The birth of a race hustler
By AaronVB Posted in User Blogs — Comments (7) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
In 2004, the black activist Reverend Al Sharpton ran what was essentially a mock campaign for the Democrat Party nomination for president. His goal was not to win the nomination, which he knew was impossible, but to do for his issues what left-wing PAC's had been successfully doing for the last few years- swing the Democrat Party away from the middle and toward the anti-war, anti-capitalism, identity politics of the modern left. As he failed to even remotely threaten the establishment Democrats in any primary, he was unsuccessful in putting issues of race anywhere near the forefront of the campaign.
One might say now, however, that perhaps he has learned the hopelessness of race hustling on the national stage at this point in time. He appears to have refocused his strategy, putting more emphasis on grooming simulacra of himself in local committees through his National Action Network organization. One of Sharpton's success stories is putting himself to the test right here, in Phoenix, Arizona. On September 13th, an election for the city council seat of Phoenix's 8th District will be held, and Sharpton's local protégé, Jarrett Maupin, only eighteen, is hoping to become the city council's youngest member.
Below the fold is a portrait of the birth of a race hustler.
Jarrett Maupin's infamy began with an article called "Kid Sharpton" in the Phoenix New Times published on February 2, 2005. The article characterized him thus:
Certainly Al Sharpton is smart enough to see the built-in media appeal of the young, charismatic Jarrett Maupin, who speaks with all the evangelical flair of his mentor and even bears a striking physical resemblance, around the eyes and particularly in the long, swept-back hair style he favors, to the iconic New York City politico renowned as either the civil rights movement's most tireless leader or a grandstanding racial agitator, depending on whom you talk to.
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The younger Maupin came to the personal attention of Sharpton after organizing public protests against what Maupin believes were acts of racism at Valley schools. In an incident last March that made it to the Associated Press wire, Maupin, then 16, staged a march with 22 other students outside Scottsdale's Saguaro High School in support of a black student who was handcuffed by police in the school cafeteria for refusing to turn his sideways baseball cap around.
The resemblance to Sharpton's politics should already be visible, but Maupin's journey to his current point began much earlier. Maupin attended Brophy College Prepatory, the local Jesuit high school and my alma mater, for the first two and a half years of his education. It was there that he truly began on the road to being the racial agitator that he currently is. During the first semester of his junior year, Maupin was dismissed from Brophy for failing grades or chose to leave because of racist treatment, depending on whom you talk to (Maupin obviously claims the latter). When he left, he persuaded two black players on Brophy's basketball team to come with him to St. Mary's, a move particularly significant because of St. Mary's rivalry with Brophy in local sports. Maupin then successfully persuaded the Arizona Interscholastic Association to grant them an exception to its "non-competition rule," where transfer students are normally not allowed to play on their new teams for a year. The AIA accepted Maupin's reasoning that their transfer had been forced by at "pattern of racial harassment" at "white racist institution" of Brophy.
Maupin was shortly thereafter made president of the Phoenix chapter of the National Action Network, and in 2005 announced his campaign for the city council seat of District 8. His opponent is incumbent Vice Mayor Michael Johnson, who is also black. City council may not sound impressive to those more used to following and covering national races, but it would be remarkable if Maupin were to win the seat at the age of eighteen. Unlike Sharpton, he could claim to have won elected office, and it is very possible he could use his seat as a jumping-off point to greater influence.
If one looks at Maupin's politics, they are the usual railing against racial profiling, support of affirmative action and reparations, and the belief that white is usually synonymous with racist. These are nothing new to those familiar with figures like Julian Bond, Jesse Jackson, and Sharpton. Maupin's radio show, carried by the local Air America affiliate, is full of the hateful race-baiting rhetoric that has made Jackson and Sharpton so well known, and Maupin seems to be walking the first steps toward Jackson's proven program of race hustling with his manipulation of local organizations to penalize those who fall into his disfavor.
However, this is not the story of a manipulative teenager crassly seeking power so he can have his way, though there seems to be elements of that in Maupin's character, elements that probably attracted him to Sharpton in the first place. This is primarily the story of another black youth corrupted by the peddling of race paranoia by the establishment crowd of black activists. This is the story of a teenager who read Sharpton's sermons and Jackson's speeches without ever reading the essays of Thomas Sowell. In other words, this is another story of the close-minded nature of current leftist orthodoxy on race and the damage it is doing to the black community. No one wins when whites are the enemy just as no one won when blacks were subjugated and terrorized before and during the civil rights movement.
Nationally, Sharpton's vision has stalled, perhaps indefinitely, but in many localities it remains vibrant. Maupin has not lacked of support in Phoenix's urban District 8, and it would not surprise this writer if the election were close, or if Maupin actually won. Those who oppose the race hustling and baiting embodied by Sharpton and Maupin would do well to forget about the hollowed-out national organizations like the NAACP and look to their local communities, where racial demagogues can still command great influence. Defeating this hate mongering should be a concern to all of us.
(If you have a mind to, you may donate to Michael Johnson here.)
The station that carries his show has a live feed that you can click on to listen. He's on Sundays at 5pm Eastern.
Tawana Brawley. This was where Sharpton earned his bones as a national figure. Anyone from the tri-state NY/NJ/CT metropolitan area remembers the case. Sharpton has been a race-baiter since the first day he emerged on the scene. My guess to this day was that he was hoping to provoke a large-scale, violent riot with the Brawley case.
Sorry for being a little skimpy on the actual quotes. When one writes about a story that has personal implications, you forget that not everyone knows what you're talking about or has personally heard about your subject.
I do believe Sharpton's basic program is one of hate-mongering, and the fact that Maupin is president of the local chapter of Sharpton's organization immediately associates him with Sharpton's political vision.
Secondly, I did cite some examples of what I believe to be "hate mongering" or at the very least race hustling. His manipulation of the AIA shows to me that Mr. Maupin is about tearing down his opponents, a characteristic of those who hate. He has repeatedly referred to his opponents as "white racists" on his radio show. This is the classic hate-filled rhetoric of Maupin's spiritual advisor. That's not to say he isn't smart; he picks his public appearances carefully and chooses fairly popular crusades, like his protest over a black student who was arrested at a local high school for refusing to take off his baseball cap that he had turned sideways. But being media savvy doesn't make him any less guilty of peddling the race paranoia of Sharpton, which is implicitly, if not explicitly, rooted in hate.
Did I get the time right? I know there is, or was, some complication with AZ and Daylight time that hoses conversions to other zones.
Arizona doesn't go on daylight savings time, so we vary between being 2 and 3 hours behind the east. Right now we're in the same zone as California, so we're actually 3 hours behind the east, and for those on the east coast the show would start at 6 PM.
I'll have to check that show out. Dem though I am, Sharpton isn't all that present on my radar screen most of the time.
Also, I didn't mean to be picking at you. I think on the whole you're a very clear and interesting writer. The reason this piece raised a little flag for me is that, just based on what's in it, I don't think all your conclusions necessarily follow. But I hear what you're saying about stories that affect you personally. Even now, though, it isn't clear to me that his interactions with the AIA were "manipulation"--it all kind of hinges on whether or not the three of them were telling the truth, I suppose. The same with his use of the words "white racists"--hypothetically, if you call a person who is white and a racist a white racist, that's not hate-mongering, just telling the truth. What's the context?
So. Tonight is the first time I've ever heard of this kid, but I do think it's a really interesting story, and I thank you for bringing it to my attention. I'll definitely google around and try to catch that broadcast. And it's certainly possible I'll end up agreeing with your perspective and your statements. (I do, anyway, remember Tawana Brawley.)
One final, tangential thing:
Mr. Maupin is about tearing down his opponents, a characteristic of those who hate.
Would you say that applies across the board?
giving some quotes or providing a couple of links to things this kid's actually said? This is an important and interesting topic, but IMO the information here doesn't support the allegation of "hate-mongering" made at the end (unless mere association with Sharpton is sufficient).