Call Us: +1.2483789980What's Wrong with...
RACISM, EXCLUSION, AND WHITE SUPREMACY IN THE KALAMAZOO VALLEY BLUES ASSOCIATION
How many years has it been since I first tried to discuss race and White Privilege in the KVBA? What has been their response?
“Black Lives Matter”, and in the case of Blues music, Black lives and Black voices are central to the subject. So, when directors of the KVBA, specifically Michael Barker and his wife, introduced a resolution proclaiming, “No Black,…, Just Blues!”, I vehemently objected. Michael Barker, and other officers of the KVBA, have responded by “denying” me membership in the KVBA, saying I am “unwelcome”.
First, let me comment on the slogan, “No Black, No White, Just Blues”. This is an advertising slogan, created by a white Mississippian, to increase tourism to that state. The slogan has nothing to do with the actual history of the state towards its Black residents, nor does it reflect the views of Black Mississippians!
https://www.mississippibelieveit.com/mississippi-believe-it-today-show-2007/
Michael Barker and his wife chose the month of February to introduce their resolution, with the full knowledge that February is now Black History Month. African-American historian Carter G. Woodson established what is now known as Black History Month because he believed that knowledge of Black History, and Black Accomplishment, is a firm foundation for young African-Americans to become productive citizens of this country.
Woodson recognized that whites downplay Black Achievement in order to support White Supremacy. Moreover, Woodson saw that the neglect to teach Black history and the distortion of facts regarding Black people deprived African-American children of a heritage and relegated the whole race to nothingness and “nobodyness”. Woodson deplored this “brainwashing” as an attempt to make Blacks accept an inferior status in America.
The Bylaws of the KVBA clearly state that anyone can be a member of the organization. Michael Barker, and the current president, Michael Depoian, claim that I am “disruptive”, and use that as the basis their denial of my membership. But the Bylaws of the organization clearly state that even a disruptive person cannot have his or her membership revoked.
I am contesting the actions of these individuals in the 8th District Court of Kalamazoo. As of April, 2020, these KVBA officers, and ex-officers have spent over $5,700 in legal fees to keep me out of the organization. At the same time, this group has solicited money from other, well-meaning nonprofits, including, per the KVBA website, $5,000 from a local foundation.
These KVBA officials are using other people’s money to finance their festival, while they use their own money to exclude Blacks.
During these times of protest, here in America, and around the world, I hear white Americans say, “What can I do?” Honestly, it makes me sick to my stomach when white members of the KVBA say this, or post “slogans” online. “Black Lives Matter” is a call for real change in America, and recognition of the dehumanization of Black people, which leads to the unjustified killings we are seeing too often, and the systematic racism in this country that excludes Blacks, and denies us opportunities to fully participate in the American experience.
So, what can white people do? First of all, demand that the KVBA end any involvement in denying Black people membership in the organization. Second, the KVBA must denounce the slogan, “No Black, No White, Just Blues”, for what it really is; an attempt to “devalue” the contributions of African-Americans, and part of a continuing effort to “dehumanize” Blacks. Third, the KVBA must add an African-American to its voting, Board of Directors, by the end of August, 2020.
Note that when the KVBA decided to present the Barker resolution, there were no African-Americans who voted on this. To this day, there has not been an African-American voting on any KVBA activity.
It’s important to realize that dehumanizing a group of people is the first step necessary before acts of mass brutalization. A people with no culture are nothing more than animals, and can be killed as such. These Whites in the KVBA who are leading this verbal assault on Blacks know exactly what they are doing, and do it for commercial gain. It time to stop this, NOW!