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Albert Einstein

Einstein on Race and Racism a new book out 25 July 2006.

http://www.einsteinonrace.com

QUOTE: Albert Einstein
"There is, however, a somber point in the social outlook of Americans.
Their sense of equality and human dignity is mainly limited to men of white skins. Even among these there are prejudices of which I as a Jew am clearly conscious; but they are unimportant in comparison with the attitude of the 'Whites' toward their fellow-citizens of darker complexion, particularly toward Negroes. The more I feel an American, the
more this situation pains me. I can escape the feeling of complicity in it only by speaking out.

Dr. Vince Hines

Text Box: “Racism has not yet been put to bed” - Vince Hines

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New Title by Vince Hines

“Afrikan Crucible & Resurrection”

By Colin Randall in Paris
(Filed: 26/11/2005)

A French historian has caused uproar by claiming Napoleon provided the model for Hitler's Final Solution with the slaughter of more than 100,000 Caribbean slaves.

In The Crime of Napoleon, Claude Ribbe accuses the emperor of genocide, gassing rebellious blacks more than a century before the Nazis' extermination of the Jews.

His accusations refer to the extreme methods used to put down a ferocious uprising in Haiti at the start of the 19th century. Then known as San Domingo, the colony was considered a jewel of the French empire and to save it troops launched a campaign to kill all blacks aged over 12.

"In simple terms, Napoleon ordered the killing of as many blacks as possible in Haiti and Guadeloupe to be replaced by new, docile slaves from Africa," Ribbe said yesterday.

He said he had found accounts from officers who refused to take part in the massacres, especially the use of sulphur dioxide to kill slaves held in ships' holds.

His book is already provoking controversy prior to its publication on Thursday. The newspaper France Soir juxtaposed images of Napoleon and Hitler yesterday before asking: "Did Napoleon invent the Final Solution?"

But in an editorial, it condemned the "inanity" of Ribbe's argument. Ribbe, 51, who is of French-Guadeloupe extraction, said he was unrepentant.

"I want the French to know exactly what happened in that period," he said. "As for the good things Napoleon did, that is irrelevant. Hitler developed the autobahns and inspired the Volkswagen; are we supposed to excuse him for his war crimes?"

Ribbe, who was recently appointed a human rights commissioner by the prime minister, Dominique de Villepin, added: "I was taught to think of Napoleon as a superstar. To mention his crimes against humanity has been a taboo."

Napoleon's

genocide

'on a par with Hitler'

Link to telegraph.co.uk

"Many a sincere person will answer: 'Our attitude towards Negroes is the
result of unfavorable experiences which we have had by living side by side
with Negroes in this country. They are not our equals in intelligence,
sense of responsibility, reliability.'

"I am firmly convinced that whoever believes this suffers from a fatal
misconception. Your ancestors dragged these black people from their homes
by force; and in the white man's quest for wealth and an easy life they
have been ruthlessly suppressed and exploited, degraded into slavery. The
modern prejudice against Negroes is the result of the desire to maintain
this unworthy condition."

Albert Einstein
"The Negro Question"
1946

Authors' Preface To "EINSTEIN ON RACE AND RACISM"
By Fred Jerome and Rodger Taylor

More than one hundred biographies and monographs of Einstein have been
published, yet not one of them mentions the name Paul Robeson, let alone
Einstein's friendship with him, or the name W. E. B. Du Bois, let alone
Einstein's support for him. Nor does one find in any of these works any
reference to the Civil Rights Congress whose campaigns Einstein actively
supported. Finally, nowhere in all the ocean of published Einsteinia --
anthologies, bibliographies, biographies, summaries, articles, videotapes,
calendars, posters and postcards -- will one find even an islet of
information about Einstein's visits and ties to the people in Princeton's
African American community around the street called Witherspoon.

One explanation for this historical amnesia is that Einstein's biographers
and others who shape our official memories, felt that some of his
'controversial' friends, such as Robeson, and activities, such as
co-chairing the anti-lynching campaign, might somehow tarnish Einstein as
an American icon. That icon, sanctified by Time magazine when it dubbed
Einstein the 'Person of the Century,' is a myth, albeit a marvellous myth.
In fact, as myths go, Einstein's is hard to beat. The world's most
brilliant scientist is also a kindly, lovably bumbling, grandfather
figure: Professor Genius combined with Dr. Feelgood! Opinion-molders,
looking down from their ivory towers, may have such a beautiful image
with stories about racism, or for that matter with any of Einstein's
political activism? Politics, they argue, is ugly, making teeth grind and
fists clench, so why splash politics over Einstein's icon? Why drag a
somber rain-cloud across a bright blue sky? Einstein might reply, with a
wink, that without rain-clouds life would be very, very short. Oconcluded that such an
appealing icon will help the great unwashed public feel good about
science, about history, about America. Why spoil r he might
simply say that a bright blue sky is a fairy tale in today's war-weary
world.

Yet, despite Einstein's clear intention to make his politics public --
especially his anti-lynching and other antiracist activities -- the
history-molders have seemed embarrassed to do so. Or nervous. 'I had to
think about my Board,' a museum curator (who doesn't want his name used
even today) said, explaining why he had omitted some of the scientist's
political statements from the major exhibition celebrating Einstein's one
hundredth birthday in 1979.

When it came to how to handle Einstein's ashes or his house on Mercer
Street, everyone involved meticulously adhered to his wishes. But when it
involved his ideas, and especially his concerns about what he called
America's 'worst disease,' the fact that Einstein wanted his views made as
public as possible seems to have slipped past his historians.

Readers may judge for themselves how much of this oversight is due to
forgetting and how much may be due to other motives (including, perhaps,
disagreement with Einstein's point of view). It is not so much the motive
for the omission, but the consequence that concerns us. Americans and the
millions of Einstein's fans around the world are left unaware that
Einstein was an outspoken, passionate, committed anti-racist. 'It is
certain -- indeed painfully obvious -- that racism has permeated US
history both as idea and practice,' as the historian Herbert Aptheker
states. 'Nevertheless,' he adds, 'It always has faced significant
challenge.'

Racism in America depends for its survival in large part on the smothering
of anti-racist voices, especially when those voices come from popular and
widely respected individuals -- like Albert Einstein. This book, then,
aspires to be part of a grand un-smothering.

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Last up-dated January 2007.

Hines, Vince (1998).

How Black People Overcame Fifty Years of Repression in Britain 1945-1995. (Volume One: 1945-1975).

With this volume Dr. Hines offers his view of the black struggle for social justice in Britain. It is in many ways the story of his own life and other post war migrants to Britain.

His career path included five years in the RAF, a stint in the civil service, a journalism course and work for national newspapers and BBC radio.

Then he found his true metier: organising and leading community development organisations. Now, one of Britain's senior community leaders, Hines documents events and personalities during a crucial period of history.

He speaks to the ordinary man and woman in the streets as well as to the high and mighty. Topics covered include black youth, social movements, police and community relations, the Notting Hill Carnival, and the birth of the black media in Britain. Important, half-forgotten conference resolutions are discussed. Published by Zulu Publications, London; Email zulu@ubol.com. Internet: http://www.ubol.com

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