Thursday, June 20, 2013
Commentary on the Juneteenth Shooting in Columbus, Ohio
This past Saturday a shooting occurred at the Juneteenth Celebration in Columbus, Ohio. A fifteen year old male shot an eleven year old male. As a result of this incident plus a fight between four youth, the festival was ended early on Saturday evening and events for Sunday were cancelled by the Columbus Police.
I did not attend this year's Juneteenth Festival on Saturday as I had planned because I needed to get some rest and I was concerned that something violent might jump off.
Unfortunately, I was right about the latter concern.
We have a lot of different festivals like many communities across the nation during the summer season. Over the past few years there always seems to be some kind of problem occurring involving African American male youths. One of my favorite celebrations Coming Home ceased to exist due to violence at the event.
I found myself feeling very angry about this particular incident because the shooter obviously has no idea why Juneteenth is an important celebration for African Americans. He saw this gathering as an opportunity to create chaos and mayhem. His actions ended up creating a situation that ended up with everyone who was in attendance or planning to attend being excluded.
I wonder if he has any idea why we celebrate this particular day in Our Story?
Juneteenth is a commemorative celebration that has historical roots. On June 19, 1865 in Galveston, Texas the news finally reached the enslaved Africans that slavery had been abolished.
Obviously this had no true meaning to the shooter or to the four youths who were arrested for fighting. They saw this gathering of people as an opportunity to unleash violence within the community.
There have been obvious questions raised about the shooting incident. What was a fifteen year old doing with a gun? Did his parent/parents have any idea about his whereabouts? Didn't he realize that someone could have been killed?
Since I have no idea who he is or anything about his background, I cannot answer those questions. Even if I knew the answers, I seriously doubt if they would make sense to me or anyone who has common sense.
The whole idea of being a thug or gangsta has played out with me. Actually it is an image that has never attached itself to my mentality because those type of mentalities equal death and destruction.
Those same mentalities also enslave us because we really are free to move about without the fear of violence suddenly springing up in our midst. And that certainly is nothing to celebrate.
You can read the articles on The Columbus Dispatch website here.
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
First Teachers: Do you really know what your children are doing away from home?
Yesterday I had an encounter with two very young girls that jolted my senses.
I was out on a networking errand at Nationwide Children's Hospital in my hometown. After completing the errand I decided to do my five mile walk starting from that point. As I moved across the parking lot towards the park, two girls approached me and asked if I would give them one or two dollars.
These girls were not in distress. In fact, they were really quite well mannered. Both of them smiled at me while waiting for my response-- which was no. I do not hand out money while I am in public to people unless it is payment for goods and services unless it is an obvious emergency.
They thanked me and went back over to join another older girl who was waiting for them. As I walked away, it occurred to me that this approach they were using could evolve into a dangerous situation for them. What if I had been someone who wanted to do harm to them? The lure of giving them money would have been a prime opportunity to bait them into a situation that would alter their lives forever.
I also found myself questioning why were these three girls out by a medical facility and a park trying to hustle money? None of them looked like they were in any form of distress. All of them were neat, clean and they looked well nourished. Was their request for a dollar or two being made to go the nearest corner store to make a purchase? I know that it is hard to be without money if you want to make a store run.
I also wondered if their mothers knew that they were out on the streets trying to hustle dollars?
Had they ever warned their daughters that there is no honest way to determine if an individual is kind or intent on harming them?
Given the reality of how many children go missing or are sexually assault during a 24 hour period in America, taking the time to make sure that their children understand that there is for real danger on the streets of all cities and towns.
I decided to alert the security department of the hospital regarding this incident. I feel that their personnel should be aware that this type of activity is occurring on the grounds. My alert was not to get the girls in trouble with authorities. I feel that by making other adults aware of their vulnerability by asking for cash, it may very well help to protect them.
This is a reminder to all parents of children who are old enough to venture away from home to play or even within the confines of your neighborhood to make your children aware of the danger factor that exists on the streets. Don't allow your daughters or sons to go out in public and try to panhandle adults for cash. That very act could end up causing your children to pay a price that is much larger than they could honestly imagine.
I was out on a networking errand at Nationwide Children's Hospital in my hometown. After completing the errand I decided to do my five mile walk starting from that point. As I moved across the parking lot towards the park, two girls approached me and asked if I would give them one or two dollars.
These girls were not in distress. In fact, they were really quite well mannered. Both of them smiled at me while waiting for my response-- which was no. I do not hand out money while I am in public to people unless it is payment for goods and services unless it is an obvious emergency.
They thanked me and went back over to join another older girl who was waiting for them. As I walked away, it occurred to me that this approach they were using could evolve into a dangerous situation for them. What if I had been someone who wanted to do harm to them? The lure of giving them money would have been a prime opportunity to bait them into a situation that would alter their lives forever.
I also found myself questioning why were these three girls out by a medical facility and a park trying to hustle money? None of them looked like they were in any form of distress. All of them were neat, clean and they looked well nourished. Was their request for a dollar or two being made to go the nearest corner store to make a purchase? I know that it is hard to be without money if you want to make a store run.
I also wondered if their mothers knew that they were out on the streets trying to hustle dollars?
Had they ever warned their daughters that there is no honest way to determine if an individual is kind or intent on harming them?
Given the reality of how many children go missing or are sexually assault during a 24 hour period in America, taking the time to make sure that their children understand that there is for real danger on the streets of all cities and towns.
I decided to alert the security department of the hospital regarding this incident. I feel that their personnel should be aware that this type of activity is occurring on the grounds. My alert was not to get the girls in trouble with authorities. I feel that by making other adults aware of their vulnerability by asking for cash, it may very well help to protect them.
This is a reminder to all parents of children who are old enough to venture away from home to play or even within the confines of your neighborhood to make your children aware of the danger factor that exists on the streets. Don't allow your daughters or sons to go out in public and try to panhandle adults for cash. That very act could end up causing your children to pay a price that is much larger than they could honestly imagine.
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Monday, May 27, 2013
Remembering the Victims of The Invisible War on Memorial Day 2013
On this Memorial Day, I want to show support for the women and men who are dealing with Military Sexual Trauma. The culture of rape within America's Armed Forces has become a part of the national conversation thanks to the women and men who have been brave enough to speak up about the lack of true justice being served after they were sexually assaulted.
This situation is one that has to be dealt with in a very for real manner. The idea of the military investigating allegations of rape no longer flies with me because it is obvious that the system of dealing with this type of crime has not worked in favor of the victim.
Sen. Kristen Gillabrand, D--NY has drafted legislation that would transfer sex crime from the from the watch and authority of military brass and funnel cases to independent military prosecutors
This legislation was written with the help of Anu Bhagwati, executive director of Service Women's Action Network (SWAN). Bhagwati is a former Marine captain. She is also featured in the documentary film The Invisible War.
After viewing this film and listening to the stories told by female and male victims, I am convinced that there definitely needs to be major reforms in the way that these type of criminal cases are handled. Every individual who was featured in the film has been traumatized and to add insult to their injuries, the officers who they reported to often silenced their claims, harassed them or the length of delay in dealing with the cases made it clear that the military was willing to do anything to keep a lid of these incidents.
Women serving in the Armed Forces is not new. There are records that indicate there has been a female presence in every war except the American Revolution. They should not have to fight a battle on two fronts!
It is past due time for a complete overhaul of the system that promotes blaming the victim and placing the responsibility for safety on their shoulders.
I have never been truly pro-war. The whole idea of nations of people rising up in arms against each other to settle differences makes no sense to me whatsoever. However, I do realize that this is the way of humankind and it is how problems are resolved.
But there is no excuse on the part of the top brass to continue to act as if their policies and so called prevention counselors can actually deal with the problem. I listened to a woman who is a prevention specialist talk during an interview in The Invisible War and I wanted to slap her face because she sounded like the talking points given to her were memorized and they made perfectly good sense. She was so out of touch with the reality and gravity of the situation. As I listened to her, it occurred to me that she needed a reality check about what was actually going on in the ranks of the Armed Services.
Hopefully the culture of rape and the way it is not being handled by the top brass will be rectified as soon as possible!
You can learn more about Service Women's Action Network by linking here.
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Update on Kiera Wilmot: Charges are dropped and a scholarship is offered
I love it when things workout on a positive note!
The authorities in Florida have dropped the charges against Kiera Wilmot, the student who accidentally caused an explosion by mixing household chemicals together to see what type of reaction would occur.
The State's Attorney's office took into consideration that Kiera had no prior record and was a honor student. Instead of filing charges against her, she was offered a diversion of prosecution, which basically means that she will have to meet certain terms set up by the State Attorney's office like community service for the incident.
Kiera's science experiment has resulted in additional good news. She has been awarded a scholarship to attend the United States Advanced Space Academy by former NASA Engineer, Homer Hickman.
Home Hickman is the author of a memoir titled Rocket Boys which was turned into the movie October Sky which featured Jake Gyllenhaal in the lead role.
Hickman definitely can relate to the trouble that being scientifically curious can create. He once had the police called on him for an experiment that he conducted at home.
I am glad that common sense and justice prevailed in this situation. I also hope that Kiera continues to have academic success and eventually makes major contributions to the society at large in the area of science.
You can read detailed reports about the charges being dropped at Business Insider.com and about the scholarship offer at Black Youth Project.
The authorities in Florida have dropped the charges against Kiera Wilmot, the student who accidentally caused an explosion by mixing household chemicals together to see what type of reaction would occur.
The State's Attorney's office took into consideration that Kiera had no prior record and was a honor student. Instead of filing charges against her, she was offered a diversion of prosecution, which basically means that she will have to meet certain terms set up by the State Attorney's office like community service for the incident.
Kiera's science experiment has resulted in additional good news. She has been awarded a scholarship to attend the United States Advanced Space Academy by former NASA Engineer, Homer Hickman.
Home Hickman is the author of a memoir titled Rocket Boys which was turned into the movie October Sky which featured Jake Gyllenhaal in the lead role.
Hickman definitely can relate to the trouble that being scientifically curious can create. He once had the police called on him for an experiment that he conducted at home.
I am glad that common sense and justice prevailed in this situation. I also hope that Kiera continues to have academic success and eventually makes major contributions to the society at large in the area of science.
You can read detailed reports about the charges being dropped at Business Insider.com and about the scholarship offer at Black Youth Project.
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