connecting*the*dots

(shot by renocargo)

The Insider: Chuck D
by Andy Langer

WHO: Chuck D, 20-year leader of Public Enemy, the seminal hip-hop group whose 1990 LP, Fear of a Black Planet, was recently chosen by the Library of Congress for a list of 50 recordings worthy of inclusion in the National Recording Registry.

Austin Chronicle: Once again, it seems like best of the times and the worst of times for hip-hop.

Chuck D: It always is. That’s our history. But I think right now hip-hop’s value is too often weighed in quantity, not quality. When you just talk about business, I tell people slavery was a booming business in America, one of the strongest businesses America ever had. It was morally and ethically corrupt and bankrupt. We have to watch ourselves when we measure the success of something based wholly on numbers.

AC: Isn’t the nature of the record business to focus on dollars and cents?

CD: Sure, but I think its lack of emotional attachment to the art and music has really hurt in the digital transition. To me, a lot of the people who replaced guys like Berry Gordy, Ahmet Ertegün, and Al Bell weren’t big enough fans of the music. And you have journalists limited in the knowledge of the music they cover. So the attitude is, “Yesterday don’t count; now counts, and tomorrow we’ll wait for the next big thing, because today’s not that great either.” That’s a terrible attitude to have. The music business is healthy. The record business is in trouble.

AC: Where does that leave PE? Twenty years in? What’s your legacy?

CD: Twenty years and 57 tours. We got our passports in 1987 and have been spreading our dream around the world ever since. We tour the U.S. every four years and meet people who ask, “When are you going to come back through here?” We might not, but that doesn’t mean we’re not getting down. We come around like an eclipse. We have seven continents to deal with.

AC: Have you always gotten the credit you deserve?

CD: Hip-hop doesn’t get the credit it deserves for being diverse and thorough. When hip-hop gets respect as an art form, we get it by default. But people want to talk to us about Flavor of Love, Ali Rap, or our take on Barack Obama. That stuff has nothing to do with our consistency. Controversy has nothing to do with getting down and being good.

We’re the Rolling Stones of rap. I don’t know if Flavor is Keith or Mick, but our performance is a combination of Run-DMC, the Roots, and Rage Against the Machine. We developed the standard for live hip-hop. We’ve truly been the group that represents the meaning of hip-hop and rap music, the respect of music as the universal language, and taken that attitude all over the world.

Americans are poor on understanding time, history, and geography. We try to be strong on all those points. Around the world, PE resonates. America needs to get with it. We never fell off. America did.

Opinions are like assholes, everybody has ‘em.

Ed, if you want to protect yours from the big, bad world outside of Ed, keep ‘em in the paper and off of our internet.

(originally uploaded by Steve Rhodes)

Question: Who’s the man in the above picture?

I admit the visual reference might not be enough for anyone that isn’t a Hip hop head, so I’ll give you even more of a hint:

Sorry for the set-up; I wouldn’t expect many people to know that he’s Boots Riley from The Coup.

I also wouldn’t expect many people to know the depth of the man and his music.

Or even that Boots blogs.

I’m using Boots as just one example of someone who represents one particular slice of a culture, Hip hop, that most people don’t know anything about — no matter what they think.

More on Boots and his colleagues in a bit.

What You Hear Is Not A Test

Today, Ed Cone ventured into a pretty lightweight deconstruction of “rap” lyrics, and only after numerous people and media outlets — local and from afar — made a stink about Don Imus catching flak for his pointed remarks a few weeks back, arguing that African-Americans and/or “rappers” actually drive the use of this harmful language.

Ed’s introduction to his column:

[…] “For my newspaper column, I listened to the lyrics of Billboard’s top ten rap tracks and tried to contextualize the Imus affair.” […]

I can’t remember the last time someone in Hip hop, out-of-the-blue, verbally assaulted a specific group of innocent people like the Rutger’s Women’s Basketball team. Admittedly, I’m not twisting the context of the offense to the use of a particular word or phrase and instead, keeping it focused on the nature of the attack from a broadcaster.

Along those lines, IMO, it would be more productive to review the context of Imus’ bile by looking at the rest of the shock-jock industry, like this gem from Neil Bortz:

Boortz: For instance, or for goodness sakes, jump in and I’m gonna say — I’m gonna start out with something controversial. I saw Cynthia McKinney’s new hair-do. Have you seen it, Belinda?

Skelton: No.

Boortz: She looks like a ghetto slut.

Skelton: Well, how is it?

Boortz: It’s just — it’s hideous.

Skelton: Is it braided? Or –

Boortz: No, it’s not braided. It just flies away from her head in every conceivable direction. It looks like an explosion in a Brillo pad factory. It’s just hideous. To me, that hairstyle just shows contempt for — no, it’s not an Afro. I mean, no, it just shows contempt for the position that she holds and the body that she serves in. And, I’m sorry, there’s just no other way to — it’s just a hideous and horrible looking –

Marshall: It looks better than the braids she was wearing.

Boortz: No, the braids had some dignity. They had some class.

Marshall: The braids had dignity?

Boortz: They had more class than this thing.

Marshall: This says, you know, kinda 2000s, you know, stepping up to the plate. Contemporary look, you know?

Boortz: She looks like Tina Turner peeing on an electric fence.

Pam has great context for those of you who might think of these comments as harmless.

But the point of this post isn’t about Don Imus, nor is it about those people out there that are obfuscating the context of his comment. There’s a whole other angle of misinformation in Ed’s post, based more in ignorance than intent, that I wish to dissect.

I’m One Of A Kind And I’ll Shock Your Mind

Whether he knows it or not, Ed made a bunch of generalizations in his column. This particular paragraph stood out the most to me:

[…] “I’m bothered not just by what rappers say but why they say it. The lyrics and the popularity of the genre aren’t happening in a vacuum; they reflect something about the realities of a larger culture that is coarse, consumerist and often violent. Public Enemy’s Chuck D famously said that rap is like “CNN for black people.” Maybe part of the problem is that these days, the best-known member of the socially conscious Public Enemy is Flava Flav, who once rapped about the harsh reality of life in poor neighborhoods but now does clownish “reality” shows on corporate television.” […]

People like to talk about Hip hop as if they know everything about anything, so I’m not surprised by Ed’s perspective — even with him being alive during The Sugarhill Gang’s debut.

How Ed jumps from “a larger culture that is coarse, consumerist and often violent” to Public Enemy — without pause for at least a paragraph on the current administration of the Executive Branch — is beyond me.

You know, it wasn’t Flavor Flav that told America to go out and buy shit just a few days after the towers went down on 9/11.

I’ll play along for shits and giggles, though.

So, Flav has become the king of reality tv, but as the de facto hype man in the carefully orchestrated membership of Public Enemy — something that would take another post entirely to detail — that shouldn’t shock anyone.

Flav was never the point man of PE, the guy “rapping about the harsh reality of life in poor neighborhoods.” For every 911’s A Joke, there are a hundred songs with Flav explicitly playin’ his role in the group as comic relief while shadowing Chuck.

So how does that play out 20 years beyond the zenith of Public Enemy’s career?

While Flav does his reality tv and flashes his grill, Chuck D does his speaking gigs and radio shows covering everything from anti-DRM to politics. The whole of Public Enemy prospers from their individual focuses — which draw in new audiences from distinct demographics — far more than simply being a sum of its parts.

But if you’ve seen any of the Flavor of Love shows, you know that he doesn’t represent himself as a foul-mouthed “rapper.” I honestly don’t see how Flav acting like Flav with a viking cap and oversized clock necklace and sunglasses has anything to do with the topic at hand — except for serving as a convenient segue from the bridge of the CNN line.

All that said, Ed is pretty much on point when he ruminates over “rap” lyrics and the ills of a larger culture.

The point begging to be made about this particular element — the crux of his column — is that he doesn’t realize to what degree and how narrow of a focus that truly is within the culture of Hip hop.

What we need is the Teacher to break this down to a digestible format:

More KRS-One:

(by thecnote)

[…] “ ‘Hip hop has nothing to do with rap. Rap is an element. There is a consciousness that makes you rap, graffiti or break, for example.’

KRS-One talked a great deal about the importance of being one’s own self, the most essential part of Hip hop culture. ‘Hip hop begins with the courage to be yourself. Being you has consequences,’ KRS-One said.

Want to find out if you’re Hip hop? You know you are if ‘you gravitate toward it. You see graffiti art and you try to make out the words, you see breaking and you say, ‘Man, I could do that,’ KRS-One said.

And, of course, one should know the proper way to actually identify the culture. Hip hop is a culture; therefore, it should function as a proper noun. Hip hop is the music, and referring to the culture in the hyphenated form, KRS-One claimed, is degrading. The rapper’s explanations of the technicalities of the Hip hop world could have left audience member confused; if Hip hop is not the music, what is?

Listeners were enlightened about the differences between Hip hop and rap. ‘Hip hop is not rap music,’ KRS-One said. ‘Rap is controlled by corporations. A rapper rhymes for corporations, and an emcee rhymes for culture. A rapper talks about himself, what he has. An emcee talks about what’s already on your mind. An emcee raps about what you need, not about fantasy.‘ Ultimately, a point stressed heavily throughout the night, Hip hop is something that is lived, a consciousness of the world around us.” […]

That’s a much more expansive description of Hip hop than “rappers” being misogynistic and foul-mouthed, but culture can’t be locked down to one set of definitions either — passing the mic back to Boots Riley, from a long, lost interview at Davey D’s spot:

(by bagelradio)

[…] “When the first Sugarhill Gang record came out and it was on the radio I was already living in Oakland then but there were people who had recently moved out here from the mid west and the south and I remember us saying they had a hambone record out on the radio. My whole thing with that is there’s a lot of elements of hip hop… like the four elements of hip hop is really just a commercialization and a way to commodify things because you have to put things into easy categories in order to sell it. It’s a lot easier to sell as an invention that kind of slipped and fell together by a series of events that happened in one place than it is to tell it as a history of a people. So that’s something that I feel is left out of hip hop. That was my first connection to rapping [hamboning]. Another more obvious one is beatboxing. That was something that was very much a part of hip hop. I first started hearing the four elements maybe from the early 90s. I don’t know who started that but it’s full of shit to me.” […]

Contradicting, yet accentuating points of view within a culture — a hell of a lot deeper than “bitch” and “ho” framed within the bullshit corporate constructs of a genre.

The CNN For ALL People Who Care To Tune-In

If all this isn’t new to you, glad to have you in my digs. To those of you who are learning something new, you might just dig checking out a few CTD alumni.

One bit of advice: focus on the message, the intent and the wordplay — leave the curse count for Tipper Gore.

• De La Soul
• Immortal Technique
• The Roots
• Public Enemy / Paris
• The Coup
• Brand Nubian / Common
• Rage Against The Machine
• KRS-One
• Talib Kweli
• DJ Danger Mouse
• Chuck D
• Mos Def

Thank God their standards for speaking truth to power and shedding light are higher than CNN.

This new parody of Ed’s blog is killing me. Whoever is responsible, please don’t out yourself, just keep dropping the hits.

And yes, I got spoofed as well:

Yo, yo, yo. Joisey in da house.

I’m so plugged in I can’t stand myself.

Heh.

(originally uploaded by Jeremy Dennis)

I want to make it very clear where I stand on the issue of the RMA report hitting the internet this yesterday morning.

The RMA needed to be released into the public domain.

Because this document was originally leaked from within city management, the cat has been out of the bag for a long time now, hiding in the engine chassis of many parked cars around town… cars with media powered megaphones.

Once that happened, there was no way for the city to professionally manage whatever issues existed within the GPD behind closed doors.

With all the conflicting commentary and positions in local papers and blogs following the original leak (such as The N&R, The Rhino, Guarino, Hoggard, The Troublemaker and Ed Cone) over the past God knows how many months, there really was no way for any resident of Greensboro (including me) to follow the numerous threads, form an informed opinion on any discrete level and ultimately, trust both city managers and the police department.

So, was I was receptive to obtain a copy of the report the other day and read for myself the details behind what drove the city to lock David Wray out of his office?

Abso-fucking-lutely.

I was also amped for it’s public consumption in the near future, because I had heard through the grapevine just a few days ago that a local print publisher had planned to print it… on this Thursday (whether that was true or not, who knows for sure).

Now here’s where the big ol’ but! of my perspective contradicts my previous position.

Greensboro101 is not an individually run web site

For Roch to allow the file to be available in the interface for an extended period of time after it was uploaded anonymously to 101 without notifying his editorial board, I do feel it was an irresponsible move in regards to his unpaid advisers.

Again, let me be perfectly clear: I completely support this document being available to all Greensboro citizens, especially after it has been used by a select few in town (media and residents) to construct their message since the original leak… but, to allow it on 101 signifies that everyone associated with 101 backs that decision.

Obviously, Ben, Sue, Jay and Cara Michele did not support that decision.

So while it is Roch’s right to keep the provided file available to the public, he in turn must take full responsibility for his decision.

And as far as I can tell — by speaking with three quarters of the resigning party — they’re fine to leave the actions of this day as an editorial decision, pure and simple, and go their separate ways. From what I gather, Roch feels the same.

Case closed. (UPDATE: Or is it?)

The 101 Of My Relationship To 101

When I first moved to town last year, Roch and I rapped a bit about the potential of Greensboro101 at one of my first Blogsboro Meetups. After having a few beers downtown later that week, Roch asked me if I’d like to serve on an advisory board, touting Ed Cone and Jay Rosen as members.

Interested in the potential of 101 and having met neither Ed or Jay at the time (both of whom I respected very much), I agreed.

Later that week, I provided Roch with a bio to publish and assist him in his conversations with potential investors.

Since that conversation sometime last fall, Roch and I have not spoken once about the future of 101.

Zero.

Nada.

Being that I don’t agree with the way that he proceeded in this manner — even though I do support his decision to keep the file available — I’ve asked Roch to remove me from our imaginary relationship. I’m not quite sure he understands my position, but that’s fine.

I have much more important things to focus on.

UPDATE: In the comments, Ed denies ever being an advisor to 101. I apologize to both Ed and Jay for even mentioning them if that is truly the case.

UPDATE II: Roch sets Ben straight regarding the business advisory board we thought we were a part of by allowing our resumes to be presented to potential investors:

This “business� advisory board that Sean and Ben “resigned� from was never empanelled and never convened.

Forgive me if I don’t tow the party line completely, but this Chief Wray controversy doesn’t quite feel as open and shut and David suggests — but not as you might think I mean.

After reading the RMA report, I do believe the city had no choice but to fire Wray, as he undoubtedly lied to his superiors, but the sheer amount of managerial issues raised by officers and employees once the investigation began seems to cut across Wray’s deception and his alleged actions into the disturbing territory of GPD management across the board.

(cartoon by Anthony Piraino)

The following quote is from page five in the overview (Section I) of the RMA report:

[…] The City Manager was approached by a contingent of minority police officers who complained of disparate treatment citing the Hinson matter as one of several examples. Officers complained that there was a “secret police” unit that focused on investigating black GPD officers. They also referenced a “black book” that was rumored to contain the photographs of black police officers that was used by the “secret police unit” for alleged inappropriate purposes. Additionally, law enforcement officers representing all ranks, races and genders came forward with complaints regarding the management of the GPD and concerns of mistreatment. […]

If you read that previous line as I did — “the management of the GPD” — it insinuates that there were issues in the GPD deeper than David Wray; he might have given the directions for tactical assignments and the such, but he didn’t manage them to fruition or carry them out by himself.

So while I’d love to close the book on this controversy and feel like the cancer has been removed — once and for all — from my local police department, I can’t. And I also can’t help but to think that the City Managers and Chief Wray agreed to go separate ways, because if they didn’t, the proverbial shit was lining up in droves to hit the proverbial fan… and everyone involved in the face.

Yesterday, after reading the RMA for himself, Ed Cone pointed to John Hammer’s editorial statement on January 26th as an indication of Hammer’s prescience, but the last paragraph of that statement just isn’t sitting well with me:

[…] According to Occam’s Razon, the simplest answer is usually the correct one. In this case the simplest answer is that Wray was, for whatever reason, not honest in his dealings with his boss, City Manager Mitchell Johnson. Any other explanation involves huge coincidences and for people to do things that don’t make any sense.

This report really needs to be released to the public.

UPDATE: The report has been uploaded to Greensboro101.

Next: I’ll read Jerry Bledsoe’s narrative and compare factual assertions.

Jeesh!

With ConvergeSouth coming around the bend (next Friday and Saturday, registration is still free and open), I had a few questions about the second annual festival / conference / unconference popping around in my noggin’.

Enter Ben Hwang, technology and community advocate extraordinaire. Ben is the co-founder of ConvergeSouth, the lead for Media|ConvergeSouth and the idea guy behind Firelace LLC and numerous other non-profit projects. (Disclosure: Ben is also on the Board of Directors of my non-profit: The People, Yes)

In-between work and blogging, we both somehow found the time to connect over IM. The following is our conversation:

spcoon 1:57
So, Ben, what gave you the idea for ConvergeSouth?

ben (phxnetwrxlab) 2:00
SXSW.

Ever since I began tracking BoingBoing and the rest of the Internet, I’ve paid more attention to it. When I saw what that conference did for the city of Austin, I thought: why couldn’t we do a similar type of event with a spin? I did some searches and there were only NXNW and NXNE but no SXSE.

spcoon 2:01
So, why didn’t you call it SXSE?

ben (phxnetwrxlab) 2:04
When I brought the idea to Sue, SXSE was a choice, but Sue and Ed brainstormed a whole bunch of names and came up with ConvergeSouth. It gave us the ability to key in the Gate City as part of the theme — at least from my perspective.

spcoon 2:07
Good choice ;-)

Okay, call me a transplant Yankee, but I don’t get the Gate City reference. I’m guessing that refers to Greensboro?

ben (phxnetwrxlab) 2:09
Yeah, Gate City is another name for Greensboro. It’s the name that was used back when all the railroad tracks all ended up here. It’s still the Gate City due to many of the shipping lines still using Greensboro as a center point (I believe).

spcoon 2:10
Nice… ConvergeSouth is definitely strong enough to carry over that subtlety.

Ok, speaking of SXSW, Austin had a few things going for it before the launch of the event 15 years ago; a college town, thriving music scene, strong software development community, independent filmmakers, progressive politics (to name a few).

What similarities do you see with Greensboro and how does Greensboro differentiate itself — good, bad or indifferent?

ben (phxnetwrxlab) 2:14
#1: Greensboro is a lot smaller. In the past five years, the live music/bar/clubbing scene has gone from practically non-existent, to an outrageously fun place for young adults. It’s not a NYC or Austin by any means, but our population is also a wee bit less than those types of cities.

#2: Independent filmmaking. We’ve had Greensboro’s Child made here, participated in The 48 Hour Film Project and three (if I counted correctly since I’m not in that line of work) other movies filmed here in the last year. Maybe it was more, I don’t remember offhand.

I think on a scale, Austin is larger and more diverse, but Greensboro is like a teenager eager to leave the nest and go play in the bigger world of things. All we’re doing is giving it a few nudges here and there to guide it into the footsteps of those larger and more influential and in general more “fun” cities.

It’s going a good direction from my POV. There’s a lot of character in this city. A lot more than when I first moved here, which was about when all of the action started to seed from what I’m told.

spcoon 2:22
Sucking up to the interviewer by mentioning his brother’s film… nice.

ben (phxnetwrxlab) 2:23
Dang straight.

spcoon 2:24
You mention character… you know, I think you hit upon something there. Friends of mine back in Jersey ask me why I love it so much down here, and I always point to the character of the town — how there’s always an interesting conversation happening between the black and white of an issue, the left and right of a position… is that what you mean by character as well?

ben (phxnetwrxlab) 2:32
I’d have to say the economic growth and capitalizing on small businesses in the downtown area has been a major part of the character I’m speaking of. The left/right and black/white conversations definitely bring out a lot of good in people, but also vice-versa, be it here or anywhere else. I think that this city is a lot more progressive than some feel about it. Speaking from a transplant perspective of course.

So that is character as well, but I’m not speaking to that end of it. Most of what I’m involved in is with the former (economic growth, technology, downtown, etc).

spcoon 2:35
Yeah, I feel you on that end as well. I guess what’s really interesting for me is sensing a tangible intersection between all of these economic developments, conversations, events, etc. — like a crazy looking Venn diagram — as I go about my personal/business life here in town.

ben (phxnetwrxlab) 2:36
Venn diagram. Scary. I haven’t heard that term in… gosh, years.

spcoon 2:36
Heh… So do you think that the blogging community in this area has helped shape this meshed, overlap of community that we find here?

ben (phxnetwrxlab) 2:44
Definitely. The blogging community here is probably what defines a lot of Greensboro’s character actually, now that I think about it. It’s almost like we’re the Brady Bunch. Every so often Peter and Bobby would get in a tiff, but when it came to protecting your own — Greg would come out swinging (or something like that.)

We definitely caught onto the blogging breeze when it blew through here -– a lot more than anywhere else I’d imagine. People might snicker, but there’s got to be something behind the LA Times dubbing us as “Blogsboro” (even though I despise that name. lol)

spcoon 2:47
So with ~250,000 residents, Ben, how can a vocal blogosphere of 50 to 100 people help shape community?

ben (phxnetwrxlab) 2:48
Those 50-100 people are the ones that are willing to speak out in the name of the community. It’s like letters to the editor, except you get to present your voice to the whole world to take notice.

Hopefully more people would be willing to speak out later on, but someone needs to break the ice.

spcoon 2:50
How can blogging help enable different communities moving forward? Or are you going to tell me to wait for Elizabeth Edwards to lead her discussion at ConvergeSouth?

ben (phxnetwrxlab) 3:02
Blogging is a conversation between author and commenter — well, assuming the blogger writes back within the comments. How can it help different communities to move forward? Well, it’s more like water cooler talk really. Talking doesn’t make anything happen, except perhaps gives you more ideas. You have to take those ideas and act on them.

Just because I say “Bob was at Jim’s house this last weekend for a game of bridge.” doesn’t mean it happened; It’s just talk. But talk is the first step to getting something going, or at least enlightening yourself to other perspectives. More options usually mean more solutions to problems. And that’s always a good thing.

spcoon 3:47
So what should I expect to experience on October 13th & 14th?

ben (phxnetwrxlab) 3:53
The ability to explore different mediums to amplify your voice… or to simply listen to those who are doing so.

We (Media|ConvergeSouth) ask that artists contribute, because their talent is in the driver’s seat (we have contributors from as far as the UK).

The main event (ConvergeSouth) surrounds technology and the people that use them to build social circles. Hopefully those circles intersect some like your Venn diagrams and create and benefit the larger community.

But more than anything, we simply want people to have a good time, because as part of the all-volunteer staff, we’d like to see that our time was well spent in helping the community (both online and off) by creating this annual event.

spcoon 3:55
Thanks, Ben!

/end interview

Online Videos by Veoh.com

I’ve lived in 10 different towns within 4 different states over the past 12 years and never has my interest in local politics and community piqued beyond a yawn until I moved to Greensboro, NC.

I swear there’s something in the water.

(via Ed, original video by Tom Lassiter)

Bruce Burch, Mental Floss (feed | page)
Why? I met Bruce last week at one of the screenings for Greensboro’s Child. We chatted long enough for me to know he’s a like-minded progressive soul. His site (and radio show) is good local / national fodder.

David Hoggard, Hogg’s Blog (feed | page)
Why? I’ve stumbled across David’s blog a few times since I’ve been down here, and he’s really solid with his perspectives. I met him at last week’s screening as well.

John Robinson, The Editor’s Log (feed | page)
Why? JR is the Managing Editor of the News & Record, the local newspaper. His blog is a useful resource in understanding the goings on within the paper.

Lex Alexander, The Lex Files (feed | page)
Why? Lex and I have talked shop in person on more than one occasion. He’s the Citizen Journalism Dude at the News & Record, and a really personable guy.

Chris Nolan, Spot-On (feed | page)
Why? Ed Cone pointed to a story she wrote earlier today and I liked what I read. Simple enough. I’ll consider her on a trial run.

Talk To Action (feed | page)
Why? Ben Hwang tipped me off to a post there earlier today about a religious right video game. I skimmed through a number of other posts and found the diverse perspectives to be quite interesting.

Radio Open Source (feed | page)
Why? I met Christopher Lydon at Beyond Broadcast two weeks back and we chatted for a minute about The People, Yes. I don’t know how I missed stumbling across his site until now. Really interesting posts and podcasts…

I hearby declare you… a bunch of dead plants.

————

Ed Cone, News & Record, 10/9/05
Council members speak on Truth and Reconciliation hearings

[…]

Tom Phillips did not consider attending the hearings. “My attending would not matter,” he said. He will read the report. “If we as a council think it is worthwhile, we’ll consider it. If I disagree with the final conclusions, I’ll be called names. They say we’re racists — when are people going to ask black council members why they always vote together?” He said Nelson Johnson’s involvement compromised the project (a danger I pointed to as early as 2003); that he understood that the commission was independent of Johnson; and that he wanted to know where the money Johnson raised for the project had gone.

[…]

To be fair to Tom Phillips, these quotes were from last year, only a handful of months following the city council’s vote to not endorse the investigation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

I mean, who was the idiot that placed upstanding, community politicians in a position to stand up and be counted on such an important issue to the community?

Let me step back for a moment…

Who am I to argue with another person’s sense of duty to community? I mean, the 6 of 9 members that voted against endorsing the TRC must have been serving the perspective of their immediate neighbors, right?

You know, I’m betting that Phillips has taken the time since last October to communicate to his constituency the importance of this moment in Greensboro’s continued attempts to heal open wounds and move forward as one community. If not, well, I’m positive that time has provided him with a stronger, more personal perspective on the issues that face this community-at-large.

So let’s fast-forward from 7.5 months ago to yesterday, the day following the culmination of the 2 year-long TRC investigation. Tom Phillips was once again contacted by local media, this time with an opportunity to address the culmination of the commission’s investigation and their final report.

Frank Mickens, WFMY News 2, 5/26/06
City Council Members Respond To Truth And Reconciliation Commission Report

Greensboro, NC — An independent panel says the the city of Greensboro needs to make up for mistakes it made after the Klan-Nazi shootings.

The commission’s report says city police didn’t do its job to protect the five union protesters who were shot and killed by a group of klansmen and Nazis. And it says city eroded race relations and the public trust by establishing curfews in Morningside Homes and distancing itself from what happened.

The commission wants the city to apologize. But council members don’t agree that’s a good idea. Council member Tom Phillips appeared indifferent to the report. Reached by phone he said quote, ” I could care less what they report has to say. At some point I plant to take a look at it.”

[…]

Time can erode the profiled face of a mountain, but not the position of this man.

What a rock.

UPDATE: According to Tom, the context of Tom’s quote wasn’t provided by the WFMY reporter:

Frank Mickens didn’t quite tell the whole story. I was sitting on my balcony looking at the ocean when Frank called on my cell phone (I’m changing my number). I told him I was on vacation and I couldn’t care less…….. I taken my last call from Mr. Mickens

Brush clearing, vacationing politicians everywhere feel you, Tom.

UPDATE II: Fox News reports Toms reaction when asked about a city/GPD apology for not protecting permit holders on 11/3:

Council member Tom Phillips, who said he has read most of the executive summary, said he doesn’t support an apology.

“We’ve got more important things to do,” he said.

UPDATE III: Ed Cone reports that Tom Phillips won’t come to a city council discussion in July regarding the TRC report. Tom’s words:

Ed, I recommended that council members review the recommendations in the report and if they believed that any on them should be adopted, they should bring them up at a council meeting where they can be discussed and voted up or down. I know how this group discussion will turn out and I don’t have the time or desire for another lecture from Goldie Wells. Tom

The TRC report is the culmination of a two-year process, attempting to address the ongoing issues stemming from 11/3/79 — issues that effect this community, both as a whole and especially specific communities divided along lines of class and race. Find tthe time, Tom, and be a good representative of the entire Greensboro community and join the discussion.

UPDATE IV: Tom’s foot-in-mouth syndrome continues:

“It occurs to me that we may not be going back far enough in this whole process of finding the root causes of what happened that day.�

“The reason the CWP was able to establish itself was because they were trying to improve working conditions and pay at local mills. A lot of people were getting very rich off the labor of the poor and there were those who saw that as a real injustice. If those mills had been treating their employees right, then the CWP wouldn’t have formed. Without the CWP, it is very likely that confrontation would never have happened. So if apologies are due, maybe the first ones should come from the mill owners and their descendents. If reparations are due, surely there are some trust funds around that could be tapped for that purpose.�

That last line is a killer of good faith and credibility.

Tom Phillips would never offer a serious analysis of the times — the stage of Greensboro’s labor situation and the workings of the CWP — as that would validate the CWP beyond a group of extremist rebel-rousers. Instead, he offers the analysis as a lede to dig a local, public figure (Ed Cone, related to the ownership of Cone Mills), alluding to Ed’s suggestion of an alterior route of apology to jumpstart the reconciliation process.

Congrats, Tom, you continue to do the city proud.