MovieChat Forums > The Color of Friendship (2000) Discussion > Ron Dellums in a good light....

Ron Dellums in a good light....

posted 18 years ago by praetorianguard-1
17 replies | jump to latest

Congressman Ron Dellums was a Communist who spoke admiringly of Fidel Castro. I'm not supporting apartheid or anything but... Ron Dellums is no hero. Besides... what goes on Cuba to this very day is 10 times worse than apartheid ever was. Unless of course... the father in this film just happens to have the same name as the infamous commie congressman.

Just to give you an example.. this is an excerpt from his Wikipedia entry...

After a U.S. Marine invasion of the island, a letter from Dellums' chief of staff, Carlottia Scott to the Grenadian dictator Maurice Bishop was recovered, describing Dellums' feelings towards Bishop and, presumably, Cuban dictator Fidel Castro. (The letter is below.)

"Ron [Dellums] has become truly committed to Grenada, and has some positive political thinking to share with you…. He’s really hooked on you and Grenada and doesn’t want anything to happen to building the Revolution and making it strong. He really admires you as a person and even more so as a leader with courage and foresight, principles and integrity…. The only other person that I know of that he expresses such admiration for is Fidel."

[–] r4wrdinosaur 18 years ago

Find a better source. Wikipedia is highly unreliable.

"As a congressman during the Vietnam War, Dellums began calling for peace and disarmament. He studied foreign and military policy, and served on the Armed Services Committee. During the course of the war, President Richard Nixon and Vice President Spiro Agnew accused Dellums of being a "radical" and a "commie pinko" for his stance. Surviving these attacks, Dellums went on to challenge President Ronald Reagan's desire to increase military spending and later required President George Bush to secure congressional approval before attacking Iraq in the Gulf War. Dellums also proposed a national healthcare bill in 1977 and spent years trying to push it through Congress. "
http://www.thehistorymakers.com/biography/biography.asp?bioindex=512

[–] praetorianguard-1 18 years ago

Wikipedia can be unrealiable but the matter about the letter to the dictator is quite accurate. You'll probably dismiss this as well but Michael Medved worked for Ron Dellums in his youth and he talks about Dellums' communist sympathies in his autobiography "Right Turns." At worst he was a communist.. at best he was what Lenin called a "useful idiot."

[–] deej462 18 years ago

Ah, I was just about to post something about this until I read your post.

Ron Dellums was indeed a communist. Here's an excerpt from an article in the February 10, 2003 edition of The New American:

"Dellums had allied himself with the Communist cause and America's avowed enemies for virtually all of his active adult life. He strongly supported the Black Panther Party and was a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, the U.S. branch of the Socialist International, which proudly boasts of its direct lineage from Karl Marx. He worked closely with the World Peace Council, a major global front group for the Soviet KGB. He likewise collaborated with the notorious Institute for Policy Studies, another group hardwired into the KGB. He was a boon companion to Marxist-Leninist dictators like Fidel Castro, the Sandinistas in Nicaragua, and Maurice Bishop in Grenada."

Black Panthers? Democratic Socialists of America? Fidel Castro? Yeah, he was a pinko.

[–] kellygta 17 years ago

And so what if he was a Communist or a sympathizer. Communist aren't bad, just their corrupt leaders.

[–] DCI77 10 years ago

The ever popular "So what?" When a system - communism - has been tried AND failed many times, why on earth would anyone want to advocate for such an ideology, let alone call themselves a communist? What's bad is the ideas, its naive followers and leaders.

"So what?"

2014: Whiplash, Cold in July, that Terrence Malick project set in Austin

[–] 10 years ago

[deleted]

[–] KAnnD86 17 years ago

That's very interesting as far as history goes, but it's not relevant to the movie.

Tomorrow's just your future yesterday!

[–] Methylamine 17 years ago

It is pretty interesting... But I disagree with the original poster's view that what's going on in Cuba is worse than the Apartheid. I disagree with that 100%.

[–] haydn4 17 years ago

Yes, me also.
It is interesting. We can all have good qualities and bad qualities, because we are human.
However, this movie is not about Communism or Cuba, but about racism, and Ron Dellums certainly was not racist.

[–] 17 years ago

[deleted]

[–] missy-72 16 years ago

I absolutely agree with you. Ron Dellums was my congressman and is an amazing mine and a fine, upstanding citizen.

[–] lpimlott 15 years ago

and he's now the mayor of Oakland, Calif.

[–] jejozi 14 years ago

You capitalize black, but not white. Why is that?

This will be the high point of my day; it's all downhill from here.

[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] lighthouses 14 years ago

You are a racist ignorant idiot. I'm no supporter of communism but life in Cuba is FAR better than life under apartheid for black Africans.

[–] monique79-1 13 years ago

Communism is in stark contrast to capitalism which America is founded on. I am shocked to have read that he sponsored a bill that basically supports the Don't Ask Don't Tell rule in the military. That doesn't seem very equal which is what his beliefs are.

[–] DCI77 10 years ago

Ron Dellums was admirable in his activism to end apartheid in South Africa, but the rest of his politics were gravely naive and, not surprisingly, shows much "starry eyed" ideology which is quite common with people who cling to race issues.

2014: Whiplash, Cold in July, that Terrence Malick project set in Austin