Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. - "A Revolution of Values"

"Injustice Anywhere is a Threat to Justice Everywhere"

The prophetic words of Dr. Martin Luther King.

still ring true -Let's review this not so famous speech.

"I'm Sorry Sir You Don't Know Me"

Now is the time to make that change happen.

We the people all want it.

More on the BART slaying of Oscar Grant

 I'm always looking for online media that's oriented toward

the Black community and the need to create communication

necessary to keep us informed about the events that are currently,

as well as historically, affecting our lives as a people.

 The recent flurry of activity online has reminded me that 

the people of the "Bay Area" have a long history of speaking out

against institutional injustice. Now I have found a sister who is

poddcasting, blogging, interviewing, researching and don't I

believe I'm even coming close to fully expressing the energy I detect

from her direction. 

 Wanda Sabir is a powerhouse with her site wandaspicks.com

which describes itself as a   "Black arts event source"

this is definitely an understatement.  This site includes so much

information that I am not about to try to list the variety of material

that you will find there. Do check out her blog and those of you who

use itunes will be interested  in clicking here. 

 In a recent program on  blogtalkradio taped Thursday, January 8,

she features the poet Jahi, who responds to the police shooting 

and murder of Oscar Grant III January 1, 2009 at the 

Frutivale BART Station in Oakland. He is joined by Tiyesha Meroe 

who was at the rally 1/7 and at the BART Hearing 1/8 and shares 

her perspective on each.

 Enjoy Wanda's Picks I know I will.

Oscar Grant -Robbie Tolan -Adolph (Chris) Grimes

Oscar Grant -Robbie Tolan -Adolph (Chris) Grimes

 

Young Black American Men Gunned down by Police 

In The first Week of  2009.

Is there anything we can do about it.

Yes We Can.

We can work together.

We can put our money to better use from now on.

We can create jobs in our own communities.

We can educate our  youth of their true history.

We can build and or rebuild our community infrastructure.

We can support those who are already working

in our communities for our benefit.

We can continue to take an active part in local

and state politics.

We can teach our youth to respect and defend the community

rather than kill each other.

We can do anything we decide to do and we don't have

to wait for anyone to do it for us.

Sista Soulja has been addressing the problem for quite some time now.

She makes it very clear in the following piece.

If you listen carefully I believe you will hear her say,

YES WE CAN!

sista soulja speaks

Unarmed, young, innocent and Black -Robbie Tolan, shot by police in his own driveway New Years Eve.

 It doesn't look like the year is off to a good start for us,

Oscar Grant was not the only casualty of a police bullet.

Are these cops trying to deliver a message?

It really is high time we got off our asses and

started demanding full accountability

by any means necessary.

According to family members, Robbie Tolan and 

his cousin were returning to Tolan's home in the 

mostly white Houston suburb of Bellaire in the early

 hours of December 31, when they were approached 

by officers who suspected the SUV they had just gotten 

out of was stolen.

Tolan's parents, who own the SUV, came out of the 

house to explain the situation. An altercation ensued 

and Tolan's mother was thrown against the garage 

door by an officer. According to Tolan's uncle, 

"Her son was on his back at the time, and he raised up and asked, 

'What are you doing to my mom?' and the officer shot him 

-- while he was on the ground."

see the complete article

see related post

Oakland 1968, 18 years Before Oscar Grant was born.

 The Black Panther Party was formed with the idea of

preventing these types of executions. The party was also

advocating the cooperation with Latino and White

organizations to create better conditions across the board.

Just how much has changed since then and how have these

changes affected the conditions we face today?

 We may as well get a short history lesson while we're reflecting

on the events of this week.

 

Black Panthers (1968) part 1

The Murder & Legacy of Bobby Hutton