Little Rock + Charlie Kirk + Richmond - January 6, 2026
Little Rock + Charlie Kirk + Richmond – January 6, 2026
Little Rock, Arkansas
203,844 = population
43% white
37% Black
11% Hispanic
https://censusreporter.org/profiles/16000US0541000-little-rock-ar/
AI Summary
This AI-generated answer is powered by OpenAI. AI-generated
content may sometimes contain inaccurate, incomplete, or biased information, so
make sure you do additional research. You should not rely on this feature for
medical, financial, or legal advice.
To understand poverty rates by race in Little Rock, AR,
consider the following points:
- Overall
Poverty Rate: Little Rock's overall poverty rate is approximately 18.5%.
- White
Population: The poverty rate for White residents is around 12.5%.
- Black
Population: The poverty rate for Black residents is significantly higher,
at about 26.5%.
- Hispanic
Population: Hispanic residents experience a poverty rate of approximately
20%.
--
On May 17, 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Brown
vs. Topeka Board of Education that segregated schools are
"inherently unequal." In September 1957, as a result of that ruling,
nine African-American students enrolled at Central High School in Little Rock,
Arkansas. The ensuing struggle between segregationists and integrationists, the
State of Arkansas and the federal government, President Dwight D. Eisenhower
and Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus, has become known in modern American history
as the "Little Rock Crisis." The crisis gained world-wide attention.
When Governor Faubus ordered the Arkansas National Guard to surround Central
High School to keep the nine students from entering the school, President
Eisenhower ordered the 101st Airborne Division into Little Rock to insure the
safety of the "Little Rock Nine" and that the rulings of the Supreme
Court were upheld.
--
For those interested – you can readily read a lot about the
late Charlie Kirk. Examples of this are
at: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Charlie-Kirk
and:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Kirk
--
Richmond, California
City Council Meeting – January 6, 2026
https://www.ktvu.com/news/supporters-critics-pack-richmond-city-hall-after-mayors-antisemitic-posts
https://jcrc.org/ - directly below is a quoted section of this website. Its link is noted below (also)
Richmond Mayor Eduardo Martinez is an elected official entrusted with the well-being of more tha.n 100,000 residents, including hundreds of Jewish residents. That responsibility demands care, restraint, and respect for all communities. Unfortunately, Mayor Martinez has demonstrated an alarming and ongoing pattern of conduct that falls far short of that standard.
In recent days, the mayor has posted
repeatedly on LinkedIn spreading false conspiracies blaming Jews for
the Bondi Beach terror attack. Such rhetoric is dangerously antisemitic, deeply
offensive, and wholly unacceptable—particularly coming from a sitting mayor.
Words from public officials carry weight and when those words echo antisemitic
tropes they place people at risk.
This behavior does not exist in isolation. Earlier this
year, Mayor Martinez spoke at a conference in Detroit where he compared himself
to Hamas and wore
a hat that read “DDTTIDF,” an acronym calling for “Death, Death To The
Israel Defense Forces (IDF).” Only two weeks after the atrocities of October
7th, he led Richmond
to become the first city in the United States to pass a resolution calling for
a ceasefire without including any condemnation of Hamas.
Taken together, these actions reflect a consistent and
deeply troubling disregard for the safety and dignity of Jewish people. They
erode public trust and send a chilling message to Jewish residents that they
are neither protected nor respected by their own mayor.
Leadership requires accountability. When an elected
official’s words and actions make a segment of the community feel unsafe and
abandoned by their government, that official can no longer effectively serve.
The tragic mass shooting in Sydney last week is just the latest example of how
exactly this sort of antisemitic rhetoric can lead to violence.
For these reasons, Mayor Eduardo Martinez must resign. No
community should be led by someone whose conduct contributes to fear, division,
and exclusion. This is a stark example of where toxic social media, unchecked
rhetoric, and the constant demonization of Israel and Jews can lead—and why it
must be confronted.
About JCRC:
JCRC Bay Area is the largest collective voice of Bay Area
Jews, working in pursuit of a more just world where Jewish identity is embraced
and all people thrive. By building bridges and working in coalition with
diverse ethnic, faith, political, and civic communities, we foster
partnerships, provide meaningful educational and engagement opportunities, and
build consensus for actionable solutions to real-world challenges. www.jcrc.org.
https://jcrc.org/blog/an-open-letter-regarding-the-conduct-of-richmond-mayor-eduardo-martinez/
--
In 1957 Little Rock’s Central High School was integrated,
however it was extremely difficult for the (new) Black students.
By 1957, the NAACP had registered nine black students to
attend the previously all-white Little Rock Central High, selected on the
criteria of excellent grades and attendance.[3] Called
the "Little Rock Nine", they were Ernest
Green (b. 1941), Elizabeth
Eckford (b. 1941), Jefferson
Thomas (1942–2010), Terrence
Roberts (b. 1941), Carlotta Walls LaNier (b. 1942), Minnijean Brown (b. 1941), Gloria Ray Karlmark (b. 1942), Thelma Mothershed (1940–2024),
and Melba Pattillo Beals (b. 1941). Ernest
Green was the first African American to graduate from Central High School….
By the end of September 1957, the nine were admitted to
Little Rock Central High under the protection of the 101st Airborne Division (and later
the Arkansas National Guard), but they were
still subjected to a year of physical and verbal
abuse by many of the white students. Melba Pattillo had acid thrown into her
eyes[16] and
also recalled in her book, Warriors Don't Cry, an incident in which a
group of white girls trapped her in a stall in the girls' washroom and
attempted to burn her by dropping pieces of flaming paper on her from above.
Another one of the students, Minnijean Brown, was verbally confronted
and abused. …
Minnijean Brown was also taunted by members of a group of
white male students in December 1957 in the school cafeteria during lunch. She
dropped her lunch, a bowl of chili, onto the boys and was suspended for six
days. Two months later, after more confrontation, Brown was suspended for the
rest of the school year. She transferred to the New Lincoln School in New
York City.[3] As
depicted in the 1981 made-for-TV docudrama Crisis at Central High, and as mentioned by
Melba Pattillo Beals in Warriors Don't Cry, white students were punished
only when their offense was "both egregious and witnessed by an
adult".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Rock_Nine#Background
Several of the Little Rock Nine went on to distinguished
careers.
Green served as assistant secretary of the federal
Department of Labor under President Jimmy
Carter. Brown worked as deputy assistant secretary for workforce diversity
in the Department of the Interior under President Bill
Clinton. Patillo worked as a reporter for NBC.
The group has been widely recognized for their
significant role in the civil rights movement. In 1999, President Clinton
awarded each member of the group the Congressional Gold Medal. The nine also
all received personal invitations to attend the inauguration of President Barack
Obama in 2009.
https://www.history.com/articles/central-high-school-integration
In Little Rock, Central High School in the mid-1950’s was
the working-class white school. The
upper-middle class white high school wasn’t integrated in 1957, when Central High
School became part of an international/national scandal.
We have a myth that the Civil Rights laws of the 1960’s
created an “equal playing field”.
Related to this myth is the given that Black People just haven’t “worked
hard enough” and that we have true equality.
7th annual "We Walk For Her" march brings
attention to missing, murdered women, girls of color …ByTre
Ward 
Thursday, June 6, 2024 …
CHICAGO (WLS) -- Despite the past seven years of
community members taking to the streets for the "We Walk For Her"
march, organizers say the number of Black and brown women and girls either
still missing or murdered continues to show a disturbing trend. …
"I have nowhere to go say, 'I want to talk to my
mom,' because there was no body," said Teresa Smith, a daughter of a
missing woman. …
Hayes is believed to be dead, but her
body still has not been found after going missing from her Chicago
Housing Authority apartment for seniors in 2018. She was 65 years old when she
disappeared.
"You don't know if they're hurt. Are they cold? Are
they hungry?" Smith said. "This pain is unbearable, and it's hard to
deal with on a daily basis when you have no closure. None!" …
"We Walk For Her" participants are raising
awareness of what, organizers say, is the overrepresentation of Black and brown
women and girls in the United States reported missing or murdered. …
According to the National Crime Information Center
database, of the more than 280,000 women and girls reported missing, last year,
more than a third of them are Black.
https://abc7chicago.com/post/7th-annual-walk-march-bronzeville-chicago-brings-attention/14919896/
--
Getting taken seriously by more than one’s own community
relates to Power !
An organization and individuals draw attention or not. Charlie Kirk and his widow – white middle
class people are “newsworthy” through being controversial – through speaking
out and having the attention of the major news media, politicians and more.
Black Women are newsworthy when they are Michelle Obama or
Oprah – famous – individuals. Otherwise
they are invisible to most of us.
--
I left our house yesterday about 3:45 pm and walked to the
Richmond, California City Hall, 10 blocks away. I was in line early so I was one of 87
individuals allowed into the City Council Chambers for the Meeting that started
initially at 5:00 p.m., with the general meeting beginning at 6:00 p.m. I left the meeting at about 8:50 pm, when
speakers were shifting from those in the auditorium to those attending the meeting
virtually.
Each of us who signed up had 1 minute to speak to the Richmond
City Council during The Public Comment time.
A few speakers spoke about other issues, primarily crime/policing (lack
of it), and similar in the area west of City Hall (I live east of City
Hall). Nearly all the other speakers spoke
about the proposal from The Deputy Major, a Latino Male and clearly supported
by a Black Female fellow Council Member (the mayor and deputy mayor are
both Council members) to censure our mayor.
Eduardo Martinez (politician)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Eduardo
Martinez (born
1949) is an American politician, former teacher, and the mayor of Richmond, California.[1][2] He
is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America and
the Richmond Progressive Alliance.[1][2][3] Life and career
Martinez was
born in 1949 in Dumas, Texas. He moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in the 1970s.[4] He
received a B.A. from San Francisco State University. He
taught in the West Contra Costa Unified
School District for many years.[4]
Martinez was
elected to the Richmond City Council in
2014,[4] and
as mayor of Richmond in 2022.[5] In
October 2023, he supported a resolution that was passed by the Richmond City
Council expressing solidarity with the Palestinian people of Gaza during
the 2023 Gaza War. The resolution drew criticism from
local Jewish groups who felt the statement should mention Hamas as it
took place in the weeks following October 7.[6][7] In
2024, he supported a ballot initiative on oil taxes that resulted in a $550
million settlement from Chevron.[8][3] In
December 2025, he reposted content on his LinkedIn account
that blamed Israel for the 2025 Bondi Beach shooting. He later
deleted the posts and apologized.[9][10]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eduardo_Martinez_%28politician%29#Life_and_career
Eduardo Martinez is Latino – Brown.
There were clear divisions among the speakers. I would guess that I was among roughly 80%
of the speakers who spoke in support of Mayor Martinez. A moderate number of us self-identified as
being Jewish residents of Richmond. A
few others spoke of working in Richmond, as well as being former residents of
Richmond. A significant number of the
pro-Martinez speakers spoke of knowing and having worked with the Mayor.
Nearly all of the other speakers spoke strongly against Mayor
Martinez. I would guess that roughly
20% of these speakers noted that they were Richmond Jewish residents. One woman spoke just prior to her mother
speaking of being born in 1934 in Germany and being a Holocaust Survivor. Nearly all of those who stated that they
were Richmond residents were clearly white senior citizens who were Jewish. Several were middle aged (and I believe all
live in the Marina Bay Area of Richmond).
(In contrast those Richmond residents speaking in support of Mayor
Martinez varied in age, ethnicity, religion (or not stated), and areas of
Richmond that they stated they lived in.
A significant number of those speaking in opposition of Mayor
Martinez indicated that he was strongly Anti-Semitic and should resign from
office. They spoke of feeling danger
being Jewish such as one individual who said that they were scared to put their
menorah in the window at the front of their house (fearing damage to the house).
Amongst those speaking against Mayor Martinez was a
consistent message, particularly from those living outside of Richmond of serious
safety issues – tied to Anti-Semitism – and the lack of safety being a “minority”
– being (openly) Jewish.
Amongst those of speaking in support of Mayor Martinez was a
consistent message that The Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) is an “outside
(Richmond)” organization (its headquarters are in San Francisco) whose only tie
to Richmond is in seeking to minimize or eliminate the support of the Palestinian
People that comes from Richmond.
The Palestinian flag –
atop a flag pole in front of City Hall
Installed by 2025 –
City Council Vote
From/see: “Richmond –
I’m Proud”
https://www.georgemarx.org/2025/09/richmond-im-proud.html
In 2023 Richmond was the first city in The United States to
have its City Council call for a Ceasefire in Gaza. I believe it may be the only city in The
United States to have The Palestinian flag clearly visible in front of its City
Hall.
Richmond clearly is the most visible target of
Pro-Palestinian support in The United States.
Richmond is ethnically very diverse and is a significantly working class
city, though it has upper-middle class people as well. Chevron is the most major employer and is
seen very negatively by those supporting Mayor Martinez.
It was quite clear to me that many of the Anti-Martinez
speakers had clear wording that was strongly similar to other speakers
talking of Mayor Martineze being Anti-Semitic and a danger to those who are
Jewish.
Among the 87 people let into the City Council Chamber there
were loud and passionate responses both in support and opposition to Mayor
Martinez. Perhaps I’m biased, but it
seemed obvious to me that those speaking words loudly were Anti-Martinez individuals
some of who were using clearly Derogatory words that went well-beyond “Anti-Semitic”. The most common words coming from
Pro-Martinez individuals were words like: “Shame”. Several individuals were forced to leave
the Chambers (by members of The Richmond Police Department) (none of whom were
pro-Martinez). One of those kicked out –
who spoke directly before me – wearing a
read MAGA hat – was particularly provocative (others told me that he comes regularly
to Council Meetings and is regularly thrown out of them).
George Marx – January
7, 2026- what I wore along with my yamaka and kaffiyeh
Clearly a lot of people were triggered by the words of “the
other side”. Anti-Martinez individuals
seemed to have clear fears of Anti-Semitism.
Pro-Martinez vocal reactions varied in various ways from each
other. The latter were people clearly
focused on the clear view (which I share) of anger at what we perceive as
genocide.
--
1.) Little Rock – Racism – there is a myth – that the laws
of the land have ended racism and basic inequality.
2.) Charlie Kirk – and related – there is a clear media
focus – on “the sensational”! – Kirk is amongst
those seen vividly – a white man – who spoke passionately reaching particularly
a lot of young white men, who resonated with his “othering” of those who are “different”.
3.) Gaza – Palestine – Israel – Richmond, California –
Complexities and Simple Stuff – clear controversy amongst us.
We are split between those who honestly fear another Holocaust of Jewish
People (as well as those – organizationally who exploit such fears) vs. those
who see the killing of women and children and system issues of Settler
Colonialism – exploitation – of The Wealthy vs. the rest of us.
This isn’t a matter of – Intelligence:
1.
LL – a friend over the past 62 years – a “Father
of The Internet”
2.
A cousin (2nd?) – emeritus – named professorship
3.
A more distant (deceased) spouse of a cousin –
bachelor’s Harvard, medical school – John’s Hopkins – all three of these men
(and their spouses) strongly Zionist.
I’m clearly biased – and one can read of my biases throughout
my writings, as well as some of my research / documentation – see:
https://www.georgemarx.org/2022/12/palestine-israel-judiasm-posts-links-my.html
Rashida Tlaib – the only
Palestinian-American member of Congress – who I admire greatly!
Comments
Post a Comment