There is Joy at Night

by with One Comment CultureFeaturedPolitics

History will be made on July 20, 2020. MSNBC‘s weekend host of AM Joy will officially be the first African-American woman to anchor a show during primetime on cable television. Many of her viewers and followers, many of whom have been following her for years, feel like they’re a part of this history. And as a result, many have shared their strong views in celebration of this historical moment. African-Americans specifically feel like their sister or their Aunt Joy has made history. She has recently been praised by CA Rep Maxine Waters who made it clear how huge this was for African-American women. Many women have shared that this is a great opportunity and door for all women that Joy is walking through. 

You also have a number of esteemed journalists coming forth to congratulate her on this historic accomplishment and great promotions, such as Dan Rather, former anchor of “CBS Evening News”, and iconic Carole Simpson, the first African-American woman in history to host a show on a major news network. Simpson, who anchored “NBC News” in 1975, became the first African-American woman to anchor a major network newscast.

Joy Reid’s Journey…

Many people don’t know that Joy has been working for this moment for nearly 25 years. According to Wikipedia, Reid began her journalism career in 1997, leaving New York and her job at a business consulting firm to begin working in southern Florida for a WSVN Channel 7 morning show.[10] She left journalism in 2003 to oppose the war in Iraq and President George W. Bush, but returned to broadcasting as a talk radio host, and then worked in the Barack Obama presidential campaign.[1] From 2006 to 2007, Reid was the co-host of Wake Up South Florida, a morning radio talk show broadcast from Radio One’s then-Miami affiliate WTPS, alongside “James T” Thomas.[7] She served as managing editor of The Grio[11] (2011–2014), a political columnist for Miami Herald (2003–2015), and the editor of The Reid Report political blog (2000–2014).[12] From February 2014 to February 2015, Reid hosted her own afternoon cable news show, The Reid Report.[13] The show was canceled[14] on February 19, 2015 and Reid was shifted to a new role[15] as an MSNBC national correspondent.[16] Since May 2016, Reid has hosted AM Joy, a political weekend-morning talk show on MSNBC, and is a frequent substitute for other MSNBC hosts, including Chris Hayes and Rachel Maddow. As of 2018, Reid’s morning show on Saturday averages nearly 1 million weekly viewers.

In June 2020, it was announced that Reid would likely be taking over “Hardball with Chris Matthews”. But in July, MSNBC announced that Reid would host “The ReidOut”, a new weeknight show at 7 p.m. EST that was once slotted to replace Hardball and Chris Matthews’s following his sudden retirement. 

Joy Reid was the one that brought us the Trayvon Martin story. She reported this horrific tragic loss of life from its conception to today, as well as countless others who’ve been unarmed and murdered by the police. She is a wife and mother and finds time for family while leading a successful career. Joy is known as the no-nonsense journalist, the one you cannot lie to. She’s quick with follow-up questions and will literally pull out receipts as they call it while live on air. She has been wrongly attacked and made to look bad in the media for previous LGBTQ comments that were taken out of context… an unsuccessful attempt to stop her successful rise. In fact, the LGBTQ community came to her rescue. Trained journalists and everyday citizens know that Reid has been a strong advocate for the LGBTQ community, as well as other marginalized communities. She is someone that everyone loves to hear from, talk to, or take a picture with while attending the annual National Association of Black Journalist Convention (NABJ), where she has held multiple nominations. So I am personally excited about this move by MSNBC to make history with Joy Reid in July 2020. I hope that we support her as she has supported us over the years.

Similar Read: Should Biden’s VP be a Black Woman?

Detroit Police Officer: “They Want Blood”

by with 2 Comments CultureFeatured

It’s a tough time to be in law enforcement. Police officers rarely weigh in and tell you what they think. And if they do, it’s off the record. Below is a Detroit Police Officer’s thoughts in response to a recent article discussing a young Black male being fatally shot by police after he opened fire on an officer in close range and attempted to flee.

The body cam footage is graphic, and many are calling it a justified shooting.

Officer’s Profile… (Black male / 27 years old / 4 years experience / married with two kids / resides in the city of Detroit):

“Was it or was it not a good shooting as in justified? He tried to kill a cop and wasn’t even the focus of the investigation. You know it’s aggravating that my people call me names, spit at me, and don’t appreciate what we do. But on that same block a week earlier, 8 people shot, 3 of the 8 are dead, and no 1 batted an eye. We shoot someone who shot at us first and we are vilified. I leave my house every day knowing I may not come home at night for people who don’t care about me. My mayor runs the city like a business. I love him dearly but at the same time, I want to feel appreciated for what we do. Day in and day out, the Chief crucifies us. This is the first time he’s stood behind us out the gate. The people of this city don’t want rationality, they want blood and a war for no reason. We don’t want to harm anyone… we want to make money and enjoy our lives. We are threatened on a day to day basis by the community that doesn’t trust us for things officers did in other states. Like honestly man, I wouldn’t mind walking away from this and only protecting my family and letting the criminals have the city. No1 says thank you. No1 says anything other than spit on the work we do.”

Referenced article: Brother of Hakim Littleton speaks out, wants meeting with Detroit city officials

Similar Read: Professional Fear

We Are All Talked Out

by with No Comment FeaturedPoliticsRace Relations

The other week South Carolina’s Republican Senator Lindsey Graham was asked what was his opinion on chokeholds, police brutality as well as the rise of racial unrest. Sen Graham responded, “Well I think we need to learn how to start talking to each other.”  He added, “First we should start talking then look at data.” I am personally sick of people, mainly White people, telling Blacks they need to start talking about it. Black Americans have been talking and talking for years, decades and centuries. The truth is some White Americans in power have never been interested in doing anything to address the issue of race.

On Monday, June 22, 2020, the US House discussed voting on their police reform bills. The Republican bill does not address issues with police brutality but actually give them incentives if they do not do chokeholds. It explicitly states, “Give Incentives to Police Departments that Do Not Do Chokeholds, Let States Maintain the Tracking of Police Misconduct, Would Not Amend Federal Civil Rights Law, No Change in Qualified Immunity, and just Collect State Data on No-Knock Warrants.“ On the other hand, the Democrat bill says, “Ban on Chokeholds, National registry to Track Police Misconduct, Would amend Federal Civil Rights Law, Change in Qualified Immunity and Ban No-Knock Warrants in Drug Cases.“

As to expected… night and day.

Clearly, Republicans believe that just because they proposed a police reform bill that would appeal to African-Americans voters. However, African-Americans will not allow the GOP to use their community as a prop. The evidence is in their bill, that Republicans in the House of Representatives do not believe that Black Lives Matter. The Black Community has been clear that they are ALL TALKED OUT, they are ready for ACTION.

Similar Read: My Letter to John Lewis

“You My Opposer”

by with One Comment CultureFeaturedRace Relations

[New Contributor]

“You my opposer when I want freedom.” Words uttered by the late great boxing legend and social justice hero, Muhammad Ali, during an exit from a Supreme courtroom hearing in 1971. These sentiments remain ingrained in the fabric of Black America, “Opposer.” Blacks in this country still bare the sour taste of fruits force-fed by past oppressors, and our voice has been silenced and muted for generations thereafter.

Economic, judicial, and inhumane freedom discrepancies, replay over and over. Families and communities left broken and dysfunctional, the residual pain, fogs pathways for clear solutions and answers.

Now in 2020, a 5-year-old black girl stops her father before he leaves their Bronx home and hands her Father a dollar, that he gave to her earlier that day. She tells him, take this dollar for if and when the police stop you. Maybe you can use this dollar to buy a policeman an ice cream so that he will like you…

You My Opposer.

Thee opposer stands before you like a massive brick wall. Impending progress at will. Before it was slaves and chains transitioning to cotton fields and enforced self-hate to police dogs and segregation. Many moons later we feel and face displacement, mistrust, incarceration, and still self-hate. Your opposer is the banker who denies you again for the business loan or that administrator who won’t accept your child in the better private school where you live. Simply you want the opposition to treat you fair. Treat you as an equal; we look and watch other groups and communities have forged themselves ahead. When a judge hits the gavel for others it’s a slap on the wrist, for us it may be the biggest mistake of ones life, and generations involved may never recover.

My opposer makes the air feel thick soliciting trying times. Could my American Dream be others nightmares? Your opposer will hand you a fixed deck asking you to play the game, daring you to win. Thee opposer begins applying pressure. You now scream for help, fairness, justices, compassion, respect, love. But the air is thick now, it slowly becomes thicker more and more. How so you may ask? My opposer’s knee is on my neck. 

You My Opposer. 

“You my opposer when I want freedom. You my opposer when I want justice. You my opposer when I want equality. You won’t even stand up for me in America, you won’t even stand up for me here at home.” -Muhammad Ali

Similar Read: Black Man in America

Professional Fear

by with One Comment CultureFeaturedRace Relations

Quick disclaimer… I’m a former police officer of the Baltimore City police department southwestern and central district. 

“If racism was a butcher, law enforcement is its cleaver.”

That’s not hyperbole, that’s American history. 

From enforcing fugitive slave laws to Jim Crow to today, the continual enforcement of draconian drug and financial laws were created with Black people as the target.

Black people have a rightful fear, not in the sense of being scared of the police officer as a person, but fearful as the police officer as the profession. And that their PROFESSION will give them credence over their life. 

I’ll repeat that. 

Black people have a fear of law enforcement not because they’re tough bad boys, hardly, because their word will have a say over our lives. Not because we’re wrong, but because we’re Black. 

This comes down to a very basic thing. Too many White police officers fear Black people. They see our skin color representing the need to be controlled and thus no regard or respect or life, which is evident by the terror they’ve inflicted on us over centuries. 

It’s that simple. 

Now, what’s to be done about it?

Well, this is not a call to remove law enforcement. No, but to have a proper relationship between citizens and police, we MUST recreate a balance of the people against policing powers. 

What are police powers?

Policing is a state and local issue. The federal government has little to do with it outside passing its own federal laws to be enforced and the occasional federal money and assistance to state and local law enforcement departments with strings attached. Police powers give officers the right to do everything from having their weapon issued to being able to tow your car and lock you up if you don’t sign a traffic ticket. That power also gives them the ability to do a criminal act, under the guise of policing, and go home and watch SportsCenter that evening while another person dies because of their lack of judgement. 

That’s a PROBLEM! And that’s THEE first problem of policing. No consequences! 

Without any true federal laws on the conduct of policing, each and every police department carries out the business of policing very differently. 

You see, there isn’t a federal statute or law or anything to protect citizens from the abuse of policing powers. There is no universal defense as a citizen against a law enforcement officer upon their interaction with you. 

This is not democratic. This is not due process. A police officers’ profession stops at a certain point, and their actions become the actions of a person, not a cop. And they should not be protected with their police powers. This is exactly what happened when Minnesota Cop Derek Chauvin murdered George Floyd, while Mr. Floyd laid defenseless and handcuffed. 

I guess that’s fear of life. (emoji shrug) 

You see, if I worked at an Applebee’s one of the Trump supporters wanted opened, I cannot beat up a rude guest or slap away someone’s food because they didn’t like it. All in the name of Applebee’s…. none of us have that luxury. 

No organization has the luxury of hiding the criminal acts of its members like the police. The job of police officers, to protect and serve, is essential to society… we get that. But what we will not do is allow them to use that as an excuse to reign terror on citizens. 

A federal law needs to be put in place to protect citizens in regard to their interactions with officers… essentially what an officer can and cannot do and say to you. The other is the swiftness of action against an officer when a criminal act has taken place. 

What Derek Chauvin did was murder. Chauvin went home that night. What Amber Guyger did, the woman who shot and killed Botham Jean in his own apartment in Dallas, that was murder. Guyger went home that night. 

Amber got off because of her profession, getting a ten-year sentence for killing a man in his own apartment is getting off. Chauvin will too. If the flames are to ever begin to settle, and tensions calmed, swift and immediate action is needed by our so-called leaders. Reformation of law enforcement is not an issue, but a crisis. A crisis our current leadership is woefully inept to handle. 

Similar Read: Conversation With a Black Man

Conversation With a Black Man

by with No Comment CultureFeaturedRace Relations

Black man, I prayed for you last night… except there weren’t many words. You see, like you I have found myself heavy and burdened with emotions due to the events of the past week… month… years… I know you’re laughing because, “Since when is a black woman at a loss for words?” We can chuckle about that together, but this time I think we both understand why. Really, I prayed because I grew weary of screaming and cussing in frustration about the loss of another brother or sister. 

George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and almost Chris Cooper in Central Park have caused everyone in the world to pause and re-examine his/her own relationship with black skin, and it’s relative treatment in America in 2020. Add to that a layers of pure racism and cowardice that can no longer be masked by a liberal white woman with a dog, racist white men in your friendly Georgia neighborhood, or an enduring system of police brutality that this time chose a knee over a gun. Well, not just any knee, but the patellofemoral joint of an adult white male supporting the full weight of his torso and body transferred through his pelvis down the length of his femur to the approximately 5.5 mm carotid artery of Mr. Floyd. For almost 9 minutes a murderer slowly stole the life of another Black man, depriving him of vital oxygen and nutrients desperately needed by his brain for survival, reportedly because he was resisting arrest even though former Ofc. Chauvin’s hands stayed in his pockets the entire time, devoid of struggle to contain Mr. Floyd. 

So, yes, I prayed for you in the middle of the night when I couldn’t sleep, because enough is enough and- in the words of Fannie Lou Hamer – “I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired.” In the moans and groans of a grandmother on her knees in the middle of the night waiting for her prodigal grandson to return home. I whispered the words and melodies of songs lined out in a hymn by the mothers of the church who maybe couldn’t read or write intelligibly, but knew how to place that note so perfectly deep in your soul that every time you heard it, you got chills. I lifted up a prayer filled with the tears of a single mother who is utterly exhausted and whose true desire is for her and her children to be safe. That “arms wrapped around me” kind of protection that any man wants to give his family as a father, husband, brother, son, and provider, and that every woman wants to receive. Yet I understand that many times, Black man, you can’t because throughout countless generations you’ve been trying to survive, prevent and even run from a system that was designed to lynch or disable you by any means necessary. And while many may disagree, I suggest that safety and security are 2 of the most vital needs for a woman from a man. At home, in our communities, and even on our jobs and in places of worship. Although, Breona Taylor had just that with her boyfriend asleep beside her in their Louisville, KY apartment when the police stormed in unannounced and unloaded a hail of bullets into her body in the middle of the night, not realizing until they killed her that they were in the wrong apartment.

Whether you wanted me to or not, I prayed for you this morning to receive the strength to rise up with God’s help, wisdom and guidance to defeat this enemy of police brutality and systemic racism in America and all over the world. For you to have the courage stand upright as a Black man in your God-given power that the world is so afraid for you to possess, because they know that you would rule if only you realized it was yours. I asked God to hear my heart because no words would suffice to adequately describe the despair, rage, and gut-wrenching pain that it sometimes takes to be an African-American woman who loves and cherishes African-American men. I, hell WE, are praying for you, standing beside you and fighting with you because the security of our children, families and communities depend on it.

Love,

Your Black Woman

Similar Read: Dear Black Man  

Why Are We Scared?

by with One Comment CultureFeaturedRace Relations

[New Contributor]

White America, stop. Look in the mirror and ask yourself, why?

Why does it not bother me that African-Americans are not on equal footing? Why am I scared about the empowerment of Black communities? Why do I not care about the injustices committed against African-Americans? Why am I not scared driving down the street but Black people are?

These of course are all rhetorical questions, but the why has been built into us over generations of discrimination against people who look different than us. We have to look at these questions individually. Not regurgitate a company line that we get from the media or the people we associate with. We have to make these problems personal. Why?

I am the results of the seeds sown by some of the most influential Black men in my life… coaches, teammates, friends, brothers. My story cannot be told without mentioning these men.

White friends, enemies, and family do not be scared or nervous, come talk to me. Ask me questions about these men and what they mean to me. I will tell you about Osi Umenyiora, Justin Tuck, Micheal Strahan, George Falgout, Mathias Kiwanuka, Jason Pierre-Paul, Carl Hairston, Perry Fewell, Antonio Pierce, Barry Cofield, Fred Robbins, Kenny Onatolu. The list goes on and on.

Why are we scared?

Similar read from another NFL player: Dear Black Man

Can You Hear Me Now?

by with 2 Comments CultureFeaturedRace Relations

[New Contributor]

Remember the old Verizon catchphrase? Imagine if, you will, an entire country of disenfranchised African-Americans screaming that right now. Is anyone listening??  

Let me preface this with the fact that I am a White male. I know the privilege I was born into and I also know that simply based on my skin color I will NEVER know the level of anger felt by my African-American countrymen and women these last few days. Now that we have gotten that out of the way, I have one simple message to the masses protesting: “Burn this bitch down.”

If that sounds familiar to you, it should. Michael Brown’s stepfather uttered this phrase in 2014. Let me say that again for the racists in the back… TWO THOUSAND FOURTEEN. 

Here’s my point…

For all of you telling protesters that they are taking this too far, I would argue that they may not be taking it far enough. 6 years after Ferguson and the same shit keeps happening over and over and over again. When all the public outrage ends and the celebrities point their tweets in a different direction, the clock starts on the next injustice and the cycle repeats.

So I ask all of you (mostly White) people, what would you do?

You showed up to a government building with assault rifles because the government had the nerve to ask you to stay at home for the greater good. I shudder to think what would happen if suddenly the White race was consistently and intentionally targeted by cops for simply being White. So save your outrage. I say “burn that bitch down.” If you wanna hang your hat on the “Most cops are good” argument I say this: You’re right but there are enough bad ones that this brutality keeps happening, so I say “burn this bitch down’.” There are no more arguments to defend this behavior and if you have one, YOU’RE the problem. 

Can you hear me now??

Similar Read: Ahmaud Murdered… What’s Next? Who’s Next?

Amy’s Gotta Problem

by with One Comment CultureFeaturedRace Relations

There is an ire of intentionality behind white violence against black people. But white violence against black men has been at the forefront lately. As I write this post, America has just been introduced to another death of a black man at the hands of a white police officer. There’s something about the history of black oppression in this country that today’s news just lays on the thickest layer of grief a black person in America can feel. Although George Floyd’s life needs to be shared, this story, unfortunately, isn’t about him. 

It’s about Amy Copper and her attempt to threaten and likely kill a black innocent man. It’s deep. While Christian Cooper (not related) was in Central Park’s Ramble bird watching he noticed an unleashed dog. That is illegal in the Ramble and they have clear instructions on their website. He asked the dog’s owner, Amy Cooper, if she could please leash her dog. Among other things, unleashed dogs can harm other animals and humans. Instead of simply complying with a stated law, Amy decides to challenge Christian who then begins to record their interaction with his cell phone. 

It’s important to note that this was his single greatest weapon during this interaction. What ensued thereafter is beyond reproach. Amy begins to approach him and he asks her to back up and she points at him and threatens to call the police. What gave Amy the right to threaten police on an unarmed and non-threatening man? She clearly didn’t like that he asked her to leash her dog and used his race as a weapon to call the police. It was truly disgusting to witness via Christian’s video footage, but it was real. 

The threat of white violence utilizing police is disgusting. Amy emphasized that Christian was African-American in her call to the police. She said he was threatening her and her dog, whom by this time she was visibly chocking because she refused to leash it. Christian continued to record and posed no threat to her. Amy continued to Amy until finally leashing her dog and Christian thanked her and walked away. The ending shows that the police did arrive, but did not find Amy or Christian there because there was no real threat. There was only a disgruntled dog walker and a frustrated bird watcher who had an ugly interaction. 

But we can’t leave this topic without thinking of the many times a 911 call has been used as key proof in a case against someone. Amy, without hesitation, called and told the police an African-American man was threatening her life. As we think about how easily a false accusation could have caused this Black man to lose his liberty or his life it is truly infuriating. What’s infuriating was Amy’s disregard for his life. In a follow-up interview, she told CNN “I’m not racist. I do not mean to harm that man in any way.”

Amy calling the police was intended harm. Highlighting his race on the call was intended harm. Faking an emergency to call the police was intended harm. Having your dog unleashed in an area that is illegal was intended harm. 

Christian was simply asking Amy to comply with a stated law. Amy attempted harm and now expects her apology to suffice. This is trauma. This is black trauma. This is black male trauma. The Amy’s of the world must be stopped. And the Christian’s of the world must continue to record and share.

Similar Read: Are We Surprised?

How Many More?

by with No Comment CultureFeaturedGen Z

I constantly find myself mourning people I’ve never met. The eulogies are the same, but with different names. This time, his name is Ahmaud Arbery, aged 25 and was about to be 26 on May 8th. 

He too fell victim to his skin, the same color as the chocolate that his murderers probably like to eat. Only in the form of candy is Blackness palatable to racism. 

Ahmaud was just out for his daily run. Many people do this; even through this quarantine people are still outside exercising. But isn’t the perception of Black boys and Black men running that they’re ‘usually running from something’? 

On February 23rd in Brunswick, Georgia, Gregory and Travis McMichael were playing vigilante the way George Zimmerman did. Boy and man alike, neither Trayvon nor Ahmaud ‘could have been up to any good’ just running or going to the corner store. 

The McMichaels saw a Black man running in their neighborhood, which couldn’t have been for a reason as innocent and simple as him exercising. 

There had been a series of burglaries in the McMichaels’ neighborhood. I can understand being suspicious of people coming and going that don’t live there. However, would they have pursued him in a truck with trigger happy fingers and guns had he been White instead? 

The way a person runs for leisure and exercise looks entirely different from someone running from a crime, or their death. I suppose it all looked the same to the McMichaels. So yes, Ahmaud was a Black man running from something alright. 

They were the ones armed and dangerous. The McMichaels grabbed a shotgun and a handgun before jumping in their truck to follow Ahmaud. Ahmaud was armed only with the prayer that every Black parent has: that he returns home the same way he left out. Alive. 

What baffles me is how long it took for the McMichaels to be arrested. Two and a half months after the incident, these murderers were just arrested on Thursday, May 7th, and charged with murder and aggravated assault. This only happened because a video of the murder was finally brought to light. 

What baffles me is how William Bryan, the man who took a video of the murder, took this long to turn it over to authorities. He let the McMichaels walk around as free men for two and half months more. He let Ahmaud’s murder almost be waved off as “self-defense.” 

I’m not saying that he and his family deserve the death threats that they’re receiving. I don’t know how I feel about him being charged with murder either. Withholding evidence in an ongoing investigation? That is something I’d charge him with because there is absolutely no reason why he felt it to be better to just hold onto this footage of Ahmaud’s last moments for months. 

I understand that he was afraid in the moment the murder occurred. I would be too. Just taking the video was probably the best he could do because he put his safety and his family’s safety first. But what about Ahmaud’s safety? What about the family that Ahmaud won’t be able to create because he is dead? What about the goals and dreams and aspirations that this man had that cannot be fulfilled? 

We have a right to be outraged. Racial profiling is continuing to cut down Black bodies. How many more need to die before it is safe for us to be Black and American? Will we ever be safe in our Blackness? Will we ever be American?

Similar Read: Ahmaud Murdered… What’s Next? Who’s Next?