if any Black or other minority operated blogs would garner the highest readership or linking from other bloggers; and hence receive the elevated floor privileges.
This is admitted by an operator of one of the most prominent White-run blogs in all of the blogosphere. He not only admits it, but lauds it as a reason why there should NOT be inclusion in the blogospher:
“We know from repeated studies that the progressive, political blogosphere skews toward the following demographics: 85-90% white, 60-65% male, very high income ($75-$80K average income), and the highly educated (40-50% advanced degrees, and 80-85% four year degrees). Now, we also know that such demographic skews are not representative of the Democratic Party, of the progressive movement, or of America. There are varying and multiple causes behind this skew: broadband access, digital literacy, and a lack of representative voices within the political blogosphere to attract a more diverse audience (research has generally found that people are attracted to content produced by those with whom they share similar cultural voices, even in the supposedly identity-blind world of the internet).
His conclusion about this is:
“The progressive blogosphere is not inherently good to the point where everyone needs to be involved in it.”…“without question, efforts should be made to guarantee that those who wish to participate in the progressive, political blogosphere can do so. Further, it is absolutely necessary to the progressive movement that the different communities within that movement are talking with each other, learning about each other, and working together…
Yet and still he contends that: “We don’t need to make sure that everyone and everything in progressive politics are engaged with, and represented in, the progressive blogosphere.”
–Chris Bowers, MYDD
www.mydd.com/story/2007/5/6/155916/3680
The fact that this is coming from an operator of the MYDD blog community, will later be shown to play a major role in the design of the DNCC’s blogger pool.
Along with the fact that the socio-politically conscious folks forming and picking the DNCC bloggers pool knew this; it is apparent that insider politics pre-determined the particular bloggers who would be picked for the state pool in the first place; based on connections, though they advertised the pretense of a fair an equal opportunity to be chosen.
The state bloggers pool announced three weeks ago contains some 50 plus white operated bloggers and only two confirmed minority operated blogs out of 55 (3% Black). The General Pool then announced 7 days ago is only 7% Black. This again in a party where Black voters represent 21% of the Democratic votership, are THE most loyal constituent by far in voting for Democrats nationally at a rate of 85 to 90 %; and are a group that will be key to the democrats winning the presidency and senate seats in a number of states in November that democrats will have to win to control Washington.
The State Corps Pool bloggers receive benefits that those in the General Pool do not, including: a permanent place on the convention floor for all 4 days of the convention, and all the great advantages that entails; computer access on the floor, and the opportunity to witness and absorb the atmosphere of the action on the floor as history is made.
General Pool bloggers, however; will have to take notes from the back of the convention hall, and then run to a room our side the main hall to file reports; while State Pool bloggers sit on the floor and are able to continue observing events. General Pool bloggers will may get to stand in line to get a 30 minute pass to the floor once every blue moon, then will be escorted off the floor when their time runs out, no matter if event are climaxing at that moment. They will be far away from the main action on the floor that is the real energy of the convention.
There are two classes of bloggers at the Democratic Convention, and this in and of itself is not so bad, as media is often separated this way; but at the DNCC they will be separated along racial lines; where one racial group occupies almost the entire privileged pool; and representatives of the Black and all other communities will have to go to the back of the bus.
This, while a Black man stands at the podium as the first minority nominee of a major political party; and accepts his nomination on the 45th year anniversary of the Martin Luther King “I have a dream” speech.
To be continued, Part II soon…
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14 Responses to “While Obama Is At the Convention Podium, There Will Be Almost No Blacks On The Floor To Document History”
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Yobachi Boswell is creator and publisher of BlackPerspecitve.net. I’m a writer, activist and political watcher based in Nashville, Tennessee. I’ve also been know to do some spoken word and MCing in my day.
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I’m confused and I will admit I did not read your column closely because several black bloggers were announced this week, including Jack & Jill Politics and DallasSouthBlog.com.
let me add, that I thought these new group was added as a result of criticism over the last two weeks.
Ruth, I am aware of who was announced and this post does not say that no Black blogs were announced, nor is that at all the subject of this post.
And no, they were not added as a result of any criticism; black bloggers were always going to be apart of the General Pool just as the DNCC said in both private communications and in the Dallas Morning news article; for which strong protest continued after those communications and article, and nothing changed. The General Pool being announced secondly was not an addition, it was apart of the original process. There were always two pools (I denote this specifically in the post) and they were always going to be announced separately.
The issue is the convention floor privileges #1 and the level of minute Black representation on the floor and in the general pool # 2.
You can follow these post for the blow by blow development of this situation. You will see that well in advance of the general pool announcement I said there would be Black bloggers in the back of the convention General Pool:
www.blackperspective.net/index.php/regarding-the-now-breaking-news-about-black-bloggers-at-the-democratic-convention/
www.blackperspective.net/index.php/letter-to-the-dncc-about-access-to-the-convention-floor/
www.blackperspective.net/index.php/democratic-convention-floor-discrimination-new-day-same-ol-sh-t/
www.blackperspective.net/index.php/blackperspectivenet-in-the-washington-post/
www.blackperspective.net/index.php/jim-crow-democratic-convention/
Ruth, I’ll admit I can add some clarity in the second paragraph for those who have not followed the issue closely and don’t know the process; by adding a few words.
For instance, the sentence that says “It would primarily rely on the Technorati ratings of each candidate that applied”; will now read “Selection of the State Corp Pool would primarily rely on the Technorati ratings of each candidate that applied.”
Thanks for helping me see that people who don’t already know might not quite follow, so I could improve that paragraph for their understanding. Though in the third and forth to last paragraphs it does detail the differences.
I’m confused as I didn’t read his post the way you did at first but the second time around it meant to me what it meant to you I think. “We need to engage but I still prefer to talk only among people like me”. I don’t read MY DD or KOS or anything run by upper middle class white males prone to pontification.
I honestly think Yobachi that as time passes and these old farts as the are disappear into obscurity and the newer generation takes over it will be much more diverse. Younger people interested in progressive politics do not read those sites, they tend to go more diverse.
The technorati thing is rather strange, but it does seem to be the way everything is done, even awards for blogs.
I know very little about the floor situation, and I know that the African American community want to claim Obama, but I honestly do think they are going by Technorati as everyone does because they have nothing else to go on and because Obama is going to be the president of all races.
It has also occurred to me that they might not want to scare away those racist white people in those questionable states by loading up the floor with African Americans. I honestly think they know quite well we still live in a very racist country, and are going to make it look at white as they possibly can for that reason.
Sad to say but this is where my thoughts are leaning on their pool choices.
Cooper, I have not asked that Blacks be treated with equality by the DNCC because there is a Black nominee that Black people own; I demand equal treatment because it’s right regardless of who the nominee might have been.
I am noting how there being a Black nominee at the podium underscores the ridiculous irony of the discrimination; but the discrimination sucks regardless.
And the ‘wait until the next generation comes about’ argument is not one I could hardly buy. That’s what they’ve always told Black people throughout American history who spoke up. “Just be patient and they’ll come around. Don’t rock the boat, they’ll do the right thing in their own time”. That’s never the way it happens.
“Power never concedes without a demand, it never has and it never will”
–Fredrick Douglas
Six AfroSpear and three additional afrosphere blogs were chosen to participate in the general pool, out of 124 blogs, which means that the blogs present with be only white and 7.2% Black and about 90% white.
Cooper said above,
“as time passes and these old farts as the are disappear into obscurity and the newer generation takes over it will be much more diverse.”
This is decidedly NOT their plan, and these “old farts” are young enough to dominate the Democratic Party for two generations, if we allow them to do it. In addition, they have a leadership academy, started by Markos C.A. Moulitsas Zúñiga, where they are training younger bloggers in their credo: women, Blacks, Latinos, gays, workers and the disabled are “niches” individually and in combination, but white men are the “majority”, no matter how few of them there are.
Unfortunately, white megablogs have no more intention of sharing the power of blogging with Blacks, now and in the future, than slave owners had plans of eventually dying off and leaving the plantations to the Black slaves. Like South African apartheid, this system will only die if we make a determined and sustained effort to kill it.
Someone above mentioned that a few Black blogs were added to the virtually all-white overall blog pool. AFTER those few Black blogs were added, the elite floor pool remains 53:2 white, and there are only 7.2% Blacks in the overall blog pool.
But this underestimates the inequality, because the white state pool blogs can bring along as many bloggers as they want, while the Blacks in the general pool have to come by themselves, alone. If each white blog brings 8 white bloggers (which is they only kind they know) then it is entirely possible that there will be 424 white bloggers at the Convention and nine or ten Black ones.
Is that fair? Is that outreach? Or is it simply color aroused arrogance that places segregation as a higher priority than mobilization of the demographic group that votes 90% of the time in favor of the Democratic Party, while the whites who arrogate the floor of the Convention unto themselves come from a demographic group that ALWAYS votes more for Republicans than for Democrats, with the Democratic Party only viable when Blacks tip the scales in favor of the Democratic Party.
So, what privileges will the white floor blogs have that the general pool blogs don’t?
(1) Whites can multiply their numbers by inviting others while Blacks come neutered, unable to have offspring.
(2) Whites can stay on the floor for as long as they like, while Black bloggers will have to stand in line for floor passes worth 30-45 minutes on the floor, after which security guards will tell them that their time is up and they must leave the floor or be arrested. Don’t resist! Don’t resist!
(3) While whites will walk on and off the floor whenever they please, Blacks will waste hours in line waiting for passes. And white bloggers will look at Black bloggers like second-class trash, unworthy of doing the “important” blogging that the white state blogger from Alaska is doing.
(4) White bloggers will each have a dedicated seat on the floor, where a computer and Internet connection will be provided for their use. Black bloggers will have to leave the floor to access the Internet, and will have to stand up while holding laptop computers on their knees if they want to type anything while they’re on the floor.
(5) White bloggers will sit among their state delegations for the entire conference, cementing relationships that may lead to exclusive information, job offers, advertising, and online roles in the new Obama Administration or state government. Black bloggers will be treated like office boys, nameless interns, herded about like children at an amusement park who have to buy their tickets and leave immediately when the ride is over, and then stand in line for another ticket if they want to go on that ride again.
(6) Because white bloggers were already virtually assured that they would get the ONLY state blog seat from their state, some of them have even discussed arranging to stay in the same hotel room areas as their state delegations. Because Blacks were notified late and never had any assurances who would be credentialed, Blacks will scramble for hotel rooms whose availability will almost certainly be announced to whites before it is announced to Blacks.
(7) Because of their special status as floor bloggers, with the national media attention on them at all times on the floor, floor bloggers will have their photographs taken with Barack Obama and many other luminaries, as well as appear on the national news programs. Black bloggers, simply because there will be fewer of us and less time on their floor, will have fewer opportunities for this kind of exposure. So, this is an opportunity for the white supremacist apartheid blogs like DailyKos and MyDD to very graphically and visually reassert and underline their lie that Black bloggers don’t exist at all. After all, look how few of them there are at the Democratic National Convention!
(8) Black bloggers can come onto the floor in the same status as white bloggers IF they are given a pass by a white blog. So, this sets up a South African apartheid-type pass system where Blacks can only leave the bantustans for the cities, when white give them a pass to do so. Blacks will have to show that pass given to them by whites if they want to stay on the floor, and that means they will be on the floor to do WHITE’S business, NOT to be Black self-determination bloggers with editorial independence.
(9) I wrote an e-mail to Aaron Myers, administrator of this apartheid system, and I asked simply for the descriptions of the state blog system that had been passed out to the state bloggers. Undoubtedly, those descriptions, as they evolve, will include all sorts of perks and privileges that Blacks will never even learn existed because their are virtually no Blacks who are among that group and can tell us what is going on.
Is this all an accident, or is it designed by the same blogs above that Yobachi cited, that have 2% Black participation and that specifically state that they don’t see the need or value of having any more. They specifically say that they don’t see why Blacks need to blog at all, and this all-white state blog policy is the institutionalization of that white supremacist attitude.
As the new presidential nominee asserts more control over the Democratic National Committee apparatus, I hope this system will be reorganized to include 21% Black blogs that will have the same privileges as white blogs. It would be a shame if that didn’t happen, because the result would be that the focus of the media will again be on the unfairness of the all-white state blog corps rather than on the nomination of the first Black candidate of a major party.
For news articles addressing this issue, see AfroSpear in the News listings for the last two weeks.
The Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, the San Francisco Chronicle, the LA Times, the Dallas Morning News and hte Atlanta Journal Constitution have covered this issue so far. 7.2% Black blog at the Democratic National Convention is an embarrassment, and 2 out of 55 Black blogs among the elite state blog corps is nothing short of Jim Crow Apartheid. This is going to blow up in the national press once again unless this situation resolved quickly.
Worse of all, photographs of an all-white blog corps would embarrass the presidential nominee before his most loyal constituency and make Blacks wonder if anything at all will change for the better under a Black president. That’s why it’s so important to address this issue immediately, before this scandalous embarrassment it is publicized on national television for a week in August.
So what is the plan, and how do we get this changed now? Is there a movement. I’m not African American but would like to take part in this.
I wouldn’t want to wait either while the crumbs slowly filter down. I was just saying what I think is their viewpoint.
I’m sorry but the progressive blogesphere has really done nothing because if they were serious about change, those fat white men would have been instigative on local levels and would have been promoting change on a local levels as that is where all change starts. Instead the start big and stay bigger.
Yobachi, I’m not sure if this is supposed to happen, but when I go from your feed in my reader to here I end up on ad pages. happened many times.
Very good additional analysis Francis. I’ll talk to you more about it later.
I need to add to this post the privilage of being able to invite extra workers to the convention, and general pool bloggers having to stand to type their reports while the privleged class has their own station on the floor.
Cooper, we’re continuing to rally the troops, we’re working the media to keep the pressure on, and I’m now moving beyond the DNC and the DNCC, and taking the grievance to the Obama campaign. They control things now; they already made the DNC renounce accepting lobbyist money yesterday inline with Obama’s campaign.
I will admit to not following this as closely as I should have. I had no idea that it was being run like this. It is truly reflective of what the atmosphere is like for a POC in the blogosphere. We are not linked to major blogs, our work is stolen and our commentary ignored or silenced unless we are articulating a “white” perspective. Keep fighting…we must make our voices heard.
Rnee, glad to have you to the fight to make our voices heard.
Reminds me of MTV years ago when they started out refusing to show videos with black people because they didn’t think it would sell. this is a prime example of our dignity being compromised for white folks and listening to people make excuses and justification for generations is just pathetic. Fannie Lou Hamer and others must be rolling in their graves over this.
Yeah S. Justice, I remember MTV in the 80s. They didn’t have Black people on for almost the first decaded except Michael Jackson and Prince; and when I mentioned this on NPR one of the other bloggers informed me they had to fight to get Jackson on their to launch the Thriller album.
It wasn’t until Run DMC’s Walk This Way video that we got a break through, and that was only because it was an Aerosmith cover featuring Aerosmith in the video. Following the success of that, they brought on “YO! Mtv Raps” in ‘88.
Again, this is the 80s we’re talking about not the 50s or something.
If we didn’t push for equality and just sat back and waited for the white power structure to come around in their own time; we’d still be sharecroppers forever in debt to the plantation store, with no enforceable right to vote - forget having a Black man at the DNCC podium.
I’ve had to evoke Fannie Lou Hammer a couple of times in this discourse. I’m glad she didn’t just settle for what she was told Blacks were only entitled to. I’m glad she didn’t think an all white Mississippi delegation was a privilege that she dare not challenge.
The struggle continues…