The Day Innocence Died – Umbrella Man

The JFK assassination is full of mysteries, untruths and some say lies. One of the strangest elements that happened that day in Dealey Plaza was a man standing holding an umbrella on this clear sunny day just before the motorcade came into the kill zone. Kennedy assassination experts profess that it was open before the shots were fired. They say when he closed it the gun fire began. This man came to be known as the “Umbrella Man” and his curious behavior at the scene of the JFK assassination has lingered for fifty-years.

Was this fellow, standing in Dealey Plaza with an open umbrella and no rain in sight part of the conspiracy? Here are two video’s that captures umbrella man from the NOVA documentary: Here is the first one, and here is the second. It is worth mentioning that some conspiratorialists claim that the umbrellas are different, having a different number of spokes. Decide for yourself.

What was the point of an umbrella in Dealey Plaza? It is said that it was an attempt to heckle Kennedy with a reminder of the appeasement policies of British Prime Minister Nevill Chamberlain, whose weak posture toward Hitler was supported by Kennedy's father.

One of the more bizarre theories about the Umbrella Man comes from Robert Cutler. Cutler claimed that the umbrella was a weapon firing a flechette (poisoned dart) that hit Kennedy in the throat, paralyzing Kennedy to set him up for the head shot. Here is Cutler's drawing of this concept.

There was also another man with Umbrella Man that day that came to be known as the so-called “Dark Complected Man”. He was named that because his complexion was his most readily identifiable feature in photos from November 22. The Dark Complected Man is without question an extremely important character and maybe even more deserving of scrutiny than Umbrella Man.

Dark Complected Man, like Umbrella Man, was on the Grassy Knoll, and, like Umbrella Man, appears to reasonable observers to have been signaling. At the precise moment that JFK’s car passed the Umbrella Man opened and pumped his umbrella repeatedly while the Dark Complected Man shot his fist up into the air. To some, this man seemed to be calling for a halt to the presidential limo, which did in fact either come to a complete halt or slowed down to a crawl.

It’s not just their actions at the moment that Kennedy’s head is blown apart. It’s how they behave afterwards. You will see from the videos below that both acted very different than everyone else after the shooting.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this series is that of the presenters and does not necessarily reflect the views of the author. It is information that is in the public domain provided for the reader to form an opinion. Whereas, it is the author’s position that the most profound sin is a tragedy unremembered and the absence of truth. And that’s my thought provoking perspective…

“The Day The Dream Died”…

Enemy of the Truth: Myths, Forensics, and the Kennedy Assassination

Some say America lost its innocence that fateful day in November 1963 in Dallas, Texas when the shocking news of the assassination of President Kennedy. One thing for sure there has been no shortage of conspiracies, theories, or doubt as to what actually happened on that fateful afternoon. Sherry merges modern CSI knowledge to examine the JFK Assassination in her new book - Enemy of the Truth: Myths, Forensics, and the Kennedy Assassination.

The Kennedy assassination is a particularly timely topic since November 2013 will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the shooting death of the 35th President of the United States. While the most studied murder investigation of the 21st century, it remains plagued by questions and a variety of theories. However, applying modern forensic investigative techniques to this high profile homicide can reveal new information—some of which is startling.

Sherry Fiester has applied current forensic disciplines to eight different aspects of the assassination providing scientific answers to some of the Kennedy assassination’s most puzzling questions. Fiester details how today's trajectory techniques used to reconstruct shootings when applied to the assassination prove the shooters location for the fatal head shot eliminates both the sixth floor sniper’s lair and the Grassy Knoll. Fiester also addresses the abbreviated forward movement of Kennedy's head followed by the familiar "back and to the left" movement observed in the Zapruder film, debunking the idea of two almost simultaneous gun shots to the head.

Fiester is a court certified expert in Louisiana State Federal Court and 30 Judicial Districts in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Florida in Crime Scene Investigation, Crime Scene Reconstruction and Blood Spatter Analysis and Reconstruction. She is published and recognized as an instructor at state and national levels. In 1995, Fiester began to apply her expertise to the Kennedy assassination. Later that year she spoke at the 1995 Coalition on Political Assassinations (COPA) Conference in Washington, DC. Fiester was the featured speaker at the Dealey Plaza Echo Kennedy Assassination Conference in the United Kingdom in 1996.

A regular presenter at JFK Lancer November in Dallas Conferences since 1996, she is a recipient of the prestigious JFK Lancer-Mary Ferrell New Pioneer Award given in recognition of her contribution of new evidence and advancing the study of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Now retired from police work, Fiester is utilizing various forensic fields to promote a better understanding of the Kennedy assassination. The results have been a variety of speaking presentations and more recently, completion of the book, “Enemy of Truth: Myths, Forensics, and the JFK Assassination.”

Why I wrote the book: I believe the historical narrative of our country concerning the Kennedy assassination is distorted with biased and unverified information. Many people still believe in a single shooter, regardless of the scientific facts that prove otherwise. Sadly, the majority of the conclusions and purported facts concerning the death of President Kennedy are anecdotal, unrealistic, and incorrect statements kept alive by those who would prefer fabrications that promote sensationalism as opposed to the quiet reality of fact. I want to fight the unsubstantiated allegations that continue to rear their head, summoning the naive to join forces in a “truth is stranger than fiction” campaign.

Although imaginative and sometimes thought provoking, these theories rely upon the suspension of common sense and fly in the face of forensic research. I want to correct those misconceptions. Polls have consistently shown that the American public’s confidence in their government has steadily declined since the Warren Report was issued in 1964, and now over 80% of the people refuse to believe Kennedy was killed by a lone, deranged gunman.

The American people are convinced they have never been told the truth about the tragedy of November 22, 1963 and many will not stop in their search for the truth concerning his death and the subsequent cover-up. This book is part of my fight to bring the truth to light and restore accuracy to our history.

Buy It At AMAZON.COM

Knowledge is the gift that keeps on giving.

We Want Justice For Trayvon Martin

We have seen justice denied many times since African Americans were dragged onto the shores of this country. It has happened in many ways from lynchings to many other forms of terror and as we see continues today.

I will pray for justice to be served in the Zimmerman Murder Case. Therefore, Thought Provoking Perspectives will show support for the Martin family who only asks for justice to not be denied as it has throughout our sorted history.

The Black image is my way of showing my support until justice is correctly served.

Not too long ago, a black person’s “place” was in the field or in the back of the bus. If a black man was found “out of his place,” he could be jailed or lynched. In Martin’s day — in our day — a black person’s “place” is in the ghetto. If he is found “out of his place,” he may be treated with suspicion, frisked, arrested — or in this case DEATH.

Rest In Peace Trayvon! And that's my Thought Provoking Perspective...

THE NERVE OF THIS MAN

Let me say from the first sentence that I in no way condone nor endorse the newly released book by Robert Zimmerman Sr., called “Florida v. Zimmerman: Uncovering the Malicious Prosecution of my Son, George”. Rather to say it is, in my view, disgrace. I am not a reviewer although I do have the right to an opinion, which is the reason for this post or maybe a rebuke of this shocking and shameful essay.

As the murder trial for George Zimmerman begins and prior to its start the defense has released prejudicial information that in no way would be admitted in court disparaging to the deceased child. Let say it more clearly – THE VICTEM WHO IS DEAD! If this guy was so innocent these tactic would not be necessary.

In an article written by Judd Legum in ThinkProgess reports the following:  

The most striking chapter in this publication is called “Who Are The True Racists,” an apparent effort to rebut claims that his son’s actions were racially motivated. Previously, Zimmerman Sr. “believed generally racism was a thing of the past.” He says that, personally, he hadn’t encountered much racism, even though his wife is Hispanic. But after his son shot and killed Trayvon Martin, however, Zimmerman learned that racism is “flourishing at the insistence of some in the African American Community.” He then goes on to list various black leaders and organizations that he believes are racist:

Congressional Black Caucus. “[A] pathetic, self-serving group of racists… advancing their purely racist agenda.” He later adds that “all members of Congress should be ashamed of the Congressional Black Caucus, as should be their constituents.” And finally: “They are truly a disgrace to all Americans.”

The NAACP. “[S]imply promotes racism and hatred for their own, primarily finical, interests” and “without prejudice and racial divide, the NAACP would simply cease to exist.”

NAACP President Benjamin Jealous. “[W]hat I would expect of a racist.”

Trayvon Martin’s funeral director. A “racial activist and former head of the local NAACP.”

Benjamin Crump, Natialie Jackson and Darrly Parks, attorneys for Travyon Martin’s family. “The scheme team.”

The National Basketball Players Association.

Black Chamber of Commerce.

National Association of Black Law Enforcement Officers.

National Black United Fund.

United Negro College Fund.

While stopping short of explicitly calling President Obama a racist, Zimmerman Sr. does say that Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder have “shamelessly” sought to exploit his son’s case “to obtain great advantage in the African-American community.”

Zimmerman Sr. says that because of Holder’s decision to investigate whether Trayvon Martin’s death violated federal civil rights laws, the FBI did not have “adequate resources to investigate clearly identified potential terrorist [sic] in the Boston area.” Now, “tragically, we have suffered the consequences of Mr. Holder’s politically motivated decisions.”

It is my understanding that the elder Zimmerman was a Judge. Therefore, he should know what happens when a death occurs from the use of a handgun. If the Pop’s is so confident that his son is innocence the former judge might want to see what has been reported from the autopsy report and the DNA findings. If I can recall the EMS and his son's PA admitted in their findings that he (the son) may have injured himself to make it appear that the child he murdered give him cause.

Racism is rooted in white privilege which seems to be the arrogance of what he speaks and could be the Zimmerman family trademark ingrained, unfortunately, in the old man’s heart. It really takes a lower element to profess this kind of disrespectful thinking! Therefore, from this rant I ask who might the real racist be? And that’s my THOUGHT PROVOKING PERSPECTIVE…

Justice For Our Child Trayvon

In two weeks, June 10, 2013, the second degree murder trial in Florida for George Zimmerman will begin. Today, the defense was in court where the Zimmerman camp asked a judge to delay the trial, which the judge denied. Other issues relating to admissible evidence was also heard relating to the murder of seventeen year old Martin’s past with much of it will not be admissible.

The ruling was among several important decisions by Circuit Judge Debra S. Nelson during a two-hour hearing this morning at the Seminole County Courthouse. The judge ruled for the state on several key issues: The defense may not bring up Trayvon’s past marijuana use at trial, his school suspensions or alleged participation in fights, without clearing several legal hurdles and another ruling granting permission.

It is shameful, yet expected that the defense would put the child on trial. When it was Martin who received the ultimate injustice – DEATH - but then we have seen this before! Just remember the Emmitt Till case and the murders of Bunchie Carter, Fred Hampton, James Bird and countless others where justice was denied.

Let’s support the Martin family as we pray for justice. And that’s my Thought Provoking Perspective…

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Remember These Four Little Girls

There are so many atrocious things that were inflicted upon people of African descent from the beginning of our journey in this place the slaves called “merica”. I am here to report that the horrible murder of four little girls in Birmingham on September 15th, 1963 was without question the worst. It was a Sunday morning while these baby's were attending Sunday school when a bomb exploded at the 16th Street Baptist Church .

Today we are talking about the heinous murders that recently occurred at Sandy Hooks Elementary School that shocked America. What happened when the ground floor of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church collapsed from a terrorist attack by members of the KKK killing for innocent little black girls, while they were attending a Sunday school session, was equally, if not, far more shocking to the world. These four children were in the church basement preparing for the morning service.

All four girls died – Denise McNair, aged 11, Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley and Carol Robertson, all aged 14. Many others were injured. Despite the many racial crimes committed in the South, this one was greeted with abject horror. Despite the deaths of four young girls, and the many that were injured, no-one was initially arrested for this crime even though the authorities suspected four men within days of the outrage. Frankly, the authorities placed little value on the lives of Colored People which was one of the reasons to not investigate or apprehend the suspects.

If I can take you back to the era; Birmingham was ground zero for the civil rights movement and the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church was an organizational centre for much of the movement’s activities. In particular, youths used the church to help plan strategies to get more black high school children involved in the civil rights cause. In the Spring of 1963, stores in downtown Birmingham had been desegregated and just days before the bombing, schools in Birmingham had been ordered by a federal court to integrate – nearly ten years after the Brown v Board of Education ruling. Of course, the Klan and many racists would not accept this decision nor the successes the civil rights movement.

The chief of police in the city, Bull Connor, was very anti-civil rights and had ordered that police dogs and fire hoses used on civil rights demonstrators in May 1963. Birmingham was well known as a stronghold of the KKK. The influence of the KKK was such that children’s books that showed black and white rabbits together were banned from sale in book shops in the city. Segregation was the norm in the city. Violence against the black community in Birmingham was not unusual but the deliberate bombing of a church took that violence to a new level.

In 1965, J Edgar Hoover, head of the FBI, stated that any chance of prosecution was “remote” and in 1968, the FBI pulled out of the investigation. Initially, no-one was arrested for the outrage. Eventually, a known member of the KKK was arrested in 1977 – Robert Chambliss. He was sent to prison and died there in 1985. However, many believed that he was not the only one involved.

In 1980, a US Department of Justice report stated that Hoover had blocked evidence that could have been used in the pursuit of suspects. This led to the Alabama district attorney reopening the case. However, while the case was reopened no new charges were filed.

In October 1988, Gary A Tucker admitted that he had helped set up the bomb. Dying of cancer, no charge was laid against him but federal and state prosecutors reopened their investigations. In May 2000, Thomas Blanton and Bobby Frank Cherry surrendered to the authorities after they were indicted on four counts of first-degree murder and “universal malice”. One year later, Blanton, aged 62, was sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty on four counts of murder.

Blandon said after the verdict was announced "I guess the good Lord will settle it on Judgment Day". Bobby Frank Cherry was initially deemed to be mentally unfit to stand trial. However, this was overturned and he was found guilty after members of his family gave evidence against him.

The role of the FBI has been criticized by some with regards to this case, particularly the role played by J Edgar Hoover. It was only after 14 years that the FBI released 9,000 files relevant to the case – including the so-called ‘Kitchen Tapes’ in which Thomas Blandon was heard telling his wife about building the bomb and planning to use it.

This case which went unsolved for so long speaks to the depth of racial hatred in America not all that long ago. It was more shocking to our community that the powers that be knew who the culprits were and failed to act. Or was the system of injustice so pervasive that their actions were the result of institutional approval. There is a movement today for these four little girls to receive the Medal of Honor. I, for one, think they are deserving of this high honor because their lives were innocently sacrificed for a cause they never really understood.

I pray that the souls of Denise McNair, Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley and Carol Robertson Rest In Peace for all eternity. God Bless each of you!!! And that’s my Thought Provoking Perspective…

The Second Amendment

With all that talk about the Second Amendment I wonder if you knew the real reason for the Second Amendment. Did you know why it says "State" instead of "Country"? Well, much like most early laws it was to preserve the slave patrol militias in the southern states, which was necessary to get Virginia's vote. What was called militias initially; it was a reference to "slave patrols” regulated by the states.

Laws were passed in Georgia, for example, that required all plantation owners or their male white employees to be members of the Georgia Militia, and for those armed militia members to make monthly inspections of the quarters of all slaves in the state. The Georgia statutes required patrols, under the direction of commissioned militia officers, to examine every plantation each month and authorized them to search 'all Negro Houses for offensive Weapons and Ammunition' and to apprehend and give twenty lashes to any slave found outside plantation grounds.

Let me add that this was not germane to Georgia alone but most southern slave holding states!

Before and up to the signing of the Constitution hundreds of substantial slave uprisings had occurred across the South.  Blacks outnumbered whites in many areas, and the state militias were used to both prevent and to put down slave uprisings. The fact is that slavery could only exist in the context of a police state, and the enforcement of that police state was the explicit job of the militias.

Think about it, if slaves had guns then they could be emancipated, which would collapse the institution of slavery, and the southern economic and social systems.

I am not going to expound upon this debate further because when black people, i.e., the Black Panthers, tried to exercise their right under the Second Amendment am going to agree with the profound actor Danny Glover who made this comment on the Second Amendment something called CONITEL was developed and the California Governor sign a bill to deny that right.

The fact is that the Second Amendment was conceived largely to preserve the institution of slavery and to suppress Native Americans. Actor and Activist Danny Glover said this recently: “I don’t know if you know the genesis of the right to bear arms,” Glover said. “The Second Amendment comes from the right to protect themselves from slave revolts, and from uprisings by Native Americans. So, a revolt from people who were stolen from their land, or revolt from people whose land was stolen from, that’s what the genesis of the Second Amendment is.”

Anyone who has read the Constitution knows that it says nothing about the rights of people of color or women. Therefore to think that the Second Amendment had anything to do with the rights of all people are simply wrong.

I am a veteran, served this country, and love it but something there is a huge void between fact and fiction. I would suggest that all of us be careful when those on the right and others connect the word of a Dr. Martin Luther King to this debate, as again it is fiction far from fact. And that’s my Thought Provoking Perspective…

Our Communities Need You

Day in and day out reports on the news contain many violent acts, most notably those crimes that involve guns and murder in one form or another. Today for instance there was a shooting reported in Aurora, Colorado where three people were found dead inside a home. It seems as if most of us, particularly our government appears to be numb to the carnage and accept it. I say accept it because nothing substantial is being done to stop the violence. I am going to admit that I don’t know the answer or claim to have a solution but the numbers say – ENOUGH!

A very recent report by the government says the violent crime rates fell for the fifth consecutive year in 2011 in the US. But in urban areas like Detroit the homicide rate rose to a level higher than nearly 40 years ago when the city was known as the Murder Capital according to the Detroit News. The same day the city's official crime statistics were announced, a Detroit woman was charged with fatally stabbing her 8-year-old daughter and a cab driver was killed in a double shooting on the city’s northwest side. I am sure there were others as well.

At the same time homicides have declined nationwide for years, most notably in New York, where in 2012 there were 414 homicides and a rate of one per 19,915 people. New Orleans reported a small drop from 199 to 193 in 2012. With a population 360,740, the rate was one per 1,869 residents and in Washington, DC there were 88 homicides in 2012, the lowest total since 1961. With a population of 617,966, that puts the rate at one per 7,023 people. All of this is good.

It was also reported that elsewhere across the country, homicide rates made only slight jumps compared to Detroit.

• In Los Angeles, the homicide rate increased from 291 to 294 last year, with a population of nearly 3.8 million.
• The homicide rate in Chicago went up nearly 17 percent in 2012, topping 500 for the first time in four years. Last year’s total was 505, up from 433 in 2011.
• Homicides in Cleveland, Ohio, spiked in 2012 with 97 and a rate of one per 4,060 people.
• Philadelphia homicides increased from 324 to 331 in 2012. With a population of 1.54 million, that amounts to one per 4,642.
• In St. Louis, which has a population of 318,169 people, the rate stayed the same at between 2011 and 2012 at one per 2,815 people. There were 113 homicides last year, well below the average of 141 for the five previous years.

So ladies and gentlemen I would like to suggest that we look at ourselves because these people are our people, family, and friends more often than not. Let me also suggest that we change the dialog from “Hood” to “Community” that will induce inclusiveness. So my advice is to reach one teach one and empower our youth to do better than we did. And that’s my Thought Provoking Perspective…

Knowledge is the gift that keeps on giving.

http://johntwills.com

Legacy – A New Season 

AMAZON

Just a Season

Two of a Kind

Let me start by give Webster’s definition of perjury. It is the voluntary violation of an oath or vow either by swearing to what is untrue or by omission to do what has been promised under oath. In other words LYING!!!

Today the Seminole County Sheriff’s Department arrested Shellie Zimmerman, wife of George Zimmerman, charged with murdering Trayvon Martin, on one count of perjury after they were advised by the office of State Attorney Angela Corey that a warrant had been issued.

The crux of the case against the assassin who murdered young Trayvon Martin rest upon creditability because Zimmerman is the only one and no one else can testify to the events of that evening. The murders supporters expect us to believe that what he says is true.

Yet, from all that I have heard and read there is no truth to nothing he has said and by revoking his bond, and now this, how can anyone believe anything the murder says. Today, Shellie was booked into John E. Polk Correctional Facility and released on $1,000 bond, officials said. I suppose this means the two of them were temporary together again.

George Zimmerman, 28, was charged with second-degree murder in the Feb. 26 shooting of Martin. He pleaded not guilty. Police say that he claimed on the night of the shooting that he acted in self-defense. The murder’s $150,000 bond was revoked after allegations that during an April 20 bail hearing that he and Shellie Zimmerman misled the court about their finances, neglecting to disclose they had raised at least $135,000 in a PayPal account.

The order issued Tuesday by Assistant State Attorney John Guy charged Shellie Zimmerman with knowingly making false statements during the April hearing. Also today, the court released Seminole County Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester’s order revoking George Zimmerman’s bond. "There are several factors that weigh against his release ... Most importantly, though, is the fact that he has now demonstrated that he does not properly respect the law or the integrity of the judicial process."

 I can only suggest that justice be served and we as citizens lift our voices to repeal the “Stand Your Ground Laws” because, as this shows, next time it could be your child to which justice is deferred. And that’s my Thought Provoking Perspective…

VOTE!!!

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To Serve

On this great day I want to simply share a profound message that if taken to heart – will change the world. Please listen to the video and make that change. I once heard it said that “I may not be the one to change the world but I can change the mind of the one who can”.

And that is my Thought Provoking Perspective…

http://johntwills.com

SUPPORT – SIGN THE PETITION

As we continue to move further into the preposterous I am shocked and saddened at the judicial system in Florida. Now, I know these unfair situations do not only occur in Florida but it does hold the distinction of two of the most outrageous legal events - that we know of - in modern times. African Americans all to well, and have always decried the justice system, that has been blatantly unfair to us.

If ever the “Stand Your Ground” law in Florida had a chance of being applied fairly, this case shows that it has gone out the window as of last Friday. A court sentenced a black woman; Marissa Alexander a 31-year-old mother of three to 20 years for firing a warning shot at her abusive husband. I thought the law was supposed to have been passed for a persons to protect themselves, if they feared that their life was in danger. That’s what was represented on behalf of George Zimmerman.

In light of the aftermath of the long-delayed arrest of Trayvon Martin’s assassin, it is incomprehensible that Alexander, who neither killed nor injured anyone, has been convicted of aggravated assault with a firearm and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Let me just remind you that just about a month ago the system did not want to arrest the murder of a child who only had candy and a drink. Moreover, he posed no threat. Unbelievable!!!

Marissa’s husband, Rico Gray, a man with a documented history of abuse including an assault on her while she was pregnant, threatened to kill her nine days after the birth of their daughter. This time, Marissa wasn’t going to put up with another beating. When threatened, she fired a warning shot into the ceiling to let Gray know that the abuse was over and he’d better think twice before coming after her again. He then ran into the street and claimed that she had threatened to kill him and his boys. On his word alone, she was arrested.

State Attorney Angela Corey, the same prosecutor who is prosecuting the Trayvon Martin case, offered a three-year sentence plea bargain but Alexander refused on the grounds that she had done nothing wrong. Alexander tried to invoke Florida’s Stand Your Ground law but the judge refused.

Even though Gray recanted and even though Alexander’s 11-year-old daughter took the stand and made a plea on her mother’s behalf, the judge said that he had no choice but to sentence Alexander for at least 20 years.

This verdict poses serious questions about an already questionable law that is applied unevenly. Jacksonville Congresswoman Corrine Brown has stated that Alexander’s case is a product of “institutionalized racism” and that she had been unable to locate a Stand Your Ground case where a black person is the beneficiary of the law. In the meantime, Marissa Alexander faces a long time in prison with little hope of getting out.

There is an online petition to Florida Governor Rick Scott to grant a pardon to Marissa Alexander. You can sign it here: Pardon Marissa Alexander – show your support and sign the petition!

I want to thank author Ann Werner where much of this article was gleaned. I hope you don’t mind Ann but I was compelled to share and show my support. Thank you and that’s my Thought Provoking Perspective…

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DID YOU KNOW THIS? You must see this crime!!!

Chamberlain, a 68-year-old African American and former Marine, was shot dead by police in his own home in White Plains, New York, after he mistakenly set off his LifeAid medical alert pendant. The Westchester District Attorney says no police officers will be charged in the fatal shooting of Kenneth Chamberlain Sr. after a grand jury declined to indict any of the officers involved.

We air newly released audio and video of the shooting, as well from his sister’s call to police as she tried to defuse the situation. This is what they call “protect and Serve”.

And that is my Thought Provoking Perspective…

Thank you Democracy Now! 
You must see this!!!

I’ll open this post with a Hmmmm! If you are among the 8,000 followers or one of the hundred thousand plus readers my words – I thank you - and if this is your first-time welcome.

I am looking forward to the comments and your thoughts with regard to the question. Since the Trayvon Martin assassination and the recent incident in Tulsa Oklahoma last week it begs the question or at least consideration of thought – “Does race matter?”

This is a conversation that most Caucasians struggle with, at least in an open or honest way, and most are scared to talk about race, and we aren’t any different. Now, African Americans see matters of race from a completely different perspective. It’s like; if you’ve felt the brunt of this wretched ideal you know it and see it.

The stories of oppression, racism, segregation and even slavery are very real and most African Americans have experienced it in one form or another and know it is real. Of course slavery was not physically visited upon us today by law. However, it exists mentally and institutionally.

You cannot view the history of America and not see that race has and still does matter. Naturally, the obvious differences in neighborhoods, employment, schools, and the legal system – causes one to ask why. I read a poll recently that said the Trayvon Martin story differed tremendously along political and racial lines. Many said, the murderer had a right to kill this child (white-conservatives) and others say absolutely not (Black-liberal). Personally, I side with the sane and not insane.

More to the point, there was a time in my life where I saw police trample peaceful protesters, marchers beaten in the streets, and fire hoses turned on people, American citizens called negro’s at the time, for asking and in most cases begging for the basic human right to live – it came to be known as Civil Rights. Then a few years prior to that, in the first half of the last half century, black men where lynched by the hundreds for entertainment. Yet, most of white America believed and by law supported these actions as moral.

Was this colorblindness that dictated these policies that allowed justice which is blind to permit the wretchedness of racism to exist in the hearts and minds of people? You may realize that whenever the conversation of race comes up; there is the usual quote by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. “we want to judge people not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” If the issue of race was that simple – the world would be a better place, but it’s not. So let’s talk about it – honestly.

Look at it this way, there was an old man who was bent over. Someone told him to stand up. The old man had been bent over so long – he said, “I thought I was!” And that’s my Thought Provoking Perspective…

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A Recreation of the Murder

This video is intended to extend the conversation about the tragic death of Trayvon Martin and what it says about societal stereotypes. We do not claim to have the answers. We are starting with the questions hoping to find new ways to keep the dialog going until we, as a nation can find the answers together.

Please share with your email and social media contacts, then follow up with a dialog. Talk to your friends and family, co-workers and acquaintances, search for answers then share those answers with others. We must begin to educate each other and challenge our own deep seeded beliefs, in an effort to end bigotry, racial profiling and stereotyping.

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The Shot Heard Around The World

The death of Trayvon Martin has turned out to be the shot heard around the world. It is very possible that the birth of this child was intended to change the world. Let me remind you that the Arab Spring of last summer began in a similar manner. Think about it!!!

Raise your voices and join celebrities who are privileged beyond belief to have a public following. The have exploited media to gain success. Now its time to exploit the media for the benefit of humanity as a whole. As purveyors of content and media, all of us need to use our voices to stop injustice at the site of its origin.

Please follow the campaign on Twitter by using the hashtag #fearkillsloveheals



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Shock and Awe!

I think the trepidation of the title is appropriate in light of the circumstances of today, particularly as it relates to African Americans. Since the Trayvon Martin case has, unbearably, consumed our consciousness they are now calling racism "bias".

Admittedly, we all know there is a long history of African American suffering from injustice in the state of Florida. Does anyone remember the incident in “Rosewood”? By the way, Malcolm X famously said, “anywhere south of Canada is south” which means injustice is embedded in the culture of America.

The Rosewood incident is not withstanding to the countless events where African Americans, and others, have come up on the short end of the long arm of the law in Florida. This police department where the Martin murder occurred has an unconsciously notorious history of abuse at the hands of the law. Before I go any further, let me state clearly that my interpretation of the Martin murder has changed. It was an ASSASSINATION!

Let me go further and connect this to the age old theory of States Rights, which means in a society or at least the belief in a dynamic that those who feel entitled are now endangered species. The extreme elements then revert back to what is instilled in their consciousness that the promise of Manifest Destiny is dead.

America, today, where millions of white people out of work, a president of color, and some say outnumbered by a multi-cultural society has given rise to hate. This I would argue is a huge problem concerning the conversation of racism that has raised its ugly head in this continuous political environment. Maybe this is synonymous with what some call a cultural of whiteness with the feeling of entitlement being lost.

When we talk about race, the major problem that exit is that most of society believes it does not exist. For example in 1963 85% of white people surveyed said black people had as much chance of receiving a good education as white children. Now, let’s look at this statistics! Brown v Board was decided in 1954 that gave us those profound words - "With all deliberate speed" but in fact it was not for 13 years that equal education showed any semblance of reality to the ruling in the form of education.

There were many whites in 1963 in the same survey that said, most whites thought everything was fine in terms of race relation. They also said Dr. King was wrong to stir up the coloreds and they were happy with their current state at the time. I will remind you that this was the same argument that those who where ardent slaveholder and supporter of that immoral institution made at the time of slavery. Also be reminded that almost all president up to Lincoln owned slaves.

So it is my contention that if the system is designed to protect the system - how can people of color who were referred to in the constitution as being less than human expect justice for all? I’ll leave you to answer this question. And that’s my Thought Provoking Perspective.

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Living Yesterday – Today!

Let me first say to all who follow THOUGHT PROVOKING PERSPECTIVES that I am indeed honored that you read my words. I try to provided and add a prospective to reality whereby you may be empowered and maybe, just maybe, see the world through new eyes. If you knew me personally, you would know that I rarely ask for anything, maybe that is a fault, but I am a benevolent spirit and this is my way of giving.

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I WILL HOWEVER, TODAY, ASK EACH OF YOU FOR SOMETHING. PLEASE SHARE SOMETHING ABOUT THIS MURDER, ASK FOR JUSTICE, AND RAISE YOUR VOICES IN PROTEST OF THIS INJUSTICE!!!

I have lived long enough to have witnessed many vial and unspeakable things done under the auspices of RACISM. I remember the first time I saw the brutally beaten corpse of little Emmitt Till, which was done because of a way of life. I can recall crying that day and I cry today for the murder of Trayvon Martin. As I see it, these two horrible events are strangely similar and equally frightening.

It shows that we, as African Americans, are still a nation of people living in a nation without a nationality. Translated – no justice!

Of course, we don’t yet know every detail of the encounter between Martin and the monster who murdered this unarmed 17-year-old high school student. But, we know enough to conclude that this is an old familiar story with the same tenets rooted in RACISM. Emmitt’s murderer got away with it and so far so has this guy.

Now let me ask, how many guys named George are out there cruising the streets? How many guys with chips on their shoulders and itchy triggers fingers with loaded handguns? How many self-imagined guardians or more aptly put vigilantes who say the words “black male” with a sneer? You do know that was the Klan’s mantra!

Whether Zimmerman can or should be prosecuted, given Florida’s “stand your ground” law providing broad latitude to claim self-defense, is an important question. But, the more important question is: “we should stand up to repeal these deadly laws designed to give license to “Kill Black People”. This often happens because this bull’s-eye that black men wear throughout their lives, and in many cases, just caught on the wrong street at the wrong time.

Protect, teach your children, and may this child’s soul rest in peace. I have lost a child through tragedy and I know this pain. My heart and prays go out to the Martin family.

If you never took a stand for anything – now is the time. And that is my Thought Provoking Prospective…

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The Peril’s Of Justice

We as African Americans understand, as Richard Pryor famously said, when it comes to justice what we find is JUST-US! This statement could not be more profound today as it relates to some of the news stories that involve African Americans, namely the recent murder of the young child Trayvon Martin.

Frankly, this case takes me back nearly sixty-years when another young black child was murdered where the culprits did not receive due justice. I wonder if the story would be different if the victim was white and the shooter was black. I think we know the answer to that!!!

But I read a piece today written by Mr. Jonathan Capehart and like him I had the same questions that he asked in this article. First, he asked, what was Zimmerman’s relationship with the Sanford, Fla., police department? Then he asked why was Zimmerman portrayed as a volunteer neighborhood watch captain when he was not part of a registered neighborhood watch program? Further he asked, did the Sanford Police Department ever warn him about his activities in this unofficial capacity?

When you consider that Zimmerman was known to have placed, as it was reported, 46 calls to that department between Jan. 1, 2011, and the Feb. 26 shooting; did the Sanford police have specific orders on how to deal with him? Did they have a file on him? Did they have him on any kind of special watch list?

To these questions, the Police Chief said, “we don’t have the grounds to arrest him.” Yet, Zimmerman’s claim of self-defense was sufficient justification to not arrest him. My next question was why did Chief Lee accept Zimmerman’s self-defense plea on its face? Did the police run a background check on Zimmerman? Did his previous arrest, for resisting arrest without violence, raise any red flags with police? Did Lee attempt to establish probable cause? How did he go about it? Was Zimmerman tested for drugs or alcohol? If not, why not? Was Zimmerman’s gun confiscated? Was it tested? Where is that gun now?

These are all valid questions that demand answers.

Now, here are a few questions that come to mind with respect to the crime scene. What did police do with Trayvon’s body at the scene? What did police do with Trayvon’s body once taken from the scene? Why was it tested for drugs and alcohol? What did police do with Trayvon’s personal effects? Where is his cell phone? Did police try to contact Trayvon’s 16-year-old girlfriend, who was talking to him during the initial moments of the confrontation with Zimmerman and who tried several times to call him back? Hmmmm!

So as you can see there are many more questions than answers and frankly a thorough investigation would have answered these questions. Thankfully, the Department of Justice has decided to review the case to ensure that some of these questions are answered – maybe. There is such a thing as right and wrong; some things are right and some things are wrong. When you look at the aforementioned questions in this case that are unanswered - it stinks of wrong. Oh, and for sure racism!!!

There are so many more questions than answers and I pray we get them answered, and justice is served. With that said, I would suggest that you compare this to little Emmitt Till and recall the Peril’s Of Justice.

And that’s my Thought Provoking Perspective!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32545640

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Trayvon Martin Shooting & The 911 Call

IN THE NAME OF GOD - GIVE THIS FAMILY JUSTICE...

SHOCKING!!!



From The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander:

A heavy and cruel hand has been laid upon us. As people, we feel ourselves to be not only deeply injured, but grossly misunderstood. Our white country-men do not know us. They are strangers to our character, ignorant of our capacity; oblivious to our history and progress, and are misinformed as to the principles and ideas that control and guide us, as a people. The great mass of American citizens estimates us as being a characterless and purposeless people; and hence we hold up our heads, if at all, against the withering influence of a nation's scorn and contempt.

---- Frederick Douglass, in a statement on behalf of delegates to the National Colored Convention held in Rohester, New York, in July 1853. [Now what has changed]

My prayers and sympathy go out to this family.

Use whatever means at your disposal to call for justice in this case. And that's my Thought Provoking Perspective!!!

A Killing Season

There have been many atrocities involving the story of the African American struggle. One of the most horrifying of such was a dreadful wave of lynching and anti-Negro violence that permeated the very fiber of America during the year 1919.

Lynching was so pervasive that James Weldon Johnson labeled it the "Red Summer”. During this year, race riots started by whites, inflicted devastation upon blacks across the nation. Let’s be clear there were many race riots but the difference this time was that blacks fought back!

Red Summer refers to the summer and fall of 1919, in which race riots exploded in a number of cities in both the North and South. The three most violent episodes occurred in Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Elaine, Arkansas. On the afternoon of July 27, 1919, a stone throwing melee between blacks and whites began after a black youth mistakenly swam into territory claimed by whites off the 29th Street beach in Chicago. Amidst the mayhem, Eugene Williams, a black youth, drowned.

When a white police officer refused to arrest the white men involved in the death, and instead arrested a black man, racial tensions escalated. Fighting broke out between gangs and mobs of both races with violence escalating with each incident, and for 13 days Chicago was in a state of turmoil. By the time the riot ended, 23 blacks and 15 whites were dead, 537 injured, and 1,000 black families were left homeless. The Chicago riot was part of a national racial frenzy of clashes, massacres, and lynching’s. All of the incidents were initiated by whites.

In Washington, D.C., from July 19 to 23, four whites and two blacks were killed; whites were astonished that blacks dared to fight back. The NEW YORK TIMES lamented the new black militancy: "There had been no trouble with the Negro before the war when most admitted the superiority of the white race."

A "Southern black woman," as she identified herself, wrote a letter to THE CRISIS, praising blacks for fighting back. "The Washington riot gave me a thrill that comes once in a life time ... at last our men had stood up like men. ... I stood up alone in my room ... and exclaimed aloud, 'Oh I thank God, thank God.' The pent up horror, grief and humiliation of a life time -- half a century -- was being stripped from me."

From October 1-3, a race war exploded in Phillips County, Arkansas. On the night of September 30, a small group of black men and women were gathering a rural church to organize a sharecroppers' and tenant farmers' union -- the Progressive Farmers and Household Union of America. When two white law enforcement officers arrived at the church, one later claiming they were looking for a bootlegger, shots were exchanged. One white officer was killed and the other wounded.

As word of the shootings spread throughout the county, the local sheriff sent out a call for men "to hunt Mr. Nigger in his lair." The call went out to Mississippi to come to the aid of white men in Phillips County. Hundreds of armed men jumped into trains, trucks, and cars and, crossing into Arkansas, fired out of windows at every black they saw. Some said that if it was black and moving, it was target practice.

Frank Moore, one of the farmers at the church, saw the massacre as it unfolded: "The whites sent word that they was comin down here and kill every nigger they found. There were 300 or 400 more white men with guns, shooting and killing women and children." Soldiers from the United States Army eventually restored order, although some claimed the military participated in the killings. By the time the shooting ended, 25 blacks and five whites were listed as officially dead.

Many blacks believed that perhaps as many as 200 were killed, their bodies dumped in the Mississippi River or left to rot in the canebrake. The white establishment charged that blacks had formed a secret conspiracy to rise up and overthrow the white planters, take their land and rape their women. No evidence was ever produced to substantiate the charge.

This inhumane treatment was so blatant that civic and religious organizations began to speak out against lawless groups. One of the main opponents of lynching was the Federated Black Catholics under the guidance of Thomas Wyatt Turner. Turner was a supporter of civil rights and a devout Catholic born in Charles County, Maryland, Turner was a graduate of Howard University. Before he accepted the teaching position at Howard, he was the secretary of Baltimore's NAACP. However, his voice was not heard.

I could go on until all of the ink in the world is gone but what would be the point! Because history has recorded that the American Dream was more like a nightmare for people of color and minorities. So I will stop here and simply ask that you look into your soul and ask it: If you or I can see history lived which is known to be true – changed? How can you, we, or anyone believe anything history has ever told us?

And that’s my Thought Provoking Perspective!

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"Just a Season"
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AMAZON

Legacy – A New Season is Coming!

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