Police, murder, African Americans. Never Again. Stop The Game

In 1946, in Georgia, a mob lynched 4 Black men. That event led to the desegregation of the military, and arguably set the stage for the Civil Rights Movement.

In 1981, in Alabama, Michael McDonald was randomly selected and lynched.

In 1998 James Byrd Jr. was dragged to death in Texas.

These were horrible acts of violence. Thankfully in each case some degree of justice was enacted. But these are not isolated events. And they are reinforced by actions of a group in America that should never be tolerated. Police officers.

There is a pattern in America that has been accepted and hidden by the news media for far too long. In each occurrence it is passed off as an individual act and unrelated. I disagree. I believe we need to bring these connected events to light.



In 1991 Rodney King was beaten by 4 officers with excessive force. This was one of the first times such an action by police was seen by the public, as the event had been videotaped by a bystander. Even with this evidence a jury essentially slapped the wrists of the officers involved. This lead to riots in 1992.

Since that time several other events have been video taped with the media less willing to give it public attention. One of the most recent was the execution-style murder of Oscar Grant, in Oakland California on New Years Day 2009.

The killing of Grant was witnessed by at least a dozen witnesses. Grant was unarmed, on the ground face down, with an officer on his back, and was not resisting arrest. He was shot 1 time in the back at point blank range, killing him. The entire incident, some 4 minutes long, was caught on multiple cameras. It took 14 days for the officer firing the shot to be charged with a crime. The incident reached the national media 2x (an ABC news 30 second video clip and the opening memo on the O’Reilly Factor), both focused on the riots that occurred a week after the event.

On that same day, Robbie Tolan was shot in his driveway, while on the ground, in Texas. Robbie Tolan has been a minor league baseball player, was unarmed, and coming home from getting fast food when he was confronted by police. He currently has a bullet lodged in his liver. The officer in question has not been charged to date, though an investigation appears to still be underway.

Again on that same day, in New Orleans, Adolph Grimes was shot at 48 times, and struck 14, by 9 police officers. 12 of the 14 shots struck Grimes in the back. There is no clear explanation of why Grimes was shot at, or how he was struck so many times in the back. At this time no charges are pending any officer involved, though an investigation is said to be underway.

In 2008, Philadelphia, 19 police officers surround and beat 3 men. The officers believed the men might have been suspects from a shooting earlier that night. The men, not resisting arrest and unarmed, are kicked and beaten while lying on the ground. The result of this unquestionable act of police brutality enacted on African Americans is 4 officers fired, 3 suspended, and 1 demotion. No charges were brought.

Sean Bell, and 2 other passengers in his car, were shot at 51 times in NYC in 2006 by 5 police officers. None of the men were armed. Sean Bell died, the other surviving men were critically wounded at the time. None of the police officers were found guilty of wrong-doing.

Also in 2006, in Atlanta, Kathryn Johnston (age 92) was shot by 3 officers and killed. The officers entered the home with a no-knock warrant – prying off burglar alarms and breaking down the door - Johnston fired a shotgun once in the ceiling. No officer was injured by Johnston. Police fired 39 shots and hit Johnston 6 times. A failed cover-up of the incident included false claims of Johnston being a drug dealer. It was later proven that the Atlanta police routinely lied to get warrants All 3 officers that shot Johnston have been found guilty.

In 2005, in New Orleans, Robert Davis was beaten by 4 officers (2 of which were in fact federal agents). This incident was videotaped by the Associated Press, during which one of the newsmen was physically assaulted for videotaping the event. The federal agents were never charged. 2 officers were fired and 1 received a 120 suspension. 1 officer was cleared of all charges by a judge.

In 2004, NYC, Timothy Stansbury Jr. opened a rooftop door and was shot and killed by a police officer. He was unarmed. The shooting violated police procedure. The officer was never charged.

In 2001, in Ohio, Timothy Thomas was shot and killed by a police officer. The initial statement by the officer was that his gun accidentally went off. He then later stated that Thomas, wanted on non-violent charges, had a gun. He later revised the statement that he believed Thomas was reaching for a gun. Thomas in fact was unarmed, and is believed to have been holding up his baggy pants. The officer was not charged.

In 1999, in NYC, Amadou Diallo was shot 41 times by 4 police officers outside of his home. He was unarmed. At least one of the shots to Diallo was fired through the bottom of his foot, meaning he was lying on the ground when the shot was fired. None of the police officers involved were found to have committed a crime.

1998, in New Jersey, State police officers fired 11 shots at Danny Reyes and 3 passengers in the van. 3 of the men in the van, including Reyes, were shot. Reyes was hit 4 times, and was unarmed, as were all the men in the vehicle. All the men were on the way to professional basketball tryouts in North Carolina. The State troopers were charged with attempted murder after having initial charges dropped by lower court. I am unaware of any trial date having been set or occurring to date.

In 1997, in New York City, 4 officers arrested Abner Louima on questionable charges at an incident not originally involving him. When Louima was brought to the police station the officers proceeded to beat Louima with fists, nightsticks, police radios, and then sodomized him with a plunger. The entire event was attempted to be covered up by multiple police officers in the police station. 2 officers received time in jail, 3 other officers had convictions overturned and never served time.



I mention all of these events for 1 reason. They are not separate. They are all related. This is a pattern that has been occurring since before the 20th century started. It happens across the nation. And it could happen to your brother, sister, mother, father, children or yourself.

Police officers are routinely given carte blanche to violently act against African Americans without cause. Even when that action results in death, or extreme unjustifiable violence and torture, police are routinely excused.

The media almost invariably ignores these events. Even when presented with evidence from independent sources. Right this second more people in America know of the Florida Caylee Anthony case than all of the above cases (with the exception of perhaps the Rodney King event). While the Anthony case is horrendous, it is an individual act – reported on for a year – whereas we have a pattern of systemic abuse of power allowed by the legal system that remains virtually unseen. And it is anyone’s guess how many other cases of a similar nature occur and are not reported on.

This is unacceptable. This is wrong. We cannot allow this to continue.





The news media must live to its obligation to report on patterns that violate the rights and lives of American citizens. The news media is not an entertainment program, nor does it have the right to ignore facts that affect a huge segment of the nation while trying to garner ad revenue.

The police are employed to protect the rights of all the people. While many do this every day successfully, there are more than enough officers that do not. For every case resulting in the unwarranted death of an unarmed African American how many more cases of lesser violence slip thru the cracks? For every case of violence that catches the local (almost never national) attention how many are unreported, or successfully covered up?

We may never know. Especially if this is allowed to be viewed as individual events that are unrelated. Especially if we cloud our eyes to the fact that officers in these events are routinely placed back on the street, and inevitably train future officers the tactics and mentality they employ.

We need to wake up America. We need to shed light on this subject. We need to make people aware of the danger that exists. Because if 1 Black man can be shot at 51 times without question or repercussion, any man woman or child in the nation could be next.

I present this clothing line, found at www.cafepress.com/nova68, with one thought in mind. Attention to the wrong that is happening right now, in this “post-racial” America. Police cannot murder innocents without concern if they know they will be punished for it. Police departments will not abide criminals wearing a badge if they know that they have the support of the public.

I cannot say that the Never Again, or Stop The Game, clothing lines will prevent another Abner Louima, Kathryn Johnston, or Oscar Grant – but if enough of us have this, wear this in public, open the debate and thus increase awareness it just might. If enough of us can wear this, and it starts people noticing the obvious connected pattern of abuse and death things can be changed. And that change could save the life of a child, a father, a family. This change could save you.

Isn’t that worth it?

Media, President Obama, and questions from Logan Calder

This is a response I made to a comment recieved from Logan Calder on my post America is still America. I felt this deserved to be heard on it own as well.

Logan,

I love involved comments that reflect when someone has read what I have written. Thank you. I will try to respond as clearly as I can.

The question of why so many, including myself, have said “I never thought I would see a black president” is pretty easy. It comes from the fact that for some 400 years African Americans have been in fact or in effect second class citizens. For those that are old enough, basically my mothers generation or older, to have lived in segregation the thought of a Black President is hard to conceive of when you can recall water fountains being segregated. For those in my generation, roughly 45 – 30, the memory of blatant discrimination provides the same disconnect. Perhaps the only generation that is oblivious to blatant daily discrimination would be those 20 and under now, though it does happen via television and movies everyday as I have often mentioned.

“Does this suggest that the country is not as racist as they believe??, or do you think that it is simply dramatic behavior?? or something else??.”

No the country is definitely as racist as it has always been in my life. The means by which that racism is enacted or portrayed has changed though.

The 200 incidents of nooses reported in 2007, an act that was unreported prior or since the Jena 6 issue hit the major news media – after 6 months of having been on-going, is one example. The singular consistency of police across the nation to overkill unarmed African American men, ONLY, and the fact that national news media avoids reporting this while relatively trivial news (Anna Nicole Smith's death, the Casey Anthony case, ect.) is followed every day for a year is another example.

But it must be said that President Obama was elected by a majority of all Americans. So there is a change in acceptance. I know of many people that voted for Obama because of retribution against President Bush (which is stupid since he wasn’t running). Others voted against the Republican ticket and the ridiculous adage that Democrats used to great effect – “a third term of President Bush”. And more than a few people were swept away with the thoughts of “change” (which is unspecific and dumb), an end to the Iraq and possibly Afghanistan wars, and/or receiving another stimulus check (which will not happen according to comments on the next stimulus package which I believe will fail miserably).

But for all the reasons Obama was elected there was a clear and steady voice of about 10% of the nation that vocally stated they would not vote for a Black President. If that is an extreme, which I think it is, then on the sliding scale to those that would vote for a Black President we must cross a percentage of Americans that might vote for a Black President under certain circumstances only, and those that would vote for a Black man because they felt peer and/or media pressure to do so, as well as those that did not vote for President Obama but were unwilling to be vocal about it. Put together that is a scary but illustrative number of Americans.

Still there is no question that the media made this election incredibly dramatic. The news media swooned over President Obama back in October of 2007 and never stopped to this point. It was so bad that the media had no choice but to admit their partisan manipulation of information about the election – though they waited until after the election to admit it.

So there are a number of factors that came together to get President Obama elected. Blind Democratic voting blocks, historical passion, a mood of change in the public attitude on key issues, an unpopular war, economic disappointments, a less eloquent and less attractive opponent, the age and health factors, news media bias, and the introduction of the internet as a new medium of great power. All of this combined led to President Obama’s win.

“1. Most white people that I talk to voted for Obama and felt, purely from a political standpoint that he was the best candidate.”

Most people in America right now expect another stimulus check from the Government, though it has been directly and repeatedly stated that it won’t happen. Most people hear and believe what they want to based on 30 second soundbites they watch on television. They infer policy from polispeak, and invariably get it wrong.

There are dozens of reasons to question President Obama’s politics and economic views. One of the most unrecognized is the fact that every economic policy President Obama advocates has been proven to not work in the past. These are not new economic plans, and they have never worked in the past – why do so many believe it will work in the future?

One great indicator of what business believes is the stock market. It is a forward indicator of the economy. While moved dramatically by emotion it is always based in the expectations of success or failure of economic plans.

Thus a positive expectation will cause a factual 10 point move to be a 100 point move, and conversely for negative indicators. The market has lost some 12% as President Obama has been revealing more of his economic intentions. That does not indicate the best political standpoint to me.

“2. I heard several times that “they would never let him win”…”they” obviously refers to white people. And since he won, and received massive support by whites, does this play into the original thought of racial paranoia??.”

Yes the “they” refers to Whites. And yes that is based on the legal, social, and media disparities that exist in America at this moment as well as the last several hundred years.

But again I refer back to what I have said before. The win by President Obama is a culmination of multiple factors. While race was one of those factors, the economy, the wars, and other immediate policies were of far more concern than race. Which is a positive in some respects, and very sad in others. Still there is a bit of paranoia in that as well, just as the scale reflects the racism of some in this nation.

“3. Is there a silent feeling of “wow, I didnt expect that…now what do we do” among blacks that are most likely to use race as an excuse for failure?”

Failure for a President has nothing to do with race. Which is an unfair statement because we have never before had the option to prove that point. But I believe that if President Obama is successful his race has nothing to do with that. Yet considering the nature of the media to emphasize negative racial stereotypes (when the media bothers to cover non-Whites at all) a failure of President Obama will likely be framed in Black and White. That is just an honest observation.

But I believe the nation as a whole is just now starting to ask the question that Democrats avoided throughout the Presidential campaign, ‘what does change mean?’

From a Black perspective, speaking for myself based on my views and those I have heard, there is no expectation of failure for President Obama in the Black community. And were he to fail, that is not about his race but his politics. Yet I again state, the media is more likely to create an issue of race motivating blame than any American. And once the media does so, the nation will likely be engulfed by the issue. Which ultimately helps the media make more money.

“4. Last, do you think that a large portion of blacks are silent about, but resent, the fact that Obama is half white. And could be just as easily (and fairly) called white…if the thought of calling him white is offensive, then you would be a racist, in my opinion.”

I personally could care less. There are millions of African Americans that are mixed with some other race or nationality. In fact most Americans whose family goes back to 1865 or earlier (as mine does) have a mixture of White and Black blood. It may not be spoken about, since much of that mixture from that time was the direct result of White slave owners committing rape – but not always as seems the case with Thomas Jeffesron, a rarity indeed. So President Obama’s heritage is about as important as that of President Bill Clinton, President Bush, President Roosevelt, President Lincoln, President Washington, and so on.

At the same time I must correct a thought you have. Race has always been a factor of what people see in this country. If you have dark skin you are presumed to be Black. You could be Hispanic, African, Arabic, Indian, and so on but you will be seen as Black at least initially. Just as every person from any Southeast Asian nation is considered generally from the same nation. It is an attitude that America has maintained since the days of slavery.

Any non-White is generally regarded as a lump of people of the same color. And because there is a visible difference there is a discrimination placed upon them, historically. Thus President Obama would and will never be called White, though he is a 50/50 mix. Because when those that care about such things look at him they see a Black man.

But I doubt many in the Black community care about his mixture. Because most African Americans can trace a fair amount of White ancestors to their family. There are always extreme views of course, but that is the exception and not the rule. But again the key here is the media.

The media has the unique ability to focus on the issues they wish, in a manner that emphasizes what they wish to convey. Right now the Casey Anthony case in Florida has been on national news programs for about a year. To my knowledge only Bill O’Reilly (for 4 minutes) and ABC News (for 30 seconds) have covered the Oscar Grant case. Exponentially less time has been focused on the 2 other Black men killed by police on New Year’s Day, while unarmed, one also on the ground and the other shot in the back 12 times.

Of just these 4 items of news, which do you believe has a greater impact on the society, and make a more clear statement about law enforcement? What is more worthy of coverage; the abuse of power by police on a seemingly national level or the question of what one deranged mother might have done to her own child that has no effect on anyone else in the nation?

Thus I expect that if the question of how African Americans feel about President Obama’s lineage comes up, it will be due to the media. The answer will reflect what they wish to promote. It will likely have nothing to do with what the majority of African Americans believe. Though it will be promoted as if the Black community was speaking in a consensus. Something that I have not seen since the Civil Rights Movement, other than the election of President Obama.

I hope I have covered all your questions. If not please do let me know.

America is still America

Well it has to be said by someone. I know the hate mail will flow.

I understand, and am gleeful, about the history being made as President Obama becomes the first Black man that is President of the United States. It is a moment that I never expected in my lifetime.

That said, I have to wonder and comment on the way the media and many people are treating this as if the world has instantly changed. It is as if suddenly every wrong in America has been wiped away. Or so the media would like many to believe.

I recall a recent television commercial on BET that I caught as I was flipping channels. It had a little girl trying to watch the inauguration, but was far too short to see over the crowd. Then Dr. Martin Luther King comes and lifts up the girl so she can watch the Oath of Office. The commercial ends with the words, The Dream Achieved.

Hogwash. The television commercial is inspirational, but the message is false. President Obama is not the fulfillment of the dreams of Dr. Martin Luther King, and to suggest as such belittles what he strived for. The Civil Rights Movement was not about just gaining political stature, or a title. It was about the understanding of the fundamental rights of equality that Government and society needs to recognize.

Yes, President Obama is one aspect of that realization. But that does not mean America has reached a point of equality. Oscar Grant was murdered after Obama was elected. Millions of African Americans are drop-outs, and single parents. The pay rates of African Americans still lags that of White peers. The stereotypes of African Americans being criminals and/or violent still permeates music, television and movies (when we have the chance to be seen) by and large. Drugs are still allowed to enter Black and poor communities. The dream is not achieved.

President Obama is just one man. He has entered one position, powerful as it is. And it is worthy of acclaim and celebration. But we should not distract ourselves from the reality that exists before, during and after this moment.

Racism and prejudice still exists in America. It is part of the legal system at every level. It still unbalances the opportunities African Americans (and all other 'minorities') experience in this nation.

10% of this nation vocally stated that they would not accept a non-White president. That is huge. Who knows how many were unwilling to make that same statement publicly. Obviously not enough to prevent President Obama's election, but far more than enough to put me at unease.

There is still only 1 African American in the Senate, a mere handful in the House of Representatives. There are few Governors and Mayors that are African American, or just non-White. There are far less than 1% of major CEO's that are 'minorities'. Even in the far-left, politically highly liberal, halls and studios of Hollywood there is barely more than a scattering of non-Whites in front of or behind the cameras.

It took 14 days for the ex-cop who murdered Oscar Grant in cold blood to be arrested. Protestors of the inaction of police in Oakland were arrested the day of protests. National news media coverage of the murder spoke only to the riots and lawsuit the murder provoked. And virtually nothing was said of other acts of police abuse in the nation at the start of the new year.





The dream has not been achieved, yet.

I am exuberant about President Obama's accomplishment. But the world has not changed this second. Racism has not died. Prejudice has not faded away. The ills and wrongs of this nation have not been wiped clean. The slate is still filled.

Rejoice today because it is a day worthy of celebration. But let us not be distracted from the truth that is daily life. President Obama may change many things, but it won't be tomorrow. He has become a symbol, but action still needs to be taken. Millions will remember this day, but it is only one day.

President Obama is not THE answer. He is not THE only change. He is one part of a huge goal that was hoped for by millions of Americans, including Dr. Martin Luther King. But he is not the end of the road nor the ultimate answer to the challenges before us. The dream is still a dream. And we must still strive to make it a reality.

But thankfully we are one step and one day closer to that reality. Let's just not lose focus.

Open letter to Sharpton, Jackson, NAACP, Sen. Boxer, Sen. Feinstein, and the media

This is letter to those mentioned in my post What can you do to prevent another Grant, Bell, Diallo, or other police murder?

This letter will be sent to all those named in that post. If you know of other organizations that should receive this, let me know. If you wish to copy and modify this letter for your own use to these individuals, please do.

To whom it may concern,

I am Michael Vass, President of M V Consulting, Inc. and author of Black Entertainment USA. Recently I became aware of the death of Oscar Grant at a BART station in California. This death came at the hands of police - while he laid face down on the ground defenseless, possibly handcuffed, with an officer holding him in place as he was shot in the back - and was video taped and witnesses by a large group of individuals on New Year's Day of 2009.

This news story has been seemingly dismissed by the major news media. I was lucky to notice a 30 second news video by ABC News, that I have not seen since, on January 5th. The national news media has not covered this story beyond that to my knowledge.

The lack of coverage has angered me greatly. I wrote about this tragic event on my blog, and several others that I write for. And I am constantly being made aware that my blog posts of this news event is the first that many people are hearing of this event. Yet in watching the national news coverage I have seen no end to the coverage of the Caylee Anthony case for a almost a year now, discussion on the death of Heath Ledger for a year, and other stories of similar nature. In fact I believe it is easier to know the clothes that Beyonce wore yesterday, how Jennifer Aniston feels about Angelina Jolie, and the new address of Michael Jackson than details in this case.

This is an outrage. The news media has failed America, and the Black community. It is their responsibility to make all law enforcement responsible to the public and to make the public aware of such events. Their job is to represent us when it is not possible for us to be aware of facts across the nation and the world. Their job is to help shed light on events that violate our rights and prevent the abuse of the system. That is not happening.

It is a fact that some news media have made factual errors in their reporting of the case. One such instance is the fact that reports say that only 2 videos of the incident exist. I found in 15 seconds multiple videos of the event from several angles and of lengths from 1 minute to nearly 5 minutes. I have provided some of that additional video on my site. Another fact was the initial statement of the BART police stating that video from the station itself was unavailable, which turns out to be erroneous.

Already we can see that facts are being occluded. Add to this that the internal investigation by police has run into a roadblock. Officer Johannes Mehserle, who fatally shot Oscar Grant while he laid face down, possibly handcuffed, with at least one officer holding him down with a knee on his neck, in his back, resigned. As such I believe that the internal investigation cannot go forward as Mehserle is no longer a police officer. Thus the Oakland D.A. must be motivated to investigate and bring up charges for any justice to go forward.

At the same time Police Chief Gary Gee and others have begun to postulate excuses on how or why this event happened. The most popular excuse is that Johannes Mehserle meant to reach for his taser. A taser is not the same weight, shape, or trigger as a police issue 9mm gun. The time, as seen in several video angles of the event, he took to draw and fire reveal he had ample time to recognize and visually sight the gun in his hands. And beyond all that, there was no imminent life-threatening need to draw any weapon. And that is proven by the 5 or 6 other officers on the scene never drawing or motioning towards any of their weapons at any point in this event.

And I believe that this is a pattern that needs to end. We have seen that more often each year tragic events like this are happening across the nation. Black men killed in a hail of dozens of bullets, beaten by hordes of police officers, abused in police stations, and on and on. More often than not, virtually in each case, the officer responsible never served a day in jail, rarely was fined or disciplined in any manner.

I believe these are connected. If we say nothing, do nothing, then we say to all police officers across the nation that the - in my opinion - outright cold-blooded murder of African Americans is socially acceptable and will not be punished.

Thus I ask you to provide your political and media strength to this issue. The nation needs to be aware of what happened. This should never have happened. This should not go unpunished.

I look forward to your support and the media attention you can bring to this tragic event.

Sincerely,

Michael Vass
President - M V Consulting, Inc.
718-344-6921
info@vassconsult.com