One of my colleagues, news anchor Debra Johnson, recently blogged about the redistricting and remapping of Chicago and it’s implications of African Americans residing in Illinois.  As one who has had a front row seat of city, county and state politics for the past three decades, I think I can, with certainity, say this:  African American political capitol is bankrupt in this state and every other racial and ethic group knows it; and is exploiting this fact.  It is  a very sorry time for black people.

Unfortunately, blacks contributed to their own demise with a lack of leadership, education of the new political environment, and some of the worst  black elected officials in the city, county and state’s history.

Politicial Chicago Sun-Times staff writer Fran Spielman recent article, “The Eye of the Storm: Ald. Richard Mell facing racially charged political battle and an emotional family crisis,” tells the story of a very arrogant and powerful man.  He is so powerful, or either so stupid, he is the man that drew attention of state and federal investigators with his charge that in 2005, the governor’s chief fundraiser had traded prime state appoinments for $50,000 donations to Blagojevich.  Be damned that the governor is his son-in-law and father of his grandchildren.  Dick just didn’t like Rod, and I imagine vice versa. Think about it.  So if Mell would treat a close relative like this,  how do you think he would look at the future of his black colleagues in the City Council.  For those of you too young to remember Council Wars, Mell could be characterized as one of its highest ranking soldiers, just behind Aldermen Edward Vrdolyak (10th) and Ed Burke (14th) who attempted to maintain control of the council in the wake of Washington’s election.  But at that time, Blacks had a lot of political capitol.  There were city, county and statewide African American elected officials that were powerbrokers not for themselves, but for the Black community.  There was a ward remap fight that maintained black and and supermajority wards.  Black elected officials (BEO) stood together slating candidates, protecting the interests of the late Mayor Harold Washington’s vision for the city and state, and the affairs of the black community-at-large. And suddenly, these men and women became greedy and self serving, and then after  federal probes like Operation Greylord and Silver Shovel, they served prison terms.  Suddenly BEO had a different meaning and the group splintered until  it ceased to exist.  And though many of their white colleagues were jailed, they at least had something to show for it.  I believe that those same white counterparts viewed the blacks as not to bright to go to prison for so little.  I’m sure Mell, Burke and Vrdolyak had a few chuckles seeing how they acquired great wealth as public servants and were, by some grace of God, above the law.  Vrdolyak got a slap on the wrist,  a  10 month sentence after an overturned probation for some infractions that would put away an elected official for the type of time Blago  is expected to get.

So it does not surprise me that Mell is using his political clout in the city council to disrespect the black alderman.  According to Spielman’s article, Mell and 34th Ward Ald. Carrie Austin got into a very racially charged argument  during budget committee hearings where Austin accused Mell  of treating the black alderman as “plantation niggers.”  You see, it is reported that Mell was calling the black aldermen into his office one at a time and telling them “You’re in, You’re out.  What do you want from me?  No respect.  But why should he?

The Black community lost their leverage when they lost 181,453 black residents in the 2010 U.S. Census.  Then on top of that, other than Tony Preckwinckle, Cook County board president; Dorothy Brown, Cook County clerk, and Secretary of State Jesse White, where is the black political power? Where is it.  The disrespect is going to snowball, but we have no one to blame but ourselves.  There are more African Americans in Cook County than any other county in the country and we have yet to elect an African American state’s attorney.  So buckle up, the Mellspeak will continue with louder and louder.

Rev. Jesse L. Jackson recently celebrated his 70th birthday.  This is a man who is, a man.  He is flawed. He is controversial. He is a father. He is a husband.  He is a champion of of human and civil rights.  He is someone who will always be dear to me.

As a child, I would see Rev. Jackson around town, because I would often be with my father while he was working as a  City of Chicago building inspector for the Department of Buildings.  I remember him as a tall, handsome man with a big afro and wearing colorful dashikis.  Then I would start seeing him regularly at one of my family’s favorite restaurant haunts, Mr. Stephens, in Prairie Shores.  We lived in Lake Meadows at the time.

I never would have thought as a child, how much this man would become a part of my life, and in a very good way.  When I landed my first  paying job in journalism, I couldn’t have started at a better time.  It was 1983, Harold Washington was Chicago’s first Black mayor, Black Elected Officials of Illinois was a thriving organization made up of black politicians throughout the state, Rev. Jackson appeared to be in an unofficial power struggle with Washington and the city was just on fire.  Being young with a feeling of entitlement because I had completed four years of college in four years, and made a conscience decision that any other career outside of journalism would just be unacceptable.  I was so full of myself.  But in spite of myself I landed a job with a community newspaper that provided me with opportunities mainstream wasn’t giving their cub reporters.

My primary beat, besides City Hall and “Council Wars,” was Dr. King’s Workshop every Saturday Morning at PUSH Headquarters.  I was introduced to movers and shakers, throngs of international media because big things were happening in Chicago and with Rev. Jackson.  The 20th Anniversary of the March on Washington, the annual PUSH Convention and the Democratic National Convention.  Not to mention Council Wars where I was member of the City Hall Press Corp.  I was in heaven.  And I attended every event and did some of my be reporting in the earliest days of my career.  I was finally humble.

But what made my experience so good was that Rev. Jackson would not let the Andy Shaw’s (WLS-TV), Harry Golden’s and Basil Talbot’s (Chicago Sun-Times) or even the Chicago Defender’s Chinta Strausberg overtalk me or disrespect me when I had to get my questions in to Jackson, or to whoever was standing next to him.

Then later, I would see him when he would come to the Fifth Floor of City Hall to meet with Mayor Washington or celebrate his rescue of a U.S. Pilot Robert Goodwin, whose American jet was shot down over Syria and the U.S. Government could not secure the release of the pilot.  Reverend brokered the deal.

But it was not until I was the morning producer for WVON 1450 AM’s Drake Collier, that I became closer to Rev. Jackson.  It was a a time of no internet, no cell phones, no I-pads, no laptops, just a rolodex of home and business numbers of the nation’s movers and shakers.  I could call Rev. Jackson at 5 a.m. and he would be on the “hotline” at 5:10.

It’s funny, I didnt grow up in a household or family who had warn and fuzzy feelings about Jackson, but I can tell you today, I have warm and fuzzy feelings about him because I don’t care what anyone says, Jewel Foods would be still be selling consumers in our community tainted meat and rotten vegetables to us, Lt. Goodwin would have spent close to a lifetime with his Syrian captors, because the government did not make this black man a priority; the McDonald’s restaurants on 87th Street and 79th Street would have been owned by people who do not look like us, and President Obama would not have realized that a run for the White House was possible after Rev. Jackson’s bids for the White House in 1984 and 1988.

I can’t remember if it was on or off air, but Rev. Jackson told me that with all the people he has rescued or helped broker deals to aid American families to retrieve captive loved ones from governments who had been detained, and where the State Department failed, not one of captives or family members ever followed up with a thank you.

Rev. Jackson, thank you for being so kind to me, being the jokester that you are and being a major component to contributing to me being the journalist I was and hope to be.  Happy Birthday and many more.

Love, Perri

For the third time in as many months I have received this call for an on-line boycott of Tea Party financiers David and Charles Koch.  They have more money than God (really) and they are considered the most generous of philanthropists in the nation.  They are best know for their multi-million dollar donations to the arts: from the American Ballet Theater to the one hundred million dollars donated to modernize the Lincoln Centers New York State Theatre building.

The source of the Wichita, Kansas based  Koch Bros.’ wealth comes from Koch Industries whose annual revenues are according to Forbes magazine, worth $100 billion.  (I told you they had more money than God).  The company’s growth came after the brothers took charge of the company after their father, Fred’s, death in 1967.

They control and own oil refineries in Alaska, Texas and Minnesota; and control about 4000 miles of pipeline.  But the average consumer at one time or another has likely used and bought some Georgia-Pacific lumber or paper product.  The list includes the following: Angel Soft toilet paper, Brawny paper towels, Dixie plates, bowls, napkins and towels; Quilted Northern toilet paper, Soft ‘n Gentle toilet paper, Sparkle napkins, Vanity Fair napkins, Zee napkins, Coronet, Georgia Pacific products and Vanity Fair.

So after you continue reading this blog, maybe many of  us will have a better understanding of the covert, sinister, and self-promoting agenda of this powerful conglomerate and political force.

Let’s begin by discussing the Koch’s political affiliations.  They are Libertarians.  What exactly is a libertarian?  Well according to the Cato Institute, a political think tank, the definition is as follows: “Libertarianism is the view that each person has the right to live his life in any way he chooses so long as he respects he equal rights of others,” and that, “Libertarians defend each person’s right to life, liberty and property — rights that people have naturally, before government’s are created.”  In other words libertarians believe in drastically lower personal and corporate taxes, minimal social services for the needy, and much less oversight of industry, especially environmnetal regulation.

Well surprise, surprise, surprise.  The Koch brothers and their industries have been cited and fined millions of dollars for cheating Native American’s out of oil, wrongful death suits for workers, and countless violations to the Energy Acts that protect the nation’s enviornment. Needless, to say they have also poured millions of dollars in already conservative and newly created think tanks that reject scientifically proven Global Warming claims.

The Koch brothers lobbying tenacles reach deeper into Washington, D.C. and its legislators than any of the big oil conglomerates like EXXON.  The millions and sometimes estimated billions of dollars the brothers have spent cannot even be traced in campaign contributions thanks to weak campaign reform as well as federal tax law permits that allow anonymous personal donations to politically active not for profit groups. These groups that benefit from the gifts criticize environmental regulation and support lower taxes for industry.

Think about it, if there were no environmental regulations, our newborn children would be rarely born, racked with disease and the sea life would cease to exist.  According to a former friend of the Koch brothers, he reportedly said, “perhaps they have confused making money with freedom.”

So bring in President Barack Obama, clearly an opportune time to support the libertarian movement while a Black man becomes leader of the free world.  Since the Koch family has been what is said to be the major contributor to the Tea Party movement and fringe groups, it is also an opportunity to promote hate and unfair blame on the Obama Administration’s failure to lead this country forward and fiscally responsible after decades of abuse from Capitol Hill.

Through the Koch’s vast resources, they were able to envoke their beliefs mainstream.  Fourteen of the twenty-three regulations that President George W. Bush placed on a economic hit list, had been first suggested by scholars and think tanks that supported with Koch money.

The Koch brothers began to see their interests really explode after they funded republicans in 2000 with nearly one million dollars.  This is straight up GOP and not those obscure American sounding groups which were hard to tell what the policies of these clandestine groups are or were.

The wealth gap is greater today  than it has been since the 1920s and since the seventies the tax rates of the wealthiest have fallen more than those in the middle-class.  And unfortunately this  has resonated with a large portion of American voters.

Stay tuned to WVON 1690 AM as Cliff Kelley and other hosts monitor the the upcoming shennanigans of the Koch’s, their interest but more importantly the interests of the people.  For more information about the Koch I suggest a New Yorker, September 2011 article.  Can’t wait to hear from you and share this with your friends and the uninformed.

I got so tired of hearing about what damage Hurricane Irene was going to the Northeast part of the United States I didn’t know what to do.  I am not insensitive enough to say that because I don’t care about the families, businesses and landmarks that were in the path of Irene, but because if people heeded the warnings of officials, I knew for the most part they would be ok.  Unlike six years before when tens of thousands of mostly poor and people of color were herded into a stadium and treated like animals because of their human condition and station in life.  Katrina destroyed families and minds, who will never recover.  For the most part, Irene’s vicitims will rebuild just like the people of Joplin, Missouri who one year after  tornadoes ripped through the midwest like a tazmanian devil, the residents are ok.

What really drove me nuts were those individuals who after the aftermath of Irene were seen walking and playing in flooding waters with toddlers, thrillseekers attempting to take advantage in a once in a lifetime west coast like surf, and those that just thought it would be fun to ride out a category 3 hurricane.

When I saw the toddler stomping around with its nutty parent in bacteria filled water due to sewage and the possibility of a live electrical wire frying up the nuts and the unsuspecting child, I became more and more enraged.

It’s like when people decide to go hiking in the middle of a snowstorm and people are supposed to risk their lives to save some “extreme” thrillseekers.  I hate to see any American lose memories, family members,  possessions and investments because Mother Nature shows her vengeful and unforgiving side.

And lastly, as the 10th anniversary of the 911 attacks approaches, I become more and more uneasy.  The thought that there will be a rush for generators, water, fuel and other basic needs that we take for granted if God forbid there is some type of terrorist act on American soil, makes me uneasy.  And I guarantee you, if the U.S. government issues a  high level terrorist alert warning, I won’t have to think twice about heeding that warning.  What about you?

I apologize for not submitting a weekly blog in the past three weeks, but I have been diligently working on a very special project.  It is a five-part series, that airs four times a day (6:50 and 11:50 am, 5:50 and 9:50 pm) that examines the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the progress or lack there of, of African Americans in the United States.

Like the last big special feature, “0-50: How Richard M. Daley Marginialized Black Politics in Chicago,” this type of radio is very new to me and rather a scary venture.  But I honestly believe that I can tell the story of our community because of my passion for the topics as well as the product that comes from WVON every day. 

We hope that you share your comments and thoughts about MLK as we take a historic trek to the nation’s capitol for the memorial celebration.  King, the only civillian honored in this way with a memorial will stand with President’s George Washington, a founding father; Thomas Jefferson, a slaveowner; and Abraham Lincoln, the emancipator.

Although controversy has swirled around this monument since the idea to honor Dr. King on the nation’s mall was proposed more than a decade ago, the fact that the day has come to fruition should be a proud moment in all of our lives.  I only wish, African Americans human condition today, matched the pride that will accompany thousands to the nation’s Capitol for this historic weekend.

Send your comments and let’s have a dialogue on the weekend and the series, “Our Seat at the Table of Brotherhood.”

Before I start to address the headline, I’ve got a little secret.  WVON has secured a pre-release screening date for the much anticipated Dreamworks production, “The Help.” The novel was a bestseller with more than 3 million books sold.  The movie will not be released until August 10, our screening will be the 4th or 5th, so keep listening to the station to find out how you can secure a free pass to the screening.

Now, let’s talk about “The Help,” the story of a white, fresh out of college female student returning to her home in Jackson, Mississippi during the 1960s and the relationship she begins with black maids who took care of the city’s white families.  The maids, play a role in an era where resistance to the Civil Rights Movement and change to reveal the human indignities they suffer while cooking cleaning and raising the children of these vapid, white middle class families.  I am currently reading the book now, and I hope that you sign up for the WVON Book Club so we can discuss”The Help” at a yet to be determined date.  Yours truly will be leading the discussion when we meet at WVON in the Legacy Room. Go to WVON.com and sign up. But I digress. 

I said from the very beginning the moment that I saw the trailer or was even aware of the book that there would be a cadre of people who would take issue with the book.  It was a time where African Americans were fighting for basic civil and human rights that were fought tooth and nail by white America for the most part.

But I look at it differently.  I do not see it as a story that reminds white America of the “good old days.”  You know when negroes knew their place and the white male was king.  I look at it as and era where these maids, decided that even though any discourse could mean them losing their livelihoods or worse, came together to expose the indignities in the south to the entire country.

I know there are more deserving stories to be told that will never hit the silver screen; stories of defiance and champion.  But it would make since that a bestseller would soon be a movie.  I revel in the fact that a production company that has proved itself as a first rate operation could tell this story.  Dreamworks, among the largest production companies in the world boasts arguably the most successful living producer in the world, Steven Spielberg.

I realize that this was a very painful time for Black America, but just this past weekend at the Taste of WVON, I was selling the book club asking people to sign up, a gentleman proudly told me that  his mother was one of those maids.  He and his siblings were well cared for and as a black domestic, his mom made a way to make sure he and his siblings would never have to do that kind of work.  He told me of the successes.  I smiled.  Although my family was always educated and built negro colleges in the south, it was the offspring of many maids that attended the schools.

We should embrace the work ethic of these women. We should never forget from where we come.  We should embrace it.  We should share it.

I do get the fact that many white women and men loved the book because they remember the women who raised them fondly. Today, with “The Help,” those same women and men can realize the sacrifices those women made with their own families to raise them when they were little snots.

I hope we will embrace the book and the film in the way we did Spike Lee’s “Malcom X,” or Spielberg’s “Amistad.”  It’s our history, let us own it.

Can’t wait for your feedback and sign-up for the book club which I will be moderating.