In Honor of Malcolm X & An Ongoing Fight for Human Rights in America- video

Today in 1965 we lost a legendary man, body and soul, a true revolutionist whom fought for the bettering of humanity and against racist white hate crimes against the Black community without apology-as it should be; as we should all be. I’ve placed the video above for a reason; while countless speeches made by Malcolm X are sadly still true to today and how things are, in this video he poses the question I wonder every single day with growing frustration at my own lack of understanding as to the WHY others, in great numbers, aren’t asking what Malcolm so brilliantly asks, frames and explains in the video I’m about to post and urge you with all I am to watch.

What is happening in America must not be taken before an American court. Just as police should not be taken before their fellow police officers or other law enforcement and/or court/legal systems where they are known personally.

We see where doing both of those things gets us, and common sense should suggest that would happen anyway. So where do we go? As Malcolm X says we should instead take the issue of VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS (not CIVIL but HUMAN RIGHTS) to a system larger; the UN, for example; nothing will ever change. And he has been proven right by time… So what are we waiting for? It is only 9 minutes and some spare seconds of your time: listen to what he says, honor him with at least that much, on the anniversary of his death, I ask you. Listen and think about what he says both for him then but also, look at how perfect that speech is to be given in America today, 2017. Video follows.

The best way

White Cop Uses Excessive Force Against Black Female Student & the US Justice Department

This is an update on the case of a young, Black teenage female being turned over and dropped out of her chair, drug across the floor and arrested; violating the department’s policy as well as his oath as a cop. I don’t need to add this happened because he knew he could get away with it because the teenage girl is Black. That is sick, sad and heartbreaking as well as enraging but it is true. If this happened to a blonde, blue eyed white girl the entire situation would have gone down differently, she would have just been acting her age and I don’t believe the cops would have ever been called. But I digress, now that you know my personal view on that I want to talk about what the U.S. Justice Department decided after 2 years of apparent searching for a way out.

The lengths America’s government will go to in order to ensure police don’t go to jail or receive any punishment is absolutely astounding. They are allowed to use the stupidest excuses; and this one took 2 years for them to find- you’d think they’d have come up with a better “loophole” than they did. What’s especially surprising in this case from 2015 is the 2 years it took for the U.S. Justice Department to come up with such a flimsy excuse for a cops abuse.

After 2 years the prosecution realized suddenly, hey, this case isn’t in our jurisdiction because it was a mistake not an intentional violation of civil rights! Yeah, let that soak in. Let’s explore that and go a bit deeper.

A cell phone & a teenage girl refuses to give up her cell phone, then she refuses to get out of her seat, after school officials allegedly, “plead” with her to get up -allegedly. I just want to add, she was a teen acting as many of us would have, too. Imagine her your child. I can say had I had a cell phone in school I would have behaved similarly. I note this because teenagers are teenagers…she did no wrong and anyone who thinks that way doesn’t belong on my page.

Additionally, the teenage female was also accused of “verbally challenging” an officer; all she did was tell him what he was doing was wrong, I might add. It finally led to the cop saying she hit him, but the aprox 15 witnesses say as she was being drug across the room she was throwing her arms about. I would assume she was trying to gain balance or her grounding, I don’t know nor does it matter as it would be terrifying to be flipped out of your chair by a cop, then drug across the floor violently.

Cops In Sparta, Georgia Go Door To Door To Suppress Black Vote — Black America Web

Since the abolishment of Jim Crow laws, individual states and cities have come up with new and more subversive tactics in attempts to suppress the black vote. Last week, a U.S. appeals court struck down a North Carolina voter ID law that it said was specifically designed to lower turnout among black voters. On Sunday, the New York…

via Cops In Sparta, Georgia Go Door To Door To Suppress Black Vote — Black America Web

Save

Black Lives Matters- New Vid- Please don’t Give up

I apologize for the length, it’s bit of ‘personal’ video i guess, or how racism by cops has impacted me and still impacts me …. But it’s being said for a reason.

I’m ashamed to say that because of the ‘color’ and tone of my skin i am given a “pass go” card; i don’t want that shyt never have. But sadly that’s real. But that judgment they make right there on skin color proves racism against non-‘whites’ is -for lack of better words- STUPID, IMMATURE, SMALL MINDED BS. It’s NOT real nor true they just want people to think it is. Sadly too many do buy into mainstream media; my hope is though that some at least will open their eyes.
In this video I share the pain I’ve seen all my life, the pain that I still feel horrific grief over; and that’s Black children, family, friends, kids I worked with, etc,…. all sharing the same fear of COPS.
I end by asking anyone down to please hit me, I have an idea and work to prove it, I just need to find a group of real people to talk to… Please do…

Hope- Feeding the Homeless Like They Aren’t Homeless… Check it Out

“And this is how the world could be;
And this is how the world SHOULD be…”-Tupac Shakur

Sad something so obvious is amazing and wonderful… In the following tweet I link a video that shows what this CEO is doing to help homeless people eat, work and LEARN via vocational programs. They go out of their way to help give work experience and other aid to the homeless… Additionally,….The food is healthy food, served like you’d be served anywhere…

I love that quote… How true…. Additionally, there are no trays, no lines, none of what the regular soup kitchens tend to be like. More people with money should be reaching out like this… Everything does come down to money, and that’s a problem. – Video follows in link ->

so long as we have #homeless, this is how #soupkitchens should be run- with #respect, #humanity #kindness #CARE https://t.co/9TncWJH8qp

— Miss Makaveli (@Lady_Makaveli71) June 29, 2016

Watch the video by clicking the link above to see how the homeless are treated; fed and given a chance at this ‘soup kitchen’; they are treated like anyone else going out to eat…Exactly like the human beings they are. THE CEO HOPES TO EXPAND AND OPEN 5 MORE BY 2018. That is a real, respectable and good soul… Where are the rest?

What is wrong with this world; how can anyone be so cold as to turn down the simple act of giving and receiving respect, dignity, care and concern for fellow souls?

This life shouldn’t be about money. Yes, we need it, sadly. But making it all about the money, all about your ‘status’ or what you have…you are truly lost and need to do some soul searching, I’d say.

For those interested, here is a link to the above for more information and other resources -> click HERE.

 

A Powerful Poem by Paul Laurence Dunbar

I was reading through Paul Laurence Dunbar’s poetry book and wanted to post a poem from him. Finally I decided on this one, though it’s very tragic and very heartbreaking, it also is sadly true. He is a poet that needs be remember more often, and this poem is so powerful because of the content; the content of the poem should make one cry. It did me.

The content is heartbreaking and though now a days there are new methods doing the same tragic thing to innocent men and women…

Truth hurts. And so below is the poem that hit me so hard tonight… It is called ‘The Haunted Oak’ by Mr. Paul Laurence Dunbar: Never Forget!!!

The Haunted Oak

Pray why are you so bare, so bare,
Oh, bough of the old oak-tree;
And why, when I go through the
shade you throw,
Runs a shudder over me?

My leaves were green as the best,
I trow,
And sap ran free in my veins,
But I saw in the moonlight dim and weird
A guiltless victim’s pain.

I bent me down to hear his sigh;
I shook with his gurgling moan,
And I trembled sore when they
rode away,
And left him here alone.

They’d charged him with the old,
old crime,
And set him fast in jail;
Oh why does the dog howl all night long,
And why does the night wind wail?

He prayed his prayer and he swore
his oath,
And he raised his hand to the sky;
But the beat of hoofs smote on his
ear,
And the stead tread drew nigh.

Who is it rides by night, by night,
Over the moonlit road?
And what is the spur that keeps
the pace,
What is the galling goad?

And now they beat at the prison door,
“Ho, keeper, do not stay!
We are friends of him whom you
hold within,
And we fain would take him
away

“From those who ride fast on our
heels
With mind to do him wrong;
They have no care for his innocence,
And the rope they bear is long.”

They have fooled the jailer with
lying words,
They have fooled the man with
lies;
The bolts unbar, the locks are
drawn,
And the great door open flies.

Now they have taken him from the jail,
And hard and fast they ride,
And the leader laughs low down
in his throat,
As they halt my trunk beside.

Oh, the judge he wore a mask of black,
And the doctor one of white,
And the minister, with his oldest
son,
Was curiously bedight.

Oh, foolish man, why weep you
now?
‘T is but a little space,
And the time will come when these
shall dread
The mem’ry of your face.

I feel the rope against my bark,
And the weight of him in my grain,
I feel in the throe of his final woe
The touch of my own last pain.

And never more shall leaves come
forth
On a bough that bears the ban;
I am burned with dread, I am
dried and dead,
From the curse of a guiltless man.

And ever the judge rides by, rides by
And goes to hunt the deer,
And ever another rides his soul,In the guise of a mortal fear.

And ever the man he rides me
hard,
And never a night stays he;
For I feel his curse as a haunted
bough,
On the trunk of a haunted tree.

Never Forget Geronimo Pratt …

May your soul be blessed and your next journey beautiful and blessed as well… Thank you for all you did and stood for, for showing us what a real solider is…. Blessed be…. 😢 sad to remember that he has passed away, especially after all the #undeserved time in #prison -his conviction overturned… He should still be with us. #geronimopratt #geronimo #lastmanstanding great #book re: a wonderful man. #blackpanthers #bpp #fromtheheart #rbg souljah #salute

A photo posted by Miss Makaveli (@lady_makaveli71) on Jun 13, 2016 at 9:35pm PDT

 

It’s hard to say or admit. It re-enforces the notion that this is up to us now, all those of the original Black Panther Party and Black Liberation Army,  etc, it’s now on this generation and we gotta make it count because nothing’s getting better… There is so much I could and should say, but I feel speechless as lame as that seems…I’ll find a way to write something more fitting and more honorable for Geronimo Pratt one day I’ll find the right words… For now, all my mind and heart can conjure is a deep sadness for his lost life.

May your soul be blessed, Geronimo Pratt…And may your souls next journey be full of blessings, love and gratitude….As we are thankful for that which you gave us during your time on earth…. Blessed be, dear soul…

 

 

 

 

Police Targeting Black America; Impact

I wrote this on my phone as I was reading… I hope it makes sense, and I have a feeling this book though it is full of questions I myself cannot answer, I have a feeling it will be sparking many more posts similar to this. It starts with,

“Are you scared?
Where do you as a Black American feel safe?
Where do you feel threatened?
Why are we still afraid?
Haven’t we been afraid long enough?”

This is just the beginning of an amazing book and already the questions posed I feel are vital to knowing oneself and to ending the evilness of white supremacy. I am honored to be reading this, and I want to utilize this books questions with the precious children I work with, whom I know are afraid… Perhaps in digging deeper into their fears and showing them reasons also to be proud and brave, it will counter some of the racist cruelty that has been forced into their innocent minds?

I fear doing this however and this is my biggest problem… It breaks my heart to hear my friends/family tell me they are afraid anytime they see a cop, I understand WHY I just hate that this is reality. So when little children tell me the same thing, it breaks my heart that much more, it also makes me angry. White people whom say there is no racism from cops and that it’s directed at them and they are ignored (load of bs) simply are upset because they want to be the center of attention now and always, in ever matter.

But if any of those sort read this, I ask, how many white people ESPECIALLY white children do you know who that are afraid upon seeing an officer or knowing one could be around? I have yet to meet a white kid that is afraid and I’m talking 3 years old and up. So no; there is nothing they are “wrong” they are doing to provoke violent and too often fatal responded by police, which is a reply I see too often and I don’t know why as it is beyond logic or any other form of credibility.

In fact, a few years ago I asked one white child in my group what he wanted to be when he grew up.

“A cop!” He replied after a couple of seconds. I was a bit taken off guard because that’s the last job I expected, so I asked him why. This is word by EXCITED word what he said:

“So I can shoot people!”

That was his answer. He was barely 5 years old. What does that answer say about white cops and the American police department in general? What does the difference in his response vs the Black children’s response to police say? Never have I had a Black child give me that response.

That isn’t to say I’ve never had Black children that didn’t want to be a cop; in fact in one of my first cases a 15 year old wanted to be a cop. He suffered from mental illness, and during one of his episodes his mom called the cops, thinking of how he respected them I am sure. Even though he was hurting no one but himself with a knife to his face when they arrived, they took his life. (See video on this post).

I know my writings are depressing; they are real, though, and instead of letting it make you sad or feel hopeless rise against that and feel anger! Don’t let depression take hold; sadly that’s not a luxury available that I see. It is sad and I wish I didn’t have this page but I do because if I don’t speak what I know then in just as guilty as them.

Back to the response these children gave me, years apart the white never knew anyone in my current group of course. Both of these innocent souls have been tarnished by police racism, bigotry and brutality. The white child thinking it’s not only “cool” but ACCEPTABLE to kill; while the Black children are afraid of hearing that answer because a part of childhood has been stolen.

How many times I’ve heard someone say one of the following or something all too similar makes me sick to my soul:

“That could have been my father,” or “my son,” “my brother,” “my nephew,” “my husband,” or that could have been “me”…

I’ve not had anyone other this non-white children and adults confide this horrific fact, and it’s a fact I grew up hearing my friends/family talk about and it enraged me as it does now because I don’t have to worry; and that is not right! If the people I am with have to worry, so should I! Until non-whites have the right to not worry, then no one should have the right that white and light skin people do.

Book 1 Must Reading, ‘Without Sanctuary’ My Thoughts

I’ve decided I’m going to start randomly suggesting books I’ve read or am reading that I think others may be interested in or books, like this one, which I feel should be mandatory reading. As horrific as this book is, this book is real, and not only do these souls need to be remembered and respected, we also need to acknowledge that this never stopped; sadly…. To this day, I am sad to say, it still goes on just in a new way. And then white people have the audacity to say others are savages?? What a joke!
To add me on goodreads, click here.

Without Sanctuary: Lynching Photography in America by James Allen

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is one of the hardest books I’ve ever read. It’s hard giving it 5 stars, but that is simply because of what we see happened…the book itself, to have compiled all of this, is a must read. While there are amazing things within the African & Black community to focus on, of course this also needs to be focused on not only by non-whites, but if anything, especially by non-whites in hopes they will open their eyes and understand, even a little bit, of the WHY. I have light skin, it doesn’t matter that I’m Spanish, because I look white. It does shame me, and I don’t want white privilege….Yet there are too many whom flaunt their white privilege while denying it. I don’t see how anyone can do that or deny it after reading this book; after seeing what is still going on today, just in a new way.

View all my reviews

Video: Reading a Short and Relevant Essay by Tupac Shakur, 1992

Looking through some of Tupac’s writings I found this short essay he wrote…sadly I believe it to still be relevant today so I decided I’d read and share…