Champion. But winner?

Is John McCain the Great White Hope?

By Carol Forsloff

With Randy Stelly at Ringside

Sports is like politics. Lots of action. That's why writers use similar words for both. Baseball and boxing words dominate, especially aggressive ones. At the Democratic Convention television cameras captured Muhammad Ali, the old boxing champ, and we got the point. But there's another story that showed the underbelly of sports that if played out in this year's politics in the match between Senators John McCain and Barack Obama could hurt lots of us. And that's the story of Jack Johnson, the famous black boxer, whose championship fight brought the word hope in a whole other way than Obama's.

Now Jack was no smooth talker; he was blunt, bold and took chances. He was labeled boxing's best. He defied social convention in behavior and attitude. had white ladies on his arm and was described as an arrogant fellow who didn't know his place. Personal symbols of sex, violence and an in-your-face attitude surrounded him as he pushed his way to the pinnacle of boxing, becoming the heavyweight champion of the Negro division of it in the early 1900's. Jim Jeffries, his white counterpart in a segregated sport, didn't want to fight a black man, but later said yes to voices who cried for Jeffries to be "the great white hope." Johnson beat Jeffries; white folks got angry, and things got bad. Johnson left Texas because of violence and threats. The "great white hope" didn't get him but the controversy did.

 

Barack Obama is bold. He accepted the Democratic Party's Presidential nomination in direct and forceful tones. But unlike Johnson, his image is different. He's a whole different guy than Johnson in a whole different time, but that's not the point. He's in a match against a strong, white opponent who's backed by some whose methods are awful. We can only sit back and watch to see if "the great white hope" notions are played out again.

Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner and Maybe Breakfast Too

By Carol Forsloff and Randy Stelly

 

If you heard Barack Obama's Presidential nomination acceptance speech on Thursday, April 28, you don't need it reviewed. You either heard it and got it or didn't. Lots of people will talk about their feelings and tell you about yours, as if you couldn't express them yourself. Some folks didn't get the speech, either because they didn't listen, refused to or physically couldn't for some reason, so perhaps some overview might be good for that bunch. But most of those people wouldn't read about it if they didn't hear it. So we'd like to talk simply about feelings from a black - white view the morning after the night before.

 

Political togetherness is one thing; personal is another. People pray in separate packs, party that way as well, and usually pick a person in the racial-cultural "in" group for permanent partners. Research shows that's because many folks worry about Keila and Anthony, all grown up now, and officially getting together, and not just to wave flags. The kids are coming home from school and work and giving their folks a message. And some of these folks are the same people worried about their kid's futures in ways that hang around in emotionally dark places that aren't admitted at dinner and at those meals where people talk about issues at the beginning or end of the day. We can see the change before us, but long-held beliefs through symbols are different. Obama will be the topic for sure. Sidney Poitier was applauded for his portrayal of a brilliant, articulate and sensitive fellow who's about to be one of the family. But that was the movies.

Big Bad Noise Gives Press Folk Jitters

False Alarm Creates Convention Area Evacuation

By Randy Stelly and Carol Forsloff

 

Prelude to disaster or just a little scared? No one knew what was going on, and no one talked about it afterwards. But on Wednesday night of the Democratic Convention the press area was evacuated after a large noise like an explosion. New American Media reps had just been interviewed by the Huffington Post, when the loud noise came, sounding, as Randy Stelly said, like a bomb went off. Pretty weird stuff.

 

So as emotions continue up in mega-decibels throughout the Democratic Convention, one can't help thinking about the what ifs. That's true if you're aging from the '60's, and you remember that time.

The glass half full guys will continue to cheer and celebrate. The other folks will worry just a little, since they know that negative things can happen when they're least expected or the positive planned for. We're those half full folk and looking forward to a great day and the evening of Barack Obama's acceptance speech. But no more bad stuff, please.

Hard Ball Played to Win by Top Dems

Clinton, Kerry and Biden Trio Appeared Key Game-Changers at Denver Convention

By Randy Stelly and Carol Forsloff

Hillary's hit on Tuesday night brought cheers, but the game got hotter when three guys got to bat. Not because they were guys, but because they worked in tandem through an evening that brought both cheers and tears to what can only be described as an overwhelming experience after Barack Obama was selected as the Democratic nominee for President by acclamation of the assembled delegates. It was hard to tell tonight who was the heaviest hitter, because all played well, bringing the crowd in Denver to its feet many times. In fact former President Bill Clinton, the first to speak of the trio, had to ask people to sit down and cut it out during the crowd's stomps, cheers and flag waving. From the perspective of The Real Views media, Randy Stelly watching events unfold in Denver while his partner observes them from a comfortable couch in Natchitoches, the trio of Bill Clinton, John Kerry and Joe Biden not only hit balls out of the stadium grounds but all the way onto the laps of the American public in faraway places.

Clinton, Kerry and Biden were there to support Obama, and they appeared to do more than advance pundits had proclaimed. Clinton endorsed Barack Obama's candidacy firmly, then took on the Republican establishment with decisive clarity, pitching hardball to Republican opposition as he reviewed a litany of problems developed during the Bush presidency which included a decline in real income, economic difficulties, an increase in the national debt and the diminishment of Constitutional protections and guarantees. To strengthen his arguments in support of Obama, Clinton cited his own accomplishments as President and reminded people that he, like Obama, had been criticized for not having enough foreign policy expertise and background. Clinton then enumerated Obama's qualities as being his intellect, ability to inspire, his excellent grasp of foreign policy and a family heritage that allows him to lead a diverse nation now Rather than talking about the negatives in the primary, Clinton accentuated the Obama's strengths and those of his wife, Hillary Clinton, who had lost to the Democratic party's official nominee for President in a hard-fought primary. Clinton simply was at Clinton's best.

Senator John Kerry may have been accused as being too passive in his 2004 campaign but he wasn't Wednesday night. He confidently talked about the attacks on Obama's patriotism and how foolish and false they are. He told people how Obama could have had high-paying jobs after graduating Harvard but instead chose to work on the South Side of Chicago helping disadvantaged people get jobs and benefits so they could support themselves and their families. This, he said, was evidence of Obama's love of country. Kerry's recovery from the swift boating tactics used on him during his own Presidential candidacy of 2004 appeared to have been significant enough to allow him to articulate strongly his beliefs that the Republicans and specifically McCain have extreme political views that have had devastating consequences for the country.

Senator Joe Biden might not have fared well in the Democratic primaries but did on Wednesday night with the crowd, if his enthusiastic welcome was any indication. He was introduced by his son Captain Beaux Biden who is about to be deployed to Iraq. Beaux Biden talked about his father's response to losing his wife and daughter in an automobile accident that had severely injured two sons. Biden was portrayed as first a family man and devoted father, always there for his children, as well as someone who is able to carry out major responsibilities in government in an emotional story that left few delegates dry-eyed. His support for legislation on violence against women was underlined. Known for his blunt deliveries, Biden surprised no one as he quickly took on the beliefs and political behaviors of Senator John McCain, the Republican Party's assumed nominee, whom he described as a friend. Obama's surprise entrance at evening's end had been given great introduction by three political heavyweights who just might have changed the game's direction to a Democratic win this time.

Black Like Me?

Has Clinton Retained His Position as the First African American President?

By Randy Stelly and Carol Forsloff

I'm an African American, and my white business partner is too, although she got that status later when I gave it to her. So we can write about this together because we know what being black is. And it isn't color necessarily, although that helps. It's mostly attitude. Clinton had attitude in the White House. He got it. He talked; he listened. He knew. He was. In his food, in his smile, in his playing that horn and in doing what's right for folks no matter the color. What a guy. Then it looked like he was going to give all that up to have a chance for his friends to sleep with Lincoln, i.e. in the dead President's bedroom again, while just maybe he got to sleep somewhere else in his retirement while his wife Hillary worked the red phone in a crisis. But a few bad days doesn't make one's hair permanently "bad" (as in the kind that's any way you can't get it too look good, and maybe even straight). In short our boy (I can say that all I want to!) stayed one of us. In the end he didn't desert a brother. He stood right up there in front of everyone and pointed his finger as he told the folks in the room that Obama could be President. Right now.

I gotta tell you it wasn't easy. I watched that white-haired dude get up on stage, thinking "what if he blows it?" We all know that he blows, with all angles to that word and its meanings. Some would say that brought him to brotherhood. That's artificial though, because it's only a stereotype I don't like and that isn't true or right. To be black like me (or us says Carol) means thinking about getting there, never giving up, taking chances and having what we all call heart that isn't afraid to be shown on the sleeve once in awhile. I remind my white partner in my newspaper when she thinks she knows it all that she's only been black a couple of years. Well maybe more, since I didn't know her before that. But she got it too. Right away. So that makes us brother and sister. Like Bill got it before he was President, lost it a bit, then got it back. In short, Bill Clinton on Wednesday night got his groove back.

Ethnic Media Identifies with Hawaii Diversity at the Convention

Different cultural groups representative of Obama's childhood home

By Randy Stelly and Carol Forsloff

 

Hawaii's delegation, led by Senator Daniel Inouye, stood out from all the other States on Wednesday afternoon at the Democratic Convention, as the birthplace of the new Democratic nominee, Barack Obama, and the place where diversity was demonstrated by its inclusion of individuals from a number of cultural and racial groups. Hawaii gave its favorite son, Barack Obama, 26 votes in the roll call as evidence of its clear support for a representative of its diversity in the White House.

Obama spent childhood years in Hawaii and returns to the State frequently to visit friends and family. He has the experience of living in a place that folks call paradise. Part of the reason for that has to do not only with warm, tropical climate but the fact that 95% of its citizens have health insurance and the longest average life span of any group in the United States. Obama knows the advantages of living in a multicultural place identified with good health and longevity. Perhaps that's why his political platform has foundation evidence from direct contact with success in an area that his opponent, John McCain, has yet to discuss in detail.

The ethnic media covering the Democratic Convention for their respective media outlets as well as New America Media stands out like Hawaii does at the Convention, representing as it does a cross section of individuals from various cultures and races. As the delegation from the "Paradise of the Pacific" stood in front of the crowd on the floor of the convention, members of the ethnic media recognized its own special status as well and the vision of inclusion that the Convention is trying to represent as it prepared to officially nominate Barack Obama as the next President of the United States.

Hillary Resonates with Winning Speech

Race and Gender Issues Dismissed by Democratic Party Primary Contender

 

By Randy Stelly and Carol Forsloff

 

 

MSNBC said Hillary knocked it "out of the park." Other pundits may disagree. But from the perspective of two senior citizens, both media people with one African American male now in Denver and a white female partner back home in Natchitoches, Louisiana, the former contender for the Presidency took race and gender and tossed them aside as non-factors in getting a Democrat in the White House. With strong conviction and that touch of elegant pant-suited sizzle, Hillary Clinton wowed the crowd in Denver and removed virtually all doubt about her intentions to support Barack Obama in his upcoming fight against John McCain in the fall. Images of suffragettes juxtaposed with a black woman, Harriet Tubman, and her strength displayed in leading slaves to freedom combined with strong oratory cast Hillary as sympathetic, competent and willing to get behind Obama for President. We loved it.

 

Gender and race have played key roles in media analyses and diatribes. Constant chatter about the femme factor and skin color became talking points long before they became issues for anyone serious about winning. Faux pas are possible when tensions are high, debating periods long and tiresome, and candidate's campaign posses try to lasso anyone with real or imagined slips. Both Obama and Clintons (Hillary and Bill) made blunders of commission or omission, but the potential impact of Hillary's speech should be to get the race-gender controversy divide smoothed over so that Dems can get on with it.

 

Coalition Building: A Multi Ethnic Tag Team That Works in a Big Way at a Big Event

Stelly and Forsloff of The Real Views Show Race No Factor in Getting Things Done

By Randy Stelly and Carol Forsloff

 

Reflecting the excitement and history-making moments of the Democratic Convention, the tag team of Randy Stelly and Carol Forsloff of The Real Views is helping its media outlet and New American Media cover sideline events in creative ways. Randy Stelly is now in Denver and has worked tirelessly helping to get ethnic media participants from NAM, to and from different events while his partner, Forsloff, handles day-to-day newspaper reporting and editing from Natchitoches and dispatches material to it directly from Stelly.

 

After an exhilarating evening watching keynote speakers such as Caroline Kennedy, Ted Kennedy, Jesse Jackson Jr. and Michelle Obama give an introduction to convention events that will likely keep television and convention audiences keenly focused. Randy interviewed key African Americans from the communications and entertainment industries on Tuesday. Ed Gordon, formerly of Black Entertainment Network (BET) and Flo McAfee, Media Advisor to the Specialty Press, expressed their gratitude and awe of convention activities to date, both also stressing the historic nature of the occasion and their respective roles in it.

 

Like other African Americans at the Democratic Convention, Stelly has a story as well, from his background as a senior citizen, active in the newspaper business for 30 years, standing in a place at a time that his father and grandfather could only have imagined. Added to that, Stelly's partnership with a Caucasian female in a small Southern community, Natchitoches, Louisiana makes for an interesting story that is outlined in a video interview available on The Real Views website at http://www.therealviews.com and on the New American Media website as well.

 

Forsloff, eager to participate personally, engaged in a telephone interview with convention participants featuring Flo McAfee, Professor Charles Ogletree of Harvard University, and Rick Wade, Senior Advisor with Obama for America. Since the Senate race of Louisiana is considered key to maintaining Democratic legislative majorities in next year's Congress, Forsloff centered her question to Wade on the peak oil crisis, the economy, and Obama's position on these issues relative to Landrieu's involvement with the Gang of 10. Wade said that Obama will be talking about energy policies and issues while caucuses and specialty groups will bring corporate chieftains together with ordinary citizens to consider various alternatives for solving economic difficulties.

 

Ethnic media through New American Media hopes to build coalitions, and that is no better displayed than a multicultural combination at The Real Views. The Stelly – Forsloff tag team will continue to keep the troops informed and entertained throughout the next few days, as an example of a coalition that works in a season where their change is but a token of something even greater taking place in Denver.

Wednesday, at the Democratic Party Convention in Denver

Turn around and there's something new to see or do. It's tiring, but exhilarating at the same time. I call Carol back in Natchitoches, or she calls me; and there's little time to catch up on everything, but the energy from being part of the media during these historic times keeps us going. I'm the guy who gets people around Denver, as one of the few in our group that has a car. There are long walks and shuttles back and forth to the Convention center. In the meantime we have a series of stories on our website, and I'd like my readers of this blog to check out the New America website as well. We have stories on everything from Hillary's speech to Hawaii's delegation, the failed assassination attempt and our perspective about the Convention itself.

But nothing beats being here. You're all in my heart now, and I wish I could have put all of my friends in my pocket to see things as I see them here.

Randy

Excitement and Fulfilling Events in Denver

Friends,

I got in here on Sunday and haven't had time to turn around with the hectic schedule. But it's exhilirating, and I feel blessed to be here. There's a bunch of videos on The Real Views website and on the New America Media website. which outlines what I've been doing. I listened to the speeches of Ted Kennedy, Caroline Kennedy, Jesse Jackson Jr. and Michelle Obama last night, trying to keep the straight, un-emotional face of a press person, but couldn't help my tears as I listened to these fine people and looked at the faces of the crowd around them. I keep wondering what my Daddy would have thought--or is thinking--watching his little kid now, all grown up, and here in Denver where history is being made. It's a special time, and I'm grateful.

So check it out at The Real Views and at New American Media where you'll get my take and that of my friends in the ethnic press, straight, simple and from the heart.

Randy

Sunday--in Denver

Got here in the early a.m. Long drive straight through from Natchitoches, Louisiana to Denver, Colorado. But I feel good and ready to get going. Scheduled to pick up other members of New American Media today so we can begin our planning and collaboration. It is almost too good to be true, but here I am; and tomorrow can't come soon enough for the convention and the work to begin.

Obama's Pick

Good choice. Real balance. Two smart guys, Obama and Biden. Biden is going to seriously help not just in the campaign but in the administration. I'm on the road now and listening to the pundits talk about this, so decided to make a comment here. It's a good thing. I like it.

Preparations for Denver

Already nearly packed with a few last-minute details; and tomorrow I leave for Denver. Everyone wants to go in my suitcase, and I'd get them all in if I could just so we could all share the fun. As that old-fashioned newspaper man getting into the tech groove has been time-consuming and treacherous, but I'm getting the hang of some of it--with enough back-up stuff in case paper and pencil is the best choice. Learned yesterday that some of the national media wants to interview some of the folks in the ethnic media. What an opportunity for the young people in the ethnic media, to get in at the beginning of their careers and enjoy the excitement of actually being where it's happening.

More tomorrow. Stay tuned to this blog and our newspaper to capture the fun along with me. This is the pocket I've put together for all you folks. It's up to you to get in it.

Getting Ready for the Big Day

Hello readers,

Two days now before I leave for Denver. Lots of things to do before that and work to do when I get back. But there isn't anything better than to know that I am going to see history happening, and that's a good thing. To be a part of a multicultural community of news people is exciting. It's hard to explain to people just how I feel about all this. The journalist part of me is calm and ready. The person inside is excited and thrilled. I will be posting messages on this blog so all of you can share in my excitement, but a lot of my work will be on that newspaper at http://www.therealviews.com. My readers can stop by here first or go right to the newspaper website. Here you'll get a really personal view of what I am seeing and experiencing next week. I will be driving to Denver and taking along some passengers so the journey there along with the convention should be chock full of stories.

Randy

Watching History Made

Lucky me. I'm going to Denver with a bunch of good folk from New American Media, an organization representing about 3000 ethnic news outlets, to cover the Democratic Party convention. This is something that as a child I could only have dreamed about, but now I get to go and watch history in the making. I grew up in a region during a time of segregation. Black boys weren't raised to think they could be President. Now because of Barack Obama, and the changes that have taken place since I was a child, they can. I am celebrating this as I prepare for Denver.
It's only a week and counting until I make that journey from Natchitoches, the oldest town in the Louisiana settlement, to the place of new beginnings---or certainly a future that tells a lot of people who have felt excluded that they really can do whatever they want or become whoever they want and really fulfill their dreams, as I am fulfilling mine today. Check out the stories and information that I'll be sending out to my partner back in Natchitoches that we'll share with all of you at http://www.therealviews.com and at this blog regularly.