"Only a Pawn in their Game" »
Posted by: Spadecaller 1 year, 6 months agoA dedication to Black History Month -- Bob Dylan sang about Medgar Evers in his famous song, "Only a Pawn in their Game". On that same late August day in 1963, the March on Washington brought MLK to deliver his famous speech," I Have A Dream. Medgar Evers was shot and killed 2 months earlier.
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Spadecaller1 year, 6 months ago
For those who do not know about Medgar Evers:
Medgar Evers, a native of Mississippi, attended school there and was inducted into the U.S. Army in 1943. Despite fighting for his country in the Battle of Normandy, Evers soon found that his skin color gave him no freedom when he and five friends were forced away at gunpoint from voting in a local election.
Evers applied to the then-segregated University of Mississippi Law School in February 1954. When his application was rejected, Evers became the focus of an NAACP campaign to desegregate the school, a case aided by the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the case of Brown v. Board of Education
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Spadecaller1 year, 6 months ago
On June 12, 1963, Evers pulled into his driveway after attending an integration meeting where he had conferred with NAACP lawyers. Exiting his car and carrying NAACP T-shirts that stated, "Jim Crow Must Go", A bullet struck evers in the back.
He staggered 30 feet before collapsing, dying at the local hospital 50 minutes later. Evers was murdered just hours after President John F. Kennedy's speech on national television in support of civil rights.
We have made progress. I hope that should Senator Obama progress in the primaries and become the Democratic nominee for the Presidency, he will not be murdered.
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Beeboppin711 year, 6 months ago
"We have made progress. I hope that should Senator Obama progress in the primaries and become the Democratic nominee for the Presidency, he will not be murdered." - Spade
This is my fear as well. If he runs he's got my vote but he's going to have to be very careful.
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ETproductions1 year, 6 months ago
"Where is that switch?" Education -- Knowledge. That's why the haters are so against real education, even when they CLAIM to favor it because they know it's a key to getting the power needed to out source and destroy public education.
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Formidable1 year, 6 months ago
Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.
My wish is for tolerance and understanding to become part of all of us. We need to become a nation that is willing to discuss its issues with out malice. We, as individuals, will not always get our way. When we don't, it should be a call to work harder within the system to see if our individual wishes have merit.
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Spadecaller1 year, 6 months ago
"A South politician preaches to the poor white man
"You got more than blacks, don't complain
You're better than them, you been born with white skin" they explain
And the Negro's name
Is used it is plain
For the politician's gain
As he rises to fame
And the poor white remains
On the caboose of the train
But it ain't him to blame
He's only a pawn in their game."
Bob Dylan
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blinkers1 year, 6 months ago
Spadecaller, great story, thanks,
Bob Dylan also wrote these words, about another racist murder on a song which for unknown reasons never made it onto one of his records:
"If you can't speak out, against this kind of thing,
A crime that's so unjust,
Your mind is filled with dead man's dirt, and your brain is filled with dust,
Your arms and legs must be in shackles and chains, and your blood must refuse to flow,
For you to let this great land of ours, fall down so Godawful low"
(The Ballad of Emmett Till, c1963)
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Spadecaller1 year, 6 months ago
The main reason Senator Obama was reluctant to run for office was because his wife was concerned about the welfare of her family.
As more people recognize that his values reflect the character of a real person -- that he writes his own speeches, and that he walks the walk, he will become more of a threat.
The last President who refused to bow to corporate influences was JFK. Senator Obama is a smart man, he knows what the risks are. Watching Dylan perform on this video brought back the vivid memories great hope and despair. Our nation's greatest leaders were taken from us by viscious acts of violence. Should a good man of high moral characater reach the White House, providing him and his family protection will be a feat in itself.
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Spadecaller1 year, 6 months ago
"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius -- and a lot of courage -- to move in the opposite direction."
Albert Einstein
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not2needy1 year, 6 months ago
I don't understand hatred based on race, religion, or anything of that nature. I have learned that there are people that actually hate based on your politics, and i find that so sad.
This leaves me at a loss for words! One of the saddest things is they never seem to 'find' the murderers of blacks until they are in their 70's or 80's. Too Little Too Late, and So SAD!
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Spadecaller1 year, 6 months ago
HURRICANE - BOB DYLAN - MUSIC VIDEO - WITH SUBTITLES
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohyQblkQ8fc
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Amazing11 year, 6 months ago
For those who are not familiar with the story of Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, you can read his biography here:
http://www.biography.com/search/article.do?id=9542
He was finally exonerated in 1985.
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Spadecaller1 year, 6 months ago
We have more of a problem in unlearning than we do with learning.
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Spadecaller1 year, 6 months ago
"Don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWkUbNzlcxA
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aceofspades11 year, 6 months ago
For several years I would do a fund raising show with Count Basie's wife Catherine , for the Medgar Evers Scholarship Fund . I was the company white guy so to speak, but people from all walks of life supported our cause.
Medgar Evers was martyred in the cause of civil rights & he will be eternally remembered by people striving to be free.
Linking Sen Obama to him as he was in a previous posting lessens his memory. While it is true that Medgar helped bring about the changes that make Obama a viable candidate, the fact remains that Obama is a politician & the current poster boy & is just mouthing platitudes for the masses
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IcCaRus1 year, 6 months ago
if he gets the nomination, she'll have to...
dont forget that in the 80 primaries bush called reagans economic plan "voodoo economics" (he was right by the way) but once ronny had the nod, 41 fell into place...
thats almost always the case. its pretty rare for nomination opponents not to make nice "for the good of the party" once the nominee is selected. if they dont, they can forget future support from the party.
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whereisthecomonsens1 year, 6 months ago
This is true... so invite a black person you work with out to lunch and let's start learning something about each other
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Spadecaller1 year, 6 months ago
Aerospades,
Whoever runs for office is a politician and therefore must be corrupt is flawed thinking. What would an honest man do if he sold used cars? (Sell cars honestly.)
With that kind of cynacism, there could never be an honest man or an honest woman in politics. Do you really believe that?
I do believe Hillary would actively support Obama if he won the nominaion. Why is that even important?
Will the American people rally behind a President who keeps his loyalty to the constitution? Will Americans rally behind a president regardless of party affilitation? What if we actually had a president that was a uniter?
Would the American people be too bitter and prejudiced to even recognize an honest man in politics? If we want to restore our constitutional government, it will require dedicated and imperfect human beings to serve, and a citizenship of enough community-minded non partisans.
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amazed1 year, 6 months ago
((With that kind of cynacism, there could never be an honest man or an honest woman in politics. Do you really believe that?))
I believe that most politicians start out with the best of intentions. At the local level, especially the boards, for the most part they are honest. But, as they get a taste of that power, it (usually)starts to go to their heads...and it is very heady stuff making decisions that will affect from a few thousand lives to a few million -- depending on the size of the community. It starts with the best of intentions -- grease the skids for a friend's project, vote something that will benefit yourself or someone close to you. As time goes on, the line blurs and all this beneficence that you are able to bestow because of your position (and I'm not talking bribery or payoffs here) and you begin to believe that you are just a bit "more equal" than others.
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amazed1 year, 6 months ago
Once this happens, its easier and easier to blur the line. I just read a novel that compared this to the lime foul line on a baseball field -- if there are enough fouls in the game, the line gets so blurred that eventually it can't be seen.
So, if I'm going to vote for that project anyway because I think it's a good one, why not let the guy do renovations on my house, or install a hot tub or whatever -- doesn't change my vote any.
If you read about the convicted politicians ex: Rowland (rep gov of CT) and Ganim (dem mayor of Bridgeport) both of them seemed totally flabbergasted that they had become corrupt. It was such a gradual process, that they didn't even notice it happening.
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lakeside551 year, 6 months ago
Spadecaller - once again, thank you for another magnificent posting - and for all the Dylan quotes and URL's. His were some of the first songs I learned to play on the guitar back in 1966.
Unfortunately the first thing I thought of when I heard that Obama would look into running for President was "Oh no ! Someone is going to try to assisinate him !".
His wife has good reason to worry. Unfortunately the history in our country of a black man in politics getting to reach his goal is not very good. Two wonderful men were cut down in the prime of life and before they got to complete all that they had hoped to accomplish. Still, both Medgar Evers and Dr. Martin Luther King accomplished far more than was 'lost'. Their words and deeds will live on in peoples' hearts and minds and they will forever inspire young people.
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amazed1 year, 6 months ago
I've loved Dylan since I was a kid and have always considered him to be one of the best lyricists/poets of our time.
Listening to this clip, though, I gotta say that I'm glad he got voice lessons or something! He sounds SOOO much better as he gets older.
I mean by the time the Desire album came along in the mid-seventies (the one with Hurricane -- one of his best IMHO), he actually sounded, well, not good, but definitely ok!
:D
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white-pawn1 year, 6 months ago
Another great post, Spadecaller.
It's hard to be a pawn of any color. You always have to check to see if it is you that has taken a step forward or if everyone else has taken a step back. The thing to remember is that there are more of us than there are kings. The only kings (whether it be MLK or JC or whomever we elevate to that status) worth defending are the ones who are willing to sacrifice themselves for the rest of us. Through their selfless acts, we as a people shall rise up and get to the promised land. A land where men (and women)are judged by the merit of their deeds and not the color of their skin. But it is up to us pawns to make it happen.
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droid39131 year, 6 months ago
This is off the subject. How would you feel about white history month or Asain History month? Does this make me racist? No! Who ever came up with black history month sure is!
We are humanbeings under the the same DNA. Live together in peace and harmony. We should be celebrating human history month instead.
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Spadecaller1 year, 6 months ago
droid:
Communist ideology gave priority to educating individuals who "rose above", or abandoned, their ethnic values and traditions. The right to celebrate and share in our diverse backgrounds is universal in itself. When we cannot share and celebrate our differences we lose something of great value that we all have in common: our uniqueness.
God- nature, call it whatever you choose or do not choose, we have all been given fingerprints unmatched. Trying to make a nation of diverse peoples comply to the rule of sameness has failed bitterly throughout history.
Many a Passover holiday, I have had the pleasure to invite my Christian friends to participate in the service. We delighted in sharing our separateness. My wife, who is of Italian background, invited me attend the "Feast of San Gennaro" before we married. What a great time we had.
It would be a sad day for this world if we all gave up the dignity of our individual identities.
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Submitted By:
Spadecaller
I'm an artist, poet, survivor, and a work in progress.
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