Latest news with #DickGregory
The National
05-08-2025
- Politics
- The National
October 7, 2023 was not the beginning of the war in Gaza
Our understanding of an historical event's meaning is a function of two factors. The first is what we choose to identify as the starting point leading up to the event. The second is the lens through which we view it. This should be obvious, but unfortunately it is not, and the failure to acknowledge or understand it has consequences in everything from public policy to personal relationships. This truth can be ignored due to thoughtlessness, blindness to one's biases, or just plain ignorance. On some occasions there can be malign intent, including efforts to deliberately hide what one knows to be an event's antecedents for political or personal reasons. Before examining the issue that prompted this column, I want to share an example. The comedian Dick Gregory once noted that despite what Americans were taught in school, 'Christopher Columbus didn't discover America, because it wasn't lost'. His point seems simple enough, but upon closer examination it reveals deeper truths. 'Columbus discovered America' erases the history, civilisation and contributions of the indigenous groups who populated the lands that Europeans came to call the New World. Even the term 'New World' was a thinly veiled masking of their imperial self-understanding and intent. 'We discovered these lands, and they are ours to take, name, and exploit.' The American history we were taught was an extension of European history. It began with Columbus. Then moved to the Spanish, British and French colonialists, culminating in the Revolutionary War and the birth of the US. The native peoples were treated as bit players in the unfolding story – at times, a footnote, at others an inconvenient obstacle. This story of American history results from choosing Columbus as the starting point and using a lens so Euro-centric that it only sees the indigenous peoples who populated this land as less than human and therefore less deserving of defining their own history or even remaining on their land. They were removed and/or massacred, their humanity was ignored, and their treatment was justified because they were of less worth than the Europeans who displaced them. This reflection was prompted by the way Israel's war on Gaza continues to be reported in large sections of western media and discussed in western policy circles. US reporters appear to be required to include a line in their stories that reads: 'The hostilities began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas militants attacked Israel killing 1,200 and taking 250 hostages.' It isn't accidental that this line (or something very close to it) occurs in almost every US print story. We all must agree that what happened on October 7 was traumatic for Israelis and Jews around the world. It was a shock that their security was breached, and that some horrible and condemnable atrocities were committed by Hamas and others who joined in their attacks. But history didn't begin or end on October 7. Recall that just a few weeks before the Hamas-led attacks, then-US president Joe Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, noted that the Middle East was the calmest it had been in years. This statement gave short shrift to the Palestinian reality and made clear the biased lens through which he saw the region. He was ignoring Israel's continued economic strangulation of Gaza (which made Palestinians increasingly dependent on Israel or Hamas for their livelihood) and the growing threat of settler violence, settlement expansion and land confiscations in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. A few weeks after October 7, I met Mr Sullivan and listened to him describe the pain and fear of Israelis and how October 7 evoked the traumas of their history. I told him that I completely understood and agreed that Hamas stood rightly condemned for what they had done. I cautioned him, however, not to ignore the trauma of the Palestinians – their pain and fears – and their history of dispossession. He became angry and waved off my comments as 'whataboutism'. As the weeks and months wore on, whenever I would write about the growing Palestinian civilian casualty toll, or the bombing of hospitals, or the denial of water, food, medicine and electricity, or the deliberate destruction of more than 70 per cent of Gaza's buildings, and the repeated forced expulsions of families, the responses I would receive invariably included 'Hamas started it', 'what about the hostages', or worse. In other words, Israeli lives were all that mattered. And the Israeli narrative became the only acceptable one. In other words, since the story began on October 7, what followed was a justifiable response. The Israelis' ability to control the narrative has long characterised the conflict. They would say: 'The Balfour Declaration gave Israel a legal right to Palestine'; or 'In 1948, tiny Israel was attacked by all surrounding Arab armies'; or 'In 1967 Israel was only defending itself'. All of these Israeli-defined 'starting points' are fictions that ignore everything that led up to them and the stories they tell are seen only through the biased lens of those who have imposed them. This problem of false narratives based on biased histories isn't just a problem for Israel or the US. It is unfortunately all too common, especially in conflict situations. When those who seek to help resolve a conflict are captive to one side's definitions and perspective, it is a recipe for continued tension and ultimately disaster. Peacemaking requires that an effort be made to rise above false narratives, self-serving starting points and the biased perceptions of one or another side. That's not 'whataboutism' – it's leadership. And it's been sorely lacking in the US.
The National
05-08-2025
- Politics
- The National
October 7, 2023, was not the beginning of the war in Gaza
Our understanding of a historical event's meaning is a function of two factors. The first is what we choose to identify as the starting point leading up to the event. The second is the lens through which we view it. This should be obvious, but unfortunately, it is not, and the failure to acknowledge or understand it has consequences in everything from public policy to personal relationships. This truth can be ignored due to thoughtlessness, blindness to one's biases, or just plain ignorance. On some occasions, there can be malign intent, including efforts to deliberately hide what one knows to be an event's antecedents for political or personal reasons. Before examining the issue that prompted this column, I want to share an example. The comedian Dick Gregory once noted that despite what Americans were taught in school, 'Christopher Columbus didn't discover America, because it wasn't lost'. His point seems simple enough, but upon closer examination, it reveals deeper truths. 'Columbus discovered America' erases the history, civilisation and contributions of the indigenous groups who populated the lands that Europeans came to call the New World. Even the term 'New World' was a thinly veiled masking of their imperial self-understanding and intent. 'We discovered these lands, and they are ours to take, name, and exploit.' The American history we were taught was an extension of European history. It began with Columbus. Then moved to the Spanish, British and French colonialists, culminating in the Revolutionary War and the birth of the US. The native peoples were treated as bit players in the unfolding story – at times, a footnote, at others, an inconvenient obstacle. This story of American history results from choosing Columbus as the starting point and using a lens so Euro-centric that it only sees the indigenous peoples who populated this land as less than human and therefore less deserving of defining their own history or even remaining on their land. They were removed and/or massacred, their humanity was ignored, and their treatment was justified because they were of less worth than the Europeans who displaced them. This reflection was prompted by the way Israel's war on Gaza continues to be reported in large sections of western media and discussed in western policy circles. US reporters appear to be required to include a line in their stories that reads: 'The hostilities began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas militants attacked Israel, killing 1,200 and taking 250 hostages.' It isn't accidental that this line (or something very close to it) occurs in almost every US print story. We all must agree that what happened on October 7 was traumatic for Israelis and Jews around the world. It was a shock that their security was breached, and that some horrible and condemnable atrocities were committed by Hamas and others who joined in their attacks. But history didn't begin or end on October 7. Recall that just a few weeks before the Hamas-led attacks, then-US president Joe Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, noted that the Middle East was the calmest it had been in years. This statement gave short shrift to the Palestinian reality and made clear the biased lens through which he saw the region. He was ignoring Israel's continued economic strangulation of Gaza (which made Palestinians increasingly dependent on Israel or Hamas for their livelihood) and the growing threat of settler violence, settlement expansion and land confiscations in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. A few weeks after October 7, I met Mr Sullivan and listened to him describe the pain and fear of Israelis and how October 7 evoked the traumas of their history. I told him that I completely understood and agreed that Hamas stood rightly condemned for what they had done. I cautioned him, however, not to ignore the trauma of the Palestinians – their pain and fears – and their history of dispossession. He became angry and waved off my comments as 'whataboutism'. As the weeks and months wore on, whenever I would write about the growing Palestinian civilian casualty toll, or the bombing of hospitals, or the denial of water, food, medicine and electricity, or the deliberate destruction of more than 70 per cent of Gaza's buildings, and the repeated forced expulsions of families, the responses I would receive invariably included 'Hamas started it', 'what about the hostages', or worse. In other words, Israeli lives were all that mattered. And the Israeli narrative became the only acceptable one. In other words, since the story began on October 7, what followed was a justifiable response. The Israelis' ability to control the narrative has long characterised the conflict. They would say: 'The Balfour Declaration gave Israel a legal right to Palestine'; or 'In 1948, tiny Israel was attacked by all surrounding Arab armies'; or 'In 1967, Israel was only defending itself'. All of these Israeli-defined 'starting points' are fictions that ignore everything that led up to them and the stories they tell are seen only through the biased lens of those who have imposed them. This problem of false narratives based on biased histories isn't just a problem for Israel or the US. It is, unfortunately, all too common, especially in conflict situations. When those who seek to help resolve a conflict are captive to one side's definitions and perspective, it is a recipe for continued tension and ultimately disaster. Peacemaking requires that an effort be made to rise above false narratives, self-serving starting points and the biased perceptions of one or another side. That's not 'whataboutism' – it's leadership. And it's been sorely lacking in the US.
Black America Web
21-05-2025
- Climate
- Black America Web
Op-Ed: A Tornado Just Destroyed Black St. Louis, It's Time For Black America To Unite
Source: KSDK News / Youtube The time is approximately 3:00 a.m. We currently don't know the time since losing our electricity. All of our devices have since died. The food in the refrigerator went bad and the edible food was thrown on a BBQ grill days ago. How are the children? They are getting restless in the house without internet access and the ability to use their devices. Of course, they can play outside all day, and do. But the heat is rising and we are in line for more storms. The reality is, who wants to play when you're hungry and homeless? Oh, I forgot to mention that a tornado just came through our city and destroyed it. No, decimated it. I thought I was going to die, as did many others. Please send your condolences to the five families who lost loved ones during the storm. St. Louis, Mo., the city that birthed legends: Dick Gregory, Bill Clay, Cori Bush, Freeman Bosley, Sr., Arthur Ashe, Ronald Isley, Fred Sanford, Tina Turner, Annie Malone and Nelly, is in ruins. The Arch that people come from miles around and other states to see is on the Black side of town. It too felt the powerful effects of last Friday's tornado. We are now five days into dealing with the aftereffects of the tornado. Folks keep saying how resilient Black people are, how we get through the toughest of times and situations. But all this talk of time reminds me that we need about 5,000 watches and radios down here. Many of us have no way to communicate other than word of mouth. Let me paint the picture for you of the devastation as we are facing this 'new normal' living under Trump in 2025. We are living through a storm that displaced and unhoused over 90,000 black residents within 21 minutes on May 16. This day will be our new holocaust since slavery that we tell our grandchildren about for years to come. About a week ago, Trump fired the Head of FEMA, so I guess emergency help from the government is off the table? You can't drive safely through our streets because 100-year-old trees are blocking the way. The police are out redirecting traffic and foot traffic away from the white part of town that was barely affected by the tornado or storm. Even sadder than the lack of help disbursed by Republican Governor Mike Kehoe is the lack of access to food in black communities that are already food deserts. In a state that loves to tout its agricultural business acumen, the logistics for getting food and water to Black voters is going to be the nail in the coffin for the Republicans in 2026, or should be. As for newly elected Democrat Mayor Cara Spencer, who routed incumbent Mayor Tishaura Jones, the first Black female mayor of St. Louis City—she has been missing in action, and so have her services for us. She ran and won on being able to deliver basic services to Black people better than a Black mayor. She is doing a worse job than her predecessor. Often, what gets lost behind all the politics is the loss of life behind bad politics being enacted in the name of democracy. We here in the Lou are not without loss of Black institutions and life. The great Centennial Christian Church and a beautiful statue of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., located in the Fountain Park neighborhood of northwest Saint Louis, took a direct hit from the storm. The church collapsed, injuring more than 10 and claiming the life of the one black elderly woman who was a staple in the community. Further north, in the blackest parts of town where my family lives, a Black elder passed around the corner in the 4100 block of Margaretta Ave. She was one of at least seven deaths that have been confirmed. The hood where the former congresswoman Cori Bush lived has been turned into a third world country that looks less like any city or municipal district in the United States of America and more like Haiti after the earthquake in 2010. I speak more so of a visibly third-world country because, depending on the house, they were already living in third-world conditions right here in America in 2025. How so? Well, for starters, the few thousand houses that remain without any collateral damage from the tornado or storm must now house a population of just over 80,000 people. With over 75,000 being black. Like my mama and yo mama, Black. Back to Africa Black, but ain't been back since slavery type of Black. All in one part of the city. The tornado ravaged our only form of shelter, which prevented them from being homeless. We may just be the largest homeless city in the western hemisphere. Yes, surpassing Skid Row. And now we are here with another forecast that predicts a new round of storms bearing down on us. Photo Courtesy of Michael Brown Sr. Despite knowing that we are a resilient race of people, we are tired of 'resilient' being our crowning glory, word to St. Louis Author Ayaba Sibongile. As a person who is going through 72-plus hours without electricity, heat, hot water, and access to cooked food unless I can walk at least one mile and another mile back home. I am still boots on the ground serving my people. Sidenote: As a Black organizer and writer living in these conditions, we are desperate and we need help to continue helping our people. Last year, I watched as Black people raised over 100 million dollars in three days for Former VP Kamala Harris' presidential run. We sure could use that right now to heal, restore and rebuild Black St. Louis. Formerly a Hall on Kings Highway and Page The water is limited. We are facing limited access to healthy drinking water, food, shelter or a healthcare provider. The asbestos dust, the lead dust, and particles from fiberglass insulation permeating the air make it even more dangerous and unsafe for us in our tornado-torn communities. Even more difficult is making sure everyone is accounted for and getting the resources to those most in need. For example, if we collect enough resources for everyone, we can't get them to folks because the roads are blocked. Our elders need proper refrigeration for their medicine. There are people dependent on oxygen machines who are without electricity. At this point, we are facing life and death. Desperate, starving people start speaking the language of the unheard quickly. Photo Courtesy of Chris Philips But these are our living conditions and we desperately need your help, Black World. From Black celebrities, to rappers, politicians, to African Heads of State, we need emergency resources to help us survive the previous storm and to prepare for the upcoming ones. As well as resources to rebuild Black St. Louis. Ultimately, we need a group of Black experts, medical doctors, architects, faith leaders, freedom-fighting visionaries, and Black elders to come together and create a plan to rebuild Black Saint Louis. Each one will play their role in addressing the vast needs and the way forward. That starts with preparing our people's hearts, minds, spirits, and bodies to withstand another storm. Tory Russell Reporting Live From St. Louis, Peace Tory Russell is a Ferguson Uprising organizer, internationally recognized Black movement leader, speaker and political strategist. He currently serves as the Director of Organizing at the International Black Freedom Alliance. He has previously written and created content for NewsOne, such as iOne Digital's groundbreaking podcast series, 'Witness to History: Ferguson 10. ' SEE ALSO: The Fight's Not Over: We Walked Edmund Pettus Bridge 60 Years After Bloody Sunday How Trump Officially Ending DEI On Paper Could Be A Blessing In Disguise SEE ALSO Op-Ed: A Tornado Just Destroyed Black St. Louis, It's Time For Black America To Unite was originally published on Black America Web Featured Video CLOSE
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Dick Gregory addressed social tension with comedy
ST. LOUIS – Dick Gregory used comedy to address racial tensions in the 1950s and 60s, becoming a pioneer in social satire. Gregory's journey into activism began at Sumner High School, where he led a march protesting segregated schools. His involvement in the civil rights movement continued as he participated in the 1963 Birmingham demonstration and worked with the Chicago Congress on Racial Equality. Gregory's career in comedy took off when he performed at the Playboy Club in the early 1960s. Hugh Hefner, impressed by his ability to connect with diverse audiences, hired him, which marked a significant turning point in his career. Was officer's response to noise disturbance a warning sign? He became known for his sophisticated humor that tackled the racial issues of his time, paving the way for other African American comedians. In addition to his comedy career, Gregory authored a biography that sold over seven million copies, further cementing his influence and reach. Gregory's contributions to comedy and activism were recognized with a place on Comedy Central's list of the 100 greatest stand-up comedians and a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame. Through his unique blend of comedy and activism, Dick Gregory left a lasting impact on both the entertainment industry and the civil rights movement. All facts from this article were gathered by KTVI journalists. This article was converted into this format with assistance from artificial intelligence. It has been edited and approved by KTVI staff. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
