Video shows group of black teens attacking white rider on 'A' train

Video shows group of black teens attacking white rider on 'A' train: "It's either a sickening subway attack - or a sickening 4-minute, 18-second hoax. Either way, a videotaped beating of a white man by black teenagers on the A train sparked a citywide search for the alleged suspects and victim Wednesday night after the shocking footage hit the Internet."

Brother Outsider

WireTap Magazine - Brother Outsider

Bayard Rustin is not a household American name. There are no national memorials dedicated in his honor and no national holidays preserving his legacy. Even his tiny hometown of West Chester, Pa., was split over a proposal to rename the town high school after him, even though as a student he set state records in track and football that remain to this day. Like many unsung heroes of the storied Civil Rights Movement, such as Ella Baker, Fannie Lou Hammer and Robert Williams , among others, Bayard Rustin's legacy was left in the shadows, only to be discovered decades later by eager historians.

But unlike many of those unsung freedom fighters, Rustin's removal from the public eye was deliberate. He was openly gay in an era when homosexuality was widely considered a perversion, at best. He faced societal intolerance from both inside and outside of the movement. The Civil Rights Movement used slogans of morality and piety to help galvanize millions worldwide, and Rustin's unapologetic attitude often put him at odds with conservative leaders in the movement. In the most heated political moments, Rustin was criticized by white conservatives for his political beliefs and often abandoned by civil rights activists who saw him as a threat to potential gains for the movement.

Rustin is perhaps best known as a man behind the scenes who organized the 1963 March on Washington. Yet he was also one of the main strategists behind the Civil Rights Movement and often tutored Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Ghandian protest techniques of civil disobedience. He began as a student activist in the Communist Party in the 1930s and helped lay the groundwork for the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and '60s that would capture the world's attention.

News for 12-4-2007

From Rachel's Tavern:

Two Cases; Two Fatal Shootings. What Do You Think?

Two cases in which two men shot two intruders in two different localities. Both are racially charged incidents for the past two months.

From Ann's blog, Beautiful Also Are The Souls of My Black Sisters:

Protesters Clash Over Pasadena Man Who Shot Suspected Burglars

Angel Doe Revisited: Raysate Knight's Story

This is a case where the stepfather kills his stepdaughter over nothing. The case also highlights the lack of concern regarding children of Color in America.

» Run Cynthia Run - By ¡Para Justicia y Libertad!

» Run Cynthia Run - By ¡Para Justicia y Libertad!: "Just when the Democratic Party rid themselves of their black torn on their side. Think again. Bwahahahaha. She is back and will really be a torn on their side. Former Georgia Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney has taken the necessary steps to run for President of the United States as a Green candidate against the Democratic and Republican nominees next year. On October 22, 2007, Ms. McKinney registered with the Federal Election Commission as a presidential candidate."

Clarice Orsini

Clarice Orsini By S. Botticelli


Clarice Orsini of Rome married Lorenzo the Magnificent Medici in 1469. Her marriage was not one of love. It's more about the social and political ambition of the Medici family. She's the mother of ill-fated heir Lorenzo Medici who was exiled by Savonarola's goverment. She's also the mother of Pope Leo X.

I liked the Botticelli painting of Clarice Orsini Medici. It's a reflection of the times when Florentine women had few rights and were subject of various sumptuary laws which curbed extravagance in clothing and accesories(jewelry included). The above painting shows her dress in sombre colors and almost no jewelry except a plain necklace and a wedding ring.

Remembering Shawna Hawk, Latasha Norman and the Recent Victims of Violence

Shawna Hawk 1972-1993



Latasha Norman, R.I.P.

Today, Miss Shawna Denise Hawk would have turned 35 years old. Instead she was murdered on February 19, 1993. A victim of the sadistic serial killer who is still on death row after he was convicted in 1997 of nine murders of young Black women in Charlotte between 1992 and 1994. Miss Shawna would have been married with children and an accomplished professional woman today.

What I'm writing about today is the epidemic of violence against Black women in the past two weeks. The latest in the war against Black women is Latasha Norman of Greenville Mississippi.

Like Shawna, Latasha was an upstanding college student. Miss Norman attended Jackson State University in Jackson, MS and was on her way to success until her ex-boyfriend, who was stalking her for awhile after the breakup, murdered her last month. Her case didn't merited attention outside of Jackson where she was first reported missing in mid-November.

Her case drew national attention while she was missing for more than two weeks, especially after Hinds County Sheriff and Jackson Police Chief Malcolm McMillin scolded the media for, in essence, ignoring Norman because she is black.

Miss Norman was described by family and friends as a beautiful, accomplished student and a good all-American girl.

Another accomplished young woman, Stepha Henry, is still missing since April of this year. She was last seen at a club in Miami in mid-April. Although her story was nationwide, even meriting two pages in People magazine, the case wasn't as big as Natalee Holloway, the Alabama teen who was missing in 2005. The public is still obsessed about her since her disappearance.

Last month, they found Teresa Bunn's body in a dumpster in Chicago. She was one of two women killed in the same manner. Also remember Nailah Franklin, a young Chicago professional who was missing for a few days until her body was discovered in October. Fortunately, the local news covered it. Unfortunately, it wasn't national news.

Latoyia Figueroa's disappearance didn't register until her family and bloggers protested against the oversaturated coverage of missing pretty middle class white women at the expense of all other women by mainstream media.

Meghan Williams, Theresa Bunn, and the young Haitian women who was gang-violated by several men at Dunbar Village deserve our sympathy and help. We shouldn't ignore nor treat these ladies with less dignity and respect we accord to women of other races and cultures.

Miss Shawna would have been alive years ago had the police and society in general been up to their jobs in 1993. May God be with the family of Latasha Norman as they grieve the loss of their daughter, sister, friend and collegue.

May Latasha Norman, Latoyia Figueroa, Theresa Bunn, Shawna Hawk, Caroline Love, Vanessa Mack, Olamide Adeyooye, Cynteria Phillips, Michelle Stinson, Tynesha Stewart, Cherica Adams, Audrey Spain, Debra Slaughter, Betty Jean Baucom, Nixzmary Brown, Sherrice Iverson, Brandi Henderson, Valencia Jumper, Aaliyah, Tashanda Bethea, Jessie Davis, Nailah Franklin, Elisa Izquierdo, Tamika Huston, the three New Jersey College Students, Reyna Marroquin, and Imette St. Guillen rest in peace. They will always be remembered by those who care the most.

blackagendareport.com - Ten Reasons Why "Save Darfur" is a PR Scam to Justify the Next US Oil and Resource Wars in Africa

blackagendareport.com - Ten Reasons Why "Save Darfur" is a PR Scam to Justify the Next US Oil and Resource Wars in Africa: "The star-studded hue and cry to 'Save Darfur' and 'stop the genocide' has gained enormous traction in U.S. media along with bipartisan support in Congress and the White House. But the Congo, with ten to twenty times as many African dead over the same period is not called a 'genocide' and passes almost unnoticed. Sudan sits atop lakes of oil. It has large supplies of uranium, and other minerals, significant water resources, and a strategic location near still more African oil and resources. The unasked question is whether the nation's Republican and Democratic foreign policy elite are using claims of genocide, and appeals for 'humanitarian intervention' to grease the way for the next oil and resource wars on the African continent."

AP Video On Baby Grace

Hat tip from Kenneth Hudson:

Here's the link to AP videos on the Baby Grace case:

http://video.ap.org/v/Legacy.aspx?g=26b0d457-7f8d-4432-8b61-cfe185ecb84c&f=&partner=en-ap

Thank you, Mr. Hudson.

Democracy Now! | Former Black Panther Details Brutal Police Torture to Extract Confession in 1971 Murder Case

Democracy Now! | Former Black Panther Details Brutal Police Torture to Extract Confession in 1971 Murder Case: "Two Nobel Peace Prize laureates are calling for all charges to be dropped against eight former Black Panthers arrested earlier this year for allegedly killing a San Francisco police officer over 35 years ago. Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Mairead Maguire said the charges against the San Francisco Eight should be dropped because the case is based in part on statements made under torture. Harold Taylor, one of the co-defendants, gives a detailed and powerful account of the abuse he endured while in police custody. We also speak with Ray Boudreaux, another of the San Francisco Eight as well as their attorney."

Truthdig - Reports - When Did the Victim Become the Murderer?

Truthdig - Reports - When Did the Victim Become the Murderer?: "WASHINGTON—Why do you suppose so many people were so quick to blame Sean Taylor for his own murder? Relax, that’s a rhetorical question. There’s no need for self-exculpatory huffing and puffing, no need to point out that the verdict of suicide-by-bad-attitude—pronounced so often this week, and so coldly—was usually couched in broad hints or softened by the nebulous fog of the conditional mood. Everyone knew what was really being said, and everyone knew why. Taylor instantly became not a person but a character, one whose purpose was to advance a narrative about young black men and their manifold failings. Taylor, a gifted defensive back for the Washington Redskins, had been in trouble with the law. Despite the millions he earned playing football, he never managed to escape the quicksand lure of the mean streets—parasitic friends, envious haters, a culture of casual violence. It was his decision to swim in this cesspool of dysfunction, the narrative said. And, like so many other young black men who have made the same wrong choice, he paid for it with his life."

Officer stuns pregnant woman with Taser

Officer stuns pregnant woman with Taser


TROTWOOD, Ohio, Nov. 29 The FBI is reportedly investigating an Ohio police officer's use of a Taser on a pregnant woman.Michael Etter, public safety director in Trotwood, said the officer did not realize the woman was pregnant, WHIO-TV in Akron reported.Etter said the woman came to the police department Nov. 18 trying to hand over custody of her 1-year-old son. She became agitated and tried to leave with the boy, at which point the officer decided he had to stop her for the child's safety.The woman was wearing a heavy coat and held her son on her lap while she talked to the officer, Etter said. He added she did not say anything about being pregnant even after she was arrested.

The Black Commentator - Black America's Legacy of Struggle

The Black Commentator - November 29, 2007 - Issue 255: "Life is struggle. Shirk it and lose it. Embrace it and most assuredly fulfill it. What does Black America’s legacy of political struggle really mean? In succinct terms, it refers to the enormous sacrifices, both personal and collective, made by those men, women and children who endeavored to further the cause of economic, social, and political equality, justice, and freedom, particularly with respect to Black Americans and our Red and Brown sisters and brothers."