eriKKa, Hillary Clinton actually is attending the event. I don't think she's doing this out of sincerity, but instead out of desparation/necessity to court "the Black vote." I am equally outraged that McCain is not attending, but less surprised. Remeber how many Republicans showed up to Smiley's last event?

I think that looking at me and seeing my color is actually a good thing because it is part of my identity. The problem comes when people attach hatred and negativity to that color, which is no fault of my own (or probably theirs for that matter). The great day will be when people do not see Black as bad. In that day, there would be no issue with Obama, me, or anyone else being the Black candidate.

By running from that notion, we are running further and further away from that great day.

Jim, you are definitely an inspiration to tech geeks with progressive streaks like me. It's an honor and pleasure to work with you.

Am I the only one that finds this rhetoric eerily similar to the tones of the film Birth of a Nation?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birth_of_a_nation

That headline is definitely not too strong.

http://www.thesuperspade.com/republicans-like-sick-children-and-so-do-actionless-progressives/

@mark goggins, I just found out about Warren Ballentine's action on this today. I posted about it here:

http://bravenewfilms.org/blog/16456-nov-2nd-black-out-to-raise-awareness-of-black-issues-domestic-torture

To "What A Lot of Whites Have Been Neglecting To Say," wow, you are incredibly, though believably ignorant. I honestly give "a lot of whites" much more credit than that.

To state things succinctly, your acceptance of racism as a reality that will always be is the sort of ignorant and defeatist attitude that is both anti-human and goes against any ideals that make life worth living. Racism, like any other action or idea (e.g. eating), is taught. There are two ways to prevent a ideal that is learned from propagating: 1) un-teach it, or 2) stop teaching it. Both of these require a change of heart that I think that most people are so scared to make because they are so worried that more people at the table means less for them.

Finally, a word on issue-/group-/gender-/ethnic-/race-specific organizations. Read the following quote from Malcolm X, a guy that you may be scared of:

"There can be no black-white unity until there is first some black unity.... We cannot think of uniting with others, until after we have first united among ourselves. We cannot think of being acceptable to others until we have first proven acceptable to ourselves."
Source: www.malcolm-x.org

What that means is that groups must understand one another internally before effectively addressing others. It's the functional equivalent to thinking about what you say before you say it, something you did little of before typing your comment. To think that a group of all-Black members is inherently anti-White is a fear-based, supremacist attitude.