So what's been going on in Black America this week?

Earlier this week Megan Williams experienced one of the most horrific experiences of her life when she was kidnapped and raped by a group of six West Virginian men and women. With the intention of going to a party, Williams tagged along with a woman she barely knew who eventually led her into a trailer which was the start of her week of terror. After she was beaten, verbally assaulted, and forced to eat an array of different feces, authorities have still failed to call this case a hate crime? How much more hate would it take to meet the qualifications?

After dying of suffocation by a group of guards at his first day of boot camp, Martin Lee Anderson's case would never see justice. After a clear example of racial injustice that was caught on tape, the guards were not sentenced even one day in jail by their all white jury. As ..:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Anderson pleaded for his life as he was being repeatedly slapped against the concrete, the guards persisted with a look of apathy on their faces. How is it that people can kill animals and go to prison, but kill a boy and walk away completely free?

Genarlow Wilson was finally released this week after earlier being convicted of aggravated child molestation. Exactly why he was supposed to be imprisoned for two years for having consensual relations with another minor remains a mystery. If anything, Wilson's experiences serve as a representation on how easily a man of color can be incriminated when having sexual relations with a party of another race.

So what has been going on in Black America this week? 

http://www.blackamericaweb.com/site.aspx/headlines/lightvsdark1019 

      There was controversy earlier this week in Detroit when there was talk about a club promotion allowing all light skinned black women to enter for free. Exactly what kind of message is a promotion like this supposed to convey? Especially from an African American club promoter? Women of lighter complexion are constantly accused of thinking they are better or having an easier time than those with a darker complexion, but in actuality the root of this problem is due to mis-education. From the times when black people were enslaved under white control, the idea that white was more intelligent, more desirable, or just better has been consistently ingrained in the people of its respective societies. What can we do to re-educate ourselves? What is it going to take to eventually establish a genuine sense of equality? 

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article2677098.ece?token=null&offset=0 

      Talking about mis-education, one of the worlds most respected scientists made a remark earlier this week claiming that black people were less intelligent. Here is a clear example of a person who has been mis-educated. Excluding the fact that America is not necessarily the most conducive environment for a black person to flourish, time and time again, black people have risen above and beyond prejudice, hatred, and racism to accomplish great feats. Martin Luther King Jr., Paul Robeson, George Washington Carver, Garret Morgan, and Stan O'Neal are only some examples of the revolutionary capability that has come out of the African American community. Although the scientist was later apologetic for his supposedly well-researched inquiries, we are left to wonder what we can do about people with these clearly racist views.  

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7051538.stm 

      Opposed to John Edward's remarks last week regarding what to do about the rising incarceration of black youth, it seems as if Ministers in the UK have possibly come across a viable solution. They have begun to contemplate the idea of opening up safe houses for black youth that would like to escape membership from a gang. Although this solution might not seem like too most innovative or creative, it is a push in the right direction. Maybe we as American citizens should take notes? 

http://www.blackamericaweb.com/site.aspx/bawnews/calltoaction1022 

      On the subject of innovative solutions, the Philadelphia Police Chief has instituted a call of 10,000 men to help patrol the crime-infested city. With 44 percent of Philadelphia's 1.5 million people being African American, thousands of black people came out responding to the call to bring safety back to its streets. Police realize that they need help from the community and feel that black people can be more effective than police, especially in black communities. This is just another example of people being proactive, a concept that should be applied to many different facets of our society. 

Appropriate pictures… 

So what has been going on in Black America this week?

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http://www.blackamericaweb.com/site.aspx/bawnews/jenasixhearing1015

As we all know, the ..:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />JENA 6 have finally began to gain media coverage, although it is certainly not enough. It was recently announced that on Tuesday October 16^th there would be a hearing before the House Judiciary Committee. As we all know, Bell's first judge erringly tried him as an adult. Bell's parents and civil rights leaders are currently in the process of trying to get a different judge because the same judge that handled him in the adult case is scheduled to handle the juvenile case in that small town. Already having served a ten-month sentence, the judge fails to show any sense of consideration for this minor. Where is the justice that should exist in our judiciary system?

http://www.blackamericaweb.com/site.aspx/bawnews/noosehanging1011

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Just when we thought we heard the last of hanging noose incidents, another symbolic noose was found hanging on the door of a black professor at Columbia University. Experts say that this situation is not race related but validity of that statement seems to be very questionable. When the dust settles, the hanging of a noose really only represents one thing, racism. As a result, protests have sparked while no one has been found to be responsible.

http://www.blackamericaweb.com/site.aspx/sayitloud/mathis1015

On a different note, Barack Obama is one of the most positive and prominent icons of the black community. His intelligent, charismatic, and clean-cut reputation has given him a viable chance to compete in this election although he is still behind in the polls. He is being advised to use more scrappy campaign tactics in order to better compete, but is that really a good idea? Senator Barack Obama has swayed his supporters up to this point with such a respectable approach that it would be out of character to do anything slanderous. With the potential to really make positive changes in our society, he is a great representative not only for the American people, but also for Black America. For this reason, it's the job of his supporters to do whatever they can to become active and help the good guy make it to the top.

http://www.blackamericaweb.com/site.aspx/sayitloud/kane1004

On the subject of Presidential hopefuls, U.S. Senator John Edwards has somehow stayed out of the spotlight. Earlier this week, he made racist remarks regarding the African American youth partaking in violence in a public forum. When asked what to do about inner city kids partaking in violence, he presented the idea that "We cannot build enough prisons to solve this problem. And the idea that we can keep incarcerating-- pretty soon we are not going to have a young African American male population in America." The bottom line is, it is not possible for a presidential hopeful to gain support from the black community making public remarks like that.  

http://www.blackagendareport.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=398&Itemid=40

            How do the richer continue to get richer while the poorer continue to get poorer? Apparently the U.S. employment numbers have been doctored into meaninglessness, as have all indices of economic growth or decline. According to federal data, income inequality amongst classes has never been greater since World War II. The U.S. and its media are ruled by huge corporations which have warped the English language making all economic jargon impossible for the common person of our society to understand. For this reason, the people with the knowledge a.k.a. the richer get richer, while those without the knowledge a.k.a. the poorer get poorer. What is middle class anymore? What can we as a people do about this growing disparity?

http://blacknews.com/pr/cleveland_shooting101.html

This last week a 14-year old student opened fire on a group of four black students. Although the student had a history of being crazy and violent, what are the possibilities that this vicious attack was race related? Other students that were asked about him after the incident said that they did not feel personally threatened although they were concerned for his mental health. Although this is the case, the families of the four black students probably have good reason to believe that his rage was racially driven.