Not another "slap in the face of African-Americans."

The highest-ranking black congressman says opposition to the federal stimulus package by southern governors is "a slap in the face of African-Americans."

Blogger, African American Political Pundit says: Your kidding right? Are southern governors in 2009 really slapping black folks in the face? This is 2009 right, not the 1950's.

Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C. is shown in this August file photo at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. Clyburn, the highest-ranking black congressman, said that opposition to the federal stimulus package by southern GOP governors is 'a slap in the face of African-Americans.' (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)

Democratic Congressman Jim Clyburn of South Carolina said Thursday he was insulted when the GOP governors of several states said they might not accept some of the money from the $787 billion stimulus package. Texas Gov. Rick Perry said Wednesday he would accept the money.

Rick Perry of Texas, center, is one a number of Republican governors who are considering turning down some of the stimulus package money.

Clyburn said he was trying to protect black Americans when he added a provision to the stimulus package that would let state lawmakers override governors who oppose it. More HERE

As reported by the NY Times, Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, said that he would reject the money for expanding unemployment insurance.

“There is some we will not take in Mississippi,” Governor Barbour told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday. “We want more jobs. You don’t get more jobs by putting an extra tax on creating jobs.”

In an interview on Saturday, Mr. Barbour criticized the stimulus law, saying: “It’s filled with social policy and costs too much. You could create just as many jobs for about half as much money.”

Meanwhile, as reported by MSNBC the U.S. Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., the No. 3 House Democrat, said the governors — some of whom are said to be eyeing White House bids in 2012 — are putting their own interests first.

"No community or constituent should be denied recovery assistance due to their governor's political ideology or political aspirations," Clyburn said Wednesday.

In fact, governors who reject some of the stimulus aid may find themselves overridden by their own legislatures because of language Clyburn included in the bill that allows lawmakers to accept the federal money even if their governors object. More HERE

AAPP: So, what do you think? Are southern governors slapping black folks in the face? Is this a color or racial issue? Are the southern governors color aroused? Did the highest-ranking black congressman go to far when he said opposition to the federal stimulus package by southern governors is a slap in the face of African-Americans ? Well, there is a history of southern governors doing bad things to black folks.

Of course we should trust Gov. Haley Barbour of Mississippi to do the right thing for blacks in Mississippi. Right!

But, then again what did the Congressional Black Caucus put in the Stimulus Plan to stimulate the economy in our black communities?

It's seems that all ethnic groups have been taken care of in the stimulus package but black folks. The Filipino Veterans were taken care of in Stimulus Bill. Native Americans received a well needed and deserved $2.5B for Native American tribes. I'm sure that President Obama’s pick to lead the U.S. Department of Labor, Hilda Solis, will be vigilant in ensuring that Latinos are taken care of. The list of resources to ethnic groups is great. Now the question is.... What did Rep. James Clyburn and other members of the Congressional Black Caucus get for black communities? How many new schools will be built in "our communities" vs wealthy suburban communities or gentrified communities that have turn from black to white? OK, you want to talk about color, you want to really talk about color and race, like Atty General Eric Holder suggested, well let's really talk about it. Don't be scared...

African American Political Pundit is a regular contributor to this blog.

Are We Closer To A Post Racial America?

H/T to the new blog, The Post Racial Blog for the link.

According to The washington POst: As President-elect Barack Obama prepares to take office, far fewer black and white Americans say they view racism as "a big problem" in American society than said so in mid-1996, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

With the nation poised to inaugurate its first African American president, the survey found that just over a quarter of all Americans said they see racism as a large societal problem, less than half of the 54 percent who said so about a dozen years ago. Americans also have high hopes that Obama -- who is of mixed-race parentage but refers to himself as African American -- will inspire an improvement in race relations.

But even as declining numbers of Americans see racism as a big problem for the country, there has been little change in the amount of racism people perceive in their local communities. The survey also found that there has been little change over the past six years in the proportion of African Americans who said they have experienced racial bias in housing, employment and other areas. More HERE and more HERE.

Are we there yet!

US Senate Once Again Rejects A Black U.S. Senator

It's truly a helluva way to run a democracy. The All White Club of the U.S. Senate told the Black man today: Your papers are not in order! U.S. Senator (appointed) Burris entered the Capitol peacefully and was denied his Senate seat in dramatic fashion. This spectacle edging on bigotry, was a live showdown that sounds in many ways like the politics, before and after the U.S. Civil War. When in 1870, the state of Mississippi was rejoining the union. Its two senate seats had been empty for nine years. Hiram R. Revels was elected to fill the seat left vacant by Jefferson Davis, who had left the United States senate to serve as president of the Confederacy. When Revels entered the Senate chamber for the first time on February 23, 1870, he met with opposition from Democrat senators, who argued that Revels had not been a citizen for nine years. Although Revels had been born free to free parents in North Carolina on September 27, 1822, the Democrats argued their points from the Constitution and the Dred Scott Case. Yes, race or color shouldn't matter in the Burris case the reality is... it does.The argument by the Senate regarding no certification by the Secretary of state is bogus and disrespectful. This will truly be federalism’s latest test case. Even though Burris has legal backing a historically bigoted and segregated United States Senate once again denied a black man his rightful seat after being appointed to the United States Senate. CNN is covering the story on how U.S. Senator (appointed) Roland Burris was denied entry to the Senate chambers. BET, Black websites and bloggers are covering the story of Burris, including, political bloggers and social bloggers, Politopics, plezWorld, Skeptical Brotha, Black Politics On The Web, Field Negro, Dallas South, Sugar N Spice, Jack and Jill Politics and Pam's House Blend and many others. Check out CNN coverage HERE. MSNBC and Associated Press (AP) report: The secretary of the Senate on Tuesday turned Roland Burris away from taking the seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama. Burris left the Capitol offices of the secretary, Nancy Erickson, after a meeting of about 20 minutes. In a bizarre rainy-day scene on the Capitol grounds as lawmakers awaited the gaveling of the 111th Congress into session, Burris stood amid a huge throng of reporters and television cameras and declared that he had been informed that "my credentials are not in order and will not be accepted." He said he was "not seeking to have any type of confrontation" over taking the seat that he was appointed to by embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. But Burris also said he was looking at options for taking the seat. But Democratic leaders were determined to keep him out of the exclusive club. The immediate reason is that his letter of appointment has not been signed by the Illinois secretary of state. AAPP: It's in many ways like the case of the first Black U.S. Senator Revels who arrived in Washington at the end of January 1870, but could not present his credentials until Mississippi was readmitted to the United States on February 23. Senate Republicans sought to swear in Revels immediately afterwards, but Senate Democrats were determined to block the effort. Led by Senator Garrett Davis of Kentucky and Senator Willard Saulsbury of Delaware, the Democrats claimed Revels’s election was null and void, arguing that Mississippi was under military rule and lacked a civil government to confirm his election. More HERE Image courtesy of National Archives and Records Administration In 1870, when Revels entered the Senate chamber for the first time on February 23, 1870, he met with opposition from Democrat senators, who argued that Revels had not been a citizen for nine years. Although Revels had been born free to free parents in North Carolina on September 27, 1822, the Democrats argued their points from the Constitution and the Dred Scott Case. Read More HERE

Is "Sunday Morning Apartheid" really gone?

Is Sunday Morning Apartheid gone? Is there still a very clear division, an exclusion of blacks to a large degree on Sunday Morning Talk shows? Is America still a nation involved in " Sunday Morning Apartheid" or is Felicia Lee at New York Times right when she wrote, "Like the Candidates, TV’s Political Pundits Show Signs of Diversity?

In 2006, the National Urban League released a report showing how racially segregated the Sunday morning talk shows are. According to their report, more than 60% of all of the broadcasts of the Sunday morning talk shows had no black guests on them at all. And 80% of the roundtables had no black participants.

Now in the NY Times article Felicia Lee notes, The historic and long-running presidential campaigns of Senator Barack ObamaHillary Rodham Clinton have injected issues of race and gender into politics as never before. With campaign coverage center stage on the cable channels, producers and critics are again assessing the diversity among pundits, who talk (and talk) about things like Mr. Obama’s pastor, the Hispanic vote, Iraq and the economy. and Senator

In the article Felicia notes, "Both MSNBC and CNN this election season have given new prominence to a handful of contributing commentators from varied backgrounds and perspectives: blacks, Hispanics and women."

Felicia's article also points out, "Whether such moves signal real progress in diversifying the punditocracy or merely reflect the needs of a particular news cycle is the question, some media experts say."

Here are some other key points in the NY Times article:

1. The most prominent positions on television remain overwhelmingly with those who are white and male, and some critics note how striking that non-inclusion can seem during this election year.

2. Whatever progress has been made with contributors and commentators as of late, the cable networks have a long way to go before they look like the American people,” said Karl Frisch, the spokesman for Media Matters for America, a liberal television watchdog group. He added that white men were the hosts of all the major Sunday morning talk shows, the major prime-time cable news programs and — except for Katie Couric, a relative newcomer — the network evening news broadcasts.

3. Diversity is not just good journalism but also good business, Ms. Ciara and others said.

Generally Felicia Lee's article is on point. And you know this African American Political Pundit is in agreement with Tom Rosenstiel, director of the Project for Excellence in Journalism, who points out in the article that cable programs relied more and more on people who can analyze campaign developments, rather than just report them. So television needs more pundits and more kinds of pundits."

AAPP: It's great to see and hear, as the article points out, the 2008 lineup at CNN which also includes Alex Castellanos, a Cuban-born Republican strategist, and Leslie Sanchez, a Mexican-American Republican strategist who has also appeared on Fox News. It's also great to see and hear Donna Brazile, journalist and radio host Roland S. Martin; Amy Holmes, a conservative strategist and a former senior speechwriter for Bill Frist, Republican of Tennessee, the former Senate majority leader; and Jamal Simmons, a Democratic strategist, Obama supporter and veteran press spokesman. The other networks are making, let us call it "attempts."

As I read the article I wondered when are the Sunday Morning Talk Shows and other Political Talk Shows going to desegregate and include black political bloggers as pundits on these talk shows? Then I had to be honest with myself, the networks are scared to place black political bloggers on the networks. Why? One word "Fear."

We all know black political and social commentary bloggers like The Field Negro, Electronic Village, Jack & Jill Politics, Pams House Blend, Prometheus 6, The Super Spade, Black Agenda Report, Eddie Griffin (BASG), Exodus Mentality, Francis L. Holland Blog, Mirror on America, Anderson at Large, Skeptical Brotha this African American Political Pundit and many others would also bring a fresh perspective that America is unaccustomed to hearing in the mainstream media.

Network Executives may be fearful that America is so unaccustomed to hearing honest political commentary and analysis that the black bloggers noted above and other black bloggers like Back Yard Beacon, Black Political Thought, AfroNetizen, AfroSpear Think Tank, Black Perspective, Black Smythe, Dallas South Blog, Mrs. Grapevine, Republic of T, What About Our Daughters?, Wichita NAACP Blog, Charcoal Ink, Bygbaby's Mind Spill, A Political Season and yes this African American Political Pundit would be to much for America to handle.

Well, Network TV executives and producers who may be reading this post, your wrong. There is no need to fear. By the way, you may want to consider following in the footsteps of the good folks at NPR's News and Notes, Bloggers Roundtable hosted by Farai Chideya. They have been providing bloggers from across America the opportunity to have a conversation with the American people. Farai Chideya and the folks at NPR are accustomed to providing honest political commentary and analysis that the black bloggers bring to America through The Bloggers Roundtable program.

OK now getting back to the question, Is "Sunday Morning Apartheid" gone?

Answer: Not when the most prominent positions on television remain overwhelmingly with those who are white and male. Not when a critical part of the "new media" is left out of the conversation - black bloggers. It's looking just a tad different on America's airwaves. As far as this African American Political Pundit is concerned, but It could be a lot better.

Then again who cares about black faces, for black faces sake. Are the current group of black faces saying what needs to be said? Well, this African American Political Pundit has the hook up. I have my own BlogTalkRadio program and I love being a regular contributor to NPR's Bloggers Roundtable.