Feb. 23, 2014

The Value of Life
By Dr. E. Faye Williams, Esq. 

(TriceEdneyWire.com)  – I grew angry and then I cried for my friend Lucia McBath—Jordan’s mother.  I assume that I was among many who did the same.  When I learned of the non-verdict in the Michael Dunn murder trial, I wondered what it would take to get justice for Jordan Davis’ murder and for all the other Black people who lost their lives to senseless violence—not just in Florida, but throughout the United States!

Like millions of Americans, I waited anxiously for the jury to return a verdict.  The more commentators talked, the more I became concerned about the signals sent by the length of the jury’s deliberation that turned out to be about the same length as the trial’s evidentiary phase of five days.

That Michael Dunn took the life of Jordan Davis was unquestioned.  The only thing the jury had to decide was whether Dunn was justified in firing ten shots into an SUV holding four teenaged Black males not bothering him.  Although they ruled that Dunn was guilty of three counts of attempted murder, at least one juror decided the presence of four young Black men and the non-existent barrel of a gun was reasonable to create the fear of threat of harm in the mind of Dunn.

A question now looms large in the cases of Trayvon Martin AND Jordan Davis.  That’s whether the time will ever come when the lives of Black Americans will be held in comparable value to those of white Americans.

Some of us thought that Black parents and caretakers would be past the point of admonishing their children to shrink their personages to the point that, while in public, they become ultra meek or non-descript.  After years of protecting our young men by imposing expressive reticence and control so as not to offend some hostile white person, one would have thought that our young men would have finally gained the right of protecting their personal autonomy with their words instead of their fists.

Despite our hopes and, in the cases of Jordan and Trayvon, effective parenting, two men were arbitrarily allowed to decide that these young men were no longer worthy of life.  Their legal protests to the contrary, the documented mindset of two killers – Dunn and Zimmerman - and their resultant actions took the lives and destroyed any potential of two young Black men. The “Stand Your Ground” Law was merely a vehicle for the exercise of their malicious intent.

This non-verdict was an extension of the type of veiled disregard that impacts the lives of Black people every day. It can be said that Jordan and Trayvon’s lives were not considered with the same value as someone white. Zimmerman got off totally free.  One can argue that the time Dunn will serve for the criminal acts of which he was found guilty is, in effect, a life sentence. Unfortunately, the failure of the jury to reach a verdict in the murder of Jordan, and the unreasonable verdict reached in the case of Trayvon, sends the subliminal signal that, by their nature, Black males pose an inherent threat, and reduces the responsibility for anyone confronting them to consider their humanity.

It’s human to initially retreat from threat.  Instead, “Stand Your Ground” allows those so disposed to revert to acts of barbarism.  These horrendous laws must be changed if we’re to continue to call ourselves a civilized nation.

Let us pray that Jordan’s parents will soon know that justice has been served for the senseless murder of their son.  No matter how long Dunn serves in prison, if there is no time served for Jordan’s murder, the message rings clear that there’s no such thing as equal justice in “Stand Your Ground” states.

(Dr. E. Faye Williams is National Chair of the National Congress of Black Women, 202/678-6788, www.nationalcongressbw.org)

Feb. 16, 2014

Dunn Verdict Seen as Another Permit to Kill Black Men
Civil Rights Leaders Say ‘Enough is Enough’

By Hazel Trice Edney

(TriceEdneyWire.com) – Civil rights leaders are shaking their heads and demanding justice this week after a jury verdict once again appeared to let the killer of a young Black man off the hook.

Michael Dunn could actually face decades in prison as he was found guilty of three counts of attempted murder and one count of firing into an occupied vehicle. But, because the Jacksonville, Fla. jury did not reach a verdict on a charge of first degree murder of 17-year-old Jordan Davis, prompting a mistrial on that charge, rights leaders across the country are crying foul.

"We are deeply disappointed by the verdict in the case of Michael Dunn. Though he was convicted for attempted murder and shooting into the car, the value of Jordan Davis’ life was not addressed in this verdict,” says the Rev. Al Sharpton, president of the National Action Network. “The mistrial further sends a chilling effect to parents in the 23 states that have the Stand Your Ground law or laws similar.”

The case stems from the 2012 shooting of four Black teens in an SUV after Dunn, who is White, complained they were playing their music too loud outside a Jacksonville convenience store.

After 30 hours of deliberation over the course of four days, the diverse 12-member jury found Dunn guilty on every count, except the first degree murder. Several questions from the jury during deliberations indicated they were split on a decision. They had asked Judge Russell L. Healey whether they can decide a verdict on some counts without deciding on others, As a result, Dunn, 47, was only convicted of attempted murder of Tevin Thompson, Leland Brunson, and Tommy Storns, the three teens in the car with Jordan, but not of the murder of Jordan.

Prosecutors indicate they will retry Dunn on the murder charge, but civil rights leaders say more sweeping action is also needed, such as the abolition or amendment of the so-called “Stand Your Ground” self-defense laws. Dunn used the infamous “Stand Your Ground” defense that became well known in the controversial acquittal of George Zimmerman in the killing of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin of Sanford, Fla.

 “This is clearly a continuation of the injustice we saw with Trayvon Martin, and it will only stop if we stand up now. We demand a retrial, and strongly urge Attorney General Eric Holder to bring justice in this case and investigate how 'Shoot First' laws shield those who commit hate crimes,” says Rashad Robinson, executive director of ColorOfChange.org. “All too often, young Black men across this country are the targets of violence, a tragic fact fueled by stereotypical media portrayals that create inaccurate perceptions of Black men and boys.”

Dunn, who took the stand in his own defense, claimed that he feared for his life because he thought the four teens had a gun when he opened fire upon them, shooting 10 times and hitting the vehicle nine times. No gun was ever found in association with the teens. The case was racially charged given that Dunn is White and also because his fiancé testified that he commented, “I hate that thug music,” as they pulled into the parking lot where the shooting occurred.

Testimony in the trial harkened back to the initial comment by Zimmerman to a 911 operator that the unarmed Martin, carrying a bag of Skittles and a can of ice tea, was “up to no good”. Zimmerman successfully used the “Stand Your Ground” defense despite the fact that he followed Martin even after the 911 operator cautioned against it.

"This case is a perfect example of how stand your ground laws are illogical and often lead to tragic outcomes, especially to people of color who often end up on the wrong side of the weapon,” stated Dr. Niaz Kasravi, NAACP Criminal justice director in a statement.  “To help prevent future tragedies such as the death of Jordan Davis, we must repeal stand your grounds laws and bring back common sense self-defense policies in every state across this country.”

Over and above the legalities of the case, the battle against the perception that young Black males are fair game for shooting and killing is an uphill one for civil rights leaders. And as long as “Stand Your Ground” laws give shooters an out, this kind of stereotyping will prevail, some contend. Still others see the lesser convictions as a good start for justice.

“Young, Black men are not thugs or suspicious by definition,” said Florida NAACP President Adora Obi Nweze, “And this important verdict reconfirms that those who commit crimes based on those misplaced preconceptions will not go unpunished.”

All indications are that the Dunn verdict has sparked the escalation of the fight against “Stand Your Ground” laws. Sharpton indicates protests may be planned.

“It requires the Civil Rights community to head into Florida, which is now ground zero for a National fight to change that law,” he states. “From Trayvon Martin to Jordan Davis enough is enough.”

Feb. 18, 2014

Jordan Davis, another Victim of a Murderous Historical Continuum
By Dr. Wilmer J. Leon, III

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - “Can a Negro, whose ancestors were imported into this country, and sold as slaves, become a member of the political community formed into existence by the constitution of the United States…they are not included, and were not intended to be included, under the word “citizens” in the constitution, and can therefore claim none of the rights and privileges which that instrument provides for…” Chief Justice Roger Taney – Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)

The verdict is in.  Michael Dunn was found guilty on three counts of attempted second-degree murder but the jury failed to reach a verdict on the most significant charge of first-degree murder in the shooting death of Jordan Davis.

Instead of celebrating what would have been his 19^th birthday, Jordan Davis’ parents continue to mourn the legally unrecognized murder of their son. I can only imagine that this verdict is analogous to killing him again.  Jordan Davis has become another victim of a murderous historical American continuum.

In the wake of the Treyvon Martin murder, the killings of Oscar Grant on New Year’s Day 2009, Sean Bell on November 26, 2006, Police Sgt. Cornel Young, Jr. on January 28, 2000, Police Officer Willie Wilkins on January 11, 2001, Amadou Diallo on February 4, 1999 and so many others we find ourselves coming to the same conclusion, by focusing on their color; people failed to see their humanity.

The subtext to all of these untimely deaths remains race.  The subtext to the inability of juries to convict the George Zimmerman’s and Michael Dunn’s of the world of murder is tied to race as well.  They are the most recent victims of a murderous historical American continuum.  Tolnay and Beck in their book A Festival of Violence, “identified 2,805 victims of lynch mobs killed between 1882 and 1930 in ten southern states.  Although mobs murdered almost 300 white men and women, the vast majority-almost 2,500-of lynch victims were African-American.  The scale of this carnage means that, on average, a black man, woman, or child was murdered nearly once a week, every week, between 1882 and 1930 by a hate driven white mob.”   Today, lynch mobs have been replaced by Zimmerman’s and Dunn’s and sanctioned by “Stand Your Ground” and “juries of their peers”.

As Africans in America and later African-Americans, we have been engaged in a struggle for a very long time. Too many of us have forgotten what’s at the crux of the issue.  Many believe it’s economic, others believe its civil rights.  Both of those are important and play a significant role in improving our circumstance but what we’ve been  fighting to have recognized since those first 20 and some odd “African indentured servants” disembarked from the Dutch Man O War off the shores of Jamestown, VA in 1619 (395 years ago)is to be considered human.

According to the Virginia Statutes on Slavery, Act 1, October 1669; what should be done about the casual killing of slaves?  “If any slave resist his master and by the extremity of the correction should chance to die, that his death shall not considered a felony, and the master should be acquitted from the molestation, since it cannot be presumed that prepense malice should induce any man to destroy his own estate.”  We were property, not human – part of the estate.

In Dred Scott Chief Justice Taney wrote, “…they (Negro’s) were at that time an considered as a subordinate and inferior class of beings, who had been subjugated by the dominant race, and, whether emancipated or not, yet remained subject to their authority, and had no rights or privileges but such as those who held the power and the government might choose to grant them.”  Unfortunately, Taney’s perspective remains prevalent in the minds of too many Americans.

For decades, the law recognized the value of life over property.  In many jurisdictions, before a person could use deadly force they had a duty to retreat.  They had to prove that the use of deadly force was justified. This is often taken to mean that if the defendant had first avoided conflict and secondly, had taken reasonable steps to retreat and so demonstrated an intention not to fight before eventually using force, then the taking of a life could be considered justified.

Today, Stand Your Ground has turned this long held principal on its head.  Today it provides individuals (seemingly mostly European American’s) the right to use deadly force (seemingly against African American’s) to “defend” themselves without any requirement to evade or retreat from a circumstance of their own creation.

One cannot stress enough, in both the Treyvon Martin murder and the murder of Jordan Davis, both victims were in public space, engaged in legal activity, and at the time they were confronted were not a threat to anyone. George Zimmerman and Michael Dunn initiated the confrontations, put themselves in harm’s way, and then took matters into their own hands, choosing to use deadly force against unarmed and non-threatening innocent victims.  Neither Martin nor Davis was given the opportunity to stand their ground.

What ties the death of all of the individuals listed above together is the culturally accepted stereotype of the threatening Black male.  Defense counsels in the murder of Treyvon Martin, Jordan Davis, Amadou Diallo and so many others rationalized these irrational shootings by tapping into the oftentimes unspoken but clearly recognized and understood fear of the Black male.

Even though no weapon and nothing resembling a weapon was found in the vehicle Jordan Davis was riding in, at least one member of the Dunn jury understood his claim that he was in fear of his life.  Even though Treyvon Martin was unarmed, members of the Zimmerman jury understood on a gut level his claim that he was in fear of his life.  Amadou Diallo was armed with only his wallet when NYPD unleashed a barrage of 41 bullets striking him 19 times.

Since those first 20 and some odd “African indentured servants” disembarked from the Dutch Man O War off the shores of Jamestown, VA in 1619 African’s in America and now African-Americans have been victimized by a murderous American historical continuum.

Dr. Wilmer Leon is the Producer/ Host of the Sirius/XM Satellite radio channel 110 call-in talk radio program “Inside the Issues with Wilmer Leon” Go to www.wilmerleon.com or email:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. www.twitter.com/drwleon and Dr. Leon’s Prescription at Facebook.com  © 2014 InfoWave Communications, LLC

Feb. 17, 2014

Family Feuds Could Stall Settlement of Mandela's Estate

Madiba's ex-wife Winnie Mandela and widow Graca Machel

Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from Global Information Network

(TriceEdneyWire.com) – A last will and testament by former Pres. Nelson Mandela published this week offered some unpleasant surprises for children of the national leader and especially for his second wife, Winnie Madikizela Mandela, who was not listed among the beneficiaries.

The family of South Africa's first black president, who died two months ago aged 95, met this week behind closed doors at his foundation in Johannesburg to hear the reading of the will, which divides up an estate estimated at $4.1 million.

An executor, Dikgang Moseneke, the deputy chief justice of South Africa's constitutional court, said the reading of the will to the family had been "charged with emotion" but no one had yet contested it. "There were clarifications sought from time to time," he added.

Perhaps the most unexpected turn of events, was the omission of Madikizela-Mandela, his wife of 38 years during the struggle against racial apartheid. They divorced in 1996 but became close again towards the end of his life and, along with his third wife, Graça Machel, she was at his bedside when he died.

Over 165 comments were posted in the online South Africa paper News24 speculating on the curious testament. "It could still end up in court,” said a News24 source. “The trusts could be dissolved and the funds in them would go to the family members."

Mandela married three times and his numerous children and grandchildren have frequently clashed over who leads the family and who should benefit from his lucrative "brand". Last year, two of his daughters went to court to dispute control over the millions contained in one of the trusts but eventually dropped the action.

Winnie’s grandchildren and great-grandchildren with Mandela were all left generous sums, although the money for Bambatha, Zondwa, Zwelabo and Zoleka Mandela has to be paid to Graça to be paid out at her discretion.

Meanwhile, the third wife, Graça Machel, will inherit their cars, the jewelery in her possession and the works of art of her choosing at the Houghton home she had shared with him. Graca’s children from her former marriage to the late Mozambican president Samora Machel – Josina and Malengane - and six of Samora Machel’s children from his previous marriage are also beneficiaries.

Madiba also made a bequest to all the schools he had attended in his lifetime, as well as to the Qunu Secondary School and to Orlando West High School for the “role its pupils and teachers played in the struggle for liberation”.

The home in Houghton, Johannesburg, where Mandela died on Dec. 5 will be used by children of his late son Makgatho. "It is my wish that it should also serve as a place of gathering of the Mandela family in order to maintain its unity long after my death."