Dylann Roof goes into Emanuel African Methodist Church, a historically black church, kills the Pastor and 8 persons during Bible study and some people raise the gun control issue. I understand about guns and gun control legislation. The facts of the Charleston church killings are about race hatred in America. And any discussion of gun control in these particular killings dilutes and diminishes the real reason of racial hatred towards blacks. No one ever said 911 was about faulty security checks in airplane flying schools from which the terrorists learned how to fly airplanes but never learned how to land them. No one said Columbine school killings and the Boston Marathon bombings were about making home grown bombs. No one said the 1963 killings of 4 little girls bombed at a Birmingham church was about bombs. To be black in America means being a target for terrorism and hatred whether blacks want to be or not. Being black in America means no place feels safe without … [Read more...] about Why Charleston Church Killings Are All About Race
Archives for June 2015
Why Charleston Church Shooting Should Matter to Everyone
As I watched the news late Wednesday night unfold mostly online about Emanuel AME Church in Charleston and killing of 9 people during a Bible study meeting including –Pastor and State Senator Clementa Pinckney, I had a multitude of thoughts and emotions. My initial thoughts were how history repeats itself. As a history major, I immediately thought of the tragic 1963 bombing of the historic Birmingham, Alabama 16th Street Baptist church where four little black girls lost their lives due to a bomb and hatred. As many may recall, that was among the first scenes in the movie, Selma. Then my thoughts immediately questioned as to why there were so few national media outlets initially covering the breaking news. Some responses I received on Twitter about the initial lack of media coverage were maybe the media was waiting to see how the news developed since few facts were known. In the 24/7 news cycle, this was the most breaking news of the day and perhaps the entire year. Even … [Read more...] about Why Charleston Church Shooting Should Matter to Everyone
How the Law Affected Rachel Dolezal’s Thinking on Race
When I first heard about Rachel Dolezal, now former President of the Spokane, Washington NAACP chapter, I didn’t know what to think about her perceived appearance changes from that of a white woman to successfully posing as a black one, until outed by her parents. As I read further about her, I realize the law played a significant part in her changes. Rachel Dolezal, for those who haven’t kept abreast, has been masquerading, my words, as a black woman, for the past several years after leaving Howard University where she obtained a Master’s degree. On the other hand, she tells Matt Lauer on the Today Show that she identified as being black since as early as grade school. Law suit records filed by Ms. Dolezal in 2002 shows she considered herself to be white. While at Howard University as a graduate student, she filed a law suit against Howard for alleged discrimination against her as a white woman. In 2005, the D.C. Court of Appeals ruled against her case for alleged … [Read more...] about How the Law Affected Rachel Dolezal’s Thinking on Race
McKinney Police Incident Makes Me Ask if it’s 1950 or 2015
As I was attempting to relax and unwind on a Sunday afternoon at my local Starbucks, I happened upon the McKinney, Texas police video taken on Friday, June 5 of excessive force used once again on blacks. This time, it was an out of control police officer using excessive force and treating black teenagers at a Texas community pool as if they were visiting a whites only pool in the Jim Crow south in 1950. The only thing he needed to be truly reminiscent of the 1950’s were the police dogs, batons and hoses. I hope we will not ever go back to those days. The video is set forth here. The back story is apparently police were called to a community pool for a disturbance. The video shows the clearly disturbing activity was the police and the treatment of young blacks in bathing suits and pool attire. Gawker spoke with the individual filming the video. There are so many issues that can be addressed by the video starting with the excessive force by an out of control angry police officer used … [Read more...] about McKinney Police Incident Makes Me Ask if it’s 1950 or 2015
What Are Lawyers Saying About the Freddie Gray Case
In a little less than a month, the six officers charged in the death of Freddie Gray will be arraigned in Baltimore Circuit Court. There are a number of questions outstanding in this case –more will crop up as more details emerge – but some big ones have already developed. Former Baltimore prosecutor Debbie Hines says, “Without having one of the police officers testify against the others, the prosecution doesn’t have a witness who can say this is exactly what happened, this is what officer Goodson said, this is what officer whatever said. She doesn’t have that,” Hines says. Baltimore NPR affiliate WYPR reporter Chris Connelly asked some thought provoking questions on the Freddie Gray case of lawyers who have experience on both sides of the aisle with criminal cases to get their perspective. For more on NPR affiliate's discussion with criminal defense attorney Dwight Pettit, University of Maryland Professor Byron Warnken and attorney and former prosecutor Debbie Hines, visit … [Read more...] about What Are Lawyers Saying About the Freddie Gray Case
Setting the Record Straight in Baltimore
As the media often inaccurately portrayed the events in May which occurred in Baltimore following the arrest of 6 officers for the homicide of Freddie Gray, as a former Baltimore prosecutor, I would like to set the record straight. The overall general perception displayed on air in May was the entire City of Baltimore was ablaze during the looting and civil unrest. Next the media portrayed a police force afraid of being charged by the State's Attorney and arrested for doing their jobs. With the greatly increased homicide rate in May, the perception is the police are at a loss for answers. First, most of the City of Baltimore experienced little fallout from the looting and civil unrest. Looting and fires were limited to a very small area of the city of Baltimore. Hours on end on cable TV showing footage of the events following Freddie Gray’s funeral and the following days depicted an entire city out of control. In fact, the area in which the looting, protests, and civil … [Read more...] about Setting the Record Straight in Baltimore