The Crime of the Century

I was compelled to write this post as a way to show deference to His-Story concerning the saddest day in our history - April 4, 1968. On this horrible day I refer to as the day they killed a "King" forty-three years ago. It is a moment etched into my mind, and after all these years I can still remember exactly what I was doing the moment I heard the news. To this very day I am of the opinion that the murder of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is the crime of the century and none of what they told us is true.

I will even so so far as to say with absolutely belief that because the truth has never been told this crime is akin to a coup d’état. You know that happens when you remove a leader; particularly, when you consider the antagonistic relationship between the systems racist policies of the time. The Kennedy administration used U.S. Government assets for eight years under the direction of Bobby Kennedy, implemented primarily by J. Edgar Hoover and more than likely every intelligence gathering agency to monitor this man’s every move. Yet, when the murder occurred they claimed to know nothing the moment the shot was fired.

This is why I believe the truth has never been revealed in spite the many so called facts released by the Freedom of Information Act in 1993 and footage I’ve seen. I personally do not believe James Earl Ray was the shooter; for one reason, the meticulous cover up was far beyond his capacity. I have said many times that I am not one to buy into or proscribe to conspiracy theories. But, this case certainly is one when you consider what is known or they wanted us to know has not convince me of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

As much as it pains me to say this I believe there was a Judas at the Last Supper! This is not unlike the death of Malcolm X where we now know informants were in his mists to assist the government in Dr. King’s demise. Therefore, I believe African-Americans supported the culprits of these agencies in the plan to murder Dr. King. If the U.S. Government had Dr. King under surveillance the day of his assassination and stationed across the street from the Lorraine Motel, as alleged, why was this murder allowed to happen and made to seem so conclusive. I will not try to re-litigate the case, rather leave you to view the attached videos and ask yourself – WHY!

I remember a statement Dick Gregory made concerning information obtained via the freedom of information act. It has always stayed in my mind. He said one of the documents stated on the night Dr. King was shot those who had him under surveillance said “the friendlies will not be wearing ties”. Keep that in mind when you watch the footage of the murder scene. Lastly, be very aware of the voices that claim to speak for you because I also believe Judas walks among us.

Less not forget that at the time of his death, Dr. King was viewed as the most dangerous man in America and hated by most. So when you think of the way history has rewritten today to create this story to make him the most revered soul known to man. Just consider this: conscience can eat away the soul. Sort of like what the Roman’s did with Jesus!

RIP Dr. King… gone too soon.

The Crime of the Century: the Killing of a King

Who Killed Martin Luther King? PART ONE

Who Killed Martin Luther King? PART TWO


Who Killed Martin Luther King? PART THREE

Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide Back Home!

A nearly unnoticed event occurred over the weekend that most of the American corporate news media missed or simply choose not to notice. There was a moment here or there where they talked about the election held in Haiti but there was virtually no coverage about the return of Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. I somehow wonder if it was because the Bush administration is said to have kidnapped him sending the president into exile. Now, we know the past administration was guilty of many things but it has been reported that the current administration put much pressure on the hospitable nation of South Africa to deny Aristide and his family the right to return.

In defiance of the Obama administration, the former Haitian President did return home for the first time since being ousted in a 2004 U.S. backed coup. Accompanied by his family and a delegation of supporters they gleefully boarded a plane in South Africa bound for Port-au-Prince with the only one reporter onboard, Amy Goodman host Democracy Now. Ms. Goodman provided the only document coverage of their journey home after seven years of exile. Aristide returned two days before a delayed presidential runoff election that was held on Sunday between pop star Michel Martelly and former First Lady Mirlande Manigat.

President Jean-Bertrand Aristide returned home, on Friday, with friend Danny Glover who remarked “this is amazing… It’s already quite exciting” as Aristide’s wife and children exited the plane with him crying. This was a historic occasion because he was taken in what he called "a modern-day kidnapping in the service of a coup d’état backed by the United States". He is now back, again in defiance of the United States.

There was a mass crowd accompanied by flowers waiting for them and what was reported as mass chaos. President Aristide was being jostled by a crush of cameras in the diplomatic area awaiting his arrival. Ms. Goodman reports the former president addressing the crowd where he said, “In 1804, the Haitian revolution marked the end of slavery. Today, may the Haitian people mark the end of exile and coup d’état, while peacefully we must move from social exclusion to social inclusion. Once again, thanks from the bottom of our hearts.”

Aristide continued, “If we don’t salvage our dignity, our dignity will be gone. Yes, you are right, because the problem is exclusion, and the solution is inclusion. The exclusion of Fanmi Lavalas is the exclusion of the majority. The exclusion of the majority means that you are cutting off exactly the branch that we are all sitting on. The problem is exclusion; the solution is inclusion of all Haitians without discrimination, because everybody is a person. Haiti, Haiti, the further I am from you, the less I breathe. Haiti, I love you, and I will love you always. Always.”

The Aristides returned from exile after twice being ousted in a U.S.-backed coup. In 1991, ousted for three years, then came back as president; in 2004, ousted again in a U.S. backed coup. The U.S. flew him to the Central African Republic. But then, a delegation led by Congress member Maxine Waters and the TransAfrica founder, Randall Robinson flew to C.A.R., the Central African Republic, where they got the Aristides and brought them back to this hemisphere, to Jamaica, but they couldn’t come back into Haiti, and ended up in exile in South Africa for seven years. Now, the President returns, not as president of Haiti, but as resident.

It has been reported that President Obama called South African President Zuma last week, urging him not to fly the Aristides back to Haiti, but the South African government said they would not cave to pressure. The State Department, the White House, Obama talked to President Zuma of South Africa asking him not to bring them back to Haiti. But President Zuma defied that request and said that they would not bow to pressure. A South African government representative accompanied the Aristides on their trip from Johannesburg to Port-au-Prince.

The official response from the White House and State Department has said that President Aristide left willingly on February 29th, 2004. However, a witness to the event, Frantz Gabriel, told Ms. Goodman;

“No. I’m a witness of that, and it was not willingly that the President left, because all the people that came in to accompany the President were all military. Having been in the U.S. military myself, I know what a GI looks like, and I know what a special force looks like also. So, I was here, and I knew that, you know, these guys were part of a force, Special Ops, they call them. You have the Delta Force, you know, which is Special Operations. They have the Green Berets, Special Operations. Those guys, you know, they could be assimilated to either one, either the Delta or the Green Berets. And what attracted my attention was the fact that when we boarded the aircraft, everybody changed their uniform into civilian clothes. And that’s when I knew that it was a special operation. Oh, absolutely not. Someone who leaves willingly leaves with suitcases, you know, and prepare for the trips. President Aristide left with his—with just the clothes on his back.”

For all that the people of Haiti has endured as a result of being the first nation in this hemisphere to revolt and remove the bonds of their slave masters, which some say they have been cursed every since. I say, let’s pray that this slither of hope will up lift this nation living in dire despair and let the world view its people as human beings. Let us not forget that there are nearly a million people still homeless after the devastating earthquake a year ago.



Democracy Now

The New Negro

Long, long, long ago the Negro’s, and others, marched on Washington to obtain something as basic as civil rights. Every liberal living today will claim to have been there on that very warm August day. Our forefathers sought to claim basic human rights; among which were relief from poverty, educational equity, voter registration rights because frankly many were not allowed to vote. As the 1960’s progressed those fighting for civil rights knew that the ways to achieve those goals were through education. So they organized and established ethnic studies programs to promote racial pride. This surely seemed reasonable when you consider the conditions of the time were not that much different than the Apartheid system in South Africa.

I want to say before you read further that I was motivated to write this post because I read an article today on CNN.com. I will use and quote some of the article as reported. The premise was the new face of racial oppression in the nation is white. The first thing that got my attention, other than the headline, was this statement attributed to Charles Gallagher, a sociologist at La Salle University in Pennsylvania who researches white racial attitudes and was baffled to find that whites see themselves as a minority.

He says, "We went from being a privileged group to all of a sudden becoming whites, the new victims''. He went on to say, "You have this perception out there that whites are no longer in control or the majority. Whites are the new minority group."

The article added that a growing number of white Americans are acting like a racially oppressed majority and adopting the language and protest tactics of an embattled minority group. Scholars and commentators point to these signs of racial anxiety. I have quoted the article by bullets:

• A recent Public Religion Research Institute poll found 44% of Americans surveyed identify discrimination against whites as being just as big as bigotry aimed at blacks and other minorities. The poll found 61% of those identifying with the Tea Party held that view, as did 56% of Republicans and 57% of white evangelicals.

• More colleges are offering courses in "Whiteness Studies" as white Americans cope with becoming what one commentator calls a "dispossessed majority group."

• A Texas group recently formed the "Former Majority Association for Equality" to offer college scholarships to needy white men. Colby Bohannan, the group's president, says white men don't have scholarship options available to minorities. "White males are definitely not a majority" anymore, he says.

• U.S. Census Bureau projections that whites will become a minority by 2050 are fueling fears that whiteness no longer represents the norm. This fear has been compounded by the recent recession, which hit whites hard.

• Conservative talk-show host Rush Limbaugh argued in a radio show that Republicans are an "oppressed minority" in need of a "civil rights movement" because its members willingly sit in the "back of the bus" and "are afraid of the fire hoses and the dogs."

• Fox talk-show host Glenn Beck led a march on Washington (attended primarily by white people) to "restore honor," and once called President Obama a racist with a "deep-seated hatred for white people and white culture." He later said he regretted making that comment.

• Conservative news outlets ran a number of stories last summer highlighting an incident from the 2008 elections, in which activists from the New Black Panther Party appeared to be intimidating voters at a polling place. Those claims were never proven.

The tactics of the new face of oppression being used; Mass rallies in Washington, voter intimidation at the polls, creating ethnic studies programs at colleges to promote racial self-awareness; sounds like a script from a civil rights documentary. With the rise of the Tea Baggers and the National Citizens Councils, more commonly known as the GOP, could it be that this perception was perceived after America elected the first black president?

One of the people quoted in the article said, “…Americans deserve praise for looking past race.” As proof she cites the rise of more interracial couples. She went on to say "When I grew up, it was incredibly rare to see interracial couples... People would turn their heads on the streets. Now it's so common that no one notices it anymore." And this is the best she can do!

I will agree with Tim Wise, author of "White Like Me”, also quoted in the article: “economic anxieties are feeding those racial fears… the recession hit blue-collar, white Americans hard, financially and psychologically… Many white Americans have lived under the assumption that if they worked hard, they would be rewarded. Now more white Americans are sharing unemployment lines with "those people" -- black and brown”.

I think Mr. Wise is on point when he says, "For the first time since the Great Depression, white Americans have been confronted with a level of economic insecurity that we're not used to… It's not so new for black and brown folks, but for white folks, this is something we haven't seen since the Depression." The face of America is changing, says Wise, author of "White Like Me." American culture has become so multicultural that many of the nation's icons -- including celebrities, sports heroes, and other leaders -- are people of color.

"The very definition of being an American is going through a profound change," Wise says. "We can no longer take it for granted that we (whites) are the dictionary definition of an American." This racial unease is more pronounced among older white Americans, who grew up in an era where America's icons were virtually all white, Wise says. "The idea that we're losing our country is something that's not going to have a lot of resonance for someone under 30… "These are white folks who don't remember the country that their parents are talking about", Wise says.

For many decades, white people saw themselves as individuals, not as members of a race, says Matt Wray, a sociologist at Temple University in Pennsylvania, who writes books about white studies. "We are often offended if someone calls attention to our race as shaping how we view the world," says Wray, author of "Not Quite White." "We don't like to be pigeon-holed that way. Non-white Americans are seldom afforded this luxury of seeing themselves as individuals, disconnected from any race."

During segregation I can recall how whites worried about blacks they labeled as "uppity Negroes” referencing their racial anxiety. Peter Brimelow, author of "Alien Nation: Common Sense About America's Immigration Disaster," asserts that much of white America's anxiety derives from living under a black president and changing demographics. It is important to note that Brimelow's website, VDARE.COM, has been described as a hate site by the Southern Poverty Law Center, a group that tracks extremist groups in the U.S.

Brimelow cites as proof the rise of the Tea Party movement and the racial makeup of Beck's march on Washington. He says more whites recognize, even if it's only on a subliminal level, that they have common interests to defend. "Of course, they would deny this, quite sincerely, if you put it to them because the idea of whites defending their interests as whites is quite new," he says. "Americans are trained to think that any explicit defense of white interests is 'racist.'"

James Edwards, host of the "Political Cesspool" radio show, isn't shy about naming those interests. He says white Americans have become the "dispossessed majority" and that coming demographic changes may turn the United States into a "Third-World flop-house." Edwards, who is considered a white nationalist by the Southern Poverty Law Center, says whites must organize like other stigmatized groups. "There is nothing wrong for Jewish organizations to promote the self-interest of Jews or black organizations to promote the interest of blacks," he says. "There is no organization to stand up to advance the interests of the dispossessed majority." Now whites are victims of pervasive racism, Edwards says.

There was so much craziness contained in the article that I just wanted to share the most disturbing aspects from an African American perspective or as I always say from a Thought Provoking Perspective and their perspective is pure “BS”. When you consider statistics: Whites are the majority – fact. Unemployment in the African American community is near 20%, our mortality rate is double theirs, more likely to die of illness because of no health insurance, two out of four African American children live in homes below the poverty level – I say again pure “BS”.

I feel that all Americans -- white, black, or others -- should be concerned about the future and deal with the reality of life and one which was mostly created by those in powerful conditions. It just happens that laws have made American just a little more equitable and some now cry what they once decried. Every other minority has had achieve a place in America. Is this what is meant when they say, “We Want Our Country Back”? Less not forget, Mr. Obama is the President of the United States and not of Black America, and that’s my truth!

Dick Gregory apologizes to the first Black President

Up-Rising in Wisconsin

Strange things are happening all over the land, and dare I say the world, by people who have been oppressed for far too long by tyrants who maintained corrupt oligarchies, monarchies, and dictators. There was a time not too long ago, some say, even now economically, when the American government segregated Negro’s by law denying almost all rights. I saw it as isolation through poverty and denying voting rights without conscience. When Negro’s rallied for these rights and changes because of bigotry and racism; most whites asked why. When African Americans suffered under what was nothing more than an Apartheid like system for centuries; the rest of America asked what’s the problem? Fast forward to now – it’s happening to them!

The rich and the good ol’ boys, Republicans driven by the right, are now imposing the same tactics and agenda on the middle class to maintain economic privilege. These actions, denying rights, use to be relegated primarily in southern states and designed to disenfranchise – Blacks and the poor. The latest assaults surprisingly are happening taking place in mostly northern states, although throughout America directed at the middle class through assaults upon the union. We must remember that it is because of unions that working people have elevated their station in life providing Americans with the opportunity for employers to not abused labor in the workplace.

This past November the people of the other hue voted overwhelmingly with their heart, or something that I can’t fathom, electing these mean-spirited Republicans and now we see the results. We must remember that the GOP right wing folks are strong proponents and advocates of “States Rights”, which really amounts to maintaining a permanent underclass. It appears to me that people are realizing that a huge and dangerous mistake has been made. The Republicans and Tea Baggers continue to say they are listening to the American people but they do not seem to hear the voices of the American people who have been “Up-Rising” for the last month.

Just imagine if what happened in Egypt and all over North Africa were to happen here in America, meaning people are feed up and are simply asking for fairness with respect to simply wanting to be able to live. Or worst yet, that the faces and people demonstrating were primarily Black and Brown. Let’s think about this for a minute. Hmmm! Wisconsin was in many ways the most unlikely place for such a political conflagration. In a state that was the first to grant collective-bargaining rights to its public employees, back in 1959 to have those rights taken away in such a gansta approach.

We must remember that it is because of collective bargaining and unions that worker enjoy vacations, better wages, benefits, and child labor laws but more importantly “better working conditions”. Here are a few examples from a time the right wants to return:

On March 25, 1911, 146 women burned to death or jumped to their deaths in the infamous Triangle fire. This tragedy resulted from the Triangle Company's refusal to provide safety measures of any sort. The workers were trapped in the burning building because the company had locked the doors on each floor of the tall apparel factory from the outside to prevent workers from shirking or stealing.

In January 1913, wage cuts and poor working conditions in Lawrence precipitated in a strike by more than 20,000 textile workers, many of them women and children. Police brutality against the strikers and extensive press coverage of the strike ironically transformed a desperate struggle among the poorest of workers into one of the most sig¬nificant victories in American labor history. As a result of the strike not only were wages raised and conditions improved in the textile industry as a whole, but important legislation was also enacted that restricted the exploitation of child and female labor (Marshall and Briggs, 1989).

History has shown that centering the rich and industry into fewer and fewer hands makes impossible for unions to cope with that ever growing power and had negative effects upon working people, now called the middle class. Moreover, unions aid workers as the bargaining arm to negotiate with employers for fairness, which is in most cases in interests that are common with employers.

Here is another horrible example of what has happened: The famous mas¬sacre in the mining town of Ludlow, Colorado; workers striking against the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company, owned by John D. Rockefeller, had been evicted from their company housing and were living with their families in tents. On Easter night of 1914, while the men were at a meeting, company gunmen set fire to the tents. Thirteen women and children died in the fire or were shot to death as they were running out of the tents. Five other strikers were shot to death as they tried to help the women and children escape (Boyer and Morais, 1955).

Instead of the conservative old motto, "A fair day's wage for a fair day's work," we should inscribe on the banners for this new fight, "Abolition of the collective bargaining is a crime."

The army of production must be organized, not only for the everyday struggle with capitalists for democracy, but also to carry on production when capitalism may require the crooks of Wall Street to be overthrown. There is no need to organize a new industrial system, improve upon it, America should be asking for a structure of a new society within the shell of the old.

Forget the Free Trade Agreement, buy American, produce industry at home, and stop sending the jobs overseas would be a good first step and that is my Thought Provoking Perspective.

I think everyone needs to open a book or Goggle labor unions evolution to learn the history of what people like this will do to you if left unchecked and unrestricted. I read a statistic last week that said, “400 of the richest people in America hold more wealth than 160, 000, 000 American’s”. The Robber Barons, bankers, and capitalist expect working people to be servants to their greed and so far it’s working.

COMING SOON!!!

It has been several years since “Just a Season”, and it’s time to move on. Generations have come and gone, life is bearable after all, and hope lives in a little boy and in a man who almost lost all hope. Since receiving the epiphany that lead me to tell the story of this man’s epic journey that many have wondered if it was a true story, miracle, a blessing, or simply a fairy tale. It's time for "Legacy - A New Season".

This long awaited squeal to the epic novel Just a Season takes you on an awe-inspiriting journey through African-American history, as told by a grandfather to his grandson at a time when America changed forever. At the end of the story, “Just a Season”, the character leaves the cemetery at Friendly Church with tears in his eyes walking into the abyss of time feeling as if God had forsaken him. But he is strong in faith and knows that faith is the instrument to believe true what is not seen.

John refuses to drown in his tears rather being committed to swim in his blessings. He has come to understand that the wonders of life speak loudly. Blessed are those who believe and have not seen, which is tomorrow and tomorrow holds the promise of all things. “Legacy - A New Season" is the continuation and a stand-alone story rich with history and the evolution of a new season.

And now the Season Continues…

PRELUDE

If you were to reexamine the time in which you’ve lived, you will come to know that the reason we live is to die. The question then becomes what happens between the years of one’s birth and death? This is without question a quandary that everyone must face. In my epic debut novel “Just a Season”, I referred to this specific period of earthly existence as the "Dash" that will be placed on our final marker holding the story of life’s journey. This period of time can only be characterized as a journey because the tiny little dash that separates those years represents the whole of a person’s life.

I can recall a powerful statement once made during a sermon by my childhood pastor Reverend Cole. He said, “Unless and until you suffer enough pain, then and only then, will you reach deep inside and feel the breath that God has breathed into your soul coming eye to eye with your destiny”. I’ve pondered that remark many times along with other reflections of those valuable lessons learned during those early Sunday school days at Friendly Church.

As powerful as that statement is the most profound lesson I’ve learned by far was “why Jesus wept?” As the story goes, Jesus was so moved as he witnessed the pain of Mary and Martha weeping for the loss of his friend, Lazarus, that he wept. Today, I understand that emotion because I have felt such pain. This might explain why I was chosen to be the vehicle to share such an emotionally powerful story that will live far beyond the season I’ve been given.

The novel “Just a Season” is a historical narrative that began with a grief-stricken father visiting the gravesite of his beloved son who was killed in a tragic automobile accident. A moment no loving parent should ever have to face. As the story begins, the main character John asks a philosophical question as he views his late son’s final marker. “If the tiny dash placed on my marker were to tell my life’s story, what would it say?”

What emerged from the pages was a legacy of true benevolence and grace that I believe is destined to be become a true literary classic. This luminous story is a riveting portrait into the life of an African American man who, in the midst of pain and loss, journeys back in time to reexamine all the important people, events, circumstances, and intellectual fervor that contributed to the richness of his life.

"LEGACY-A New Season"

It has been several years since Just a Season, and it’s time to move on. Generations have come and gone, life is bearable after all, and hope lives in a little boy and in a man who almost lost all hope. It’s been said that there are no words that have not been spoken and there are no stories that have not been told but there are some you cannot forget.

“Legacy” - A New Season is the continuation and a stand-alone story rich with history and the evolution of a new season. This long awaited squeal to the epic novel Just a Season takes you on an awe-inspiriting journey through African-American history, as told by a grandfather to his grandson at a time when America changed forever.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

JOHN T. WILLS author of the epic novel “Just a Season”, the John T. Wills Chronicles information portal, and Producer/Host of the Book Tree Radio Show. John has earned a Master’s Degree in Business Administration, been a professor, a businessman, past officer of several college, business, and community boards, volunteer and a friend to many. Regardless of the worldly titles given, John prefers to be called a man.

Any accolades the author may have received are attributed to the teachings and solid foundation of a loving grandfather. This great man of great wisdom assertively implanted the concept that knowledge is power, which developed into the understanding that education is the single most important ingredient necessary to neutralize those forces that breed poverty and despair. This philosophy planted the seeds that cultivated a life, which is “Just a Season” that has now given rise to “Legacy – A New Season”.