“There is an old saying in the days of slavery, there were those slaves who lived on the plantation and there were those slaves that lived in the house,” Harry Belafonte the great singer/actor said. “Colin Powell’s committed to come into the house of the master,” the performer continued. “When Colin Powell dares to suggest something other than what the master wants to hear, he will be turned back to pasture.”

Belafonte, still as fiery and outspoken on political issues at (75, as he was when he marched with Dr. Martin Luther King in the turbulent 60s), lashed out at Secretary of State Colin Powell during a talk show on KFMB, a Black radio station in San Diego, California. Naturally, as always the low-key and dignified Powell later responded to Belafonte-- equating his role in President George W. Bush’s White House to a plantation slave who had sold out his principles so that he could stay in the massa’s house— as simply being “unfortunate.” Powell, the nation’s first African-American Secretary of State, responded almost casually to Belafonte’s bluster, while appearing on a segment of CNN’s Larry King Live.

“If Harry wanted to attack a particular position I hold, that was fine,” Powell said, according to a transcript of his remarks to Larry King. “But to use a slave reference, I think is… a throwback to another time and another place that I wish Harry had thought twice about using.” It’s ironic that Belafonte, who like Powell is a Black man of Jamaican descent, came down so hard on the nation’s highest-ranking African-American role model. In defense of Belafonte, at the height of a racially-charged discussion with radio host Ted Leitner (about Rev. Jerry Falwell calling Muhammad a terrorist), the singer, known for speaking what’s in his heart, was caught off guard.
Leitner, reportedly shifted gears and suddenly asked him if he thought Powell had taken a low profile as the Bush administration presents its case against Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. Quite frankly, Belafonte was echoing the sentiments of a great many angry Black folks who expected Powell to have as much impact on foreign policy as former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who at times appeared to have more power than the President. Surely, African-American News&Issues was not speaking tongue-in-cheek, when it scolded Powell for his stance on Bush’s decision to ignore the World Conference on International Racism in Durbin, South Africa on August 31, 2001, in its Sept. 12-16, 2001 edition.

At the time the role of America’s Secretary of State was defined, but, if you have a short memory we would be remiss, as Texas’ widest circulated newspaper with a Black perspective and the editorial voice of African Americans, not to refresh your memories. Ideally under the constitution, the President determines the nation’s foreign policy, but his Secretary of State is appointed (by the President), to be chief of foreign affairs and adviser to the President who in many instances knows little or nothing about what goes on outside the borders of the Land of the Free. The Secretary carries out the President’s foreign policies through the State Department and Foreign Service of the United States.

In addition, the Secretary of State retains domestic responsibilities that Congress entrusted to the State Department in 1789. These includes the custody of the Great Seal of the United States, the preparation of certain presidential proclamations, the publication of treaties and international acts as well as the official record of the foreign relations of the United States, and the custody of certain original treaties and international agreements.

Along with 1) serving as the President’s “principal adviser” 2) the Secretary of State conducts negotiations relating to U.S. foreign affairs, and 3) grants and issues passports to American citizens and exequaturs to foreign consul in the United States.  We can stop at 4) to advise the President on the appointment of U.S. ambassadors, ministers, consuls and the other diplomatic representatives. Powell has at least a dozen other duties relating to the President’s decisions, but suffice it to say, the brother holds a powerful position. But, alas, so did the mythical Uncle Tom and fictional Root’s character “Fiddler.”  There shouldn’t be an argument about whether or not Powell is in the house. America’s political system isn’t too much different from the slave era’s plantations, ergo; we know he is in the house. We would be politically naïve, indeed, not to realize that there isn’t a single Black face in a high place in American politics who calls his or her own shots. Make no mistake about it, angry White males run America’s house. Thus, Black folks working within the system definitely are in the house. Nevertheless, the question prevails: is the slave loyal to the house, or still bonded with their brothers and sisters, who can benefit from what they can sneak out of the house?

More succulently, is it our Negro in the house, or is the Negro loyal to the house? History often fails to reflect that Harriet Tubman, aka “Miss Moses,” whose “Underground Railroad” freed hundreds of slaves, worked in the house. The reason Harriet was able to move about so freely is because she had conned old Massa to trust her.

On the other hand, hard-liners like Paris Ely, KCOH (1430 AM) Radio’s Prophet, who was recently anointed the (Houston Press’s) top DJ in Houston, fully understands the concept of the Negro in the house, opposed to “Our Negro” in the house, but he was livid at Belafonte’s affront. Ely, a Vietnamese combat veteran, has taken every opportunity to defend the Army General’s position. “How can a man, who marries White and raises his daughter White condemn a great man like Powell for not being as Black as he should be?” That’s a good question, and we should be glad it was asked, insofar as it gives us cause to pause and ponder who Powell really is.
Powell has 13 rules that define his character and life’s philosophy: “1). It ain’t as bad as you think. It will look better in the morning 2). Get Mad, and then get over it 3). Avoid having your ego so close to your position that when your position falls, your ego goes with it 4). It can be done! 5. Be careful what you choose. You may get it 6). Don’t let adverse facts stand in the way of a good decision 7). You can’t make someone else’s choices. You shouldn’t let someone else make yours 8). Check small things 9). Share credit 10). Remain calm. Be kind 11). Have a vision. Be demanding 12). Don’t take counsel of your fears or naysayers 13). Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.”

If you recall, Powell has already announced that he would not, unless unusual circumstances demand it, remain part of Bush’s administration, because he would rather be working in the ‘hood with our disenfranchised children. What does that tell you about the “Brother?”