The Oscars 2016: What Might Dr. King Say?

I woke up this morning to a passionate MLK Day video message on Facebook from Jada Pinkett Smith declaring that she would boycott the Oscars, that have once again nominated only White actors for any of its awards, and urging people of color to stand in unison in our own power and stop diminishing that power and our dignity by begging for "love, acknowledgement or respect" from any other group. Appropriately on this day as we honor Dr. Martin Luther King, her message suggests that it is time we instead create our own, believe and invest in ourselves and in our own projects. Well Good For Jada! I agree with her 100% and feel that all Black folks, viewers and industry folk alike, including Chris Rock, should take the bold step of boycotting the Oscar Awards ceremony. Additionally, I think that Gays and at least liberal Whites, particularly those in the industry, should join us or engage in some other form of protest.

Dr. King Might Say:

“There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must take it because conscience tells him it is right.”

 

Last week I suggested that the Black female President of the Academy, Cheryl Boone Isaac, should be more than a figure head symbolizing for the rest of us to see, a face of diversity. She should feel empowered to boldly step outside her comfort zone and into the power of her role as President, apologize to the public for any inconvenience and exercise her authority to rescind the nominations as announced and direct the board to go back to the drawing board and come up with a better and more fair representation of nominees. This week I go even beyond last week's call for action and also challenge liberal Whites and the Gay community, particularly those in the industry, to boycott, speak up or otherwise express objection to the total disregard and disrespect of their non-White peers. The Gay community claims to share the burdens of civil injustices inflicted upon the Black community and liberals claim to feel our pain. So DO SOMETHING! Take a stand! It is not good enough that year after year artists accept awards acknowledging that perhaps the award was better deserved by someone else as did Macklemore when he was given a Grammy and later stated that he felt another artist, Kendrick Lamar, had "been robbed" and that in his opinion the award "should have gone" to him. It would have been more impressive and sent a much more powerful message had he made the statement on air or later made a very public transfer of the award to Mr. Lamar. That is taking a stand! To not correct or speak out against these type of wrongs today is no different than when jim crow or other customs of America past systematically excluded Blacks from being considered for these awards.

Dr. King Might Say:

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter". 

Apparently like many in the Black community, I no longer watch mainstream awards shows. I totally gave up on them after Angela Bassett was robbed of the Best Actress award in 1994 for her magnificent performance in What's Love Got to Do With It. That was the final straw of blatant disrespect and rejection of Black talent for me. I didn't need to watch these programs and be disappointed with the predictable outcome. I am quite happy and look forward to watching BET, NAACP or Soul Train Awards.

Nor do I watch old movies or sit coms that I so enjoyed as a child. As I got older I became painfully aware and mostly offended by the absence of Black actors and Black themes. Think back to all of those shows we watched growing up in the 60's, early 70's and before, we accepted as "normal" and subliminally accepted as "reality", that there was not one Black face on these programs. What was the message being sent to all of us? As Black children, what affect did that have on our psyche not seeing as normal, real, successful or glamorous people who looked like us? The power of media is not to be under estimated. Nor is the power of social media so I write... 

When Blacks finally did begin appearing on TV, nothing could replace the joy of getting up on Saturday mornings to see Soul Train instead of American Bandstand, Fat Albert or the Jackson 5 cartoon instead of Scooby Doo or The Archie Show, or in prime time to hear George Jefferson throw insults at Archie Bunker. We loved and understood the sibling love between Thelma and JJ on Good Times much more than we could relate to that of Brady's or the Partridge Family. Our heartthrobs were now Lionel from the Jeffersons, Lamont on Sanford & Son or Clifton Davis on That's My Mama instead of the Fonz, Starsky & Hutch or David Cassidy. We even had crushes on Freddie Prinz from Chico and the Man. He was a fine,  Brown and Puerto Rican! And what Black man did not drool over the mere sight of Pam Grier on the big screen? We had plenty of movies. And later, like it or not, we could not have been more proud of or inspired by the Huxtables. 

Black folks were not only thrilled to see reflections of ourselves on TV and on the big screen, more importantly, our souls and our psyche were nourished by it. James Brown was telling us we were Black and we were Proud. We were singing it, seeing it and believing it! EVERYBODY was making money off this new segment of entertainment and still our stars were not recognized for their work. Enter BET Awards, Soul Train Awards, NAACP Image Awards... We started recognizing our own work and celebrating ourselves. I think Dr. King would have approved of our being resourceful, takin stock in and affirming ourselves and moving forward... 

Dr. King Might Say:

"If you can't fly then run, if you can run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl. But whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward".

Given the chance to interview old actors or old singers, some knowingly and blatantly stole and recorded as their own music from Black entertainers, I would ask them, particularly those who thought themselves "cool", "hip" or  liberal, if like Macklemore, they ever felt in anyway that they had cheated or "robbed" some Black entertainer of rightful recognition denied him or her because s/he could not/would not be acknowledged for their work? If ever, while gazing at the award so proudly displayed in their home or office, they privately engaged in self talk and wondered if the playing field had been fair and unbiased, would they have won the award, if all else being equal if they felt the value of their work was fairly assessed against that of others not considered. More important or realistically however, I would ask why or how, almost without exception, they said or did nothing for so many years and just went along with or allowed blatant bigotry and discrimination to persist in Hollywood.

Dr. King Might Say:

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

Sadly however, if given the chance today, despite the efforts of Dr. King and the sacrifices of other civil rights workers, Black and White, I would ask our current "liberal" entertainers the exact same questions. How is it that some 40 plus years later, they still seem too comfortable ignoring ostracization of their peers? How is that still they seem comfortable accepting awards when those, who they now call colleague, husband, wife and sometimes friend and with whom they now freely perform, are systematically excluded from consideration for that which is thought to be the highest of honors in their profession? When 100% of the nominees are White, as is the case again this year, more than just Black entertainers should be upset and disappointed. How is anyone not disappointed and moved to pose questions, protest the actions of the board or to object in some way? While some non-Blacks in the industry have expressed shock or joked about their disbelief that again the academy of "good ole' boys" has slighted Black and Latino actors, none have taken a bold stand against the preference given them or the slight of their peers. 

Dr. King might say:

"In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends"...   

In all honesty, in light of all that is currently going on in America to deliberately dismantle his work, despite his undoubted disappointment, if given an opportunity to weigh on any single issue of today, I suffer from no elusion that he would not be bothered with the Oscars. This much I know for sure... But I have a pretty strong suspicion that he would support the concept of a boycott to send a powerful message to the Academy and others but most importantly as a spark to wake Black folks and other Americans up! Yeah, I'm pretty sure he would approve...  

Jada Pinkett Smith and now Spike Lee are right to boycott the ceremonies. I advocate however taking take their protest a step further and ask that others, Black, Brown and White, join with them and the fans to demonstrate to the Academy Board and the President that which we teach our children, zero tolerance of racism and bigotry. Force or embarrass them into Doin' the Right Thing! I'm Just Sayin', we teach folks how to treat us...   


In closing I quote two great men: 

"To remain neutral in situations of injustice, is to be complicit in that injustice.” 

~ Dr. Desmond Tutu ~

And Finally, Dr. King Might Say:

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy".

Happy Martin Luther King Day! Take A Stand!

Here We Go Again; Same Ole' Oscars...

I gave up on watching mainstream award shows long ago...  No interest in supporting an event that does not want, solicit or respect my support or my people.

So here we are again this year feigning outrage, shock, disgust and surprise that once again Blacks have been excluded from being considered for what the industry describes as the highest, most esteemed and sought after recognition possible for anyone in the business of Hollywood. And once again, Chris Rock will honor us with his presence, charm, wit and stinging commentary as host for this most prestigious evening of awards. I have no doubt that he again will not disappoint us and will do a mighty fine job! No doubt!

What I would really like to see, however, is for Chris Rock and ALL Blacks in the industry to be  really offended and collectively boycott the entire awards ceremony. Stand together and make a powerful statement!!! Stop playing it safe, crying about being the victim and shying away from being scathed. Where would we be if civil rights workers harbored such fear and were interested not in the good of the collective or the masses but only in what was in their best interest and good for their own personal growth or bottom line? Where would be, not only as Black people but, as a nation? We teach folks how to treat us. So teach Hollywood a new lesson! There is no Hollywood without fans, actors, directors and the like.

Chris Rock hosting appeases the public. At least one Black man will be on prominent display for the world to see in the name of American diversity. And even those who are appalled by all of this will tune in to see Chris ride their ass about what they have done UNTIL they do it again next year; because that is how much they care about how Black folks feel. In case you didn't know, Black careers don't matter either. We are ALWAYS dispensable and/or replaceable...  

Better yet, they have paraded in front of us, for the world to see, their Black female President, Cheryl Boone Isaacs. If in fact she is in more than a figure head position or a convenient face of "diversity" and if she wields any kind of real power, she should be bold, think outside the box, apologize to the public, void the nominations and tell the board to try it again. You know, just like Judge Olu Stephens did in Kentucky when the prosecutor delivered him an all White jury to decide the fate of an all Black man. He takes his job seriously and obviously waits for no one to validate him nor the "power vested" in him to do what he does, nor how does it. Confident in himself and the role he has earned, he made a brave, bold decision. 

President Boone-Isaacs should do the same that is unless she has been hired as voiceless figure head only to appease the public and dupe us into believing that by putting Blacks in visible and high places, discrimination is somehow a thing of the past in our "post racial" society. That's what they told us that last year only to do the same thing this year. So how many times do they have to tell us? Why do we have to be patient and wait for some old ass White men to die off before we see, before we demand, change? I'm Just Wonderin'...

Trust me when I tell ya', angry, defiant and frightened White folks extend well past tea party trump supporters, trailer parks, southern states and well beyond the borders of the Appalachian Mountains. This blatant discrimination is just another example of the under tone of America and quite frankly they, White men in high places, don't give a damn about how you, Black folks, feel about them or what they do! Have they not made themselves perfectly clear? By showing up or tuning in to watch these awards, we validate their position and dilute our displeasure... 

This is racism, pure and simple, and it is not good enough that "good" White folks, who profess similar outrage at what amounts to deplorable and blatant discriminatory behavior, comfortably sit on their hands reaping the benefits of said bad behavior, all the while saying and doing nothing to confront the behavior beyond claiming to detest it. This is not good enough! EVERYONE must take a stand. Get off the sidelines Folks and declare that ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! Do something or shut up about it and just tune in again this year for your annual dose of disregard and disrespect... I'm Just Sayin'...  Do/Say something different!

What the What?, A Tale of Two Officers...

I am so tired of this double standard and/or laws that are especially made up, set aside, drummed up and/or dusted off  for "JUST-us", Black folks that is... The women in both these stories are Black officers draped in blue uniforms. They are being persecuted and scapegoated for virtually what seems an impossible and unwinnable situation wherein they were to be judged wrong and held accountable no matter their decision...    

One was terminated for doing exactly what the other did while the other was terminated for failing to do what her peer did in the same situation. SMH... One incident however is more grotesque than the other because that offending White male officer also assaulted his Black female officer peer, which seems not to have been a violation of department standards as she, not he, was terminated and lost her career and pension of 19 years. She is now a truck driver to support her five children, her assailant continued working and abusing other "suspects" until such time he retired, with his pension I am sure, and upon where official charges were ultimately lodged against him for shooting a Black youth with a BB gun...  

So whether we agree with decisions made by these Black ladies in blue now or in the past, we must not silently sit by and allow this to happen to them without lifting our voice(s). Links to their stories are attached below. Click on the bold headlines to read. 

Choke hold Incident: November 1, 2006 (Buffalo, NY)

Buffalo Cop Loses Job and Pension After She Intervenes with Fellow Officer Choking a Suspect      

By VICE News

December 22, 2014

Officer Cariol Horne

MEANWHILE, in the SAME state, department charges have been brought against a Black Female officer in the Eric Garner case. She has been placed on modified duty, stripped of her badge and her gun pending the outcome of an investigation of her "failure to supervise" acts of a subordinate officer who choked Mr. Garner to death and against whom the department has yet to file charges... 

Choke hold Incident: July 14, 2014 (Staten Island, NY)

NYPD sergeant at scene of Eric Garner chokehold death placed on modified duty, served departmental charges. 

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Friday, January 8, 2016

Sergeant Kizzy Adonis

If in fact the offending officer has not been found culpable of any legal wrong doing by the grand jury, and if after 18 months the department (NYPD) has failed to bring forth any charges against this officer for official misconduct or violation of any department procedure (i.e. use of choke hold), then exactly for what behavior or action taken by her subordinate is Sergeant Adonis accused of witnessing and failing to stop? I'm Confused...  

Are we to believe that while Sergeant Adonis heard Eric Garner begging for his life, stating 11 times that he could not breathe, that somehow the officer actually choking him could not hear his pleas for his life? Really? 

And how convenient is it that a decision to discipline Sergeant Adonis occurs on the eve of satisfying her probation period for her present position? This is happening at a time when she is most professionally vulnerable and has no job protection or readily available remedies to aid in her to fight to keep her job. Like Officer Horne in Buffalo she risks termination losing her career and her pension... 

Does anyone else find it at least a bit disconcerting that a decision to hold Sergeant Adonis accountable for the far graver acts committed by a fellow officer whose actions directly resulted in the death of an innocent Black man comes on the heels of the officer in the Sandra Bland case, whose unprofessional conduct and racial profiling precipitated her being detained and eventually found dead or murdered in her jail cell, being terminated and charged with the simple offense of perjury? On both counts, although horrific acts have been completed by law enforcement, only insignificant charges have resulted. It seems that the public is being pacified and thrown a bone to appease us. Certainly, Sergeant Adonis is being made the scapegoat or sacrificial lamb while the offending officer remains employed and free of accountability. No one can believe that a charge of perjury does anything to address the unexplained loss of life of a Black woman arrested and jailed for a minor traffic offense, failure to signal a lane change, that is barely worthy a written citation. This is crazy...   

On Saturday, I rushed over to the National Action Network to hear Al Sharpton's live radio address feeling certain he would address this issue. Flanked by Mr. Garner's widow and his Mother, he regurgitated the department's justification for the urgency of these charges against Sergeant Adonis because of the proximity of completing her probation. Sooo is Brotha' Al advocating the termination of this Black female when in fact the offending officer who actually committed the crime that took placed 18 months ago has yet to be held accountable? Surely not...  He continued by essentially telling his audience to be patient with the police department as it is taking the long road to justice as it awaits a decision regarding this matter from the Justice Department investigation before taking any further actions of discipline beyond Sergeant Adonis. Really Brotha' Al? I left his event in sheer disgust and feeling more agitated than when I arrived... 

Seems the NYPD is playing both sides of the fence and throwing us, the Black community, a bone in the form of a Black female sergeant scapegoat while at the same time, virtually exonerating the VERY culpable and murderous officer who choked Mr. Garner to death. Is it any coincidence that the only other person who has been charged with any wrong doing in this matter is the young man who filmed the actual choking of Mr. Garner? Hmmmm.... 

Was there or was there not a departmental violation committed by the officer who ended Mr. Garner's life? We should be intolerant fo the department standing in both arguments. If no departmental or legal wrong doing has been committed, as is suggested by the collective non-action against the offending officer by the NYPD, the prosecutor and the grand jury, then how is it that Sergeant Adonis can be charged with the wrong doing, seemingly a departmental infraction of "failing to supervise" a presumed "non offense" by her subordinate? I'm Just Askin'...  

We must not allow that this Sergeant hang from the noose all alone, with no protection, without lifting our voice to speak against use of the age old and much too widely accepted double standard. Did she play by what are otherwise accepted rules of Blue engagement? If her action/inaction is wrong and punishable for her, then it must be wrong and punishable for all others in blue. Yes, this is a wake up call for her and the other Blacks in blue who seem to have misplaced or at least conflicted values. I get that... But let's not lose sight of the fact that it is not all about what she did or did not do, but also about who she is and our not accepting that she be made scapegoat and/or judged by a double standard reserved only for some... 

This special brand of Just-Us is not justice for Eric Garner, Sandra Bland, Officer Horn in Buffalo nor any of us... 

Time that we spit out the Kool-aid folks and start asking the right questions and demanding answers! Or at the very least, it is high time that we insist on a more tasteful flavor of Kool-aid... 

I'm Just Askin'...   What the what? 

Balancing The Scales of Justice...

Since the infamous perp walk of Bill Cosby in front of the television cameras for the world to see, I watched Monique Pressley, his attorney, give an interview on CBS This Morning. She is going to give them a fight to the end in her defense of Mr. Cosby. He is lucky to have her. We can only hope that he gets a fair trial which will prove a challenge given the tainted jury pool. Finding someone who has not heard about or who does not have an opinion on this case is all but impossible. One point Ms. Pressley made that seems relevant is that the case for which he has been charged is based on an admission made during his deposition that he purchased quaaludes (in the 70's) with the specific intent to use them to have sex with younger women. He later says, presumably during the deposition, that he misunderstood the question...

Problem for this prosecutor is that he is hanging his hat on that very statement for grounds to reopen this case, grounds that could not be applicable to this complaining witness as in 2004 quaaludes were not manufactured. Unless Mr. Cosby stored these pills for 30 to 40 years, he could not have possibly given them to anyone in 2004. Obviously the prosecutor will try to use other cases, which were never reported and for which the statue of limitation has surely expired, to prove this case. IF the judge is fair, which I don't expect, s/he will not allow admission of any such evidence which I am sure Ms. Pressley will fight to keep out. So it is a stretch for this prosecutor to claim he reopened this case, which was thoroughly investigated and determined to lack sufficient evidence in 2004, based on new information. He is playing to the public. Ms Pressley is adamant that there is nothing revealed in the transcript that sheds any new light on the case involving this witness.

This prosecutor made a campaign promise to reopen this case which was previously closed and settled in a private civil action. The matter should have remained sealed but for the unprecedented decision by a judge who undoubtedly abused his judicial authority when he too caved into public and media pressure and ordered the record unsealed, both he and the overzealous prosecutor are grandstanding and building their careers around this issue. This happens time and time again at all levels of prosecution and most times the public is unaware or unconcerned because we want so desperately to believe in and uphold our justice system. We are too busy or too unaffected to be bothered with demanding an internal review and fix of a system that is undeniably broken. Too busy that is, until it hits home and affects us or our loved ones. Then we are all up in arms wanting the world to come to our defense. It is too late however, our silence has made us complicit in allowing that precedence be set that will now be used against us.

The state had its bite at this apple, the parties settled, the case was closed and now it is reopened. Will this prosecutor stop at the Cosby case for "righting wrongs" of his predecessors? Will he be going back to clean up what I am sure are more legal injustices than we can count that have been adjudicated, or not, in Montgomery County? Given the recent awareness that has now become public knowledge, thanks to camera phones, regarding police brutality, corruption, false arrests and planting evidence, harassment and murders of Black men, will he be revisiting any of those cases to "right previous wrongs"? And how about this "victim"? Did she not accept a civil settlement and thereby enter into an agreement not to discuss the terms of such nor what was discussed in arriving at that settlement? Does her agreeing to work with this hungry prosecutor violate any such agreement? Will she be ordered to return whatever was the monetary settlement reached between she and Mr. Cosby? I'm Just Wonderin'...

For those who question how or why I "defend" Cosby (air quotes because I know not of his guilt or innocence involving private affairs between him and his accusers), understand that it is not about Cosby folks, I see it as a much bigger issue. It is about not tolerating or cheering double standards of "justice" that have been put in place for JUST US by our legal system from time of detainment to ultimate adjudication and all too often conviction; a double standard that we seem to have embraced and/or accepted as SOP where we, Black and/or poor folks, are concerned. If ever you hear yourself responding to the claim that some Black or poor person should have known that they could not expect to do what some other group (usually rich White folks) does, you support and have accepted that you should live your life according a double standard. You have accepted that you expect that you will receive inferior or less just treatment, so don't be surprised when you receive it. We teach folks how to treat us... I will never support a double standard, no matter who the recipient. I made the same claims of unfairness and the legal system playing to the public when Governor Blagojevich was sentenced to 14 years in Illinois and he is White, so I am consciously consistent in my position. Right is right, wrong is wrong and sometimes it does not feel or smell so good but when consistency and balance of fairness rule the day, there is very little about which one can complain.

We cannot expect that we will get fair treatment when we look the other way and support unfair treatment mostly directed at Blacks and the poor, no matter how grotesque the allegations. I am a woman. I do not advocate what has been alleged in the Cosby case. What I do advocate however is that what is good enough for and applied to us, Blacks and the poor, must be good enough for and applied to all others (i.e. other celebrities, raping police officers, priests). WE must champion to expose the imbalance in the scales of justice and not get caught up in our emotions and manipulated by the press, rubber stamping whatever is put before us. WE must be consistent in our outrage and demand consistency in the application of law no matter who the victim, the act or the perpetrator. As our laws and treatment of some in the justice system is not fair and consistent, I do not support what is happening to Mr. Cosby. This has been my position from the beginning and I exercise my right to free speech to stand firm in that position now. I wish him well...