In The World In Which We Live, Hip Hop Died Before Racism Did

I'm saddened to report that racism is alive and sickeningly healthy. In the wake of the unjust- but not surprising- Sean Bell verdict, news outlets around the world have been reporting on the community's reaction.

I have been reading a lot of the online articles, and accompanying comments, regarding the Sean Bell travesty. My exploration of the comments sections of some of the New York based news websites has left me disappointed. I am disappointed by the insensitivity and callousness of the biting and cruel online remarks.

I would like to think that statements that label civic-minded protesters as: "nonproductive deadbeats...welfare recipients...thugs...and unemployed Black men and women with 10 different children all by different mothers and fathers," represent the mindset of an ignorant few. However, the comments sections of the New York Daily News website has been flooded with such taunts and defamation of character-like declarations.

Despite the overwhelming negative online postings, I still reserve a modicum of hope that society is not so far gone that people of any race or culture can not empathize with an unjust and unnecessary lost of life.

To My People: May we continue to live with strength & love in our hearts. May we also PROACTIVELY continue to change this world for the better. Lots of love to everybody. R.I.P. to Sean Bell and all of the others who lost their lives as victims to this racist society.

In Case You Were Wondering Why Police Departments Across America Operate The Way They Do...

...the book "Slavery: The African American Psychic Trauma," (Authors: Sultan Latif & Naimah Latif) explains why. An excerpt from the book states:

"America's police patrol actually grew out of the south. Up until that time, justice was administered by local sheriffs and deputies. After the Revolutionary War, most states developed some type of militia, in case armed soldiers were needed for national defense. But the institution of slavery required that some type of organized law enforcement would have to be instituted on a regular basis, to protect white slave owners against massive uprisings and escapes. In "From Slavery To Freedom," Franklin describes how the slave patrols worked: 'One of the devices set up to enforce the slave codes and thereby maintain the institution of slavery was the patrol, which has been aptly described as an adaptation of the militia. counties were usually divided into "beats" or areas of patrol, and free White men were called upon to serve for a stated period of time, 1, 3, or 6 months. These patrols were to apprehend slaves out of place and return them to their masters or commit them to jail; to visit slave quarters and search for various kinds of weapons that might be used in an uprising; and to visit assemblies of slaves where disorder might develop or where conspiracy might be planned.'"

South African Apartheid vs. American Racism

Wikipedia defines apartheid as: "A system of legalized racial segregation enforced by the National Party (NP) South African government between 1948 and 1994. It arose from a longer history of settler rule and Dutch and British colonialism." America's social ideals have also not been exempt from the effects of colonialism. Hence, the prevalence of racism throughout American History. Although we can optimistically hope that the irrationality of racial hatred has been diagnosed and is being cured, recent shocking events on the continents of Africa and America sadly shows otherwise.
Yesterday, a video which was recorded at the University of Free State in South Africa surfaced. In this disturbing video, several White students from the university allegedly forced five Black elderly university employees to perform humiliating acts; this included forcing the Black elders to eat food that was urinated on. The supposed motivation for this criminal abuse was a protest by the White students to oppose the university's integrating Black and White students in residential dorms.

In response to the horrendous video, Black students and university employees have handed over a list of demands to university administrators. According to the BBC website: "The university says it has begun procedures to suspend the students allegedly implicated in the video, and says the alleged victims have received psychological support." This is a weak response to such an inhumane act.

On the homefront, the Megan Williams case is slowly winding its way through the American court system. This case involves a 20 year old African American woman who was kidnapped in the Summer of 2007, tortured, raped, and forced to eat animal feces- while being called racial slurs. While sexual abuse victims usually exercise their right to remain anonymous, Ms. Williams and her family decided to reveal her identity in order to put a human face on this unconscionable crime. However, the lack of media attention involving this situation begs to ask where the concern is on the journalistic front. There is also a question of fairness in the arena of justice. Megan Williams' family feels slighted that the prosecutor is not demanding harsher penalties.

We'll see what happens as the repercussions from these two heinous events evolve. The manner in which these two events are resolved will be telling about how far we have advanced when it comes to racial ethics.