by Candace Simpson

Any hope I had ever had for Powers and Systems has dissolved. In the basement of my heart, where the Christmas ornaments, deep feelings, and winter clothes are stored, you will find something ugly. I wish to store this instinct away. But naming it reminds me that perpetrators must be held accountable, because my feelings indicate a reality that must be changed.

By Anna Nti-Asare

In 2013, The Sentencing Project, a group aimed at exposing the horrendous facts behind mass incarceration in the U.S., published the following information: “If incarceration rates continue to grow at the pace they have since the 1970s, 1 of every 3 Black American males born today can expect to go to prison in his lifetime, as can 1 of every 6 Latino males, and 1 of every 17 White males.”

The terrorist attacks that hit Paris last week—first at the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and then later supermarket—have people from all over the world engaged in dialogue about terrorism, free speech, and xenophobia. In the days following, the world was watching as news coverage of the attacks has been tracked on multiple media platforms. The mass marches through the streets of Paris, as well as the creation and global adoption of the hashtag #JeSuisCharlie were also meant to pay tribute to the victims of the attacks, as well as show solidarity of supposed freedom of speech. This solidarity has even garnered support from Hollywood, where many celebrities expressed their solidarity with the movement by wearing #JeSuisCharlie pins and discussing the tragic events at last week’s 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards.

Women make up seven-percent of the total incarcerated population(largely for drug-related offenses); however thirty-percent of incarcerated women are Black. Similarly to our male counterparts, Black women are three times as likely to be incarcerated than White women.

Each year on the 4th of July, Americans across the country and the globe celebrate the anniversary of the United States’ Independence. While this summer occasion is usually associated with fireworks and outdoor picnics, recent news has established that an additional, more contentious, event will be taking place on the 4th of July. This date marks the day when Grammy-award winning singer Alicia Keys’ will perform at the Nokia Arena in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Originally posted at Nikki and the City

Today is Hadiya Pendleton’s wake. Thousands of people will line up outside a small funeral home on the South Side of Chicago to pay their respect to the beautiful girl whose life was snatched away from her. The city of Chicago will come out to witness how the spirit of hate has taken away another innocent soul. Hearts will break as broken teenagers enter the church, struggling to deal with today’s harsh reality. And as Cleopatra cries out for her lost daughter, Chicago will finally acknowledge that our heart is officially broken. While this pain may be something new for this generation, the eyes of our elderly affirms they’ve been here before.

What is the Sandy Hook Massacre to the Black Mother of Chicago? Of America?

It’s a snowy day in Chicago and amid the eeriness the snow already brings, there is a sense of sadness permeating the air. Its been a couple of days since the killing of 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton, a beautiful and talented black girl who performed at the inauguration for President Obama last week.  In route to my destination, I could not help but notice the curbside memorial for her. News reports say, in an attempt to shield themselves from the rain, 15-year-old Pendleton along with her friends raced to a nearby park for shelter, when a gunman opened fire and struck Pendleton. Another boy was also shot but did not suffer life-threatening wounds.

With the election hoopla behind us and everyone off the edge of their seats many of us are curious as to the direction our country will head in the next few years. Some of us are hopeful, some apprehensive and others completely pessimistic. Thursday after the election I had the pleasure of listening to Tavis Smiley, Amy Goodman and Dr. Cornel West speak at Northwestern University.

They never should have given y'all online petitions. In recent weeks, my annoyance with certain digital organizing tactics has reached its peak. These petitions, in particular facilitate offline victories, but now they also symbolize faux activism. Signing and circulating online petitions about every real or imagined indignity reflects the entitlement of the Internet Era. Everyone has a right to be personally offended. Thankfully the web provides a space for us to voice our concerns, but does every grievance necessitate a “movement?” And does every “movement” deserve attention?

You probably haven’t heard much about Sage Smith.

Dashaad “Sage” Smith went missing in Charlottesville, Virginia. The day Smith disappeared, she told her father that she was meeting Eric McFadden for a date but McFadden told police she never showed up. Shortly after being questioned by the police, McFadden left town. While he is not considered a suspect, McFadden is wanted by police for further questioning in the case.

Ancestors, smancestors. Obviously, it doesn’t matter to some that previous generations faced death for the rights we enjoy, namely voting. Did your Pastor advocate staying home next Tuesday? Sadly, this has been the tune sung in some churches this year. Some Black Christian Dems have even been chided as “fools” for “voting against God” and focusing too much on race. Thankfully, it’s not everyone. Okay, so the current President isn’t interested in overturning Roe v. Wade and he’s ok with Gay Marriage. IDK. What bothers me is the current state of the Black church in the political game. We’ve fallen off. From my seat in the sanctuary, it seems we’ve gone from the fiery activism of the Civil Rights movement to yapping. How did we get here?

On September 17, the one-year anniversary of Occupy Wall Street instead of hearing about the 99% we heard about the 47% who according to Mitt Romney: 

“will vote for the president no matter what… are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it. That’s an entitlement. And the government should give it to them. And they will vote for this president no matter what…These are people who pay no income tax.”(Ezra Klein; Washington Post Wonkbook ) 

The story of Trayvon Martin has not only outraged many of us, it has also unraveled our hope that racial prejudice in America is ending. The fact that a 200 pound white Hispanic man exited his SUV, followed and eventually gunned down an unarmed teenage black male pedestrian without facing any legal repercussions whatsoever baffles us. Trayvon Martin, with his baby-face and scrawny 140 pound adolescent frame, was a victim of what seems to be a mucky cocktail of racism or prejudice, vigilantism and just plain tragedy. Many of us are disgusted that George Zimmerman, our fellow American, appears to view boys who look like Trayvon Martin as "suspicious" "assholes" who "always get away." However, fewer of us are taking this opportunity to examine our own prejudices.

As a television news producer, I write stories about murder and other crimes that are so heinous they make you recoil in horror. Sadly, you have to develop a thick skin in this business and not let it affect you to the point where you can't function. However, the death of 17 year old Trayvon Martin hurts me deeply. In case you haven't read about it, Martin was shot and killed on February 26th by a neighborhood watch captain in a gated community outside of Orlando, Florida.

At this point, the shooter, George Zimmerman, has not been arrested nor charged with anything. He claims he fired in self-defense. The recent release of the 911 calls in this case has brought about more questions in this case, particularly why Zimmerman, who was in his SUV, got out of it to approach Martin when the 911 dispatcher specifically told Zimmerman not to do so. Also, there are questions about the cries heard on one of the 911 calls. Zimmerman claims it was him - but was it Martin? As a family grieves the loss of a son, this case is a reminder of  the ongoing issue of race in America (let's be real - this is not a post-racial America).

Many black men are familiar with the phrase "driving while black." My younger brother knows it all too well. He told me how he was stopped for some unknown reason, forced to get out of his vehicle, then forced to watch as police rifled through his car. The officer even opened the bag containing a burger he had purchased and checked out the food. I was surprised that my brother wasn't reeling. Sadly, he felt that's how things worked for black men and that it would happen to him sooner or later. On the other hand, I had a former co-worker who was deeply traumatized by a police stop. He had a gun pointed at him and was physically searched because officers thought he fit the description of a suspect they were looking for at the time. I can't put into words the pain in his voice and the pained expression on his face as he recounted that fateful night. Then there's the story from a friend of mine who was stopped by police for no particular reason. He happened to be driving a nice Dodge Charger. I'll never forget the shock and pain in his voice as he described his experience. I felt so helpless when he was telling me the story. I was at a loss at what to do to try to ease his frustration, anger and sadness.

That brings me back to Trayvon Martin's case. What can we do to ease the sadness, shock, anger, frustration and other emotions being experienced by Martin's family? Yes, we can rally, raise our voices and push for a thorough investigation into this case. Sadly, will it be enough? We're aware of other cases that resulted in the deaths of innocent black men. We're aware that justice wasn't served in some of those cases. I'm sure there are many more cases that we haven't heard about because some people took the attitude of that's just how it is...and there's nothing to do about it. Will there come a time when I don't have to hear another brother or another male friend tell me about an unnecessary police stop? Will there come a time when I don't feel helpless because I know it will continue? My prayers go out to Martin's family and to all of the men who have dealt with this...but are fortunate enough to live to talk about it. Martin's case reminds me that this could have easily been a case where my brother, my friends...or someone you know could have been the victim. I'll continue to follow this case and pray that questions are answered and that justice is served.

Brenda Carden

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Seventeen, not even marked by a real mustache. If you look at the picture, he’s still slight. Maybe he was destined to grow tall with big bones, a man’s hearty flesh clinging to his frame, but in this picture he hasn’t gotten that far.

I remember a boy I once loved at that age. His kneecaps still knocked when he stood with his feet together.

He left his house in the middle of watching TV, walked around the corner to go buy himself some Skittles, and in between his leaving and returning, he was stopped by a grown man, someone who was bigger and older in years.  Something happened and the man shot him dead.

I am a lawyer. I am often asked why I decided to become a lawyer. Unfortunately, I can't point to any one thing that made me want to be a lawyer other than to say, it’s just what I always wanted to do. The focus of my practice is children's issues. I represent children who’re facing delinquency and who are products and/or victims of neglect. When prodded as to why I chose to practice juvenile law, my answer is simple: I want to work helping rehabilitate juveniles now so they won't need me later in life, when it might be too late for them.

Trayvon Martin was not a juvenile delinquent with any prior history of violence or behavioral issues however, so he would not have been a client of mine. Trayvon had a family that loved him, plans to attend college and a desire to be a responsible, productive member of society. Perhaps Trayvon’s only mistake the night he met his tragic fate, was thinking he was free to walk around the gated Florida community, where he was visiting his father that weekend, while being Black. The tragic and deliberate killing of this child amounts to nothing less than murder. The decision of the Sanford Police Department not to charge George Zimmerman, the White man responsible for his death-- (because he mistook Trayvon for one of those types, who “always gets away” from the scrutiny of racial profiling), is deplorable and serves as a reminder that while we have come far, we have not evolved far enough. Black-on-Black crime often falls by the wayside, and the perpetrators become statistics of the prison system; White-on-Black crime however, seem to carry a different weight and that burden is often times, not as heavy when a White perpetrator is the obvious instigator. No one looks for our missing children; our photos mostly appear on CNN when we are the aggressors, and crimes against Blacks in general, go uninvestigated or not investigated to their fullest capacity.

In Martin’s case, police didn't have much investigating to do. Trayvon’s killing was handed to them neatly wrapped and ready for presentation to the State Attorney’s office to prosecute, complete with witness accounts (that they reportedly refused to consider)…

George Zimmerman overzealously killed Trayvon Martin, and is a man who fancies himself as a vigilante with delusions of grandeur; otherwise he would’ve remained in his vehicle, as he was instructed to do by the police dispatcher he spoke with, as he stalked Trayvon Martin. Zimmerman outweighed Trayvon by about 100 pounds, in addition to a reported history of aggression and therefore a propensity for violence. While this information may not be allowed at trial, it is definitely a reason for the police to have made an arrest following Trayvon Martin’s senseless killing. The laws do not distinguish criminals by the amount of education one has or even their standing in the community. Many so called important persons have fallen from grace. But frankly George Zimmerman would have needed to climb upon a ladder to reach the level upon which Trayvon was operating. Yet this white man has not been arrested for snuffing out a life, taking a child from his parents and stealing his future.

In choosing not to arrest George Zimmerman, the police department is condoning his behavior, almost as if to say, “Thanks for doing us a favor.” Not only should George Zimmerman be charged with murder but the charges should be enhanced with the hate crimes statute. It is horrible that a situation such as this comes down to color but the bottom line is if Trayvon had been an unarmed White, All-American kid, there would be calls for George Zimmerman to be put to death.

If you're wondering how a lawyer could be so jaded, the answer is simply; I am as much not jaded, as I am a realist who sees and lives this reality every day. The definition of justice is: “the administration of law; especially the establishment or determination of rights according to the rules of law or equity; the quality of being just or impartial”. Thus far, there has been no justice for Trayvon or his family. The police have been everything but impartial. I call upon Florida's 18th District State's Attorney Norman Wolfinger to uphold his position, investigate this tragic murder and force his officers to do the work they have been trained to do. And I call upon Florida Attorney General, Pam Bondi, to investigate the inaction of the Sanford Police department; show us that our children matter.

We at For Harriet are still saddened by news of teenager Trayvon Martin’s shooting by neighborhood watch captain, George Zimmerman and is seeking answers and justice, along with everyone else and is proposing a “Blog-in” this coming Friday.

The facts seem clear: Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old Black boy, was shot and killed a little more than two weeks ago in his father’s gated community in Florida, by 28-year-old White neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman, as he returned home in the rain, cloaked in a hooded sweatshirt, from the store… an iced-tea and candy in-tow.

Zimmerman, who was armed and thought Martin looked “suspicious”, had been given explicit instructions by a police dispatcher, not to leave his vehicle and to wait for a police cruiser to arrive, after he placed a call to a non-emergency number. Zimmerman (also cloaked in a red hooded sweatshirt) opined; “these a**holes always get away”,  and decided to exit his vehicle and pursue Martin on foot between two rows of townhouses, 70 yards from where Trayvon had been staying with his father, that weekend.

Zimmerman (who outweighs Martin by about 100 pounds) engaged Martin in a fight, essentially shooting and killing the 17-year-old and claimed “self-defense.” George Zimmerman has a reported history of aggressive behavior, Trayvon Martin doesn’t.

George Zimmerman is still a free man and has yet to be offically charged with the killing… inciting people to ask, WHY?

Please join For Harriet for a “Blog-in” Friday, March 16 and express your thoughts about a seemingly senseless killing, and urge your readers to take action.

For more information, please contact:

Kimberly N. Foster, Kimberly@ForHarriet.com

Update 3/19: The blog-in continues. Please spread the word about Trayvon's killing via your blogs and social networks. Mainstream media continues to mismanage the story. It's up to us to tell the truth.

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The recent defeat of same-sex marriage legislation in Maryland, which was largely due to the black church’s opposition, further illuminates the chasm that exists between the black community and the gay community. This disconnect leads me to believe that the black community is afflicted with some form of acute tone-deafness or a neurological disorder that contributes to memory loss. That is the only explanation that makes sense to me when I hear the vitriol that is often directed at gay and lesbians by many blacks.

RELATED: The Black Queer Factor: Why Can't Black and Gay Coexist?

We must have forgotten that we were once vilified, maligned, and degraded. We must have forgotten the lies and stereotypes that were spread throughout history in order to further subjugate us. We must have lost the ability to hear the cries for acceptance and equality from gays and lesbians. And we must lack the ability to hear how the cries of the GLBT community echo our cries as African-Americans. This lack of empathy and solidarity is glaring and I wonder how the history books will treat the black community and black church's wholesale suppression of the gay rights movement.

A recent study revealed that 64 percent of black people find homosexuality to be immoral. That statistic is not surprising when we consider the fact that most black Americans consider themselves to be Christians and the black church's stance against homosexuality is well-documented. Black folks point to the Bible as being their moral guide and compass and consistently quote the Bible when discussing GLBT issues. But many of us have forgotten that the very same Bible that we often use to justify our prejudice against gay people, was once used to justify OUR ENSLAVEMENT. Where is our sense of history? And why are we so disproportionately expressive and open about our opposition to homosexuality on moral grounds, when we have so many other moral dilemmas that are far more pressing and damaging to the black community?

Nearly 80 percent of black children (mostly born to heterosexual parents) are born out of wedlock. The overwhelming majority of black children (products of heterosexual parents) are raised in one-parent households. Nearly 30 percent of black men (predominately heterosexual) are at some stage of the criminal justice system. Black men (predominately heterosexual) are shooting and killing each other left and right on street corners in urban America. Black women (mostly heterosexual) have more abortions than any other race of women. The average black 12th grader performs on an 8th grade level. We are the unhealthiest race and are afflicted with almost every single disease at disproportionate rates. And let us put this in perspective: Blacks account for nearly 40 percent of the national prison population, while only about 2-3 percent of the black population is gay. But, if you want to get a significant number of black churches galvanized, tell them that a marriage equality law is being proposed. Want to get a lot of black people riled up, tell them that a gay person is doing....anything. There is something wrong with this picture. Where are our priorities?

We have turned the gay rights issue in to an “us” vs. “them” issue. Gay people are not our adversaries. Many of us are participating in the discrimination and suppression of people who are members of our families, churches, sororities, and communities. How do we rationalize this discrimination? I often hear black people take umbrage to the comparisons that are made between the gay civil rights movement and the black civil rights movement. The parallels are obvious. Why did so many whites oppose interracial marriage? Because they thought it was disgusting and unnatural for a black person to marry a white person. Those who opposed interracial marriage believed that it would lead to the unraveling of society. They thought that it went against what God intended. Does any of this sound familiar?

The Black community must realize that gay and lesbian people are not aliens that should be scorned and vilified; they are members of our families, our friends, our sorority sisters, our fraternity brothers, our churches, and leaders in our communities. Some of the greatest heroes and heroines in the black community have been gay or bisexual: Barbara Jordan, Audre Lorde, James Baldwin, Alvin Ailey, Octavia Butler, Angela Davis, Bayard Rustin, Bill T. Jones, and Lorraine Hansberry. Are their contributions to the black community any less significant because of their orientation? Should they have or have had many of their rights circumscribed because of their orientation?

Civil rights icon and congressional representative Jon Lewis (D-GA) put it best, “I have fought too hard and for too long against discrimination based on race and color not to stand up against discrimination based on sexual orientation. I’ve heard the reasons for opposing civil marriage for same-sex couples. Cut through the distractions, and they stink of the same fear, hatred and intolerance I have known in racism and in bigotry.” It is time for black people to stand up for what we spent centuries fighting for, equality.

Rochee Jeffrey is a pop culture addict, new media consultant, and screenwriter/filmmaker. She is an avid blogger and shares her opinions about everything from pop culture, fashion, relationships, sexuality and life on her personal blog www.ithastobesaid.com. Hailing originally from Jamaica, she balances and navigates two distinct cultures through her writing and life. As a devout feminist, she strives to empower women through her writing and advocacy. Feel free to follow her on twitter @ithas2besaid.