Sustained!: June 2011

Saturday, June 11, 2011

One of Our Own

By Jacquelyn Carpenter

Last summer, I wrote about the horrible experience of being stopped by police at gunpoint, removed from my vehicle, interrogated, handcuffed, and taken to the scene of a crime against my will. In The Client’s Shoes I describe the event as an arrest, though the police describe it as a detainer. Regardless, it was a horrific ordeal. Nevertheless, I was blessed to be released; the police realized I was not a party to the aggravated robbery for which I was arrested, or detained. Without being hauled downtown, having to post bond, spend a night in jail, and explain to my professional colleagues "what had happened", I was free to leave. No one would even be aware of my situation but for my blogging about it. It was never a matter of public record. My encounter with law enforcement allowed me to explain more easily to others exactly how easy it is to be charged with a crime. It only takes one witness, with no corroboration, for a person to be charged with a crime. Despite the legal mantra that people are innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, as a society, our actions say otherwise. Let that person be someone held in high esteem, such as a politician, council member, or attorney, the presumption of innocence is afforded even less.

Earlier this week, I was dismayed to learn that a colleague, who I will not name out of respect, was arrested. I am aware of how frustrating the process is for a person who is not an attorney. I can only imagine that it carries a new level of embarrassment for someone who is a lawyer, especially if the media decides to report on the story. I am not in a position to speak with this attorney, but if I could, I would edify her as much as possible, reminding her that other lawyers have been in similar, or worse, situations, and survived if not thrived. I would tell her that God has not abandoned her, and neither has the defense bar. To the extent the defense bar remains silent, it is only out of respect; quietly, the defense bar is rooting for you and willing to help if you so choose, but we in no way want to invade your privacy.

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Trayvon Martin was shot and killed in Florida by George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer. Martin was returning from a store buying some green tea and skittles. Trayvon Martin was wearing a hooded and was, by all accounts, minding his own business. Zimmerman shot Martin and alleged self-defense. His death was tragic. But to make matters worse, when officers sought to arrest Zimmerman and charge him with manslaughter, a prosecutor stepped in and blocked the charges. Upset by the disregard for this young man's life, people accross the nation took to the streets and protested. The lack of charges sparked discussion and activism from school yards all the way to houses of congress. Trayvon Martin's death increased awareness of our present state, much like Emmitt Till's death and the injustice that followed it increased awareness in the 1950s. People's objections to the status quo and the good ole boy's network were SUSTAINED! when Zimmerman's case was taken over by a new prosecutor and charges were filed.

The Gavel Goes Down on the 1%: Occupy This!

Protestors took to the Streets in New York, occupying Wall Street to protest corporate greed and corruption. The original protest began on September 17, 2011, and since then other protests have been held in 70 major cities and over 600 communities in the U.S. Many of these protest are still on-going. Here in the City of Houston, protestors are staging rallies nearly every week. Internationally, other protest have modeled themselves after Occupy Wall Street, in over 900 cities worldwide. These protests have been growing. We are witnessing the beginnings of a social movement. With their goals yet undefined, but steadily becoming more defined; the gavel goes down on the "Occupy" Movement's objections to the explotation of the 99% by the 1%. It will only be a matter of time until the energies of the protestors are transferred to other vehicles: like voter registration drives and engaging in other activities to increase social awareness.

The Gavel Goes Down: Police Officers Committing Crimes

In many places police officers commit crimes with impunity. But on March 31, 2011, a federal judge in New Orleans sentenced a former New Orleans police officer to 25 years in prison for his role in the shooting death of a man and the burning of his body after Hurricane Katrina.

David Warren was convicted in December of shooting 31-year-old Henry Glover without justification outside a strip mall less than a week after the storm hit in August 2005.

Sentencing is scheduled later for former officer Gregory McRae, who burned Glover's body in a car near a police station.

A jury also convicted former Lt. Travis McCabe of writing a false report on the shooting. His sentencing is on hold while his lawyers seek a new trial. But the Gavel Goes Down on Police getting away with Police Abuse. Twenty-five years may seem a little light for murder (The feds do not have parole and he will serve at least 20 years), but it certainly is a start.

The Gavel Goes Down: Oppression and Genocide in Sudan

Sudan may be headed for a split, with Northern Sudan and Southern Sudan forming two independent nations. Southern Sudanese election officials posted early results Sunday, January 16, 2011, indicating that perhaps more than 95 percent of voters in this regional capital voted to secede from Sudan. The referendum, held last week, was the capstone of decades of civil war in Sudan, which pitted Christian and animist rebels in the south against Arab rulers in northern Sudan. All indications show the weeklong referendum passing.

While the results are the first concrete steps for the south to secede from the rest of Sudan and become its own country, the final vote tally is not scheduled to be announced until Feb. 14. And true independence would not come before July 9, when an U.S.-backed peace agreement between the north and the south expires. It was signed in 2005. Still, many issues need to be ironed out, including citizenship rights, oil sharing and the future of the contested and volatile Abyei region, which was supposed to hold its own referendum on whether to join the south or the north but never did. But, the Gavel Goes Down on the world's objections to the attempted genocide that occurred in Sudan that resulted in the indictment of Sudan's president by the International Criminal Court.

In Washington, President Barack Obama congratulated the south on holding a peaceful, orderly referendum, calling it an "inspiration." But he also warned against breaking the peace agreement timetable.

The Gavel Goes Down: Ignoring the impact of Slavery on American History

After more than eight years of street demonstrations, arguments, haggling and missed deadlines; after extensive public debate about the impact of slavery on life in the United States and on the life and moral character of George Washington; after countless news articles and TV programs, the site marking the intertwined lives of presidents and slaves opened to the public on December 15, 2010 on Philadelphia's Independence Mall. "President's House: Freedom and Slavery in Making a New Nation" chronicles the story of race and power at the heart of our nation's birth. President George Washington owned some 300 slaves. His ownership of these slaves brought him status and power, which positioned him for the presidency. Despite Washington's signing of the Fugitive Slave Act in 1793, many slaves owned by him struggled and obtained freedom. The exhibit is the fruit of the struggled of the Black community in Philadelphia. It is an acknowledgment that Black people were part of America and contributed to it from the beginning. The exhibit tells the story of the inhabitants of the first Executive Mansion: George Washington and John Adams and the nine enslaved Africans held there by President Washington during his two terms in office. It is a stark objection to the white-washing of American history.

The Gavel Goes Down: 55 Years After Rosa Said No

The Gavel Goes Down: Eliminating the Kibera

The Kibera slum in Nairobi, Kenya has long been known as "the largest slum in Africa." This assertion has been recently challenged and many observers now believe that Kibera is the second largest slum in Africa. In September of 2009, the government of Kenya began clearing the Kibera to -rehouse all of the Nairobi's slum residents. Kenya plans to move all of the residents within the next nine years to communities that will include schools, markets and other facilities. Through the use of U.N. funding, funds from other relief efforts, and its own resources; the Kenyan government is spearheading the project. I (Eric J. Davis) visited the Kibera in 2006 and had the opportunity to spend time with some of the residents. Due to my ethnicity and the fact that we were accompanied by some Kibera residents, we were able to blend in and pass for locals. The resilance of the people was amazing. It was a small city where the people appeared to govern themselves well. The Kibera was safer than many major American cities. Nevertheless, the effects of poverty were apparent. There were no schools, no clean water, no sewage and no hospitals. Should the resettlement survive legal challenge (some slum lords are claiming ownership of the land and are taking the government to court - people pay rent to live in the slums), this African nation will take a big step towards eliminating poverty in its borders. Kenya is proof that African nations can govern themselves. The gavel goes down on Kenya's objections to poverty.