Sunday, August 23, 2009

SCLC Fort Worth calls for FBI federal investigation into the taser death of Michael Patrick Jacobs

On August 22, 2009, Rev. Kyev Tatum, President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference - Fort Worth Chapter wrote a letter to President Barack Obama requesting a FBI federal investigation into the taser death of Michael Patrick Jacobs while in custody of the Fort Worth Police Department.

Rev. Tatum noted that the death was caused because of excessive deadly force to a mentally challenge African-American young man. He also noted that the crime was a hate crime because the officers, which were all white refused to assist this young man by providing CPR when he was unconscious. The officers also threaten the young man's mother with deadly force when she reached out to assist her son. Read the letter sent to President Obama below.

What We Think About Taser Abuse

This blogger, who is also publisher of the blog Tasered While Black supports Rev. Tatum's efforts and urges all readers of this blog to send letters to the President and to the U.S. Attorney General to investigate this case.

We also urge you to sign the petition to hold Congressional Hearings into Taser Use and Abuse in America.

Here is the letter from Rev. Kyev Tatum, President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference - Fort Worth Chapter written to President Barack Obama:


Dear Mr. President:

The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) Fort Worth Chapter is requesting a FBI federal investigation into the taser death of Michael Patrick Jacobs while in custody of the Fort Worth Police Department.

We believe the death was caused because of excessive deadly force to a mentally challenge African-American young man.

This crime was a hate crime because the officers, which were all white refused to assist this young man by providing CPR when he was unconscious. The officers also threaten the young man's mother with deadly force when she reached out to assist her son. One white male officer put his hand on his gun and told her "she better get back."

Supportive News Story:

http://www.star-telegram.com/news/story/1550263.html

It appears the Mayor and other city officers are trying to cover up the facts in this cause.

We are requesting an immediate investigation of this case.

I can be reached at 817-966-7625.

Sincerely,

Rev. Kyev Tatum,
President
Southern Christian Leadership Conference - Fort Worth Chapter
7510 John T White Road
Fort Worth, Texas 76120
817-966-7625

Cc: SCLC National Office
Afrosphere
Dallas South

AAPP says: Sign the petition to hold Congressional Taser Hearings into Taser Torture today!

Friday, August 14, 2009

Inmates in the US - Tasered While Handcuffed or Restrained



Another reason for congressional hearings on Taser Torture In America - A Call For Congressional Hearings.

As reported by the LA Times, The U.S. Department of Justice is conducting an investigation into Orange County's troubled jail system, examining a decade's worth of allegations that deputies mistreated inmates and used excessive force to keep control.

Orange County jail

Officials from the department's Civil Rights Division are seeking to determine whether incidents of violence by jail personnel amount to a pattern of violating inmates' rights, the Sheriff's Department confirmed.

The Orange County district attorney criticized deputies earlier this year for a "code of silence" that he said hampered prosecutors' ability to investigate possible criminal activities.

Among recent cases: An inmate was stomped to death by fellow prisoners after a deputy allegedly told them falsely that the man was a child molester. A county grand jury later criticized the Sheriff's Department for trying to impede the investigation into the death and concluded that there was evidence of rampant abuse at the Theo Lacy Jail in Orange.

The department has also been criticized for using Taser stun guns on handcuffed or restrained inmates. More HERE


Yet another reason why black bloggers have called for 'Congressional Taser Torture Hearings. Visit the Electronic Village, afrospear blog, NewsOne, Electrocuted While Black, Tasered While Black and this blog for more insight into the tasing of black folks in America. As tasers turn out to be America's 21st Century whips of terror.

Don't forget to sign the petition against Taser Torture In America.

Visit Tasered While Black and African American Political Pundit often.

Sunday, August 2, 2009

The lack of a "black agenda" in America

There is a great article in the LA Times regarding the The lack of a black agenda.

The writer, Erin Aubry Kaplan writes about how Barack Obama finally showed up.


Erin Aubry Kaplan writes;
On the centennial anniversary of the NAACP last month, the president took the microphone at the organization's convention in New York and, for the first time since his inauguration, spoke directly to black Americans.
Noting that it was "good to be among friends," he went on to deliver a clear, sometimes informal and impassioned speech on the state of the race -- his race. He unselfconsciously used the terms "us" and "we." He charted the victories of the black past and described the present as much more paradoxical: Civil rights was the battle of the previous generation, he said, but persistent inequality is the fight of the present one. He even said that American society suffers from "structural inequality," a phrase loathed by conservatives and plenty of liberals too.

The appreciative audience shouted amens and hooted with pride. It was in part because of the work of the NAACP, Obama acknowledged, that he was able to stand before the organization on its 100th birthday as the 44th president of the United States, an astonishing development.

And yet, today, the fate of black folk is far from certain and is in some ways less secure than at any time in the last 100 years. Why? Blacks don't have an agenda. They have no lobby.
More HERE

AAPP:
I have been talking about this issue on my Blog Talk Radio Program and on this blog for some time. But I'm not the only one. The Black Agenda Report has been addressing the need for a Black Agenda for some time. I urge all of my readers to take visit and read The Black Agenda Report. They address many of the issues, Erin Aubry Kaplan writes about in his article.

Check out these other articles:
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You can always check out what I have to say about current political issues on my Blog Talk Radio Program.