Jack & Jill Politics

OK — I not only got a little misty watching the returns lst night but being black, I also did a little dancing. Touchdown dancing. Wave your arms in the air — “Hip Hop Hoorayyy…Heyyy….Hooooo” style dancing. Raise the roof dancing. Excited fake jogging in place dancing. Awww yeahhh boy-yeee!

You’ve heard all the analysis on TV and read a lot of blogs and papers. Keith Boykin has a good election snapshot too. But now let’s talk about what this means for brothers and sisters in America. Let’s just say there’s good news, some more good news and some bad news. Some history was made yesterday. For African-Americans. For all Americans.

Good news:

* All Black Republican candidates lose. Ha. Including Harold Ford Jr. (Oops! — that’s what he gets for trying to out-Republican a Republican at a time when people have come to hate Republicans.)

* Keith Ellison, an African-American and a progressive, became the first Muslim elected to Congress in American history. This news is so big that people can’t even wrap their minds around it.

* Deval Patrick becomes the nation’s second black governor. From his victory speech:

This victory belongs to the tens and hundreds of thousands of Democrats and Republicans and independents who believe that we can do so much better and hope for so much more in Massachusetts. Who believe we don’t have to agree on everything before we can work together on anything. That is what the voters said today. Voters said ‘no’ to the Big Dig politics as usual and ‘yes’ to the politics of hope and possibility. Voters said ‘no’ to the inside deals and mediocre performance of our current administration and ‘yes’ to accountability, candor, and leadership. Voters said ‘no’ to division and exclusion, ‘no’ to government by gimmick, and slogan and sound bite and photo-op, and ‘yes’ to lasting and meaningful reform.

Check out the crowd in MA at his victory speech.

More Good News after the jump…

It’s the gift that will hopefully keep on giving. Many members of the Congressional Black Caucus, several of whom have roots in the civil rights movement, are poised to take control of some powerful House committees. This is important because they will be able to influence what legislation actually gets to the House floor and what shape it may take. Ha.

Booman Tribune — a prophet — saw the Black Revolution in the House first in a great article on Oct 25:

In the entire history of the country, blacks have held only three significant chairs. Adam Clayton Powell chaired the Education and Labor Committee for three sessions. Augustus Hawkins also chaired that committee for a session and a half, plus he chaired the House Administration Committee. And, as I mentioned above, Dellums spent a session as chair of Armed Services.

All of this is about to change dramatically if we can win control of the House in November.

BooMan — we did it. We won. That means (emphasis mine):

Charlie Rangel is the ranking member of the Ways and Means Committee. John Conyers, Jr. is the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee. Bennie Thompson is the ranking member of the Homeland Security Committee. Juanita Millender-McDonald is the ranking member on the House Administration Committee. And Alcee Hastings is the second ranking member of the Intelligence Committee and is rumored to be favored by Pelosi for the chair of that committee. That puts five African-Americans in line to be chairs of House committees. That’s a third of the total from the last 230 years. And, more importantly, these are not minor committees. Judiciary, Intelligence, Homeland Security, and Ways and Means are MAJOR committees. House Administration is in charge of all the voting procedures in this country. This is a revolution of black power unseen previously in the halls of Congress.

Why is that important? Dig it: what was once a level of Congressional leadership open in the last Congress only to white people who happen to be men is now going to be hmmm…a mite more diverse in the House. Say it with me: Whose House? OUR HOUSE!

BlackElectorate.com goes a little further than BT and gives a fuller listing of key committees and sub-committees that African-American congressfolks will possibly chair.

Bad news:

* Harold Ford Jr. lost. This is bad news because he probably should have won against Bob “Miscegnation” Corker. Funny, isn’t it that so many Democratic Senate seats were won — almost a clean sweep, except for the slightly darker Democrat. Things that make you go hmmm.

* In Michigan, the “Michigan Civil Rights Initiative” that eliminates affirmative action was passed. As Woman of Color Blog says: It wasn’t even a close vote. People voted Democratic — for change and then they turned around and voted against giving women and minorities a fair shake. The Nation in an opinion piece said, “It was a victory for the angry white people…” Sigh. The fallout from this as it has been in other places where laws like this have passed will be painful to watch. For everyone.

We’ve come a long way. But we haven’t finished climbing the rough side of the mountain just yet.

African Americans need to make sure Democratic promises of a broad new agenda happens. But the broad new agenda must address issues of African Americans as well. It’s not all about the middle class folks, let’s not forget about the poor people of our country. (Source: Mirror on America)

Hear hear.