Walking for Freedom, The Montgomery Boycott (continued)

WALKING FOR FREEDOM: THE MONTGOMERY BUS BOYCOTT, continued

Getting Ready to Boycott - Chapter 3
Mrs. Robinson knew just what to do. As soon as she heard about Mrs. Parks, she called the Women's Political Council. She told them what had happened. They all agreed that this was the moment they had been waiting for. It wsa time to boycott the Montgomery buses. Mr. Nixon and other leaders liked the idea, too.

Mrs. Robinson got busy quickly. The very evening of the day Mrs. Parks was arrested, Mrs. Robinson went to her college. She wrote a leaflet telling people about the boycott.

"If we do not do something to stop these arrests, they will continue," she wrote. "We are asking every Negro to stay off the buses Monday in protest of the arrest and trial. Don't ride the buses to work, to town, school, or anywhere on Monday."

She stayed up all night making thousands of copies of the leaflet. The next morning, students helped her take the leaflets to black homes and businesses all over Montgomery. By Friday afternoon, December 2, many black people knew about the boycott.

Mr. Nixon was busy, too. He phoned the community leaders and the ministers or the black leaders. "We need to plan how we'll carry out the boycott," he told them. He asked them to meet at the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church that evening.

Mr. Nixon also wanted to make sure that everybody knew about the boycott. He was even willing to risk letting whites know about it. So he called Joe Azbell editor of the Montgomery Advertiser. "I've got a big story for you and I want you to meet me," he said.

Mr. Azbell met him at the railroad station. Wearing a porter's jacket and black cap. Mr. Nixon showed the editor one of Mrs. Robinson's leaflets. We're gonna boycott these buses," he said.
"We're tired of them fooling with our women - they done if for the last time." Nixon's voice was angry and sharp. But he wasn't mad at Azbell. He was mad at the Montgomery law, the bus drivers, and the mayor.

"You're gonna put this on the front page?" he asked the editor.

"Yeah, I'm gonna try to," Mr. Azbell replied.

Pleased with his meeting, Mr. Nixon waved goodbye to Mr. Azbell. A front page news story would make sure everyone knew about the boycott. Then he got on a train headed for Atlanta, Georgia. He had to work that night and would not be able to go to the meeting at the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

Meanhwhile, at the college, Mrs. Robinson got a note from her boss, Dr. renholm. He waterd to see her right away. When she entered his office, sha saw that he was angry. His lips were pressed tightly together, and his eyes were squinting. He looked at Mrs. Robinson. Then he help up one of the leaflets she'd written.

"What is this all about?" he asked shaply. "And what do you have to do with it?"

Mrs. Robinson was surprised and a little frightened. SHe stammered a little and explained what had happened to Mrs. Parks. :Other people have been arrested in the past. All they did was refuse to give up their seats to a white person," she said.

"Were there other seats?" Dr. Trenholm snapped. He knew that the law said that a black person had to give the seat to a white person only if there were no empty seat in the black section of the bus.

"No, there wasn't an empty seat," Mrs. Robinson said. Dr. Trenholm was still frowning. He walked back and forth looking down at the floor. But Mrs. Robinson could tell he was thinking carefully.

"Sit down and tell me about this," he said quickly.

Mrs. Robinson sat slowly. She was afraid Dr. Trenholm would fire her. After all, she had used the college's paper and copier. Whites would be angry if they found out. They might say the black college was stirring up trouble. Then the college would be in trouble!

But she also believed she had done the right thing. She took a deep breath to calm herself. Suddenly, she didn't care if she was fired or not.

She told Dr. Trenholm about the Women's Political Council and the work they were doing. "We would never do anything that would get the college in trouble," she assured him. "But somebody has to do somthing," she said boldly.

Finally she thought she'd said enough. She sighed and looked down at the floor. She wasn't sure what would happen next.

Dr. Trenholm was silent for a long time. Mrs. Robinson could tell that he was changing his mind. She looked at him sitting at his desk. His frown was gone. His face was not long and sad. He put his elbows on his desk and leaned forward. "Your group must continue to press for civil rights,"
he said. "But you have to be careful," he warned. He seemed tired. "You can't involve the college in this," he said, shaking his head.

Mrs. Robinson was relieved. As she turned to leave, Dr. Trenholm called her back. "You used college paper to run off these leaflets?" he asked.

Thzt's correct," she said. "The Women's Political Council owes the college for 17,500 sheets of paper. We will pay the bill immediately, sir." But the council didn't pay the bill. It had no money. Mrs. Robinson paid the bill with her own money.

That night more than fifty ministers and leaders met at the church on Dexter Avenue. Besides the ministers, there were also teachers, doctors, lawyers, businessmen, and postal workers. Mrs. Robinson was there too. Mr. Nixon had done a good job of getting everyone together.

The group made plans fo the boycott. They formed themselves into several committees. Each small group had a job to do.

One committee set up a carpool. People with private cars would pick up passengers and take them to work, school, shopping, or elsewhere. The committee decided where the passsengers should gather in order to be picked up. They also decided on which streets the cars would travel. That way, everybody would know where to get a ride.

Another committee got in touch with the black taxi drivers in Montgomery. The drivers agreed to take passengers for the same fare the passengers paid on the buses - ten cents.

Everyone agreed that there should be a big meeting Monday night after the day-long boycott. At that meeting they would decide whether or not to continue the boycott.

"We need to let everyone know about that meeting," one leader said. One of the inisters agreed to help write a new leaflet. He was dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a newcomer to Montgomery. At age 26, he was younger than most of the other leaders and ministers in the black community. Here's what Dr. King and his committee wrote:

Don't ride the bus to work, to town, to school, or any place Monday, December 5.

Another Negro woman has been arrested and put in jail because she refused to give up her bus seat.

Don't ride the buses to work, to town, to school, or anywhere on Monday. If you work, take a cab, or share a ride, or walk.

Come to a mass meeting, Monday at 7:00 P.M., at the Holt Street Baptist Church for further instruction.

Dr. King and another minister, Ralph Abernathy, worked until midnight. They made thousands of copies of the leaflet, just as Mrs. Robinson had done. The next morning, Dr. King and Mr. Abernathy walked door-to-door in the black community. They helped other men, womrn, and young people pass out the leaflets.

For two days, the boycott had been more or less a secret. Very few white people in Montgomery knew about it. But on Sunday morning, all that changed. A story on the front page of the Montgomery Advertiser told about the boycott. Mr. Azbell had written the story using Mr. Nixon's information. He'd also used information from Mrs. Ribinson's and Dr. King's leaflets.

Some whites were angry and upset. The chief of police went on television. He angrily spoke against the boycott. "Negro goon squads are scaring blacks from riding the buses," he falsely charged. "The police will help anyone who wants to ride the buses," he announced.

"I figure the niggers will just get right back into them buses like they always done," another white said. "They'll move right to them back seats like always." Like soem ohter whites, this person didn''t think black people would stand up for their rights.

Black churches were full of joyful singing, preaching and praying on Sunday morning. The ministers reminded church members to stay of the buses on Monday.

But some blacks were still not sure about the boycott. Some of them were afraid their white bosses would fire them. They knew theier bosses could find almost any reason to let them go. Causing trouble over segregation was as good a reason as any. Some blacks were also afraid that the boycott might lead to bloodshed and death. They afraid of what some whites might do when the boycott started.

Would enough people stay off the buses to make the boycott a success? As the sun set Sunday evening, no one knew for sure.

No Riders Today! - Chapter 4

Dr. King's wife, Coretta, looked out the window early Monday morning. What she saw did not make her happy. It was a gray, cold, cloudy day. It wasn't the kind of day that would make people want to walk to work or stand around waiting for cars. She wondered whether people really would stay off the buses on a day like this.

Soon, Mrs. King saw the headlights of one of the buses. As the bus drew closer, she could see inside. She saw the driver - and no one else. She looked again to make sure. Then she shouted to Dr. King, who was in the kitchen. "Martin, Martin, come quickly!"

Dr. King raced to the window. Mrs. King pointed to the bus. She was excited and proud. "Darling, it's empty!" she said, her voice full of joy.

Dr. King was amazed. He knew this bus was usually full of black people on their way to work. But today it rumbled slowly by, as empty as could be.

Dr. King was still not sure the boycott was working, however. He wondered whether all the b uses would be as empty. He and Mrs. King waited anxiously for the next bus.

Sure enough, 15 minutes later, another empty bus rolled by. And after that, another one, with just two whie people on it.

Dr. King wanted to see more. He got into his car and drove around Montgomery. He passed bus after bus for over and hour. During the whole time, he saw no more than eight black people riding the buses. He noticed that not many whites were riding the buses, either. Some of them had stayed off toe help the boycott.

Instead he saw black men, women, and children walking. He saw them riding black-owned cars and taxis. He even saw some people riding mules and some riding in buggies pulled by horses.

Some people walked as much as 12 miles to and from work or school. And they walked proudly. They knew why they were walking. They were walking for their rights - for their self-respect.

At some bus stops, children laughed and made faces as the buses rolled by. They joked about the "yellow monsters" and sang out, "No riderss today!" Some adults, too, pointed and laughed att eh empty buses. "Who will you kick now? they shouted to the buses.

Dr. King and teh other leaders were happy. The boycott was even more successful than they'd hoped it would be. Almost no one from the black community rode the buses. And almost no one from the black community shopped in the stores downtown. The buses and the businesses lost money. This showed the mayor that the black community wsa strong. It showed the city and the bus drivers that they could not get away with treating blacks unfairly.

But there was still work to do. Monday afternoon, the community leaders met. They began to make plans for the big meeting that night. First, they voted on a new name for their group. They called themselves the Montgomery Improvement Association, or MIA for short. Next, they elected Dr. King as the president of their group. Mr. Nixon was elected treasurer.

The new group decidd that black people should not ride the buses again until certain changes were made. They made a list of the changes they wanted.

1. Drivers must be polite to black riders.
2. Black riders can take any seat starting from the back and going forward. White riders can take any seat, starting from the front and going backward. Nobody has to get up to give another person a seat.
3. Black bus drivers should be hired for routes in teh black neighborhoods.

Five thousand people came to the Holt Street Baptist Church that night. People filled every corner of the church. Hundreds of people stood outside in teh cold weather. Some stood on boxes and peeked through the windows.

At first the crowd was quiet and curious. They had never been part of a boycott before. They didn't know what was going to happen at teh church. Many of them had never heard of Dr. King.

Soon, Dr. King began to speak. Loudspeakers carried his deep voice to the people outside the church. "We are here this evening - for serious business," he said slowly. A few people murmured "yes" as he paused before continuing. Dr. King could tell that most of the people in teh crowd were holding back. They were waiting for him to fill them with a feeling of pride, hope, and courage about the boycott.

As he spoke, his powerful voice rang out. "We are here" he said, because... we are American citizens." He reminded them of what had happened to Mrs. Parks. "Just because she refused to give up - to give up her seat to a white person."

Each time he paused, more and more people shouted "yes" and "Amen." They understood the unfairness of what had happened. They were angry, too. They agreed with Dr. King that Mrs. Parks was a brave and noble woman. "And just because she refused to get up, she was arrested," he repeated. THere were more shouts and a few people clapped.

After they quited down, he went on. His voice was even stronger now. His eyes blazed as he looked at teh crowd, and sweat began to show on his brow. "And you know, my friends, " he said, "There comes a time when people get tired of being trampled over by the iron feet of oppression."

The crowd exploded with a chorus of "yes." They were with him now. The strong voice and carefully chosen words of Dr. King had filled them with the pride of being citizens who had a right to be treated better. They listened and then answered his words with clapping and shouting. He asked them to work together and stand up for their rights.

When he finished, everyone clapped and shouted wildly. He had made an important speech that they would remember for a long time.

Finally, Mr. Abernathy asked everyone if they wanted to end the boycott. "No!" roared the crowd. One strong voice proudly shouted out what everyone was thinking. "This is just the beginning!" And everyone clapped and yelled in loud agreement.

Epilogue

Indeed, it was only the beginning. Whiite officials refused to change the bus segregation law. Bus drivers refused to be polite. Instead, the officials tried to force blacks to ride the buses again. The declared the boycott illegal. Black leaders, including Dr. King, Mrs. Robinson, and Mr. Nixon, were arrested.

Then a few whites became violent. They ruined Mrs. Robinson's new car by throwing acid on it. Theybombed the homed of Dr. King, Mr. Abernathy, and Mr. Nixon.

Some people walked even when they were offered rides. One grandmother shook her head and said "No thanks" when someone offered her a ride. "I'm walking for my children and my grandchildren," she said proudly. Black people stayed off the Montgomery buses.

From around the world, people sent money to help the Montgomery Improvement Association. The money helped pay the bail bonds for leaders who were arrested. That way the leaders did not have to stay in jail.

The money also helped pay someone to keep the cars and taxis on schedule just like the buses, planes, and trains. That way, people were able to get where they had to be on time.

Finally on November 13, 1956, the boycotters won a great victory. The Supreme Court agreed with three judges who had ruled that the Montgomery bus-segregation law was not legal. The ruling became official on December 20. It stated that black people must be allowed to sit anywhere they chose, front or back. Thirteen months after it began, the boycott was finally over.

Black citizens of Montgomery were relieved. They were glad that teh law was finally on their side. They were glad the boycott had worked. But there was no big celebration.

I don't recall that I felt anything great about it," said Mrs. Parks many years later. "It didn't feel like a victory, really," she said.

Many people remembered the bitter events of the past year. They had fought a long. hard battle, and now it was over. Perhaps they were sad that they had to fight it at all. Perhaps they knew that many more battles remained to be fought. They boycott had been the first big blos to segregation. But many more such blows were needed before segregation would be defeated. It was a good beginning, but it was just a beginning.

Early on December 21, Dr. King, Mr. and Mrs. Abernathy, E.D. Nixon, and a white man, Glen Smiley, got on a city bus.

As Dr. King paid his fare, the driver smiled. "I believe you are Reverend King, aren't you?" je asled/

"Yes, I am," Dr. King replied. smiling back.

"We are glad to have you this morning," said the driver.

"Thank you," said Dr. King, and he took a seat in the front of the bus.

Please stay tuned. It was reported on ABC 7 that Captain Vanessa Coleman's case has been taken up by the Government Accountability Project, a law firm that protects whistleblowers. This means that the Mount Pleasant Fire will be fully investigated for the first time! The second thing of note is that it's been reported that a number of the young people who were fired from teh academy for allegedly not satisfying the academic side of the test, who had complained about unfair treatment and harassment, have been reinstated. Those interested, please contact us and you will be furnished with more information. E.R.A.S.E. sees these two aforementioned happenings as a s uccess... and to those who attempted to spam this blog with McCain McCain McCain, the Spook says Obama! Obama! Obama!! Racism in the DC Fire Department will be a thing of the past. This election has proven that people of all colors can come together for change, and recism will be identified as a thing of the past.

In this confused world, where a few white supremacists, operating in a backdrop of the market economy that is based on exploitation, where there is public production and private expropriation/profiting; where the rights of people are denied, based on gender, race, religion and gender preference; where people are discriminated against because of their age. The Spook wants to offer a short story about an era where public accommodations were used to force second class citizenship on a numerically dominant population. These people decided to use an ingenious and very effective tool to confront this exercise in white supremacy. I am talking about the boycott. A boycott is to abstain, from using, buying, or dealing with, as a means of protest, the ultimate goal being to impact the bottom line of the oppressor and/or his friends. Boycotting has been used hundreds of times and has been extremely successful. I am putting this forward as a possible tool to deal with the institutional problems of the fire department and the union, to crack the jaws of racism! This seemed particularly appropriate since today, December 1st, is the 53rd anniversary of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. And today, like then, a few uneducated white men, are pushing a maniacal idea of racism on blacks and other minorities and including other white people; when even the election of Barack Obama to the presidency of this country, has proven that that idea has outlived its usefulness, and should be relegated to the dung heap of bad ideas like sun revolving around the earth, or the earth is flat, or Columbus discovered something. – The Spook
_________________________
The story you are about to read is about what happened when a community of people say, “Enough.” Enough unfairness. Enough segregation. Enough and no more. It’s a story of how a community’s courage and determination can rob the bee of its sting.

No Way to Start a Vacation – Chapter 1
A chilly winter wind was howling around Mrs. Jo Ann Robinson’s car. It was the day before Christmas 1949, in Montgomery, Alabama. Mrs. Robinson was driving back from the Montgomery airport. She had just dropped off her bags and packages at the airport for her trip home to Cleveland, Ohio. She diedn;t want to leave her car out in the open parking lot while she was away, so she was driving back to her house to park it in her garage.

She arrived home and listened to just a few more seconds of Christmas music before turning off the car. Then she locked the car in the garage and walked to the bus stop near her house. She planned to take the bus to a friend’s house. Then she and her friend would drive to the airport and take a plane home to Cleveland.

The cold wind nipped at her face and legs as she waited for the bus. But she didn’t mind it. She was happily thinking ahead to the wonderful Christmas vacation she was going to have.

Soon a yellow bus came chugging along and stopped. She got on without even thinking about it. Her mind was full of vacation thoughts. She dropped her fare in the box. Then she took an empty seat just a few rows from the front. She hardly noticed the other passengers on the bus. One was a white woman who sat ahead of her in the third row. The other was a black woman who was near the back.

As the bus began to go, Mrs. Robinson gazed out of the window. A pretty smile came to her light-brown face as she thought about her family and friends in Cleveland. She was eager to see them. She wanted to tell them all about her first four months of teaching at a black college in Montgomery.

Time seemed to disappear as Mrs. Robinson imagined talking to her family and friends. But after a few moments, she thought she heard an angry voice poking its way into her happy thoughts. At first she didn’t pay any attention. She was still smiling to herself, and her thoughts were far away.

Then she heard the voice again. It was closer and angrier this time. She turned her head, and there, standing next to her, was the bus driver, his face twisted into a scowl.

“Get up from there!” the driver yelled at her. She hadn’t even noticed that he’d stopped the bus and stomped back to her seat. “Get up from there! ” he yelled again. His right hand was raised as if he were about to hit her.

Mrs. Robinson was a qui=et, thoughtful person. She was polite, and she expected others to be polite to her. The driver’s behavior upset and frightened her. She didn’t know why he was yelling at her, but she was shocked and too afraid to ask. She surely didn’t want to be hit by this big man. She darted out of her seat and ran to the door, tears falling from her eyes.

Full of shame and hurt, she scrambled off the bus. “I felt like a dog,” she said later. She was glad none of her students were there to see what happened.

Suddenly, she realized what had made the driver yell at her. She’d sat in one of the rows of “whites only” seats.

In those days in Montgomery, a city law said that seats on the buses were segregated. That meant seats in the front part of the bus were only for white people. Black people had to sit in the back part of the bus. If there weren’t enough seats for whites, blacks had to give up their seats.

The law pretended to be “fair.” It said that blacks could only be asked to give up their seats it there were empty seats in the back. But in practice this wasn’t true. Even if it meant black people had to stand, they were made to give up their seats. Even if there were no white passengers at all, blacks could not sit in the first five rows of seats on a bus.

Some of the white bus drivers made the law seem even worse. They yelled at black passengers and called them names. After black passengers had paid their fares, drivers would sometimes order them to get back off the bus and walk to the backdoor to board. The worst of the drivers might then drive off before the black passengers could get back on the bus.

Mrs. Robinson had lived in Montgomery only a short time. Usually she didn’t ride city buses because she had a car. She had been told about the segregated seating. But it was the furthest thing from her mind when she took a seat on the bus that day.

Still, the bus driver had no right to mistreat her just because she’d forgotten about a law that made no sense. Her shame and fear turned to anger. During her vacation she kept thinking about how unfair and cruel the driver had been. She wanted to do something about it.

When she got back to Montgomery, she met with members of the Women’s political Council. Most of the women in this group were professionals. They were teachers, nurses, school principals, and social workers. Like many other black community groups in Montgomery, they were trying to improve the way blacks lived in their city. They worked to fight crime, to educate people, and to get people to vote.

Mrs. Robinson told the group about what had happened to her. They she listened as others told their stories.

“Oh, worse things than that have happened to me,” said one woman. “Drivers have called me names I can’t repeat here,” the woman recalled.

“A driver refused to make change for me, but he made change for white people,” another woman reported. “He wouldn’t let me on the bus,”

“You know, the drivers are just as mean to black men. If we or the men stand up to the drivers, they’ll call the police and have us arrested,” said another teacher. “Then we might lose our jobs,” she added.

Mrs. Robinson realized that what had happened to her had happened to many people. This did not make her any happier, though.

A few months later, in 1950, Mrs. Robinson became the president of the Women’s Political Council. Right away she called the mayor of Montgomery, Mr. Gayle. “We would like to meet with you and other city officials,” she said. “We’d like to work together with you to solve some problems that black people face when riding the buses.”

The mayor invited Mrs. Robinson and a few other women to City Hall. He was friendly. He listened to Mrs. Robinson and other women from the council. But he did not order any changes in the bus law, and he didn’t change the way the drivers behaved toward black people.

Enough Is Enough – Chapter 2
Year after year went by. The Women’s Political Council kept getting reports from blacks about bad treatment on the Montgomery buses. They complained to the mayor; but he refused to do anything about it.

Many black people were getting fed up with the buses and drivers. Some men chose to walk to work rater than take the bus. But most people kept on riding. They believed it was too dangerous to fight back. They were afraid that they would lose their jobs because most of them worked for white people. If they pushed too hard for change, they might even be killed.

In May of 1954, however, the Women’s Political Council had had enough. It had been more than five years since Mrs. Robinson had first met with the council. They had been patient too long.

The mayor announced that the bus fares were being raised. Blacks in Montgomery were angry. They didn’t mind paying more to ride the buses. But they did mind paying more when they were treated unfairly by the law and poorly by the drivers.

On May 21, Mrs. Robinson wrote a letter to Mayor Gayle. She and the Women’s Political Council demanded changes in the bus system. They wanted the drivers to stop ordering blacks to board at the back of the bus after they’d already paid at the front. They wanted buses to stop at every corner in black neighborhoods, just as they did in white neighborhoods.

Mrs. Robinson reminded Mayor Gayle that many more blacks than whites rode the buses. She warned him that changes had better be made. Otherwise, blacks would stop riding the buses. They would boycott the buses! Then the buses would lose money.

Mayor Gayle did not answer Mrs. Robinson’s letter. So the black community prepared to carry out the council’s plan. It took more than a year to get ready. Nearly seventy community groups had to be told about the plan. Church groups, business groups, and social groups all talked about the plan. Some groups were still afraid of causing “trouble” by boycotting the buses. But they all agreed that something had to be done. Finally, the leaders of most of the groups agreed on the idea of a boycott. All they needed was the right moment.

That moment came on the afternoon of December 1, 1955. Mrs. Rosa Parks got on a bus in downtown Montgomery. She was tired from her busy job of sewing clothes at a department store. She got on the Cleveland Avenue bus and say down in the black section near the back.

The bus rumbled from stop to stop. More and more people got on. Some were white, some were black. Soon there were no more seats in the black section. Many blacks were standing. The white section filled up, too. Then a white man got on and couldn’t find a seat.

The driver, James Blake shouted to the back of the bus. He told Mrs. Parks and three other black people to get up so that the white man could sit down. Blacks weren’t even allowed to sit next to whites on a bus. To make “room” for one white rider; four seated black riders were being ordered to move. Mrs. Parks and the other black riders said nothing. And they didn’t move.

“Y’all better make it light on yourself and let me have those seats,” Mr. Blake warned. The two black people sitting across from Mrs. Parks slowly but surely got up. They didn’t want to get up. They knew it was unfair. But they got up anyway. So did the man sitting next to Mrs. Parks. But Mrs. Parks kept her seat.

Mr. Blake looked at Mrs. Parks in the rearview mirror. “Are you going to stand up?” he asked raising his voice.

“No, I’m not,” Mrs. Parks said firmly.

Mr. Blake stopped the bus and came back to where Mrs. Parks was sitting. He put his hands on his hips and gave her a mean look. “Well, if you don’t stand up, I’m going to call the police and have you arrested.”

Mrs. Parks was a gentle, quiet woman. But she was also proud and strong. She looked squarely at Mr. Blake and said simply, “You may do that.”

Mrs. Blake marched off the bus and returned with two policemen. One of the policemen folded his arms and looked at Mrs. Parks. “Did the driver ask you to get up? He asked.

“Yes,” said Mrs. Parks calmly. Her voice showed she ws not afraid.

The policeman leaned forward and frowned. “Why don’t you stand up?” he asked, getting angry.

Now it was Mrs. Parks’s turn to frown. She looked at the three men. Her eyes showed her anger. “Why do you push us around?” she demanded.

“I don’t know,” said the policeman. “But the law is the law and you’re under arrest.”

The policemen took Mrs. Parks to jail. They took her fingerprints as if she was a criminal. She had broken the law, but the law was unfair. It was based on the idea that black people were not as good as white people. This idea was very different from one of America’s most important ideas – that all people are created equal.

Mrs. Parks called home. She spoke to her mother. “Please tell my husband to come and get me out of jail,” she said in a tired, angry voice. Mr. Parks was not at home, so Mrs. Parks’s mother called Mr. E.D.Nixon.

Mr. Nixon was an important leader in the black community. A tall, dark-skinned man, he worked as a porter for the railroad. And he worked hard to make life better for black people in Montgomery.

When he heard that Mrs. Parks had been arrested, he got busy. He called the jail to find out why she’d been arrested. But the jailer would not hell him. So he called his friend, Clifford Durr, a white lawyer.

Together, Mr. Nixon and Mr. Durr got Mrs. Parks released from jail. Mr. Nixon paid a bond that allowed Mrs. Parks to leave. He would get the money back when she came before a judge to be tried for breaking the bus law.

Mr. Nixon believed the law was unfair, too. He wanted to put a stop to it. As he talked to Mrs. Parks, he had a n idea.. In Washington, DC, the Supreme Court had just made a ruling. The ruling said that segregated schools were no longer legal. That meant black and white children could no longer be sent to separate schools. All states had to obey this ruling. If segregated schools aren’t legal anymore, Mr. Nixon thought, maybe segregated buses aren’t either.

“I think we can break down segregation on the bus with your case,” Mr. Nixon told Mrs. Parks.

It was a hard decision for Mrs. Parks to make. If she stood up to the segregation law, bad things might happen to her. She might lose her job. She might be thrown in jail again. She might be hurt or even killed. She wanted to talk to her husband about it.

Mr. Parks was very upset. He knew all the dangers his wife would face. She had already been arrested just for refusing to give up her seat to a white man. By carrying the protest further, his wife would be asking for serious trouble. “The white folks will kill you Rosa,” he said. He wanted her to let the matter drop.

But Mrs. Parks was very brave. She wanted to do something to help the black peple of Montgomery. She wanted to make the city a better place for everyone. “I’ll go along with you, Mr. Nixon,” she said.

Mrs. Nixon and other black leaders began making plans. They were going to show that Mrs. Parks should not have been arrested. They were going to show that Montgomery’s black citizens weren’t going to accept the bus loaw anymore. They were going to show that black people were tired of being treated unfairly.

THIS STORY WILL BE FINISHED AT THE END OF THIS WEEK. We welcome any comments.
Taken from Walking for Freedom, The Montgomery Bus Boycott by Richard Kelso, Alex Haley, General Editor

Some Tidbits from the Spook

The Spook is back from break!

• DCFD Chief Dennis Rubin and his huge moustache - well-known for harassing and supporting the firing of numerous black firefighters for failure to adhere to DCFD's "clean-shaven policy," despite his own ragged, bushy lip adornment - was in court on Tuesday, October 7th 2008 to attack the Judge's decision regarding the hair policy of the DC Fire and EMS Division. Chief Rubin's moustache is not in compliance with the department's own policy.
  
• Effective October 12, 2008, Deputy Fire Chief Michael Willis of the Risk Management Division will be transferred to Facilities along with DFC Joseph Deaton, Battalion FC Chris Jordan and Captain Vanessa Coleman.
  
• We now have two Deputy Fire Chiefs with salaries of approximately $130,000 apiece; a Captain with a salary of appoximately $76,000, along with Fire Fighter Frelimo Simba with a salary of approximately $65,000 all at Facilities, instead of protecting the citizens and visitors of the District of Columbia!
• DFC Michael Willis, Captain Coleman and Fire Fighter Simba were all sent there for punishment!!! all at the taxpayer's expense. Meanwhile, BFC Willie Flint has been promoted to replace DFC Michael Willis. all seemingly a result of gross mismanagement of person-power and being mighty loose with the citizenry's resources.
  
• Fire Fighter Simba Frelimo, one of the casualties/victims in the wake of the Rosenbaum case, has received word of the results of the Federal Department of Justice investigation which found DCFD liable. F/F Frelimo is suing the Department for the harassment and racism he suffered. Mo' money, mo' money, mo' money from the taxpayers' pockets!
  
• The Mayor and Councilmembers need to be called on the carpet and charged with accounting for this waste of money; instead they plan on taking the city's financial shorfall out on other city workers and critical departments as the Mayor suggests laying off another 400+ employees from the Department of Health and other agencies to help make up a $131 million deficit.
  

The above post has been amended to reflect corrections brought to the Spook's attention. Thanks all for your help and attention!

On Racism

E.R.A.S.E., End Racism And Stop Exploitation, wants our lighter-skinned brothers and sisters to know that “White Supremacy” is a bankrupt idea. White Supremacists know that only 10% of the world’s population uses the definition of white that the world accepts; the other 90% are people of color. We at E.R.A.S.E. see that there is only one race, and that is the human race. We are all children of this planet and we all will share this planet as equals in responsibility for its development. This idea of supremacy is a bad idea that can only be maintained with terrorism. The idea of supremacy is carried forward by another bad idea called imperialism that grows out of capitalism, which is an economic system based on exploitation. Both of those ideas rely on the successful strategy called Divide and Conquer, often dividing people with similar class interests along racism lines. We all must work together to end all bad ideas so we can get on with dealing with real planetary problems; i.e., poverty and its many faces, like hunger, homelessness, lack of medical care, technical advancement and higher levels of sports and art. We will overcome this backwardness and continue human development to heights yet unknown. We Are The World. Racism affects us through and by our institutions, i.e., fire department, health department, educational institutions, welfare department, banks and banking – and it is here where the evils and terroristic deeds are carried out. Calling someone the “N” word is far better than treating them in an “N” way. Racism is economic; for example slaves were the first item on the Stock Exchange [Wall Street]. Firing Firefighter Burr for alleged drug use while looking the other way when the Chief is arrested and admits to DUI – Driving Under the Influence – is racism as best. Racism is a terrorist act that its practitioners must have some economic, social and/or political power to carry this maniacal deed out. Therefore, people of color CAN’T be racist because we don’t have social, political and economic power anywhere now – not even in Africa, the Caribbean, Asia or South America.

The excerpts following are taken from the book, WHITE RACISM: A PSYCHOHISTORY by Joel Kovel. We encourage you to check it out – there is lots of information to learn. Enjoy!

The Spook


Excerpts from PREFACE to 2nd Edition of WHITE RACISM: A Psychohistory

"WHITE RACISM may be read as a meditation in the theme that we are a “racist society.” Its method is complex, drawing on history, depth psychology, sociology and the study of culture, with expansive attention to the insight provided by great works of literature. Each level is regarded as a facet refracting the central theme: that racism is a category of Western civilization, and Western civilization is saturated, not merely with racism – that is obvious enough – but with the elementary gesture out of which racism is constructed: splitting the world in the course of domination. It follows that:

· Racism antecedes the notion of race, indeed, it generates the races;
· Racism supersedes the psychology of prejudice, indeed, it creates that psychology for its purposes;
· Racism evolves historically, and may be expected to appear in different phases in different epochs and locales;
· Racism cannot be legislated out of existence, since what is put into law always serves to legitimate the system which generates racism and is defined by it.

"Let me put it another way, A society’s racism is not comprised by its degree of racial segregation, or how racially prejudiced the populace may be. These are manifestations of racism. But the racism itself is the tendency of a society to degrade and do violence to people on the basis of race, and by whatever mediations may exist for that purpose.

"Some may have been dismayed by these prescriptions and have reacted as if I were casting a sentence of doom on Western civilization as a whole, as well as counseling a kind of nihilistic passivity in the remorseless face of racism. I see no point, however, in such ruminations. Judging Western civilization is a kind of baying at the moon; it does no more than relieve inner tension and allow one to feel morally superior. If I rail against certain fundamental horrors which have characterized our history, it is only to draw them into focus for the purpose of practical struggles in the here and now. And it also is a way of reminding us that racism takes place because these things are distorted and lost sight of in the mystifying light of “progress.”…


"Most of all, the degree of racism depends on the degree of imperialism – the projection of domination beyond the defined boundaries of a society. By capturing what is not its own, a society literally incorporates Otherness, thereby ensuring a racist deployment. Now the racism proportions of western capitalist society and its most dynamic offshoot, the United States, come into clear focus. Our racism has nothing really to do with whether or not we inherited a transhistorical and immemorial mechanism of primary Otherness. It has everything to do, rather, with the degree of our imperialism, for imperialism breathes the secondary alienation of racial degradation into the primary one. Since capitalist society is alone in the distinction of establishing truly global relations o imperial dependency, then to it, victor in the world struggle for power, go the spoils of racism.

"The imperialist of the west – and consequently its racism – should be understood as encompassing a far wider scale than that defined by national boundary. We see today how the financial manipulations of transnational corporations, and the transcultural penetration of the consciousness industries, sustain a domination that is truly imperial without involving any direct political control. But the dimensions of western domination extend beyond all institutional forms – they go beyond the political, beyond the economic, beyond the cultural, to become a universalizing domination extending to nature itself.

"This has been going on for centuries, and gives no indication of abating. Whatever is merely “Native” is destroyed, crushed by Progress, oxidized and darkened. The British colonized the Irish, took their subsistence, and called them animals. Anglo settlers absconded with the flower of a continent, turned them into chattels, and called them animals, too. Later, the two breeds were set against each other. Today peasantries, heirs of primitive societies before the first wave of imperialism, are suffering further expropriation as international Agribusiness turns their ecosystem into monocrop agriculture for the world cash market. Alongside, they lose their culture, too. Dallas and Coke, the Real Thing, take over. Uprooted by the latest, technocratic wave of imperialism, they surge from South to North, where they live at the ever-spreading margins of cities, “just like animals.”

"There is, to repeat, nothing new about imperialism or cultural domination. What is new in the modern world, and what has whitened racism, is technical rationalization. Not simply of production or culture, but of psyche as well. The split between ego and it, or between rationalization and desire, is distinctly historical. It is the domination of nature carried inward, to “human nature” itself, now defined as an ego that hates its “animal” id. The products of this inner fission react upon one another to produce Freud’s superego, and our bad conscience. And the bad conscience of the west reacts upon its dominated dark peoples to generate white racism. Since, however, these processes are set going all at the same time, it is also the case that white racism generates the characteristic form of the western imperial psyche. That is why the id is black and why superego hates the thing it is driven to save.


"Despite the rise of black political power, prospects of overcoming racism are presently dubious. No doubt the means remain, as ever, near to hand. It is indisputable, however, that antiracism zeal has wanted form the time when the first edition of WHITE RACISM. It is to contribute toward a theory which resists compliance with racist society – one which presses not for the reforming of racism, but its overthrow. To do so requires a break with the framework provided by normal social science, precisely because it is the function of such discourse to keep our understanding of society piecemeal and fragmented, thereby allowing the measures taken by the liberal state to appear just and rational.

"But all cogitations on method are behind us now. Only their justification remains: that they make a real difference in the fight against racism. And the cure for white racism? It is quite simple, really. Only get rid of imperialism, and, what comes to the same thing, see to it that people determine their own history."

Joel Kovel, AuthorNew York, August 1983

More News from an E.R.A.S.E. crack investigator...

This concerned citizen of the District shared more information on the allegations cited in an earlier post against Chief Rubin:

(a) The FEMS Chief's (D. Rubin) vehicle was involved in an incident that caused $10,000 damage to the vehicle. (time and place unknown because it was NOT appropriately reported to the Risk Management Office as required, nor was it reported to the Fleet Maintenance Deputy as required)

(b) FYI - This is obviously not his first failure to follow traffiic regulations.

Details on the earlier allegation: On 2/08/2008, 4:57, Dennis Lynn Rubin received a traffic citation, adjudicated by the District Court for Howard County in Ellicott City, MD. The charge was speeding, going 70 mph in a 45 mph limit zone; the car was a 99 Chevy.

The arresting officer was Christopher Adams, ID #:4684. The defendant's description was of a man, 5'9", weight 200, race white/caucasian/asiatic/indian/arab, DOB:09/1952. He pled guilty and was charged a fine of $160.

Reading the citation, it seems like this guy makes not only a mockery of being the highest ranking official in DC's Fire Department and it's focus on public safety, he also seems to make fun of the question of ethnic origin.

There was a question of whether or not this incident involved a government vehicle. A former Assistant Fire Chief was made to resign for driving a government vehicle under the influence within the last 2 or 3 years.

It has also been remored to E.R.A.S.E. that Chief Rubin has decided to resign

Looks like this story isn't over yet... (Here's looking at you kid!)

The Spook

Next Meeting

ERASE's Next meeting will be on September 2nd from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. @ the Rec. Center.

In light of last night's information The Spook believes there should be a judicial inquiry into the Mayor's, Police Chief and Fire Chief's handling of the alleged D.U.I. stop. Furthermore, an inquiry into Chief Rubin's damaged Fire Department Vehicle is clearly called for.

Attention!!! Attention!!!!

The Spook's phone has been ringing off of the hook with new and interesting news. At one time Chief Rubin was quoted saying "We (firefighters) need to be responsible for our actions on and off of the clock." Well it has been alleged that yesterday morning at approximately 2:30 a.m. on V St N.W., this same Chief was stopped on suspicion of D.U.I.. He was stopped in the 3rd District by Officer Dino Mc Fadden and allegedly the officer called his Sergeant, then Police Chief Lanier and Mayor Adrian Fenty. It is then alleged that Officer. Mc Fadden was ordered to let him go. This can be verified by the Mayor's and Police Chief's government phone records.

This is definitely an interesting development in light of brother Firefighter Burr's termination for "supposed" misconduct. You tell me if there is a double standard???

More news came in tonight.

Again it is alleged that Chief Rubin's vehicle (with apparatus) has more than $10,000 worth of damage to it. There are no reports about an accident concerning Chief Rubin and his truck. The Apparatus Deputy Fire Chief who keeps a record of all damaged vehicles and their maintenance records has no record of the Truck being serviced at "Criswell's Chevolet", again this information is alleged. This can be verified by running the VIN (Vehicle Identification Number).

Stay Tuned and Stay Informed

The Spook


PS.
All information in this post is alleged and subject to change.

Mark Burr's Story Updated

My name is Mark Burr and I am a former Firefighter with the D.C. Fire and E.M.S. Department. I witnessed a violent attack on two of my co-workers and was asked to lie about this incident by two of my commanding officers. I refused to lie and have suffered through harassment, threats to my career, and even great humiliation. I have witnessed one man by the name of Lt. Lehan strike fear in the hearts of many because of who he is affiliated with. With that in mind he has performed some of the most unprofessional actions in the department without any penalty. This is the same man who was after my position because I am not afraid to defend myself and did not comply to sustain his lie or program.

I have been recently processed for termination with no option to resign from the D.C. Fire and E.M.S. Department. The grounds for my termination are under the false accusation of drug use late last year during my annual physical. My rights as a citizen and government employee were violated by the D.C. Fire and E.M.S. Dept. for them to accomplish this goal. I have not received a fair trial nor was given any assistance by Local 36 union besides initiating a grievance arguing the execution of Bulletin 5 and its validity.

The Fire Department has sanctioned my removal without being able to prove me at fault. The transcripts speak for themselves. My medical records were not investigated and all testing documentation were not provided by the D.C. Fire and E.M.S. Department to validate their claim. I am seeking justice in my cause and for my fellow co-workers who have been wronged by this corrupt system. Attached to this email is my story. I hope you will read and decide for yourself. Feel free to respond; your thoughts and future actions are appreciated.

The Following form is provided as part of E.R.A.S.E.'s campaign to correct the union - from A Courageous FIre Fighter

Date: / /

Attention: Daniel Dugan

President of the Local 36 Union

THIS LETTER EXPRESSES EXPLANATION OF NOTIFICATION

TO CHALLENGE THE FULL PAYMENT OF UNION DUES TO THE

LOCAL 36 [FIREFIGHTER’S] UNION.

PRESENTLY, I _______________________ AM AN ACTIVE UNION DUES PAYER.

I HEREBY, REGISTER DIS-SATISFACTION WITH THE SERVICE PROVIDED TO MINORITY BLACK FIREFIGHTERS.

CURRENTLY, THERE IS A GREAT DISPARITY IN RACIAL REFLECTION OF UNION BOARD MEMBERS. THIS RACIAL IMBALANCE HAS CONSEQUENTLY HAD A NEGATIVE BEARING ON THE URGENCY AND WILLINGNESS TO PROVIDE MINORITY MEMBERS WITH THE ADEQUATE ASSISTANCE AND COOPERATION NEEDED TO ADDRESS SUCH MATTERS AS:

OPEN DISCRIMINATORY PRACTICES; PUNITIVE DISCIPLINARY INJUSTICES; UNRESOLVED GRIEVANCES; AND, ENSURING THE BASIC PROTECTION OF MEMBER’S UNION AND CIVIL RIGHTS, IN RESPONSE TO THE VIOLATION OF ANY PART OF THE LABOR AGREEMENT(S).

IN GENERAL, IT HAS BEEN ALLEGED AND OBSERVED, THAT THE PRESENT MEMBERSHIP BOARD ACT MOSTLY IN FAVOR OF THE NEGOTIATING FIRE OFFICIALS [NON-SUPPORTERS], RATHER THAN ON BEHALF OF IT’S PAID SUPPORTER’S. THIS HAS BECOME AN OBVIOUS CONFLICT OF INTEREST, FURTHER POSITIONING THE POSTURE FOR BIASNESS WHEN THERE IS A DUTY TO ACT ON BEHALF OF MEMBERSHIP. THE LOYALTY OF THE UNION TO ITS SUPPORTERS HAS BECOME FRAGMENTED AND MISPLACED.

HENCE, I AM REQUESTING WITHDRAWAL OF MY MEMBERSHIP, AND THE FULL PAYMENT OF DUES; I CONTEST THE FULL SUPPORT OF A “UNION” THAT IS PARTIAL AND INDIFFERENT IN ITS DESIRES TO FULLY SUPPORT ME.

SUBMITTED BY:

_________________________________

Signature

_______________________________

Assignment/Battalion/Platoon

_________________________________

Print Name

CC: INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FIREFIGHTERS (IAFF) HEADQUARTERS

1750 NEW YORK AVENUE ~ WASHINGTON, D.C. 20006 – 5395 SUITE 300

PHONE: 202-737-8484 FAX: 202-737-8418

This was drafted in the absence of an official form from the IAFF and Provided as a Courtesy by the Spook and Spookettes. We are certain that there must be one, but concerned fire fighters should who want to take this action as part of their attempt to have a union that re presents them can use this form, as an example or as an actual form until we get an official one. We don't need to change the union; we just need to change the executive board, by people who care about this city and the firefighters.

In the spirit of the bus boycott in the civil rights era,
We shall overcome!
Justice for All Firefighters!

Channel 5 to cover DCFD Recruits

You may have noted that they were not on tonight, Monday, August 4th, but they will be. Sorry, we can't tell you when!! Just keep an eye out, and be sure we will tell you as soon as we know!! [If you find out before you see it here, be sure to alert us by emailing erase-racism@hotmail.com.]

Thanks!
The SPOOK

ALERT!! ALERT!!! ALERT!!!

Tonight, this Monday, August 4th at 10:00 pm, the DCFD recruits will be featured on Channel 5!!! Call friends, supporters, family, all you can reach and ask them to watch!

ALSO, Correction and apologies to anyone who listened out for Captain Vanessa Coleman this morning on WPFW, we got that date wrong - she will be on that same segment on WPFW-FM radio, 89.3 on your dial, this Wednesday, August 6th on Metro Watch with Gloria Minott.

Check Out WPFW-FM Radio 89.3 FM, Monday, 8.4.08, 9:35 a.m. sharp...

And hear one of DC's Finest, DCFD Captain Vanessa Coleman talking with Gloria Minott on WPFW's Metro Watch segment!

Firefighters Going Wild Again? or has it Ever Stopped?

The Spook has reported that Ambulances #10 and #33 (which are driven by Fire Fighters only) have been ducking calls by hiding out in upper North West so they could not be tracked by the Fire Department/EMT Tracking System - the vehicle locator. The history is, the Spook was told, that two to three years ago, units were found hiding behind Wilson High School, sleeping while on duty! [NOTE: We know who committed these infractions, which were swept under the rug, and because no one is being punished for the infraction. ]

It was suggested by the Rosenbaum Task Force that drivers should not drive for more than 24 hours straight. Fire Fighter/EMT Dept Order Book Article 24-5, Sec. 8, No. 4, requires ambulances to return to their fire house after each call.

Back to the Wild Ones - Drag Racing on Southern Avenue in Ambulances #19 and #33 was discovered by the Fire Fighter/EMT Department Tracking System and recently reported by both Channel 7 and Channel 5 News!

Demo and Rally

The Spook wants to report that one dozen firefighters, community people and clergy demonstrated in front of the Union Hall at 23rd and Bladensburg Road, NE, for two hours on Wednesday, July 23rd. The goal was to call attention to the question frequently raised by its members, "Where is the Union?", resulting from the fact that in spite of the many complaints firefighters have raised of unfair treatment by the Fire Department Administration, the union's response has been negligible at best. Both Channel 7 and WPFW Radio interviewed a community person and a firefighter. These interviews appeared on their newscasts later that day. Nearly 500 hundred flyers were passed out to motorists and pedestrians stopping at the stoplights at 3 nearby intersections.

E.R.A.S.E.'s concerns about the working class' historical fight against those who would exploit them made it hard to expose the Union as one of the culprits, given that under the present DC Administration there is little to no Union support and the Councilmember who has oversight gets his support from the Union, creating a real dilemma for our valiant, selfless firefighters.

Please stay tuned - the Spook is planning to do a treatise about Racism being equivalent to Terrorism - from its colonial beginnings to the present day; and how there is no doubt that racism and how it is acted out should be seen as a hate crime. [And we thought the U.S. Enemy #1 was Al-Quaeda! Why not include white supremacists, our own local, home-grown terrorists?]

The War on Terrorism has yet to be fought!!!

CHECK THIS OUT!!!!!

While the SPOOK was vacationing in Florida...

http://www.wsvn.com/news/articles/local/MI91861/

Rally!!!!!

WHEN: Wednesday, July 23, 2008, 10 AM – 12:00 Noon
WHERE: Bladensburg & Queens Chapel Rd, NE

E.R.A.S.E. (End Racism And Stop Exploitation) is holding this rally at the Firefighters’ Union to call attention to the question frequently raised by its’ members - “Where is the Union?” In spite of the many complaints firefighters have raised of unfair treatment by the Fire Department Administration, the union’s response has been negligible at best.

The Union has some 5,000 members, including approximately 1500 retirees. Its 7-member Executive Board has only one African-American member, John Sneed, who appears to be recently the only Board member who responds to the needs of the Union membership. It is well-known that Dan Dugan, Executive Board President, is working closely with Fire Chief Dennis Rubin, and it is believed to be the principal reason complaints fall on deaf ears. Some people have said that the Union does not have enough workers and that is the reason it does not follow through for its members; that the Union legal team is often not present or unsupportive. One of the solutions that a number of firefighters have been discussing is withdrawing their dues, and/or complaining to the International to reorganize the local.

This situation is unbelievable, given that the history of Unions is that they were created by the working class to protect and defend the interests of the working class and the vulnerabilities that they bring to the workplace. It is believed that all Union members pay less than $60 per month in dues for a service that most of them say they do not receive. We cannot say that racism plays a role in this, but when we look at the outcome, there is no doubt that race does matter. A judicial review of the actions of the Union over the past few years would make the PG County Fox 5 series on ‘Firefighters Gone Wild’ look tame.

This flyer is hard to write because of E.R.A.S.E.’s concerns about the working class’ historical fight against those who would exploit them. And, to cite the Union as one of the culprits, given that under the present Administration there is little to no Union support and the Councilmember who has oversight gets his support from the Union creates a real dilemma for our valiant, selfless firefighters and EMT workers.
SHAME, SHAME, SHAME!

E.R.A.S.E.’s demands are for:- A judicial review;- A citizens review board established;- A Congressional inquiry; - Get rid of the do-nothing union;- Lt. Lehan out of our neighborhood;- And Fire Chief Rubin and Deputy Chiefs Brian Lee and Lawrence Shultz out of our Community (all of them MD residents).Friends, Neighbors,
you can help! by
· Checking out our blog at Abolishracism.blogspot.com (comments are welcomed)
· Joining E.R.A.S.E., End Racism And Stop Exploitation committee
· Post or Copy this flyer and help spread the word!
The committee, E.R.A.S.E. is a community-based organization of black and white taxpayers, clergy and members of the middle and working class whose understanding of the historical facts around racism and its effects on our community has forced the group to come together to do what it can to minimize or neutralize the effects of racism on our community. We understand the economic, social and political implications of ideas that will demonize non-white people to favor a white supremacist nation. In its name, E.R.A.S.E. embodies our identification of the cause for racism to exist, and that is to exploit its victim and create an atmosphere whereby people of white descent can maintain a social, political and economic advantage or upper-hand over those who are not defined as white. It is understood that these ideas of racism, based on ignorance and anti-social deviant behavior, are represented by a very small group of Europeans. Therefore, we call on ALL people to ERASE this scourge from its institutionally based support system in order to make this country whole and just!!

Call the councilmembers below and demand they look into this situation!!
Chairman Vincent Gray, 724-8032
At-Large Councilmember Kwame Brown, 724-8174
At-large Councilmember Phil Mendelson, 724-8064
Ward 7 Councilmember Yvette Alexander 724-8068
Ward 8 Councilmember Marion Barry, 724-8045
Ward 5 Councilmember Harry Thomas, 724-8028
ANC7D05 Commissioner Rick Tingling-Clemmons, 397.2277
Help E.R.A.S.E. Break the Jaws of Racism!

For more information or to help: erase-racism@hotmail.com
abolishracism.blogspot.comJoin E.R.A.S.E. and other Anti-racist Fighters – Come join us July 23, 2008!!

Why People of Color Can't be Racist

(This is an expansion on an earlier post, and is an attempt to reach out to the many white firefighters who want a better-run, more just Fire Department. E.R.A.S.E. does not support the abuse of black or white/male or female firefighters or of the good name of the DC Fire Department or firefighters.)

E.R.A.S.E. is not racist. What is racism? E.R.A.S.E. understands that racism is an unscientific, unfounded, irrational view – by, in this case, white supremacists who feel that some people are wiser, smarter and have superior moral judgment to people of color in general, and, specifically, African Americans, as laid out in a book by Dr. A. Smedley, Ph.D, on the origins of racism. The practice has its origins in Europe, partly given/developed to justify its non-religious and biased view; to rationalize taking the land from the Indians, kidnapping and importing Africans to build the Americas, for example, and similar expansion into other lands – Asia, Africa, Central/South and North America, and Australia, just to name a few. From its colonial-based institutions and system, carried over into modern-day society, in short, almost all of our institutions in the United States have a racist foundation; and, in fact, racism affects everybody.

This fact is established by studying the history of our human need for housing, education, health care, food distribution, judicial and other systems of justice. On the question of racism, the deciding factor is who has control of the mode of production and the points of distribution, because it is there that decisions are made and public policy is decided, including how you are treated by U.S. capitalism.

We must not forget that these policies were originally decided by rich white males of property, the Founding Fathers. Working class white men who then and even today have no say so, are left, forced to relish in one fact - “I might not have power, I might not have money, but I am NOT one of them.” Our Fire Department, our Police Department, our schools, are run NOT by whites who are rich and have property, but by whites who are just glad to be NOT ONE OF THEM [the “N” Word]! Most white people are not racist; but in racist America there are only two kinds of people: those who are white and those who are not.

Historically speaking, in a book entitled, “The Creation of the White Race,” the author talks about a slave revolt of black and white slaves in the 1700s that was aborted; because the white wealthy class convinced the white slaves that their lives could be made better by abandoning their class brothers’ causes and joining theirs [rich, white land/slaveowners. Two more modern examples include the Tilden Hayes compromise, where the Presidential election was decided by a compromise involving Tilden giving his support to [Rutherford B.] Hayes in exchange for an agreement to end Reconstruction in the South, by pulling the Union troops out and opening the door for Jim Crow; the second was the formation of the Dixiecrat Party, the Angry White Men movement that undercut the Democratic Party’s strength in the Congress and Presidency, and set back the efforts of organized labor, emphasizing the divisions between black and white workers, mirroring the earlier example of the slave revolt. These ideas and practices have made it almost impossible to develop a humane, just society – because those whose exploitation is forged in wretched, unbridled capitalism has destroyed all attempts of the working class to defend itself and create a just, democratic environment, where there is social, economic equality enough for all men and women. This understanding has been distorted to proclaim that if a person of color sees whites in a negative light, then that person is practicing racism. This is as insane as racism itself. This disdain of some whites is a scientific observation, proven after 500 years of study, not some maniacal notion that God told Noah that one of his sons and his children would turn black and forever be servants because they saw him naked in some distorted Biblical translations. This explains the plight of people of color, or that some of us – white people – are God’s favorites, and as special people should rule the earth.

No…No… NO!!! We are all God’s children, there are no favorites. White supremacy is a bad idea whose time as come. People of this wonderful earth, let all of us join hands and send the Devil where he or she belongs. This earth, this country, this city, this neighborhood is to be enjoyed by all! This Fire Department belongs to the taxpayers, who pay for equipment and salaries; even the EEOC violation payments to abused victims of supremacists’ indiscretions and ignorant forays, like firefighters gone wild! Let us bring respect and the honor that has been earned by firefighters before us. It is all up to us, black and white, men and women, to clean up our city agencies, including our Fire Department. Together, we can, we must, we will do this! God bless ALL Americans!

Check It out

MyFox Investigation of Hazing in the Fire Department

Well, well, well E.R.A.S.E. broke the story almost two weeks ago, however, Fox 5 televised it last night and for those of you who still don't believe, please feel free to go to www.myfoxdc.com and look for firefighters behaving badly.

ERASE Update:

Sources have informed the Spook that within the last month, on at least three separate occasions, Deputy Chief Bloom and Battalion Chief Robert Schaefer have purposely understaffed Captain Coleman’s company Engine 21 (which protects Adams Morgan) with under-qualified personnel to drive and operate her fire truck. It’s been reported that the traditional practice of the DC Fire Department has always been to backfill a regular driver technician (when absent from duty) with an equally qualified driver technician, even if they have to pay another technician overtime to come in to work in the vacancy on their day off. The secondary, more economic option available is for the Deputy and the Battalion Chief to search out from among their on-duty personnel a qualified and experienced member who is capable of handling the demands of driving.

Engine and Truck technicians or those acting in their stead must:

· Be familiar with that particular firehouse district;

· Be able to respond to the correct address of where the emergency is, accurately;

· Be expert and efficient in operating that particular piece of apparatus;

· Be knowledgeable on how to troubleshoot mechanical problems that may arise when the engine is supplying water to hoselines on a major fire call.

Contrary to this operational practice, Chief Robert Schaefer has endeavored to staff Captain Coleman with Caucasian probationary firefighters to be in charge of driving the engine. Not only were they unfamiliar with Engine 21’s district, they were also inexperienced with operating and maneuvering the apparatus efficiently. This you would expect, for they are still “rookies” themselves!!!

Now, this is not rocket science – especially to all of you who know how the game is played; in the event of a fire, what is the likelihood of having an overall efficient outcome having two probationers on the back step of the engine, and a probationary driver who works alone, is unsure and under-skilled operating the engine? Sounds like premeditated grounds for disaster, which is what these “commanding chiefs” are wishing for! All the while, the three “unwise men” have jeopardized the safety of our DC citizens, just to play out their games. And they’re certainly not concerned about the safety and welfare of their own troops - Captain Coleman, or her two back step probationers. Could it be perhaps because they’re all black? Do you get it?!! RACISM or, as the kids say on the street, ‘They be Hatin’ for real !!’

The Spook has also learned that Captain Coleman cited Chiefs Schaefer, Bloom and Schultz for inappropriately placing her company out of service twice, for hours at a time, so that she could speedily type up reports concerning trivial infractions. Since submitting this correspondence through her chain of command, and to the Disciplinary Compliance section (which is supposed to provide assistance to officers reporting disciplinary infractions). In return/reprisal, Captain Coleman has since been reprimanded and restricted by Chief Schultz from reporting any further infractions observed of her superior commanders. Ha-Ha! In fact, Chief Schultz directed Captain Coleman to only report all infractions to Chief Schaefer. Now, audience, just how far do you think this mockery model of accountability enforcement will go? Sounds like an organized execution to the Spook! ERASE will continue to investigate and publicize – TELLING IT JUST LIKE IT IS, CALLING A SPADE A SPADE…ORGANIZED CRIME!

We are yet pleased to report that in all of this, Captain Coleman continues to remain vigilant and resilient in her efforts to manage the unmanageable “operations” which should be getting managed by her commanders. Captain Coleman has managed to function well despite the lack of competent staffing and official support. A true and dedicated soldier! ERASE is glad to know that there are some people who, against all odds, truly commit themselves to the mission of protecting and serving our DC citizens. ERASE, and so many others, want to thank Captain Coleman for not wavering; for instead remaining persistent and true to her duties in the valiant fight to abolish RACISM and SEXISM in the DC Fire Department.

Post on Thursday: ALERT!!!ALERT!!!ALERT!!!ALERT!!!

ERASE has just learned that Captain Coleman has been involuntarily detailed until further notice from her assigned company, Engine 21, in Adams Morgan. ERASE has long been expecting this move, and now, at last, ERASE and other official monitors recognize this as another step in the upper command’s attempt to retaliate and professionally execute Captain Coleman, and to deter her in her pursuit to demand management accountability, equal justice and opportunity. The Spook ventures to ask, “Is there any intelligence which resides in the office of the Fire Chief?” “If so, would you please STAND UP?!?” The Spook would really like to know, “will the DC Fire Department have any money left over to even fund the operational expense budget after they’ve been wiped clean from the many lawsuits which are currently being filed against them?” It sounds like they enjoy giving away FREE [DC taxpayers’] money.

If you have a credible story to share with ERASE which involves any form of managerial impropriety, mismanagement of funds, resources, human rights, nepotism, cronyism, we want to hear from you by emailing us at erase-racism@hotmail.com. Your comments will only be posted on the blog upon your written consent.

Remember: Once you know right, do right; and by all means DEMAND right!!!

Stay tuned for the Spook's explanation about the impossibility of a person of color being racist...

CALLING, CALLING, CALLING…

It was suggested by an earlier commenter that if E.R.A.S.E. wanted to know about people being set on fire, we should check on Pete Pearson. If anyone knows about Pete Pearson, please email E.R.A.S.E. at erase-racism@hotmail.com, or comment further via the blog. Your anonymity will be safe with E.R.A.S.E. blog hosts

Furthermore, the Spook would suggest that Chief Schaeffer – who has already crossed the line in violating the Fire Department’s own rules and regulations – should slow down if not halt his harassment of Captain Vanessa Coleman.

[Not to mention, he should be the LAST person to go after anyone for improprieties on a test, given that his own family member had problems in this area, and not too long ago!]

Pretty soon he will begin to look like the Emperor with no Clothes.

Also if anyone wants to question the validity of the Kentland lawsuit, do what E.R.A.S.E. did and call the PG County law clerk for verification. The case number is Circuit Court of Maryland case #Cal-07-14623. E.R.A.S.E checks all of its stories, and to those of you who have been threatening suit, you too can be sued for threatening suit, obstructing justice, and attempting to intimidate with your threats.

The Spook has also learned that Councilmember Phil Mendelson has begun an extensive inquiry into the business of the Training Academy. E.R.A.S.E. takes its hat off to Mr. Mendelson and any other person who joins us in wanting to make Washington, DC and its agencies the best in the country! It is up to all of us, no matter our race, creed, gender or religion, to begin the arduous task of cleaning house, and recognizing that racism breeds mediocrity; that brings down all of our standards and the quality of life for ALL of us.

E.R.A.S.E. HAS JUST LEARNED THAT THE KENTLAND VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT STATION 33 IN PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY MARYLAND IS FACING A $ 16 MILLION DOLLAR LAW SUIT IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF MARYLAND CASE # CAL-07-14623. IT HAS BEEN ACCUSED OF FIGHTING INSIDE A BURNING HOUSE FIRE AND INJURING OTHER MEMBERS. MEMBERS FROM THIS DEPARTMENT ARE ALSO PAID FIREFIGHTERS IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. THE CHIEF AT THE KENTLAND VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT TONY KELLEHER , ASSIGNED ON SHERMAN AVENUE N.W. , STATION 4, WITNESSED MEMBERS OF HIS DEPARTMENT ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS ACTING IN A BARBARIC MANNER AND ALSO HIS MEMBERS SETTING A PROBATIONER ON FIRE. CHIEF DENNIS RUBIN AND ASSISTANT FIRE CHIEF BRIAN KEITH LEE , IN CHARGE OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS, NEVER PLACED THIS MEMBER ON ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE. HOWEVER, OTHER MEMBERS HAVE BEEN PLACED ON ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE FOR LESSER OFFENSES. THE LAST TIME E.R.A.S.E CHECKED, SETTING SOMEONE ON FIRE WAS ARSON AND/OR ATTEMPTED MURDER. THIS IS THE SAME FIRE HOUSE WHERE THE SEVERAL OTHER MEMBERS AND OFFICERS IN THE D.C.FIRE DEPARTMENT ARE IN CHARGE.

STAY TUNED MORE TO COME

AND REMEMBER, E.R.A.S.E HAS EYES AND EARS EVERY WHERE...

The Spook has been busy again

The spook just uncovered that at engine 19, a Black firefighter ran over a rock slightly damaging the fire truck and was given an official reprimand (serious business), which was not his fault and clearly an accident. Several days later on his shift a white firefighter hit a parked car with a fire truck; he was given a 169 admonition (not serious business). The difference here is the type of objects the fire truck hits and of course the color of the firefighters. Shame…shame…shame...

The Spook also found out that the fire department's kangaroo court [better known as the Trial Board], which has been known for ganging up on firefighters with any number of witnesses against the firefighter, has recently stated that a firefighter can only bring three witnesses. This is not covered in the Firefighter's Red White and Blue books (these documents cover rules governing the responsibilities and actions of the fire department, the union and individual firefighters).

Nepotism gone amok...

The Schaefer family has five members in the Fire Department, ranging from Chiefs, to Captains to New Recruits. The new recruit did not pass the physical or mental portion of the Firefighter's training, but, unlike more than 28 black DC residents who have been recently tossed out of the Fire Department for not passing the same test, the family has protected this recruit and he is a firefighter today. We are saddened to report that it has been alleged to E.R.A.S.E. that the younger Schaefer, because of an accident, has some physical and mental challenges.

The truth surrounding the character assassination attempt on Mark Burr, firefighter and gentleman. Read this story and you decide:

On 2/13/07 I was asked to lie about the “plate incident.” (After someone made a statement Lt. Crowe threw several dishes at 2 Firefighters (Quick note: Lt. Crowe was demoted to Sgt. and became the aide to the First Battalion Fire Chief, located at engine 12), striking both the white and black Firefighters in the face and head, causing massive lacerations. One firefighter who lost a lot of blood was taken to the hospital immediately; the other, who was knocked unconscious, had to be convinced. Please note that this was a criminal assault.

After the plates were thrown Chief McClafferty asked Lehan what he should do. Sgt. R. Lehan proposed a cover up story to the Battalion Fire Chief McClafferty while I was present. Chief McClafferty then stated that he did not want to get the police involved or the media, since they were waiting outside the firehouse to get more coverage of the D Street fire we had just returned from. The cover up was to say that the plates fell from the kitchen cabinet of Engine 30 and struck the two firemen in the head. lBy the way there are no cabinets in Engine 30.] Sgt Lehan also stated that the Deputy Fire Chief Ellerbe did not need to get involved and he didn't want this event to leak to the media. (The media coverage of DCFD at the time was negative; this was around the time of the alleged prostitute ring at Engine 27.)

Chief McClafferty then asked Sgt. Richard Lehan (now Lieutenant Lehan) if this story would work. Sgt. Lehan replied and said that it will if all the guys will agree to it. Right after Sgt. Lehan made that last statement, they looked to me for approval. I refused to comply with that story, saying, “there is no way I can lie about what just happened, and if I have to put out a special report in writing I will tell the truth.” Chief McClafferty and Sgt. Lehan both shared an expression of frustration and Chief McClafferty then stated that we have to tell the truth because he did not want this to come back and bite him in the rear later. Lt. R. Lehan called another firefighter and asked him if he would lie and he responded “No” and hung up. Lt. Lehan threatened me soon after that plate incident saying that he was going to get rid of me. I did not take Lt. Lehan seriously after he made his threat; but then I noticed how he showed a special interest in my annual physical that was soon to come. Lt. Lehan and Capt. Ceglie would ask me about my physical, what the date was, had it been approved in front all my crew members every morning. They would joke about drug use i.e., crack, coke and marijuana, behavior that I did not participate in. They would call the Police and Fire Clinic (PFC) consistently about people who they were interested in. After my physical on11/19/07 I was recalled to the Police and Fire Clinic to resubmit a urine sample on 11/20/07. The purpose of this test is still unknown.
2 firefighters called me and said that Dept Aide Sgt. Eddie Lehan (twin brother of Lt. Richard Lehan) were questioning the entire house about my social habits and if anybody hung out with me to verify any drug abuse problem.

Chief McClafferty said that I had to be retested because my urine was light. There is a scientific question surrounding that statement - what does light mean?

In the car on the way to the PFC for my retest, Lt. R. Lehan's twin brother, Dept. Fire Chief Aide Sgt. Eddie Lehan, asked how long I had been working with the Fire Department; I told him 4 years and then he stated to me that, I "must be one of those stupid M-----F------s who would lose their job for doing stupid S--t.”

Even if it was true, the Substance Abuse policy states that you are allowed a second chance after rehabilitation. (See Firefighters Bulletin 1, 1989 and 5, 2007…; note that Bulletin 5 is unofficial.)

I had questions about why I had to be retested. Some comments from the lab technicians and Police and Fire liaison were that I would not be protesting the retest if I didn’t already know it was dirty. Chief Begley, who is in charge of the PFC, is also a “rumored” member of Lt. R. Lehan’s clique; Lehan is also affectionately referred to as 'the Godfather'.

My test results came back positive for marijuana and thus I had to begin a rehabilitation(12/14/07) program to return to work, a program which I completed in January of 2008. After completion of the program the powers that be still went forward with my termination. My rehab counselor from Kaiser Permanente, Lee Budahn, and Rebecca Montgomery, my Case Manager while in the counseling program, both stated that I did not fit the criteria for the program, that I never exhibited signs of an addict. However, they were informed by the fire department that the program was mandatory in order for me to return to work. I have been negative in all my drug screens since completion of the counseling program. I have been testing weekly since that date of 11/20/07 and the two subsequent drug test results left me more puzzled than before. On 11/19/07 I was told that I submitted a diluted sample; 11/20/07 was the first positive test, 11/30/07 was a negative result, and on 12/04/07 was another positive result for marijuana. 12/11/07 was the first a negative test after that and it has been negative ever since.

I am now facing termination from the DCFD and have been barred from all Fire Department grounds and functions by the Assistant Fire Chief Schultz, who also shares a close relationship with Lt. Richard Lehan. To my knowledge, there have been several other firefighters whose tests have come up positive, however, they have not been barred from the Fire Department and functions. I have written this Assistant Fire Chief several times for an explanation of the reasons why I have been barred from the fire stations; to date, I have not been given a reason that reflects the Fire Department policy.

The Battalion Fire Chief Begley of the Police and Fire Clinic threatened me about termination (12/07/07) before I started drug counseling. This individual shares yet another close relationship to the Assistant Fire Chief Schultz and Lt. Lehan. As you can see I have the odds stacked against me with an issue that is neither a part of my character, nor a habit I own. The reason for this? Well, I think it's evident; I didn't agree to lie and now I have a drug problem - how convenient!

The Union, Local 36, was and has been fully aware of my situation from the very beginning and has been of no assistance. They have not intervened, even upon request from me.
Firefighter Burr is now going through Trial Board procedures (which is about as fair as getting a fair trail at Guantanamo Bay), where he has been referred to by the prosecuting attorney as a "Stoner." A transcript from his Trial Board can be requested through the DCFD.

Another Example why E.R.A.S.E.'s demands are for:
-A Judicial Review
-A Citizen's Review Board
-A Congressional Inquiry
-Getting rid of the do-nothing union
-Getting Lt. Lehan out of our neighborhood along with Fire Chief Rubin; Deputy Chiefs Brian Lee and Lawrence Shultz out of our community (latter 2 MD residents). Also add to the list Training Coordinator Stamey (with his 6 figure salary) and fake instructors Dickey and Murphy, NOT certified and all non-DC residents!

Hot Off The Press!

On Friday, June 13, 2008, Captain Vanessa Coleman (one of only two female Captains, assigned to firefighting) spoke as a guest on the WPFW (89.3FM) radio talk show “In Our Voices”, hosted by Madame/Sister Nkenge Toure. Some of the following topics were discussed on this segment:

• Open Practice of Racism amongst the rank-and-file especially toward Minorities
• How members like Captain Coleman have been targeted by head officials, for reporting indecent and unfair treatment; i.e. Racial Discrimination, Sexism, Nepotism, Retaliation, Harassment, and Disparity of Treatment
• The systematic breakdown of resources within the department which are no longer dependable for obtaining relief, and, that the integrity of relief is likely to be compromised due to a prejudicial conflict of interest
• The Lack of Equal and Diversified Hiring especially of Minority City Residents
• The lack of quality recruit EMS instruction provided at the main Training Academy, especially training specifically designed for new entry level recruits to the field of Firefighting & EMS
• Nkenge asked Captain Coleman (18 year Veteran) about her 1^st fire. Captain Coleman shared that the day the fire call came in, there was great anticipation, a little fear, but mostly the knowledge that she had a job to do; and with the assistance of her team, she fulfilled her job, successfully putting the fire out.
• In many words, Captain Coleman expressed that there are many personal insecurities and ignorance which provoke the abuse toward women in the male-dominated culture of the fire department. Nonetheless, despite all opposition, women have proven over and over again, that they can “do the job”, and do it well! Now, the network and bond has become stronger through the integration of lady firefighters, EMT’s and paramedics.

So there you have it, at a glimpse! Diversity, in all its splendor - beauty, brains & strength. They’ve joined their forces as “Women Serving in the Fire Service”.

• Captain Coleman suggested that those who share the reported concerns regarding the issues of racism, sexism, and disparity in the fire department – should continue expressing their concerns and demands for change to Fire Chief Dennis Rubin, The Mayor, their Ward Councilmember. I will venture to add that you share it with anyone and everyone who will listen and is willing to aid you in making a positive change! “You must let your voice be heard...Stand Up & Be Counted!” You can obtain all government official contact information through the www.dc.gov website.

And... stay tuned for the complete record of the interview, coming shortly.