Race in America

Where are We Now? Remembering the Last Publicized Lynching in America

~ Laurie Samuel ~ Leave a comment

1981-lynching-of-michael-donald

Greetings all and welcome to the first blog of 2017 for the You Have the Right to Remain Informed.  The United States is getting ready to embark on a major transformation with the change of the Presidential Administration.  Today’s post features guest blogger Tammy Holt who shares a very personal story from her childhood in the Deep South.  Pay attention as we cannot allow history to repeat itself.

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This has been a story hidden deeply in my memory bank since I was a little girl.  I remember living in Mobile, Alabama, and being told I could not go outside because a man’s body was hanging from a tree.  Of course, I blocked it out, but I always wondered was it really true or was it something that I remembered ‘incorrectly’, or did I dream it?

We stayed off Dearborn Street, a few streets over from Herndon.  The long story short is this young man was killed and hung by the KKK.  The KKK was mad that another black man was not convicted of killing a white police officer (the case was a mistrial).  So, in retaliation of the verdict, the KKK saw Michael Donald (I never knew his name) on the street, kidnapped, hung and cut his throat.  A gruesome murder.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Michael_Donald

This ties into current day news with Senator Sessions and his hearings for Attorney General.  He was on the team for the prosecuting attorney’s office back then.  I was reading up on all the issues surrounding him and his racial comments and found his connection to this case.  https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2016/12/02/jeff-sessionss-comments-on-race-for-the-record/?utm_term=.c6bcb8471c8d

In that Washington Post article (to give you the down and dirty), Sessions went all the way around and back again, saying he said some things, didn’t say others, said some things were taken out of context…yadda, yadda, yadda….my final opinion:  it’s between him and God.

But, I just wanted to share this information…you just never know how things in our lives will come full circle or how the news applies directly (or indirectly) to us.  I’m glad I can put some closure on this memory, but angered by the evil in this world.

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I thank Tammy for having the courage to share her story and I leave you with this brief thought.  If the aim is to make America great again, does that mean that we have to go back to times such as these to achieve that goal?  I truly hope not.  As my friend Tammy has said before, “to be great, you have to be a servant.”  Thus, it is our hope and prayer that Sessions and the rest of new Administration will serve all people remembering equity and fairness.  As when you do right, we all benefit, grow, and evolve in the greatness God intended for us.

Be safe,

L.J.
Follow me on Twitter: @CrimeDoc1213
Check out what’s new in 2017 at www.ljsamuel.com

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I’m in Love with a Black Man

~ Laurie Samuel ~ 2 Comments

Hands United

I’m in love with a black man and he loves me.  What affects him, affects me and what affects me, affects him.  So here I am at the annual American Society of Criminology (ASC) meeting presenting the findings of my study on racial profiling in America.  Why is there this constant debate over what it is?  How do you define it?  Quantitatively?  Qualitatively?  Both?  What data is the standard?  The police don’t want to collect race statistics because they don’t want to be called racists. And the community complains to news reporters and their stories are called ‘anecdotes.’  So how do you tame this beast?

I stand in front of the brightest minds in my field, the country’s top scholars waiting to hear what I found.  So with a big breath, I start…

How can scores of black people be wrong?  Why are they discounted so?  If the tables were reversed and black cops were stopping white citizens, surely there would be no debate.  Listen to me carefully.  I documented the lives and stories of 20 black men living in Washington, DC for six months.  They kept a journal of the times they had been stopped and the average was five times a week.  Let me say that again, the average was five times a week.  Some will say that I have limitations in my research and that my case study was not scientific enough.  Do I know they weren’t speeding?  I guess not.  Were they transporting drugs?  I hope not. Drugs were never found in any of the so-called ‘consent searches.’

My conclusion is that the black man is under siege.  He followed doctor’s orders and got a good education from a good school, got a good job, and bought a nice house in the ‘right’ neighborhood.  He doesn’t beat his wife, is a good father to his children, but to no avail.  He is still oppressed, disrespected, and harassed.  I guess someone forgot to tell him: You’re still black.

Be safe,

L.J.
Follow me on Twitter: @CrimeDoc1213@gmail.com

#love #black #man #race #police #racialprofiling #RaceinAmerica #racematters #dialogue #discourse #truth #respect #change #ASC #criminology #crime #justice #deardiary #ljsamuel

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