black…MYstory

If you haven’t already heard, there was some promising news last Friday in regards to the prosecution of the “Jena 6″.

Mychal Bell, the first of the Jena 6 to be convicted, had his conviction overturned on Friday when an appeals courtjudge ruled that Bell should have never been charged as an adult. Mychal Bell was facing a 15-year-sentence.

At this point, the prosecutor, Reed Walters, has not stated if he intends to retry. In the meantime, Bell remains incarcerated. His case will move back to the court of the presiding judge, J.P. Mauffrey Jr. Bell’s attorneys will ask to have Mauffrey removed from the case and, if successful, will move for bail for Bell.

In the meantime, there will be rallies held in Jena so, the spotlight will continue to shine and those under it won’t be able to hide.

Popularity: 10% [?]

Okay, let’s just put this out there and be done with it…O.J. Simpson has been arrested in relation to an alleged armed robbery in Las Vegas.

He and a group of men stand accused of breaking into to a hotel room and robbing a man at gunpoint for O.J. Simpson memorabilia. Simpson says he was just getting his property back and that no guns were involved. Regardless, of the use of guns, the way in which the went about getting the memorabilia (back) is suspect.

Thanks for indulging me on this one. Hopefully, I won’t be bringing this up, again.

Popularity: 17% [?]

I think the last time I talked about Republicans and what they need to do to win black votes was back in July (see Republicans and the Black Vote, Again). In it, I referenced the words of one of their own, Jack Kemp, about what the party needs to do to be more inclusive of people of color.

Well, the leading GOP candidates must have missed that article.

Rudy Giuliani, John McCain and Mitt Romney have all turned down invitations to a PBS debate at predominately-black Morgan State University. Is this a pattern of ignoring minority voters? I think so. This is not the first time in this presidential cycle that Republican candidates have shunned black audiences. Back in July, Tom Tancreado was the only Republican candidate to show up to an NAACP forum and the Spanish-language network Univsion had to postpone its Republican candidates’ forum after only one candidate, John McCain, agreed to be there.

Examples like these indicate that these candidates don’t really care for minorities and/or feel that any “pandering” for minority votes would put them at odds with their base. At any rate, the moderator of the PBS debate, Tavis Smiley, is calling out Giuliani, McCain and Romney and has a clear admonition for Republicans who ignore the minority vote at their own peril:

“No one should be elected president of this country in 2008 if they think that along the way they can ignore people of color… If you want to be president of all America, you need to speak to all Americans.”

Tavis will also be carrying this warning with him when he appears on tonight’s episode of the Tonight Show. Smiley is expected let these candidates know that they are squandering an opportunity to win over black voters by not taking advantage of the platform provided to them by the PBS debate.

Oh, well, they must not want my vote but, know that it’s up to the highest bidder. If you are the candidate that I feel has the most to offer people of color, you just might get it.

Popularity: 14% [?]

I still remember how the story of Erica Michelle Marie “Precious Doe” Green affected me. In death, this child received the love that she should have received in life. It all started when I read the story of how a community sort of “adopted” the child whose decapitated body was found dumped in a Kansas City park in 2001. Activists, not knowing her name, dubbed her “Precious Doe” and kept on the fight to bring her killer(s) to justice.

Four years later, on a tip from a relative, the child’s mother, Michelle Johnson, and stepfather, Harrell Johnson, for her killing. According to the details from the investigation, Harrell Johnson, high on drugs, kicked the child for not going to bed. They both left her to die and, later, decapitated her and disposed of the body.

Now, Michelle Johnson has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in relation to the child’s killing. This is part of the plea deal she struck in exchange for her testimony against Harrell Johnson. Prosecutors plan on trying him for first-degree murder and are seeking the death penalty.

So, there is justice, of sorts, for little Erica Green. But, in a really just world, she would still be a little girl with a long life ahead of her.

Popularity: 11% [?]

I’ll admit that I don’t know the ins and outs of federal hate crime legislation but, I am wondering how every last one of the 6 people in custody for the week-long torture, beating and sexual assault of a black woman in West Virginia will get away with not being charged with a hate crime.

It was revealed, today, that one of the suspects, Bobby Brewster, has a previous relationship with the victim. Because the crime was not “random” in nature, this, apparently, negates the use of federal hate crimes charges.

However, the state has said that it will pursue stiffer charges for the suspects. Detailed below are the list of charges:

Frankie Brewster, 49, is charged with kidnapping, sexual assault, malicious wounding and giving false information during a felony investigation.

Bobby Brewster, 24, also of Big Creek, is charged with kidnapping, sexual assault, malicious wounding and assault during the commission of a felony.

Danny J. Combs, 20, of Harts, is charged with sexual assault and malicious wounding.

Karen Burton, 46, of Chapmanville was charged with malicious wounding, battery and assault during the commission of a felony.

Burton’s daughter, Alisha Burton, 23, and George A. Messer, 27, both of Chapmanville, are charged with assault during the commission of a felony and battery.

The victim, Megan Willams, 20, is currently recuperating in a hospital and may be released in a few days. In the meantime, the suspects are all currently in custody in lieu of the $100,000 bail for each.

Popularity: 16% [?]

There’s some more “good” news on the Jena 6 — another young man has seen his charges reduced.

Robert Bailey saw his charges reduced to aggravated battery and conspiracy to commit aggravated battery. Bailey pleaded not guilty to these charges.

This leaves Bryant Purvis as the only member of this group who was charged as an adult who still facing second-degree murder charges. The charges related to an unnamed youth in the “Jena 6″ have not been revealed.

Again, I am grateful to see the heat being turned up on Jena. Justice is supposed to be blind or, at least, colorblind.

Popularity: 11% [?]

How deep can hate run?

In West Virginia, a 23-year-old black woman was repeatedly beaten, stabbed and sexually assaulted over the course of at least a week. The black woman was abducted and taken to a home where this torture occurred.

Currently, 6 people are in custody in relation to this crime. The suspects include a mother-son pair and a mother-daughter pair. At large still are two suspects who authorities believe drove the woman to the place where the crime occurred. The suspects are Frankie Brewster, 49 (Brewster owns the home where all this happened); Bobby Brewster, 24; Karen Burton, 46; Alisha Burton, 23; George A. Messer, 27; and Danny J. Combs, 20.

The apparent motive is racial as the woman was called racial slurs during her attacks. Also, one of the suspects, Karen Burton, allegedly told the woman that this was happening to her because she was black.

What happened to this poor woman is simple unspeakable. According to the report, in addition to the beatings, stabbings and sexual assaults, she was “forced to eat rat and dog feces and drink from the toilet” and ” had been choked with a cable cord and her hair was cut”.

I find it hard to keep my emotions in check as I read this. When people tell me we don’t need hate crime legislation, I keep in mind that things like this still happen. It’s not just about a guy calling you the n-word after pushing you down. There are people with evil intentions who, as it appears in this case, target people strictly based on color.

I fully expect things to get hot in Logan, WV. A crime this heinous cannot be allowed to just go by without a very strong, vocal response from Black America.

Popularity: 17% [?]

This past Friday, I was watching Real Time with Bill Maher and one of his panelists was Mos Def. His appearance on the show was one of the best I had seen in a long time and he showed me that some hip hop artists out there still have a social conscience and see the need to address issues of parity and justice. I was particularly heartened to hear him speak on the “Jena 6″ (I’ve posted about this issue before and corporate news media is finally picking up on it so, I won’t retell the story, again). Mos Def spoke of how he planned on heading down to Louisiana to rally for these young brothers.

Today, I read that he has issued an open letter to “African -Americans of influence” asking them to join him in the fight on behalf of these 6 young men who are facing long prison sentences for what was really a simple assault.

Big up to Mos Def! At least he’s doing something meaningful with the platform he’s been given.

Popularity: 20% [?]

Now, if you want to rap about murdering black men, pimping out/disrespecting black women or selling dope to black people, it’s all good. But, if you speak out against a president and his policies, then there are consequences.

That’s what appears to be the lesson here.

Mississippi rap artist, Kamikaze, was recently doing some shows in the Czech Republic in which he expressed his dislike for President Bush and “encouraged fans to scream “f**k George Bush” during his shows.” After he’s back in the States, and just moments before he went on air, Kamikaze was suspended from his co-hosting job at Jackson Mississippi’s WJNT-Talk radio. This stemmed from complaints by one (yes, ONE) angry listener who had read some anti-Bush comments Kamikaze made on his blog at the Jackson Free Press.

Kamikaze has issued to following statement:

“Freedom of speech no longer exists in this country. I just toured a country that used to be under communist rule and they appreciated hearing someone speak out against a government…against a president. I don’t know if im being singled out but its unfortunate that the station caved to some random callers who disagreed with my viewpoints, but as I remember it that’s what this country was founded on. If somebody hadnt spoke out against the government centuries ago, we’d still be ruled by a king and under British rule!”

Gee, I wonder if we end up with say a President Barack Obama or President Hillary Clinton, would WJNT be so eager to suspend hosts for comments made against them.

Popularity: 14% [?]

Over the last few weeks, in Cincinnati, the world’s turned upside-down. We have seen two cases which, once again, call into question issues of race and class as they pertain to law enforcement in this area.

On August 23, Brenda Nesselroad-Slaby, a school Vice-Principal, left her 2-year-old child in her car while she went to work. According to Nesselroad-Slaby, she broke from her normal routine and stopped to pick up doughnuts for her staff. She stated that the child had fallen asleep and that she simply forgot that her child was in the car when she went into work. The child died in a hot car where the temperature exceeded some 100 degrees. Interestingly enough, while she didn’t remember leaving her child, she did remember the doughnuts she left in the car. Video shows her going back to the car for the doughnuts but leaving her daughter in her car seat.

Nessleroad-Slaby was not charged in her daughter’s death.

Now, Some might say that this is just an accident. I would counter that this was an accident waiting to happen. Nessleroad-Slaby had previously left her daughter unattended in her vehicle on three separate occasions. Prior to the child’s death, the most recent had been the same week in which the child died — Nessleroad-Slaby left the child alone in the car for 10 minutes. In fact, she had been warned by a former administrator of her other daughter’s preschool about the dangers of leaving the child alone in the car when another parent saw the child had been left alone in the car this past winter.

To contrast this, let’s look at the case of Lavonn Smith. Thankfully, today, she was released from jail. Who did she kill? A better question would be what did she kill or, better yet, what died in her yard?

Well, a pit bull that was tied up in her back yard died after being hung up on a tangled chain. So, Smith was convicted of animal cruelty and failure to register the animal. However, it may very well be the case that it was her 14-year-old nephew that tethered the dog in the yard, which he says was a stray animal that just wouldn’t leave. It is very likely that Smith did not even know the animal was there. In fact, Judge Russell, herself, said that she did not believe that Smith left the animal but, that she was still responsible as the property owner. The dog had been there about four days before it was discovered.

Prior to today’s release, Smith had been in jail for nearly 3 weeks after being denied bond by Hamilton County Municipal Court Judge Heather Russell. However, heat from family, community activists and the local NAACP must have swayed the opinion because now she will not serve any more jail time (she was facing up to six months in jail and a $1000 fine). Smith is a single working mother of two-year-old twin boys who could still lose her job and the place she rented.

If you haven’t surmised, Nessleroad-Slaby is white and Smith is black.

So, they question is — why send a mother to jail over a dead dog but not over a dead child, particularly when the latter had a history of leaving the child in a dangerous situation?

UPDATE: I see that I am not the only person who believes that Brenda Nesselroad-Slaby should have faced charges.

Popularity: 20% [?]