Mitrice Richardson had no money, food, water, identification or cell phone, and was released by police to wander in a desolate area of canyons and wildlife foreign to her, while obviously in a depressed state of mind. Mitrice Richardson is loved and supported by her family and friends. Mitrice Richardson is in a crisis and is in danger, support is needed to find her. We are asking for a federal investigation into the whereabouts of Mitrice Richardson.
Madame C.J. Walker businesswoman and philanthropist generally regarded as the first female self-made millionaire in America.
The Legacy of Madam CJ Walker Part I
The Legacy of Madam CJ Walker Part II
Don't let this be the last you hear about this truly fascinating woman. Her story is inspiring and a model as to how it is possible, through steadfast hard work and imagination to achieve incredible goals.
Madame Walker not only trained thousands but taught them to be socially responsible at the same time. She embodies the the example of the best our race and our country has to offer.
LabelsKing, Chess, Prestige, Mercury, Limelight, Verve, Atlantic, Warner Brothers
Websitehttp://www.alfanet.hu/kirk/index2.html
Rahsaan Roland Kirk (August 7, 1935[1] – December 5, 1977) was a blind American jazz multi-instrumentalist who played tenor saxophone, flute and many other instruments. He was renowned for his onstage vitality, during which virtuoso improvisation was accompanied by comic banter, political ranting, and the ability to play several instruments simultaneously.
Professor James Small was born in 1945, on Arcadia plantation, located on the banks of the Waccamaw River. This Lowland rice plantation is located where the Waccamaw, Peedee, and Black Rivers converge to meet the Atlantic Ocean, on the shores of historic Georgetown, South Carolina. Prof. Small was born to a family that traces their descent from enslaved Africans, to the Yoruba, Akan, and Ewe people of West Africa. Prof. Small's heritage also stems from the Native American ancestors that inhabited these South Carolinian shores. Both his maternal great-grandmother and his paternal great-grandmother were members of the Chicora Nation, and made their home along the mighty Waccamaw River.
Prof. Small graduated from the all Black Howard High School in Georgetown, South Carolina in 1964. He then served in the U.S. Navy for two years during the Vietnam era. Upon his release from military service, Prof. Small moved to New York City where he joined the organization of Afro-American Unity founded by the legendary Malcolm X. In 1967, Prof. Small became Imam (minister) of the Muslim Mosque Incorporated, also founded by Malcolm X. In 1975 Prof. Small traveled to the Holy City of Mecca in Saudi Arabia to make his holy pilgrimage, the Hajjah. For eleven years Prof. Small served as principal bodyguard to the late Ella L. Collins, the sister of Malcolm X, the then President of the Organization of Afro-American Unity (O.A.A.U.)
Between the years of 1966 and 1980, Prof. Small held membership in the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (S.N.C.C.), the N.A.A.C.P, Uhuru fighters and O.A.A.U. During this period Prof. Small had the opportunity to interact with such historical giants as Congressman Adam Clayton Powell Jr., Kwame Ture, H. Rap Brown of S.N.C.C, Eldridge Cleaver, Zaid Shakur, and Lumumba Shakur of the Black Panther Party (B.P.P.) in which he served as a liaison between the B.P.P. and the O.A.A.U. Prof. Small has been a member of the Association for the Study of Classical African Civilization (A.S.C.A.C.) for 14 years. He served as President of A.S.C.A.C. Eastern Region for two years, where he worked and studied with Dr. John Henrik Clarke, Dr. Yosef A. A. Ben Jochannan, Dr. Leonard Jeffries, Dr. Ivan Van Sertima, Dr. Asa Hilliard, Dr. Wade Nobles, Dr. Amos Wilson and Dr. Francis Cress Welsing, just to name a few.
The Peace Rally in DC on December 12, 2009 has not gotten much exposure.
I found something in The Washington Post. Otherwise there really isn't a lot of reportage on this event, sad. I did find something at 911blogger.com. Some commentary and some youtube clips. There are 2 clips here of Mckinney and Kucinich.
The Harlem Children's Zone Project is an example of what we must do to rebuild our community's infrastructure. We will all have to involve ourselves and do whatever it takes to insure that this and programs like it thrive every where there are children in need of upliftment. We all have to do our best to raise the funds to make it happen. Our children deserve a stake in the future of this country and we can make it happen, as the work of Geoffry
Canada has shown us.
Called "one of the most ambitious social-service experiments of our time," by The New York Times, The Harlem Children's Zone Project is a unique, holistic approach to rebuilding a community so that its children can stay on track through college and go on to the job market.
The goal is to create a "tipping point" in the neighborhood so that children are surrounded by an enriching environment of college-oriented peers and supportive adults, a counterweight to "the street" and a toxic popular culture that glorifies misogyny and anti-social behavior.
Taliban Shelter by Matthew Leary US Army (DOD 070330-A-9185L-037)
The following is a quote from a regular member of the Black Web Portal Forum. I think he sums up quite nicely what many African Americans feel about the hunt for Bin Laden and the "Al Qaeda terrorists." He also correctly points out the lack of concern on the part of these defenders of freedom, for the well-being of our brothers and sisters on the "homestan". Right on dawilliams!
Well folks you gotta hand it to the military industrial complex. To perpetuate themselves they cook up this huge terrorist threat with this rag tag band of religous fanatics called AlQaida led by a guy named Osama 'Ali Baba' Bin Ladin. This dude just happens to have several family members living in the U.S. at the the time of the 9/11 attacks in September 2001. By the way you will recall these family members were quickly spirited out of the United States to Saudi Arabia. He is supposed to be the mastermind behind these attacks.
He puts out more videos than the late Michael Jackson. He lives in a cave. He goes on Arab TV and he supposedly has bad kidneys. Now if the United States can send a robot to Mars a planet millions of miles away from earth and have said robot explore the caves of Mars why then can't they find a guy who is supposed to be such a threat and living from one cave to another right here on earth in a third world 19th century country called Pakistan. He supposedly goes back and forth from one cave to another between Pakistan and another third world country called Afghanistan which is an 18th century country.
The U.S. has spent billions of dollars in defense materials to find this dude and his buddies. Day by day we hear of the body count of Al Qaida supposedlly killed. Sound familiar? How many of these people killed were actually Al Qaida? How many were innocent civilians?
The military industrial complex needed an enemy to justify its horrific spending habits and exhorbitant defense contracts after Russia collapsed. They found a perfect patsy in Al Qaida and the socalled threat of world wide terroism. Gimme a break!
One day the U.S. is fighting in Waziristan, then its Pakistan, then its Afghanistan, then its Turdestan! Dayum One stan after another. I would appreciate it more if they would start spending more money in Chicagostan or Harlemstan, Oaklandstan or LosAngelestan! Feel Me?
The Carrot Mob model is a possible means to stimulate some employment and possibly other changes in the way businesses deal with African Americans.
WHAT IS CARROTMOB?
Carrotmob is a method of activism that leverages consumer power to make the most socially-responsible business practices also the most profitable choices. Businesses compete with one another to see who can do the most good, and then a big mob of consumers buys products in order to reward whichever business made the strongest commitment to improve the world. It’s the opposite of a boycott. read more
I propose we adapt this model to consolidate our buying power and take advantage of something we already possess -our present consumer power. It surely can't hurt to study the model since it appears to be working for the "Greenies". This technique is one possible means of competing with companies that are lobbying government for bills that are counter productive to our needs. For example we reward the companies with fair hiring practices and companies that lobby for things that benefit us. One possible name. Cocoa Mob.
It doesn't stop there we can join forces with the Carrotmob at times and create an even stronger consumer interest base.
It seems that the Congressional Black Caucus has a bone to pick with President Barack Obama. The 43-member group recently agreed to boycott a vote on a financial overhaul measure as a sign of protest toward the Obama Administration. The bill easily passed, but Rep. Maxine Waters made it clear that the caucus could cause trouble for future Democratic bills by voting with the Republicans. The protest was in response to what the CBC considers to be a blatant disregard for African American issues by the Obama Administration.
In response to the recent actions by the CBC, I only have one thing to say: Great move.
While I applaud the Congressional Black Caucus decision to stand tough when dealing with the Obama Administration, this move is not without it's problems. As the CBC swims into the dangerous realm of critiquing President Obama, a few points should remain clear:
1) The CBC is not attempting to tarnish Barack Obama's presidency. By standing strong, they are helping him to do his job more effectively: In politics, only squeaky wheels get oiled. Representative Maxine Waters has become Obama's new Jeremiah Wright, as she has made the Obama Administration uncomfortable by asking all of the really tough questions and calling for Presidential accountability. The problem is that unlike Jeremiah Wright, President Obama can't get rid of Maxine Waters, who is an entrenched figure in national politics. Waters, as well as Rep. John Conyers, understands that if you don't negotiate tough on Capitol Hill, you are going to get ignored. Thus far, the president has largely dismissed nearly all concerns of the African American community, in large part because he knows that black people are never going to complain about his performance. Barack Obama could join the Ku Klux Klan and African Americans would still give him a pass. By holding the president accountable, the CBC is doing its job of ensuring that its black constituency is near the top of the president's list of priorities, since he has thus far spent his time catering to those who hate him the most. George Bush was a terrible president, but at least he took care of his friends.
"The long-simmering family feud between the Congressional Black Caucus and the first African-American president burst into the open on Wednesday, with members boycotting a financial overhaul vote as a warning shot at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
The 43-member caucus — which included Illinois Sen. Barack Obama from 2004 to 2008 — has chafed against President Obama and his top aides since the Inauguration, complaining that the White House takes it for granted and plays favorites with conservative Blue Dog Democrats.
Ten CBC members decided to boycott the House Financial Services Committee vote en masse after a tumultuous morning meeting at the Capitol between Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel failed to yield a deal, according to people familiar with the meeting.
The bill passed easily, but Waters suggested the CBC’s 43 members could vote with the GOP to scuttle a variety of Democratic bills if Obama and Emanuel don’t address what she thinks is a lack of understanding of the CBC’s wide-ranging goals of reducing urban unemployment, home foreclosures and bank failures."
Lineup of African-American Soldiers, (Buffalo Soliers), Cuba. Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs and Prints Division.
The Warrior's Prayer
Long since, in sore distress, I heard one pray, “Lord, who prevailest with resistless might, Ever from war and strife keep me away, My battles fight!”
I know not if I play the Pharisee, And if my brother after all be right; But mine shall be the warrior’s plea to thee— Strength for the fight.
I do not ask that thou shalt front the fray, And drive the warring foeman from my sight; I only ask, O Lord, by night, by day, Strength for the fight!
When foes upon me press, let me not quail Nor think to turn me into coward flight. I only ask, to make my arms prevail, Strength for the fight!
Still let mine eyes look ever on the foe, Still let mine armor case me strong and bright; And grant me, as I deal each righteous blow, Strength for the fight!
And when, at eventide, the fray is done, My soul to Death’s bedchamber do thou light, And give me, be the field lost or won, Rest from the fight!
A plea deal has been reached. Ellis plead guilty to disturbing the peace and resisting the peace. She was given 4 days in jail that she can serve over the weekends, anger management classes, and 1-year supervised probation.
Tim Wise-The Pathology of White Privilege Part 3/6
Here is the November 20 update of the Heather Ellis trial.
Following are some comments I collected from a blog, I hope for her sake that the jury can get beyond the opinions of most of these people.
joseph November 19, 2009 7:06AM CST I am tired of the racial issue being played out each time the law is broken. This woman was pushing white people around stepping in front of them and fighting. Send her to jail...lets see how tough she is there.
USA-GreatestCountryonEarth November 19, 2009 5:13AM CST I agree; it's sad that whites are always blamed for everything.
luvmysoftail November 19, 2009 4:46AM CST Most blacks are pre-programmed to use the race card whenever there is a white in charge. It gets people to focus on race instead of the real issue. When was the last time a black was accused of committing a crime becasue of race? Never, that I know of. Based on my personal experiences, the behavior Ellis is accused of is not unheard of.
spamsucks2004 November 19, 2009 7:11AM CST Looks like Ellis is guilty of having a loud, ignorant mouth. Of course it doesn't help that she immediately pulls out the 'race card' as most of her kind do. She looks like a person with an attitude in her photo. I don't feel she deserves 15 years for her stupidity but I fell she at least a half year in jail then placed on parole for several years. if she gets away with this, there will be others...
knjse November 19, 2009 7:32AM CST I can see it now...however this ends, Ellis will apply to Med School. If she gets denied for whatever reason, the race card comes out again, and she was denied because of this incident, because she's black, etc. ad nauseum. Displaying behavior like this (having your cousin hold a place in line when he has no standing because he had no items) makes me realize I wouldn't want her making major medical decisions for me anyway, black or white.
zimm413 November 19, 2009 7:57AM CST So typical. Being a minority myself you do not see other minorities acting like a bunch of fools. Even if her cousin was jumped in line why are you going to physically assault someone. This is how they are taught.
justracn November 19, 2009 8:02AM CST Let's see.... butt up in line, get called on it, get into altercation, police get called, decide to start swinging at police and screaming rasiss....hmmmmm.....guilty as charged. If this were a white woman she would have already taken her punishment and been done with it instead of playing da ol race card and trying to win the lottery!
fair is fair November 19, 2009 8:13AM CST First and foremost, the national media should stay out of this mess. This is just another small town issue that should have been worked out as such. Secondly, the "supremacists", both black and white, should shut the hell up, and mind their own business. They are all there just to stir the pot. They are all haters, every last one, and it disgusts me that everytime some wanna be nazi shows up, they bring the Confederate flag with them. That is the flag of MY forefathers, and was/is a source of pride and heritage, not one of hatered. All the while the blacks are always victimizing themselves to the community, when they are the main cause of their own plight. This should never have gotten to this point.
Tony LaGenius November 19, 2009 8:21AM CST Black person doesn't obey police requests, hits and kicks police, and can't understand why they get arrested. Must be raceism. First time this has ever happened.
MattyMo November 19, 2009 8:20AM CST Old Guy 1- Did you ever think that decent folks just want to live in nice quiet neighborhoods where you can take a walk at night and not worry about some hood rat robbing you or worse? These hood rats have brought a lot of this on themselves by THEIR actions. Get a job and earn what you have. Quit stealing and waiting for Government handouts. This is only a racial thing because you made it one.
Whatthe? November 19, 2009 8:23AM CST It's weird. I'm 60 years old and I've been in hundreds and hundreds of stores and restaurants over the years, and I've never once seen or heard a black person treated rudely or disrespected. I guess I've just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. But in a country of 300 million, if there is just one incident in one town somewhere, the media will play it up and make it sound as if it is commonplace.
French November 19, 2009 8:25AM CST This would be a non-story had it not been for her race. Why do people think they can get away with bad behavior just because the are a minority.
obammithemarxist November 19, 2009 9:17AM CST She acted stupidly, Come on Obama, she needs your support. Please, forget everything else your doing, oops...besides nothing and provide your support.
Deaus November 19, 2009 9:19AM CST First, she assaulted the police officers, thats a big no-no. I don't doubt that the cops were likely barney fife knockoffs -most small town cops possess little education and little mediation skills-but that doesn't excuse her assaulting them. However, I am blown away by the fact that so many many white people are still aghast when they hear of a black person claiming discrimination. I mean, just reading the comments here is proof enough that racism and bigotry is ALIVE and well in middle america...And please, for the love of God, stop with the whole "slavery ended 150yrs ago" diatribes. If you don't think that the social and economic effects of racial discrimination are still FULLY impacting our society, then you are naieve at best. I don't doubt one bit that the boot'hell' citizens and police acted like ignorant clowns, but you NEVER hit a cop. Period.
Gardenia November 19, 2009 7:59AM CST Amazingly, many posters can ascertain Ms. Ellis' (1) poor attitude, (2) sense of entitlement based on her race, and (3) guilt simply from her photo. The popular phrase/stance seems to be to accuse anyone Black who makes a complaint of "playing the race card". Perhaps, Ms. Ellis has some hard facts on her side that will exonerate her; if so, I trust that she will prevail in the trial and can get on with her career and her life.
The Heather Ellis Trial entered day 2, with surveillance video being shown to jurors by both attorneys. Each has said the video will show the jurors their side of the story.
Prosecutor Morley Swingle says the video proves his point that Ellis “went ballistic” and went on a “profane tirade.” The video shows Ellis pushing another customers merchandise into the floor.
Defense attorney Scott Rosenbloom says the video simply shows Ellis joining in line with her cousin, and no where does it show Ellis assaulting police. Another video shows Ellis being escorted from Wal-Mart by police.
Wal-Mart employees also were called to the stand this afternoon, and a police officer also took the stand.
This evening Dr. Boyce Watkins said "When I held the rally for Heather Ellis last week, the woman facing up to 15-years in prison after allegedly cutting line at a Wal-Mart, I was hoping that one day the rest of the world could see what I saw nearly two weeks ago. In spite of the prosecutor's contention that the video tape would prove his case beyond a reasonable doubt, the truth is that the video is highly inconclusive.
I find it incredibly interesting that police say that Heather refused to leave the store, when in fact, she was leaving and the officers were following her out the door. Also, given that the alleged assault can't be proven and in the words of the prosecutor "There was no serious injury," why in the world is she facing 15-years in prison?
We await the verdict tomorrow. If justice is not served, then I plan to get on an airplane tomorrow. This kind of justice should not be acceptable to any of us."
Meanwhile I've noticed lots of folks talking about the race card, after all, they say the girl was belligerent .
We all know if she was white she would have been indignant, priviledge card.
Tim Wise speaks on white priviledge
Shinin' the Lite on White Privilege
by Sharon Martinas
� Sharon Martinas, 1998. Defining the Problem Why Can't We Just Get It Together? In 1996, progressive activists in California waged a massive, multi-racial and militant struggle to save affirmative action. Though we raised the consciousness of millions of people, voters and non-voters, we lost at the ballot box. Fifty-six percent of California's electorate voted "Yes" on Proposition 209, thus wiping out affirmative action in the public sector: in education, employment and contracting.
What happened? There were many analyses among activists, all of which held important kernels of truth:
* The electoral arena in California is a stacked deck when the Right uses racist initiatives. Though 47% of the population is people of color, 83% of the voters are white. * The left was out spent by the right, and the Clinton campaign failed to keep its commitment to provide millions of dollars to wage an effective media campaign against the initiative. * The wording of the initiative, billed as a "civil rights" policy, deliberately confused many well-meaning voters who would be expected to support equality in government programs. * To wage a comprehensive grassroots organizing electoral campaign, in a state the size of California, activists should have started in 1995 and coordinated their efforts much more effectively.
These are important points. But something is missing. The organizers in communities of color reached their electoral objectives: hundreds of thousands of new voters went to the polls, and the NO on 209 votes looked like this:
Asian Americans 61%, African Americans 74%, and Latinos 76%! But the groups organizing among white feminists did not reach their goals. To defeat 209, 55% of white women needed to vote NO. Instead, 57% of white women voted YES!
What happened? Most feminists know that white women have been the major beneficiaries of affirmative action in all its spheres. So why did we white women vote overwhelmingly against our own interest as well as against social justice for people of color?
To begin to analyze this problem, I believe we have to understand the history and role of white privilege in this country.
"White" is . . . "White" isn't
What does "white" mean to you, as it refers to people? Here are some questions to think about:
* Is "white" a skin color? * What does your dictionary and thesaurus say about "white" as referring to people? * Are "white" people a race? * Is "white" an ethnicity (like Norwegian, Irish, Jewish, Russian)? * Are white people who live in the USA "Americans?" * Is there such a thing as "the white community" in the U.S.? * If you are a person of color, what do you call people whose ancestors came from Europe? * If your ancestors came from Europe, what do you call yourself?
White is -- White Privilege Webster's New World (sic) Dictionary defines privilege as "a right, advantage, favor, or immunity specially granted to one; esp., a right held by a certain individual, group, or class, and withheld from certain others or all others.' (Emphasis added. Third College Edition of Webster's, 1988)
The CWS Workshop defines white privilege this way:
"U.S. institutions and culture give preferential treatment to people whose ancestors came from Europe over peoples whose ancestors are from the Americas, Africa, Asia and the Arab world; and exempt European Americans -- white people -- from the forms of racial and national oppression inflicted upon peoples from the Americas, Africa, Asia and the Arab world.
This web of institutional and cultural preferential treatment is called white privilege. In a white supremacy system, white privilege and racial oppression are two sides of the same coin."
Non-ruling class white people are both oppressed and privileged. They are oppressed most significantly on the basis of class, gender and sexuality, and also on the basis of religion, culture, ethnicity, age, physical abilities and politics. At the same time, they are privileged in relation to peoples of color. Historical Origins of White Privilege
In the early 1600's, 50 wealthy Englishmen bought stock in the Virginia Company of London. Their stock options included large parcels of (indigenous) land in the new colony of Virginia, as well as the right to govern the colony.
These English gentlemen did not intend to work their lands in Virginia. To get workers, they contracted with English merchants who delivered impoverished English teenagers and kidnapped African people. By the second decade of colonization, working servants, both English and African, outnumbered "gentlemen" by perhaps 100 to 1.
Living and working conditions for African and English laborers were horrendous. Workers were regularly whipped, nearly starved to death, denied days of rest, and were refused permission to marry. English servants, who were supposedly protected under English poor laws, had limited times of servitude, but owners disregarded the laws. Those servants who were freed as required, usually died within a few years.
Under these conditions, African and English servants struggled to survive and resist their common oppression. They traded together, they made love together, and they made war together against their masters. Most servants were armed, since the wealthy used their servants to protect the frontiers against "hostile Indians."
Virginia records document ten servant revolts in the mid-1600's, culminating in the famous Bacon's Rebellion of 1676. African and English servants, free workers and farmers, demanded land and pay for their labor. They burned down Jamestown, the colony's capital. Colonial rulers had to call in the British army to subdue the rebellion.
Colonial land-owning legislators responded with a series of Slave Codes, enacted from 1680 through 1705. These codes legalized chattel slavery (the child of an enslaved woman would be enslaved for a lifetime) and severely restricted the rights of free Africans. The codes equated the terms "slave" and "Negro," thus institutionalizing the world's first system of racialized slavery.
The codes also set out the "rights" of and restrictions for "servants." At first, "servants" referred ambiguously to both Africans and English. But as "slave" became synonymous with "Negro," (the Spanish word for "Black,") "servant" came to mean "white," the term which replaced "English," "Christian" or "wench" to refer to poor or indentured Europeans. (read more)
There are all kinds of comments on this turn of events. I get a little tired of the white folks complaining about the playing of the race card. When that shit just doesn't happen to them. Let's hear them talk about the priviledge card. It's possible the ms Ellis reacted badly to being not served in Wal-Mart but who calls the police on someone over an issue of standing in line in a retail store? Is there actually a law that says one must stand in line or the police get involved? What policeman is going to charge someone with no history with a felony because they are in disagreement with a store clerk? Let's get real and stop with this petty you do crime you do the time b/s. The fact is changing position in line is not a crime in the first place. The police have no business being in volved in a dispute of this nature and if Wal-Mart can see the need to involve the police in this way then I say we go for it and find some other retail outlets that appreciate our business.
From The Daily Dunklin Democrat
Protestors for Heather Ellis chanted, "No justice. No peace," during an organized rally in Kennett on Monday, claiming that the allegations against the African-American woman accused of assault on police are false.
Approximately 100 protesters gathered at the Kennett Walmart at around 11 a.m., including members of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). Also attending was event organizer and founder of the Syracuse, N.Y.-based Your Black World Coalition, Dr. Boyce Watkins.
The march led from Walmart, down First Street to the steps of the Dunklin County Courthouse. Along the way, approximatley 30-40 counter-protestors held up confederate flags with skulls and crossbones and swastikas.
At the courthouse, various individuals took turns speaking on behalf of Ellis, claiming the incident is one of "civil rights abuse."
One of the speakers was Ellis' father, the Rev. Nathaniel Ellis.
"We are summoned here today from all over America," Ellis said, "because Dr. King, Jr., was right when he said, 'An injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.' Your presence here today has proved that love is thicker than hate.
"As we march forward, the question may be asked, 'What are we here for?' These proverbial questions are asked because seldom is Bootheel justice challenged with a force of this magnitude. We have converged upon Kennett, Missouri by the thousands because the life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness of a young, black, vibrant, intelligent, and well-educated young lady's rights have been strictly violated.
"This young lady happens to be my first born daughter. The daughter of a Church of God in Christ pastor who pastors in this town and an adjoining town, who happens to be an educator. We are here to voice our outrage and to publicly say that Heather Ellis is innocent of all bogus charges and I demand that all charges be dropped and her record be expelled."
KKK Shows at Kennett March for Heather Ellis Updated: Monday, 16 Nov 2009, 1:01 PM CST Published : Monday, 16 Nov 2009, 12:00 PM CST
Les Smith KENNETT, Missouri - Members of the Klu Klux Klan have joined the crowd of onlookers in Kennett, Missouri at a march in support of Heather Ellis.
The march was organized in part by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and until moments before the march, the permit had been revoked only to be reinstated later Monday morning.
The 1.5 mile march began at the Wal-Mart parking lot where Heather Ellis is accused of assaulting officers after a verbal altercation with a store cashier when Ellis cut line in January 2007. The march will end in front of the courthouse.
According to FOX13's Les Smith, the march has proceeded peacefully. Approximately 20 supposed members of the KKK are among those lining the streets, holding signs with KKK slogans and swastikas.
One arrest of an alleged skinhead was made prior to the march. read more
An Amber Alert was initiated for Shaniya Nicole Davis just before noon on Tuesday. The 5-year-old went missing from her home early Tuesday morning.
Shaniya's mother reported last seeing her inside their Fayettville, NC home around 5:30 a.m. The mother’s boyfriend and her sister, along with an infant and Shaniya’s 7-year-old brother were also at the home at the time of her disappearance.
Shaniya is 3 feet tall and weighs 40 pounds. She has brown hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a blue T-shirt with pink underwear.
Fayetteville police spokeswoman Theresa Chance said, “There is definitely something not right about the situation. Foul play is suspected.”
Chance said the family has had contact with the Department of Social Services in the past. "There have been major DSS issues with this family, who has custody, switching back and forth." Chance said it's unknown whether the child's disappearance is related to those issues.
Police, armed with a warrant, searched the house for clues. K-9 search dogs did not pick up Shaniya's scent, which police say they should have if the child wandered away from the home.
Reports indicate a previous search warrant was served at the same house on Jul. 21. That search turned up narcotics.
Police said there are three registered sex offenders that live in the neighborhood, but they are not considered suspects in the investigation.
When asked about the progress of the investigation Chance said, “We are searching for her and hoping to find her alive, but we just don't know at this point.”
Anyone with information about this case is urged to call the Fayetteville police department at 910-433-1856.
For those who have heard the Girl 600 podcast from time to time be advised that she has moved to -African American Podcaster I don't listen to her podcast that often because I find she tends to ramble. On the other hand I like a lot of the the material that I find on her web site. She is always original and IMO she keeps it real and there is always something new. This keeps me going back cause her stuff is like a box of choclates---------.
Judge denies Ellis' request for Sokoloff's recusal, prosecutor later voluntarily steps down and files for appointment of new attorney
Tuesday, November 10, 2009 ~ Updated 1:25 PM
A motion filed in a Dunklin County courtroom brings a new twist to the case against Heather Ellis, a case that has garnered national media attention. Ellis, an African-American woman from Kennett, is charged in connection with an incident at the Kennett Walmart in 2007 during which she was arrested and charged with two counts of the Class C felony assault on a law enforcement officer, one count of the Class B misdemeanor peace disturbance and one count of the Class A misdemeanor resisting arrest. Ellis was charged as a result of a scuffle that broke out in a checkout line at the store, following Ellis being accused by associates employed by Walmart of cutting in line.
The motion in question, filed by Ellis' attorney on November 2, involves Ellis' legal representation requesting Dunklin County Prosecuting Attorney Stephen Sokoloff to recuse himself from the case.
Sokoloff is accused by Ellis' camp of "...making extrajudicial comments that have a substantial likelihood of heightening public condemnation of the accused."
According to the three-page document, Sokoloff replied to a story written on the case by Michael I. Niman of Progressive Populist.
The article, entitled "Felony charge for cutting in line while black in Missouri," tells Ellis' side of the story in which she claims to have been racially targeted by both Walmart employees and Kennett police officers. The story also accuses a police officer of intimidating her family with a Ku Klux Klan (KKK) business card.
Sokoloff wrote a two-page letter in response to the article in which he accused Niman of having done no background research and spoke of his "disregard for objective facts and its reliance on biased and purposefully misleading statements and outright lies."
He also suggested that Niman speak with any of Ellis' three fired attorneys who withdrew following "threats from her family."
Sokoloff goes on to state that one officer allegedly received a split lip from a "punch thrown by the 'innocent' Ms. Ellis."
In his defense, Sokoloff said in a written statement, that "over the last several months, the defendant and her supporters have made a concerted attempt, through the traditional media and the internet, to portray me as an overly aggressive and racially biased prosecutor."
"They have distorted the facts and my record to try to divert the public's attention from her (Heather Ellis') conduct," Sokoloff alleged.
The prosecuting attorney also explained that the statements he made regarding the case were contained in a private email to the author of an article about the case that was not public, not intended for publication.
On November 5, after a hearing on Ellis' request for Sokoloff's recusal, the judge presiding over the matter, Joe Satterfield, denied the request stating there was no legal basis for it.
According to Sokoloff, the court found that the statement(s) he made, were properly made under the Missouri Supreme Court Rules relating to pre-trial publicity as it was made to correct misinformation disseminated by Ellis or others on her behalf.
"Now that the judge has found there was no impropriety on my part, I have considered the matter at some length," Sokoloff said following Satterfield's decision. "I have determined that to remove any possible basis for a claim of bias, either at trial or in any future appeal, and to refocus attention on the actual issues and facts of the case, I will voluntarily recuse myself."
The Dunklin County Prosecutor said he has already filed notice of this voluntary motion through the courts, which records support, and that a request was also made to appoint a special prosecutor to try the case in his absence.
"It is my understanding that the court has appointed an experienced and competent prosecutor to carry the matter forward to trial or other resolution," Sokoloff added.
Court records indicate the attorney filling Sokoloff's shoes in the case will be Morley Swingle, the elected prosecutor of Cape Girardeau County.
"It is my hope and expectation that the case will go forward as scheduled, so that the matter can be fully and finally resolved," Sokoloff said.
Although Judge Satterfield did make a decision to deny Ellis' request to recuse Sokoloff from the case, another motion filed by the defendant remains undecided upon by the judge, according to court records. That motion is a response to the state's motion in limine, a motion to withhold or allow evidence, which was filed last month.
Among the requests made by the state are that the following not be allowed as evidence: the general reputation of the victim (law enforcement officers alleging assault), dishonesty of witnesses, evidence of other complaints or accusations against victims relating to previous arrests, any evidence of matters claimed to have arisen at the police station after the arrest, evidence of the purpose of Ellis' trip to Walmart, character evidence of defendant except by general reputation in the community, testimony on the impact of the incident on the defendant and asks to strike the testimony of three witnesses who have reportedly been uncooperative.
The order also requests that Ellis refrain from "wearing or displaying any religious symbols or religion-specific clothing or any testimony relating to the defendant's faith, religious beliefs or training."
Ellis took issue with a number of the requests.
In response to the state's request regarding religious attire, it states that Ellis "objects to any attempts by the state to restrict the religious attire of members of the public who may attend the trial. Those members have a constitutional right to freedom of religion and expression that should not be restricted by the state. A member of the public attending the trial should be at liberty to wear appropriate religious garments if they choose."
The paragraph goes on to state that Ellis should be permitted to address religion and religious training during voir dire, jury selection, to ensure a fair jury is selected.
Satterfield will have to make a public ruling on those specific motions before it is determined whose arguments will stand.
The Ellis trial is currently scheduled to be heard by a jury in a Dunklin County courtroom before Judge Joe Satterfield at 9 a.m., on Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2009. The Daily Dunkin Democrat will attend and report any developments in the case.
Daily Statesman Staff Writer Corey Noles and Daily Dunklin Democrat Managing Editor Deanna Coronado contributed to this report.
The Black Is Back Coalition for Social Justice, Peace and Reparations this past weekend November 7 and 8 held a rally in Washington DC.
Black Is Back and we demand Social Justice, Peace and Reparations
Their platform is as follows
The election of Barack Obama as U.S. president has not ended the suffering of our people or U.S. injustices around the world. While the US Congress has given Wall Street and the auto industry trillions of dollars, the same Congress refuses to repair the legacy of slavery for descendants of enslaved Africans or prevent ethnic cleansing of black people in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. Massive home losses due to criminal banking practices attests to the ongoing theft of billions of dollars of black community wealth. Every day, our people suffer police brutality and murder, unjust imprisonment , depression-level unemployment, slave labor in prison and disenfranchisement. People who dedicated their lives to our freedom during the 1960s' still rot in U.S. prisons. U.S. wars have been expanded beyond the African community in the US to Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and now threaten Venezuela.
* Reparations Now! Pass HR 40! * Single Payer Health Care/Medicare for All! * Stop Gentrification,Home Mortgage Foreclosures, Bail-out the victims! * Free Mumia Abu Jamal, Jamil Al-Amin, all US political prisoners/pows/exiles! * End Mass Black Incarceration! Count Them Home for Census! * STOP Police violence, Black Community Containment Policy! * NO! to US wars,occupations,domination, exploitation! * NO AFRICOM! * US Out of Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, the Middle East! Hands off Iran! * Rescind the Patriot Act! Drug Wars in U.S, Colombia, Ghana!
Black is Back Steering Committee: Omali Yeshitela, APSP - Chair Ayesha Fleary, AAPDEP - Secretary Yaa Asantewq Ohema, NCOBRA – Fundraiser Jared Ball, Vox Union Media – Media Coordinator Rosa Clemente, Green Party – Program Coordinator Efia Nwangaza, Malcolm X Center Self Determination – Recruitment Coordinator Chioma Oruh, ASI North America – Outreach Coordinator Ousainou Mbenga – APSP – Logistics Coordinator Rich Piedrahita – APSP – Graphic Designer/Website Manager Riley Hamilton – Uhuru Radio – Website Manager
Members of Coalition: Glen Ford, Black Agenda Report Cynthia McKinney, Green Party Pam Africa, Free Mumia Campaign Chimurenga Waller, InPDUM Stic Man, Dead Prez M-1, Dead Prez Abdul Alim Musa, Masjed al-Islam Omowale Kefing, The Burning Spear newspaper Ona Zene Yeshitela, APSP Curtis Gatewood, NAACP in North Carolina Netfa Freeman, SALSA Naji Mujahid, BAPO Ron Reynolds, KPFT Pacifica Houston Shannon McCollum, Filmmaker Omowale Adewale, G.A.ME Jahahara Amen-RA Alkebulan-Ma'at, FONAM Luwezi Kinshasa, ASI Raheal Rayza, University of Toronto Outreach Coordinator Chakanda Gondwe, Toronto Community Outreach Coordinator Norman Richmond, Toronto Community Organizer Kali Akuno, MXGM Sister Heart Olevette, DC Outreach Organizer Remy Johnson, Syracuse University Outreach Coordinator Priest Hemnetcher, Howard University Outreach Coordinator Kobina Bantushango, St. Petersburg Outreach Coordinator Oronde Takuma, New York City Outreach Coordinator Jamye Wooten, Kinectics of Tubman City (Baltimore)
The Heather Ellis case is creating quite a stir online as I believe it should. Why is a young woman, a med student, with no record of problems with the police, facing a possible 15 years behind bars for a minor altercation at at Wal-Mart checkout counter. I feel like Wal-Mart has some heavy duty explaining to do and should be taking every step to ensure us that they will not stand by and let this one pass. If not we need to seriously consider the possibility that they don't appreciate our patronage.
The business of the police handing the family KKK cards is something that deserves our full attention as well. The record should be set straight with these people.
In the meantime support is mounting for ms. Ellis.
Dr. Boyce Watkins, founder of the Your Black World Coalition, is planning a rally/march 11 a.m. Nov. 16 in Kennett, starting at the Walmart where Heather was arrested, and is encouraging people from all over to participate in support. Rev. Bonner said he is hoping for a turn out to rival the march in support of the Jena 6. They are also hoping the event will raise funds to help Heather's family the expenses related to this lengthy ordeal.
You can sign a petition here. Give Heather some Facebook support here. Find out more about the planned rallies here.
As prisons proliferate in U.S. society, private capital has become enmeshed in the punishment industry. And precisely because of their profit potential, prisons are becoming increasingly important to the U.S. economy. If the notion of punishment as a source of potentially stupendous profits is disturbing by itself, then the strategic dependence on racist structures and ideologies to render mass punishment palatable and profitable is even more troubling.
Prison privatization is the most obvious instance of capital’s current movement toward the prison industry. While government-run prisons are often in gross violation of international human rights standards, private prisons are even less accountable. In March of this year, the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), the largest U.S. private prison company, claimed 54,944 beds in 68 facilities under contract or development in the U.S., Puerto Rico, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Following the global trend of subjecting more women to public punishment, CCA recently opened a women’s prison outside Melbourne. The company recently identified California as its “new frontier.”
Wackenhut Corrections Corporation (WCC), the second largest U.S. prison company, claimed contracts and awards to manage 46 facilities in North America, U.K., and Australia. It boasts a total of 30,424 beds as well as contracts for prisoner health care services, transportation, and security.
Currently, the stocks of both CCA and WCC are doing extremely well. Between 1996 and 1997, CCA’s revenues increased by 58 percent, from $293 million to $462 million. Its net profit grew from $30.9 million to $53.9 million. WCC raised its revenues from $138 million in 1996 to $210 million in 1997. Unlike public correctional facilities, the vast profits of these private facilities rely on the employment of non-union labor.
I didn't know anything at all about this dynamic woman until I saw a mention
about Malaak Compton-Rock and her trip to South Africa with the Bushwick Kids.
The Bushwick Kids Malaak Compton-Rock
Well this video really made me want to know more about
Malaak Compton-Rock was doing. So I dug around and found ;
Angel Rock Project and African Ancestry Help Teens Find Roots
One thing led to another and I found this:
Malaak Compton-Rock Children's Defense Fund
So this is where she got her inspiration?
I really wanted to know more about Marion Wright Edelman.
So I googled and searched youtube and guess what?
There is no end to the data on Edelman or the CDF
I see right away that President Obama made the wrong call
for the Health and welfare cabinet position.
Then again ms Edelman appears
to be working too well to be in government.
Introduction to the Children's Defense Fund
CDF Freedom Schools® Program Introductory Video
CDF President Marian Wright Edelman Health Care Reform Testimony
At this point, I'd say if you want to be on a winning team,
look up ms Marion Wright Edelman ASAP.
BLACK PUBLIC MEDIA.ORG is an online destination for free video streaming and distribution of fresh factual and fictional media related to the global black experience. Here you can watch free full-length streams of select documentary and narrative shorts, purchase to own engaging downloads, DVDs, and engage with multi-platform public media projects.
I was so delighted to discover this site that I only watched a couple of videos and didn't really explore it very much before I decided to put it on the blog right away. Hopefully you'll explore it more carefully and return with some helpful feedback pro or con. I also hope to see you spread the news so that more of us can benefit from the effort that's being made here. It is productions such as this that will help to bring us to a place where we are able to see the potential we have to advance ourselves through cooperation and mutual understanding. We should do whatever we can to help ensure the success of this and other projects like it.
We really do need to get our collective act together and put a system in place for handling this kind of thing, which is popping up as often as ever, it seems to me. Issues like the Jena 6, or the executions of Sean Bell and Oscar grant and the general injustices Black folks have to deal with, won't ever just go away if we wait for the "good will" of white people to kick in. while I'm sure that there are white people out there who possess the good will to support our cause, we must take the lead and take the situation in hand.
Now I am reading about Heather Ellis of Kennett, Mo.who is facing 15 years in prison after cutting line in Walmart. ( I wonder what would happen if all the Black folks in the US declared a 1 month moratorium on shopping at Walmart? Do you think we could convince the good folks at Walmart to hire some top legal minds to defend this sister?) We have to stop acting like losers and play to our strength.
The following post is from James Rucker, executive director of colorofchange.org:
ColorOfChange.org members gathered at the Alameda County Courthouse in Oakland Tuesday to confront District Attorney Tom Orloff over his handling of the Oscar Grant case, and to demand that he explain his decision not to charge a second BART police officer for his actions in the moments leading up to Oscar Grant's murder.
The event was a huge success and garnered lots of good local news coverage, including reports from most of the local TV news media. Our members delivered more than 20,000 petitions -- collected in less than two weeks -- to Orloff's office. This number reflects just a portion of the nearly 45,000 ColorOfChange members who have expressed outrage, demanded justice and pledged vigilance since Oscar Grant's murder on New Year's Day.
We sent Orloff a strong message that the public is continuing to watch his handling of this case. Orloff now has to answer the charge that he is failing to uphold California law in his refusal to bring charges against BART police officer Tony Pirone (who struck Oscar Grant in the face, apparently unprovoked, and then kneeled on Grant's neck as the 22-year-old Hayward man was shot in the back and killed by another BART officer). We're deeply concerned about what Orloff's lack of action against Pirone says about his commitment to pursuing justice throughout the case, and we think it's essential that people who care about justice for Oscar Grant continue to demand accountability.
Our effort was supported by Dereca Blackmon, a leader of the Oakland-based Coalition Against Police Execution. Dereca and I addressed the crowd before joining ColorOfChange members to carry the stacks of petitions into the courthouse and up to the ninth-floor, where the District Attorney's staffers accepted them without much comment. We're still waiting for a public response from Orloff.
People of African descent are bigtime victims of pollution and environmental mismanagement. Be aware of what's being done to our people locally and globally and do what you can to act and/or speak out against this outrageous treatment.
Remember.... African-American children are three times as likely to die of asthma-related causes.
I scanned google for a few sites to get you started.
And of course, there is Lisa Jackson, who in January became the first African-American head of the EPA. Before joining the Obama administration, Jackson was New Jersey’s commissioner for environmental protection, where she proved that a tough administrator can use environmental law to save African-American lives. She pushed for tough new legislation against the trucks and ships that ruined Newark’s air quality, and she led over 1,000 compliance investigations in Camden and Paterson, cities that had been ignored by previous commissioners.
