Dialing Back Trump's Election By Race, Gender, and Educational Background

Donald Trump's election on November 8, 2016, baffled and dumbfounded political pollsters.  Many political pundits and average citizens were left scratching their heads in amazement, wondering how Trump registered a historic victory despite scientific polling data that showed him losing the election in a landslide.  For those like me, left wondering what happened in this election, and more particularly, how racial, gender, and educational fault lines manifested themselves between Republicans and Democrats, the Pew Research Center has pulled together interesting data.  I encourage you to check out the Pew Research Center's study: http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/11/09/behind-trumps-victory-divisions-by-race-gender-education/  

African-American Karate Instructor Gives Uplifting Pep Talk To Young Student

This video has gone viral, but in case you haven't viewed it yet, below here's a link to a African-American karate instructor giving a wonderful and inspirational pep talk to a young student who is crying in class:

http://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2016/08/07/karate-instructor-ok-to-cry-orig-bk.cnn

This video is very touching and necessary for our kids today. 

EEOC Proposes Changes to EEO-1 Statements And Reporting Requirements

In proposed regulations, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC"), has proposed changes that could effect federal contractors and private employers with 100 or more employees.  In the proposed regulations, which are still open for comment until August 15, 2016, employers would have to include pay and hours worked data by sex and race/ethnicity, grouped by job category in their Equal Employer Information Report ("EEO-1 Report").  The regulations, if adopted, would take effect in 2017.  Here is a link for further reading on the topic:

http://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/eeoc-issues-revised-proposal-to-amend-91314/

The Racial Wealth Gap Would Take 228 Years For African-Americans To Close In The United States

Courtesy The Nation.

Recently, on this blog, I posted and shared sobering statistics from the Pew Research Center about the widening White/Black Wealth Gap in the United States.  The numbers are staggering, White Americans have a net worth 13 times greater than African-Americans, and 10 times greater than Latino Americans!  Well, there is more bad news to report, one commentator explains that it would take 228 years for the average African-American family to build the same net worth as a average White American family today.  This article from the Nation lays out the statistics and policy implications, it is worth a thorough read: 

https://www.thenation.com/article/the-average-black-family-would-need-228-years-to-build-the-wealth-of-a-white-family-today/ 

As this article explains, seismic and ground-shifting public policy initiatives would have to be put in place to close the widening racial wealth gap in this country.  Amazing!

Michael Jordan Makes $5 Million Donation To African-American Museum in Washington D.C.

Courtesy of ESPN.

Michael Jordan has opened his pockets lately!  On this blog a couple of weeks ago, I posted about major contributions Jordan made to social justice issues.  Despite years of criticism and silence, Jordan has been engaging in major philanthropic efforts to aid the African-American community in recent weeks.  This time around, Jordan has donated $5 million to assist the Smithsonian's National Museum of African-American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.  In recognition of Jordan's gift, the sports gallery in the new museum, slated to open in September 2016, will be named after Michael Jordan.  Kudos to Jordan for stepping up to the plate to meaningful causes lately!  Here's a link to the story:

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/17250075/michael-jordan-pledges-5-million-african-american-museum      

George Zimmerman 2.0?: 20 Year Old African-American Man Gunned Down In A Raleigh North Carolina Neighborhood

Courtesy of CNN.

Recently, Kouren Thomas, a 20 year old African-American man, was gunned down by a white man in a Raleigh, North Carolina neighborhood.  The transcript of the 911 call to Raleigh police is quite disturbing.  Chad Copley, the shooter apparently shot through his living room window at Mr. Thomas.  The white shooter has been charged with first-degree murder for his actions.  The link below provides insight to this yet again tragic,
senseless, and unnecessary killing of a young unarmed Black man:

http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/09/us/raleigh-north-carolina-man-shoots-african-american-outside-home-911-calls/index.html  

A spokesman for the Thomas family dubbed Copley as George Zimmerman 2.0.  Let's see how this case proceeds. 

President Obama Makes History: Commutes Prison Sentence Of NFL Star's Grandmother

President Obama has advocated for major changes to the U.S. criminal justice system during his presidency.  Obama has called for sentencing reform for non-violent drug offenses, and rethinking of mandatory-minimum sentences in criminal cases.  Indeed, the numbers are illustrative.  President Obama has commuted the prison sentences of 562 prisoners during his eight year administration. Obama's 562 commutations is more than the past nine (9) Presidents combined.

Denver Bronco's wide receiver Demaryius Thomas has been the recipient of Obama's largess twice. Last November, President Obama commuted the 20 year sentence of Thomas' mother for a drug distribution conviction.  Recently, President Obama commuted the life sentence of Thomas' 60 year old grandmother on a drug distribution charge.  Both Thomas' mother and grandmother were convicted in the same criminal enterprise when he was 11 years old.  Read the full story below:

http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/04/us/obama-denver-broncos-demaryius-thomas-grandmother/index.html  

Charleston, South Carolina Church Shooter Attacked In Prison

Dylan Roof, the gunman who massacred nine (9) parishioners in Charleston, South Carolina, at Emmanuel AME Church, last year has been assaulted in prison.  Despite being in protective custody, due to the nature of his crime, the officer guarding Roof was distracted momentarily, allowing Roof's attack.  Roof's injuries were relatively minor.  Interestingly, on Twitter people are heaping praise on Roof's attacker, Dwayne Stafford.  In light of the forgiveness and graciousness of the victim's families, displayed last year at Roof's arraignment on capital murder charges, are we going too far to ask for monetary reward for Roof's attacker?  Here's a link to the story:

http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/04/us/south-carolina-dylann-roof-beaten/index.html

Home Of African-American Volunteer Firefighter Burned In Upstate New York

Here's a sad story, Kenneth Walker, the lone African-American firefighter in North Tonawanda, New York, received a horrible letter on Monday disparaging his race.  Days later, Walker's apartment was torched.  Thankfully, this small community has rallied behind Walker.  Check out the full story below:

http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/04/us/firefighter-racist-threat-trnd/index.html 

Senator Tim Scott On Racial Profiling And Policing: "Half Free, Half Slave"

Senator Tim Scott (R-South Carolina)

A couple of weeks ago, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott (R) delivered a very powerful and touching speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate, recounting his personal experiences with encounters with law enforcement.  This was remarkable for Scott who very seldom speaks about race, despite the fact that he is one of only two sitting African-American U.S. Senators, along with New Jersey's Cory Booker (D). Scott addressed numerous occasions in which he had been stopped by law enforcement for dubious reasons, and more importantly, instances of racial profiling he has faced as a sitting lawmaker in Washington, D.C., at the hands of the Capital Police.  Below, here are a couple of links to news articles discussing Senator Scott's Senate floor remarks:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jul/13/tim-scott-senate-floor-speech-racism-police-shootings

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/07/tim-scott-capitol-racism-senate-225507

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/u-s-sen-tim-scott-racism-capitol-police/

I give Senator Scott praise and credit for lending his voice to issues of policing and criminal justice as they impact minority communities.  This is a long story for lawmakers of color at the pinnacle of legislation in this country.  Senator Scott's remarks got me to thinking about the past.  In 1875, U.S. Representative James T. Rapier (Republican-Alabama) delivered one of the greatest political speeches delivered by any African-American lawmaker past or present.  The sad thing is that most people have never been exposed to Rep. Rapier's speech.  Rapier delivered his speech in 1875, to advocate and argue for the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1875, which happened to be the most sweeping piece of civil rights legislation ever passed in the United States. The Civil Rights Act of 1875 was overturned by the United States Supreme Court in the Civil Rights Cases (1883).  Rapier's speech was entitled "Half Free, Half Slave."  I'm sharing it below in it's entirety because it is remarkable and thought provoking even today.  As you read and digest Congressman Rapier's speech, ask yourself has much changed in 140 years?

Rep. James T. Rapier (R-Alabama)
Courtesy Howard University.

Feb.4, 1875, Representative James T. Rapier

"Half Free, Half Slave"

MR. SPEAKER, I had hoped there would be no protracted discussion on the civil rights bill. It has been debated all over the country for the last seven years; twice it has done duty in our national political campaigns; and in every minor election during that time it has been pressed into service for the purpose of intimidating the weak white men who are inclined to support the republican ticket. I was certain until now that most persons were acquainted with its provisions, that they understood its meaning; therefore it was no loner to them the monster it had been depicted, that was to break down all Social barriers, and compel one man to recognize another socially, whether agreeable to him or not. 

I must confess it is somewhat embarrassing for a colored man to urge the passage of this bill, because if he exhibits an earnestness in the matter and expresses a desire for its immediate passage, straightway he is charged with a desire for social equality, as explained by the demagogue and understood by the ignorant white man. But then it is just as embarrassing for him not to do so, for, if he remains silent while the struggle is being carried on around, and for him, he is liable to be charged with a want of interest in a matter that concerns him more than anyone else, which is enough to make his friends desert his cause. So in steering away from Scylla I may run upon Charybdis. But the anomalous and, I may add, the supremely ridiculous position of the Negro at this time, in this country, compels me to say something. Here his condition is without comparison, parallel alone to itself Just that the law recognizes my right upon this floor as a lawmaker, but that there is no law to secure to me any accommodations whatever while traveling here to discharge my duties as a Representative of a large and wealthy constituency. Here I am the peer of the proudest, but on a steamboat or car I am not equal to the most degraded. Is not this most anomalous and ridiculous? 

I wish to say in justice to myself that no one regrets more than I do the necessity that compels one to the manor born to come in these halls with hat in hand (so to speak) to ask at the hands of his political peers the same public rights they enjoy. And I shall feel ashamed for my country if there be any foreigners present who have been lured to our shores by the popular but untruthful declaration that this land is the asylum of the oppressed, to hear a member of the highest legislative body in the world declare from his place, upon his responsibility as a Representative, that, notwithstanding his political position, he has no civil rights that another class is bound to respect. 

Here a foreigner can learn what he cannot learn in any other country, that it is possible for a man to be half free and half slave, or, in other words, he will see that it is possible for a man to enjoy political rights while he is denied civil ones; here he will see a man legislating for a free people, while his own chains of slavery hang about him and are far more galling than any the foreigner left behind him; here he will see and what is not to be seen elsewhere, that position is no mantle of protection in our "land of the free and home of the brave"; for I am subjected to far more outrages and indignities in coming to and going from this capital in discharge of my public duties than any criminal in the country provided he be white. Instead of my position shielding me for insult, it too often invites it. 

I affirm, without the fear of contradiction, that any white ex-convict (I care not what may have been his crime, nor whether the hair on the shaven side of his head has had time to grow out or not) may start with me today to Montgomery, that all the way down he will be treated as a gentleman, while I will be treated as the convict. He will be allowed a berth in a sleeping car with all its comforts, while I will be forced into a dirty, rough box with the drunkards, apple sellers, railroad hands, and next to any dead that be in transit, regardless of how far decomposition may have progressed. Sentinels are placed at the doors of the better coaches, with positive instructions to keep persons of color out; and I must do them the justice to say that they guard these sacred portals with a vigilance that would have done credit to the flaming swords at the gates of Eden. Tender, pure, intelligent young ladies are forced to travel in this way if they are guilty of the crime of color, the only unpardonable sin known in our Christian and Bible lands, where sinning against the Holy Ghost (whatever that may be) sinks into significance when compared with the sin of color. If from any cause we are compelled to lay over, the best bed in the hotel is his if he can pay for it, while I am invariably turned away, hungry and cold, to stand around the railroad station until the departure of the next train, it matters not how long, thereby endangering my health, while my life and property are at the mercy of any highwayman who may wish to murder and rob me. 

And I state without the fear of being gainsaid, the statement of the gentleman from Tennessee to the contrary notwithstanding, that there is not an inn between Washington and Montgomery, a distance of more than a thousand miles that will accommodate me to bed or meal. Now, then, is there a man upon this floor who is so heartless, whose breast is so void of the better feelings, as to say that this brutal custom needs no regulation? I hold that it does and that Congress is the body to regulate it. Authority for its action is found not only in the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, but by virtue of that amendment (which makes all persons born here citizens) authority is found in Article 4, Section 2, of the federal Constitution, which declares in positive language that "the citizens of each state shall have the same rights as the citizens of the several states." Let me read Mr. Brightly's comment upon this clause; he is considered good authority, I believe. In describing the several rights he says they may all be comprehended under the following general heads: "Protection by the government; the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the right to acquire and possess property of every kind, and to pursue and obtain happiness and safety; the right of a citizen of one state to pass through or to reside in any other state for purposes of trade, agriculture, professional pursuits, or otherwise." 

Sir, I submit that I am degraded as long as I am denied the public privileges common to other men, and that the members of this House are correspondingly degraded by recognizing my political equality while I occupy such humiliating position. What a singular attitude for lawmakers of this great nation to assume, rather come down to me than allow me to go up to them. Sir, did you ever reflect that this is the only Christian country where poor, finite man IS held responsible for the crimes of the infinite God whom you profess to worship? But it is; I am held to answer for the crime of color, when I was not consulted in the matter. Had I been consulted, and my future fully described, I think I should have objected to being born in this Gospel land. The excuse offered for all this inhuman treatment is that they consider the Negro inferior to the white man, intellectually and morally. This reason might have been offered and probably accepted as truth some years ago, but not one now believes him incapable of a high order of culture, except someone who is himself below the average of mankind in natural endowments. 

Mr. Speaker, time will not allow me to review the history of the American Negro, but I must pause here long enough to say that he has not been properly treated by this nation; he has purchased and paid for all, and for more than, he has yet received. Whatever liberty he enjoys has been paid for over and over again by more than two hundred years of forced toil; and for such citizenship as is allowed him he paid the full measure of his blood, the dearest price required at the hands of any citizen. In every contest, from the beginning of the Revolutionary struggle down to the War Between the States, has he been prominent. But we all remember in our late war when the government was so hard pressed for troops to sustain the cause of the Union, when it was so difficult to fill up the ranks that had been so fearfully decimated by disease and the bullet; when every train that carried to the front a number of fresh soldiers brought back a corresponding number of wounded and sick ones; when grave doubts as to the success of the Union arms had seized upon the minds of some of the most sanguine friends of the government; when strong men took counsel of their fears; when those who had all their lives received the fostering care of the nation were hesitating as to their duty in that trying hour, and others questioning if it were not better to allow the star of this Republic to go down and thus be blotted out from the great map of nations than to continue the bloodshed; when gloom and despair were widespread; when the last ray of hope had nearly sunk below our political horizon, how the Negro then came forward and offered himself as a sacrifice in the place of the nation, made bare his breast to the steel, and in it received the thrusts of the bayonet that were aimed at the life of the nation by the soldiers of that government in which the gentleman from Georgia figured as second officer. 

Sir, the valor of the colored soldier was tested on many a battlefield, and today his bones lie bleaching beside every hill and in every valley from the Potomac to the Gulf; whose mute eloquence in behalf of equal rights for all before the law, is and ought to be far more persuasive than any poor language I can command. 

... Either I am a man or I am not a man. if one, I am entitled to all the rights, privileges and immunities common to any other class in this country; if not a man, I have no right to vote, no right to a seat here; if no right to vote, then 20 percent of the members on this floor have no right here, but, on the contrary, hold their seats in violation of the law. If the Negro has no right to vote, then one eighth of your Senate consists of members who have no shadow of a claim to the places they occupy; and if no right to vote, a half-dozen governors in the South figure as usurpers. 

This is the legitimate conclusion of the argument, that the Negro is not a man and is not entitled to all the public rights common to other men, and you cannot escape it. But when I press my claims I am asked, "Is it good policy?" My answer is, "Policy is out of the question; it has nothing to do with it; that you can have no policy in dealing with your citizens; that there must be one law for all; that in this case justice is the only standard to be used, and you can no more divide justice than you can divide Deity." On the other hand, I am told that I must respect the prejudices of others. Now, sir, no one respects reasonable and intelligent prejudice more than I. I respect religious prejudices, for example, these I can comprehend. But how can I have respect for the prejudices that prompt a man to turn up his nose at the males of a certain race, while at the same time he has a fondness for the females of the same race to the extent of cohabitation? Out of four poor unfortunate colored women, who from poverty were forced to go to the lying-in branch of the Freedman's Hospital here in the District last year, three gave birth to children whose fathers were white men, and I venture to say that if they were members of this body, would vote against the civil-rights bill. Do you, can you wonder at my want of respect for this kind of prejudice? To make me feel uncomfortable appears to be the highest ambition of many white men. It is to them a positive luxury, which they seek to indulge at every opportunity. 

Mr. Speaker, I trust this bill will become law, because it is a necessity, and because it will put an end to all legislation on this subject. It does not and cannot contemplate any such ideas as social equality; nor is there any man upon this floor so silly as to believe that there can be any law enacted or enforced that would compel one man to recognize another as his equal socially; if there be, he ought not to be here, and I have only to say that they have sent him to the wrong public building. I would oppose such a bill as earnestly as the gentleman from North Carolina, whose associations and cultivations have been of such a nature as to lead him to select the crow as his standard of grandeur and excellence in the place of the eagle, the hero of all birds and our national emblem of pride and power. I will tell him that I have seen many of his race to whose level I should object to being dragged. 

Sir, it matters not how much men may differ upon the question of state and national rights; here is one class of rights, however, that we all agree upon, namely, individual rights, which include the right of every man to select associates for himself and family, and to say who shall and who shall not visit at his house. This right is God-given and custom-sanctioned, and there is, and there can be, no power overruling your decision in this matter. Let this bill become law, and not only will it do much toward giving rest to this weary country on this subject, completing the manhood of my race and perfecting his citizenship, but it will take him from the political arena as a topic of discussion where he has done duty for the last fifty years, and thus freed from anxiety respecting his political standing, hundreds of us will abandon the political fields who are there from necessity, and not from choice, and seek other and more pleasant ones; and thus relieved, it will be the aim of the colored man as well as his duty and interest, to become a good citizen, and to do all in his power to advance the interests of a common country. 

The Smoking Guns Proving North Carolina Intentionally Tried To Disenfranchise Black Voters Through Voter ID Laws

I want to thank a reader, who will remain unnamed because I don't have his permission to name him, of the Black Intelligentsia Blog for inspiring today's post.  On Saturday, I posted on this blog about the invalidation of North Carolina's harsh racially motivated voter ID laws, by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.  A reader sent me a link to an incredible Washington Post article that chronicles the racially targeted and motivated mechanisms that guided the North Carolina Legislature's adoption of the state's voting measures, targeted with "surgical precision" (in the Court's language) to disenfranchise African-Americans.  Thank you for calling this article to my attention!

The "smoking gun" was very specific.  North Carolina lawmakers gathered data on racial differences in voting patterns.  The data revealed that African-Americans lacked state identification issued by the DMV in larger proportions compared to Whites.  The eventual law passed required that only identification issued by the North Carolina DMV would be acceptable identification to vote. Ironically, this just so happened to be the type of identification that Whites possessed most prevalently. Data also showed that Blacks were more likely to vote in the first seven (7) days of the state's early voting period.  Lawmaker's decided to eliminate the first seven (7) days of early voting, particularly Sunday voting, to stifle Black and Democratic leaning voting patterns.  Overall, the number of days for early voting was decreased from 17 to 10 days.  

This article is mind boggling, I encourage you to take the time to read it in full:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/07/29/the-smoking-gun-proving-north-carolina-republicans-tried-to-disenfranchise-black-voters/    

Pat McCrory, North Carolina's Governor, promises to fight on and appeal the decision and explore alternative means to employ the law.  How could Governor McCrory defend a law that is so indefensible?

The #FireBillO'Reilly Movement

Fox News host Bill O'Reilly is at it again.  Over the years this guy has made so many inflammatory statements with virtually no repercussions.  Well, in the latest round, in response to Michelle Obama's speak at the Democratic National Convention about the irony of a Black family waking up in a house built by slaves, O'Reilly has made off-color comments about the slaves who built the White House. Listen to O'Reilly for yourself, here's a link to his comments:

http://www.cnn.com/videos/cnnmoney/2016/07/27/bill-oreilly-white-house-slaves-cnnmoney.cnn

NBC's Bryan Williams was off the air for an extended period of time for fabricating a story about coming under enemy fire while in Iraq.  Williams was shamed, while O'Reilly continues to blurt out stupidity and bend historical facts.  No network should air such racially insensitive comments.

Movements can start with a hashtag: bear witness to the Black Lives Matter Movement.  The point of this post is straightforward, I'd like to encourage you to start a new movement to bring heat on Fox News to at least punish, or better yet terminate Bill O'Reilly for the comments you just viewed. Tweet the hashtag #FireBillO'Reilly to start a movement to get some action against this guy.  Come on Black Twitter and social media, let's see where this can go.  Share and pass this post on to others to get the word circulated.  

CNN Article: Is Black Lives Matter Blowing It?

Recently, on this blog I posted on the path forward for the Black Lives Matter Movement.  In a similar vein to my earlier post, CNN writer John Blake, offers his perspective on the Black Lives Matter Movement.  Blake questions whether the Black Lives Matter Movement can go from being a protect movement to a political movement with lasting impact.  I found this to be an interesting read. I thought that I'd share it with you, so check it out below:

Is Black Lives Matter Blowing It?

North Carolina's Racially Motivated Voter ID Law Targeting African-Americans Overturned

Voter rights and the franchise have been under attack during recent years.  State after state has moved to enact laws requiring state-issued identification, curtailing ease of registration, and restrictions or virtual elimination of early voting.  Many of these restrictions have been enacted by Republican dominated state legislatures, and have been aimed to suppress the votes of African-American and Latino voters for political reasons.  On a larger level, in the recent landmark Supreme Court case Shelby County v. Holder, a conservative dominated court eviscerated the preclearance requirements of Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.  In many ways, we are entering a new era of Jim Crow as far as voting rights go for minority populations in the United States.  Will a poll tax be next? Some argue we might be heading in that direction.

Yesterday, in an important judicial decision, the United States Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals rendered an important decision overturning North Carolina's voting ID laws passed in 2013.  What is really striking about the court's decision is the court's findings and language rebuking the Republican dominated North Carolina legislature.  The court notes that North Carolina's law was enacted "with racially discriminatory intent" to target African-American voters.  The court stated that North Carolina's measures to require ID's, restrict same-day registration, out-of-precinct provisional voting, and early voting "target African-Americans with almost surgical precision" and "imposes cures for problems that don't exist."

Voting rights in this country are under attack.  Too many people have literally died to obtain the franchise, we must demand that politicians stop playing games with our right to vote.  More importantly, we must not get complacent, but remain vigilant in exercising our voting rights.  I encourage you to read the full story below:

http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/29/politics/north-carolina-voter-id/index.html

More Minority Federal Judges Are Appointed By Democratic Presidents Rather Than Republican Presidents

Judge William Henry Hastie.
Courtesy of Wikipedia.

As a lawyer and law professor, I couldn't help but post the data I'm about to reveal below.  Here's a trivia fact, most people, unless they're legal historians, probably don't know.  William Henry Hastie was the first black person appointed by a U.S. President to serve on the federal bench.  Judge Hastie was appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in 1937, to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Virgin Islands.  In fact, in 1949, President Truman elevated Judge Hastie to serve on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.  

In comparison to Democrats, Republicans have a relatively poor track record of appointing minorities to the federal bench.  Here's a glance at the number of appointments of minorities by President, from President Truman to President Obama:

More minority judges have been appointed in the past twenty-five years than at any other time.  In fact, seven (7) out of ten (10) minority judges have been appointed in this time period.  Progress has been made.  Cumulatively, the number of minority judges to be appointed and serve on the federal district and appellate courts has tripled since 1990.

Despite strides being made by minorities, in terms of appointment to the federal bench, most appointees are white.  The chart below bears witness to this fact:

View the complete study here:

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/07/19/more-minority-federal-judges-have-been-appointed-under-democratic-than-republican-presidents/

Survey Reveals Blacks And Whites View Race And Inequality Vastly Different In America

How many of you remember the "Justice League" or "Super Friends" cartoons of the 1970's and 1980's pitting Superman versus Bizarro?  Bizarro was a botched clone of Superman, created by Lex Luther, who possessed powers that Superman possessed but only in reverse.  As antagonists, Superman and Bizarro lived in parallel universes.

As I watched the GOP Convention last week in Cleveland, and now the Democratic Convention this week in Philadelphia, sometimes when I critique the optics and rhetoric of race in America, I wonder whether I'm living in a parallel universe right here in America.  The statements on questions of race and inequality emanating from both Conventions stand miles apart.  Recall Rudy Giuliani's castigation of the Black Lives Matter Movement as a violent subversive organization.  Flash forward to Democratic spotlighting of issues of social justice, like having an undocumented person speak at the opening night of the Convention, and some speakers openly talking about police killings and brutality.  Rhetorically and optically, are we living in the same nation?  Judging by the GOP and Democratic Conventions, you'd think you left one nation to cross over into another nation.

Americans truly are divided on questions of race and inequality.  The gulf between whites and blacks on a number of questions is wide.  Blacks view race and inequality through one lense, while whites view the same issues through another lense.  The Pew Research Center recently conducted a national survey of 3,769 US adults (1,799 whites and 1,004 blacks) from February 29 through May 8, 2016. Views on race relations and inequality were all over the map.  On a number of issues, the full report of the survey is worth digesting.  Here's a link to the full Pew Research Center study for your viewing pleasure:

http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/interactives/state-of-race-in-america/


I'll tease you a little bit, here's a snapshot of the survey on a range of questions posed to whites and blacks on issues of fairness in a diversity of areas:

The Michael Jackson Pill: What Would Happen If The Government Compelled Black's To Take A Pill To Make Them White?

Professor Jerome McCristal Culp, Jr.
Courtesy of Duke University.

I'd like to go back into the vaults of my past in this post, and to pay homage to someone you probably haven't heard of but whose writings mean a lot to me.  During my 3L year at Duke University School of Law, I had the pleasure of taking Labor Law with a truly remarkable professor.  That Professor was Jerome McCristal Culp, Jr.  Professor Culp was a quiet, humble, and calming presence in any room in which he entered.  Quite honestly, because of Professor Culp's pedagogical approach, demeanor, and approachable down-to-earth intellect this was one of my most memorable law school classroom experiences.  Despite his being on a sabbatical my 1L year, I got to know Professor Culp well outside the classroom through Black Law Student Association ("BLSA") events and programming.

Like most students in law school, I was concerned about brass tacks-mastering the Black Letter law, and getting the best grades I could earn.  Scholarship, and other activities and engagements my professors were involved in outside the classroom were not first and foremost in my mind.  I'll admit, it wasn't until later, after I became a law professor, that I began to fully comprehend Professor Culp's remarkable career and scholarly contributions.  Professor Culp was the first African-American law professor to earn tenure at Duke Law School.  More importantly, outside the walls of Duke, Professor Culp was a tribal elder and founding voice in the Black Legal Scholarship, Critical Race Theory, and Lat-Crit Theory Movements.  Over the years, I've read most, if not all, of Professor Culp's scholarship published in law reviews and journals.  Professor Culp was a wonderful writer and thinker.  Sadly, Professor Culp passed away in 2004, at the young age of fifty-three (53) years old. Despite his relative youth at the time of his passing, Professor Culp's mark on legal scholarship is indelible.  In fact, the premier scholarship award given out to the best and brightest professors at Lat-Crit conferences is named the Jerome McCristal Culp, Jr. Award, to pay remembrance to who and what he meant to so many.     

In one of his more compelling articles, published in 1994 in the Michigan Law Review, Professor Culp explores the fallout of what it would mean if the state of Massachusetts compelled all of it's Black citizens to take a pill, the Michael Jackson pill, under penalty of stiff fines, that would remove all vestiges of being Black.  Society would be completely White.  In Professor Culp's well-crafted narrative, the five (5) then African-American members of the Harvard Law School faculty are approached by the NAACP to brief and argue the case against the application of this statute to Black citizens in Massachusetts.  This is all I'll tell you about Professor Culp's article, like a great movie I don't want to spoil the final scenes!

Here's a link to Professor Culp's article:

The Michael Jackson Pill: Equality, Race, and Culture

I encourage you to read it.  What would America look like if we compelled all African-Americans to take a pill to erase their blackness?    

Violent Arrest Of African-American Teacher Caught On Tape In Austin, Texas

Video of the 2015 arrest of Breaion King, a Texas schoolteacher, was recently made public.  The video of Ms. King's arrest at the hands of an Austin,Texas police officer is highly disturbing. However, what is equally disturbing is the conversation that the arresting officer has with Ms. King in his squad car about police and white America's perceptions of African-Americans.  This video is worth watching in full.  Be warned it is tough to watch.  Here's a link below:

http://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2016/07/22/violent-arrest-of-teacher-caught-on-cam-orig-vstan-dlewis.cnn

Michael Jordan Breaks Silence On Social Issues-Donates $2 Million To Social Justice Causes

NBA Great Michael Jordan.
Courtesy of  Wikipedia.

Maligned for placing his business interests over social justice issues, former NBA great, Michael Jordan has shattered his silence.  On Monday, Michael Jordan stepped forward to say he can no longer remain silent and oblivious to social issues of the day.  Jordan made donations of $1 million each to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and the International Association of Chiefs of Police's Institute for Community-Police Relations.  Many are lauding Jordan's decision.  Here's a link to the Undefeated article where Jordan speaks out:

Michael Jordan to the Undefeated: I Can No Longer Remain Silent

He's Back: Former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke Announces Run For US Senate

This one is scary! David Duke, former Louisiana Governor, and more importantly, former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard, announced he's running for a US Senate seat representing the state of Louisiana. This guy has nine political lives! He won't go away and fade off into the sunset! Duke still professes white supremacist views. I hope the good folks of Louisiana do the right thing and turn Duke away from the Senate floor. We'll keep watching. If you live in Louisiana, please vote to reject hatred this fall!

http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/22/politics/david-duke-senate-race/index.html

Bleacher Report Documentary On The Life And Times Of NFL'er Michael Vick

Courtesy of Wiki Commons

Today, I just wanted to post a quick link to a five (5) part Bleacher Report documentary on the life and times of NFL star Michael Vick.  As we all know, Michael Vick served two (2) years in prison for his role in a dog fighting ring run out of his mansion in Virginia.  The brother had it all-at the time one of the largest contracts in NFL history.  The brother lost it all-Vick had to declare bankruptcy heading out of prison.  Fortunately for him and family, Michael Vick was given a rare second chance to play in the NFL and redeem himself spiritually and financially.  How many of us fall from grace and get a second chance in life?  Not many of us! 

As I share this link, I going to say something I've said in private conversation with Black folks, and other Black folks have said to me, and some of my readers might want to say themselves (but they might be afraid).  Think about it: Michael Vick actually served more time in jail than the killers of a number of Black folks who probably should have gone to jail and had some responsibility and culpability for the deaths they caused! The killers of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Sandra Bland, Tamir Rice, Amadou Diallo, Sean Bell, Eric Garner, and countless other Black folk questionably killed, are all walking the streets like nothing happened.  We really have to wonder do Black lives matter? 

Check out the Vick documentary and share your own thoughts:

Michael Vick Bleacher Report Documentary  

A Milestone: The Black Intelligentsia Blog Gets It's 1,000th Page View In Less Than One Week Of Existence-Thank You!

It is always great to report good news!  I'm happy to report that the Black Intelligentsia Blog recently surpassed over 1,000 unique page visits!  This is remarkable for a blog that has only been up for less than one (1) week.  Site traffic has originated not only in the United States, but in a number of foreign countries.  The audience has been very diverse!  Visits have come from Germany, the Netherlands, France, Ireland, India, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Canada, South Korea, Malaysia, Vietnam, Mauritius, Singapore, Guyana, and the Dominican Republic.

The Black Intelligentsia Blog would not exist were it not for readers, supporters, and faithful followers like yourself.  You are greatly appreciated! Thank you for your initial and continued support!!!

Don't forget to tell your friends and family about the blog!  We look forward to continuing to provide you with the content that you demand and expect.

Does Compliance Really Matter?: Black Man Shot In North Miami Florida While Laying On the Ground With Arms In The Air

As we know, most Black parents have that "special" talk with their children, especially their Black sons, about what and what not to do when encountered by law enforcement officials.  The "Talk" as it is commonly referred to in the Black community, is all too common and routine, and a foreign discussion or concept for many Americans.  When I was a kid and adolescent growing up in inner-city Cleveland, my parents had the "Talk" with me.  Interesting, at the age of now 43, because I travel a great deal, my 78 year old mother still has the "Talk" with me from time-to-time.  She like many other Black mothers is scared for my safety as I step outside into a dangerous world, she is especially fearful of interactions I might have late at night as I drive down dark back roads in small towns and on the highways.  Each time she (my Mom) expresses her fear, I tell her I know the routine-always be respectful, most courteous, and compliant to the instructions of law enforcement officers, and most importantly I always place both of my hands on the steering wheel in plain site if a law enforcement officer stops my vehicle.  One more important instruction, from the "Talk," make no sudden moves or movements with any parts of your body.  These folks are the keys to survival for Black males in America.  Carrying out the instructions and teachings of the "Talk" often ensures that you make it home safely to your loved ones on a nightly basis.  The "Talk" is present in my physique and conduct everyday-it flips on like an automatic switch engrained in my DNA on a daily basis.  It is second nature at this point.     

So many of us, Black males that is, die before we reach the age of 44 due to a variety of circumstances.  I'm months away from age 44, if I have anything to say about it, knowing that I'm just leasing this body from God, and knowing that I can be evicted with or without notice at any time, I'm going to do my best to keep living my life fruitfully, productively, and as fearlessly as possible.  Despite the application of the "Talk" in our daily lives, I wonder why so many Black males are still getting shot and injured, and worse dying from encounters with law enforcement? 

I know that we should gather relevant facts and not rush to judgments, but one haunting thing that Diamond Reynolds states in her high stress contemporaneous stream of consciousness in the fake of the police shooting of Philando Castile, is that Philando informed the officer that he (Philando) was licensed to carry a concealed weapon, and that he was complying with the officer's instruction to retrieve his driver's license and CCW permit, but was still shot dead.  We can debate the events in Minnesota, none of us other than Diamond Reynolds and her young child were there, but assuming arguendo that Diamond's factual account is true, why did compliance with lawful instructions result in the loss of Philando Castile's life?  This is hard to wrap one's head around.

Leaving events in Minnesota for the moment, I came across footage of an unfathomable police shooting that recently took place in North Miami, Florida.  Charles Kinsey, a therapist, working with an agitated autistic patient outside their facility, was shot while laying on the ground with his arms outstretched, with his client in front of him sitting down, Mr. Kinsey begged police officers to deescalate the situation.  Despite his pleas to his client to remain calm, and repeatedly telling the responding police officers that the patient only had a toy truck and not a gun in his hand, Mr. Kinsey was still shot!  Fortunately, Mr. Kinsey was shot in the leg, and will hopefully make a full recovery.  The situation could have been far worse, Mr. Kinsey could have lost his life as a result of this encounter. 

The video is out there for the world to witness and judge.  I encourage you to fully watch the video.  Here's a link to it:

Link to North Miami Officer Involved Shooting of Charles Kinsey

What the hell is going on in America!  Folks, we truly have a significant problem with police involved shootings, and lack of employment of de-escalation techniques by police departments.  We can't keep wallpapering over or placing a Band-Aid over our problems as a nation on this issue.  Let's seriously work on this issue.  Here, you have a truly unarmed, compliant, and defenseless Black man who still gets shot senselessly.  Why should this happen?  Even after employing the techniques many of us are taught in the Black community to manage police encounters in the form of the "Talk," Charles Kinsey gets shot and injured anyhow.  Despite doing everything correctly, and in full accordance with the "Talk" playbook or blueprint.  Thank God for video!  
     

Three Tips To Avoid Strife Among Your Adult Children When You Die

As a follow-up to my Black Heirlooms post yesterday, here's a timely link.  This Time Magazine article discusses ways to avoid fights and strife among your adult children when you die.  Check it out: http://time.com/money/4286810/parents-siblings-money-fights/?xid=tcoshare

Black Heirlooms: A Short Film On The Impact Of Estate Planning On The African-American Community

Let's admit it, just about every family has experienced some form or manifestation of strife when a loved one dies.  Often, families disintegrate and become disjointed over finances and who's going to get what heirloom(s) which belonged to the deceased relative.  No family, and I mean no family, is detached from these sorts of issues.  Have you had these sorts of issues in your own family when someone died?  I can admit that my extended family has gone through these challenges, and other families of friends and associates of mine. 

With all this said, it is so important to have an estate plan in place to act as a relief valve to guide and direct your family in their time of need to make your wishes crystal clear.  The statistics range widely, in fact its hard to estimate, but I've come across statistics to suggest that somewhere between 60-75% of all Americans who die each year, regardless of race, die without a will or any meaningful sort of estate plan in place.  This is a huge problem for a variety of reasons-which I won't go into in this post. 

Several months ago, I came across a great short film (about 18-19 minutes) that I feel every African-American should watch and digest about issues centering on estate planning in the filmmaker's own family.  The filmmaker is a wonderful young sister, Amanda Brown, who I had the pleasure to meet in June 2016, when my sister Elizabeth (a NYC/Brooklyn based estate planning attorney) served on a panel with Amanda in Brooklyn to discuss the Black wealth gap, in an event hosted by Richard Flateau of Flateau Realty in Brooklyn.  It was a powerful and educational event for all who attended-there were over 300 attendees!  Here's a link to Amanda's movie "Black Heirlooms" which I share with you below:

Black Heirlooms Movie Full Clip

Additionally, here's a link to find Amanda on Twitter @BlackHeirlooms.  She's a thoughtful and insightful young sister bringing knowledge and wisdom to all.  Great work Amanda!  Keep up the great things you are doing to educate our community!

Pew Research Center Report On The Widening Racial Wealth Gap Since The Great Recession

In their most recent study, published in December 2014, the Pew Research Center published statistics that demonstrate that since the Great Recession (2007-2010) the White/Black wealth gap in the United States has grown.  Interestingly, in repeated situations of economic challenge and contraction, White America catches a common cold, while Black America catches pneumonia!  The statistics are powerful and revealing from the Pew Research Center study.  In 2013 dollars, the average Black household had a median net worth of $11,000, while an average White household had an average median net worth of $141,900.  Whites have a median household net worth that is roughly 13 times greater than that of Black households!!!  This is mind-blowing!  White households vis-à-vis Latino households is no better, Whites have a median net worth 10 times greater than Latinos.  Here's the Pew Research Center chart:

     
Wealth inequality by race and ethnicity has grown since 2007.  The Pew Research Center below shows the differential:

Here go the median net worth numbers between 2007-2013 graphically:

I invite you to read the full Pew Research Center report, it may be accessed through the following link: Pew Center Report on Wealth Inequality Since The Great Recession  These numbers should leave all African-Americans scratching their heads, and wrapping their brains around solutions to narrow the widening racial wealth gap in the United States.  Examine the last graph closely, you'll see that the Great Recession hammered Black household median net worth significantly.  Black median net household wealth dropped from $19,200 in 2007, to $11,000 in 2013.  These statistics are scary to say the least.  What do you think?

The Black Lives Matter Movement and Lessons We Can Learn From the Past to Sustain the Movement Going Forward

Props and Respect Due

For a number of years, I pondered, reflected, and contemplated one singular question.  If my generation of Black folks had to make sacrifices and lead a movement like the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950's and 1960's, to demand our civil and human rights, could we do it successfully?  Would we care more about Track 5 on Beyoncé's latest album?  Would Lil Wayne's beef with Birdman and Cash Money Records command our attention more than marching for our rights?  Would some of us (probably myself included) rather be in a nightclub dancing to Snoop Doggy Dogg (no Snoop Lion for me-not your grandparent's Snoop anymore!), 2Pac, Dr. Dre, Nas, or some classic Notorious B.I.G.?  Would the latest Cookieism from the most recent episode of Empire suck up all of our attention?  What was Olivia Pope going to do next on Scandal?  The list goes on, on, and on! 

Without a doubt, our parent's and grandparent's generation who strategized, mobilized, marched, and lost their very lives to dismantle Jim Crow, is one of the most remarkable generations of humans to live on this planet Earth.  Often, I liken the generation of Blacks who experienced Jim Crow and worse personally as the Moses Generation, God had a sacred pact to lead them to the Promised Land, but unfortunately many of them wouldn't live long enough to live in that land-they got to the top of the mountain and laid eyes over into that mystical Promised Land.  My generation of Black folks, the Jacob Generation, has advanced and made strides, and on many levels we have gotten to somewhat live and roam around a little in the Promised Land.  (Be on the lookout later this week for an important post on the blog about the current economic state of African-Americans to illuminate the somewhat comment I make).  We still have a long way to go.  Certainly, we haven't reaped all of the promises!  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. himself, invoked the imagery of the Promised Land I speak of in his last public speech in Memphis in 1968, on the eve of his assassination.   

I'll admit, and I've said it privately in discussions with many of my friends and family in conversation, I was more than a little skeptical of Black folks in my generation and the generation below mine and their ability to sacrifice, endure, and fight for a life defining cause.  Yes, I'll now admit my own skepticism in a public forum. 

Sometimes, one of the most remarkable things to happen to a person as they age and gain wisdom and perspective like myself, who's now age 43, is that often life and events on the ground prove you wrong and your own long-held assumptions, prejudices, and doubts come toppling down and crush themselves, and you if you're not careful.  Admitting when you're wrong is cathartic and necessary.  I've learned to not underestimate the will, resolve, endurance, and stamina of a determined mass community focused on a mission.  Young folks out there reading this, those of you between age 16 and 45 (I hate to exclude and discriminate against those of you above 45! (wow, I'm getting close to that milestone), I apologize wholeheartedly, you proved me dead wrong.  This generation of young Black folks is hungry for knowledge, well-informed, articulate, smart, thoughtful, courageous, determined, powerful, and unstoppable!  These superlatives are manifested in the actions of all of the young Black folks (and our allies and supporters of all races) who have mobilized and begun to march and demonstrate and demand recognition and embrace of their humanity through the Black Lives Matter Movement.  Further, I can vouch for them because I interact with them inside and outside of a classroom.  They deserve credit for their passion and effort, and the understanding of some of us older people.

Having been born in 1973, on the back end of the Civil Rights Movement, in my lifetime I've never witnessed anything like the actions, advocacy, and mass mobilization of the Black Lives Matter Movement in terms of framing of issues and impact on the Black community.  Why didn't my college classmates and I think about a mass movement like the Black Lives Matter Movement?  Well, for starters we didn't have social media back then!  Yes, I remember a time when FaceBook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and all these other cool social media platforms didn't exist! The internet was just getting started when I was in college, as I recall Vice President Al Gore had just gotten finished creating the internet.  Ok, you Millennials (or whatever you're called this year) are cool and have it made with all your cool #hashtags and all that other stuff you know how to do with technology!

Learning Lessons From the Past to Aid the Black Lives Matter Movement

My purpose in writing this post is twofold: 1.) I want to give the young Black folks spearheading and at the vanguard of the Black Lives Matter the props and credit they deserve, which hopefully I've sincerely done; and 2.) I want to make a few observations about where the Black Lives Matter Movement can go from here and lessons and mistakes from the past to avoid. 

In recent memory, the only mass movement that I can remember that closely resembles the impact of the Black Lives Matter Movement is the Occupy Wall Street Movement.  In the past, I closely followed the Occupy Wall Street Movement and posted about it on my other blog, the Corporate Justice Blog.  In fact, here's a link to a post on that blog I wrote at the height of the movement: http://corporatejusticeblog.blogspot.com/2011/10/occupy-wall-street-v-diagnosing-and.html  Interestingly, here's a link to a post on Occupy Wall Street that I wrote on the Corporate Justice Blog as the movement began to decline and taper off somewhat: http://corporatejusticeblog.blogspot.com/2013/11/occupy-wall-street-where-did-you-go.html  Generally, I'd be derelict in my duty to fail to mention that my co-bloggers and friends Andre Cummings, Steve Ramirez, Cheryl Wade, Lydie Pierre-Louis, and Todd Clark posted extensively on Occupy Wall Street happenings.  The results of a topical search on the Corporate Justice Blog bears witness to this fact: http://corporatejusticeblog.blogspot.com/search?q=occupy+wall+street    

The lesson is straightforward, movements rise and frame, articulate and galvanize around issues all the time, and more importantly they lose inertia, momentum, and eventually fizzle out in popular culture, imagination and consciousness.  As I've stated earlier, I admire the mass mobilization and consciousness raising impact of the Black Lives Matter Movement, I don't want to see the movement lose traction and follow-through in raising awareness to critical issues and hopefully bringing forth public policy change amount local, state, and federal public policymakers and decision makers.  If the Black Lives Matter Movement dies, which I don't think it will, I suspect that it's demise, if it were to happen, could do irreparable harm and somewhat set back progress, gains, and victories that the movement has secured already for the Black community.  My message to the foot soldiers and thought leaders of the Black Lives Movement is to not get complacent and let their feet up off of the gas pedal.  Press down even harder on the gas pedal!  In life, the most important and fiercest battles and eventually wars that we wage against challenges and obstacles are only won and secured through our own persistent and sustained efforts.  Pressure forms diamonds.  Times will be tough, critics and naysayers will be many, but I encourage all of the young people of all races, classes, genders, and socioeconomic levels participating in the Black Lives Matter Movement to not get battle wary!  The world will always have problems and issues to rectify, you must be relentless and forge on to make the world for future generations better.  Keep your noses to the grind despite the challenges that may loom on the horizon-storms gather but eventually they all pass.  

I think we can draw valuable lessons from President Barack Obama's elections in 2008 and 2012.  Then-Senator Obama forever changed the political landscape in this country by tapping into the social media revolution, which in no small measure brings us all together regardless of race, gender, class, and socioeconomic status.  Social media helped Obama mobilize the foot soldiers who believed in his message, who would canvass communities on his behalf, and organize get-out-the-vote efforts and physically march voters to the polls in meaningful numbers to elect Obama in November 2008. Sarah Palin mocked Obama for being a former community organizer, but the community organizer had the last laugh.  Obama won.  He showed us that there is strength in numbers, and people will always matter.  The same held true in 2012, when President Obama easily tapped into his social media army to outpace Mitt Romney in the election that fall.  The lesson is simple, keep effectively using social media like you have been doing Black Lives Matter, it is your best friend to reach your targeted audience.

Organization, structure, and infrastructure are key.  On a related point to the point I make above about President Obama, a closely related lesson Obama teaches us is that data and information are king and rule the day.  Countless thousands of young Black folk and consciously considerate allies have shared their names and other key demographic data with the movement.  This data should be chronicled and organized properly and effectively for use at the right moments and times when we as Black people come under challenge in America.  You never want to be in a situation where you have to call on a family member or friend and you can't find their number-that's why having information at the ready is critically important when you need it most.  One tangible monument and outgrowth of President Obama's savvy use of data is MoveOn.org.  Largely, MoveOn.org was spawned and grew exponentially during President Obama's 2008 Campaign.  Subsequently, MoveOn.org has gone on to highlight and galvanize positive public sentiment, and action surrounding a number of important issues and initiatives.  Black Lives Matter take a page from President Obama and MoveOn.org-don't underestimate the importance of mining and effectively using data and demographic information to sustain your own movement.  Data and information are powerful! You can't place a price on information-it is priceless and more valuable than most currencies.

I think that the Black Lives Matter Movement stands to glean one important lesson from the three important facets or elements of the Black Civil Rights Movement and struggle of the 1950's and 1960's: 1.) Dr. King's non-violent civil disobedience movement; 2.) Malcolm X's Black Nationalist Movement; and 3.) Stokely Carmichael's Black Power and then the Black Panther Movements.  All these movements sought the ultimate liberation of African-Americans but through different strategies, tactics, and forms of applying action and pressure to the system of institutionalized racism.  However, the one thing these distinct and disparate movements have in common is that eventually the public leaders of these movements were either killed off or fell victim to in-fighting organizationally.

I think one thing that holds promise for the Black Lives Matter Movement is that there is no nominal or titulary or pharaonic leader of the movement that we see constantly in the news or in the public's imagination as the personified embodiment or face of the movement.  From my observations, the Black Lives Matter Movement functions as a body politic of passionate sleeves-rolled-up activists playing off of the same sheet of music in harmony, marching to unified and direct objectives that are straightforward that don't require a top-heavy orchestration to be successfully executed.  A Board of Directors can strategize and plot complex moves all day, but the successes of most successful corporations are won by effort and the quality of the product or service produced by the rank-and-file. The Black Lives Matter Movement should steer clear of a top management-centric model with rigid leadership structures and pecking orders.  Rather, a more decentralized model, as seems to currently exist, should be maintained.  Egos, rivalries and turf battles destroy the best organizations.  Many civil rights organizations in our struggle have fallen victim to these issues.  Eventually, as the movement matures, if personified leaders of the Black Lives Matter Movement emerge they must lead from the front and not from the rear, and make their ego(s) subservient to the interests of the movement and the goals it has set out to achieve. 

Also, one of the sad truths of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950's and 1960's, is that although we had masterful public leaders (i.e. witness Dr. King, Malcolm X, and Stokely Carmichael, and others), in my opinion, the cadre of charismatic and competent junior leaders was not properly developed in either of the three (3) important movements I referred to earlier.  In terms of leadership, a succession plan has to be considered and implemented to perpetuate the Black Lives Matter Movement beyond where it exists today.  We all age and transition into new roles as life progresses.  Who will take up the baton in the relay race to get the team to the next stage of the race, and from there to the finish line?  Training in all facets of the operation of the movement must be shared with the next generation of leaders to prepare them to be ready to step forward when their names are called and they are needed the most.

I don't have all the answers, but these are my humble submissions to young folks propelling the Black Lives Matter Movement.  However, I think that the Black Lives Matter Movement has to examine and learn lessons from our recent and more distant past if it is to have staying power and endurance.  With time and tinkering a proper blueprint will emerge to sustain the Black Lives Matter Movement-of this I'm hopeful, watchful, and remain confident.  In the immortal words of arguably one of the best hip-hop groups of my generation, Public Enemy, from the Public Enemy anthem "Fight The Power," Black Lives Matter "Fight The Power...Fight The Powers That Be."  Keep speaking truth to power!  To the Black Lives Matter Movement, the true vindication of the struggle you have undertaken will be an America that respects everyone's human dignity and right to live peacefully, dream big dreams, achieve to their fullest human potential, and advance in this fleeting journey or thing we call life.                            

Cornel West Endorses Green Party Candidate Jill Stein For President

Courtesy of Wiki Commons

Professor Cornel West has gone on the record to endorse Green Party Candidate Jill Stein for President of the United States. West previously was a Bernie Sanders supporter.  West turned away from the Democrat party, saying that Hillary Clinton is too militaristic.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/15/politics/jill-stein-green-party-cornel-west-endorsement/index.html

Journalist Mike Freeman Writes Revealing Post On NFL'er Ricky Jean-Francois And His Take On Social Action

NFL journalist Mike Freeman recently wrote a revealing Bleacher Report story on Washington Redskins player Ricky Jean-Francois.  Jean-Francois is speaking out on social issues like the shootings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile.  Freeman encourages other NFL players to speak out on social issues like Jean-Francois has done.  I found it to be a good read.  Thought I'd share it with you:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2651324-mike-freemans-10-point-stance-finally-someone-in-the-nfl-speaks-out

Enjoy!

Atlanta DA Paul Howard Charges Police Officer With Murder Of Unarmed Black Man

Courtesy of ajc.com

The saga continues-another unarmed Black man was killed June 22, 2016, in Atlanta. In June, officers responded to a call placed by an off-duty officer of suspicious activity. Upon arrival, a Black man, Devaris Cain Rogers, entered his car to leave the complex. Officer James Burns blocked Mr. Rogers car, and fired one shot into the passenger side, striking Rogers in the head killing him.

In charging Officer Burns with aggravated murder, District Attorney Howard, who is African-American, noted that Officer Burns had no facts to determine that Rogers was a threat to the officer or public, and further Rogers did not attempt to hit Burns with his vehicle.  Here's a link to the full story on CNN:

http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/16/us/former-atlanta-officer-charged-with-murder/index.html

When will the killing stop?

ESPN E:60 Video Justice For Jonathan-Examining The Police Shooting of Florida A&M University Graduate

The 2013 shooting Florida A&M University student and former football player, Jonathan Ferrell, leaves open a number of questions about perceptions of Black males in America, and the haste of police to react negatively and lethally in their encounters with Black men.  Were twelve (12) shots needed to subdue an unarmed man?  This, and many other questions swirl and taint the events that occurred on the September 2013 night Jonathan was killed.  I'm providing a link to a revealing ESPN E:60 presentation entitled "Justice for Jonathan."  The link follows:

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=11856506 

Judge the events and the aftermath of that night in Charlotte for yourself.  The whole set of circumstances and events are troubling to say the least. 

Professor Michele Goodwin Writes a Powerful Open Letter to Diamond Reynolds on the Huffington Post

Michele Goodwin, a law professor, scholar, and thought leader who I greatly respect and admire, posted a thoughtful Open Letter to Diamond Reynolds.  As you probably know, Diamond Reynolds live streamed and posted video to Facebook of the aftermath of the shooting and death of Philando Castile.  By sharing her own tangible experience in a police encounter, Professor Goodwin shines light on the breadth and extent of policing issues that impact all segments of the African-American community.  This is a powerful read!  Please check it out at the link provided:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michele-goodwin/an-open-letter-to-diamond_b_10936382.html    

Bar none, Professor Goodwin is one of the preeminent scholars of this generation.  I encourage you to check out her books, scholarship, and other writings. Professor Goodwin holds the Chancellor's Professorship of Law at the University of California, Irvine.  Her bio is linked below:

http://www.law.uci.edu/faculty/full-time/goodwin/  

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/author/mgoodwin-723

President Obama Publishes Article on Obamacare in JAMA Journal

Say what you may, President Barrack Obama is a bad man. In a Tweet, which you can view on the blog's Twitter feed, according to Forbes Magazine, President Obama became the first sitting President of the United States to publish an academic paper while still in office. President Obama's recently published paper on the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare" as the President and critics call it), published in the prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association, may be downloaded for free at the link below:

http://jama.jamanetwork.com/mobile/article.aspx?articleid=2533698

Have a good read!