Dog shot to death by police officer in East Austin causes angry uproar from public

On Saturday, April 14, Austin Police Officer Thomas Griffin answered a domestic violence call in East Austin, deemed a “high crime” area by the media and Austin Police Department.

What happened next is in dispute by the responding officer, and the owner of a Blue Heeler  named Cisco. The officer told Michael Paxton--Cisco’s owner--the dog should have been on a leash, despite it being in Paxton’s back yard. There was no mention in the media if Griffin entered a locked gate, after which he was confronted by the dog.

I am not a dog owner, but I know they (dogs) are territorial and protective of their space and their owners, especially when a stranger encroaches on their space. They tend to bark, growl and bare their teeth in a threatening manner. I think this is a dog’s way of telling a stranger to “back off.”

Whatever happened, Officer Griffin thought his life was in danger. According the police manual an officer can justifiably shoot and kill a dog (or human) if there is a perceived threat to an officer or any one else. Cisco was shot to death in its owner’s back yard.

Initially, Griffin pulled his gun on Paxton when he arrived at the resident.

Dog owners and lovers have bombarded the Austin Police Department since the shooting. Some have made threats, and writing emails, both of which are full of profanity and anger,  Police Chief Art Acevedo said during a press conference. People are writing angry responses on Facebook, causing the incident to go international. He says complainers have a developed a “mob mentality” about the shooting.

I was listening to a couple local radio jocks this morning and they were very upset. They said people were calling the show expressing extreme anger at the police officer. Some callers said the officer could have maced the dog instead of killing it.

The conservative radio jocks justified the shooting, saying the officer was responding to a call in East Austin, a “high crime” area, where “those people” live. To them, both of whom are White, whoever is killed by the police in East Austin, it's justified. No questions need be asked.

Griffin said he had his patrol car video on, but shooting of the dog was out of  camera range. What has to be heartbreaking for Paxton is that Cisco did not have to die at the hands of Griffin, who answered a disturbance call at the wrong address. He was not supposed to be at Paxton’s house.

The Chief Acevedo said the shooting is under investigation. A local TV station investigated the “criminal history” of Cisco. Neither human nor pet misses media scrutiny in East Austin.

According to the Austin American Statesman, “Paxton has denied that Cisco behaved aggressively. KXAN  TV reported Wednesday that Animal Control records indicate that a man, who was not bitten, reported that Cisco was overly aggressive, and had charged him as he walked down the sidewalk. In another instance, the news station reported, a woman claimed that Cisco had bitten her as she tried to pet him in a parking lot."

Extremely low sales tag attached to the lives of young African American males

Trayvon Martin parents Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin

Family of Marine veteran Kenneth Chamberlain

Sometimes you have to exploit a high profile case to get justice for cases that are largely ignored by the media. It's common knowledge the media are not interested in the shooting deaths of Black males; the kidnappings, rapes and murders of Black children; the murders and rapes of Black women. The same "we are not interested" rule applies to Hispanics and others. Only White women are important and newsworthy to the major media. The prettier the White female victim, the more aggressive the coverage. Nonetheless, White children and men receive more attention than minorities.

The media, politicians and pundits, especially Fox mouthpieces, are stepping all over each other, rushing to voice their opinions about the sudden awakening in Black communities in the aftermath of  the shooting death of an unarmed 17-year-old African American male. The media are suggesting that Black people should stop protesting and let justice take its course in the shooting death of  17-year-old Travon Benjamin Martin, who was shot killed by an adult named George Zimmerman, 29, in Sanford, Florida, February 216, 2012.

The media and pundits are accusing Rev. Al Sharpton,  the NAACP and other Black leaders of stirring up racial animosity, putting innocent people in danger. They have sided with Zimmerman. They say Trayvon was apparently behaving  "suspiciously", drawing Zimmerman's attention. The media and pundits have readily accepted and believe the shooter's version of  what happened the night Trayvon was shot to death. He must have done something wrong, otherwise, he would be alive today, some of them say. Regrettably, Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman are the only witnesses to that February night of tragedy. One is dead and the other is. . . 

The next step in this calamity is to dehumanize Martin,  a common ruse employed by the media and police departments. The media complex desperately want Martin to be a high school dropout, a gang banger, a two-bit hoodlum with an arm-length record of arrests and convictions. They want his death to be irrelevant and counted as a Black male statistic. 

The media and pundits want Trayvon Martin to come from a single parent home, an absent father who is in prison, jobless or on drugs, rendering him incapable supporting his son financially and emotionally. They want Martin's mother to have several  children out of wedlock by different men, totally negligent in her parental duties, and a long time welfare recipient on crack, the media's drug of preference for African Americans.

Trayvon Martin did not fit the stereotype. He has two loving parents, neither of whom talks in slang or Ebonics. They are middle class, dress nicely and can talk intelligently in complete sentences! The media are unhappy with that. Knowing that Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton are divorced is not sensational enough to bother with. No scandal there. So the media scoured Trayvon's social accounts on Facebok and Twitter in search of reportable news. Scandalous news. They learned nothing that set him aside from other teenagers who post all kinds of photos, brag and tell all of their personal business on these sites.

As we all now know the head of  Madam Justice was twisted backwards in Stanford, Florida the late evening Martin was killed. The person who took Trayvon Martin’s life that rainy night was set free. The police chief saw no evil, heard no evil in George Zimmerman's actions. Zimmerman, the "White Hispanic" is free to make choices.  The dead teenager, Trayvon Martin, an African American, can no longer make choices. He is only free to lay silent and lifeless in a cold grave. His parents can no longer caress him. See his smile. Listen to him talk. Watch him be a silly teenager. However, Trayvon's thousands upon thousands of supporters of all hues, along with his grieving parents, are speaking for him. They are demanding that real justice be done.

Zimmerman was not been arrested after killing Trayvon due to Florida's free-to-kill law officially called Stand Your Ground. Gun lovers and the NRA applauded Zimmerman for standing his ground. The unarmed teenager did not get a chance to stand his ground. The mortician who prepared his body for burial said there were no tale-tale injuries or scars on Trayvon's body or hands to indicate that he had been in a life-and-death struggle with Zimmerman. He had a single shot to the heart.

Al Sharpton, MSNBC host of Politics Nation, and civil right activists, understands that drawing attention to a case like this can lead to judicial re-examination, and reopening of similar shootings that have gone unnoticed by the media. There are hundreds of these files stored in cold case files all across America. The number is increasing every day. 

One example is the police shooting death of former Marine Kenneth Chamberlain, November 19, 2011. The story's headline reads: Racially Motivated Killing the Media Missed? NY Police Called Out on Medical Alert Shooting Dead of 68 Year Old Black Veteran.

Juan Gonzalez and Amy Goodman of Democracy Now writes in AlterNet, March 29: “As the shooting death of Trayvon Martin continues to draw national attention, today we look at another controversial shooting of an African-American male that has received far less scrutiny. On the morning of November 19th, a 68-year-old former Marine named Kenneth Chamberlain, with a heart condition, accidentally pressed the button on his medical alert system while sleeping. Responding to the alert, police officers from the city of White Plains, New York arrived at Chamberlain’s apartment in a public housing complex shortly after 5 a.m. By the time the police left the apartment Kenneth Chamberlain was dead, shot twice in the chest by a police officer inside his home. 

"Police gained entry to Chamberlain’s apartment only after they took his front door off its hinges. Officers first shot him with a taser, then a beanbag shotgun, and then with live ammunition. Several months after his death, the name of the officer who killed Kenneth Chamberlain has yet to be released. The DA has vowed to convene a grand jury to determine if any of the officers should face charges,” writes Gonzalez and Goodman.

Another example among the many that I found is an article by Earl Ofari Hutchinson in The Grio, March 30. He wrote about the shooting death of 19-year-old Kendrec McDade in Pasadena, CA. 

“The two Pasadena police officers who shot and killed 19-year-old Kendrec McDade Saturday night did not have their patrol car lights or sirens on when they approached the unarmed teenager. Police were responding to an armed robbery call that turned out to be false. The 911 caller, 26-year-old Oscar Felipe Carrillo, admitted to police that he lied about two suspects having a gun. He has been arrested and is awaiting potential charges of involuntary manslaughter.

“Pasadena police spokesperson Phlanté Riddle said the department does not allow officers to turn on patrol car lights or sirens if the emergency has no imminent danger. Carrillo told the dispatcher two African-American men pointed a gun at him and stole his backpack," writes Hutchinson.

Another related story in Pasadena Star News, March 27, written by Brian Charles, revealed that, “The lawyer for slain teenager Kendrec McDade's family on Tuesday described the shooting of the former Azusa High School football standout as a drive-by conducted by a member of the Pasadena Police Department.

"Attorney Caree Harper said an unidentified officer rolled down the window of his patrol car and fired at least one shot at the 19-year-old, while a second officer chasing on foot opened fire as well. The volley of as many as 10 shots killed McDade. Both officers said McDade was grabbing at his waistband, which led them to believe he was reaching for a weapon. The officers believed McDade to be a suspect in an armed robbery.”

McDade was unarmed. He was innocent. He was black.

Neighborhood Watch volunteer George Zimmerman quickly resorted to the excuses made by police when they shot and kill black males:

(a) I feared for my life.

(b) I thought he was reaching for a weapon.

(c) He reached for something in his waistband. 

(d) I saw something in his hand.

These hackneyed excuses have worked well  for police officers for decades. Zimmerman reached into the same old grab bag and pulled them out to justify his murderous rage against Trayvon Martin.

Martin was talking on his cell phone to a female friend at the time Zimmerman began stalking him. You know. . . the cloak and dagger stuff  you see in the movies and on TV. Martin had gone to a nearby 7-Eleven during an NBA halftime to buy a package of  Skittles and a can of Arizona Ice Tea. He did not return to the complex running, looking over his  shoulders, searching for a hiding place. No police was chasing him. He had not committed a crime. He had not robbed the 7-Eleven. Notwithstanding, armed with these dangerous items on his person: Skittles, a can of tea, a cell phone, and wearing a hoodie made this youngster look like a threat to society, a gang banger, who was out on a rainy night scouting apartments and cars to burglarize.

Without evidence or a personal knowledge of Martin's history, Zimmerman knew immediately that this Black teenage male "looks like he's on drugs", and “up to no good.” By God, the wannabe cop was going to eradicate this gated neighborhood of these Black thugs and criminals! After all, he said in his call to 9-1-1-, "These assholes always get away!" 

According to local news stories Zimmerman cooperated with the police on the night of the shooting.He told them his side of the story. It was decided there was no probable cause to arrest him. As noted in a recent video of him getting out of a police patrol car, Zimmerman was clearly handcuffed.  Everyone assumed that he had been arrested, as the lead investigator suggested. 

The Miami Herald reported: "On at least two prior occasions, the Stanford Police Department was accused of turning their heads when  officers  are involved in violent encounters with blacks. In 2010 police waited seven weeks to arrest a lieutenant's son who was caught on video sucker-punching a homeless black man."

As we all have heard, the police dispatcher told Zimmerman not to follow Martin. "We don't need you to do that" he was told. The dispatcher said she was sending an officer. Zimmerman disregarded her suggestion. He was the cop on the beat, and he was not going to let his Black criminal to get away!

Police volunteer program coordinator Wendy Dorival said she met Zimmerman in September at a community neighborhood watch presentation.

 Miami Herald reported Dorival as saying, "If it’s someone you don’t recognize, call us. We’ll figure it out."

She told those in attendance to “Observe from a safe location. There’s even a slide about not being a vigilante police. I don’t know how many more times I can repeat it.”

"Police Chief Bill Lee said that although police do not encourage watch program volunteers to carry weapons, he recognizes a citizen’s constitutional right to do so."

For the critics who are asking where was Rev. Sharpton in the police shootings, I think they should ask themselves: "Where was I?" It is easy to quarterback and criticize while sitting in the safety of  one's living rooms, watching these horrific events dramatized in living color on national TV. Sharpton cannot be everywhere. Communities, relatives of the victims have to help draw attention to deaths of their sons by cops.

The Grio also wrote a piece on McDade. “. . .the other is Kendrec McDade. He was also a Black teen, a former high school football star at Azusa High School in a suburb of Los Angeles, and had no criminal record. When the dust settled, McDade also lay dead.

“In his case, he was slain by Pasadena, California police officers. McDade, like Martin, was unarmed. Police, acting on a bogus tip about a robbery, allegedly confronted McDade and a friend on March 24th, and then opened fire when they claimed they saw him reach for something in his pants.

“The shooting happened at night. Police claimed a surveillance videotape showed McDade as a 'lookout' in a petty theft attempt, but refused demands to produce the tape. Police and city officials, the NAACP and the California Legislative Black Caucus branded the shooting a tragedy, and official's promised an independent investigation. However, as with Trayvon Martin's shooter, George Zimmerman, Pasadena police did not say what action, if any, they took against the officers that killed McDade."
 

"Am I next?" A simple but profound question.

George Zimmerman

Trayvon Martin

Kendrec McDade

Leora Fowler Hill: 1951-2012, Los Angeles

Family Genealogy

Leora Fowler Hill

Death is an equalizer. For the deceased all debts, both physical and emotional, are paid in full.  Death does not discriminate. It does not care if you are famous, old, rich, poor, young, sick or healthy. And to no one's surprise, death has a way of appearing at the most inconvenient times.  But the Bible warns us. It tells us that our days are few and numbered. None of us know when that number will be called.

Contrary to what some people say, I do not believe anyone is totally prepared to go with death when they look at its face. In moments of severe illness I believe a death notice makes us realize just how much we want to live. We discover there are goals we want to achieve, adventures we want to experience, roads we want to travel. Death does not give us time to mend broken relationships or, time to say "I’m sorry" to someone we might have hurt with harsh words and accusations.
 

Death lets us know that we are privileged to live for a very short time. Compared to eternity, a mere century plus is short. Life lets us know that we are all tiny grains of sand passing through this life without much notice. If you are famous your grain of sand evolves into a small rock that leaves ripples when thrown into a pool of water. But even those small rocks dissolve, becoming grains of sand again.

On January 31, 2012 another death occurred in this family: Leora Fowler Hill, died of a heart attack in Los Angeles, where she lived. Leora, her brothers and sister came to live in Austin, Texas after the untimely death of their mother, Priscilla Fowler. They were all small children, and Freddie was still a baby.

I still remember Leora as a little girl. She had her own personality, and she was on the stubborn side. She had a way of rolling her eyes, letting you know that she was angry or that she did not like you.

After leaving Austin they returned to Texas to visit periodically. Over the years we lost contact with each other. It was quite by accident that Freddie discovered my blog. I started the blog as a tool relatives could use if they decided to search our family genealogy, beginning with relatives in Texas.  

Freddie said he was looking for a friend, keying in that person's name when he accidentally found my blog. For an unexplained reason, the name Charles H. Rector, a distant cousin in Texas, popped up. Freddie said he recognized the name, and after reading his profile, he recognized the names of relatives that Charles left behind after his death. I couldn't believe it! I had been searching for them for years, and had given up the search when Freddie left a comment on my blog, July 10, 2011. I was overjoyed to hear from them. I talked to him, Leora, Wayne and Sandra for hours at separate times.  Life works in mysterious ways. We made contact with each other again after more than 30 years. I'm glad I got a chance to talk to Leora before she passed on. Our re-acquaintance was short lived.

Leora, 61, named after her Texas grandmother, was laid to rest Saturday, January 14, 2912. Service was held at Simpson Family Mortuary; Dr. Lovely Haynes, officiated. Below is a portion of the funeral program.

Leora Fowler Hill--1951-2012

 Obituary

Leora Hill was was born on August 7, 1951 in Lorain, Ohio to Raymond Edward Fowler, Sr. and Priscella Jane Douthit. Leora was the fourth of six children. Her parents, Raymond and Priscilla Jane Douthit Fowler, her older brother Raymond Fowler, preceded her in death. 

Leora received her early education in Lorain, Ohio. After high school she had two children, Tonii Fowler and Troy Fowler (who preceded her in death).

Leora began her career at the Ford Motor Plant and loved her job, but moved to California in 1981 to make a better life for herself and her daughter in  In 1982  she met the man that she would spend her remaining days with, her best friend, Wayne Hill. They joined in union on March 29, 1985.
 

Leora worked 23 years as a state employee with the State of California, Board of Equalization. She was a dedicated and hard worker. She was an activist in her union, SEIU Local 1000. She also served as chair of the Committee on Political Education (COPE) for Southern California. Although she earned many accolades for her union contributions, her biggest accomplishment was being honored to serve as president of local 1000's District Labor Council 723. She was a great leader for state employees in Los Angeles County. Being president was one of her proudest moments, and she was elated each time she met a politician.

Leora was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, sister and friend. She leaves to cherish her husband of 26 years, Wayne Hill,  her daughter Tonii Brady (Deon) of Los Angeles; stepson Wayne Hill of Baltimore, MD; six grandchildren: Adia Nichole Brady, Mia Leann Brady, Deon Lamount Brady, Jr. of Los Angeles; Daemir Hill, Fairen Hill and Wayne Hill of Baltmore, MD; one great grandchild (Daemir); siblings: Sandra E. Fowler, Wayne Fowler, Freddie Fowler, Jerome Fowler, Bruce Fowler and Lynette Pryor; special nieces Carla, Tracie, Charlena, Tanasha, Priscella; and a host of nieces, nephews, loving cousins and a countless number of friends.

Below is a tribute to Leora from her sister Sandra and her daughter Nikki.

Sister

In my heart you'll live on.

I wish you sweet rest, my sister dear.

You'll live on in my heart.

Unspoken words we all left behind;

Undone things we'll never do,

No sharing thoughts we will never kn ow.

You'll live on in my heart.

The Bible says that God will open their eyes.

No suffering, sickness. Yes, not even pain. 

In Jesus we have eternal life.

You'll live on in my heart.

I love you.

Your sis, Sandra.  

My Mommy 

A tribute written by Nicki

Either you loved her or disliked her
She didn't care which one you chose
She'd handle you accordingly as all her friends know

Not a fake or a phony, she loved the ones she loved
 And you always knew where she was coming 
From because she believed in tough love
 

Never a more passionate person you'd ever see on these streets 
She was short and petite but a "Bad" piece of meat!
 

A real mover and shaker she couldn't keep her still
 Ready to unionize  the world to help workers get the best deal

She fought so many causes and touched so many lives 
Earning the respect of many even those once despised
 

Say what they want, say what they will 
One thing's for sure, your shoes will never be filled
 I love your passion, I love your drive
 I love your commitment and the sparkle in your eyes

You, my dear mommy, I will never forget
 I love you now, always and forever
On that you can bet.

Nicki

DD Syndrome: Medical condition or inflated ego below the belt?

They're at it again. Old White male politicians are making decisions about a woman’s body.  They have decided that a woman does not have the right to seek a legal abortion. These old White males concur that aborting a fetus is tantamount killing a defenseless child.  These politicians, none of whom can bear a child, also agree that women should be denied contraceptives. They say woman should have the child they conceived, use the rhythm method of contraception as practiced by Catholics, or keep their skirts down and legs closed. Protesting clergy, also making decisions for women, did not get the memo that stated 98 percent of Catholic women are on some form of birth control.

Presidential candidate Rick Santorum, a male obsessed with womens' wombs and their right to govern their own bodies, said if a woman is impregnated by a rapist she should accept the consequences as an “indirect gift from God.” In other words, bear your rapist's baby and thank God for the kid. Santorum, a Catholic, is  adamantly against women having access to contraceptives.

Republicans have always declared war on women reproductive rights. In 2011 with so many of them wining governorships and seats in Congress, they went knee jerk crazy! These White male politicians (a few Democrats included) tend to get silly in the opposite direction when the question is about Viagra. Yet they expect insurers to pay for this “medication” that was  created to temporarily relieve flaccid penises of the dreaded Dead Dick Syndrome (DDS).

Various states want to assure that any woman seeking an abortion is humiliated, discouraged and made to feel guilty before the abortion is performed. A congressman in Georgia proposed legislation that would declare abortions a crime. He wants doctors who perform abortions prosecuted for murder. If a woman has a miscarriage, she, too, would be subject to prosecution if the miscarriage is “suspicious”, implying she might have self- aborted.  The proposed legislation will make a woman's medical records open to the pubic. 

No such legislation is proposed for legislators wanting prescriptions for prick enhancers. There are no “suspicions” of internal foul play if a dead dick fails to rise above cold, useless scrotums. No male is humiliated before he is given a prescription for a bottle of blue pills. Unlike the woman seeking a legitimate abortion, male politicians are not shamed and humiliated because their lethargic dicks cannot come out to play. Their Viagra records of purchase will not be exposed for public scrutiny.  

Between me, you and the bedpost, I think there should be a required test for Viagra hunting politicians suffering from Dead Dick Syndrome.

To compliment the GOP's war on women rights, I think male politicians should answer specific questions when they go for a doctor visit. The visit should include an examination of the politician's penis. They should be required to list or verbally state the number of sexual partners they've had, listing a history all STDs  they have contracted. As an extra side note to their medical histories, the physician should ask the politicians if they've ever impregnated a woman, and subsequently demanded that she get an abortion. 

Doctors should ask politicians when they realized they were walking around with a dead dick in their pants. They should be asked what stimulates them the most: nude men, oral sex, naked women, animals,  pornography, children, self-pleasuring, or some other kinky stimulation.

If the physicians are not satisfied with the responses, and have reason to believe the politicians are lying, they should tell the impotent patients that as a condition for getting a Viagra prescription they has to go to a strip club three or four times, get a few lap dances, and record their reactions. If this does not work the impotent patients should be required to watch two or three porno movies, writing their reactions.

Doctors should then focus on these questions during the follow-up visits: Were you aroused?, Was it a mental or physical arousal?, What caused the arousal?

If the impotent politicians says the experiences did not stimulate them, the doctors should inform the politicians that they are suffering from Dead Dick Syndrome, of which there is no cure. Of course physicians will write prescriptions anyway. Politicians have a right to purchase bottles of the penis puffers. It's legal. On the other hand, these pill seeking politicians do not want women to have the right to legally abort an unwanted pregnancy, or to get prescriptions for birth control pills.

The 1973 Roe v Wade Supreme Court decision gave a woman the right to seek a legal abortion without interference from impotent politicians. If politicians want to ban legal abortions and contraceptives, Viagra and other dead dick remedies should also be banned. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander. If a penis cannot stand on its own the male has no business demanding, or wanting to have sex with anyone but his hands.

Gov. Christie played fast and loose with the facts about White voters in the South and civil rights

Ferguson, Missouri, 2014. Protesters protest the shooting death of Michael Brown, 18, who was killed by Darren Wilson, a White cop. Protesters are threatened with police dogs, just like the civil rights movement of the 1960s. The more things change for African Americans, the more they stay the same.

Angry White citizens in Little Rock, Arkansas hold protest against integration and "race mixing." One protestor's sign stated that "Race Mixing is Communism."

Nonviolent students sitting at a lunch counter in Jackson, Mississippi, May 28, 1963. They were attacked by belligerent  White males who were bucking for a fight that they did not get. African American and White  protesters were taught not to react to violence against them. Rev. Martin Luther King insisted that protesters not be violent or incite violence.

President Lyndon B. Johnson, Democrat from Texas, signs the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Noted leader of the civil rights movement, Rev. Martin King, Jr., was present at the signing.

The infamous Bull Connor getting ready to sic violent dogs on nonviolent civil rights marchers, which was a common on the journey to freedom and justice for African Americans in America in the 1950s and 1960s.

Civil rights activists were routinely tear gassed and beaten by law enforcement. Until the TV cameras captured the raw brutality and inhuman atrocities these protesters experienced, many of these horrific crimes against them were never seen by Americans. 

Chris Christie Said What?!---

New Jersey’s governor Chris Christie was taught a different course on history that did not include the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. He was born in 1962. As an adult and the governor of the last state to free salves in 1866, Christie has no excuse for being absolutely illiterate about the civil rights movement. Had he taken the time he would have learned that New Jersey politicians were reluctant to abolish slavery; they were reluctant to pass the 13th Amendment. Christie's lack of historical knowledge jumped out like Frankenstein after a facelift. Here is an asinine statement he made January 18.

"People would have been happy to have a referendum on civil rights rather than fighting and dying in the streets in the South."

Christie was speaking to a State Senate Judiciary Committee. The remark was made in reference to the approval of a bill pushing New Jersey closer to legalizing same sex marriage. Christie's comparison of same sex marriage to the civil rights movement is way off base and completely disconnected.

I guess it would be fair to cut Christie some slack, but I am not in the mood to be fair. As  governor of a former slave state, his lack of history is inexcusable. I am quite aware that Black history was not taught in segregated schools. White students were not required to learn about the contributions Black people made to America.

Needless to say, the governor's assertion raised eyebrows among African Americans, especially those who knew about, and participated in the civil rights movement. He upset a couple of Black gays in politics.

"In Asbury Park, Mayor Ed Johnson, who is Black and gay, said: 'Can you imagine President Truman placing integration of the Armed Forces on the ballot? Or us voting on whether women should have equal pay for equal work?"

"And in Bergen County, Assemblyman Gordon Johnson, who is also Black, said in a statement: 'The governor apparently doesn't even understand that minorities likely would have been blocked from voting on a civil rights referendum in the South. Because they didn't have civil rights!"' (Channel 4 New York News)

Christie should have known if civil rights for African Americans was left up to White people and individual states, they would not be allowed to vote today. Left to a referendum, African Americans would be the designated "immigrants", earning minimum wages or less, working at low skill jobs, and still living under Jim Crow laws in a segregated America.

Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation---Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president, technically emancipated enslaved Africans via an executive order during the Civil War, January 1, 1863. The Emancipation Proclamation only abolished slavery in 10 Confederate states.  In addition to freeing slaves, the 13th Amendment squashed all forms of involuntary servitude.

"When the American Civil War (1861-65) began, President Abraham Lincoln carefully framed the conflict as concerning the preservation of the Union rather than the abolition of slavery. Although he personally found the practice of slavery abhorrent, he knew that neither Northerners nor the residents of the border slave states would support abolition as a war aim. But by mid-1862, as thousands of slaves fled to join the invading Northern armies, Lincoln was convinced that abolition had become a sound military strategy, as well as the morally correct path.

"On September 22, soon after the Union victory at Antietam, he issued a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, declaring that as of January 1, 1863, all slaves in the rebellious states "shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free. While the Emancipation Proclamation did not free a single slave, it was an important turning point in the war, transforming the fight to preserve the nation into a battle for human freedom. 

"Lincoln and the Republican party recognized that the Emancipation Proclamation, as a war measure, might have no constitutional validity once the war was over. The legal framework of slavery would still exist in the former Confederate states as well as in the Union slave states that had been exempted from the proclamation. So the party committed itself to a constitutional amendment to abolish slavery. 

The overwhelmingly Republican Senate passed the Thirteenth Amendment by more than the necessary two-thirds majority on April 8, 1864. But not until January 31, 1865, did enough Democrats in the House abstain or vote for the amendment to pass it by a bare two-thirds. By December 18, 1865, the requisite three-quarters of the states had ratified the Thirteenth Amendment, which ensured that forever after “neither slavery nor involuntary servitude ... shall exist within the United States". (History.com)

13th Amendment, Section 1: ‘Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted; shall exist within the United States or any place subject to their jurisdiction.’

Despite all noble intentions the 13th Amendment, it was not a good friend to ex-slaves. They were left homeless, penniless and abandoned. They had nowhere to go. They had no prospect for a better life. They had no rights the dominant population had to recognize.

From what I read in some  historical accounts, thousands of freed slaves stayed on with their "former" owners. Being homeless, having no money, no prospects for paid employment, the ex-slaves were subjected to vagrancy laws that landed them in jail, and back to working free. 

Nonetheless, without an income they were expected to pay the fines imposed on them if they could not prove they were employed. They were caught between a rock and hard place, and the hard place was winning. They could not escape the burdens of their previous condition. The Emancipation Proclamation did not deal the freed slave a fair hand in a society that hated the color of their skin.

When the 14th Amendment was proposed in 1866 it went a step farther. Ratified in 1868, it bestowed on ex-slaves all the Constitutional rights that White people were privileged to. Andrew Johnson was president, and this is how the Amendment came into fruition:

   

“The Radicals' first step was to refuse to seat any Senator or Representative from the old Confederacy. Next they passed measures dealing with the former slaves. Johnson vetoed the legislation. The Radicals mustered enough votes in Congress to pass legislation over his veto--the first time that Congress had overridden a President on an important bill. They passed the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which established Negroes as American citizens and forbade discrimination against them.” (Our U.S. Presidents)

These Amendments did not stop states from enacting newly created Jim Crow and Black Code laws, poll taxes, grandfather clauses, intimidation, White only primaries, and literacy tests that asked stupid questions as prerequisites to vote. Not even the smartest White citizen or politician could answer the questions. This drop kick scheme was solely devised to “regulate” former slaves, stopping them from demanding their rights.

The 15th Amendment grants voting rights to U. S. citizens regardless of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. Noticeably, the right to vote is not in the Constitution. This right is a man created privilege that only White men were allowed to exercise.  The amendment was proposed in 1869 and ratified in 1870 under President Ulysses S. Grant. The completed package was supposed to favor former slaves but they did not have the power to take advantage of their rights. They were free on paper but Whites still had control over them.

Freedom without true freedom---Because ex-slaves were powerless and helpless against Whites  who were determined to keep “them in their place”, they would have to fight for real freedom, not the empty freedom granted them by Abraham Lincoln. Over the years Blacks were intimidated and killed by terrorist gangs such as the KKK and similar vigilantes. Lynchings of men and women,  mutilations, Black men burned alive, rape of Black girls and women were as common as hanging trees and grass. Body parts were sold for souvenirs after or before a lynching or human burning. No Whites were ever prosecuted for these inhuman crimes against Black Americans. No law, judge or jury was on their side.

Fast forward to peaceful sit-ins, marches, demonstrations and protests spearheaded by civil rights leaders and followers in 1950s. Rosa Parks, though not the only figure in the quest for civil rights and freedom, is the most recognized for her refusal to relinquish her seat to a White man on a Montgomery city bus.

The bus driver demanded that she go to the back of the bus. She was sitting closer to the front than the back, somewhere in the middle, which was a no-no in those days. The irony is, if there were no available seats in the front of the bus, the bus driver could demand that a “Negro” give up his or her seat in the back of the bus for a White passenger. Parks steadfastness caused her to get arrested, thus sparking the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1964.

From 1955 to 1968---Civil rights leaders and activists refused to retreat. They continued the marches, mainly in the deep South, where White folk treated civil rights like personal Christmas gifts that Blacks were trying to steal. Among the noted civil rights leaders was Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. He became the face and voice of a nonviolent movement. Despite the nonviolence hundreds of leaders and activists were killed, threatened, bitten by police dogs, water hosed, spat on, stoned, cursed at, and beaten by White law enforcement. White people said their "rights" were getting taken away from them to favor Black people.

Now doesn't that sound familiar?

“Many African-Americans risked their lives to march and protest for their voting rights. On March 7, 1965, 525 marchers intended to walk from Selma, Alabama, to Montgomery, the state capital. They didn't get far before police confronted them on the Edmund Pettus Bridge. When the protesters refused to turn back, police fired tear gas and attacked the crowd with clubs and whips.” (E-How)

In the end African Americans won a hard-fought change. Whereas they were still discriminated against and basically disenfranchised as legal citizens, President Lyndon Baines Johnson, a Texas Democrat, lessened some their apprehension when he signed into law the  Civil Rights Act of 1964 at the White House, July 2. Suffice it say Southern Democrats fought the hardest against passage of the Civil Right Act. They liked things just the way they were. Blacks were not equal to Whites and they never would be in the eyes of these Democrats and their constituents.

“The bill came before the full Senate for debate on March 30, 1964. The Southern Bloc of 18 southern Democratic Senators and one Republican Senator led by Richard Russell (D-GA) launched a filibuster to prevent its passage. Said Russell: 'We will resist to the bitter end any measure or any movement which would have a tendency to bring about social equality and intermingling and amalgamation of the races in our (Southern) states.'"  (Wikipedia)

This is a mere synopsis African of Americans dying and suffering for their right to vote and live the American Dream, not a mythical promise of the dream. The horrors they suffered were exposed in graphic photos and videos on the evening news. This is what Christie did not take time to research. I guess he is not cognizant of the fact that Republican governors (like himself) and politicians in more than 30 states are reverting to old southern-style tricks and strategies to deprive African Americans of their right to vote. This time it's his party not the Democrats, not all of whom I trust not revert to the "good old days."

This scheme was a preplanned goal to implement if Republicans won big during the midterm elections of 2010.  Well, they won big with the help of raging tea partiers and big money donors. And here we are with a blowhard like Christie foolishly espousing in 2012: "People would have been happy to have referendum on civil rights rather than fighting and dying in the streets in the South."

Newark, New Jersey Mayor Cory Booker said, "Frankly, I wouldn't be where I am today if states had voted on civil rights."

Watch your finger Gov. Brewer!

Republican Governor Jan Brewer points her finger at President Obama as if she was scolding a child who had disobeyed her. The President is too much of a gentleman to tell her what to do with her finger. The stunt drew bad publicity for her.

President Obama would never be this rude to Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer. He is professional and polite at all times. He does not lose his cool, as he had a right to do in this Brewer-planned scenario, scripted for the media, and her Tea Party constituents. This President is not a cartoon or caricature, nor does he have bouts of I must show this Black guy where he belongs like Brewer and her fellow Republicans. In their quest to upstage him, they always downstage themselves.

A Korean proverb says, "If you kick a stone in anger you'll hurt your own foot." Brewer's toes must have hurt for days. Her display of disrespect did not play well with the public.

Barack Obama is the most powerful man in the world, but this angry White woman from Arizona set out to prove that his power meant nothing to her. Putting her finger in the President’s face was her way of “putting Barack Obama in his place,” She does not see a reason to respect him.

In the photo she appears angry as she rants at the President, whose right hand is on her right elbow. In an interview with a Phoenix TV station, Brewer said she “felt a bit threatened” by the President. The delicate White woman was scared to death of the big bad Black buck who was prone to attack her in public, with security, Secret Service and the media standing on the tarmac with them.

Is this woman freaking serious?! President Obama should have been frightened as he looked at Brewer's baggy face! I won't call her ugly. I'll just say attractiveness by passed her as she stood in the "Attractive" assembly line.

When CBS 3 asked Brewer what she and President Obama discussed, she said: "It's difficult to recall exactly, because I've always been real animated in talking. We could have been talking about a million different things. Bottom line is that he generally wants to talk about amnesty and I want to talk about securing our border. I must say, I was not hostile. I was trying to be very, very gracious. I respect the office of the president, and I would never be disrespectful in that manner."

Translation: "I respect the Oval office, but to hell with the Black guy who sits in the office."

Brewer could have stayed at the governor's  mansion and not meet President Obama. She chose to be a part of the greeting party. She had a bone to pick with him. Brewer intended to turn the presidential visit into a reality show episode, ripe with a finger-in-your-face photo op,  an added bonus to the drama.

Appearing on Fox Wednesday night, Brewer said: “I was trying to be very gracious to [Obama] and he just reacted in just a very negative manner which took me back – kind of left me breathless to tell you the truth.”  Again, Brewer is repeating the myth that the "delicate" White woman is scared of those big bad Black bucks! I was waiting to hear her say the President made sexual overtures towards her.

If Brewer thought her actions would gain national praise, she miscalculated the public’s reaction. Her blatant disrespect was inexcusable. The so-called argument she mentioned was in reference to a book she wrote. In the book Brewer said that President Obama had been very condescending toward her when she visited the White House in 2010. Her disrespectful 

up-your-nose Obama must have been payback. Right?

As it turns out Brewer told several lies about the President in her book Scorpions for Breakfast. She wrote of a visit to the White House: "I felt a little bit like I was being lectured to, and I was a little kid in a classroom, if you will, and he was this wise professor and I was this little kid, and this little kid knows what the problem is and I felt minimized to say the least."

Brewer forgot the press conference they had after the visit.  She told the media that she and  President Obama had a "very cordial" discussion. She said they agreed to work together in search of a solution to immigration and border security. Brewer said the President assured her that most of the 1,200 National Guard troops he is sending to the southern border will be coming to Arizona.

This is the June 2010 meeting in the Oval Office with President Obama. In her book Brewer said the president was very condescending as he lectured her about illegal immigration. The meeting lasted about 30 minutes. She isn't looking traumatized or scared of the president. It appears that she is listening very intently to what he is saying.