Brooklyn Ron

How Peter Eisner, Les Payne and Cuba Led to the Writing of 'King Al: How Sharpton Took the Throne'

Peter Eisner, former Newsday foreign editor

[photo credit: Musha Salinas Eisner]

Former Newsday foreign editor Peter Eisner reveals a truth about "King Al: How Sharpton Took the Throne."

While the title is fully about Sharpton, the book is largely about late twentieth-century New York newspapers.

It was that platform, especially the tabloid versions, that turned Sharpton into the controversial media figure he was -- and the wealthy, influential cable news host he is today.

Back in the early-mid-1980s, when Peter was AP's editor in Mexico City, he hired me an hour after I had knocked on his door, unannounced, seeking a job.

As fate would have it, we both later were hired at Newsday, where hotshot editor Les Payne became a mentor and booster to us both. (Our beloved Les Payne this year was posthumous awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his biography of Malcolm X, "The Dead are Arising," written with his daughter Tamara Payne.) Chapter 2 of King Al is devoted to Les: "Les Payne Sounds the Death Knell on the Tawana Brawley Story."

Had there been no Peter Eisner (and Les Payne), I would not have had the chance to spend months in Cuba as a correspondent for Newsday; and I would not have become the first reporter to interview Assata Shakur (wanted by the FBI in the 1973 killing of a New Jersey state trooper) and reveal she was living in Cuba under a grant of asylum from Fidel Castro.

That story led me to write another piece. It cited U.S.-based Black radicals who believed Sharpton had been trying to get them to reveal what they knew about Assata, with the intention of informing the FBI of her whereabouts.

In my book, Sharpton denies he was trying to do that. But the book also quotes those who maintain, to this day, he was trying to do just that.

Had there been no Peter Eisner and his beloved Les Payne in my life, there would be no "King Al."

Peter emailed this photo to me, saying he was deeply touched by the reflections in the book.

"I went to Politics and Prose (in D.C.) and bought the book . . . I had known about parts of the book that you shared with me, but had no idea of what you would write about me, you and Les (Payne)... It was a great run for the three of us and beyond. I'm very proud of what we did, and who we were and are, and hope that I can continue to serve the legacy."

Fordham University Press asked me to inform that it's giving holiday discounts. I was told a buyer can enter code - GIFT2021 - at checkout.

"The Dead are Arising," by Les Payne and Tamara Payne.

Nikole Hannah-Jones: Ida B. Wells of Journalism Education

I suspected the inner turmoil was intense, but Nikole Hannah-Jones here lays bare what she went through this year. Her alma mater, the University of North Carolina, caused her great pain. You can all but see suffused tears in some of her words. But writing is fighting, and Nikole hopefully is finding peace. The long and short is that the Trustees of UNC, embarrassed at the association with racist rightwingers, finally offered her tenure. But Nikole just could not bring herself to say, Ok, all forgiven. So with pride and head high she’s going to teach at Howard, with strong financial backing from foundations committed to racial justice in journalism.

 

Read it here:

 

The Racism Steeped in Police Unions

I just had a conversation with a friend who disagreed when I said the biggest problem in reforming policing is the police unions. Racism in defending the "rights" of police officers' is steeped in the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association.

In 1966, New York City Mayor Lindsay proposed adding four civilians to the board investigating police abuses. PBA president John J. Cassese's response was, "[Y]ou won’t satisfy these people until you get all Negroes and Puerto Ricans on the board and every policeman who goes in front of it is found guilty.”

I remember being a young teenager in the Kings Plaza area back then, shopping with my mother. Members of the PBA -- in uniform -- were at a bus stop asking Brooklynites for signatures on petitions opposing Lindsay's plan to add the civilians. The cops walked by me and my mother, treating us as invisible as they approached all the white people standing near us.

In a city like New York, where racial fairness is a credible rallying call, the PBA steadily threw its support behind Donald J. Trump, as Trump dog-whistled praises to his white supremacist followers.

Yes, today we have a Civilian Complaint Review Board, but it never accomplished anything close to what Minneapolis teenager Darnella Frazier did last year, when she aimed her camera and provided evidence that led to the arrest, conviction and sentencing of Derek Chauvin, for the cold-blooded murder of George Floyd.

Note: Linked here is a piece from the Gotham Center for New York City History, by Chris Hayes (an historian in the Department of Labor Studies and Employment Relations at Rutgers University in New Brunswick).

 

Reelect Assembly Member Diana Richardson on Tuesday, June 23rd!!

 

Dear colleagues,   Assemblywoman Diana Richardson has ably represented you and the 43rd Assembly district and CUNY. Over the past year she has advocated for new taxes on the wealthy to make certain they pay their fair share in financing public services. In addition, Assemblywoman Richardson has been on legislator phone calls with PSC leaders and signed onto letters advocating for significantly greater NYS funding for CUNY. Her independence and character are breaths of fresh air in Albany.   As a result of both her independence and progressive politics she deserves your support in this year's Democratic primary. We therefore urge you to get out and vote on Tuesday,  June 23rd for Assemblywoman Diane Richardson. Every day she is in Albany, the Assemblywoman has fought for both her district's needs and investment in essential public services like CUNY. You can stand in solidarity with your colleagues and students by pulling the lever for Assemblywoman Diane Richardson.   In solidarity, Mike Fabricant, Legislative Representative of the PSC

On CNN Town Hall, Deval Patrick Explains His Long, Deep, Family-Like Relationship with Barack Obama, Reveals the Personal Impulses for All He's Done Professionally, and Publicly Embraces His Loving Wife Diane, Who's Often Called the New Michelle Obama

Diane Patrick - aka Brooklyn Diane, aka Queens Diane - Says Deval Patrick May Take America by Surprise, Just as He Took Mass. by Surprise 14 Years Ago

"When Deval gets in front of people, anything can happen."

 

Listen to Diane speaking from the heart on Boston's public radio station. (Note: From the heart seems to be the only way she know how to speak.)

 

Diane Patrick told Boston Public Radio Thursday she thinks that 2020 could be a lot like 2006.

 

In 2006 her husband, now formerMassachusetts governor Deval Patrick, was a longshot candidate for that seat. So much so, she said, that when he joined the race the Boston Herald ran a headline asking “Deval Who?”

 

He went on to win the election with 55 percent of the vote, and served two terms as governor. Now, she said he can do that again.

 

“I think when Deval gets in front of people anything can happen,” Diane Patrick said. “I think if we had gotten in when we were expecting to I think this would be a whole different conversation because he would’ve had the opportunity.

 

“He feels what he feels, and what he feels is a deep empathy for every person he comes across, and that comes across so well,” she continued. “It’s not b.s. What you see is what you get, and we need to [get him] in front of others.”

Does The NY Times Have Color Double Standards When It Comes to Home Delivery?

#nytimes why is it in Central Brooklyn, where I live, Times is delivered as late as 8 or 9 am? I have friends in Marine Park, Bklyn, and Manhattan who get papers at 5 am. Is it just a fact that largely black/brown neighborhoods are treated differently? Thinking of cancelling

— RonHowellBrooklynRon (@newbrooklyn) February 1, 2020

It’s becoming common wisdom: Colorado Springs Gazette says Obama strongly prefers Deval Patrick over Joe Biden

[photo: WashingtonExaminer.com]

Gazette article: “Obama has feigned neutrality in the primary contest, but his fingerprints are all over it. When his longtime friend Deval Patrick jumped into the fray in November, it was seen as a signal of Obamaworld’s dissatisfaction with the state of the race. Contra Biden, Obama had actively pushed Patrick to run for president as early as 2017. As Edward-Isaac Dovere recounted in the Atlantic, Patrick’s campaign, and especially his decision to enter the race so late, were held by those in the know as ‘the clearest sign yet of how much anxiety there is among Obama’s inner circle about Biden’s campaign.’”

https://gazette.com/opinion/perspective-obama-s-biden-betrayal/article_ea681d4e-3df9-11ea-97b5-5f8240701835.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=user-share

 

Examiner article (2019) - ‘Deval Patrick 2020 run signals Obama doubts about Biden’:

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/sends-a-message-deval-patrick-2020-run-signals-obama-doubts-about-biden

 

Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams spoke with anger about gentrification. Criticism was largely from whites, including the mainstream media. Video is here. Controversial part begins toward end, at about 6 minutes. Thoughtful comments welcome

On MLK Day-2 Black ‘First Ladies.’ Diane Patrick told ABC News she sought advice from Michelle Obama before husband Deval entered race. Diane wants to ‘emulate’ Michelle. Both are power lawyers and focus on education, mental health, women's rights

[Diane Patrick at campaign event in Nashua, N.H., Jan. 18, 2020. Credit: Christopher S. Donato/ABC News]