Monday, May 07, 2007

A Mangled Use of the Justice System

41 year-old Paul Perry, a victim of a demented use of the justice system to settle a personal vendetta, will be a guest of Valley Black Talk in follow-up to a Fresno Bee article detailing his horrible account of over 10-months of vicious unwarranted threats from Fresno County jail inmates. The threats were the results of letters from an unsuspecting guard to inmates full of racial slurs, derogatory comments, and slander against their families with the intent to enrage them to the point of wanting to retaliate against Paul Perry, his fiancĂ©, her sons, and his mother. And for what….. to combat a civil lawsuit & at-fault car accident that the guard had with Perry?

Listen tonight at 8 PM on Valley Black Talk (KPFA/KFCF, FM 88.1), as he recounts the ‘nightmare’— the resistance he encountered with the Sheriff Department, the threats, and how this could happen to any of us.

Valley Black Talk- Monday, May 7, 2007 at 8 PM . KFCF 88.1 FM

Read the Story on BlackXchange.net Valley Black Talk
The Fresno Bee article- Sunday, April 29, 2007. "Living a Nightmare"

Question: Do you think that Alejandro Vital received a sufficient sentence for the crime committed? Could this be considered a hate crime and/or a intent to commit murder?

Tuesday, May 01, 2007

Imus- When will we have a real discussion on race?

Its’ never just one time

Since April 4th, mainstream media and Americans were reminded that as country have any issues surrounding the topic of race and gender. Comments from Don Imus referring to the predominately black Rutgers Women’s Basketball Team as "nappy-headed ho's" has rekindled the conversation about appropriate speech in the media, societal perception of black women, and deep-rooted sentiment of many whites toward blacks. Yes Don Imus apologized but this not a one-time ‘slip-up’. Over the years, he has made several demeaning comments toward respected black women and journalists from Gwen Ifill to William Rhoden (read the Market Watch article). Imus is an example of a disregard for decency within the media and entertainment towards humanity whether they be black, a woman, Christian, liberal or conservative.

Missed Opportunity?

As one of MSNBC's guest black commentator mentioned, is the firing of Imus a missed opportunity? While this has been a top story since the 4th, I'm certain within a week’s time, it will have been forgotten. What would have happened if Imus in the Morning, due to the situation, helped to reopen the long overdue national conversation on race? Sometimes we are quick to punish the single act or to medicate the pain without searching out the root of the symptom. There are even greater and deeper questions about how we as African-Americans project negative images of ourselves through media— music, videos and TV that is internally accepted and then externally replicated. I believe it’s important not only that we demand that the Imus and Kramers of our society demonstrate civility but those who influence not only our youth but entire younger generations through their lyrics to communicate with responsibility and respect.