Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Did the Jena Six Buy Bling with Defense Funds?

The quick answer is "no" read on if you'd like...

Bossip.com has posted a youtube video which alleges to show members of the Jena Six flossing with defense funds. And when I say flossing, I really mean flossing...one picture shows Robert Bailey (allegedly) eating hundred dollar bills! But what's the real deal? Should we really "put them back in jail" as Bossip's headline states? Or is this another sign of how quickly we turn on each other?



When I first saw this, my stomach turned...first the appearance on the BET Hip-Hip Awards...and now this! Don't they know we have roles to play when in the public eye? We most certainly can't act "ghetto" when we've reached a certain level of fame (no matter how we got there.) Don't they know how this makes "us" look? Those were my first thoughts if I'm being honest. But, after some thought, what the hell do we expect from kids?

Flossing. Bling-Bling. Making it rain. Stuntin'. These words have become part of pop-culture and are not limited to the hip-hop crowd. I've heard the straightest arrows use these words. So why is it so alarming to see young Black boys acting a fool--like so many of us do when we chase bling and shiny things?

Even more disturbing were the quick-to-judge comments from Bossip's readers. It seems neither Bossip nor its readers bothered to research this! Instead they accused supporters of jumping on Al and Jesse's bandwagon and not checking for the facts. If you have followed my blog, you know I debated this very issue before I jumped on anything!

This is apparently not a new story. A quick Google search led me to an October 1st news article regarding these pictures. These pictures were posted and removed (on MySpace) BEFORE the protest. But, a NEO NAZI group is furthering the story by posting this nonsense on its site and accusing the boys of using defense funds for bling.

According to the parents, checks and money orders come into a P.O. Box and are used for the defense fund only. I remember a recent article which said their defense is exceeding the amount of donations, a number easily tracked based on account statements (I presume.) So I would seriously question these allegations before jumping to conclusions! http://www.katc.com/Global/story.asp?S=7134753

I'm not saying these guys are saints...these pictures, if authentic, are troublesome. Seeing them at the hip-hop awards - given the recent controversy - was troublesome. They are certainly not "performing" well. But you know what? I swear I see celebrities and rappers doing much of the same...on Bossip…on a daily basis. So I’m not sure why it is so shocking that our kids would be doing nonsense like this.

I didn't realize equal justice was limited to perfect angels! It was a known fact that Mychal Bell had previous convictions. I never supported them under any illusions. I supported them because no matter what *I* think about a person's choices, intelligence level, race, class, etc., EVERYONE deserves equal justice and those boys didn't get it!!

Monday, October 1, 2007

Fired Up! Ready to Go!!!

On Saturday, I attended the Walk for Change II in Greenwood, SC. This walk was sponsored by Obama's South Carolina headquarters and involved thousands of volunteers canvassing the state.

So how did an Atlanta girl end up in Greenwood? Well, I went to a local volunteer meeting and learned of plans to import supporters to canvass the very-important palmetto state. While this is all new to me, I was ready for the challenge!

In the wee hours of Saturday morning, four buses departed the Atlanta area. My bus had approximately 60 adults and children, from all backgrounds and ethnicities. They included Emory students, seasoned canvassers and beginners like myself. It was SO inspiring to see people excited for change. It has been a long time since a candidate generated so much hope!

Greenwood, SC is a small town and has all of that comes with a small town in the deep south. A few things that were alarming…

* Barack supporters seemed afraid to voice their support! I don't know what that was about. It was like they expected retaliation if they said it too loud. One of my contacts was an older Black man who had to get his wife before telling me he supported Obama! When his wife came to the door, he was still apprehensive. Other teams reported verbal harassment from some of the locals…I wonder if that has anything to do with it? It's high time people felt empowered to support whatever they want!

* Unregistered voters. There seemed to be a LOT of unregistered voters, I encountered that at the above contact's home and many of the volunteers did. Some met elderly folk who never bothered to register or vote...in their entire lifetimes! The Greenwood/Aiken office is planning a major voter registration drive and that's a good thing.

* Apathy. This is a forgotten town in so many ways and because of that, it's hard to get them fired up and ready to go! They gave up on politics long ago.

The highlight of my day was meeting Ms. Childs. She is the woman who "taught" Barack the "Fired up, ready to go chant." See below for a video featuring Ms. Childs.