“Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” James 4:7.
If you are a regular visitor to this blog you will know that I am not one to engage in blog wars. I have interceded to stop a couple and I will ignore what I consider a personal attack because of an opinion I may hold. I am quick to delete what I consider disrespectful and destructive comments. However, honest constructive criticism is always welcome.
I received a disturbing email via the AfroSpear googlegroup. This is a separate entity from this think tank, although it grew from our concept. There are approximately 100 members in the group. The email was penned by a Black blogger by the name of Francis L. Holland and it’s topic was the Blogging While Brown Conference, which was recently held in Atlanta , Georgia from July 25th to 27th. Although he did not attend the conference… Mr. Holland made some very inflammatory, destructive and disparaging comments about the conference, as well as disrespectful comments about the organizer, Gina McCauley at What About our Daughters. His comments were obviously motivated by his previous personal conflicts with Ms. McCauley via the googlegroup. I will not publish the entire email here, so as to provide Mr. Holland with a platform for his deranged rants, but I have to admit… it pissed me off. It pissed me off so much that I penned this reply through the googlegroup:
“Francis, Francis, Francis….
There are certain things which are constant in the universe. Day always follows night… everyday we get older… and any effort within the Afrosphere you cannot control, you try to sabotage. I rarely comment during these “flare ups” because I have come to see you as a petty, small-minded egomaniac, whom I felt it is best to ignore. I saw you as harmless… but I was mistaken… in a word… you are toxic. The Bible states that the devil should be “resisted”… not ignored.
What bothers me most now is that you continually hide behind the AfroSpear… a concept you originally were not involved in creating or establishing… as a vehicle to live out your warped, self-centered desire for control and attention. Recently, thefreeslave and I were discussing how the whole idea of the AfroSpear got high-jacked by you and others. For those who were there and haven’t forgotten the true history of the whole affair, you and a number of others, who weren’t down with the original vision of the AfroSpear, were encouraged (and supported) to form your own collective… which you all did. You formed the Afrosphere Bloggers Association as the vehicle to realize your vision. However, you still decided to appropriate… I guess the true term is misappropriate, the Afrospear name and concept. To be honest, I had no real problem with it…. even when I read the bogus Wikipedia entry on the AfroSpear/AfroSphere, which you created. What is most dangerous about this entry is that it is sprinkled with some truth… however I notice how you have featured yourself prominently in it’s genesis, which in reality, you were not involved in on any significant level… while Sylvia, one of the original 6 and the person who did the most work in getting it up and running… who due to the petty jealousies of one former member in particular, wasn’t even mentioned!
Sylvia asked this very relevant question: “what are you trying to accomplish with this?”… in regards to your assessment of the Blogging While Brown conference… which you didn’t even attend!
It has become clear (for those who want to see it) that the primary motivation for your version of the AfroSpear, is not the upliftment or empowering of people of African descent. You are motivated by your unrequited ”man-love”… your infatuation with Markos Maulitsas and his rejection of you… specifically his rejection of making you his official house nigger over at DailyKos. This is what motivates everything you do! That is why you constantly refer and compare any effort to DailyKos, as you did below when you stated: ”Compare it to the 1,500 bloggers at YearlyKos last year…” I once wrote a post asking if you were symbolic of the 21st Century Mis-educated Negro. Time after time… by your antics, you have provided me with the answer. Let’s also be clear…. the reason Gina and a number of others resigned from your version of the AfroSpear, is that they got tired of the antics… the personal attacks and intimidation… by you and the other “school yard” bullies, against anyone who disagrees with y’all and/or who y’all cannot control.
So you have motivated me to do 3 things to “resist” the destructive and divisive objectives of you and your small group of cadres. 1… history is important… so I will be doing a post on the real genesis of the AfroSpear, to counteract your fable at Wikipedia. 2… I will make every effort to attend the Blogging While Brown conference next year… from Canada, as a show of the “true” AfroSpear’s support and solidarity with the efforts of Gina and the event. 3… I will be more vocal in exposing and opposing your destructive and divisive behaviours within the AfroSphere. As an original member of the original 6 who formed the original AfroSpear, you can neither intimidate nor control me.”
Francis L. Holland has been a cancer within the AfroSphere. He has previously been banned from two white liberal websites, DailyKos and MyLeft Wing because of his destructive and disruptive behaviour within their online communities. Now we all know how whites are quick to showcase their house negroes, especially white liberals, but they got very tired of his deranged antics and banned him from their “house”. However, he is allowed to carry on the same devisive and destructive behaviours and outrageous antics within the AfroSphere… within the AfroSpear googlegroup… simply because he is Black! There have been many calls previously within the googlegroup to ban him. Since the inception of the AfroSpear, he has tried to control the agenda and those who disagree with him… he (and his supporters and enablers) intimidate and attack to the point where they leave.
What is most troubling is that he uses the name of the AfroSpear as a tool to cloak himself in some guise of credibility and for his own self-promotion. The “straw that broke the camels back” for me is that he attacked Ms. McCauley in the name of the AfroSpear. Enough is Enough! It’s time to make certain things clear. Francis L. Holland is not a spokesperson for the AfroSpear! Francis L. Holland is not a leader within the AfroSpear, although he has appointed himself as one!
The reactions within the googlegroup, primarily from his 4-5 supporters who are usually the most vocal and active within the group, has been to admonish me for “calling him out” in the above email. I have become “the bad guy”. No surprise… I expected it. Interestingly, no-one has stated (so far) that anything I said was untrue, just that I am engaging in personal attacks against Mr. Holland. They say I am “a pot calling the kettle black”. They may be right. But someone has to stand up and say “enough” and “tell it like it really is” regardless of the consequences. SO… why not me? I have no fear of their attacks and I am not engaged in a popularity contest within the group.
This is how twisted this “shit” has now become within the AfroSpear googlegroup. Mr. Holland stated in his email that he would never publicly state his true feelings of the Blogging While Brown Conference, but concluded that it was a failure and exclaimed: “Congratulations, Gina and everyone who helped provoke the mercurial Gina into make her conference a smashing embarrassment!” He then went on to state:
“Publicly, if anyone asks me about Blogging While Brown, I will quote Shawn Williams: the group picture could someday be like the Niagra Movement photo that was taken in 1905. Privately, I think the Niagra movement must have been a hell of a lot more united and focused than Blogging While Brown’s roll out turned out to be.”
After I responded above, he then posted this on his blog and forwarded it to the googlegroup. This is the character of Francis L. Holland! No-one challenged him on his blatant hypocrisy and pre-packaged, premediated lie. One person, (who claims to be a Christian and a warrior like King David), even commended him… even after reading his above statement… for showing unity! This is an example of the dishonest and despicable behaviour which the white liberal blogging community had enough moral integrity to reject, but within the AfroSpear, it is embraced, permitted, condoned and yes… even commended. This is what happens when a cancer infects a body and is allowed to survive. It corrupts the whole body. This is what honesty, integrity and unity has now become within the AfroSpear at large.
We are indeed quick to stand up against white people who put us down, but first and foremost, we need to be… at least just as quick… to stand up against Black people who pull us down.
Come to think of it, there is no “may be” about it… his supporters are right… this has become personal for me… and I’m still pissed.
PS: I fully expect to be banned from the AfroSpear googlegroup for “snitching” on the hypocrisy and dishonesty of Francis L. Holland. Stay tuned.
WOW, you put Afrospear google group info out into the public.
This is a violation of all of our trusts.
Not to mention you still posted factually incorrect information about who started the ABA even after being corrected on it.
And actually Francis is a spokes person for the Afrospear because he was voted as the media person; not self-appointed. More facts you do not bother with.
My preference is that you kept this discussion within the AfroSpear until consensus was reached one way or the other.
However, you own this real estate so you can do as you wish.
Francis is unique. Me too. You too. That is the beautiful aspect of the tapestry that is the AfroSpear.
Anyhow, I hope that we have the benefit of your advice, counsel and thoughts within the AfroSpear discussion forum.
peace, Villager
Mr. Holland’s blog is a little odd. I went to his blog and he posted a picture of a vagina. I believe that it was a White womans vagina. I think it was innappropriate.
Interracialpower,
Let’s provided proper context. He did not simply post a picture of a Virginia. He posted a graphic with text making a political point about John McCain calling his wife a “cunt”.
It’s his personal blog, with which he has the right to do with it what he will.
I did not care for the graphic myself and when he consulted me about it before publishing it at the group site I suggested he not do so, or if he did to give a warning before people clicked on it to see it. He heeded the advice and did not post it in a common place.
His site is his site. Nobody has to like him; and that’s perfectly fine.
Nonetheless having one of our own violate our group’s confidence to exact his personal vendetta is not justified by whatever oddness Francis is.
The Buck Stops Here.
I wasn’t aware of of this latest “controversy” with Francis but I can’t say that I’m surprised. I was one of those who took him to task for focusing on the ‘whiteosphere’ to the exclusion of the ‘afrospear’ and was left wondering why. You’ve filled in some of those blanks
I wondered why there was a need to create a duplicative entity with a duplicative name. (Afrospear/Afrosphere Bloggers Association)
Rather than joining a movement that was underway or creating an independent thang, taking what other folks created was the “easier, softer way.”
Racism/White Supremacy is a disease and it manifests in many interesting, paradoxical ways. I’ve seen some of the loudest, most vociferous champions of black people, abuse black folks to the exclusion of whites. Not that anyone deserves abuse, but come the fuck on?!
Does Francis stand for us or himself? Did he “borrow” the Afrosphere name to take on some other tributary of the struggle? Or to enhance his vanity project?
I mean, how many blogs does one man need?
Gosh, I can’t stand all this Negro fighting. WTF as if there aren’t enough issues in all our communities to collectively BITCH about.
I attended the Blogging While Brown Conference in Atlanta. I enjoyed it immensely. I think Gina did an amazing thing in trying to get Bloggers of Color under one roof for fellowship and dialogue. It is a shame that we have to resort to the crabs-in-the-bucket mentality. We should be rejoicing and supporting this young Sister in her efforts to do something constructive, positive and empowering for bloggers of color.
I was at the BloHer Conference in San Francisco, the week prior to BWB. 3 White Women convened over 1000 women from arounf the WORLD to talk about women blogging. Not a problem. It was well attended well supported. The New York Times covered it and Katie Couric did a special shout out from her network.
Come on. There is a lot of thinking that needs to be done in these very trying times. All this foolish bullshit keeps us from focusing on issues that could be of real benefit to our communities and our personal lives.
Cut it out and lets get on with being a think tank. DAMN!
this post is not productive, unless we make it bring us together rather than let it divide us. asa, are you going to use this to bring us closer or to divide us further?
i was there when it started. doing a lot of lurking. i remember it all very clearly. remember the big dustup between mike fisher and asa? how about the one that drove bronze trinity away? sometimes the facts really do depend on your perspective. imo francis has been wrong and wronged, asa has been wrong and wronged. each and every one of us that have associated at some point with the afrospear has been wrong and wronged. no matter what part 2 is about, it won’t change that. how you move on past it is the question.
the afrospear/afrosphere is a wonderful thing; a thing i am proud to be a part of. it will survive asa and francis, gina and bronze and any of the rest of us who sometimes get too big for our britches. some people are worried that airing our dirty laundry in public is going to have a negative effect on the group. i say, anyone who let’s a little family disagreement get in the way of moving forward never intended to move forward in the first place.
as bernie mac would say, “let’s move on”
as my sainted 100 year old gramma still says, “y’all go on back outside and play nice now”.
Get right Church and lets move on!
I really can’t stand the phrase “crabs in a barrel.”
I think it encourages us to be lazy with one another. I think balanced, reason critique of each other and our cultural production is to the benefit and health of black people and our culture.
We need to be thinking people and make distinctions between common hateration and critique.
I don’t really think this post was necessary because I think it detracts from one of the best blogs out there, but I don’t think its fair to quibble with its intention.
Sometimes its important to be clear about the nature of the wrongs we commit rather than lumping them all together and then deciding to sweep them all under the rug. The whole, “why don’t we all just get along” conversation suppressant motif is not in our best interests. Some wrongs need to be raised/discussed by the community as they relate to values, direction, sincerity, maturity, charlatan-ism and a host of other issues.
I know I’ve been guilty of “rhetorical excess,” but I’m not selling tee shirts with the AfroSpear logo and my picture on the front of it. And if I was, you all had better check my shit.
PLEASE: Challenge me all you like if you have a grievance, if you see a shortcoming in me, if I’m fucking up. I want to grow. I want to be truly about helping, not hurting. And if you see me trying to profit from this work instead of helping our people, then call my black ass out.
The flipside is, if I see someone who I believe is mistaken in their analysis or action, or is a self promoter, or an out and out fraud, I am going to say something. Our people get taken in by religious or political frauds constantly; we owe it to ourselves to speak up whenever we feel something or someone is amiss.
We shouldn’t be afraid of criticism or critical analysis. What we should be afraid of is patronizing folks quirks, ignoring dysfunction and congratulating people who have raised sabotage to a high art. We need to learn how to have a discerning eye and we can’t develop it without conversation, discussion, disagreement and pain.
Its ironic that it was Bush administration cronies who perfected the use of the phrase: “Move on.” “Just move on.” Don’t resolve anything, don’t see it for what it is, “Just Move On.” Don’t clarify what’s happening. “Just Move On.”
Sometimes we need to be still and listen to what’s being said. Really listen. It is wiser to speak unpleasant crap clearly and openly rather than have it go underground and contaminate the groundwater. I have seen it in families and in communities: people bury so much bullshit that BS becomes standard operating procedure and folks wouldn’t dream of changing it – no matter how much it destroys them. No thank you.
Just as folks have been able to criticize this post, so too must they be able to criticize other folks’ actions that don’t measure up.
PS. It is a strange thing when we can criticize someone for criticizing someone else – but completely ignore and invalidate the initial critique. That doesn’t make sense.
I certainly appreciate criticism. What I can’t abide is whinning and mean-spirited posts. Sure folks ought ot speak up if they feel things are out of sorts. However I do feel if everyone excercised a little tolerance and respect for each other then this conversation would have a different tone.
I have no history with this blog. I am only concerned with right now. And right now this blog is charged with being a think tank. So well meaning thinkers get to it!
Oh and I can’t stand hateration….that is NOT a word. See that’s me being intolerant. LOL!
Asbagna~
You have every right to be indignant and angry and you handled this matter with grace and integrity.
We need to call a “spad a spad” and call a “cancer a cancer”.
this is a well-written and informative post. sometimes the truth hurts.
these flair-ups occurred with more frequency last year and led to a number of resignations from the group. i always attributed it to “growing pains” that every organization goes through, especially one as loosely tied together as this one.
but time after time, incident after incident included the SAME CAST of CHARACTERS! in most cases, it was one or two instigators. this post comes as no surprise.
it’s a free country and Black folk don’t have a patent on dissent. let’s air it out rather than sweep it under a rug … i assure you, the AfroSpear will be stronger in the long run.
my goodness. i have been out of commission for a while and have come back to check and i had no idea this was happening.
i do feel sad for the ‘spear.
This issue is so much bigger than one person: this is about integrity, maturity and courage and folks who are willing to look at their issues without any cut card.
Most human beings, regardless of color, are unwilling to look at their shit. And when one among them brings up the unhealthy, the dysfunctional or the perverse, in a community or community member? The person shouting “FIRE” is attacked as if they started the blaze themselves. This is basic human Psychopathology 101.
(I’m reminded of how Malcolm was attacked by members of the Nation, not because he lied on Mr. Muhammad, but because he told the embarrassing truth about him. And folks were willing to kill him to defend an image, a mirage.)
This whistleblower will be attacked for ‘attacking’ the “victim” of his truth tellling and will be defended by his crew in all manner of ways: “its a personal attack”, “whining”,”family business”, “for our eyes only”.
You can’t hide shit from your enemy in this day and age, what with legal wiretaps, shredded Constitution, etc. But to think that “unity” is best achieved by obfuscation and denial…not gonna happen.
What kind of unity is fostered by tabling or ignoring repugnant behavior? What kind of unity is it when folks back the recidivist and not the one speaking truth in the light of day?
The shabbiest, most flimsy kind in my opinion.
No, as Plez says, we will be stronger by dealing with what needs to be dealt with – regardless of the venue. This is a part of why I’m disgusted with how so many of us want to exclusively & robotically talk about the white man and what he’s doing to us. What the hell are we doing to each other???
We need to fix what’s ailing us. We need to ALWAYS be sensitive to complaints raised about group dynamics and personal/interpersonal behavior. Folks are entitled to rip on Asa’s post, outline its, and his, shortcomings. But when we fail to bring the same eye to his initial critique, something is terribly wrong.
In some ways this post does not really say what the issues are, but it does alert those who perhaps are not part of the Afrosphere to Francis Holland’s credibility.
I became familiar with Holland on another blog and his beef with the Daily Kos. I read his blog and notice some irregularities with Mulitsas’ biography. I was aware of Mulitsas’ bio some years back when I did research for a paper. When I question Francis Holland in the comments about these discrepancies I didn’t get any response, nor did I see much change in his depiction Some other facts were hard to check by other sources other than Holland’s.
Credibility is important in the blogging community, especially when you want to change society. So I think it important that the Afrosphere scrutinize it members, for that characteristic. When you back up your ideas with other sources, it shouldn’t be circular and should emanate from differing perspectives. Differing opinions do not have to be supported with falsehoods.
It appears that Francis L. Holland has removed the hypocritical and dishonest post from his blog where he publicly commends the BWB Conference and Gina McCauley.
This is indeed a step in the right direction.
Oh come on FreeSlave, Asa ain’t no Malcolm X here; more like Eldridge Cleaver trying to split the party.
Everybody is always trying to climb up on a cross. Nothing anybody is going to say is going to change the FACT that Asa broke confidentiality.
You can take what ever side of the issue being argued that you want; and that fact remains the same. It’s funny how people always want accountibility to apply to their enemy; but not to themselves or their friends.
Yobachi, I wasn’t comparing Asa to Malcolm as you well know; I was talking about the process whereby Negroes are incapable of discerning who is trying to look out for their best interests and who has a personal agenda and uses the group as a vehicle to achieve it. That may have been the message Asa had been trying to send and perhaps no one was listening – until now. Maybe. I don’t know.
Sometimes we have to violate the letter of something in order to be true to the spirit of it. I’m sure Asa didn’t make his decision without considering that and the consequences.
Hello there!
I don’t think that many “new” bloggers know that AfroSpear and AfroSphere are two separate entities.
I am confused now about them after reading your post.
Are there TWO e-groups now? Why are the names so similar?
Feel free to hop over to my blog and send me an email.
Lisa
I read this post and went back and forth on whether or not I was going to make a comment. I’ve tried my best to stay far, far away from discussions such as this. Which is really the reason why I have not interacted with the groups at all in the last 12 months. However, I feel inclined to say something. So, I will say what my heart leads me to say as I type.
Although I was not present in the genesis of the conversations regarding the Afrospear/Afrosphere, such as Frances mistakingly wrote in his little Wikipedia article, I was here this time last year (summer of 07) when many E-fights, verbal kickdowns/personality conflicts were being played out. I’m so sad that much of what could have been resolved last year is still destroying the very core of the supposed groups.
I’m not down for furthering conflict. However, I do believe that conflicts must be dealt with/managed/resolved in order to move on. And sadly, the communication barriers that are created from just having electronic communication as the platform makes it quite hard to effectively manage many of the conflicts that spring up from time to time. Therefore, I do think that it is impossible to effectively manage a group of varying individuals, who come from all different backgrounds, with different motivations, different communication styles, and even different personality disorders via a e-mail group or on the comment pages on a blog. No disrespect… I’m just calling it how I see it.
I felt back then that there was and would continue to be some confusions about the two groups, being that their names were so close. But many individuals really tried to act like the differences were just apart of some folks imagination, rather than sitting down, taking a critical eye, and making some changes that could help the group in the long run. And just as I suspected, the issues are still there, still being tossed around, but not being effectively dealt with.
My heart goes out to Asa, simply because I understand that this brotha is just completely frustrated. I know he would not have takent his type of stand if he didn’t feel it was necessary. But why was it necessary? Why did it have to get this far? Why is it that we just can’t find a way to work together?
I’ll tell you why… Perhaps many of us are not supposed to be working together. And that’s cool. It doesn’t make you less black because you are not on the Afrospear/Afrosphere’s blog roll. It doesn’t mean that you are not concerned about African issues, just because you don’t read and respond to the avalanche of e-mails that flow from the Afrosphear/Afrosphere’s e-mail groups.
Sadly, we seem to think that just because we are black, we all got to be linked up, joined together at the hip, and singing the same negro spiritual. And it’s not because we all like the same song either or serve the same God… It’s only so we can look like we do. Well, I reject that notion. I turn my back on looking like we embrace each other, but all the while hate each other. That approach has never worked for freeing African people.
After posting this, I will not return here to read any responses. However, I will continue to do as I been doing in the last twelve months. I will continue to read the enlightening posts here. But I will never again waste my time with this discussion, unless real change is being ushered in, and ready to be put in place.
Asa: I wish you the best, brotha. I truly believe that you were just calling it how you see it, and you felt it was necessary to do so. Your courage is to be commended. I say that because many of us have either officially left the group, or just silently drifted away, without confronting certain issues. And it was only because we didn’t want to have to face more drama. But you put it out there. Do I agree with you? I don’t nkow. But I do see why you felt like you needed to do this. Do I think that this post helped matters? Probably not… But it could if some will see it as an opportunity to grow and seek real change. Too bad that strong African people are still battling on the internet over status, power, and a freaking name.
It is my prayer that all of the groups, whatever the hell the names are, get moving, get energized, and get thinking/working/fighting to elevate, empower, and free our people. And it is also my prayer that this time next year, the discussions here and elsewhere will not look like they did this summer and last summer.
Blessings to all,
Angie