Black Teen 17 Teen Electrocuted by Cop in 37 second Tasing

When are black organizations like the NAACP and others going to deal with the real issues impacting our communities. take for an example the case of the Police Officer in Charlotte, N.C. who gets a 5 day suspension for sentencing and carrying out "on the spot death by electrocution" of 17 year old black teen. The Black teen was tased 37 seconds! No national black leadership organization see anything wrong with the on-going killings of blacks by rogue cops. Is the NAACP tracking and speaking out on these issues? Read more about the story below:

• No charges in teen's Taser death
• Autopsy: Tasered teen died of heart attack
• Funeral held for teen who died after Taser shock

Yes, a Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer involved in a deadly "on the spot death by electrocution" of a teenager will not lose his job, but he will be suspended for five days.

As reported by WNCN Darryl Turner died in March after the officer Tased him seven-times longer than recommended. Surveillance video from the Food Lion where Turner worked shows his last moments alive.

It shows a confrontation with a supervisor, and then Officer Jerry Dawson arrives and fires his Taser at the 17-year-old, striking Turner in the sternum.

Tasered While Black publisher says "There is growing evidence that a number of blacks in America are receiving 'high tech judge and jury on-site electrocution' by police around the country. Not only should the justice department investigate these crimes against humanity in the streets of America, we a nation must stand up and demand the end of these actions by police who seem to be ill-trained to use this weapon of next to last resort."

As reported by station kare11.com

Charlotte, North Carolina police officer is on a five-day suspension after using a Taser on a teen for too long. Darryl Turner died in March after the officer Tased him for 37 seconds, more than seven-times longer than recommended by the manufacturer of the stun gun.

Surveillance video from the Food Lion grocery store where Turner worked showed his last moments alive.

It shows a confrontation with a supervisor, and then Officer Jerry Dawson arriving and firing his Taser at the 17-year-old, striking Turner in the sternum.

"The initial use of the Taser is not in question," said Deputy Chief Ken Miller of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.

For 37 seconds, Dawson continued to stun the teen.

An autopsy revealed Turner died of a heart attack.

"I wouldn't want to be Tased for 37 seconds," said Dr. Joe Kuhns with the University of North Carolina at Charlotte's Department of Criminal Justice. "I can assure you of that. It's a lengthy period of time."

Kuhns said he supports the use of Tasers.

"For the most part, their use has been effective," he said. "It's reduced officer injuries. It's reduced suspect injuries."

But a report by the National Institute of Justice study says that since 1987, there have been 300 deaths from so-called "CEDs" or conducted energy devices.

"Many are associated with continuous or repeated discharge of the CED," the report states.

"Typically, people are incapacitated with a Taser in under 10 seconds," Kuhns said.

According to the NIJ report, "There may be circumstances in which repeated or continuous exposure is required, but law enforcement should be aware that the associated risks are unknown. Therefore, caution is urged in using multiple activations of CED as a means to accomplish subdual."

Turner's family believes he didn't have to die.

"The officer was not confronted with circumstances that required the use of that type of force," said Ken Harris, an attorney for Turner's family.

Is Rev. Jesse Jackson Hating On Black Bloggers?

AAPP: Check out this recent article written by Howard Witt at the Chicago Tribune tiltled black activists go blogging in challenging the status quo. In the article Witt talks about how older, familiar leaders such as Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rev. Al Sharpton and NAACP Chairman Julian Bond are under challenge by a younger generation of bloggers known by such provocative screen names as Field Negro, The Free Slave, and African American Political Pundit.

More HERE>

It's a great article by the way, but I got to tell you, Rev. Jackson seems to be fearful of black bloggers and the new emerging black leadership. Or he may be just stuck on stupid.

Oh no Rev. Jesse Jackson didn't say, "Internet bloggers can serve the meal better than they can farm."



Jesse Jackson

Yes, Jackson actually told Howard Witt. "Farming requires tilling the soil, removing the debris, planting, being patient, letting it germinate. That's the strength of labor unions and churches and civil rights organizations."

I can see that Rev. Jesse Jackson is still stuck on using an old electric typewriter and listening to his old school 8 track tapes. All right Rev. Jackson, your still stuck back in the day when you lead those civil rights efforts that are now all but dead to most black Americans.

I (somewhat) respect Rev. Jesse Jackson, but Jesse Jackson really needs to lead, follow or just get out the way. Maybe, he needs to write another book on his old electric typewriter, while listening to his old school 8 track tapes. Maybe even reflecting on his many years of fighting the fight as a poverty (pimp).

OK for you people who are politically correct folks, he is an old poverty pimpin' "subject matter expert."

I may buy that book, but I'm not buying his hating on black political and social action bloggers. What has he done lately?

Related links

• RACE IN AMERICA

• A conversation with Rev. Jesse Jackson

• Jack and Jill Politics

• What About Our Daughters

• Blacksmythe

• Eddie Griffin

• The Free Slave

• Field Negro

• Prometheus 6

• Vanessa: Unplugged!

• Dallas South Blog

• African American Political Pundit

Handkerchief Head? Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou Race Traitor?

AAPP: I'm with Brown Sugar who says:

"Sigh. I'm done. I'm so tired of Black folk with slave mentality's I don't know what to do. This is just ridiculous. I supposed if Clinton had called her a Nigger to her face she'd still be talking about, "She is able to look through complexion and see community."

AAPP: Yes, Maya Angelou is a great poet and a aging house negro icon who feels her new calling is to be a 21st Century Handkerchief Head for Hillary and Bill.

OK, she is 80 years old, Icon in the black cultural movement, but I know some 80 year old woman who will not disgrace our people, and they are not Icon's.

Yes, she has a right to endorse anyone she wants too. I only wish she used the common sense of Tom Hanks.

Read more at African American Political Pundit Blog

God Damn The Black Community

APP: H/T Brother Peace Maker - Check out afrospear member Brother Peace Maker's most recent post of the Afrospear's blog. He has a lot to say about the Rev. Wright situation and what black folks should be saying and doing. He has an interesting perspective that needs to be part of the conversation. Check out his post:

God Damn The Black Community

by brotherpeacemaker

“God helps those who help themselves!” – Benjamin Franklin

Reverend Jeremiah Wright is in the news again and is said to be a distraction to Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, by far his most famous former parishioner. Reverend Wright has spent the last week or so giving his side of the story. Mr. Wright feels that he has been personally attacked and also feels that the institution of the black church has been attacked by the dominant American culture. He’s been referred to as a kook and described as trying to knee cap Mr. Obama’s presidential bid. Mr. Obama tried to minimize his relationship with his former pastor. But when that didn’t put the issue to rest, Mr. Wright conveniently comes back on the scene to give Mr. Obama a second chance to sever the relationship cleanly in the public’s eye.

The overwhelming majority of America never knew Mr. Wright prior to the networks airing of the infamous recording of Mr. Wright saying that god should be damning America instead of blessing America. People refer to Mr. Wright as a blatant racist although he never once said white people were the problem. Mr. Wright said black and white people are different with neither one being better than the other. But this is too racist a concept for most. White and black people are actually saying that Jeremiah Wright is the problem. No one of any prominence has given Mr. Wright any understanding or support, with the possible exception of Bill Moyers when he hosted Mr. Wright on his PBS show Bill Moyers Journal and allowed the former pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ to defend himself without adding fuel to the fire of controversy. Mr. Moyers doesn’t have a political agenda to push so it is no surprise that he isn’t condemning Mr. Wright the way that the typical network pundit would.

But nevertheless, for the most part, when it comes to the black community, Mr. Wright is standing alone. Other than Mr. Moyers, I have yet to see any high profile support. Where are the leaders of the black community? Where are the people who claim to the welfare of the black community a top priority? It is a given that white people would want take the five or ten minutes of Mr. Wright’s sermons that have captured America’s attention. When Mr. Wright says god should damn America white people take this personally for America is white America. America is baseball, hot dogs, apple pie, and Chevrolet. America is the corporate environment where white people rule the upper management, white people make up the vast majority of middle workers, and black people make up the bottom rung of the corporate ladder in janitorial services and the mailroom. To say America is messing up is to say that white people are messing up since they are the ones in control of 98% of America’s institutions. And these corporate institutions are using their resources to pick Mr. Wright apart and make him an example of what happens when you bad mouth America.

And with an election coming, and with the chance that a black man could actually obtain the highest office in America’s land, America will push with all of its corrupt corporate capitalist might to find anything and emphasize anything to keep Mr. Obama from obtaining the title of President of the United States. It is truly understandable why the dominant community would work so hard to keep the status quo of white only from being broken. Black man might become president and try do something positive for the black community. White America just can’t take that chance. So I can understand why the Tucker Carlsons and Sean Hanitys and Pat Buchanans of the world to persecute Mr. Wright, and therefore Mr. Obama by association. These are the type of people who would be content to see the despair of the black community continue without end. But where are the people who say that they have a vested interest in the uplift of the black community?

Where are the people who are more likely to defend Mr. Wright? Barack Obama tried to distance himself from Mr. Wright without outright rejecting him and it nearly cost him his lead in the presidential nomination race. There is too much to lose. So regardless of what Mr. Obama says to the contrary it is relatively easy to see how his highly visible divorce from Mr. Wright can be considered politically advantageous. So it doesn’t take much of a brain to see that there will be no comfort there. Where are the other high profile blacks who sit in black churches on a weekly basis and can relate to what Mr. Wright says about being black in America? Are we in the black community are supposed to believe that Jeremiah Wright is a lone exception with a totally unique perspective of the relationship between America and what she has done for and what she has done to the black community? Are we to believe that no other black high profile black celebrity has any idea what he is referring to? Comment and Read More HERE

Civil Rights In America, "A Chain of Change"

AAPP: Yesterday I wrote about listening in pure amazement and disgust to a broadcast over at one of the best bloggers in America, (also from Texas) Gina McCauley from the blog What About Our Daughters. As I noted, she was joined by her roundtable, along with Adora Obi Nweze, President, Fl State Conference NAACP and a member of the NAACP National Board of Directors and Richard "We Will Not Be Blamed" McIntire, the NAACP national spokesperson. The NAACP was invited to speak about their decision to support the bail request for the release of black boys who are alleged to have brutally raped, sodomized and beat a mother and son on June 18.

---

I discussed how I felt after listening to the state and national NAACP representatives make fools out of themselves. I pointed out I came to the same conclusion that Lee Walker and others have about what I termed a now disgraceful national organization. I posed questions like, When will black folks hold the NAACP Accountable? When will the NAACP hold itself accountable? When will black folks as the NAACP Board Chair to resign, and take that 60 Member Board with him? When will black women start a national organization that really fights for black women and their families? WHEN?

Well I must honestly say I did not know that The Washington Post (H/T Dallas Progress for the link) would provide additional answers to the questions raised, and in some ways pose additional questions for Black America and all America in its article, Civil Rights Groups see Gradual End of Their Era - Many groups that helped propel movement struggling, some have vanished. The article written by By Darryl Fears of the Washington Post highlights how after "Forty years after the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, the storied organizations that propelled the modern-day civil rights movement alongside him are either struggling to stay relevant or struggling to stay alive.

in Atlanta, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) -- which was founded in 1957 after Alabama's Montgomery bus boycott and was led by King through the most difficult days of the movement -- clings to life. Three years ago, utilities shut off the lights and the phones when the group did not pay its bills.

In New York, the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), which helped shape the movement's philosophy after adopting Mohandas K. Gandhi's doctrine of nonviolent protest, is scarcely known outside Manhattan. CORE conceded that it now has about 10 percent of the 150,000 members it listed in the 1960s.

In Baltimore, the near-century-old NAACP, which tore down racial barriers with deft lawyering in the courts, recently cut a third of its administrative staff because of budget shortfalls. For decades, the NAACP asserted that it was the largest civil rights group, with about half a million dues-paying members, but one of its former presidents recently acknowledged that it has fewer than 300,000.

Some groups have disappeared, such as the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, which organized the Freedom Rides that drew sympathy to their cause and which was later led by firebrands such as Stokley Carmichael and H. Rap Brown. Others, such as the National Urban League, remain viable but have diminished visibility.

"They don't really exist now," said the Rev. C.T. Vivian, a former interim director of the SCLC, who spoke with pain in his voice. He added: "They're just names. There has been so little activity from so many of them. SCLC rose from the dead, but we're not so certain life has been blown into it yet. And the NAACP is vital, but they're not doing what I'd expect."

The groups' decline has been slow but inexorably driven by factors both within and outside their control. They were the subjects of government spying and harassment. A proliferation of black organizations with niche audiences -- lawyers, engineers, accountants, journalists -- took away middle-class members. The rise in the 1970s of groups such as the Black Panthers, which espoused a melodramatic militancy, made them seem tepid."

AAPP: The article provides commentary from many former insiders of the NAACP like
JoAnn Watson, a Detroit City Council member who ran the local NAACP office in the 1990s, who said the organizations are living off their reputations. "They benefit from the name that has been earned by the blood of the ancestors."

Check out what other former NAACP and Civil Rights organization official had to say in the article:

Michael Meyers, a former NAACP executive, recalled when the group's initials inspired fear. "People answered the phones; they thought they were going to be sued," he said. "But not now."

The drop in stature may have been inevitable, said Roger Wilkins, an assistant attorney general under President Lyndon B. Johnson who advised the groups. "Black people didn't have opportunities in the '30s and '40s and '50s," he said. "They couldn't be mayors, so they became presidents of black colleges or leaders of civil rights organizations. But at the end of the '60s, all kinds of pathways opened up, and civil rights organizations had to compete for leadership."

With advances in education, employment and buying power, some have argued, civil rights organizations have become passe. But group leaders bristle at the notion.

A report released this week by the Institute for Policy Studies, a liberal think tank, said that black America remains troubled. Despite marginal advances in education and jobs, the income gap between black and white Americans has grown so large since King's death that it would take more than 500 years for black people to catch up under the current pace of change, the report said. The divide between black and white wealth is so wide that achieving parity would take more than 600 years.

Organization leaders said that they have made mistakes since King's death but that they were also weakened by outside forces. As the White House was enacting civil rights laws, the FBI was infiltrating organizations under the secret Counter Intelligence Program known as COINTELPRO. After the 1970s, media attention turned away from the civil rights movement, the group leaders said."

AAPP: Get this folks, in the article the NAACP, Chairman Julian Bond said the future "looks good." He contends what I term his "board of the living dead" (OK not all the board) helped lead efforts to reauthorize the voting rights and civil rights acts, and provided relief for victims of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans in 2005. The article also reports that "NAACP officials say that their voter registration drives led to a surge of black voters in the past two presidential elections and that the group continues to fight discrimination in the courts, as it did with Brown v. Board of Education." More of the article HERE

AAPP: Whatever Julian Bond, Whatever! You and the other National NAACP 60 member "board of the living dead" are still believing your own bogus press releases." the NAACP has been Missing In Action on so many issues.

The questions remain, that I posed in my previous post: When will black folks hold the NAACP Accountable? When will the NAACP hold itself accountable? When will black folks ask the NAACP Board Chair to resign, and take that 60 Member Board with him? Maybe the Wichita NAACP President would consider becoming the National Chaiman, replacing Julian Bond. When will black women start a national organization that really fights for black women and their families. That time, is now! Groups like the Color of Change, The Afrospear (black bloggers group), Black Political and Internet social activist are now taking a leadership role. A Black While Brown Conference is planned for Atlanta, Georgia spearheaded by Gina McCauley from the blog What About Our Daughters. There is is now a sea of change in Black Political and social leadership in Black communities across America and around the world. Black bloggers are now leading the way. A word of caution to blacks ready to take the lead. There are still groups and organizations, including the media that will attack our new efforts. Let us stay focused. United we stand divided we will fall like the Civil Rights groups and political leaders we all know about.

One Brother To Another, An Open Letter To Barack Obama

Dear Senator Obama, Don't Let Hillary paint you into a box.

Don't act Like Al Gore, and those two other Democrats from my home town of Massachusetts, who showed no balls and just sat back and let the Republicans beat them to pieces. Do you want the Presidency or not? If you do, you will have to fight for it. Nice guys in politics finish last. stop being Mr. Nice guy and go after Hillary and her corn-ball husband, color aroused husband, and her ignorant black supporters.

Her husband (Bill) created that NAFTA mess and she is running from her own voting past. She voted for Bush’s war on Iraq, she voted for Bush’s USA Patriot Act, she voted to reauthorize Bush’s USA Patriot Act, she opposed the international treaty to ban land mines, and she supported Israel’s massive military assault on the civilian infrastructure of Lebanon and the Gaza Strip which took the lives of over 1,000 civilians, half of whom were children. And get this, Hillary Clinton couldn’t be bothered to read the NIE before casting her pro-Iraq war vote. Enough is enough - Don't let the King pins of the democratic party steal this one from you.

As blogger, John K Wilson noted in his post, The Case Against Hillary Clinton, Hillary Clinton as the Democratic nominee appears to be the primary hope Republicans have left to win in November. Rush Limbaugh declared, "Most of our guys want to run against Hillary....it’s a gold mine."(October 22, 2007) Michael Reagan wrote, "let her cruise her way to the nomination so we Republicans can have the pleasure of dissecting her in the general election campaign." If Hillary is the nominee, millions of conservatives and independents who hate her will donate money and come out to vote, people who otherwise might stay home out of disgust with the Republican Party. A Hillary nomination might cost Democrats the presidency, but even if she wins, these reverse coattails will almost certainly cost Democrats several House and Senate seats. In the current political environment, Democrats should easily win the presidency in a landslide and gain a strong majority in Congress. But if Hillary Clinton is nominated, Democrats will be rolling the dice and hoping that she can overcome the tidal wave of hatred against her."

I agree with John. Senator Obama, Get busy and fight hard. They have slung some mud, and they have only begun. The question is, what will you do?

AAPP

Black Leadership Self Hatred and The Obama Campaign

I Just finished reading an article by Darryl Fears in the washingtonpost.com. In the article he talks about Tavis Smiley, the bestselling author of the "Covenant With Black America," and how Tavis is being "hammered," "barbecued," and is "catching hell" from black Americans for suggesting that Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) made a major mistake by declining to speak at the State of the Black Union event that Smiley plans to host next week in New Orleans.

Here is the article and my thoughts, highlighted in red. Based on what I'm reading and hearing, Tavis is another Black Crab hating on Obama.

Black Commenter, Criticizing Obama, Causes Firestorm
By Darryl Fears, The Washington Post



Photo of Tavis Smiley

"There's all this talk of hater, sellout and traitor," Smiley said to me in a telephone interview. Smiley even mentioned getting death threats, but wouldn't elaborate. He said his office has been flooded with angry e-mails. "I have family in Indianapolis. They are harassing my momma, harassing my brother. It's getting to be crazy," Smiley said.

AAPP: If this is true, this regretful, inappropriate and unlawful.

Smiley's problems started early this month after he invited Obama to speak at the State of the Black Union, an event Smiley founded nine years ago. Held annually during Black History Month and broadcast by C-Span, the event gathers a Who's Who of black intellectuals, pundits, activists, entertainers and politicians to discuss and brainstorm about where black America is and where it is headed. This year's topic is "Reclaiming Our Democracy, Deciding Our Future."

The State of the Black Union has grown into a key event for black people since its start, but as Smiley has discovered, Obama's presidential run is far more highly regarded.

As the first black person to have a legitimate shot at a presidential nomination, defeating Sen. Hillary Clinton's rich campaign juggernaut, Obama is virtually a third civil rights movement, the manifestation of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream. His candidacy has produced a fervor in black America born of centuries of wanting. Nearly every black vote that Clinton thought was hers at the beginning of the race has been siphoned by Obama.

Each of the presidential candidates were invited to speak, but only Sen. Hillary Clinton accepted. Clinton is desperate to bolster her flagging campaign with a larger share of the black vote after losing all but a small percent to Obama. Smiley said he wants the candidates to focus on the issues that black Americans care about.

AAPP: Hillary is the only candidate who needs to convince black voters to stop voting for Obama and vote for her. Hillary will be glad take a few pictures with you Tavis. I'm sure Bill Clinton will be willing to show up too. He sure would be glad to tell some black jokes and make some more color aroused statements against Barack Obama. Maybe Hillary will bring out some other surrogates like Robert Johnson or Andrew Young. I'm also sure Hillary will also bring her new black female campaign manager around. If that won't work, maybe Hillary can dig up some family members of Lyndon B. Johnson to let black folks know how unimportant MLK was to the Civil rights movement. But then again, with Hillary in the house, talking black, giving her southern drawl, and a few photo ops, maybe you can get some photo ops for a new book. "Hating on Barack - My 11th hour effort to create discourse with black folks and Brack Obama."

If the blogosphere is any reflection, however, black America believes Smiley should check his ego. Commenters would much rather see Obama campaigning against Clinton in Texas and Ohio than at Smiley's confab in Louisiana, a state he's already won. Critics burned up Internet chat rooms, taking turns at denouncing Smiley. Pundit Melissa Harris-Lacewell, an Obama supporter, authored a biting anti-Smiley opinion on TheRoot.com (which is owned by Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive), entitled, "Who Died and Made Him King?"

AAPP: I agree, smiley appears to be involved in a little bit of old school self-hatred as far as I am concerned.

A fan of Smiley commented on one blog, saying, "Tavis, Ya Killin' Me, Man." An angrier writer headlined his comment, "This is just dumb." "This man is involved in the fight of his life for the presidency of the UNITED STATES, not black states," he wrote of Obama. "I don't know if Tavis got the memo, but Hillary is leading in Texas, Ohio and Pennsylvania, where the governor said that his white folks won't vote for a black." Other comments would likely be blocked by Net Nanny and can't be printed on the Web pages of a family newspaper.

For Smiley, the tumult is a major turnabout. Until now he was a darling commentator in black America. His passion for the people endeared him to many. People listened to his commentaries on the popular Tom Joyner Morning Show, and snapped up so many copies of the "Covenant" that it made the top ten lists of the both the New York Times and the Washington Post. When Smiley talked, black people listened.

AAPP: I agree, at this point Tavis seems to be more to be interested in selling books, and being the "Journalism king of Black America." Although Obama may change his mind and attend, I'm with Obama on this one. Obama needs to continue to get busy and campaign where he need to get undecided votes. Don't listen to the self-hating black folk, even those who sell a lot of books and talk the talk.

"One of my friends said, 'you are being barbecued in the blogosphere,'" Smiley said. He told Black America Web writer Michael Cottman's that "I'm catching hell." In our interview, Smiley said: "This is the first time in my entire career that I have found myself in this kind of relationship with some folk in black America. I now know what it feels like to have the weight of the Internet world bearing down on you. Man, it's an eye opener when you get caught in the middle of it."

AAPP: look in the mirror Tavis, this election is bigger than you!

Obama's campaign said he called Smiley twice on his cell and office phones. Smiley said he returned the calls but got no response.

On the Tom Joyner Morning Show recently, Joyner brought up the controversy during an interview with Obama, relating how Smiley was taking heat for saying he thinks Obama doesn't want to talk about issues black people care about.

Obama chastised Smiley, but spoke as if the two were friends. "I'm going to have to call Tavis up and straighten him out on this," Obama said. He said he's addressed issues that Smiley cares about, such as health care and eliminating the legal sentencing disparity that allows judges to send mostly black crack cocaine offenders to prison with sentences that are five times longer than powder cocaine offenders who are mostly white and Latino.

Obama followed up with a letter to Smiley, dated Feb. 13. In it, Obama explained why he declined the invitation, saying that he needed to campaign in states that Clinton must win to in order to topple her candidacy.

AAPP: Hey Tavis, Obama is right, get over it!

"I will be on the campaign trail every day in states like Ohio, Texas and Wisconsin talking directly to voters about the causes that are at the heart of my campaign and the State of the Black Union forum such as affordable housing, economic opportunity, civil rights and foreign policy," Obama said in his letter. He had offered to have his wife, Michelle, speak in his stead at the State of the Black Union, but Smiley had declined. "I ask that you reconsider," Obama wrote. "Michelle is a powerful voice for the type of reach change America is hungry for."

Smiley responded in a commentary on the Tom Joyner Morning Show, condemning Obama's decision with his usual strong, passionate, rapid-fire delivery. He recounted the gist of his statement in the interview. "I think it is a miscalculation on his part not to appear and a missed opportunity."

AAPP: Hey Tavis Smiley, there you go with that, "I'm more important" than the people of America that Obama needs to convince to vote for him stuff. In the big picture of this campaign, your not as important, this time around. No photo op for you and Obama this time.

"I love Barack Obama and I love black people," Smiley said. "I celebrate his past accomplishments and I celebrate his future aspirations. I never wanted to stand in the path of his growth."

However, he said, "My job is to ask the critical question, to raise these issues and keep these guys focused. There are some people who are disappointed that I'm not jumping up and down saying, 'Vote for Barack Obama.' That's not my role as a journalist. That's not what I do."

AAPP: Whatever! Enjoy the kiss up and photo op with Team Clinton. This is nothing more than old school, black leadership self hatred against Barack Obama. Just another Crab in the basket.

Note: I will be discussing this tonight (Sunday) on:
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Kwame Kilpatrick: Poster Child for the Failure of Black Accountability

Cross Posted at A Political Season

I lived in Metro Detroit for eight years, a time span that included Mayor Archer's second term and Kwame Kilpatrick's first. Detroit has been the nightmare scenario of white flight, ineffective black political rule, racial polarization and urban decay for better than 20 years. The city has a history and well known status as the most segregated city in America. Sadly, that racial legacy and present day context has been the excuse for a low standard of accountability when it comes to Detroit's black political leadership. The latest embarrassment is the now publicly outed sordid extramarital affair between Mayor Kilpatrick and Chief of Staff Christine Beatty.

It was an affair those in the know and among Kwame's security detail knew about and one of those open secrets the rest of the city suspected. It became public knowledge for sure when text messages were revealed which confirmed the affair. The seeds of Kwame's undoing began with a pair of police officers that sued him and the city for alleged violations of the state’s Whistleblower Protection Act. The suits were brought by Officer Harold Nelthrope, a former mayoral bodyguard, and Gary Brown, a former deputy chief who previously headed the Police Department’s Internal Affairs Unit. Brown says he was fired for letting members of his unit investigate Nelthrope’s allegations and Nelthrope said that Kwame violated whistle blower laws by outing him and slandering him in retaliation.

Nelthrope approached Internal Affairs, known as the Professional Accountability Bureau, with allegations that some members of the mayor’s security team were getting paid for overtime hours they didn’t work, as well as other alleged transgressions. He also reported rumors of a wild party at the mayoral mansion involving strippers, one of whom was allegedly assaulted by the mayor’s wife, Carlita Kilpatrick who supposedly walked in on a lap dance Kwame was enjoying. Deputy Chief Gary Brown pursued an investigation into Nelthrope's claims about the overtime as well as the party rumors, a path certain to bring him into direct conflict with the Mayor. In responding to the allegations, Kwame identified Nelthrope publicly, even though his identity by law should have been confidential. The mayor called his allegations false and publicly said he was a liar and that he hoped Nelthrope's family was listening.

Kwame's counterattack was hard core and revealing of his character. He told the then Police Chief, Jerry Oliver, ( a man universally hated by rank and file DPD) to fire Deputy Chief Brown and to say publicly that it was his decision and not the Mayor's. The hilarity of that lie was brought home to me one morning during my morning commute listening to AM760 as the scandal unfolded. On a morning show, the Mayor was interviewed and when asked who's decision was it to fire Deputy Chief Brown, he confidently stated it was Chief Oliver's call. Not more than an hour or so later, Chief Oliver, interviewed on a different show, same station, said the opposite, that the Mayor instructed him to fire Deputy Chief Brown. They clearly had not gotten their stories straight. Later that same day, Chief Oliver was interviewed again and it was clear that the Chief had been given a thorough review of the talking points memo by Kwame and now he was taking the hit and stating that it was his call to fire the Deputy Chief.

In the course of giving testimony in the case, the plaintiffs lawyers asked Kwame and Beatty both if they were romantically involved, clearly prompted by the plaintiffs inside knowledge of what was going on. Christine simply responded no. Kwame gave an indignant speech in his answer, saying angrily that it was wrong to brand Beatty as a whore. All the time, the both of them flagrantly involved in a torrid liaison that was carried on in the presence of administration insiders and was certainly known to their police detail. The case was eventually settled for about $6 million with another $3 million paid in legal fees, and the plaintiffs committed to a secrecy agreement about the deal.

Kwame should lose his job for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, he's a married man doing his at the time also married chief of staff employee, opening the city to potential sexual harassment liabilities from her or other men and women in the administration. That is stupendous bad judgment. Everybody in town in the know knew it was going on, and the rest of the city pretty much assumed it.

Secondly, they fired people to cover the affair up and other foolishness he was doing. They made the police chief fire the deputy police chief that initiated an investigation into goings on with Kwame's security detail and those people sued. So they axed people to cover up their mess.

Lastly, the jacked up, stone broke City of Detroit forked over $9.4 million in a settlement plus legal fees to settle the case and keep the plaintiffs quiet about what they knew, mainly his affair with Beatty, perhaps others and likely the real story about the big stripper party that supposedly never happened.

Detroit is the poster child for urban decay. Michigan's economy has been in the toilet for several years now which is why I live in Indy and not Detroit. Here in Indy, they talk about not becoming "Detroit". Detroit, a city with so many things wrong that is so badly in need of leadership and good stewardship, and they pay out $9.4 million plus legal fees to hush the Mayor's sordid affair with his chief of staff, who was also married and was cool with his wife? The man should resign. If this brother worked for you or if you or I cost our company $9.4 million because of an affair with a subordinate, would we have a job? Hell no.

Don't feel sorry for him and don't cut him an inch of slack. Black people in Detroit and elsewhere are all too often willing to tolerate any mess to keep "black" leadership, even if that means no accountability. And with no accountability, the city will continue to be a dump because black people are not taking responsibility for ourselves. Already the hit parade of excuses is beginning. According to the Detroit Free Press, Sharon McPhail, one of Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s top aides, said today that she believes Kilpatrick will not be charged with perjury despite contradictions between his testimony in court in a whistleblower case and text messages sent between him and his chief of staff.

McPhail, speaking with reporters as she entered the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center, said she doesn’t believe enough evidence exists to charge Kilpatrick, although she also said she had not read the text messages.

“When the facts are known this is just going to be a blip on the screen of all the wonderful things he’s done for the city,” she said.

McPhail said calls for the mayor to repay the city for paying his legal bills in the whistleblower suit and the $9 million judgment in that case are misplaced. The case resulted because of Kilpatrick’s official decision, justifying a taxpayer-funded legal defense, she said.

The text messages exposure of his affair with chief of staff Christine Beatty was not why three former police officers sued the city, she said. The case originated because former Deputy Police Chief Gary Brown continued to investigate a never-proven wild party at the Manoogian Mansion.

And lets not forget about the rather sexist nature of our substandard community accountability on display here with the resignation of Christine Beatty. As my wife pointed out, her career is effectively destroyed. She is now out of a job, divorced, and branded as a whore and certified home wrecker. Who is going to be willing to employ her in any position of public trust or responsibility again? What will be the quality of her professional relationships with other women and men in the future? She is out of her job right now, but Kwame's staff is going on the defense of him and I'm sure the drumbeat from the community may already have begun that he should not have to resign, that if he is, he's being held to a different standard than white politicians. I don't see anyone coming to Beatty's defense. Why shouldn't the excuses being advanced on Kwame's behalf apply to her as well? How that plays is even more interesting considering the number of other high profile black women in the orbit of this mess. The prosecutor is a Black woman. Christine Beatty is a Black woman. Carlita Kilpatrick is a Black woman, as is Kwame's mother, Carolyn Kilpatricke head of the Congressional Black Caucus. Don't be surprised if Beatty is vilified by the same black community that wants to excuse Kwame.

This is the accountability issue front and center for black people and the kind of stuff that makes us look like total jackasses. We are on a hair trigger when a white person makes a comment rightly or wrongly and will DEMAND folk be fired and punished, but we will make every excuse for black people in positions of responsibility who are guilty of egregious behavior, from taking a crack hit on camera to banking $90,000 in bribe money in the freezer. The result: underperformance in nearly every aspect of the community when it comes to implementation of effective strategies that address the interests of black people. Black Americans must call check on the poor performance of black leadership and demonstrate more maturity as a community by refusing to any longer tolerate the exercise of extremely poor judgment in positions of responsibility in order to have "black" leadership. If we effectively demand accountability and responsible leadership irrespective of the race of the person in a leadership position, we would be far better off.

Black Political Power in Indianapolis - Black Leadership Crisis in Indianapolis (Indy)

The Indianapolis Star calls it Tempered leadership. They say this black man helped pave the way for other black leaders. They say he played a key role in helping the city rebuild a neglected Downtown. Yet, the Black Accountability Project - Indianapolis (Indy) is reporting there is a Black Leadership Crisis.The Black Accountability Project -Indianapolis (Indy) is concerned about the Future of Indy's black community. Rozelle Boyd steps down from City-County Council, blacks in Indianapolis and the Indianapolis Star are looking back at changes in Indy and the leadership he provided. OK, I must admit I don't know a lot about Indianapolis politics, but this brother seemed to be a mover and a shaker.



Read the article about Rozelle Boyd here. Also read about the Black Leadership Crisis in Indianapolis HERE

Tempered leadership.

Source: The Indianapolis Star

A framed newspaper article from 1965 reflects one of the more historically significant moments of his and the city's life. Its headline: "Boyd elected first Negro on county council."

Today, after 42 years of public service, Boyd is spending his last day in office, having lost his bid for another term in November. He was the longest-serving member of the council, its elder statesman. Despite the history-making nature of his political career, Boyd's time in power can be defined more by his work-within-the-system rather than a rock-the-establishment approach.

Eloquent, dignified and low-key, Boyd pushed for change on politically charged issues but took the reasoned and methodical rather than strident course. Critics say Boyd was sometimes too slow and too patient, but he was nonetheless widely respected. "He was always a gentleman," Mayor Bart Peterson said. "He elevated the council's dialogue, and civility was one of his core leadership values." Boyd's manner is credited with helping Indianapolis prevent the racial violence that consumed other cities during the civil rights era. More HERE

Another Congressional Black Caucus Failure

Well, It appears that the Congressional Black Caucus Not Bringing Home The Bacon, beef, or veggies. While other lawmakers are getting their special projects from the earmark feast over the past 10 years, black communities have suffered. Check out this important article in diverse education.com

Current Issue : Washington Update

Black Lawmakers Urged to Join Earmark Feast by Charles Dervarics

Black Lawmakers Urged to Join Earmark Feast Despite presidential veto, earmarks are likely to stay and be accessible to minority-serving institutions under Democratic-controlled Congress. By Charles Dervarics After a short break, the U.S. Congress again wants to earmark some of its education funds to members pet projects, a commitment to pork-barrel spending that has led to a presidential veto as well as calls for more equitable treatment for minority-serving institutions. Called earmarks, these special funding requests are tucked into annual spending bills at lawmakers request. Universities successful in this endeavor generally get around the peer review process required to seek funding under federal grant programs. They're creeping back, and that's an inevitable fact of life, said Barmak Nassirian, associate executive director of external relations at the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers. Congress took a break from the process when Democrats vowed to cut back on the practice after taking control of the House and Senate. But some projects reappeared in the 2008 education and health spending bill, and President Bush cited the practice as one reason he vetoed the measure last month. The House and Senate could not override the veto, and the spending bill is still languishing in Congress. But since most earmarks appear to go to large, traditionally White institutions, one expert says Black and other lawmakers should seek a greater share of the pie. I don't know why Black legislators haven't done it more often, said Dr. Ronald Walters, a political scientist and director of the African American Leadership Center at the University of Maryland. According to Walters, Republicans broke the bank on earmarks when they controlled Congress from 1994 to 2006. But Democratic control of Congress and, as a result, increased power for minority lawmakers should give MSIs more leverage than before to seek their share of projects. More HERE AAPP: What should we do to hold the Congressional Black Caucus accountable?

"Barack Obama: Who Does he Represent?

AAPP: Here is a great post by Fahim Knight regarding Barack, Oprah, the Democrats. Fahim talk in very clear terms about how "from 1865 to 1932 blacks overwhelmingly were republicans but in 1929, blamed the Republicans and Hubert Hoover’s administration for the Great Depression and the economic decline of America. Blacks left the Republican Party in wholesale numbers and this historical coincidence has worked to their long-term political detriment."

Fahim also talks about how, "in the deep recess of our minds, black Americans seem to think that we have a moral obligation to unconditionally support and vote the democratic ticket. It seem logical to me that since 1932, there should be enough historical evidence, which documents political betrayal and broken promises made by the Democratic Party to black Americans. In essence, we love the devil because he gives us nothing." Fahim asks the tough question, "Why don’t the so-called black leadership come to understand and advocate the power of voting the issues and leverage the black vote as an uncommitted and non-partisan bloc whose main interest is negotiating the best political deal for black Americans regardless of candidates’ party affiliations?"

H/T Daily Grail

BARACK OBAMA: WHO DOES HE REPRESENT?” OPRAH WILL SOON FIND OUT"

by fahim knight

“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States”. If Barack Obama just happened to get “selected” (elected) his Oath of Office as all past, present and would-be future United States Presidents have an obligation to preserve, protect and defend the Elitist, as well as to serve at the disposal of the International Banks and Bankers----Morgans, Oppenhemiers, Rothschilds, Rockefellers, etc. If Obama like the other democrat and republican candidates are willing to expand and preserve the POWER ELITE’S wealth and stranglehold over humanity, then without a doubt Obama will be their presidential servant.

The Oath should read something like this, “I Barack Obama do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and to the best of my ability to preserve the wealth of all the DYNASTIC FAMILIES located throughout the world, protect their FINANCIAL INTEREST and DEFEND AGAINST all would be enemies foreign and domestic that might ask for EQUAL DISTRIBUTION OF THE WORLD’S WEALTH. Lastly, and furthermore, I will continue TO DESTROY and ERODE THE RIGHTS GIVEN TO THE PEOPLE IN THE U.S. CONSTITUTION and DEFEND THE PATRIOT ACT, MILITARY COMMISSION ACT, ANTI-TERRORISM ACT to the BEST OF MY ABILITY TO SERVE THE ELITIST SO HELP ME POWER BROKERS”.

These are some of the non-negotiable pre-conditions that Senator Obama and any other presidential candidate must obey, if they desire to be appointed to head the nation and the world. Someone may say this writer is downplaying the U. S. Constitution; we all handed this most precious document over to a Cabal of vipers 43 days after 9-11, which they have rendered this to a mere piece of paper with no jurisprudence weight and post 9-11 the Constitution has proven to be just a symbol without the legality to protect its citizens. The Masonic framers of the Constitution are perhaps turning in their grave, as they witness “Light” turn into “Darkness” under “King” George Bush’s administration. Thus, as stated above they have rendered the United States Constitution to a useless piece of paper with no power to confound and control wickedly wise

It was reported on November 28, 2007 that television talk show host extraordinaire, Oprah Winfrey who has been on record of endorsing Senator Obama since he declared his presidential candidacy; However, Oprah’s recent endorsement commitment went even a step further by committing more of her resources and consigned to going on the road with Obama in order to influence American voters and to use her high profile image to garnish a cross section of support for this African American candidate.

This writer does not think that this strategy will translate into astronomical electoral dividends for Obama nor will it bring him any closer to the White House. My wife is a huge fan of Oprah Winfrey and believes that everything this television Diva touches turns into gold. It has been widely recorded that Oprah has a net worth that places her in the income bracket of a billionaire. To some this would sound like a lot of money and power; however, relatively speaking THE DYNASTIC FAMILIES would not give Oprah the time of day and would be insulted that someone were suggesting her as their financial equal. Oprah does not understand this reality but she will soon find out. More HERE

African-American leadership could learn from Fredrick Douglass

African-American leadership on the issues surrounding the civil war

H/T comp this!

By fiftypercentninja

“What to a Slave is the 4th of July?” by Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass (1818-1895) was a prominent black leader of the nineteenth century who worked on many causes, including abolition, women’s rights, and social reform. He was also a journalist and newspaper editor. But before Douglass was any of those things, he was a slave, born in 1818 to a female slave impregnated by the plantation superintendent. Douglass changed hands many times, teaching himself to read and write against the wishes of his owners and largely in secret. This passion for books led to his owners lending him out to a “Negro breaker” (a term referring to a slave driver known for a level of abuse and torment that would crush the spirits of a rebellious slave) from whom he escaped in 1838. His escape was orchestrated by a free black woman who he eventually married, and the two settled down in Massachusetts. Upon escaping his shackles, Douglass (formerly named Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey) renamed himself after the hero of “The Lady of the Lake” by Sir Walter Scott; the renaming process was a common way for escaped slaves to shed the shackles of their former owner’s name.

Douglass did not take his freedom lightly, and immediately went to work learning about injustice in America. By 1841 he was an eloquent and popular black leader, and was encouraged to become an agent for the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society. Here, Douglass began to run into some problems. Though self-educated, Douglass was incredibly articulate and poised in his speech, and his mentors became concerned that his eloquence was damaging to his credibility. He was urged to pepper his speech with “plantation language,” which he had no interest in doing as part of his project was to illustrate the equality of black and white in every way. In response to questions of his authenticity, Douglass penned his Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, Written by Himself, which appeared in 1845. The publication of his book, which explained his escape in great detail, left Douglass open to the threat of capture and re-enslavement, so he fled to England for a time where his supporters and friends raised enough money to buy his freedom. Through it all, Douglass kept speaking — for him, the only answer to the brutality of slavery was force, and he welcomed the Civil War as such a means. He, along with Sojourner Truth, encouraged Lincoln to allow blacks to enlist in the fight against the South, and worked tirelessly to encourage blacks to actually go forward and enlist.

In “What to a Slave is the 4th of July?,” Douglass starts out by painting himself to be incredibly shy and nervous. I think this is a conceit of modesty, given that by this point in his career he was an accomplished speaker. He begins by discussing the meaning and importance of the day, Independence Day, at which he has been invited to speak. He comments that he is pleased America is so young (only 76), because the youth of the country gives hope for the future of it. He reflects upon the Revolutionary War, noting that 76 years on it is easy to see how wrong England was, but in the early days of the unrest with Britain this was not so. There was a time, he says, when the quest for liberty against England was not a fashionable cause to promote. People still did, though, and the movement began slowly. He points out that the revolutionaries started peaceably, but when peace failed they were not afraid to turn to force — and it was force that changed the future and solidified victory.

Douglass points out that black Americans gained nothing on July 4, 1776. The feting of independence is an ironic thing for a man like Douglass, who had to rely on the kindness of citizens of the supposedly oppressive England to buy his freedom from an American slave owner. The freedom embodied by the day is not accessible to black Americans. Douglass is very careful to set up an adversarial relationship, here. He separates himself from the crowd, saying that this is “your” holiday, but not “his.” He does this to illustrate the different perceptions of reality for white and black Americans. He asks if he has been invited to the day in order to be mocked, such is the ridiculousness of asking a black man to celebrate a freedom he was never granted by his government. More HERE

Jesse Jackson Another View

We Shall Overcome Jesse Jackson

By Elizabeth Wright

Jesse Jackson and other liberal black elites understand well that the only power they possess comes through their influence within and over the black masses. To guarantee their success as brokers for their own elite class, for whom they extract sundry affirmative action perks, they must appear to maintain a firm attachment to the "downtrodden underclass." It is this underclass that is held up to whites, to preserve white fear of potential riots and mayhem. And it is the prospect of turmoil and pandemonium that underlies all the successful wheeling and dealing pulled off by these black elites.

Jackson & Co. understand that, in order to keep a firm fix on the loyalty of their followers, uppermost in the minds of the black masses must be the belief that their "leaders" are always there for them. "We are here for you when those bad white people don't serve you quickly enough in a restaurant; we are here for you when those mean whites arrest you for crimes you've committed; and we are here for you even when they kick you out of school for being menaces."

Decades of white cowardice and acquiescence have come about due to fear of possible black rioting and social disruption. Through ongoing demonstrations and protest marches, black elites keep the apprehension alive that mass bedlam is still the bottom line--that black leaders still have the power to unleash "black rage." In the Decatur case, when the heads of the NAACP saw that Jackson's usual ability to intimidate might be slipping, and there might be a compromise of sorts, they realized they had to get involved. Not being fools, they understand that the status of black leaders, from Jesse Jackson to Al Sharpton to Kweisi Mfume, is dependent upon their image--not only among the black masses, but among whites as well. The public image of black leaders is one that shows them with a mastery for getting whites to capitulate to demands.

Who could fail to be impressed, and even a little cowed, when observing the ability of black bigwigs to summon powerful men like Donald Trump, Alan Greenspan and other chiefs of mega-corporations to financial extortion sessions, and make these men look happy to be there? [See Lawsuit Gravy Train: Doing It the Black Way] Who would think of challenging the will of such an apparently mighty black leadership?

Over several decades, whites have meekly submitted to blackmail and racial chicanery for the sake of peace, and the assurance that there will be no future "long, hot summers." But peace at what price? A dubious peace that has brought the country insidious laws that pervert the Constitution, in order to appease the elites of preferred groups. A peace that has set legal precedents for the persecution of whites especially. A counterfeit peace that transforms all opponents into "racists" and "white supremacists."

In a press release of Nov. 15, Jesse Lee Peterson, black writer and head of Brotherhood Organization of A New Destiny, calls for a "national repudiation" of Jesse Jackson and his ilk. Says Peterson: "It is time this man is exposed for what he is--a cold, selfish manipulator. Really just a racist demagogue." He describes Jackson as one who waits for the next ugly race episode. "Time and time again, he lays in wait, only to spring up when he can inflame a racial situation. He does not care a whit about those thugs he is protecting, or the rest of the students. These boys need to be dealt with properly, not encouraged to be wrong."

Peterson calls for all Americans to stand up against Jackson. "We must set aside the color issue, which often causes people to tread lightly, and simply deal with the wrong actions of this man. If a white man were advocating lenient punishment on six white thugs, this country would not stand for it." Peterson wryly claims, "We shall overcome Jesse Jackson." Isn't it about time for Americans to overcome this man and his entire conniving entourage?


Elizabeth Wright is an African-American writer and editor of the Issues & Views Magazine and blog. Her articles were also published in Issues & Views.