This Thanksgiving Remember that #AllLivesMatter and #BlackLivesMatter

by Tommy Lee Jenkins, III


I am an American.  I am a veteran.  I am a writer.  Above all, I am a Black man living in America.  When I saw the Michael Brown story, I was appalled at what I saw captured on cell phone video.  I saw an unarmed Black teenager, gunned down in the street, at point-blank range with his arms raised in the air, trying to surrender.  Michael Brown had been shot 6 times.  It seemed like a slam dunk case.  The officer who did the shooting would be fired and arrested and placed on trial.

Wrong.  The officer who shot Michael Brown was Darren Wilson.  He was placed on leave with pay.  He was under investigation for indictment by a grand jury.  He was not indicted.  In the history of grand juries handing down indictments, there is a 98-99% rate of indictment.  This case, of an incident where a murder has taken place, on video, as it happens, seems to fall in the category of the 1-2% exception.

I've been Black my entire life.  I understand how unjust and irrational protocol can be in America, especially when you introduce race into the mix.  People become hypocrites.  Institutions, such as the justice system applies a double standard in certain situations.  It influences whether people find me attractive or not.  I wasn't really shocked when the grand jury came back without an indictment for Darren Wilson.  I'm not even shocked that the Pew Research Center released a survey confirming that Blacks are more likely than Whites to see the shooting as race-related.

I'll tell you what I'm shocked about.  I'm shocked that we are embarking on the holiday season - Thanksgiving and Xmas, and there is no empathy for Michael Brown's family.  The grand jury who returned a vote for not indicting Darren Wilson have just told the Brown family that their son's life was not worth the effort of a trial.  The looters who burned down Ferguson have just told the Brown family that they are not going to respect their wishes, even though the protests are being held in their names.

There is a problem on both sides.  Personally, I lean towards the side of the protesters because I don't see how a person could be unarmed and shot on video and no one see anything wrong with that.  A lot of people who are upset with the protesters believe in the rule of law when it comes down to the protesters burning down the place and looting, but the rule of law did not apply to Darren Wilson when he shot the teenager.  Before the verdict had been publicized, people were calling on protesters to be non-violent, but no one seemed to care that Darren Wilson had not been nonviolent in the case of Michael Brown.  It was a situation that could have easily resulted in arrest versus death.

I refuse to let this news ruin my holidays and I urge you to do the same.  This holiday season, enjoy yourselves and your families.  Reach out to people you don't normally reach out to during the holiday in the true spirit of Thanksgiving and remember that #AllLivesMatter and #BlackLivesMatter.  I think it's a shame that we can send a man to the moon, but we can't manage to get along.

P.S. It's pretty hard to get along with someone if they think my life doesn't matter.

Anyway,
G-d Bless and Take Care
Happy Thanksgiving, America
I Hope You're All Proud of Yourselves

Constitutional Violations May Be Under Way In Ferguson, MO

by Tommy Lee Jenkins, III


A sad event transpired in Ferguson, Missouri.  An 18-year-old black youth was gunned down in the streets like a rabid dog while minding his own business at the discretion of a White police officer.  The police officer was able to level unfounded charges posthumously against the slain youth and avoided arrest and jail time for what essentially amounts to murder.  The youth was not under arrest.  He had not been read his rights.  He had not undergone a trial by a judge or a jury of his peers.  That Black youth's name was Michael Brown and Michael Brown is dead.  He can no longer speak for himself.  He will never be arrested.  He will never be charged with anything.  He will never have a day in court.  The White police officer who murdered him, is free to roam the streets and kill again.

There is a sad event transpiring in Ferguson, Missouri.  Tragic as the vicious slaying of Michael Brown may be, his death was merely the beginning in a cornucopia of missteps and mistakes that the Ferguson police are perpetrating.

1.   Crowds are ordered to disperse even though it is every American's Constitutional right to freedom of assembly.

 2.  People are being arrested and detained without any formal charges and having done nothing in violation of the law.  This is in violation of the Fourth Amendment as a citizen's actual person is being seized and placed into custody, unreasonably.


There are serious violations being committed in Ferguson, Missouri.  When asked whether or not he was going to call in the National Guard to "handle" the crowds, Police Chief Thomas Jackson responded that he would not call in the National Guard and some speculate that it is due to the blatant Constitutional violations that have been committed in Ferguson, MO.

This issue is slowly becoming less and less about race and more and more about the rights we have as American citizens, the Constitution of the United States of America, and what, if any, powers the police have.  The police have essentially overstepped their authority.  Who do we, as American citizens, go to next?