Justice

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Why Are People Angry That Race Was Not Mentioned During Deliberations in Dunn’s Trial?

 

“Recently, two of the jurors in the case of Michael Dunn have interviewed with CNN. Both were asked if race was mentioned during deliberations.  Both answered “no.”  Then, panels discussing the interviews voiced their disagreement with the jury not discussing race during deliberations.  Some online sources have also criticized those jurors. Even Jordan Davis’ father said he could not see how it didn’t come up since Dunn’s girlfriend gave credible testimony that he used the words “thug music.””

 

 

Community Village‘s insight:

 

I do think bias played a part in Michael Dunn’s actions. I suppose race was not mentioned by the prosecution because a hate crime would require more specific hate speech.

 

This is the hate speech I heard him use:

  • “rap crap”
  • “son of a bitch”
  • “animals” – when referring to others in the prison.

 

I suppose the prosecution didn’t want to go down the hate crime road with only those three phrases.

See on blackbutterfly7.wordpress.com

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The Destruction of Black Wall Street

 

“Greenwood, Oklahoma, a suburb of Tulsa, was the type of community that African Americans are still, today, attempting to reclaim and rebuild.  It was modern, majestic, sophisticated and unapologetically…”

 

Linda Christenson writes the following:

 

“The term “race riot” does not adequately describe the events of May 31—June 1, 1921 in Greenwood… In fact, the term itself implies that both blacks and whites might be equally to blame for the lawlessness and violence. The historical record documents a sustained and murderous assault on black lives and property. This assault was met by a brave but unsuccessful armed defense of their community by some black World War I veterans and others.

 

During the night and day of the riot, deputized whites killed more than 300 African Americans. They looted and burned to the ground 40 square blocks of 1,265 African American homes, including hospitals, schools, and churches, and destroyed 150 businesses. White deputies and members of the National Guard arrested and detained 6,000 black Tulsans who were released only upon being vouched for by a white employer or other white citizen. Nine thousand African Americans were left homeless and lived in tents well into the winter of 1921.
Read more at EBONY http://www.ebony.com/black-history/the-destruction-of-black-wall-street-405#ixzz2ttGF3GVa
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See on www.ebony.com

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White rage and white lies: How the right’s language about race created Michael Dunn and George Zimmerman

The way we talk about race remains all wrong — and until we fix it, more young people are going to needlessly die

 

Community Village‘s insight:

 

This article goes into depth on what needs to be understood about U.S. race relations.

 

Talks about implicit racial bias as a pervasive phenomenon, with deep roots in how humans normally think.

 

See on www.salon.com

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Unintentional Racism

Unintentional racism starts with unconscious bias.

Accidental-Racism-2Unconscious bias

Psychologists tell us that our unconscious biases are simply our natural people preferences.  Biologically we are hard-wired to prefer people who look like us, sound like us and share our interests. Social psychologists call this phenomenon “social categorisation‟ whereby we routinely and rapidly sort people into groups. This preference bypasses our normal, rational and logical thinking. We use these processes very effectively (we call it intuition) but the categories we use to sort people are not logical, modern or perhaps even legal. Put simply, our neurology takes us to the very brink of bias and poor decision making. –Tinu Cornish and Dr Pete Jones

To learn more check Understanding Unconscious Bias and Unintentional Racism


This clip features Barbie-Danielle DeCarlo, Rinku Sen, Suzanne LePeintre, Tilman Smith, Tim Wise, Robin Parker, and Yuko Kodama.


Jump to 5:02 for the full story on the shooting of Amadou Diallo (age 23), which reminds me of the shootings of Jonathan Ferrell (age 24), Oscar Grant (age 22), Jordan Davis (age 17), and Trayvon Martin (age 17) – all unarmed Black men.


“In The Souls of Black Folk, W.E.B. DuBois suggested that the question white people so often want to ask black people is, How does it feel to be a problem? This program turns the tables and recognizes some simple facts: Race problems have their roots in a system of white supremacy. White people invented white supremacy. Therefore, the color of the race problem is white. White people are the problem. White people have to ask ourselves: How does it feel to be a problem?”

Individuals need to become less focused on feeling very tolerant and good about themselves and more focused on examining their own biases. -Jean Moule

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First Nations teen told not to smudge before school

 

“The 17-year-old Manitoba teen lost a younger brother to suicide last year and he says smudging — the practice of burning traditional medicines — is one way that helps him cope with his grief.”

 

 

Community Village‘s insight:

 

“it’s not that you did wrong, but that you’ll be perceived to have done wrong…” -Father of Jordan Davis

 

See on www.cbc.ca

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Racial diversity still lacking in Hollywood’s major films

 

“The numbers are troubling still in the prestigious Academy Awards. Only three black men have won awards in the Best Leading Actor category from 1958 to 2013, and only one black woman, Halle Berry in 2001 for her role in Monster’s Ball, has ever won the award for Best Leading Actress.

 

Despite the praise and success of these films, there is still a major problem in representation of black talent in Hollywood. The main issue is that they are casted for roles that are racially limiting in nature rather than what The Huffington Post’s Senior Editor Kia Makarechi calls “non-racially coded characters.” 12 Years, Fruitvale, Mandela, and The Butler demand black actors to fill in black roles.
…”

 

Community Village‘s insight:

 

The lack of racial diversity in Hollywood is more evidence of discrimination in employment, which in turn keeps those salaries out of the hands of people of color.

 

It’s 2014 now and it seems each ethnic group needs to create it’s own industry of careers in order to get full employment. But even then, it’s still the mass media and the big budget blockbusters where the bigger money is, so the discrimination and favoritism is a form of oppression.

 

@getgln

See on communityvillageus.blogspot.com