FW: Farley - Did the Green Party Betray Black America?

Might interest some of you on this list who campaigned for Nader. Green
candidate, African American Jonathon Farley writes a why he is a green
article

http://www.blackcommentator.com/farley.html

Issue Number 4 - June 7, 2002
Did the Green Party Betray Black America?

by Jonathan David Farley, D.Phil., Guest Commentator

Dr. Jonathan David Farley, Green Party candidate for U.S. Congress from
Tennessee’s 5th district ( http://www.votefarley2002.org )

excerpts

" ... I didn’t think much of the Greens.  They seemed to be just another
group of alienated white hippies primarily concerned with the
environment, but ignorant (perhaps willfully so) of the issues that
affected black people specifically...
That was before the party in Nashville...
...I was the only African-American in the house, and I figured that,
since everyone there was a liberal, I wouldn’t hear anything shocking.
I was dead wrong.  This is what I heard—and when I did hear it, I had to
sit up and take notice:   
“The Green Party,” someone said, in another conversation, “is the first
party since the Black Panthers to support reparations for slavery.”   
I was floored.  Immediately I was energized, excited, and determined to
do what I could to build the Green Party.  I had missed the Sixties (by
five months); but this was the organization, the Movement, that I had
been waiting for..." 
" ...when I hear people say that the Green Party consists almost
entirely of white hippie tree-huggers, I always laugh.  To be honest,
the Green Party does consist almost entirely of white hippie
tree-huggers, but I laugh anyway.  While the Green Party, despite its
name, has very little color in it, it is still the most pro-black of the
three main parties..."   

" ...African-American political leaders have failed to put into practice
a saying everybody else understands: You scratch my back, I’ll scratch
yours.  Or, fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.
Instead, we seem to think the saying goes: I’ll scratch your back, you
shovel *** in my face, and I’ll scratch your back again, with a
smile!... "

"... Other blacks have told me that the Green Party only takes the
positions it does to “trick” blacks into voting for them.
So basically, these blacks are saying that they won’t support a party
that claims it supports reparations; they will only support a party
(like the Democrats) that has proven that it won’t.  Someone please
explain the logic here?   
As to the Green Party’s secret agenda to undermine Black America: I only
wish the Green Party were that well organized.  But the fact is, the
Green Party was not trying to trick blacks into supporting them by
adopting its amazing pro-reparations platform.  I know this—because the
Green Party made no effort whatsoever to recruit people of color!..."



Sharon Stade
[email protected]