Tyre Nichols and the Fight for Black Lives

By Jesuorobo Enobakhare Jr

It is sad that we are only hearing about the life of Tyre Nichols after his murder by police. His life mattered. His life had value. I applaud Memphis Police Chief CJ Davis for her decisive words and actions in both speaking out against the actions of the officers who took part in Tyre’s murder and in firing them. The DA moving swiftly in investigating and charging the former officers is encouraging. But once again we find ourselves at this place. A young black man losing his life due to police violence.

According to Chief Davis these men clearly violated department policies. To a certain extent policies are designed to reduce liability. But police culture is something the communities they police bear witness to. And in these instances the culture never lines up with policy. It is past time for the culture of policing to catch up with the policy of policing.

At some point we will see congressional members give their thoughts and prayers. How about they back those thoughts and prayers up with action by creating national standards for policing? How about all police chiefs make a pledge that they will do everything possible to make sure this never happens again by changing the culture of policing once and for all?

How about we never come back to this place again?

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Jesuorobo A. Enobakhare, Jr. Contact him by email at jesuorobo@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter @Jesuorobo and Instagram @jesuorobo_enobakhare

Operation Varsity Blues AKA Rich White Privilege Gets Busted

By Jesuorobo A. Enobakhare, Jr

The words “Yale”, “Stanford”, “Georgetown”, and if you live in Texas – “Texas” mentioned on a resume will get you an interview and more than likely a job if it is accompanied by a race that is not one of the “people of color” varieties. These schools and many others like them are hailed in many fortune 500 circles as the cream of the crop when it comes to recruitment. And with the exception of “Texas” these schools come with an air of accomplishment when one mentions they are alumni.

But the problem with rich entitled children is that sometimes they don’t work as hard as the unentitled ones, or for this article, the regular children. Regular children have to study hard, keep up their grades, and compete for positioning in order to get accepted into these so-called “Exceptional” schools and hope and pray that they receive a scholarship that will pay the exorbitant tuition costs. Rich privileged parents, based on William Rick Singer words, are given another option to get into these “Exceptional” schools through a “side door” as mentioned in this article from NBC News:

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/college-cheating-mastermind-says-he-helped-nearly-800-families-admissions-n982666

Approximately $25 million was paid by around 750 families in order to get their rich entitled children into schools that they were neither academically nor athletically qualified to attend just so they could get the “college experience” as if they were buying tickets to visit a college themed amusement park before they begin an adulthood of living off of their parents’ riches. They either cheated on the SAT via someone else taking the test, getting diagnosed with a fake learning disability in order to get extra time while taking the SAT, or if their grades and test scores were really low, they were given an athlete’s spot. Besides an SAT workshop regular parents would not dare do such; never mind the fact most regular parents don’t have the extra money lying around to invest in such illegal activities to advance their kids future opportunities. And regular children aren’t looking for a theme park experience; they are hoping that their educational investment will provide a return of a promising career and comfortable life.

In light of this development, I cannot call it “new” because white privilege seems to always find a way to circumvent the law in most normal circumstances, whether it is in education, business, politics, or the criminal justice system. But it is past time that we remove the corruption and cronyism from all of our institutions and level the playing field so that everyone truly receives equal opportunity to success in life no matter the size of their parents’ back accounts or net worth.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Jesuorobo A. Enobakhare, Jr. Contact him by email at jesuorobo@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter @Jesuorobo and Instagram @jesuorobo_enobakhare

Black Panther – Rise Up

By Jesuorobo Enobakhare Jr

Ryan Coogler did an absolutely amazing job of fitting Wakanda into the real world by placing this secret utopia of black excellence into a world full of black suffering – our world.  The movie also excelled at connecting every black person on this planet as brothers and sisters.

Many consider N’Jadaka aka Eric Killmonger not to be a true villain. He was absolutely right in his convictions. His grievances were factually accurate as was his father N’Jobu’s. He embodied the anger that is pent up inside of mostly every African American in this country that normally isn’t expressed until times of extreme civil unrest; such as Ferguson.  The problem is that both Father and Son addressed it in the wrong way especially Killmonger’s perchance for violence against women and his desire to “Colonize” the colonizers.

But T’Chaka who could be a representation of the segment of the African American community in this country that feels they have “made it” was also wrong with how he handled his brother’s legitimate concerns.

T’Challa broke that cycle by listening to his cousin and learning from his Father’s failure and as a final act as king offered his cousin N’Jadaka mercy as he realized the misguided righteousness in his cousin’s mission.

Marvel Studios

The most powerful scene in the movie was when T’Challa visited the “ancestral plane.”  T’Challa saw his father for the first time since his death and fell to his knees sobbing to his father T’Chaka.  Before T’Chaka would address any of his son’s concerns, he first commanded, “STAND UP!!! YOU ARE A KING!!!”

Marvel Studios

That message should ring loud and clear to every black man in this country and around the world. Stand Up and assume your position in your families! Stand Up and assume your position in your communities! Stand Up and assume your position in society! And last but definitely not least, Stand Up and assume your position in government!

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Jesuorobo A. Enobakhare, Jr.

Contact him by email at jesuorobo@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter @Jesuorobo.

The Forgotten Issue – Police Violence Against Black Men (and Women)

By Jesuorobo Enobakhare, Jr

A photo of  Colin Kaepernick tweeted out by Jennifer Lee Chan on August 26, 2016 launched a public debate.  Kaepernick stated his action (sitting, which led to kneeling, during the anthem) was due to the oppression of people of color and ongoing issues with police brutality.  However what was intended to draw attention to the demand for justice for people of color, quickly turned into a debate centered on patriotism, supporting the US Armed Forces, and First Amendment Rights; meanwhile the subject of his action was quickly and quietly ushered off of the main stage.

Let’s take a moment to acknowledge a few of the unarmed men and women of color killed by police courtesy of Daniell Funke and Tina Susman of the LA Times http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-police-deaths-20160707-snap-htmlstory.html:

• Alton Sterling, 37 Baton Rouge, LA – 2016
• Gregory Gunn, 58 Montgomery, AL – 2016
• Samuel DuBose, 43 Cincinnati, OH – 2015
• Brendon Glenn, 29 Los Angeles, CA – 2015
• Freddie Gray, 25 Baltimore, MD – 2015
• Natasha McKenna, 37 Fairfax County, VA – 2015
• Walter Scott, 50 Charleston, SC – 2015
• Christian Taylor, 19 Arlington, TX – 2015
• Michael Brown Jr., 18 Ferguson, MO – 2014
• Ezell Ford, 25, Los Angeles, CA – 2014
• Eric Garner, 43, Staten Island, NY – 2014
• Akai Gurley, 28, New York, NY – 2014
• Laquan McDonald, 17, Chicago, Il – 2014
• Tamir Rice, 12, Cleveland, OH – 2014

A few of the names you may be familiar with, all of the names many are not.  But most are familiar with Colin Kaepernick and by his actions he spoke for all of them.

In 2017 Colin Kaepernick opted out of his contract with the 49ers. As of yet he has not been signed by another NFL team while at the same time police violence against black men and women has continued. Once again the conversation is not about the victims but has now shifted to the reasons for Colin Kaepernick not being signed by an NFL team, First Amendment Rights and NFL boycotts.

This reminds me of a scene from The Dark Knight – “You spat in the faces of Gotham’s worse criminals.  Didn’t you think there would be some casualties?  Things were always going to get worse before they got better.” – Alfred Pennyworth to Bruce Wayne (Batman).

Football is the most popular sport in America.  Racism and oppression of people of color has been a part of the American way since the founding of this country.  Colin Kaepernick unintentionally (or intentionally) drew a battle line against racism and oppression in front of millions of NFL fans.  The battle for the soul of our country was laid bare for all to see. But instead of the issue being confronted and finally resolved, the NFL owners have decided to fight to restore the status quo by the supposedly “quieting” of one voice.

Colin Kaepernick took a knee, not for you nor me, he took a knee for those voiceless known and unknown black men and women who were the victims of police violence and it is now up to us to not only be their voices in protest, but to also work to change the system and end the bloodshed so that those lives lost will not be lives lost in vain.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Jesuorobo A. Enobakhare, Jr.

Contact him by email at jesuorobo@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter @Jesuorobo.

 

TBT Article – The War on Voting Rights For Minorities Begins

What we have witnessed in regards to the United States Supreme Court decision on Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a clever strategic move (gamble, hedged bet, etc…) by the Republican Party that caught many by surprise.  In 2006 when Congress voted to reauthorize the Voting Rights Act of 1965, Republicans knew that would buy them some votes from the so-called black conservatives (and other minorities) and their hands would be clean regarding voting rights for minorities.

What most of us did not realize was that Republicans knew by stacking the Supreme Court, they would be able to eventually get the “unelected” branch of the United States government to do their dirty work. Now in 2013 Republicans pretty much have a stacked deck. They control congressional redistricting, they control the Supreme Court (to a degree), they have the majority in congress (house), and they now have what appears to be the advantage when it comes to voting.

The Republican “Master Plan” was unleashed with all of its fury and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 is pretty much useless as there is currently no way to enforce it, thereby opening the gateway for any and all voter suppression tactics to become state laws. This was but the first successful shot launched in the war against voting rights for minorities. Now is the time for us to get our hands dirty and fight to win this war.

How do we win?

1. We educate everyone in every state on their respective state’s Voter ID Laws.
2. We make sure the elderly have transportation to get their Voter ID’s and the money to pay for them.
3. We put our respective congressmen on notice that if they don’t do something about Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that they will not be in office after the next election.
4. Most importantly we vote in the next election and every election afterwards as if our lives depended upon it.

Time to get out of our soon to be nonexistent comfort zones, create our strategies to implement the four objectives mentioned above and prove to our forefathers that the blood, sweat and tears they shed in order to ensure a guaranteed right to vote were not shed in vain.

Jesuorobo A. Enobakhare, Jr. is a Moderate Democratic Blogger who cuts through the rhetoric so that individuals can see the reality of political statements and how those statements turned into action can affect them. Contact him by email at jesuorobo@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter @Jesuorobo.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Jesuorobo A. Enobakhare, Jr.

This was originally published on June 26, 2013

Trump Attacks Syria

Thursday evening at 7:40 p.m. CST (3:40 a.m. local time) President Trump ordered an attack on the Syrian government in a response to the chemical weapons attack that killed Syrian civilians that took place earlier this week.

This is a complete reversal of US foreign police towards Syria and the first direct US military attack on the Syrian government headed by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad since the start of the six-year civil war.

Shayrat Airfield, reported to be the staging ground for the chemical attack, was the target of 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles  launched from US Warships.

Now the questions we ask is – What’s next?  Is this extreme sabre rattling by Trump, whom many in the world community see as a wildcard?  Is this the start of Trump plan to forcefully remove Bashar al-Assad from power much like Bush did in Iraq with Saddam Hussein?

Quick Facts on the Syrian Civil War:

• 400,000 have been killed
• 4.81 million have fled the country
• 6.3 million displaced internally

http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/27/world/meast/syria-civil-war-fast-facts/

Regime change is an expensive proposition that rarely provides the expected results (refer to Iraq).   The US cannot resolve this conflict in Syria by just lobbing a few cruise missiles at the problem.  This issue can only be resolved thru a committment to diplomacy by the world body.

War should always be a last resort.

 

Throwback Thursday Article – WHY???

Why all of the interest in holding cops to a higher standard than gangs?  Because they are not the navy blue negro killers.  They should be the example of the best in the community;  those willing to lay their lives on the line to serve and protect.  If they  choose to be thugs with a badge, why not just turn the badge in and either join or form a street gang because that is what you are.

Why focus on a white cop killing an unarmed black teen when you should be focused on so-called black on black crime?  So are you saying that before we begin talking about  a long overdue problem of racial injustice we should focus on its legacy?  That is like focusing on disease symptoms but not the disease itself.  Why not focus on both?  We as black people have the capacity to multi-task.  It is an insult to our individual and collective intelligence when you as a black person say that we can’t focus on both.

So you see a rally in Ferguson, New York and California, but you don’t see a rally about so-called black on black crime?  Really?  When was the last time you went to a black church?  When was the last time you paid attention to your community?  No one mentioned it at your church?  No one rallied in your community?  Why don’t YOU mention it in church?  Why don’t YOU organize a rally?  What?  You do not attend a black church?  What?  You do not live in a black neighborhood?  AND…

Stop criticizing those who ARE DOING something just because they are not doing what YOU feel they should do.  Be the change that you want others to be.

Jesuorobo A. Enobakhare, Jr. is a Moderate Democratic Blogger who cuts through the rhetoric so that individuals can see the reality of political statements and how those statements turned into action can affect them.  Contact him by email at jesuorobo@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter @Jesuorobo.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Jesuorobo A. Enobakhare, Jr.

This article was originally published August 27, 2014.

 

 

 

Trump the Figurehead of the Russian Government?

It would be so easy to write off Donald Trump as a figurehead of the Russian government. Back in the 80’s there was a TV miniseries titled Amerika. Amerika was about the United States after a bloodless takeover engineered by the Soviet Union (IMDb). For Russia to take over the United States via Trump; that is a conspiracy theorist’s greatest dream.  Unfortunately everything points to that being just as fictional as Amerika the miniseries.  What appears to be the current reality is a tad bit more sinister.

Donald Trump believes in winning at all costs. You can see it in the trail of destruction left behind after business “wins”. Such destruction includes unpaid debts to:

• A cabinet builder contracted for Harrah’s Trump Plaza in Atlantic City
• Dozens of bartenders and other hourly workers at his resorts and clubs, coast to coast
• Real estate brokers who sold his properties
• Several law firms that once represented him in these suits and others.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/06/09/donald-trump-unpaid-bills-republican-president-laswuits/85297274/

So there is no question that Trump “used” Russia to win. Many currently believe Trump is a puppet of Putin.  But the truth is Trump played Putin. Trump treated his presidential campaign and the United States of America as a business acquisition.  Some acquisitions end in a win – win but many end with a winner and a loser.  In this instance there was one winner, Donald J Trump and two losers, Russia and the United States citizens who are not members of the 1%.  Russia will now join the long list of those individuals and entities that Trump “reneged” on.

But the sad part is that the American People are now added to that list as well.

Lady Liberty Protests Trump and the Republican Party

On the eve of International Women’s Day, Lady Liberty’s voice rang loud and clear.

#nuffsaid #hervoiceismyvoice