George W. Bush & The NAACP - Turning Over A New Leaf?

George W. Bush & The NAACP - Turning Over A New Leaf?

9:08 AM 07/23/2006 Sun

After five straight years of ignoring and declining invitations to speak at their national convention - the result of very harsh rhetoric aimed at Bush by NAACP Chairman Julian Bond - President George W. Bush gave a speech at the NAACP convention held in Washington, DC this past week. Bush attempted to reach out to African Americans, stating that he was aware of the fact that Racism still persists, and that the Republican Party missed out in a big way for letting its historical ties with the Black Community go in favor of more shrewd, if not cynical, political ends. Although the audience gave polite applause for the most part, when GWB mentioned the above, the crowd roared; and after the speech had concluded, Black political pundits wondered aloud why Bush didn't speak to issues such as the Iraq War, etc., saying that it's extremely narrow to think that the Black Community only thinks of "Black issues".

Indeed, Bush should have spoken to wider issues, such as the ones that have been and continue to be so very obvious regarding Black America (and those which even vaunted folks such as Tavis Smiley dare not approach): the outrageously high out of wedlock birthrate (at present, around 70%; only one in three Black women ever marry in their lifetime), the fact that Marriage in the Black Community is at or near all-time lows, the fact that "Black on Black" violence continues to occur unabated in the inner cities, the direct result of the gaping maw of fatherless homes; the fact that in places like Detroit, the highschool dropout rate is EIGHTY PERCENT, and a good number of those who do graduate can barely function on a level consistent with the modern Western world; the fact that HIV and AIDS continues to ravage Black American women, the result of the "Downlow" lifestyle among a good number of Black men...and the list of real, persistent, and urgent problems that beset Black America goes on and on.

But saying such things isn't considered cricket in polite company, as famed Comedian and Humanitarian Bill Cosby soon found out, after giving his "Poundcake Speech" two years ago, before a similar arrangement of NAACP membership and top brass, to commerate the 50th anniversary of the famed Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision, declaring that "separate but equal" was against the Law. Here's a few excerpts from that speech:

"Ladies and gentlemen, I really have to ask you to seriously consider what you’ve heard, and now this is the end of the evening so to speak. I heard a prize fight manager say to his fellow who was losing badly, “David, listen to me. It’s not what’s he’s doing to you. It’s what you’re not doing. (laughter)."

"Ladies and gentlemen, these people set, they opened the doors, they gave us the right, and today, ladies and gentlemen, in our cities and public schools we have fifty percent drop out. In our own neighborhood, we have men in prison. No longer is a person embarrassed because they’re pregnant without a husband. (clapping) No longer is a boy considered an embarrassment if he tries to run away from being the father of the unmarried child (clapping)"

"Ladies and gentlemen, the lower economic and lower middle economic people are [not*] holding their end in this deal. In the neighborhood that most of us grew up in, parenting is not going on. (clapping) In the old days, you couldn’t hooky school because every drawn shade was an eye (laughing). And before your mother got off the bus and to the house, she knew exactly where you had gone, who had gone into the house, and where you got on whatever you had one and where you got it from. Parents don’t know that today."

"I’m talking about these people who cry when their son is standing there in an orange suit. Where were you when he was two? (clapping) Where were you when he was twelve? (clapping) Where were you when he was eighteen, and how come you don’t know he had a pistol? (clapping) And where is his father, and why don’t you know where he is? And why doesn’t the father show up to talk to this boy?"

"50 percent drop out rate, I’m telling you, and people in jail, and women having children by five, six different men. Under what excuse, I want somebody to love me, and as soon as you have it, you forget to parent. Grandmother, mother, and great grandmother in the same room, raising children, and the child knows nothing about love or respect of any one of the three of them (clapping). All this child knows is “gimme, gimme, gimme.” These people want to buy the friendship of a child….and the child couldn’t care less. Those of us sitting out here who have gone on to some college or whatever we’ve done, we still fear our parents (clapping and laughter). And these people are not parenting. They’re buying things for the kid. $500 sneakers, for what? They won’t buy or spend $250 on Hooked on Phonics. (clapping) "

People are still talking about Cosby's speech and the additional talks he's given in the months that followed, only highlighting the fact that anyone with eyes can see that the Black Community's current-day problems aren't George W. Bush or the Republican Party, but problems that are homegrown in nature, epidemic in scope and now considered a normative feature of African American culture, both on the inside and out.

So, with all this said, where does the NAACP fit in? Surely, as America's oldest civil rights organization, it should be able to at least begin the hard ground work it takes to set things right in the Black Community. Or do they? Can they?

The NAACP was founded on Feb 12 1909, to coincide, ironically, with the birthday of Abraham Lincoln, the nation's first Republican President. The chart of the NAACP features an Aquarian Sun in conjunction with Mecury at the MC (I've set the chart for noon, in the absence of timed data), the Moon in Scorpio and a Gemini Asc, a fitting astrological base for an organization that has a reputation for being a strong advocate for civil rights.

The chart ruling Mercury is also Rx, suggesting the danger of subjective and/or narrow thinking to the detriment of "the big picture"; Pluto rising in the Asc is opposed Mars in the 7th, and in their early days, the NAACP made its name by fighting the horrendous practice of White mobs lynching Black men.

Pluto=Jupiter/Saturn, a strong symbol of staying the course, being able to bounce back, and making the case for one's cause, turning the tide in one's favor.

The only other hard aspect in the chart is the Uranus-Neptune opposition, which falls into the 8th-2nd House axis, respectively. This signature speaks to the humanitarian goals of the organization, but also strongly reflects the NAACP's rocky financial footing, particularly during the 1990s, when the triple transits of Saturn, Uranus and Neptune passed thru Capricorn and wreaked havoc on the NAACP's astro-financial outlook. In classic Neptunian fashion, the 90s were a period of rife corruption, mismanagement and misappropriation of funds, along with ill-repute behavior on the part of the organization's officials.

Nevertheless, there is no doubt that the NAACP is thee voice of the African American community, and the astrology bears witness to this fact: note the strong ties between its chart and that of the "African American" the moment when the first African slaves were offloaded at Jamestown, VA (Aug 30 1619 10.15AM LMT; Placidus 4 Sco 21, Penfield):

- NAACP Moon rising in the AA Asc and conjunct the AA Mars (in Scorpio)

- NAACP Jupiter conjunct the AA Sun

- The NAACP Moon is opposed the AA Moon-Pluto

- NAACP Venus opposed the AA MC

- NAACP Asc ruler Mercury in the same Sign as the AA Sun

And the list goes on.

But the interplay between the organization and President Bush is the complete opposite and just as evident to see:

- NAACP Uranus-Neptune square GWB's Moon (and opposed and conjunct GWB's Sun!)

- NAACP's Moon squared by GWB's Pluto

- NAACP's Pluto conjunct, and Mars opposed, GWB's Uranus

- NAACP's Saturn square GWB's Sun

Yet, there ARE some hopeful signs astrologically: note that GWB's Venus opposes the NAACP's Sun and MC, Bish's Asc is opposed the NAACP's Venus and both his and the organization's Nodes are very close to each other. Perhaps it is Bush's destiny to help turn the electoral tide on the part of Black folks in the GOP's favor? Hmmm...

A brief astro-historical sketch of the NAACP is illuminating:

Brown v. Board of Education, 1954: SA Pluto=Node Jan, Big SA Semi-Square Feb, SA Node=Pluto Mar, tr Pluto opposed the Sun Mar-Jul, SA Jupiter=Venus/Uranus Apr, tr Uranus opposed Uranus Mar & Apr, tr Jupiter conjunct Pluto Apr, SA Pluto=Jupiter/Saturn, SA Marcury=Uranus/Pluto, SA Node=Jupiter/Saturn

Montgomery Bus Boycott, 1955: SA Saturn=Sun Apr, SA Mercury=Saturn May, SA Mars=Node Aug, SA Mars=Pluto Sep, tr Jupiter opposed the Sun & MC Sep-Oct

Banned from operation in the State of Alabama following the boycott, 1956-58: SA Sun=Saturn/Neptune Oct 1956, SA Neptune=Asc/MC Jun 1957, tr Saturn opposed the Asc Nov 1957, tr Neptune square Venus Dec, SA Uranus=Sun/Mars Jan 1958, tr Neptune square Venus Jan & Oct 1958, tr Saturn opposed Pluto Feb, Jun & Nov 1958, SA Neptune=Uranus Jun 1958, tr Uranus square Moon Aug 1958, SA Sun=Saturn/Uranus Dec 1958

Civil Rights Act Passed, 1964: SA Pluto=Sun/Moon Jan, tr Saturn conjunct the Sun Jan, SA Node=Sun/Moon Jan, tr Jupiter square Sun & MC Aug & Nov, tr Pluto square Asc Oct, SA Sun=Uranus Dec, tr Uranus square Asc Dec

Voting Rights Act Passed, 1965: SA Venus=Jupiter/Uranus Jan, tr Uranus square Asc Jan & Sep, SA Saturn=Asc/MC Mar, tr Neptune square Mercury & MC Mar & Apr, tr Saturn square Asc May & Aug, tr Pluto square Asc Mar & Aug, SA Uranus=Asc Sep, SA Jup=Mars/Pluto Oct, SA Mercury=Sun/Jupiter Nov

1st Black NAACP President elected, Benjamin Hooks (ALL previous presidents of the NAACP have been White and/or Jewish), 1975: tr Jupiter square Asc Jan, tr Saturn conjunct Neptune Jan, SA Mercury=Jupiter Mar, tr Jupiter square Pluto Mar, SA Pluto=Neptune May, tr Saturn opposed Uranus Jun, SA MC=Jupiter Jun, SA Asc=Uranus/Pluto Aug

NAACP President Benjamin Chavis Ousted, 1995 (after first being elected in 1993): SA Moon=Pluto Jan, SA Pluto=Sun/Nep Mar, tr Saturn square Asc Mar, tr Saturn square Pluto May, SA Uranus=Moon/Asc Oct, SA Uranus=Neptune Nov

Trouble with then-Governor Bush, 2000: SA Mercury=Mars/Uranus Jan, SA Mercury=MC Feb, SA Pluto=Node Mar, tr Saturn square Moon Mar, Big Solar Arc Square (90 degrees, all planets and points in the chart having come that distance by Solar Arc) Apr, tr Uranus conjunct Mercury & MC Apr & Jul, SA MC=Mercury Jun, tr Saturn square Sun Jun, SA Uranus=Sun/Asc Aug, SA Pluto=Jupiter/Saturn (again!), SA Mercury=Uranus/Pluto, both Oct

President George W. Bush Speaks at NAACP Convention, Jul 20 2006: SA Sun=Venus/Pluto May, tr Neptune conjunct Mercury & MC May & Jun, tr Uranus square Asc Jun & Jul

Earlier in the year, transit Jupiter conjuncted the Moon and will do so again as the Midterm Elections heats up in Sep. Also, it's important to note that the NAACP will have, right before the elections, SA Saturn=Venus/Mars, a cooling of emotions regarding considering alternate points of view (Saturn rules the 9th), BUT, SA Sun=Neptune in Nov. Hmmm...

With so much Fixed Sign emphasis in both the NAACP and African American charts, it's hard to see how Bush could make any real impact on the polls in this regard this election cycle around; Bush polled only about 11% of the Black Vote in the last Presidential elections.

Not only that, but even if the top brass at the NAACP wanted to address the issues that Cosby mentioned, it is fundamentally and astrologically ill-equipped to do so; note the lack of Earth elements and a somewhat muted Saturn in its astrological makeup. Therefore, it isn't good at doing the sort of practical, hands-on changing lives and behavior work that is called for and desperately needed in today's Black Community accross the country. At best, the NAACP can act as a sounding board for those who bring the messages that resemble Cosby's, facilitate public hearings and discussions on these issues and advocate on such messengers' behalf in the halls of Government and Corporate America. But if one thinks for a minute that the NAACP is up to the job of renewing Black Familial Life on their own, they are setting themselves up for a huge disappointment.

No one wants to openly say it, but this might be a job for the Nation of Islam - and in any event, the Black Community is not doing itself any good at all by living in a state of denial and blaming their problems on Bush and the GOP.

Salaam,
Mu