Bringing Light Into Darkness - News & Analysis

Special Guest Meredith Martin aka ‘Ahmahl’ from New Orleans shares his well-read historical and personal experiences as we reveal the main drivers and features of ‘systemic racism’ post slavery. Systemic Racism is a term that is often stated in our mainstream discourse especially since President Biden gained office. But the focus is overwhelmingly on the individual level discrimination rather than its cumulative overall social outcomes. Tonight, whether you are a racist or not is not our interest and focus. Rather the cumulative effect of systemic racism is the focus of our show tonight. The historical antecedents and the material manifestations of systemic racism that has resulted in the great racial wealth divide is explicated. Rather than educational attainment and greater need for personal responsibility we place the spotlight on and suggest the real primary root cause of the great racial wealth divide, is the pernicious character of the system itself which has exuded systemic racism, albeit in different forms since our country’s founding.We show how. We examine how embedded in laws and regulations throughout our history obstacles to the accumulation of wealth for African Americans has occurred. From slavery to the post Reconstruction Jim Crow era, through modern day forms of discrimination that have continued right up until present day, the result has been the great racial wealth divide, which well into the 21st century (2016), has resulted in a median wealth inequality that is a tenfold difference between black and white families.Jim Crow era black codes and convict leasing stunted the ability of African Americans toaccumulate wealth. The 1935 Social Security Act and the Selective Service Readjustment Act (GI Bill-1944) also had discriminating impacts on African Americans relative to whites in accumulating wealth as well and are detailed in tonight’s show. Finally, documented examples of the multiple forms and reach of systemic racism and their impact throughout housing, education, health and the criminal justice system and incarceration rates round out our presentationWe have been acculturated to believe because we have now had a black president that we are a post-racial nation. We have been acculturated by that same President and others towards blaming the victim for not taking greater personal responsibility for pulling themselves up by their bootstraps. Personal responsibility is an important factor. However, the dominant factor the system itself and its deeply prejudicial advantages it gives to a small elite, is largely ignored, or minimized. A system that denies boots to too many of the people it serves is arguably the real problem. You have to have “boots” before you can pull yourself up “by the bootstraps.”

Tonight, we continue our examination of mainstream media’s misleading coverage of the Syrian War on its 10th anniversary, as it continues to rage on. We feature the words of former VA State Senator Richard Black, a retired Colonel who served in uniform for 32 years who flew 269 combat missions in Viet Nam as a Marine helicopter pilot. Black shares in a 6/21/2021 speech at the Schiller Institute, concerns of US foreign policy, detailing why he is "appalled at the indecency of US aggression towards Syria" and stressed that the US is implicated in helping and empowering terrorist organization in Syria. The Republican former lawmaker is a legal expert and twice visited Syria and Assad in April 2016 and Sept of 2018, making him one of the most credible voices of the counter dominant narrative that former Secretary of State John Kerry promoted in his half dozen or so major misrepresentations he defiantly argued and defended during his 9/3/13 congressional testimony. Black's speech content was in alignment with Root Claim.org findings, described below, which they argue "are a result of what we believe to be the most impressive independent open-source investigation in history". What follows is a wide-ranging critique by Richard Black & Pedro Gatos of the dominant narrative we have been taughtto believe about Syria its leader Assad and the war that has raged since 2011. We share the most recent findings of root claim.org regarding the 8/21/13 Sarin gas attack in Syria that was blamed on President Assad with complete certainty. Root claim.org seeks to do what we at Bringing light Into Darkness does each week, namely, to separate out the political distortion of facts and conjecture around important events and get to the root of the matter by laying out both sides of opposing viewpoints and examining the veracity of claims that support each position. Root Claim .org did precisely that regarding the 2013 Sarin gas attack in Damascus Syria and as recently as 6/18/21 updated their findings claiming with 96.4% certainty that it was not the Assadgovernment but the US supported opposition that executed the horrific gas attack.We should all be concerned that the false narrative that Kerry and President Obama and his administration loudly promoted and has remained the accepted truth by US majority public opinion has been disproven. We invite you to juxtapose the ‘image making’ created by mainstream media and our government claims, to the documented contradictions BLID brings to you each week for your considerations.

Tonight, we continue our examination of mainstream media’s misleading coverage of the Syrian War on its 10th anniversary, as it continues to rage on. We feature the words of former VA State Senator Richard Black, a retired Colonel who served in uniform for 32 years who flew 269 combat missions in Viet Nam as a Marine helicopter pilot. Black shares in a 6/21/2021 speech at the Schiller Institute, concerns of US foreign policy, detailing why he is "appalled at the indecency of US aggression towards Syria" and stressed that the US is implicated in helping and empowering terrorist organization in Syria. The Republican former lawmaker is a legal expert and twice visited Syria and Assad in April 2016 and Sept of 2018, making him one of the most credible voices of the counter dominant narrative that former Secretary of State John Kerry promoted in his half dozen or so major misrepresentations he defiantly argued and defended during his 9/3/13 congressional testimony. Black's speech content was in alignment with Root Claim.org findings, described below, which they argue "are a result of what we believe to be the most impressive independent open-source investigation in history". What follows is a wide-ranging critique by Richard Black & Pedro Gatos of the dominant narrative we have been taughtto believe about Syria its leader Assad and the war that has raged since 2011. We share the most recent findings of root claim.org regarding the 8/21/13 Sarin gas attack in Syria that was blamed on President Assad with complete certainty. Root claim.org seeks to do what we at Bringing light Into Darkness does each week, namely, to separate out the political distortion of facts and conjecture around important events and get to the root of the matter by laying out both sides of opposing viewpoints and examining the veracity of claims that support each position. Root Claim .org did precisely that regarding the 2013 Sarin gas attack in Damascus Syria and as recently as 6/18/21 updated their findings claiming with 96.4% certainty that it was not the Assadgovernment but the US supported opposition that executed the horrific gas attack.We should all be concerned that the false narrative that Kerry and President Obama and his administration loudly promoted and has remained the accepted truth by US majority public opinion has been disproven. We invite you to juxtapose the ‘image making’ created by mainstream media and our government claims, to the documented contradictions BLID brings to you each week for your considerations.

Independence Day symbolizes worldwide the success of the American revolution and the independence from the tyranny of the British crown. We examine post WWII US foreign policy interventions and discover a disturbing but common theme consistent from Vietnam, Iraq, Libya, Ukraine, Syria, (Yemen) and the result of millions of deaths and tens of millions displaced persons. Yet most American citizens have been indoctrinated to believe the greatest problem facing peace on earth is the aggression or human rights violations of ‘other nations’. On Independence Day weekend we critically examine the integrity of the US stated, ‘war on terror’. We examine the politics and history connecting all these themes with special guest and distinguished investigative journalist Mike Whitney. Please tune in weekly to Bringing Light into Darkness, as this week we seek to examineand bring ‘honest light’ to the increasing threat to promotion of war between the West and Russia. We critically consider whether it is US led NATO provocations or is it ‘Russian aggression’ that bears greater responsibility for pushing the world towards a potential WWIII scenario.We invite you to juxtapose the ‘image making’ created by mainstream media and our government claims, to the documented contradictions BLID brings to you each week for your considerations. Please join us as we seek to get at the truth of manmade generated forms of misery and build understandings towards dismantling different forms of oppression through revealing behaviors and outcomes that are contrary to social justice and fairness yet are routinely absent from mainstream news generated ‘closed universe of discourse’.

Independence Day symbolizes worldwide the success of the American revolution and the independence from the tyranny of the British crown. We examine post WWII US foreign policy interventions and discover a disturbing but common theme consistent from Vietnam, Iraq, Libya, Ukraine, Syria, (Yemen) and the result of millions of deaths and tens of millions displaced persons. Yet most American citizens have been indoctrinated to believe the greatest problem facing peace on earth is the aggression or human rights violations of ‘other nations’. On Independence Day weekend we critically examine the integrity of the US stated, ‘war on terror’. We examine the politics and history connecting all these themes with special guest and distinguished investigative journalist Mike Whitney. Please tune in weekly to Bringing Light into Darkness, as this week we seek to examineand bring ‘honest light’ to the increasing threat to promotion of war between the West and Russia. We critically consider whether it is US led NATO provocations or is it ‘Russian aggression’ that bears greater responsibility for pushing the world towards a potential WWIII scenario.We invite you to juxtapose the ‘image making’ created by mainstream media and our government claims, to the documented contradictions BLID brings to you each week for your considerations. Please join us as we seek to get at the truth of manmade generated forms of misery and build understandings towards dismantling different formsof oppression through revealing behaviors and outcomes that are contrary to social justice and fairness yet are routinely absent from mainstream news generated ‘closed universe of discourse’.

The airing of this show lands on the 52nd anniversary of the Stonewall Riots of June 28, 1969, which is widely recognized to be the single most important event leading to the gay liberation movement and the modern fight for LGBT rights in the United States. Today Bringing Light into Darkness dedicates this show to overcoming the oppression this form of discrimination continues to generate.

We begin the show with a 25-minute excerpt from our May 18, 2020, show with Dr Arline Geronimus that highlights the concept of ‘weathering’ which describes the scientific basis of how poverty all forms of discrimination, including that which our LGBT fellow US citizens continue to endure, is an assault not just on the quality of life but on life expectancy itself.

The second half of the show features LMSW licensed therapist Heath Collins and his insights as we explore the disproportionate stress that our LGBT community faces as a result of that discrimination and strategies and resources to help navigate it and minimize its damage.

Please tune in weekly to Bringing Light into Darkness, as this week we seek to bring ‘honest light’ to a particularly pernicious form of discrimination what we all need to do our best to mitigate and call out.

The airing of this show lands on the 52nd anniversary of the Stonewall Riots of June 28, 1969, which is widely recognized to be the single most important event leading to the gay liberation movement and the modern fight for LGBT rights in the United States. Today Bringing Light into Darkness dedicates this show to overcoming the oppression this form of discrimination continues to generate.

We begin the show with a 25-minute excerpt from our May 18, 2020, show with Dr Arline Geronimus that highlights the concept of ‘weathering’ which describes the scientific basis of how poverty all forms of discrimination, including that which our LGBT fellow US citizens continue to endure, is an assault not just on the quality of life but on life expectancy itself.

The second half of the show features LMSW licensed therapist Heath Collins and his insights as we explore the disproportionate stress that our LGBT community faces as a result of that discrimination and strategies and resources to help navigate it and minimize its damage.

Please tune in weekly to Bringing Light into Darkness, as this week we seek to bring ‘honest light’ to a particularly pernicious form of discrimination what we all need to do our best to mitigate and call out.

The airing of this show lands on the 52nd anniversary of the Stonewall Riots of June 28, 1969, which is widely recognized to be the single most important event leading to the gay liberation movement and the modern fight for LGBT rights in the United States. Today Bringing Light into Darkness dedicates this show to overcoming the oppression this form of discrimination continues to generate.

We begin the show with a 25-minute excerpt from our May 18, 2020, show with Dr Arline Geronimus that highlights the concept of ‘weathering’ which describes the scientific basis of how poverty all forms of discrimination, including that which our LGBT fellow US citizens continue to endure, is an assault not just on the quality of life but on life expectancy itself.

The second half of the show features LMSW licensed therapist Heath Collins and his insights as we explore the disproportionate stress that our LGBT community faces as a result of that discrimination and strategies and resources to help navigate it and minimize its damage.

Please tune in weekly to Bringing Light into Darkness, as this week we seek to bring ‘honest light’ to a particularly pernicious form of discrimination what we all need to do our best to mitigate and call out.

Juneteenth & a History since Slavery to date of Systemic Racism is discussed.

Juneteenth became a national holiday on Thursday June 17th, 2021. We dedicate this show to the drastically increasing wealth inequality we have witnessed since the 1980s to date as our democracy has been increasingly compromised accordingly. This show details the significance and degree of this generally unreported attack of the middle and more disenfranchised majority of Americans.

We then detail that within that matrix of inequality how the racial wealth divide further aggravates the unfairness in opportunities for African Americans compared to whites. We describe in depth how the methods of oppression have changed but not the outcomes which today find median African American wealth at just 1/10th of that of white family household median wealth. We detail how slavery as an inhibitor of wealth accumulation for blacks was replaced with legalizing the criminalizing of African Americans following Reconstruction through “black codes” and “convict leasing”.

As the Jim Crow era morphed into modern day discrimination, we describe how the Social Security Act of 1935 and the 1944 GI Bill also disproportionately benefitted white families over black families in a very significant fashion. We end the show with empirical examples of more modern-day forms of systemic racism that undeniably (unless you are in denial) paint a clear picture of the second-class citizenry status of our African American cohorts as we find ourselves well into the 21st century. They also paint a clear picture revealing the false rationalizing that the primary driver behind wealth inequality is lack of drive or lack of educational pursuit and attainment.

It is time to face the truth of our condition and demand the change our constitution and a commitment to fairness demands. The most powerful nation in world history can surely alleviate want and dismantle systemic racism if it decides it, is a real priority. But we must see and understand the problem first. This show reveals the root problems facing our country that are hidden from view by a mainstream media that is part of the problem.

Juneteenth & a History since Slavery to date of Systemic Racism is discussed.

Juneteenth became a national holiday on Thursday June 17th, 2021. We dedicate this show to the drastically increasing wealth inequality we have witnessed since the 1980s to date as our democracy has been increasingly compromised accordingly. This show details the significance and degree of this generally unreported attack of the middle and more disenfranchised majority of Americans.

We then detail that within that matrix of inequality how the racial wealth divide further aggravates the unfairness in opportunities for African Americans compared to whites. We describe in depth how the methods of oppression have changed but not the outcomes which today find median African American wealth at just 1/10th of that of white family household median wealth. We detail how slavery as an inhibitor of wealth accumulation for blacks was replaced with legalizing the criminalizing of African Americans following Reconstruction through “black codes” and “convict leasing”.

As the Jim Crow era morphed into modern day discrimination, we describe how the Social Security Act of 1935 and the 1944 GI Bill also disproportionately benefitted white families over black families in a very significant fashion. We end the show with empirical examples of more modern-day forms of systemic racism that undeniably (unless you are in denial) paint a clear picture of the second-class citizenry status of our African American cohorts as we find ourselves well into the 21st century. They also paint a clear picture revealing the false rationalizing that the primary driver behind wealth inequality is lack of drive or lack of educational pursuit and attainment.

It is time to face the truth of our condition and demand the change our constitution and a commitment to fairness demands. The most powerful nation in world history can surely alleviate want and dismantle systemic racism if it decides it, is a real priority. But we must see and understand the problem first. This show reveals the root problems facing our country that are hidden from view by a mainstream media that is part of the problem.