Let America Be America Again

 "O, let America be America again –
The land that never has been yet –
And yet must be–the land where every man is free.
The land that’s mine–the poor man’s, Indian’s, Negro’s, ME”–

    Langston Hughes (below)

 

I had this email interchange with East Chicago graduate Denzel Smith (above), whom son Dave mentored:

     Denzel: They made me stand up every morning and pledge my allegiance to a flag that is rooted in the OPPRESION, MARGINALIZATION, DISCRIMINATION, and HATRED of my people. That’s crazy!!!

    Jim: Our country's roots, certainly flawed, as you point out, also includes valuable guarantees of liberties, fragile as they given our political situation. Please give "the system" another chance in November.

    Denzel: Jimbo, you will always be one human being that I love and respect and because of that, I have to be honest and say, I don’t think we have it in us to give it another chance. I could be wrong but I believe we need to go back to the drawing board and figure out a system that works for all people, not just some. Let’s build a new table of brotherhood.

    Jim: OK but make sure to vote and stay safe, we want to keep your voice and passion around for a long time

   Denzel : Thank you and I hope to see you guys when I come home next month. Be safe.

    Jim: For sure. My political hero Richard Hatcher's greatest legacy was to continue to work within the political system in the late-1960s, when most black power advocates had given up on it. Hatcher's 1972 National Black Political Convention inspired young African Americans, including Barack Obama; in his seventies Hatcher tirelessly campaigned for Obama prior to the crucial 1908 Iowa primary. Hatcher's father Carleton escaped from a Georgia overseer and didn't learn to read or write until old age. Several of his offspring died as a result of the hovel they were forced to live in during the Great Depression. Carleton, understanding the importance of education, made sure others had the opportunity to attend college. Denzel, you can be a future mayor of East Chicago or anything else you set your mind to. Teacher? preacher? I see both of those traits in you. As Maryland History professor Sam Merrill told me during the 1967 March on the Pentagon, stay safe, you can be a much more important force for good as a teacher than as one of thousands in a crowd. But he was marching beside me, realizing the need to be there.

Denzel: Thank you and I hope to see you guys when I come home next month. Be safe.

Visclosky, Millsap, Mrvan

Toni and I were surprised and delighted to learn that Frank Mrvan upset Hammond mayor Tom McDermott to gain the Democratic nomination to succeed First District Congressman Peter Visclosky.  Though outspent four to one and overcoming numerous “spoiler” candidates, Mrvan received approximately 26,000 votes to former Republican McDermott’s 22,000. None of the other 11 candidates garnered as many as 8,000.  Mrvan credited endorsements by Visclosky and the United Steelworkers as key factors, as well as hard work by hundreds of volunteers, including former lake County sheriff Roy Dominguez, whose opinion helped sway us.  Let’s hope this bodes well for November and a resounding repudiation of Trump.

 

Gregg Hertzlieb referenced John Mellencamp’s “Scarecrow” album and the song “Minutes to Memories” that opens with these lyrics:

On a Greyhound thirty miles beyond Jamestown
He saw the sun set on the Tennessee line
          He looked at the young man who was riding beside him
He said I'm old kind of worn out inside

I worked my whole life in the steel mills of Gary
And my father before me I helped build this land
Now I'm seventy-seven and with God as my witness
I earned every dollar that passed through my hands
My family and friends are the best thing I've known
Through the eye of the needle I'll carry them home