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!

NBA Stars Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Dwayne Wade, LeBron James Support Black Lives at ESPY's

Courtesy of Celebuzz.com

Often, we castigate most athletes for lack of awareness and blindness to challenging social issues of the day. When it comes to the most prominent athletes, their voices are muted or absent in troubling times. I take my hat off to NBA stars Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Dwayne Wade, and LeBron James for their courageous and socially aware stance in their opening remarks to last night's ESPY Awards on ESPN. Here goes a link to their remarks:

http://www.cnn.com/videos/sports/2016/07/14/espy-awards-lebron-james-nba-social-justice-jnd-orig-vstan.cnn

Kudos to these guys. What do you think? Do these remarks move the needle in casting light on challenging social issues?

D.L. Hughley's Explosive Fox News Interview on Race and Policing

Here goes the full video of D.L. Hughley's explosive Fox News interview with Megan Kelly:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eZJ7QSI7uV0

What are your reactions to the interview?

Thoughts on the Black Lives Matter Movement and Moral Hazard Inspired by D.L. Hughley

Courtesy of Wiki Commons

A thought just crossed my mind listening to D. L. Hughley talk about police shootings of people of color on CNN with Chris Cuomo this morning. A weird parallel about my academic works/writings and D. L.'s comments crystallized in my mind.

In my academic life I've written about financial services/banking regulation under the Glass-Steagall, Gramm-Leach-Bliley, and Dodd-Frank Acts. These have proven to be among my most cited and influential scholarly writings-measured in my mind by subsequent law review, book, and blog discussions by other scholars and thought leaders. In my article published in the Albany Law Review in 2010, where I discuss one of the root causes of the 2007-2008 Financial Crisis (The Great Recession), I spilled a lot of ink talking about the issues of Too-Big-To-Fail and moral hazard in the banking world. I think these concepts have applicability as we try to intellectualize and come to grips with the back-to-back police killings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile last week.
When I talk about moral hazard to my students, I situate the concept in the following terms. Imagine you purchase a house for cash, but the kicker is that for whatever reason (cost or benign oversight) you decide or fall not to buy a homeowner's insurance policy to insure your home against risks like theft, fire, or other casualties that are reasonably foreseeable that might beset your home. When you don't have insurance you are ultra safe! When you leave for work in the morning you triple check to make sure the doors are locked and all accessible windows are locked and shuttered. You unplug your iron and let it cool down before leaving for work. You get the picture!

The moment you purchase an insurance policy things change dramatically. In the morning when you leave you might not triple check to see if the doors and windows are locked. Hell, if you're running late on the way to work one morning for a big meeting with your Boss, and you think in the back of your mind you left the iron plugged in on the cotton/linen setting on the ironing board you probably won't turn your car around.

Why do rational people behave in such a manner? It all comes down to the moral hazard dilemma! When I don't have insurance and I have to foot the bill if a thief breaks into my house, or I create conditions that could burn my house down (like leaving my iron on the cotton/linen setting all day), I would tend to act with a high level of caution. My wallet serves as the backstop if something goes wrong-I'm personally financially on the hook. I have to write the checks to pay for my own damage and carelessness! The moment a person gets insurance they become less worried and careless, and begin to take more unnecessary risks. Risky/Reckless behavior is cleaned up and financed by others (your insurance company)-levels of responsibility and accountability are vastly diminished when someone else theoretically is footing the bill. In a nutshell, this illustrates the problem of moral hazard.

How does the issue of moral hazard relate to the killings of primarily African-American males in this country? In my mind, the issue is one of police responsibility/accountability. When one has to account and be responsible for their own actions, and there are consequences and repercussions the individual tends to act with restraint, caution, and measure. Just like in the homeowner examples I've outlined above. All too often, I think the problem has been our criminal justice system (specifically, a failure to prosecute police-involved shooters)-the "system" has acted as a backstop, insurer, and guarantor of unrestrained police behavior and blatant killing.

The botched grand jury proceedings in the Mike Brown case, the failure to prosecute Tamir Rice's killer, the lack of accountability for the killer of Eric Garner, and countless others, bear witness to the point that I'm making. From a prosecutorial standpoint, for years in this country, police who kill Black males have had nothing to fear. Where actors have no accountability they will continue to act in an unrestrained and lawless fashion. Here lies the moral hazard dilemma in American policing-reckless police behavior has gone unpunished for decades.

In the recent cases of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, we will have to see whether the criminal justice system holds the officers involved accountable. If not, the morale hazard dilemma in policing in America will continue to persist and manifest itself. Our society will bear the cost of the unjustifiable and highly suspect killings of these young men.

If our criminal justice continues to fail to value lives, even those of the perceived lest among us, life is valueless for all humanity. Are we saying that police officers and police departments are Too-Big-To-Fail? Will we continue to throw bad actors (police who kill for unjustifiable reasons) a lifeline and bail them out for unabated risk taking behavior? Our criminal justice system is not a shareholder in an insurance company or an insurance company itself, the criminal justice system has to make police officers who kill unjustifiably write their own checks and be held to account for their own actions. When a day comes where police officers have to answer with their own lives (let's be clear-I'm in no way advocating for violence towards law enforcement) and liberty for their bad decisions/actions the lives of Black males might matter. Just some thoughts on issues that have troubled me for some time.

D.L. Hughley's CNN Interview on Black Lives Matter

Courtesy of Wiki Commons

Here's a link to D.L. Hughley's CNN interview where he comments on Rudy Giuliani's comments calling the Black Lives Matter Movement a terrorist organization: http://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2016/07/13/dl-hughley-rudy-giuliani-kim-kardashian-new-day.cnn

What Defines The Black Intelligentsia Blog?

Courtesy of Wiki Commons

Admittedly, the blogosphere is an extremely crowded space.  Why, would someone in their right mind endeavor to create a new blog?  Especially, one with a long name such as the "Black Intelligentsia Blog" that constitutes a mouthful for the average person to say?  In this post my intent and goal is to provide a meager explanation for why I created the Black Intelligentsia Blog, and moreover why I think it is necessary in a time of social, political, and economic turbulence and upheaval.

Over the years, I've grown rather disillusioned about the type and content of news and opinions delivered by the media to the African-American community (my community).  In earlier years, when I wanted to hear timely and relevant news about social, political, economic, artistic, and literary happenings in the Black community, and the opinions of thought leaders and intellectuals, I often turned to BET.  After BET was sold to Viacom (a huge multinational corporation) the programming and content of BET changed remarkably in my humble opinion.  Instead of interviews, commentaries, and insights by journalists like Ed Gordon and others, the content of BET was watered down and diluted.  I remember distinctly after the Viacom merger, BET started to air a series entitled "American Gangster" which provided depictions and biographical coverage and glorification of African-American criminals.  In a world where we are killing each other on an astronomical order, the white/black wealth gap is steadily increasing, educational opportunities have shrunk as the Supreme Court and state and federal public policy makers have waged a war to dismantle affirmative action programs to increase diversity, unemployment and meaningful job opportunities have decreased for the masses, rural and urban poverty persists, police brutality and lethality have quickened, and healthcare disparities exist, our community (the African-American community) has so many fish to fry to sort out our issues holistically and internally within our family.  We (Black folks) need to be revealing, unraveling, discussing, and solving problems that threaten the mere existence, fabric, and vitality of our community.  Media portrayals of gangsterism and criminality will not lead us to a cultural, moral, metaphysical, intellectual, economic, political, or social promised land.  We can frame, guide, lead the discussions and find the solutions to issues at the crux of our collective suffering in America.  No one defines us-not the media, politicians, institutions, systems, groups, conditions, or other people-we define ourselves and orientate the world in which we exist. 

As a law professor and lawyer, on a macro-level, I've sat on the sideline as Trayvon Martin, Jordan Davis, Tamir Rice, Eric Garner, Walter Scott, Michael Brown, Sandra Bland, and now recently Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, and countless others who go unnamed, have lost their lives.  The time to act is now to uplift and elevate our community to the place in society that has been paid for and secured by the wages and labors of our ancestors who have bought our birthright in blood, sweat, and tears.  The time to demand our social, political, and economic inheritance has arrived! We shall not be turned back from the gates of full citizenship in the United States-the land of our birth!  I have a voice to frame and conceptualize the issues we discuss and the solutions we can bring forward.  From here forward, I'm going to use my voice loudly-the inside voice is gone.  That is why I've endeavored to create the Black Intelligentsia Blog.  This will be my vehicle to share with you news, content, essays, and opinions that critically impact the African-American community in terms of our social, political, economic, artistic, literary, and cultural movement to the highest ground possible.     

Words matter in our lives.  In order to accomplish anything that is worth obtaining you must first think it, speak it into conception, and take action steps to achieve it.  What is in a name?  I've conceived, birth, and delivered this blog, the Black Intelligentsia Blog, into life with words and a name that have meaning and significance.  Webster's Dictionary defines the word intelligentsia as follows: "a group of intelligent and well-educated people who guide or try to guide the political, artistic, or social development of their society."  The intelligentsia are the intellectuals who are at the vanguard of a social, political, or artistic movement or revolution. 

I humbly invite you to follow the Black Intelligentsia Blog in order to be a foot soldier in the movement to make our lives better and more prosperous.  As time passes, I, and contributors I invite to this space will be posting news, content, and opinion to expose and tackle issues that impact our community on a multitude of levels.  Join the movement-follow this blog!!!  Read, comment, and share your thoughts and reactions with me and others who use this portal as time passes.  However, remember one thing and keep it supreme in your mind and heart, we are all brothers and sisters let's respect each others opinions, reactions, experiences, and perspectives on what sometimes will be difficult and uneasy discussions to engage each other.  Thank you in advance for supporting this endeavor and being a participant!  God bless you!   

Welcome!

Welcome to the Black Intelligentsia Blog! Thank you for your visit, please visit often for future posts!