Toledo, New Orleans, and the Failure of Black Leadership

http://www.blackcommentator.com/156/156_freedom_rider_toledo_no.html
October 15, 2005 is a day that should live in infamy. On that date a group
of white supremacists from the National Socialist Movement (NSM) were given
permission to march in a racially mixed but mostly black neighborhood in
Toledo, Ohio. Typically hate groups are allowed to march only near
courthouses and city halls.

Their movements are kept under control; it is easier to separate them from
protesters, and it is easier to arrest them too. The Nazis who attempted to
march in Toledo should have been told where they could march, and been
arrested if they deviated from police instructions.

Instead the Nazis were given permission to march on behalf of a white racist
family who had called them to help harass their black neighbors. Inevitably,
violence resulted.

The other inevitable result was the media's continued demonization of black
people. Just as in post-Katrina New Orleans, the behavior of black people
under assault was questioned, scrutinized and ultimately found wanting.

In New Orleans the captions of now famous photographs told us that that
white people are always innocent, and black people are always guilty. White
people find things and black people are always looters. In Toledo, black
people under assault from their avowed enemies were dismissed by their own
leaders and then characterized as criminals when they took to the streets in
protest.



The irony of Toledo is that the NSM never even marched. They gathered at a
high school football field and yelled insults at protesters.

"Hey! The Toledo Zoo called, and they want their monkeys back," shouted
Martin, as the NSM members began making chimpanzee sounds. "Why don't you go
cry to your daddy? Oh wait, you're a n*****; you don't know who your daddy
is!"

They wore themselves out with taunts and police escorted them away, but not
before arresting black people who defied namby pamby political leaders and
came out to protest against the outrage taking place in their community.

Residents gathered who were unaware that the planned march never even took
place. They then became the subjects of police scrutiny instead of the group
dedicated to inciting violence. Rev. Mansour Bey asked, "Why do police
protect the Nazis but when five African-Americans are standing around we get
questioned and maybe frisked by police?"

A good question. Black people do not fare very well when in contact with
large numbers of cops, even if avowed Nazis are hanging about. Toledo
officials decided that the way to maintain peace was to restrict the
movement of black people, not to tell the NSM where they could march and
arrest them if they didn't follow orders. Toledo officials, including black
Mayor Jack Ford, did everything wrong in dealing with the NSM march. The
city's police chief, Mike Navarre said, "Our job is to protect these
protesters."

Navarre's job was to protect all of Toledo from the violence that results
when Nazis come to town. The Mayor asked his constituents to ignore the NSM,
an insult to injury if ever there was one. As usual the masses told the
leadership what to do. They took to the streets. Most protested peacefully,
but there was enough violence to make the news and be called a riot.



The NSM called their planned action a "march against black crime." It isn't
surprising that white supremacists would raise the specter of black crime,
but the media were little better.

Ever since hurricane Katrina, thoughts previously censored are now spoken.
The media is complicit in bringing out the ugliness that always lurks below
the surface. The initial reporting on Katrina focused on looters and
exaggerated reports of other crimes.

It wasn't just media excess during a fast breaking story that created the
misinformation. Black America is always depicted as the evil, always at
fault, always to blame for every mishap in the nation and apparently worse
than Nazis.

The images of suffering created by hurricane Katrina evoked sympathy from
many but they also evoked lurking hatreds. When the city of Toledo made it a
priority to protect Nazis, instead of lawfully preventing them from marching
in a residential neighborhood, it signaled a chilling sea change. Mayor Ford
clearly didn't think a Nazi march was a threat to his political fortunes.

That is a terrifying and sad comment on the state of black American
politics. The only thing sadder would be a reelected Mayor Ford.



The City of New Orleans was destroyed by a combination of mother nature and
years of government neglect. It is now being destroyed by the masters of
disaster, such as Halliburton, who always profit from tragedy.

How can dispersed New Orleans residents fight for their right to go home
when mayors of black cities respond to Nazi threats by telling their
intended victims that their enemies are imaginary? If a city like Toledo can
conclude that Nazis have greater rights than the residents they planned to
provoke then the outcome doesn't look good for New Orleans either. The same
sort of political leadership that won't or can't stand up to Nazis won't
stand up to Halliburton either as it carves up the Gulf Coast with its no
bid contracts.

Black America is weak and leaderless and the sharks smell blood in the
water. They can tell us to ignore goose-stepping American Nazis or ignore
people who were taken from New Orleans to Utah against their will.

Like the Toledo community residents who refused to play deaf, dumb and
blind, the rest of black America will have to step into the gap and become
the new leadership. If not, then Nazis, Halliburton or just plain evildoing
Republicans will keep running and ruining our lives. We'll all be on planes
to Utah and other far flung locales, whether we like it or not.

Margaret Kimberley's Freedom Rider column appears weekly in BC. Ms.
Kimberley is a freelance writer living in New York City. She can be reached
via e-Mail at margaret.kimberley@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx You can read more of
Ms. Kimberley's writings at freedomrider.blogspot.com.


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