It’s time to Break It Down!

The United States of America is good at lots of things. In fact, our country is so outstanding at so many things, a number of politicos routinely boast that we are an “exceptional nation.” On occasion, it’s necessary and appropriate to frame a particular concept in its proper context. While there is a tendency to think of “Exceptionalism” as a desirable construct, a state to be admired and aspired to, that is not necessarily the case.

An example of one such counterintuitive instance is the incarceration rate. Long a point of contention for ethicists and other people of good will who care about the fair and equitable treatment of human beings all over the planet, the issue is drawing special attention this week in the United States. President Obama commuted the sentences of 46 nonviolent offenders earlier this week, and is set to go to prison tomorrow.

Oh wait, you thought… OK, he’s not really “going” to prison, he’s going to visit a prison. Sorry GOP partisans.

Yes, for the first time in the history of the world, a sitting President of Exceptional America, the shining light on the hill, will visit a Federal Prison. On tomorrow, President Obama is scheduled to visit El Reno Federal Correctional Institution in El Reno, Oklahoma.

The facility is a medium-security United States federal prison for male inmates. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice, and currently holds 1,000 inmates, 265 of whom are in prison camp.

Perhaps the most notable inmate currently residing at the facility is Kwame Kilpatrick, Register Number 44678-039, former Mayor of Detroit, (2002-2008). He was convicted of racketeering conspiracy and other charges in 2013 for using his office to commit extortion, bribery and fraud. Mr. Kilpatrick is serving a 28-year sentence, and is scheduled for release in 2037.

Two days ago the White House announced that President Obama had commuted the sentences of several dozen offenders, most convicted for nonviolent drug offenses. Officials say this move illustrates the President’s commitment to criminal justice reform. In a video posted to the White House’s Facebook page, President Obama said:

“These men and women were not hardened criminals. Their punishments didn’t fit the crime.”

Interestingly, while the President’s move commuted a number of sentences, he did not grant any Pardons. On many occasion, Mr. Obama has eloquently addressed notions of grace and redemption. However, he has been MIA (Missing In Action) when it comes to the issue of Pardons. His paucity in that area is so severe; one has to go all the way back to President James Garfield to find a President who granted fewer Pardons than the 64 that President Obama has. This is even more noteworthy when you consider President Garfield died from an assassin’s bullet in 1881, just over six months after he had been sworn in. President Obama, of course, has been in office over six years.

Doug Berman, an Ohio State University law professor, who has studied Presidential Pardons, says of President Obama:

“He’s been unusually stingy – he’s a clemency Grinch.”

A number of critics, and some current and former officials say the President’s lack of activism in this area reflects his determination to avoid the type of controversies that followed President Clinton, such as the uproar that ensued when President Clinton Pardoned fugitive financier Marc Rich on his last day in office.

P.S. Ruckman, Jr., a political science professor who writes a blog, “Pardon Power,” says:

“It’s just not something he’s interested in.”

He ranks President Obama as “the seventh least merciful” President in history.

The President, in his own defense, blamed the Office of Pardons Attorney, whose Chief, Ronald Rodgers, resigned last year amid disclosures that he had misrepresented a commutation applicant’s record to the White House. A former journalist, Deborah Leff, now heads the Office. Of the situation, the President said:

“I noticed that what I was getting [from the Pardon Office] was mostly small-time crimes from very long ago.”

He vowed to be more aggressive on petitions during his remaining time in office.

It was important to note the President’s differentiation between commutations and pardons in order to view his move to push for judicial reform in a balanced light. It is refreshing that this President is moving to address a system that has treated black and brown people specifically, and the poor in general, in a way that can rightly be called ruthlessly. By the same token, it’s worth noting that three-quarters of the way through his tenure, this President, who has done many remarkable things, has been an underwhelming player in addressing some areas of judicial inequity. The good news is, there are 18 months left in this Presidency, and lots of people will be focused on the 2016 Presidential Election. That may allow the President some oxygen and space to continue to expand the areas in which he leaves an indelible and positive mark on the American landscape.

Judicial reform is certainly an area of opportunity, and incarceration policy and practices make great targets. America is to incarceration, what CNN claims to be to news, the Worldwide Leader. So altogether now, let’s hear the cheer…”We’re Number 1!” What a dubious distinction.

The United States accounts for roughly 4 percent of the world’s population. Contrast that to the fact we account for 22 percent of the world’s prison population, and as you can see, we are vastly overrepresented in that category. In 1970, there were approximately 200,000 incarcerated Americans. By 1990, that number had increased to nearly a million. By 2008, at its peak, the number was around 1,600,000.

In the ‘70’s, America transitioned from the Sex, Drugs, and Rock-N-Roll era of the ‘60’s to a Law and Order society. To that end, the Prison industrial complex was born, and incarceration ceased being the primary purview of bureaucrats, and became principally a functioning for profit enterprise. Partly as a result, an ugly dichotomy emerged.

The crime rate peaked in the ‘80’s. Yet when President Bill Clinton became President in 1992, expanding crime fighting by increasing incarceration levels was still the favored prescription. To wit, President Clinton enacted tougher sentencing laws that not only sent more people to prison, but applied longer sentences. Factor in vastly disparate sentencing for crack (principal urban drug choice) and powdered cocaine (principal suburban drug choice), and the deluge of imprisoned people of color was a fait accompli.

As we approach the midpoint of the second decade of the 21st Century, politicians on both sides of the aisle are beginning to recognize the enormous ill effects of this questionable policy gone totally wrong. The deleterious economic consequences of subtracting hundreds of thousands of able bodied potential employees for the workforce deprives both business and families at a time critical to individuals, companies, and the nation.

I look forward to hearing what the President has to say about reforming the criminal justice system while he is at El Reno tomorrow. He will be interviewed for the HBO newsmagazine series “Vice” on the issue. The segment will air this fall. However, he likely previewed the theme when he spoke at the 2015 NAACP Convention last night in Philadelphia. There he raised the topic and argued it is one America can’t afford to ignore. In laying out his vision for fixing the criminal justice system, he noted a need to focus on communities, courtrooms, and cellblocks. He announced a federal review of the use of solitary confinement, and urged Congress to pass a sentencing reform bill by the end of the year. He also called for voting rights restoration to felons who have served their sentences, and suggested employers eliminate the box asking job candidates about their past convictions. In a nod to his commutations earlier this week, he said long mandatory minimum sentences now in place should be reduced – or discarded entirely.

Taken in total, tomorrow should be an exciting day for Oklahomans, in general, and for the inhabitants and employees of the El Reno Prison. The word is out; “President Obama is Going to Jail: A Presidential First!” But remember, he’s just visiting.

I’m done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com or http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com. Find a new post each Wednesday.

To subscribe, click on Follow in the bottom right hand corner of my Home Page at http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com; enter your e-mail address in the designated space, and click on “Sign me up.” Subsequent editions of “Break It Down” will be mailed to your in-box.

Consult the links below for more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Correctional_Institution,_El_Reno

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-obama-criminal-justice-20150714-story.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2015/07/10/obama-to-visit-federal-prison-in-oklahoma-on-thursday/

http://newsok.com/obamas-visit-to-prison-in-el-reno-will-focus-on-reform/article/5433521

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/07/12/president-obama-to-be-first-sitting-president-to-visit-federal-prison/

http://on.aol.com/video/obamas-prison-visit-highlights-shift-in-drug-policy-518939715

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-obama-prison-visit-20150710-story.html

http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/ken-walshs-washington/2015/07/13/obama-to-visit-federal-prison

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/obama-to-visit-federal-prison/

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/obama-to-visit-federal-prison-oklahoma-119962.html

http://www.aol.com/article/2015/07/11/obama-to-visit-oklahoma-prison/21208165/

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/USA-Update/2015/0711/Why-Obama-will-be-the-first-president-to-visit-a-federal-prison-video

http://www.vox.com/2015/7/13/8913297/mass-incarceration-maps-charts

http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/president-obama-extends-clemency-to-46-prisoners/

https://www.yahoo.com/politics/poised-to-commute-dozens-of-sentences-obama-123815558936.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWJ_HOxMw7k

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_incarceration_rate

It’s time to “Break It Down!”

Three weeks ago, 21-year-old, self-confessed, Dylann Roof carried out a mass shooting, killing nine people at historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. The dead included the church’s senior pastor, state senator Clementa C. Pinckney.  Mr. Roof is being held on $1 million bond.  At least one report claims supporters have raised $4 million in donations to pay for his legal fees, and possibly his bond.  Just an FYI!

Two weeks ago, I blogged about the incident in a post entitled: Carnage in a Charleston Church: Another Mass Murder (https://thesphinxofcharlotte.com/2015/06/24/carnage-in-a-charleston-church-another-mass-murder/). A portion of that blog was devoted to the virtually spontaneously combusted movement to take down the Confederate Battle Flag, which flies at the State Capitol in Columbia, South Carolina. I noted then that the movement, which interestingly, was essentially nonexistent three weeks ago, seemed to materialize almost from thin air, after Mr. Roof’s heinous crime. Moreover, while the flag was prominently displayed by Mr. Roof, to paraphrase an expression the NRA is fond of offering as a defense, “Flags don’t kill people.”

Surely, in this instance, the Flag did not murder nine people. In fact, Mr. Roof did not use a flag to kill them; he used a gun. But not one of these new found anti-flag zealots has suggested enhanced background checks as a pre-action for acquiring a fire arm, and they certainly have not offered any ideas on strengthening legislation tied to fire arms purchases. I felt the flag initiative was a diversionary tactic designed to preempt any action on firearms when it was unveiled; I continue to think so now. I’m just saying.

Be that as it may, the South Carolina Legislature is moving apace to construct and consider legislation to remove the flag from the Statehouse Grounds. While I was dubious two weeks ago, as to the eventual outcome of the various initiatives to remove the flag, the effort has taken on an almost inexorable quality. Since that time, a number of States have joined the fray, and one courageous black woman, Ms. Brittany “AKA Bree” Newsome, actually scaled the flagpole and removed the flag on June 27, 2015. Her act drew additional national and international attention to a righteous cause. Others have referred to her as an activist; she calls herself a freedom fighter. Whatever you choose to call her, she is an American patriot and hero…a shero, if you will.

This week, over the past two days, the State Legislature of South Carolina has held a series of votes on the issue. The movement on the matter may culminate today, when the State House is expected to take up the measure. There may be a series of votes, due to a number of amendments opponents of efforts to remove the flag are expected to offer, in an attempt to derail the move to bring down the flag.

As I mentioned in the post two weeks ago, Governor Haley (now) supports removing the flag. Based on votes taken yesterday, 92% of State Senators support the measure; 82% of State House Members voted to send the Flag Bill directly to the floor and bypass committee. Hundreds of thousands of petitioners want the flag down. The debate is set to resume at 10:00 a.m. this morning when the measure will go the House floor for a second vote.

Based on a survey of lawmakers by The Charleston Post and Courier, South Carolina lawmakers have the votes necessary to remove the flag from the Statehouse Grounds. Many Republicans in the House have not said how they will vote. It’s also important to note that opponents may add amendments to the bill with a three-fifths majority vote.

If discrepancies emerge from the votes taken by the two Houses, they would need to be worked out in committee. The outcome is still unclear, for sure. But we know it won’t be long before that outcome, whatever it may be, is revealed.

There are, of course, still supporters of the flag. The State newspaper, in Columbia, reported that pro-Confederate Flag robocalls urged voters last week to call their legislators and tell them to “not stand with the leftist fanatics who want to destroy the South we love. What’s next? This attack on our values is sick and un-American, and it has to stop right here and right now in South Carolina.”

Imagine that: Nikki Haley, Lindsey Graham, Jeb Bush, Rand Paul and Rick Perry on a list of leftist fanatics. Who knew? They are all among a growing list of notable Conservatives, with extensive bona fides when it comes to Southern roots, who have loudly and repeatedly called for taking down the Confederate Battle Flag, since June 18^th.

There is also recent research that suggests a majority of Americans view the flag more as a symbol of Southern Pride than of racism. For example, according to a new CNN/ORC poll, U.S. public opinion regarding the flag remains about where it was 15 years ago. In 2000, 59% said they viewed it as a symbol of pride; that number was 57% in recent polling. Not surprisingly, opinions are sharply divided by race, and among whites, by education.

Not to be outflanked, MoveOn members presented a petition to officials at the Statehouse yesterday. More than 570,000 signatures have been collected. In articulating the organization’s position, they made the following statement:

“The Confederate Flag is not a symbol of Southern pride, but rather a symbol of rebellion and racism. On the heels of the brutal killing of nine black people in a South Carolina church by a racist terrorist, it’s time to put that symbol of rebellion and racism behind us and move toward a better United States of America!”

When Kate Bolduan, on CNN’s “Erin Burnett OutFront,” interviewed Bree Newsome, a filmmaker and activist from Charlotte, she told Bolduan that she accepts potential jail time as “part of my calling as a freedom fighter.” Ms. Newsome and fellow activist James Tyson were charged with defacing state property after she scaled a 30-foot pole and removed the flag. The pair face three years in prison on the misdemeanor and/or a fine of up to $5,000.

In her interview with Ms. Bolduan, she said she wanted to highlight an unjust situation. She referred to the flag as ”this symbol of hate, this symbol of treason.” When Kate Bolduan asked her about the recent poll that suggested most people see the flag as a symbol of Southern pride, Ms. Newsome said it shows people need to be better educated about the history of the Civil War. (Ain’t that the truth?)

So here we are…“D-Day: Will the Flag Come Down?” I think there will be weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth, but the South Carolina House of Representatives will find the necessary two-thirds majority to remove the flag. Now, about that national debate on those guns!

I’m done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com or http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com. Find a new post each Wednesday.

To subscribe, click on Follow in the bottom right hand corner of my Home Page at http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com; enter your e-mail address in the designated space, and click on “Sign me up.” Subsequent editions of “Break It Down” will be mailed to your in-box.

Consult the links below for more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post:

http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/07/politics/sc-confederate-flag-future/index.html

http://www.worldstarhiphop.com/videos/video.php?v=wshhfB27b8ziEN6x4fTr

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bree_Newsome

https://www.videoup.net/v/hee93a33x-bree-newsome-takes-down-the-confederate-flag-in-south-carolina/

https://search.yahoo.com/search?ei=utf-8&fr=aaplw&p=bree+newsome+take+down+flag

http://www.democracynow.org/2015/7/3/this_flag_comes_down_today_bree

http://blackamericaweb.com/2015/07/01/bree-newsome-on-why-she-decided-to-take-down-south-carolinas-confederate-flag/

http://www.theroot.com/articles/news/2015/06/bree_newsome_opens_up_about_taking_down_confederate_flag_on_sc_state_capitol.html

http://www.mprnews.org/story/2015/07/06/south-carolina-confederate-flag

http://www.wsj.com/articles/south-carolina-house-to-debate-removal-of-confederate-flag-1436299766?mod=rss_US_News

http://abcnews.go.com/US/south-carolina-lawmakers-launch-debate-confederate-flag-removal/story?id=32248254

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2015/07/06/bill-to-remove-confederate-flag-advances-by-37-3-vote-in-south-carolina-senate/

https://newswatch33.com/news/charleston-church-shooter-dylann-roof-receives-4-million-in-donations-from-supporters/

It’s time to Break It Down!

As a nation, we are headed toward one of the signature weekends of the summer, if not the year. Saturday will be the Fourth of July, or, as it’s officially known in the U.S., Independence Day. It’s a federal holiday commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, when the country declared independence from Great Britain.

Independence Day is commonly a time for fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, fairs, picnics, concerts, baseball games, family reunions, and political speeches and ceremonies, in addition there are a number of other public and private events celebrating the history, government, and traditions of the United States.

This year we will add a little extra spice to the celebratory fireworks. In a reversal of 55 years of varying degrees of less than neighborly hostilities, more than 54 of those years without diplomatic relations, the United States and Cuba plan to announce an agreement today to officially seal the renewal of diplomatic ties. The two countries will reopen embassies in Washington and Havana for the first time since January 3, 1961, the climax of deteriorating relations between the United States and Fidel Castro’s government in Cuba.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower closed the American Embassy in Havana and severed all diplomatic connections. This action signaled the willingness of the U.S. to take extreme measures to oppose the Castro Regime, which officials in this country believed was transforming into a beachhead of communism in the Western Hemisphere. The stated reason for the dissolution of relations was, ostensibly, Castro’s demand that the U.S. reduce its embassy staff, based upon his assertion that the staff was being used as a base for spying. With that action, the Cold War became an active intra-continental political sport in the Western Hemisphere.

Back on Wednesday, December 17, 2014, President Obama ordered the restoration of full diplomatic relations with Cuba and the opening of an embassy in Havana. He vowed to “cut loose the shackles of the past” and sweep aside one of the last vestiges of the Cold War.

The announcement, a surprise at the time, followed the end of 18 months of secret talks that produced a prisoner swap negotiated with the help of Pope Francis, and concluded by a telephone call between Presidents Obama and Raúl Castro. The unexpected and historic deal broke a prolonged stalemate between two countries separated by just 90 miles of water, but oceans of mistrust and hostility that go back to the days of Theodore Roosevelt’s charge up San Juan Hill, and the nuclear brinksmanship of the Cuban missile crisis.

In revealing the deal to the American public, President Obama said:

“We will end an outdated approach that for decades has failed to advance our interests, and instead we will begin to normalize relations between our two countries. The deal will begin a new chapter among the nations of the Americas and move beyond a rigid policy that is rooted in events that took place before most of us were born.”

In taking this avant-garde step in diplomacy, President Obama proved once again, as he had with healthcare reform that he dared tread where those who came before him opted to sidestep. Ten Presidents that preceded Mr. Obama had refused to go there. In fact Republicans, along with at least one senior Democrat, characterized the action as appeasement of the hemisphere’s leading dictatorship. Republicans, who were slated to control both houses of Congress, beginning in January, promised to resist lifting the 54-year-old trade embargo.

Senator Marco Rubio, a Republican from Florida and son of Cuban immigrants, said:

“All this is going to do is give the Castro Regime, which controls every aspect of Cuban life, the opportunity to manipulate these changes to perpetuate itself in power.”

There are still hurdles to overcome. For the moment, there remains a Cuba travel ban in place on U.S. citizens, and Cuba is still subject to a U.S. arms embargo, in place since 1962, though President Obama has urged Congress to lift it.

Despite the hardcore GOP bravado, the wheels of change roll on. The two countries have operated diplomatic missions called “interest sections” in each other’s capitals since 1977 under the legal protection of Switzerland. However, they do not enjoy the same status as full embassies. It appears that will change in a matter of weeks.

This past April, President Obama and his Cuban counterpart, Raul Castro, met for the first formal talks between the two countries in more than half a century. In May, the U.S. moved Cuba from its list of state sponsors of terrorism. The nations also announced plans to resume ferry and air service between the U.S. and Cuba.

The President has long viewed ending the U.S. freeze with Cuba as central to his foreign policy legacy. It has taken the country more than five decades, and it has taken this President more than six years, but today is the day the U.S. announces a reset for Cuban relations, and with it an extension of the great week he had last week. A White House spokesman said President Obama would deliver a statement on Cuba this morning from the Rose Garden. Secretary of State Kerry is expected to speak from Vienna, about embassy openings, which are anticipated to occur in July.

The Secretary would likely travel to Cuba for an embassy opening. In Havana, the American Embassy will likely occupy the same building where the “interest section” currently operates. That is the same structure, situated on the Havana waterfront, which housed the American Embassy prior to the severing of diplomatic ties after the Cuban Revolution. Much has changed, yet some things do remain the same.

As you prepare to observe the upcoming Independence Day holiday, whether it be by eating too much, drinking too liberally, engaging friends and family at home, or taking on a travel expedition, under the shade of Old Glory, or in the surreal backdrop of the Southern Cross (Rebel Flag…in case you don’t know), feel free to kick it off, beginning today, as the amity of the Americas gets a little more genuine, because of…”Rapprochement: The United States and Cuba Resume Diplomatic Relations!”

I’m done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com or http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com. Find a new post each Wednesday.

To subscribe, click on Follow in the bottom right hand corner of my Home Page at http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com; enter your e-mail address in the designated space, and click on “Sign me up.” Subsequent editions of “Break It Down” will be mailed to your in-box.

Consult the links below for more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post:

http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/30/politics/u-s-cuba-embassy-relationship/index.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/ap-source-us-cuba-to-announce-embassy-openings-wednesday/2015/06/30/77da4282-1f6f-11e5-a135-935065bc30d0_story.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/01/world/americas/us-and-cuba-to-announce-plan-to-reopen-embassies.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=second-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2015/06/30/cuba-us-embassy-openings-wednesday/29532743/

http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/13/politics/us-cuba-embassies-open/index.html

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-33335342

http://www.wsj.com/articles/cuba-u-s-to-resume-talks-to-restore-diplomatic-ties-1426281496

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/08/us-cuba-to-hold-diplomatic-talks-alan-gross-migration

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/18/world/americas/us-cuba-relations.html?_r=0

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/21/us-cuba-talks_n_7348560.html

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/united-states-severs-diplomatic-relations-with-cuba

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence_Day_(United_States)

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/united-states-severs-diplomatic-relations-with-cuba

http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/01/july-1-1898-the-battle-of-san-juan-hill/?_r=0

It’s time to “Break It Down!”

Once again, an act of senseless violence has pierced our nation’s consciousness. Based upon a tally by CBS News reporter and unofficial White House historian, Mark Knoller, last Thursday marked the fourteenth time President Obama issued a statement on a shooting attack. In his seven-and-a-half minute statement, the President was visibly frustrated, and in fact he admitted a range of emotions, including, heart-ache, sadness, and anger.

President Obama’s sense of frustration is undoubtedly heightened due to his fruitless efforts to move Congress to enact legislation to limit access to firearms, which many people believe is a key arbiter to how easy it is to facilitate an attack, such as the one carried out at (Mother) Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church. As many of his supporters ruefully note, forget gun control, Congress has refused to even adopt new gun registration laws. Moreover, despite the recent tragedy in Charleston, the prospects of new firearms’ legislation seems no brighter today than at any point in the last six-and-a-half years.

That stark reality moved President Obama to say:

“Now is a time for mourning and for healing, but let’s be clear: at some point, we as a country will have to reckon with the fact that this type of mass violence doesn’t happen in other advanced countries.”

As he reflected upon the nine lives taken last Wednesday, the President noted:

“Their death says to us that we must work passionately and unrelentingly for the realization of the American dream.” And so we must!

Unlike most of the preceding acts of gun violence during the President’s tenure, this one, by almost all accounts, unless you view this matter through a Fox News-like lens, has a racial catalyst and component. While there is a segment of our society dedicated to refusing to admit that any white person’s action, no matter how much compelling residual evidence exists, is predicated upon racial animus, this is one of those instances in which, there is no clear reasonable option.

Last Wednesday night, Dylann Roof, 21, entered historic Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, SC. Wednesday evening is traditionally Prayer Meeting or Bible Study night in the Black Church, and so it was last week at Mother Emanuel.

Near the end of a 2,000-word Manifesto, titled “An Explanation,” Mr. Roof reveals what authorities may eventually deem to be the impetus for his actions:

“I have no choice. I am not in the position to, alone, go into the ghetto and fight. I chose Charleston because it is the most historic city in my state, and at one time had the highest ratio of blacks to whites in the country. We have no skinheads, no real KKK, no one doing anything but talking on the Internet. Well someone has to have the bravery to take it to the real world, and I guess that has to be me.”

The text which appeared on a website, called “The Last Rhodesian,” is registered to Mr. Roof and lists him as its administrator. In an image tweeted by South Carolina authorities this week, Roof is seen wearing a jacket with the flags of apartheid-era South Africa and nearby Rhodesia, a former British colony that a white minority ruled until it became independent in 1980 and its name was changed to Zimbabwe. His Social Media also portray him brandishing a Confederate Flag, and burning an American Flag.

According to Police Chief Greg Mullen, Mr. Roof spent about an hour at the Bible Study/Prayer Meeting before rising to open fire. Witnesses told investigators the gunman stood up and said he was there “to shoot black people,” a law enforcement official said.

He answered one man’s plea to stop by shooting him, said Sylvia Johnson, a cousin of the church’s slain pastor who has talked to a survivor.

“‘No, you’ve raped our women, and you are taking over the country,” he said, according to Johnson. “… I have to do what I have to do.”

All the victims were shot multiple times, according to Roof’s arrest warrant.

“Prior to leaving the Bible Study room he stood over a witness … and uttered a racially inflammatory statement,” the warrant said. He told one witness, whom he spared, “I’m not going to kill you. I’m going to spare you so you can tell them what happened.”

Roof shot and killed six females, and three males, including:

• The Rev. Clementa Pinckney, 41, the Church’s Pastor
• M Tywanza Sanders, 26
• Ms. Cynthia Hurd, 54
• The Rev. Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, 45
• Myra Thompson, 59
• Ethel Lee Lance, 70
• The Rev. Daniel Simmons, 74
• The Rev. DePayne Middleton-Doctor, 49
• Susie Jackson, 87.

Approximately fourteen hours after the shootings, police caught Roof in Shelby, North Carolina, about 245 miles away from the carnage in Charleston. He was armed, but surrendered without offering resistance.

Roof confessed to the shootings in interviews with the Charleston police and FBI, two law enforcement officials told Evan Perez and Wesley Bruer of CNN, the first network to report this development. He also told investigators he wanted to start a race war, one of those officials said.

Investigators are looking into whether Roof had links to white supremacist or other hate groups, a law enforcement official said. There’s no indication, so far, that law enforcement officials who focus on hate groups knew of him. Roof is being held under one million dollars bond.

A peculiar thing happened as the case of Dylann Roof has unfolded. Mr. Roof has been connected to a number of racist symbols, prominent among them, the Confederate Battle Flag. While President Obama has lifted the mantle of firearms access when discussing this horrendous event, the rest of the political spectrum, especially conservatives seem engrossed in an inexplicable about face on the efficacy of what is casually known as the Confederate Flag. As a symbol, the flag has been considered virtually sacrosanct among Southern Conservatives for…well forever…since the virulent initiatives to put down the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s.

The shameless song and dance routine that so many Southerners contorted themselves through while attempting to explain the supposed innocuousness of this venal symbol is at once laughable and sickening. The words heritage and history are most frequently used to defend and /or explain why the flag should fly over a Statehouse, or adorn one’s vehicle, or front door, or desk, or whatever. Of course none of that explains the perfect storm coincidental nature of the symbol emerging virtually simultaneously to the rise of the Civil Rights movement, and the apex of efforts of Klansmen and other hateful and bad actors to diffuse and defeat that movement.

The cynic in me is compelled to recognize that this sudden infectious spread of good will seems a lot like a case of making a sacrificial lamb of the flag, all in an effort to sidestep another serious battle over new gun laws. I see you!

Don’t get me wrong; I have no level of disappointment about the potential dislodging of the hate-infused symbol that is the Confederate Battle Flag. I would love to see it go away altogether. However, I am also mindful that any prospects of even moving the flag to less prominent stations, on any large scale, is still quite an iffy proposition. This is true despite the Pomp and Circumstance generated by Governor Nikki Haley of South Carolina, and other politicos including Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Lindsey Graham, Chris Christie, Ben Carson, Rand Paul, Rick Perry, and John Kasich, Scott Walker, and Jeb Bush.  There are still holdouts.  Marco Rubio, Bobby Jindal, and Rick Santorum have hedged, and said the States should decide the issue.  Mike Huckabee has dismissed the issue.  For now!

In fact, in addition to South Carolina, Legislatures in several other Southern States, are currently engaged in some level of discourse about what to do about references (some subtle or not so well-known) to the Confederacy in their respective State Flags.  Included among these States are: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.

Kudos to businesses, such as Amazon, eBay, KMART, Sears, and Walmart, which have taken the position they will no longer sell Confederate Flag oriented products.  Although, I did take with a grain of salt, a statement by Walmart’s CEO, Doug McMillon, when he said he was surprised the products could be found on their shelves.  Nevertheless, I credit him with adhering to the right impulse, even if it took him a while to arrive at that point.  Moreover, a number of businesses, including NASCAR, Boeing, BMW, and Michelin have rallied to support Governor Haley’s initiative to remove the flag in South Carolina.

North Carolina and Virginia Governors have asked their States not to sell Confederate-themed license plates any longer. Even Mississippi is considering taking down the flag. However, govern any post-flag fantasies with caution. In South Carolina, for example, any measure to remove the flag still requires a two-thirds vote in the Legislature to pass, which I am certain, will be no mean feat.  In the Palmetto State, the flag is institutionalized to such a degree that, even though the United States Flag and the State of South Carolina Flag are flying at half staff, in observance of the deaths of the Charleston Nine, the Confederate Flag (Which no longer flies over the Statehouse, is, and must by State statute still flying at full staff.  Ergo, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.  There is still work to do.

Indeed, it “may be easier” to remove the flag than enacting any kind of enhanced gun laws. I’m just not sure the issue is nearly as important. Meanwhile, we are left to contemplate “Carnage in a Charleston Church: Another Mass Murder!”

I’m done; holla back!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2015/06/20/why-republicans-were-quick-to-cite-religion-but-not-racism-on-charleston/?wpisrc=nl_headlines&wpmm=1

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/living/religion/article25112812.html

http://www.vox.com/2015/6/22/8824113/obama-n-word-maron

http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/22/politics/barack-obama-n-word-race-relations-marc-maron-interview/index.html

http://www.vox.com/2015/6/20/8818093/confederate-flag-south-carolina-charleston-shooting

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/charleston-church-shooting/obama-deliver-eulogy-slain-s-c-pastor-clementa-pinckney-n379871?cid=eml_nbn_20150622

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/charleston-church-shooting/south-carolina-gov-nikki-haley-calls-removal-confederate-flag-state-n379801

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/dylann-roof-raged-black-guy-girl-report-article-1.2266378

http://www.theroot.com/articles/news/2015/06/dylann_roof_s_cousin_says_dylann_went_over_the_edge_when_his_girl_crush.html

http://wnep.com/2015/06/18/dylann-storm-roof-arrested-in-north-carolina-according-to-report/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/five-myths-about-why-the-south-seceded/2011/01/03/ABHr6jD_story.html?postshare=8031435009070693

https://instagram.com/p/4PpoPtSpky/

http://www.politicususa.com/2015/06/22/walmart-leads-pack-remove-confederate-flag-merchanidse.html

http://news.yahoo.com/obamas-charleston-eulogy-defining-moment-race-171823927.html;_ylt=A0LEVyhsA4pVKMcAm29XNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTEycTgwOTVxBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDQjAzOTVfMQRzZWMDc2M-

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/22/christian-confederate-slavery_n_7638676.html

http://www.postbourgie.com/2009/04/29/the-confederate-flag-means-segregation/

http://time.com/3930464/south-carolina-confederate-flag-1962/

http://www.vox.com/2015/6/20/8818093/confederate-flag-south-carolina-charleston-shooting

http://www.rossde.com/editorials/edtl_conf_flag.html

http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/6/23/mississippi-lawmaker-calls-for-removing-confederate-symbol-from-state-flag.html

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/06/22/us/charleston-church-shooting-main/index.html?eref=edition

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/7639788?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000047

http://www.forwardprogressives.com/message-claim-confederate-flag-represents-heritage/

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/3876157

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/22/civil-war-slavery_n_7639988.html?ir=Black+Voices&ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000047

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2015/06/23/south-carolina-lawmakers-to-discuss-confederate-flag-as-debate-stretches-to-miss-va/?wpisrc=nl_evening&wpmm=1

http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/22/politics/confederate-flag-walmart-south-carolina/

http://wn.com/president_obama’s_gun_control_speech_during_charleston_church_shooting_press_conference_full_

http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/245422-obama-shooting-should-be-wake-up-call

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/18/us/church-attacked-in-charleston-south-carolina.html?_r=0

It’s time to Break It Down!

With wars, prison breaks, the NHL/NBA Finals, World Cup Soccer, a newly minted acronym (JEB = John Ellis Bush) presidential candidate, Democrats abandoning the President on the Trade bill, and a shark biting off an arm of two different teens off the North Carolina coast, the Rachel Dolezal saga hardly warrants a mention. That, however, is the beauty of having one’s own blog. Unlike LeBron, I don’t have to proclaim myself the best in the world to write about what I choose, and today, I choose Rachel; Ms. Dolezal, if you’re nasty. (That’s a cultural literacy/pop culture reference that you either get, or you don’t). Conduct a web engine search of Janet Jackson’s “Nasty,” if it escapes you. And yeah, I know the rule: The joke didn’t work, if you have to explain it. My blog; my rules.

In my view, there really isn’t a lot to say. To immediately frame this in a different, and sobering, if you will, light, simply imagine if, beginning today, I decide to “Identify as white.” OK, once you quit laughing, assuming you know me, really what if I did that? If, because I attended an historically white high school, matriculated and earned a graduate degree at a PWI (OK, another cultural literacy reference/Predominantly White Institution), spent a career working in majority white organizations, lived what some people would consider a middle class existence, and reside in suburbia, can I successfully commit cultural appropriation and declare, once and for all, I’m white; end of discussion? Can I? Really?

Before you spit out your coffee, or whatever your morning beverage of choice is, let me make it perfectly clear, I have no plans to either shed my locks, or begin any sort of bleaching treatment. I’m black; Ms. Dolezal is not. End of story!

Now, many folks smarter than me, and of much greater acclaim, have weighed in on this story. Frankly, I think it has taken up more time and space than is warranted. But we are a nation of excesses, so it is not unusual to immerse ourselves in flights of fancy while real issues go unaddressed.

Be that as it may, there are multiple issues at play here with the Montana-born, former Spokane, Washington NAACP President. They include, among others:

Is Ms. Dolezal black?

Did she misrepresent her race on various job applications?

Did she lie about whom her parents are?

Did she lie about whom her father is?

Did she lie about whom her child is?

Did she lie yesterday by saying she began identifying as black at age 5?

Has she done good work in her roles, while identifying as black?

The bottom line here is, not that hard to decipher. Moreover, I’m not writing any of this to persecute the woman. There is a lot to like about black culture and the African American experience. A number of people have been appropriating it for many years for that very reason. To that end, despite the fact Ms. Dolezal is not black, misrepresented her race on job apps, lied about who her parents are, lied when identifying someone who purportedly was her father, lied by saying one of her adopted brothers was her son, and lied yesterday when she said she began identifying as black at age 5 (according to her parents), she has apparently done significant and good work in roles afforded to her as a result of her various deceptions, misrepresentations, and lies. To that, I must say, she may have been able to do all those things by asserting that as the white woman she is, she was committed to advancing society in the same ways she did, in those same positions.

I applaud Ms. Dolezal…for her goals and the aims that she achieved while pursuing those goals. Her tactics and methods; those leave something to be desired. And I would add, those tactics and methods proved to be the instruments of her undoing.

There has been a lot of airtime and web space devoted to how much black folks disdain Rachel Dolezal. That may be true; but I am not one of them. I think she made a number of questionable judgments, employed a series of deceptive practices, and she may be, as her parents have contended, delusional. In fact, as I make mention of her parents, it is essential to note, it was they who exposed her canard. And while it seems to me, they are really the people most angered by all this, they only responded to questions posed by the media after the media sought them out and posed direct questions, to which they could have responded truthfully, declined comment (further intensifying the inquiry), or lied…as their daughter had been doing.  Some would say, to their credit, they chose the honorable option.

Ultimately, if an accusatory finger points at anyone, sadly, it must be pointed at Rachel, herself. I’ll say this, her journey already has the makings for a book, movie, or TV deal…”Black Like Me: The Rachel Dolezal Story!”

I’m done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com or http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com. Find a new post each Wednesday.

To subscribe, click on Follow in the bottom right hand corner of my Home Page at http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com; enter your e-mail address in the designated space, and click on “Sign me up.” Subsequent editions of “Break It Down” will be mailed to your in-box.

Consult the links below for more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachel_Dolezal

http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/16/us/washington-rachel-dolezal-naacp/index.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6GyV_rcLV8

https://www.yahoo.com/tv/rachel-dolezals-brother-refutes-her-claims-ezra-121684154470.html

http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/15/opinions/rich-rachel-dolezal/index.html

http://abcnews.go.com/US/rachel-dolezals-parents-hope/story?id=31771932

http://abcnews.go.com/US/rachel-dolezal-naacp-leader-questioned-race-parents-reportedly/story?id=31714836

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/16/us/rachel-dolezal-quits-naacp-in-spokane.html?_r=0

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/USA-Update/2015/0613/Rachel-Dolezal-Does-it-matter-if-she-is-black-or-white-video

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/12/rachel-dolezal-black_n_7573930.html

http://yourblackworld.net/2015/06/16/kareem-abdul-jabbar-black-community-better-off-because-of-rachel-dolezal/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Like_Me

It’s time to Break It Down!

Sadly, but necessarily, my focus for this post is the next installment of what seems to be an endless procession of, shall we say, “unfortunate” interactions between citizens and police officers. In this instance, like many, if not most of the ones preceding it, the majority of the citizens in question were African American.

According to most accounts, teens decided to throw a pool party at a local neighborhood pool in McKinney, last Friday. McKinney is a city in and the county seat of Collin County, Texas. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city’s 2010 population was 131,117, making it second in size to Plano, among cities in the County. It is the nineteenth most populous city in the state of Texas, and is part of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. McKinney is located 31 miles north of Dallas.

Among cities with more than 50,000 people, the Census Bureau cited McKinney as the fastest growing city from 2000 to 2003, and again in 2006. In 2007, it was listed as the second fastest growing city among cities over 100,000 in population, and in 2008, the third fastest. In the most recent estimate, as of January 1, 2015, the city’s population was estimated at 155,142.

So right away, it is clear, the dimensions, and likely the character of what used to be a small town has been altered significantly in the last decade and a half. With that in mind, it is certainly conceivable that homogeneity has gone by the wayside, and with it some degree of tolerance. I cannot say that the resulting changes caused Friday’s incident, but it almost surely contributed.

Just what happened in this swanky burg outside Dallas? Here’s a youtube video of the incident: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpWP8aMcOo8.

By Sunday, a number of variations of the video above showed a police officer most viewers, including the Brass at the McKinney Police Department, thought was out of control in his efforts to respond to a call to curtail the actions of a raucous crowd at the pool party. The officer, Eric Casebolt, though not named initially, was quickly placed on administrative leave.

A seven-minute YouTube video shows a police officer using profanity and aggressively throwing a 15-year-old girl in a bathing suit to the ground, facedown. He then appeared to pin her down with his knees.

The girl can be heard screaming, “I want to call my mom. He hit me.”

As is common, there are conflicting views of the matter. One version of the sequencing of events involves an assertion by Tatiana Rhodes, 19, who maintained that she and some of her friends were enjoying themselves at the Craig Ranch North Community Pool when conflict with a white neighbor ensued. Ms. Rhodes said:

“This lady was saying racial slurs to some friends that came to the cookout. She was saying such things as ‘black effer,’ and “that’s why you live in Section 8 homes.’” More insults followed, according to Rhodes. One neighbor said, “Go back to your Section 8 home.” Then, by Rhodes’ account, “A white neighbor came up to me and smacked me in my face. That’s when both of the women attacked me,” said Ms. Rhodes. A photographer recorded the statement and uploaded it online.

Conversely, Brian New of CBS Dallas reported that “Many McKinney residents say that Casebolt was justified because the teens were ignoring his orders.”  Well, there you have it! Comply, or face unmitigated wrath, language and physical assault by a police officer.

In the video, Officer Casebolt was recorded pinning a teen girl to the ground, handcuffing her, pulling her hair, pushing her face to the ground, and holding her down with both knees on her spine. He was also shown drawing his weapon and pointing it toward several other teens.

Yesterday, Corporal Casebolt resigned from the McKinney Police Department. Chief Greg Conley said the officer resigned voluntarily. He stated at a press conference:

“Officer David Eric Casebolt’s actions were “indefensible, but he was not pressured to quit the force.”

Chief Conley also said:

“Twelve officers responded to the report of fights and a disturbance at the pool party at the Craig Ranch North Community Pool in an affluent area of western McKinney. Eleven of them performed according to their training, Casebolt did not. He came into the call out of control and the video showed he was out of control during the incident.”

The Supreme Court has held that it is legal to record police officers executing their duties. There are some states and jurisdictions that frame that right in strict parameters. However, it is crucial to note that the recent trend of video-recording such encounters has provided an incredible array of enlightenment. Thanks to a revolution in technology, i.e., virtually everyone has a video-capable cellphone; the public has regularly become party to an eye-opening series of developments when citizen and police have what devolve into brutal encounters.

The good news resulting from the McKinney incident is no one lost a life, as a result of the encounter. We can all be thankful for that. Moreover, let us hope that, in as much as a picture is worth a thousand words, we can reach a national consensus that videotaping such incidents is a good thing for all involved.

In this particular incident, it brought to light the errant ways of, what for the duration of that incident at least was, a rogue cop. Conversely, it illuminated the commitment to departmental protocol of eleven other officers. That ought to be deemed a huge and compelling benefit. And while we are contemplating the power of hope, let us hope I will have a long respite before having the need to elevate another event such as this. I doubt we’ll be so lucky, but one thing about which there is no doubt is this; “McKinney: Like It or Not; They Got Next!”

I’m done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com or http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com. Find a new post each Wednesday.

To subscribe, click on Follow in the bottom right hand corner of my Home Page at http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com; enter your e-mail address in the designated space, and click on “Sign me up.” Subsequent editions of “Break It Down” will be mailed to your in-box.

Consult the links below for more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post:

http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/09/us/mckinney-texas-pool-party-video/index.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpWP8aMcOo8

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McKinney,_Texas

http://mckinneytexas.org

http://gokicker.com/2015/06/08/what-we-know-about-the-racially-charged-pool-party-conflict-in-mckinney-texas/

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2015/06/07/texas-police-officer-suspended-gun-pool-party/28651179/

http://news.yahoo.com/behind-tension-over-texas-pool-party-seismic-shift-205849024.html;_ylt=A0LEVx2fkXdV1L4AmLFXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTEzbzdqbzlsBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDVklQNTA0XzEEc2VjA3Nj

http://www.fox4news.com/story/29270610/mckinney-pool-party-incident-sparks-protests

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/09/us/mckinney-tex-pool-party-dispute-leads-to-police-officer-suspension.html?_r=0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5nwVllNZvM

http://www.vibe.com/2015/06/pool-party-officer-resigns/

http://www.courtroomstrategy.com/2012/11/supreme-court-upholds-legality-of-videotaping-police/

It’s time to Break It Down!

For most of my life, my favorite sport has been basketball. In the formative years of my youth, I cut my sports teeth on baseball. It was my father’s sport. Though he never told me, I learned from a relative, just a few years ago, that my dad played semi-professional baseball. I never knew, when I was playing Little League Baseball, I was in the early stages of following in my father’s footsteps.

He came of age during the Golden Age of the Negro Leagues. He lived through and watched unfold the phenomenon that was Branch Rickey. Mr. Rickey, an innovative Major League Baseball (MLB) executive was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1967. He is likely best known for breaking MLB’s color barrier, by signing the sport’s first African American player, Jackie Robinson. Though not as widely recognized, he also signed the first Afro-Hispanic superstar, Roberto Clemente, and was responsible for creating the framework for the modern minor league farm system, for encouraging the Major Leagues to add new teams through his involvement in the proposed Continental League, and for introducing the batting helmet. Indeed, he was a proverbial force of nature in MLB.

For his part, after integrating the sport, Robinson went on to become a star player for my dad’s beloved Dodgers. They were the Brooklyn Dodgers when Jackie broke into the League, but they would move to Los Angeles, as did the fan support for generations of African Americans. So it was, my dad’s team became my team.

Similarly, my dad introduced me to the Sweet Science, better known as boxing. In those days, big boxing matches often took place on Friday evenings, billed as Friday Night at the Fights. Baseball was a Saturday afternoon affair. My weekend TV sports viewing pattern was set. LOL!

Then, through the course of normal growth and development, I found my own sports passion. I truly believe since the first day I picked up a basketball, I have never viewed the broad spectrum of sports the same. It became basketball, then everything else. Oh, I dabbled with sandlot football, softball, bowling, and tennis. I even played stickball, and handball, during summers in New York. But they were all always just an interlude, a mere distraction until I could return to hoops, my game.

So it is, today, you might say I’m Jonesing; waiting out the inescapable NBA imposed interval until the Games resume…tomorrow. The NBA Finals will pit against one another, two formidable opponents.

In one corner we have the team that amassed the best record in the League this year. The Golden State (Oakland, CA) Warriors, feature this year’s League Most Valuable Player (MVP), Stephen Curry.

In the other corner, their opponent, the Cleveland Cavaliers feature the player most people consider the best in the World, LeBron James, a veritable walking record book. James has won two NBA championships, four NBA Most Valuable Player Awards, two NBA Finals MVP Awards, two Olympic gold medals, an NBA scoring title, and the NBA Rookie of the Year Award. He has also been selected to 11 NBA All-Star teams, 11 All-NBA teams, and six All-Defensive teams, and is the Cavaliers’ all-time leading scorer. He is appearing in his fifth consecutive NBA Finals.

“The NBA is Fantastic,” and I can hardly wait for the hostilities to begin. There is no lack of allegiance for either team. Whether the dividing line is East vs. West, or Curry vs. James, or Cleveland vs. Golden State, or Ohio vs. California, or some other varied machination of the two, people, for the most part, including me, have chosen sides.

I really like LeBron James. At 6’8”, 250 pounds, he brings a combination of size, strength, speed, and skill seldom seen in any athlete, in any sport. Many folks think he would be a force on the football field. On the basketball court, he is a virtually unstoppable force. To put a finer point on matters, LeBron and I share the same birthday (not the year of course).

On the flip side, Steph Curry is simply amazing. In contrast to LeBron, he’s listed at 6’3”, and weights 190 pounds (they say). He is assembling his own portfolio, which impressively includes, while playing the point guard position, being considered by some to be the greatest shooter in NBA history. He is the 2015 NBA Most Valuable Player and a two-time NBA All-Star, and the son of former NBA player Dell Curry.

Curry displays incredible control of the ball, and his body. But his stock-in-trade is “the shot.” He makes three point shots with ease, from all over the court. His relatively diminutive size, combined with his ability to control or change the flow of a basketball game, single-handedly, is on occasion, breathtaking.

Enough already, I like both teams’ leader. But as I alluded earlier, I have chosen sides. I’m picking Curry and the Warriors. Allow me to be clear. I’m pulling for the Warriors. Curry has Charlotte high school and AAU roots, attended college at Davidson, right here in Mecklenburg County, plus the Warriors have two players who matriculated at North Carolina (and I’m a Tar Heel).

That’s great and all, but truth be told, I am pulling for Golden State. I’m pulling for them because I will not; in fact I just cannot pull for Cleveland. Not yet anyway. When LeBron chose to leave Cleveland for Miami, the Cavs’ owner Dan Gilbert wrote a scathing letter (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5365704) lambasting his former star player, calling him a coward, former hero, and deserter, among other derogatory things. Mr. Gilbert owns the Cavaliers, not LeBron. In my view, his tirade revealed far more about himself than it did about LeBron. He revealed himself to the core. I took note.

He said a lot of other things, including, making an assertion that LeBron was taking “the curse,” bad karma, and the spell with him. He also said one other thing that continues to resonate with me:

“I PERSONALLY GUARANTEE THAT THE CLEVELAND CAVALIERS WILL WIN AN NBA CHAMPIONSHIP BEFORE THE SELF-TITLED FORMER ‘KING’ WINS ONE”

Actually, he was correct; LeBron won two, while Cleveland regularly toiled in the NBA Lottery…without the so-called former King. Karma is real!

I fully appreciate Mr. James’ right to exercise his prerogative and make a business/family decision to return to the Cleveland community and the Cavaliers. Mr. James, to the credit of his negotiating ability, is being paid handsomely to do so; I, on the other hand am not. So, Go Warriors!

Oh, one final thing. None of this means I “think” Golden State will win. But I sure hope so. “Tomorrow: The Finals!”

I’m done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com or http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com. Find a new post each Wednesday.

To subscribe, click on Follow in the bottom right hand corner of my Home Page at http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com; enter your e-mail address in the designated space, and click on “Sign me up.” Subsequent editions of “Break It Down” will be mailed to your in-box.

Consult the links below for more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Branch_Rickey

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Brooklyn_Dodgers

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackie_Robinson

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Clemente

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Ali_vs._Sonny_Liston

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Basketball_Association

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleveland_Cavaliers

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LeBron_James

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_State_Warriors

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Curry

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Gilbert_(businessman)

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5365704

It’s time to Break It Down!

(Please enjoy this reprised edition of “Break It Down!” This post was originally published May 30, 2012 at: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com)

OK, so Memorial Day was earlier this week.  You may be familiar with my holiday week philosophy, which is: make it easy on the readers, who are always otherwise engaged, no matter the holiday.  Of course, in the process, I am also giving myself a break.  That makes for a natural win-win scenario.

With that overarching thought in mind, I will endeavor to apply three elementary rules of communication:

1. Utilize the KISS Principle, AKA, Keep It Short & Simple (also Keep It Simple Stupid)

2. Convey new or “not widely circulated” information

3. Always remember to emphasize points 1 and 2 above

Memorial Day is a federal holiday to honor America’s fallen soldiers.  It originated after the Civil War.  Falling between Easter and Independence Day, it is often equated with a late spring break, or a pre-summer respite.

The weekend typically includes a cornucopia of sports.  For example this week included the NASCAR Coca-Cola 600, the NBA Conference Finals, College Men’s Baseball playoffs, and College Women’s Softball competition, among others.

With the rapidly heating-up political season thrown in the mix, the holiday is sometimes almost lost in the shuffle. But wait; Memorial Day has a special cultural significance.  In fact, it is because of that nexus we should pay special homage to this late spring holiday.

The first well-known observance of a Memorial Day type was held May 1, 1865 in Charleston, South Carolina.  Over 250 Union soldiers that had been prisoners of war, died in Charleston, and were quickly buried in makeshift graves. A group of blacks, mostly freedmen, organized the observance and led cleanup and landscaping of the burial site.

Most of the nearly 10,000 people who attended were freedmen and their families.  Of that number, 3.000 were children, newly enrolled in freedman’s schools.  Mutual aid societies, black ministers, and white Northern missionaries were also in attendance.

David W. Blight, Professor of American History at Yale University, and Director of the school’s Gilder-Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, & Abolition, described the day this way:

“This was the first Memorial Day. African Americans invented Memorial Day in Charleston, South Carolina. What you have there is black Americans recently freed from slavery announcing to the world with their flowers, their feet, and their songs what the War had been about. What they basically were creating was the Independence Day of a Second American Revolution.”

Professor Blight conceded there is no evidence that the Charleston event led directly to the establishment of Memorial Day across the country.  But the record is clear they formed the earliest truly large-scale event, complete with media coverage.  Their effort was the prototype, if not the catalyst.

Having said that, I believe I honored the rules established above for this post:

• Told this story in a direct and uncomplicated fashion
• Presented information I am confident most readers did not know
• Recognized points 1 and 2, were accomplished and closed the post

Enjoy your bonus time, and be sure to reflect on “Memorial Day: What Your Teachers Never Told You!”

I’m done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the links: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com or /http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com.

A new post is published each Wednesday. For more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post, consult the links below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Day

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_W._Blight

http://www.davidwblight.com/

http://www.snopes.com/military/memorialday.asp

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/05/25/1301862/-Memorial-Day-Has-African-American-Roots-First-One-Was-Conducted-By-Former-Slaves#

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/KISS_principle

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KISS_principle

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_War

http://www.yale.edu/glc/index.htm

http://www.civilwarhome.com/freedmen.htm

It’s time to Break It Down!

As I have frequently reminded readers, my norm for determining a blog topic includes a window shopping view of topics of the day that capture my interest. Usually there are quite a few to ponder. I choose one, and then endeavor to share the subject in a way that will appeal to some of the folks who regularly read my posts.

My initial inclination for todays post was to write about President Obama joining the Twitterverse, after six years in Office. What started as a purely human-interest piece, framed around Mr. Obama’s late breaking decision to formally enter the realm of Twitter by opening his own account. The tone and tenor of the conversation changed almost immediately. Almost quicker than one could say Abracadabra (not that there was anything magical about what transpired), the commentary took on a vile and racially divisive tone. No, it’s not prestidigitation; it’s not even surprising. Seven weeks ago (April 1st), I wrote a Post entitled, “President Obama Stumbles: Haters Rue Missed Opportunity!” (https://thesphinxofcharlotte.com/2015/04/01/the-president-stumbles-haters-rue-missed-opportunity/). Check it out, if you’ve forgotten, or in the event you never saw it. A few examples of the Tweets are here for your interest, edification, and/or perhaps, amusement.

President Obama

✔

@POTUS

Hello, Twitter! It’s Barack. Really! Six years in, they’re finally giving me my own account.

Follow

John J. Johnson @JohnJJohnsonMN

‪@POTUS‪ What do you call the first black president of the United States?

>Nigger

2:00 PM – 18 May 2015

President Obama

✔

@POTUS

Hello, Twitter! It’s Barack. Really! Six years in, they’re finally giving me my own account.

Follow

Gippo Dudee @DudeeGippo

‪@POTUS‪ nice job with the banner, gotta let everyone know that you’re some kinda communist nigger right?

12:15 PM – 18 May 2015

President Obama

✔

@POTUS

Hello, Twitter! It’s Barack. Really! Six years in, they’re finally giving me my own account.

Follow

Jeff Gully @jeffgully49

‪@POTUS‪

#arrestobama #treason we need “ROPE FOR CHANGE” we still hang for treason don’t we? pic.twitter.com/YGOQDRan9u

3:28 PM – 18 May 2015


‪2 2 Retweets
‪4 4 favorites

Of course, as the Title belies, this post is not about POTUS or his Twitter Account. It’s about the deadly shootout Sunday in Waco, Texas, involving rival biker gangs, and police officers.

Recently I have commented on the seemingly steady stream of fracases in various communities across the American landscape. Typically violence is involved, often, but not always there is a racial component, and sooner or later some element, agency, or department of law enforcement must be engaged.

Just three short weeks ago, Baltimore was front and center. Three days ago, it was Waco. According to Sgt. W. Patrick Swanton, a police spokesperson, there were at least five gangs. He noted that bikers shot at each other, and at officers, who returned fire. He added:

“In my 35 years of law enforcement experience, this is the most violent and gruesome scene that I have dealt with.”

According to police, at least nine people died as a result of the gunfire exchanges. Police report 170 bikers were booked into the McLennan County Jail to be charged with Engaging in Organized Crime. That number has decreased from 192, originally reported by police Monday. Each was being held on $1 million bond. Other charges may be pending.

Sgt. Swanton expressed frustration and anger at Twin Peaks management. He suggested that the restaurant might have been able to do more to prevent the melee. For its part, corporate management at Twin Peaks issued a statement acknowledging that it was reviewing the circumstances of the shooting. In the release, they added:

“We are thankful no employees, guests or police were injured in this senseless violence outside the restaurant, and our sympathies are with the families of those killed.”

The initial position of Waco Police was that they would continue to refrain from naming the individual gangs, so as not to “give them publicity. However, earlier reports on the shooting pinpointed at least two gangs at the center of the chaos: “the Bandidos and the Cossacks.”

The Bandidos, with up to 2,500 members across 13 countries — 900 of them in the U.S. alone — are considered one of the country’s largest outlaw motorcycle gangs and “a growing criminal threat” by the Department of Justice.

The Bandidos are involved in the transportation and distribution of cocaine and marijuana as well as methamphetamine, which they also produce. The gang is also actively expanding its presence across Texas, where its membership is largely concentrated, and throughout other parts of the country, starting new chapters and recruiting members of allied clubs.

Less is known about the Cossacks Motorcycle Club, a local Texas gang reportedly founded just three years after the Bandidos, in 1969. But early expert analyses suggest rising territory-related tensions between the two Texas groups may have been at the root of Sunday’s shootout.

In 2013, Jack Lewis, the president of the Bandidos chapter in Abilene, Texas, was arrested in the nonfatal stabbings of two Cossacks members.

Steve Cook, executive director of the Midwest Outlaw Motorcycle Gang Investigators Association and a Kansas City law enforcement officer who says he previously worked undercover in the Bandidos, told both Vox and the Washington Post that the Cossacks may have been pursuing an alliance with the Bandidos’ rivals the Hells Angels in an effort to challenge the larger gang’s control of Texas.

“We knew the tensions with the Cossacks were as high as they’d ever been,” Cook told Vox. “I don’t think anybody could have forecast it to the degree that it happened.”

That is enough about the gory details of this incident. The real gist of the point I wish to explore for just a moment is, what was absent. During the Baltimore and Ferguson imbroglios, there was a palpable reaction; a visceral outrage about the thugs involved in committing senseless acts of violence. So what is different in Waco? Well, I’m glad you asked; here are 10 things:

• No National Guard/late night curfews/incessant 24-7 News coverage
• Recovered roughly 1000 weapons, including knives, pistols, rifles, & brass knuckles
• Detainees were shown talking on their cell phones w/police nearby
• 9 dead
• 18 injured
• Police officers engaged in exchange of gunfire
• No reference of single-parent households
• No signs of tear gas
• No baton-wielding cops
• No armored vehicles

No two of these scenarios is exactly alike. However, just four weeks ago, I penned a Post, entitled, “Dangerous Encounters With Police: The Flip Side!” (https://thesphinxofcharlotte.com/2015/04/22/dangerous-encounters-with-police-the-flip-side/). The point of that post was how differently an individual may be treated by a police officer under duress. Today’s post reflects the same thought on a communal level. Despite the violent acts of nearly 200 bikers, the majority of whom were armed, and many of them firing their weapons at each other and at police, they are considered more human, and engender more empathy than unarmed black men, or the protesters who support them. If nothing else, that should be a catalyst for not only a national conversation, but also for the Change We Can All Believe In. Don’t hold your breath though. The question of the hour is…”Waco Biker Melee: Where Is the WASP Outrage?”

I’m done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com or http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com. Find a new post each Wednesday.

To subscribe, click on Follow in the bottom right hand corner of my Home Page at http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com; enter your e-mail address in the designated space, and click on “Sign me up.” Subsequent editions of “Break It Down” will be mailed to your in-box.

Consult the links below for more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post:

http://www.vibe.com/2015/05/barack-obama-racist-twitter-trolls/

http://www.centrictv.com/news-views/centric-news/articles/2015/05/19/president-obama-s-new-twitter-account-met-with-racist-tweets.html

http://downtrend.com/donn-marten/liberals-decry-conservative-racist-tweets-posted-to-obamas-new-twitter-account

https://thesphinxofcharlotte.com/2015/04/01/the-president-stumbles-haters-rue-missed-opportunity/

https://thesphinxofcharlotte.com/2015/04/22/dangerous-encounters-with-police-the-flip-side/

http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/18/us/biker-brawl-bandidos-cossacks/index.html

http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/17/us/texas-shooting/

http://abcnews.go.com/US/waco-biker-shooting-turf-war-uninvited-gang-sparked/story?id=31145828

http://news.yahoo.com/uninvited-bikers-turf-wars-led-deadly-texas-brawl-180630485.html;_ylt=AwrBT9H44ltVo5IAC.hXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTEzbzdqbzlsBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDVklQNTA0XzEEc2VjA3Nj

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/turf-drugs-violence-behind-waco-biker-gang-brawl-n360861

http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/18/us/texas-biker-gang-brawl-shooting/index.html

http://news.yahoo.com/who-was-involved-in-the-deadly-waco-biker-brawl-170330633.html;_ylt=AwrBT9H44ltVo5IAEehXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTEzNWc4N2E2BGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMzBHZ0aWQDVklQNTA0XzEEc2VjA3Ny

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/waco-shootout-biker-brawl-twin-peaks-leaves-nine-dead-n360336

http://www.wfaa.com/story/news/local/texas-news/2015/05/17/multiple-deaths-reported-in-waco-restaurant-melee/27498095/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2015/05/19/waco-police-say-threats-against-officers-toned-down-since-aftermath-of-biker-brawl-warn-more-violence-is-possible/

It’s time to Break It Down!

I don’t think so! For months now as critics and admirers alike have pointed to the winding down of President Obama’s tenure as our 44th President, a quiet but intense battle has raged. Usually beneath the surface, or out of the eyesight of the seemingly ever present eye in the sky of the news media, The University of Hawaii, Columbia University, The University of Illinois at Chicago, and the University of Chicago have vied for the prestigious opportunity to be name home for the Barack Obama Presidential Library. Without further adieu, congratulations to the University of Chicago, located on the City’s well-known, and often controversial South Side.

Let’s take a quick look at the contenders to get an idea why they were in the race in the first place:

The University of Hawaii – President Obama, despite the insistence of Birthers such as Donald Trump, was born in Hawaii. Pretty much automatically, The Aloha State and its Flagship University was a contender. Frankly, however, the University of Nairobi and/or the University of Indonesia (for the sake of those zany Birthers) stood about the same chance as the University of Hawaii of winning the Library. Hawaii is the most isolated population center on the planet. It is 2,390 miles from California, 3,850 miles from Japan, 4,900 miles from China, and 5,280 miles from the Philippines. In the fast paced politics of Negotiation 101, there were probably many reasons why the U of H was not going to be the ultimate home of the Obama Library, but almost certainly, the distance factor alone was sufficient to eliminate the Hawaiian Islands from serious consideration. It was nice of them to try, but it was never going to happen.

Columbia University – President Obama earned his undergraduate degree, a Bachelors of Arts in political science with a specialty in international relations from Columbia, after spending his first two years of college studying at Occidental College in Los Angeles. Columbia, an Ivy League research university, located in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is in many ways the antithesis of the University of Hawaii. Located in America’s largest population center, is situated in the center of the BosWash megalopolis. Columbia is many things, but located in an isolated region is not one of them. Yet, I do not believe Columbia was serious player in this game. Barack Obama had not begun to make his mark during his Columbia era.

The University of Illinois at Chicago – The UIC has a lot to offer. First, it is in President Obama’s adopted hometown. Although there has been a number of feints and deflections about where President Obama will live after his presidency, and it’s yet to be determined…or at least announced, what we do know, is Chi-Town has served as the launching point for almost everything related to his political career, from his introduction to community organizing to his victory speech in Grant Park after his election in 2008. The school operates the largest medical school in the United States, and educates more of Illinois’ physicians, dentists, pharmacists, physical therapists, nurses, and other health care professionals than any other institution. Yet, I am reminded of an inside joke a friend of mine and I share. Cutting straight to the chase, UIC is a State School. All the Presidents Post Secondary education pursuits to date have occurred at private institutions, Occidental, Columbia, and Harvard, where he studied, and the University of Chicago, where he served as a Lecturer from 1992-1996, and a Senior Lecturer from 1996-2004, when he was elected to the U.S. Senate. Senior Lecturers are considered professors; just not full-time or tenure-track. Mr. Obama was invited several times to join the faculty in a tenure-track position, but declined.

It’s worth noting that Harvard was not among the list of schools vying for the Obama Presidential Library. A little research reveals that the Kennedy Library, located near the University of Massachusetts was initially slated for Harvard, President Kennedy’s alma mater. The shorthand version of what happened is it took the project so long to unfold, that what began as a popular idea devolved into one opposed by the community around the University, due to the anticipated crowds and commercialization of the area. There is not much reason to think attitudes have shifted in any fundamental way after the ensuing decades.

The University of Chicago – As President Obama put it in his own words in a video to the Obama Foundation yesterday:

“All the strands of my life came together and I really became a man when I moved to Chicago,”

That pretty much says it all. Any other location would have been an upset selection. He represented the South Side of Chicago in his Illinois Senate Seat, and of course went on to represent the State in the U.S. Senate. Ultimately, the Foundation decided on Chicago, and Mr. and Mrs. Obama signed off on the call. The president also said in the video:

“With a library and a foundation on the South Side of Chicago, not only will we be able to encourage and effect change locally but what we can also do is attract the world to Chicago.”

Finally, President Obama observed that Chicago is the nexus that connects the many elements of his life when he said the city of Chicago is that place where:

“All the strands of my life came together. The people there, the community, the lessons that I learned – they’re all based right in this few square miles where we’ll now be able to give something back and bring the world back home after this incredible journey.”

The City is where he began his career, met his wife, Michelle, and where his children were born. Chicago’s South Side: Could There Ever Have Been Any Other Choice? Really, no!

I’m done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com or http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com. Find a new post each Wednesday.

To subscribe, click on Follow in the bottom right hand corner of my Home Page at http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com; enter your e-mail address in the designated space, and click on “Sign me up.” Subsequent editions of “Break It Down” will be mailed to your in-box.

Consult the links below for more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama

http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/12/politics/obama-presidential-library-chicago-announcement/index.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/12/obama-presidential-library_n_7263666.html

http://www.npr.org/2015/05/12/406241842/chicago-wins-bid-for-obama-presidential-library?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=storiesfromnpr

https://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play;_ylt=A2KLqIGLsVJVpi0APYf7w8QF;_ylu=X3oDMTEwbjZlcTBnBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDdmlkBHZ0aWQDVklEMDYEZ3BvcwM0?p=University+of+Chicago+Wins+Obama+Library&vid=ddc8b652cac4fec0dc3703f35e78f068&l=&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fts3.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DVR.6880322788886%26pid%3D15.1&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cbsnews.com%2Fnews%2Funiversity-of-chicago-to-house-obama-presidential-library%2F&tit=University+of+Chicago+to+house+Obama+presidential+library&c=3&sigr=12m7sqjr3&sigt=11pi75c3r&sigi=11mi8nfh5&age=1431428354&fr2=p%3As%2Cv%3Av&fr=aaplw&tt=b

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama_citizenship_conspiracy_theories

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Hawaii

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_University

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Illinois_at_Chicago

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_University

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_F._Kennedy_Presidential_Library_and_Museum

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occidental_College

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Chicago

http://www.law.uchicago.edu/media