Let’s talk about Civil Liberties People! Race vs. Rights
By now most you have probably heard about the wide spread news surrounding the death of eighteen -year old Michael Brown in Ferguson county in St. Louis Missouri on August 9th. Brown’s death comes just two weeks after the death of another black man, Eric Garner; a New York City Long Island resident who was killed by police officers after being placed in a chokehold [which was all captured on video and leaked on the web].
” Interestingly, Garner’s death was ruled a ‘homicide’ despite news reports that suggested that Garner’s harassment and arrest from the police officer was valid because he was alleged to have sold ‘untaxed cigarettes’. Garner was unarmed at the time of his death.
After police asked Brown and his friend to get out of the street, The two ran, the police officer began to shoot. Brown was shot once after his encounter with Police, he then surrendered on the ground, then was shot in the HEAD, and multiple times thereafter; a total of eight [8] times. While many officers, SWAT team, FBI Agents, Army Trucks, and the alike arrived on scene, Brown’s lifeless body lied on the street for more than four [4] hours for ALL eyes to see.
Sidebar: Just Imagine If That Were Your Child? … Sadly black people are taught at a very young age that there is a 99 % chance that an encounter [like the above mentions] are likely to occur in one’s lifetime due to the color of their skin, therefore they should be obedient to the LAW at all times.
” Just days after the name of the police officer was revealed to the public along with, Protests, Riots, & Activism that has alarmed the streets of #Ferguson and across the United States, the news have released a video of proof to show that Brown was a suspect in an ‘alleged’ robbery of stolen cigars that took place in the vicinity of his grandmother’s residence, hence the reason that looters burned down the store where the ‘alleged’ robbery took place.“
Despite countless eyewitness testimonies from witnesses who have publicly went on record to say that Brown willingly placed his hands the air and repeatedly said “DO NOT SHOOT” [submitting himself to the LAW as required], and yet officer Darien Wilson proceeded to “SHOOT & KILL” Brown.
So What Does This All Mean? How Proud Should We Feel As Africans Residing In America? Is This Democracy? Has things really changed since 1964? Or, Are we too distracted by the dominant mixed messages in music, entertainment, reality shows [most of which show black people as whole in a more ‘NEGATIVE’ light than ‘POSITIVE’.
Well, that is the question that many AFRICAN – AMERICANS must now ADDRESS along with SHIFTING the culture of the perpetuated STEREOTYPES and BEHAVIORS that allow those of RACIST REGIME’S to feel so comfortable in making ‘black people’ their TEST SUBJECTS when they decide to HUNT for their PREY.
Brown was dressed in a plain white t-shirt, khaki shorts that were sagged below his underwear, and socks and slippers. Clearly any young or old man dressed in such wear can barely make a SWIFT dash to the ten-yard line yet alone OUT RUN a police officer [while SHOT] on a public street who has the upper hand and FIREARM to unload a full clip as desired…. So I ask -Why was Mike Brown Executed?
Is this About Race, Police Brutality, A Civil Rights Issue, or all of the above?
As one critic wrote @Chiteijin on youtube
” May he [Brown] rest in peace. But what I find disturbing is that a black on black death never gets this much press. It’s always cop vs african american people, if dude was kill by another african american they wouldn’t make such a big deal over it. It’s sad man… double standards, race war bullshit.”
Book Author, Angel Laws provides us with the UGLY TRUTH in her recent released spoken word poem entitled: “FREE YA MIND”
Take a listen:
Similar to our ANCESTORS before us, the time has come for us to be REALISTIC to the CLIMATE change that is currently existing in front of our eyes. We are currently seeing the very same with religion divide overseas, deliberate wars, the rising death of black on black crimes in Chicago and across the globe, etc.
Photo credit: Robert Cohen /Protester returns tear gas to sender.
It is time that we ‘Free Our Minds’ of the DELUSION, and take back the POWER that GOD has Bestowed in Each Of Us And Be FEARLESS. #FERGUSON is a testament that remind us that we will continue to live in FEAR if we are not fearless in our fight against ‘Racism’, ‘Equality’, and ‘Justice’ for ALL.
F: False
E: Evidence
A: Appearing
R: Real
Power To The People!……..One Love PLUM’s!