Garlin’s interview on the Color of Change – Michael Baisden situation

Yesterday evening I was interviewd by George Cooper from Let’s Talk Honestly as part of his LTH Special Report: Why black bloggers are mad at Michael Baisden.

My piece begins at the 14.18 mark and lasts for approximately 8 minutes, through 22.32, but I encourage you to listen to the voices and perspectives of the other Black bloggers featured. They are:

• Dwight Hunter, exodusmentality
• Yobachi Boswell, blackperspective.net
• Gina McCauley, whataboutourdaughters.blogspot.com

We’ve stated our position here, and this interview was a chance to communicate it on another platform. The issue to me is about embracing the next generation of activism and respecting the results that online activism has produced. The SuperSpade, Color of Change, and members of the blacknetaction coalition are committed to making a difference today, tomorrow, and beyond in a transparent, accountable, and measurable way.

One Love. One II.

The Jena 6 pt 2: The return of Blackface

Cross-posted on the Brave New Films Blog.

A group of University of Louisiana at Monroe students thought it'd be funny to act out one of the un-funniest things to happen in the last 2 years.

Regardless of how you feel about the legality/outcome of the Jena 6 situation, this is pretty twisted. It isn't funny to act out someone getting beat up. It also isn't funny to act out threatening someone with a noose. It also isn't funny to do it all in a mud-wrestling outfit that looks eerily similar to blackface (funny how the kid getting beat up didn't have on mudface, for all those who think the mud doesn't represent anything).

Facebook is great, isn't it? That's where we found all this.

One Love. One II.

Obama challenges the new AG on the Jena 6

Cross-posted from the Brave New Films Blog.

Courtesy of Too Sense.

Barack Obama is saving face since he didn't show up in Jena. He wrote this letter to AG nominee Michale Mukaskey. Here's an excerpt:

In recent months, our nation's attention has been focused on the racial strife in Jena, Louisiana, and the disparate treatment of six African American youths. As Attorney General, will you commit the investigative resources of the Civil Rights Division to ensuring the fair treatment and execution of the law in cases such as the Jena 6, as well as the recent acquittal by an all-white jury of eight prison guards accused of killing a young black male at a juvenile detention center in Florida?

I am happy that Obama is showing some character here. It is called the Department of Justice, so he is calling for Justice to be served to everyone everywhere. I want to see more, concrete Civil Rights-related statements like this from Obama.

One Love. One II.

Mychal Bell Re-incarcerated

Cross-posted from Brave New Films Blog.

(h/t to Too Sense)

Just when you thought things might die down a little bit here, Mychal Bell, one of the Jena 6, the one who was cleared of adult charges and freed from jail following the rally in September, Bell has been sent back to jail.

While I think this is interestingly timed agree with Sharpton that [probably most of] the motivation behind this is likely in "revenge by this judge for the Jena Six movement," it does appear that at the end of the day his probation was indeed violated. That being the case, I can't get too mad; at least it's not an adult sentence. Now, why they tried to go for Bell's jugular instead of pursuing a more logical route is beyond most thinking, non-racist peoples' cognition.

I'm sick of consistent acts of justice being sprinkled with random acts of justice in this country. The promise of America is fairness, and fairness should be consistent. If it was, we wouldn't have ever had a Jena 6.

One Love. One II.

LCCR Addresses Hate Crimes and the Jena 6

Cross-posted on Brave New Films Blog.

Wade Henderson, head of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR), was on MSNBC Wed, Oct. 10 addressing hate crimes in America. He called the Jena 6 situation a "learnable moment" for our nation with real consequences.

The key takeaway here is that racism and prejudice still exist in this country. However, this ignorance can destroyed with education and sensible dialogue.

One Love. One II.

Jena 6 and a word on civility

For all the new folks that found the site and particularly interested in the Free the Jena 6 piece, I appreciate your presence. What I don’t appreciate is the sewage that I see in some of the comments. The subtitle for this site is Black Thought at the Highest Level which means that this is not a place for vulgarity, cheap one-liners, or otherwise uncivil dialogue.

If you cannot make your point without reason and tact, let me inform you that there are thousands of sites that appreciate such discourse. The SuperSpade is not one of them.

Stay up fam,

Brandon Q.

Punk Politics: Why no presidential hopefuls showed up at The Jena 6 rally

Barack Obama came out in support of The Jena 6; he was the first to do so publicly. Hillary Clinton made a statement praising Mychal Bell’s case being thrown out. John Edwards made a statement on the issue. So on the surface, it looks like the democratic presidential wannabes are on the record here.

Let me tell you why this not only insufficient, but it is another example of [democratic] politicians’ lack of backbone on the issues that matter in America.

In search of justice for the New Orleans 200,000

A note from Dr. Calvin Mackie from the day before the Jena 6 rally.

One Love. One II.

–

Brothers and Sisters,

When you get to Jena please tell all those Black people that when they leave Jena, come to New Orleans in support of the injustice towards the New Orleans 200,000! Tell them that Charles Rangel (D) from NY still hasn’t visited New Orleans and that over 200,000 citizens, mostly Black, are still displaced to over 5500 cities in America. Where is our justice? Where is the outcry over a government who damaged and destroyed generations of Black fiscal, cultural and historical wealth via political and engineering neglect?

Okay, I have just awakened and realized that i dreamed that people, especially Black people, gave a damn about the greatest catastrophe in the history of the country. I guess racism and levees don’t mix, or we just can’t put it together. I guess we don’t see that civil rights is tied to equal protection, protection in the judicial system as well as in infrastructure. I’m awake now and I apologize for thinking and questioning, because I know a Black man is not suppose to do that.

Mychal Bell’s conviction has been overturned!

One of the Jena 6 is now free closer to free.

His conspiracy charge was already thrown out. Now, his case will be handled exclusively in juvenile court, which is where it should have been all along.

One Love. One II.

The Weekly Dream: Do Your Part

“And [God] delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds.”

-2 Peter 2:7-8

 Everyday, I face a decision: either stick my head in the sand like an ostrich or be aware of what is going on around me.  Why is this such a difficult decision.  If I bury my head in the sand (i.e. work, routine), then I am in control.  I am the King of My Comfort Zone.  In this realm, I am King Comfort.  And King Comfort is extremely selfish.  However, if I choose awareness, I choose to be challenged, and on some level, see things I do not like.  I choose to feel.  And sometimes, feeling is frustrating. 

The World’s Gone Mad…

Lately, this decision has become more immediate.  Personally, the injustice in the world seems especially intense.  From the Jena 6 to the Genarlow Wilson case, to the War, to the extremely poor race relations, to the woman who was tortured-our justice system has become a mockery.  We are more concerned about the death of some dogs than our brothers and sisters.  Our government has become mockery because it seems like it has silently and not so subtly declared war on its citizens. 

The question I have really been dealing with is whether things have gotten worse or are things just the same.  Throughout history, when law was born, so was injustice.  I used to thing that the days were getting darker, but I am beginning to believe that it is just a re-run of the same fight, good v. evil.  And each generation has had their own battle to fight to maintain and restore justice on the earth. 

Righteous Lot

In the book of Genesis, Abraham’s nephew Lot followed Abraham out of Mesopotamia.  When God had blessed them to where the land could not contain them, they parted ways.  Lot settled by the city of Sodom.  Sodom was extremely wicked, to the point where God could not find ten righteous people in the city.  Lot lived in the city, but he did not condone their lifestyle.  The new testament said that his soul was vexed.  Lot was so righteous that the inhabitants were sick of him.  So God decided to save Lot and his family and destroy the city (Genesis 19). 

How many of you have been vexed by the injustice that you have seen?  The next question is what have you done about it?  Or have you been too “busy”?  Busy is how most of the atrocities that take place occur.  In the Book of Ezekiel, God calls us “watchmen.”  What do watchmen do?  They are aware and they sound the alarm when something happens that should not be happening.  How have you been doing as a watchman? 

I am not saying that it is your job to try to whistleblow on every injustice in the world.  However, do not turn a blind eye to the suffering and injustice in the world, that way you know you are supposed to do something to make this world a better place.  We can always do more, but do something small, repeatedly over time, is better than not doing anything at all.  People are hurting, the world is hurting.  I have been challenged in my spirit to do a better job.  The least I can do is speak up. 

That is the entire mission of The Superspade and that is what we work for.  To not only be aware and speak up but to put our action, time and resources behind our beliefs.  We and our readers are people of conviction and action.  So, do not lose heart. I have not lost hope.  All this madness that surrounds us is a call to action and a call to battle.  We must fight until either peace is restored or the world comes to an end.  That is the mentality of a warrior, it is all our nothin’.  But it will not come easy. 

We must do our part.  And if we allow ourselves to get uncomfortable, God said we will be comforted.  But you cannot comfort someone who is already comfortable.  I just had to get that off my chest, because I am disgusted with what has been going on in this country and the world on all fronts.  So, sign a petition, educate yourself and those around you, work your governmental system, discuss the issues.  Just do something. 

For the Love of God, we are WATCHMEN.  And if you are already involved, push it to the limit and don’t give up.

Truth and Peace,

Steven M DeVougas

AfroSpear Press Release for September 20th Jena 6 Rally in Jena, LA

B has covered the rally in Jena on the 20th. The following is a press release from AfroSpear (a group that The SuperSpade is a member of) that gives a bit more information. We’re expecting this to be one of the largest demonstrations in the history of the state of Louisiana. I encourage as many of you that can go to go.

The entire release is below.

One Love. One II

Barack Obama makes statement in support of Jena 6

Cross-posted from Brave New Films Blog.

Barack Obama has become the first presidential hopeful to make a statement regarding the Jena 6. I applaud him for giving this crisis of American "justice" the attention it deserves.

Here's an excerpt:

Going forward, we have to fix our criminal justice system. Whether it’s Jena 6 or Genarlow Wilson, it’s long past time for us to admit that we have more work to do to ensure that our criminal justice system is fair. We must ensure that both victims and defendants can receive equal justice under the law, regardless of race, wealth, or other circumstances.

I have called for other candidates to do the same. Maybe then actual justice can be served. I wonder if the other Dems will talk about this now?

One Love. One II

Getting down to Jena

What’s up fam,

I want to alert folks who live in Michigan that there is an opportunity for you to get down to Jena, LA to support the Jena 6 as Mychal Bell is sentenced. Thankfully, Arielle Tours Charters have offered to take people down to Jena.

The bus leaves September 19th at midnight (from Oak Park) to return on September 21st at 5pm. If there was ever a reason you needed to use your sick time, this is it. The cost for the trip (which includes lodging) is only $168!!!! This is when you think to yourself, “They are only charging $168?” You read that right and for folks that have money but can’t make it, please sponsor someone else to go. I know folks are diligent in signing petitions but this experience will be a special moment because at our core, this miscarriage of justice infected us with outrage the moment we were first introduced to this story.

Don’t ask, just do.

For more information for the Michigan trip, click here

Stay up fam,

Brandon Q.

p.s. For folks that live elsewhere, I would encourage you to find out if there are local organizations that would be willing to organize buses for folks to get to Jena. And if no one steps up to the plate, YOU step up.

Jena 6 Update: At least 15 years is less than 22…

The Jena 6 got a bit of a break today. Mychal Bell, the kid who was to get 22 years, has now gotten one of the charges dropped against him. That means that instead of facing up to 22 years, he'll now only face up to 15.

Even long journeys have to start with small steps. You can take a small step by donating to their defense fund.

One Love. One II.

The Jena Code

Kids at a school in Jena, Louisiana can no longer wear t-shirts supporting the Jena 6. I guess that’s kind of like wearing an anti-George Bush shirt to the State of the Union speech.

This isn’t a school dress code issue, since Jena High School has no dress code. This is simply the administrators at the school being scared to deal with the realities of a situation that they allowed to become a bonafide tragedy right under their noses.

One Love. One II.

Why Black Men Need Lobbyists

Cross-posted from Brave New Films Blog.

The Jena 6 are a group of young Black men that could use some lobbyists, lawyers, advocates in the Justice Department, something. If you get sentenced to 22 years for a schoolyard fight by a jury of your peers consisting on no one that looks like you, it is obvious that something or someone is out to get you for some reason. What therefore must be made equally obvious is that there are people that are out to help you as well.

The Jena 6 need your help. Please take a look at the petition here.

With today being the tragic anniversary of the greatest natural disaster ever to hit the United States, it is tragic that Katrina’s racial undertones and implications would be followed by more racially deplorable happenings in the state of Louisiana.

Free the Jena 6!!!

I typically don’t listen to talk radio outside of NPR, but thankfully I came across the Michael Baisden show today and he was focusing on the Jena 6. I know his show is broadcast across the country and I hope that his show raises the consciousness of his listeners as he lent huge support to the rally taking place on September 20^th.

Black bloggers have been on top of this from Jack and Jill, Too Sense, Afrospear, and many others. Nevertheless, if you don’t know about the Jena 6 here is the basic run down.

In a small still mostly segregated section of rural Louisiana, an all-white jury heard a series of white witnesses called by a white prosecutor testify in a courtroom overseen by a white judge in a trial about a fight at the local high school where a white student who had been making racial taunts was hit by Black students.