TK’s Take On Race Relations and Justice In The United States

I know what you’re thinking, “Where the hell is my football?” There are things in life that are bigger than sports. Overnight violence and anarchy ensued once the grand jury in Ferguson, MO found “no probable cause exists to file ANY charges against Officer Darren Wilson and returned a ‘no true’ bill on each of the five indictments.” District attorney Robert McCulloch droned on for almost ten (10) minutes before announcing this. A great deal of emotions came flooding back to me. I fled the United States, Sanford, FL to be exact, after George Zimmerman was found not guilty of ANYTHING in his killing of Trayvon Martin. The hurt, the dismay, the feeling that a black youth could be killed with impunity, business as usual. It was Emmett Till, Medgar Evers, Rodney King, Oscar Grant, and the thousands of black males killed and beaten without cause.

Sadly, I was not surprised by the non-indictment, as I was not surprised that George Zimmerman was found not guilty. Black lives in the United States do not matter, this is not conjecture or exaggeration; we have the data to back it up. Jordan Davis was only given justice because Michael Dunn was going away for years as a result of shooting into a car full of teenagers as they sped away. Out of all the court cases that involve the police the only justice seems to be in federal court. Rodney King was beaten, that beating was caught on tape, jurors in Semi Valley (white suburbs of Los Angeles) found the officers “not guilty.” Police who opened fire on a group of blacks simply trying to seek refuge from the natural disaster of Hurricane Katrina, were found not guilty. In these cases, justice was doled out by the federal government. (Video below from NBC News).

http://player.theplatform.com/p/2E2eJC/nbcNewsOffsite?guid=nbcnewslive_nyc4

I remember when I learned about Emmett Till, it wasn’t until I too was 14 years of age and needed things “explained” to me. I was simply told that the United States was far more hateful than any country we had lived in previously. I already knew this country went to war against each other to keep blacks as property. (Anderson Cooper actually had great-great-grandparents on either side of the civil war) The United Kingdom outlawed slavery far before these United States and there was no war to do it. The United States Constitution was NOT written for you if you were NOT a WHITE LAND OWNING MAN. These men were created equal, and no others. It’s main author, “the Father of Freedom” Thomas Jefferson, owned more slaves than any other men who signed the Declaration Of Independence, and bed more than we can count.

Emmett Till too had a grand jury not indict even though his kidnappers admitted they had taken Till. This case is the main reason I will NEVER set one foot in the state of Mississippi. All that it took was a white woman to say Till grabbed at her and called her baby. Till, 14, may or may not have been flirty; he was from Chicago not used to Jim Crow and the hatred of the South. Mike Brown was called a felonious criminal who got what he deserved last night by a man I previously respected for they way he has battled his cancer. He was previously Hodge Ink’s Hero Of The Week, I had planned on interviewing him because he inspired me. It never came to be, and I am grateful that it did not. To say I was horrified would be grossly understated. This man is also a former member of law enforcement, which scares and saddens me about the United States.

Will Michael Brown get justice? Although the prosecutor could still file charges despite the non-indictment by the grand jury, it is unlikely. DA Robert McCulloch should never have been given this case. His father was a police officer and was killed by a black man, in the line of duty. The law is so slanted in grand jury proceedings that it’s often joked that a DA could indict a ham sandwich. The burden of proof is just that it’s probable that a crime was committed. A Special prosecutor (as was done in Trayvon Martin’s case) should have been assigned and Darren Wilson should have at the very least faced grossly negligent homicide. Instead, your only hope is Attorney General Holder (who has resigned and only there until Obama can get a replacement confirmed) and this is unlikely because the federal government only takes slam dunks.

The Governor of Missouri stated that the National Guard was brought in to protect the people and their businesses, last night all I saw were businesses being allowed to burn to the ground. The National Guard was supposed to protect businesses so the local law enforcement could keep the crowd under control. Where was the National Guard? Black businesses were allowed to burn to the ground. The grand jury is supposed to be secret. There were more leaks than the iceberg caused the Titanic. Police tear gassed protesters and Chris Cuomo (son of the former governor and brother of the current governor of New York) was gassed on live TV. Ferguson officials actually stated it was smoke until they found out they gassed a CNN anchor and changed the story.

Sadly, the fix was in and it’s another one we have to take on the chin. Black people this is what happens when we don’t vote, when we think we have no power and throw up our hands. Wilson has yet to resign and the police union said they will back him if he wants to return to the force. Of course he’s going to be allowed to stay a police officer. He just got married to another police officer in October. He new he wasn’t going to jail, he was still collecting a paycheck and will simply go to another county and get desk duty. This was a set up, and people got too angry and trashed their own neighborhood. I do NOT condone violence, but I will repeat what others have heard me say: “If you are going to tear up shit, don’t tear up your shit. Go to Semi Valley, CA, got to Oakland and tear up their shit.” Wrong , I know but it’s how I feel.

No Roger, No Rerun, No Rent. Civil disobedience is your constitutional right, exercise it. Go march through their neighborhoods until dawn. Go sit in, like they did in the 60’s. If we don’t make change, a change is not going to come.

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TK’s Bio: Terrence Kyrell Hodge I was born 9/13/79, in what was then W. Berlin Germany, to Qualise and Lieutenant Tyrone Hodge of the United States Marine Corps. He lived inLondon England and graduated from the University of Michigan Ann Arbor in 2000 with BA in English and Political Science. Terrence writes about any and everything. Terrence is planning a series of novels that are works of “faction” part factual (nonfiction) and partly fictional. He plans to bring a dual vision of American and European observation and opinions to PMA. He will bring blunt honesty with a sense of comedy. He says “I will write wherever I’m needed as I am  NOT a one trick pony.