Race

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

#race #racism #raceinamerica #1981 #lynching #MichaelDonald #Alabama #deepsouth #hate #love #black #white #civilrights #trial #Senator #JeffSessions #fear #light #healing #change #makeamericagreat #administration #crime #violence #criminals #justice #criminaljusticesystem #courtsystem #2017 #ljsamuel #cupidssting

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Black and Gold in a Post-Racial Discussion

~ Laurie Samuel ~ Leave a comment

“They scoff and speak wickedly concerning oppression.”
Psalm 73:8

A few years ago I had the opportunity to participate in the Multicultural Teaching Scholars Program while I was in graduate school.  I had the distinct pleasure of being assigned to the University of Missouri.  My experience was wonderful.  There were great students, great faculty, and a great campus.  The lack of diversity was not so great but not unexpected at large, traditional campus.  Imagine my disappointment when Mizzou dominated the news for their handling of racial issues a few weeks ago.  There were stories of white students taunting black students and using ugly racial slurs.  A report surfaced about the use of racial images including a swastika outlined in feces in a student dorm.  These recent incidents brought Mizzou’s problem with race to a boiling point. Black students argued they raised these issues with the administration for years and nothing had been done.  There were calls for the resignation of the president and provost and still nothing.  Missouri’s own Lieutenant Governor argued that there was little evidence of racism when asked about the issue (Graves & Knott, 2015).  The university’s defense was that they didn’t know these issues were occurring on campus.  It was not until the predominantly black football team took a stand and refused to practice or play that the university started to pay attention.  The Twitter pictures showing solidarity among black players and white players and coaches were telling.

According to the University of Missouri website, “Mizzou has a diverse enrollment with 35,000 students.”  At the University of Missouri, diversity equates to a student population that is 9% black and nearly 73% white.  In addition, of the nearly 1,600 faculty that are tenured or on the tenure track, only 302 are black.  (These figures do not include part-time or non-tenure track faculty).  How does one truly learn, appreciate, and understand different kinds of people, cultures, backgrounds, and viewpoints in such a sanitized environment?

The threat of the school losing money if the football program halted made the board take real notice.  College football is a multi-million dollar industry and a life line to these schools.  It was the economic threat and not the desire to truly do what is right in the face of racism, oppression, and discrimination that prompted closed door meetings, national discussion and ultimately the loss of jobs and the penning of new policy. In 2015.  Curious.  And the hiring of a diversity officer.  I wonder why such a position did not exist before?  Furthermore, Mizzou’s exposure led other schools to re-evaluate the complaints they received from minority students.  In 2015. Other schools are now patting themselves on the back for being innovative in the area of diversity and inclusion because they have crafted new diversity policies.  In 2015.

So I leave you with this.  If we as some argue live in a post-racial society, then why are we so uncomfortable discussing race??

Be safe,

L.J. Follow me on Twitter: @CrimeDoc1213

#Mizzou #UniversityofMissouri #racism #racialissues #racismoncampus #swastika #2015 #discrimination #oppression #football #footballplayers #diversity #inclusion #rights #bravery #change #ljsamuel #deardiary #justice

References

Ballentine, S. (2015, November, 21). Mizzou facing image crisis after racial issues upheaval. Yahoo! News. Retrieved from http://news.yahoo.com/mizzou-facing-image-crisis-racial-issues-upheaval-171036887.html

Graves, A. & Knott, K. (2015, November, 22). Missouri politician wrongly claims ‘zero’ evidence of swastika incident on Missouri campus. Political Fact Missouri. Retrieved from http://www.politifact.com/missouri/statements/2015/nov/22/peter-kinder/missouri-politician-wrongly-claims-zero-evidence-s/

University of Missouri. (2015). Demographics. University of Missouri website. Retrieved from www.missouri.edu

 

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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