Cornelius deserved so much better. All Black children deserve so much better.
Please click here to sign the petition to shut down Sequel Youth and Family Services, the national for-profit agency that runs Lakeside for Children.DeAnna Smith is a PhD student in Sociology at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She is an urban sociologist with interests in race, family, poverty, and state-violence. Her current research investigates Black parents’ experiences with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) in two Chicago neighborhoods. She is a prison abolitionist and supports the abolition of the current child welfare system.
Questions? Contact her at deasmith@umich.edu
In 2015, I was arrested while trying to pick my daughter up from day care. The camp counselor who made the call freaked out about a 4 finger ring she saw on my hand. I hadn't hit anyone with it. I hadn't yelled at anyone. I hadn't broken any laws. There were no injured parties. No property damage. No harm to anybody.
The police treated me like a criminal. They cuffed me in front of my screaming 5 year old daughter. I was charged with the unlawful use of a weapon (my four finger ring) and also disorderly conduct. Like most Black people in the U.S. who run afoul of the "justice system" I was coerced into a plea bargain. So I plead guilty to disturbing the peace and disorderly conduct to avoid being possibly found guilty of the "unlawful use of a weapon" charge which for me, would have carried a penalty of 1 year in prison.
A year in prison. For a piece of jewelry.
My story didn't go viral even though my life was turned upside down. My daughter was traumatized. I lost a side job. My income was impacted and so was my ability to find employment. To this day those convictions stand as a blemish on my "criminal record" and should I ever be unfortunate enough to be caught up in the wicked American legal in-justice system's machinations again, they will surely reference these convictions as a reason to award me the maximum penalty - even if all I have done is scare some European American camp counselor with jewelry she isn't familiar with.
That is why my wife and I made this movie. I am not the only person to have been caught up in a situation like this. I'd wager that hundreds if not thousands of Black people are subjected to scenarios just like this every year. And most of us won't go viral. So this is for you. And it's also for these so-called lawmakers who are supposed to be serving their ENTIRE constituency. I say "supposed to be" because if they were serious about serving US, then there would be laws in every state criminalizing 911 abuse. Because that is what it is. These people who call 911 on people like me whom have injured no one, whom have broken no laws, these people have weaponized 911. And it is long past time to criminalize this life-wrecking behavior.
Please help us raise awareness to this issue by sharing this blog and/or this video on your social media networks.
Respectfully submitted,
Hannibal Pace, Lead Servant of the Free Breakfast Movement
"Everything that exists, is ultimately spirit. It is spirit or it doesn't exist. That which is material is merely a manifestation of spirit." - Dr. Marimba Ani
Sincerely,
Hannibal Pace, Lead Servant
"In a world of representation vs. revolution, it is important to remember who often gets left out of our constantly-evolving definition of progress. As we post our achievements in media, academia, and capitalism, let us continue to remember our other symbols of success. Let us recall that there are actual people who dwell inside of our article-referenced statistics. Let us remember to praise different paths to progress, favoring only those trails that are blazed with us in mind.
All of us.
Gangstas to Growers (GTG) is a 3-month agribusiness training program for our most vulnerable young adults in the Westside neighborhoods of Atlanta, Georgia. Along with working and learning on farms, GTG provides a whole range of holistic workshops and activities, including: financial literacy, nutritional cooking, group therapy, business & cooperative development, environmental responsibility, and so much more! Additionally, GTG pays its trainees through stipends. They have a mission of practicing a holistic approach, providing employment and entrepreneurial opportunities to returning citizens that live in historically underserved communities. Their vision is to actively regenerate our ecological, economic, and social landscapes with the help of our most vulnerable population. Ultimately, local farms will be full of delicious organic food, our markets and businesses will be teeming with commerce, and our communities will be vibrant and happy. And so, they need us.
All of us.
Jill and the Free Breakfast Movement will be donating $5 from each t-shirt sale and $10 from each hoodie sale to this amazing group of public servants. Please support our efforts by copping some gear AND by sharing our effort on your social media networks."
GTG is doing phenomenal, transformative, and incredibly impactful work. It's my personal pleasure to partner with Jill and YOU to help support their efforts!
Sincerely,
Hannibal Pace, Lead Servant
About @JillisBlack: Jill is a writer, facilitator/lecturer, and community activist dedicated to effectuating substantive change by any means necessary. Book her through her website and you will be glad you did.
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"Nearly everyone that works with youth in Chicago Public Schools — teachers, social workers, school counselors, principals — undergoes specialized training. But until this recent legislation, this hasn’t been required for police officers assigned to work in schools." - via City Bureau
"The real content of any kind of revolutionary thrust lies in the principles, in the goals that you are striving for - not in the way that you reach them."
I really hate hypocrisy. However, there are times where people behaving hypocritically manifests itself as a very telling and ironic lesson. In this case, it’s a lesson on fake feminism and its corresponding lack of humanity; but don’t let me mess the story up. I’m gonna let my Native sister Hokte give you a first-hand account of it as she experienced at the so-called “Women’s March” that transpired January 2017:
Alright. Here is one indigenous woman's take on the #WomensMarch on Washington, in a sea full of white women (WW). This will be a thread.
— hokte (@sydnerain) January 23, 2017
Many women of color (WOC) have criticized this march already. I'd like to share an indigenous experience of colonization and stolen land.
— hokte (@sydnerain) January 23, 2017
First off, I'd like to point out I marched with a group of indigenous women/people with @indigwomenrise. We stayed together as a collective.
— hokte (@sydnerain) January 23, 2017
We were surrounded by good medicine in DC, the belly of the beast. You could tell by our spirits we came from 100's of years of resistance.
— hokte (@sydnerain) January 23, 2017
We started a prayer circle in the morning in front of the American Indian Smithsonian museum, next to all those ancestors. It was powerful.
— hokte (@sydnerain) January 23, 2017
We took smoke from Ponca elder Casey Camp-Horinek, we sang warrior songs together. There were so many nations that came together as one.
— hokte (@sydnerain) January 23, 2017
I want to make it clear that I had my people with me, that I had a home in this march that was absolutely plagued with white supremacy.
— hokte (@sydnerain) January 23, 2017
I everyone to understand that our prayer circle was sacred & full of good spirits in those moments. And how leaving the circle was toxic.
— hokte (@sydnerain) January 23, 2017
My @IndigenizeOU partner and best friend Ashley and I wore our regalia. She wore her jingle dress and I wore my ribbon skirt & ribbon comb.
— hokte (@sydnerain) January 23, 2017
We were visible. They took pictures of us and then refused to take our fliers on pipelines, fracking, and #MMIW in Oklahumma.
— hokte (@sydnerain) January 23, 2017
The WW told us we "looked beautiful" and took pictures of us without our permission, but wouldn't listen to what we face as NDN women.
— hokte (@sydnerain) January 23, 2017
Ashley and I started a chant, "You're on stolen land." WW shot us ugly looks. One shouted in her face, "We know but it isn't our fault!"
— hokte (@sydnerain) January 23, 2017
Multiple WW scolded us for being "too loud." Multiple WW mocked me for lulu'ing (war cry, of sorts) alongside Ashley while she chanted.
— hokte (@sydnerain) January 23, 2017
You could hear what the WW said. "They're real Indians." "They're still here?" "I think they're faking it." "Why do they look like that?"
— hokte (@sydnerain) January 23, 2017
All the while I kept trying to focus on the energy & history of the land I was standing on. Washington DC. Capital. Stolen Piscataway land.
— hokte (@sydnerain) January 23, 2017
I always try to think about my connection to the land. Think about whose ancestors I'm standing on. And these WW ask me if I'm a real human.
— hokte (@sydnerain) January 23, 2017
Outside the prayer circle WW are taking pics & videos of us in round dance. Several WW roll up in R*skins hats. WW asking me "What is this?"
— hokte (@sydnerain) January 23, 2017
WW try to walk through our prayer circle and are immediately called out by our elders present. This is all before the march even starts.
— hokte (@sydnerain) January 23, 2017
When the march starts several WW try to join our group to march with us. Two WW beside me told me "Guess we're Indians today!" and laughed.
— hokte (@sydnerain) January 23, 2017
We responded, "We don't get to choose if we're native or not. This is our reality & you are not Indian. You are disrespectful & need to go."
— hokte (@sydnerain) January 23, 2017
WW responds: "I'm from Minnesota. I can name a lot of the lakes around me and they're all in Indian. I even know some tribes too."
— hokte (@sydnerain) January 23, 2017
None of us are amused and we ask her to leave. She calls us and our march "rude" and said "it's unfortunate that Indians can't take jokes."
— hokte (@sydnerain) January 23, 2017
When the march begins I am surrounded by WW holding up signs like "smash the patriarchy" "keep your hands off our pussies" and so forth.
— hokte (@sydnerain) January 23, 2017
We begin our first chant, "Mni Wiconi, water is life." WW look confused. WW staring at us or just acting oblivious like we weren't there.
— hokte (@sydnerain) January 23, 2017
And it makes me so, so fucking angry to type this. The tone-deafness of all these "angry" white supremacists around me. Their lack of care.
— hokte (@sydnerain) January 23, 2017
I'm crying now typing this. One day it's a pipeline. The next our babies are stolen. Next our sisters go missing. Next we're killed by cops.
— hokte (@sydnerain) January 23, 2017
And I'm marching and trying to hold my head up and remembering my Mvskoke ancestors who marched on the Trail of Tears for me to be here.
— hokte (@sydnerain) January 23, 2017
The whole time I am treated by non-Natives and especially WW like a marching spectacle while they refuse my fliers. Like a real life museum.
— hokte (@sydnerain) January 23, 2017
These WW are saying "this is just the beginning." Our ancestors have marched since 1492. This is our whole lives. This is who we are.
— hokte (@sydnerain) January 23, 2017
WW want to call me their "sister," but my sisters don't touch me or my regalia without my permission. They don't speak over me.
— hokte (@sydnerain) January 23, 2017
You want me to hold hands with you and sing kumbaya and be "equal," while you stand on our ancestor's graves and this is your first march.
— hokte (@sydnerain) January 23, 2017
You, WW, are complicit in my genocide, & until you abandon ur white fragility & acknowledge this you're a white supremacist, not a feminist.
— hokte (@sydnerain) January 23, 2017
What did I learn from the way WW treated native women at #WomensMarch? That we aren't human. Just museums of a past you know nothing about.
— hokte (@sydnerain) January 23, 2017
To WW we are living museums of a past you refuse to acknowledge & refuse to learn about. Treated as a guest on our own ancestral lands.
— hokte (@sydnerain) January 23, 2017
White feminists treat us like we are burdens or that we are divisive. Because it's inconvenient for you to let go of your whiteness.
— hokte (@sydnerain) January 23, 2017
So listen WW, if you care about women's issues, if you consider yourself a feminist, then at a minimum, DON'T TOUCH THESE LADIES' FEATHERS.
Best,
Hannibal Pace
]]>Policies such as these are completely inappropriate and unacceptable and will only serve to perpetuate the marginalization of the only people native to that land.
The holiday season is upon us! If you celebrate Christmas, you are probably already trying to figure out what you want and what to buy your family.
But what about the principles of the holiday?
Christmas (and most ameri-european holidays) have LOOOONG been colonized. These holidays aren't about family and togetherness nearly as much as they are about consumption and materialism. That's why I love Kwanzaa so much.
Kwanzaa was created in the 1960s by Dr. Maulana Karenga. If you ask 3 different people what it is, you will probably get 3 different answers. However, at its essence, it is a holiday that celebrates and promotes Pan-African culture and seven principles (called the Nguzo Saba) that empower and edify.
These principles are referred to by the Swahili word typically and that is to reinforce Black people's bond to Mother Africa. We do this because Black history in America often excludes anything before slavery. WE SHOULD REJECT THAT NOTION. Black people were civilized residents of a thriving continent before the inception of the Maafa (the Trans-Atlantic slave trade). Using Swahili, or any tongue native to Africa, is a reminder of this fact.
Ideals, principles, and values guide our actions. If we have substantive, positive, and productive values in our core, in our spirit, there is no limit to what we can achieve.
Kwanzaa begins this year on Monday December 26th 2016
For more details, click HERE and read further....
One more thing:
We owe our success to our supporters so as a token of our appreciation we're running a promotion in conjunction with the holiday. Not to encourage consumption, but more so to lessen the economic burden that comes along with the holiday season. And let's face it, we want the messages contained in our fabrics to get out there so running this sale makes it easier for us to proselytize these messages of Black Empowerment! (lbvs)
Hope you appreciate it!
Best,
Hannibal Pace, Lead Servant
Free Breakfast for Children
]]>Sometime ago, the Millennials and their younger counterparts came up with the Mannequin Challenge. This little episode in contemporary art typically consists of a large group of people with nothing better to do who stage a snapshot of a raucous scene. Everyone freezes in the middle of the scene and a camera person walks in between the participants capturing it from different angles.
Up until I saw this one, I had been unimpressed. Most of the other challenges I had watched were a bunch of college students staging fights or something else meaningless. This one is different. This one will make you feel something. Enjoy and share for the edification of others please...
Rs,
-H. Pace
]]>A surprising fact that most civilians aren’t aware of is that gunshots can sound an awful lot like fireworks. The only real way to differentiate between the two, is to be aware of the difference in cadence. Fireworks have a much more regular cadence. BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM. The cadence of gunshots is typically erratic. BAM-BAM-pause-BAM-BAM-BAM-pause-BAM-pause-BAM. But even still, it’s hard to know the difference unless you have been around each. I've spent time in the military. I have been around my share of both fireworks and gunshots alike. I know the difference.
This Saturday evening I heard gunshots.
It wasn’t the first time I had heard them; but it was the first time I heard them and then looked out the window only to see a young man bleeding on the sidewalk within a stone’s throw from my living room window. A young man. Bleeding. A teen. A child.
The police arrived shortly thereafter as did the ambulance. I witnessed the young man being carried away by the paramedics. An hour later the fire department showed up to hose the blood off of the sidewalk. Yellow tape cordoned off the street to identify the crime scene.
Until this evening, I have been sick with worry wondering if the victim was one of my students. I work part-time as an educator and mentor in my neighborhood and some of my neighbors are also students of mine. I finally caught up to the father of the young man I worried had been shot, and he was able to confirm that his son, my student, was safe as he was at a friend’s house when the shooting took place. I breathed a deep sigh of relief when he told me that. Relief that was followed by guilt. Someone had been shot. It wasn’t my student. But someone had been shot. A teenager. A child.
My student lives in the building right next door. His family lives on the 2nd floor. Underneath them live a family of 4. My neighbor and I are fairly certain that someone down there sells narcotics. Whether or not that is true, someone in that home is gang affiliated. I’ve witnessed the activity firsthand. And the events of this past weekend would confirm that for anyone who had doubts. But they aren’t the only ones in this neighborhood who are affiliated. There are a number of them. And even though we live within a half mile from the police station, the gangs’ grip on this neighborhood doesn’t seem to be lessening over time.
What is to be done? Who is to blame? How can we turn this thing around? I’ve spent a lot of time pondering things questions. I’ve also worked to counteract this phenomenon. Unfortunately, it hasn’t been enough. A child was shot next door. And I can’t stop thinking about it.
I’m writing this because even though I’ve worked to reduce violent crime in my city, I haven’t done enough. Chances are, many of you reading this haven’t done enough either. Do you realize that the cure for cancer might very well reside inside of the mind of an “at risk” child? EVERY child has amazing potential. The kind of potential that when realized might have a tremendous effect on his/her city, state, country, WORLD. It’s true. Because of this, we absolutely have to do more to help them realize that potential.
The South African principle of Ubuntu recognizes the power of the village. Ubuntu loosely translated means, “I am because we are.” This is the only way that we will be able to help ALL of our children realize their potential – by tapping into the power of the village. By getting out of our comfort zone and working with our neighbors to protect the most important asset we have which is the next generation. We can’t rely on this current generation to make revolutionary change. This generation is encumbered. By debt. By obligation. By emotional and mental baggage. We can’t rely on the cops up the street. They are VERY aware of who slings the dope, and who traffics the weapons, but they turn a blind eye because of graft and bribery and apathy. It is up to us to protect and to enable our children.
Are you willing to accept this challenge?
Rs,
-H. Pace
]]>"...before you look with disdain at those who value liberty more than they value safety, please remember that Harriet Tubman was considered a boat rocking criminal when she was helping people escape slavery...."
There is an easy narrative to regurgitate with regard to the child: she put him in harms way. I'm categorically opposed to it. Shaun King writes about the numerous occasions that non-Black men have assaulted, shot at, and endangered the lives of law enforcement agents only to be taken into custody ALIVE. It's fair to say that Korryn never imagined that the cops would endanger her son's life by firing upon her with him in close proximity.
I'd like to suggest a different narrative that you are welcome to accept or reject: Korryn Gaines was a courageous woman who lived on her own terms and tragically was murdered by racist cops who see Black people's lives as not being valuable and for not being subservient in the face of their state appointed "authority".
In other words, she was killed for pushing back. And please believe, the need to push back against a system that is more totalitarian every day is LOOONG overdue. You will understand when the reasons for sending in the SWAT team start to affect you (i.e. collecting student loan debt)...
Best,
H. Pace
LIVE FREE
]]>"If we dealt with him like a nation deals with a traitor, what the hell business is it of yours?" - Minister Farrakhan, Savior's Day 1993
The above words seem damning. They truly do. And if you would like to hear them spoken, please refer to the ONE MINUTE clip below. I have emphasized the words "one minute" for a very important reason though. This excerpt was extracted from a lecture that was over 3 hours long. To be truly informed about Farrakhan's thoughts and position on Malcolm X and Malcolm's assassination, it stands to reason that one should listen to the entire lecture. SO THAT BEING SAID, if you want the entire story, and if you would like to be more informed, we have included links to the entire lecture. If you don't have time to tackle it all at once, try listening to it piece by piece on your commute to and from work. Or while you wash the dishes. But however you do it, you owe it to yourself to have the whole story. WE HAVEN'T DECIDED TO PUBLISH THIS PARTICULAR BLOG ENTRY TO CURRY FAVOR FOR MINISTER FARRAKHAN AND/OR THE NATION PER SE. However, we DO want to discourage people from being manipulated by misinformation.
Respectfully,
H. Pace
THE 1-MINUTE EXCERPT
THE SAVIOR'S DAY 1993 LECTURE (PART 1 OF 6)
THE SAVIOR'S DAY 1993 LECTURE (PART 2 OF 6)
THE SAVIOR'S DAY 1993 LECTURE (PART 3 OF 6)
THE SAVIOR'S DAY 1993 LECTURE (PART 4 OF 6)
THE SAVIOR'S DAY 1993 LECTURE (PART 5 OF 6)
THE SAVIOR'S DAY 1993 LECTURE (PART 6 OF 6)
]]>
In the spirit of that, please take a moment to click ===> HERE and subscribe to his channel. WHO KNOWS, maybe he will be reviewing YOUR business someday soon....
Additionally, I'd just like to talk about business reviews. Often times, we don't do a review unless the experience was HORRIBLE. Even conventional wisdom suggests that the average consumer will tell a whopping ten people about a negative experience but will only share a positive experience with ONE other person. I would like to challenge you all out there to turn this around (at least as this pertains to Black owned businesses).
If we want our experience to be better, if we want our Black Businesses to thrive, let us give them an opportunity to improve. So here are 5 suggestions on helping Black Businesses improve:
So again, please let us commit to supporting our businesses in every way possible. And if you are curious about how we here at Free Breakfast stack up, just watch the video below :-) :-) :-)
-H. Pace
]]>
If you have found yourself frustrated after having tried (and probably failed) to explain how obviously unjust these situations are, don’t fret – most of us have. You might have even left one of these conversations thinking that there is no point in having another. But I am here to give you hope and hopefully some tools to help ensure your next encounter is at least productive. Remember, if you have the light of knowledge, you have a duty to share it with the blind. If you share it and they don’t use it, THEY have failed. If you have it and don’t share it, YOU have failed ;-)
I can’t emphasize this enough. Once you blow your cool, the transmission of ideas is severely compromised. This is rule number one for many reasons and the first one is that the verbal manifestation of ignorance can be mind-blowingly infuriating. Just think about the last time you heard someone bring up cigarillos during a conversation about Mike Brown. #objectionyourhonor_irrelevance
Teaching a person can take time. No one masters new material in a single lecture. That being said, realize that the messages you are trying to convey may need to be delivered multiple times and in different ways. You may need to continue the conversation sometime in the future. If you forget this tenant (and/or violate rule 1) you may not get an opportunity to reinforce the message at a later date.
A lifetime of flapping your gums doesn’t make you a master communicator. Most people don’t even talk WITH each other; instead, they talk TO each other (the distinction is critical). Communication is NOT talking and waiting for your turn to talk. It is active listening. It is a concerted effort to not only be understood, but also to understand. So practice with friends and family so that when you are communicating with someone who you know less intimately, someone who may not be as easy to have a dialogue with, you are prepared.
Be knowledgeable on the subject. Know the facts. Know the sources. Be able to identify a credible source over one that is not credible. Be able to point someone to your sources. And above all, do not speak authoritatively about something you aren’t sure of. Preface factual statements with, “According to suchandsuch.com” or “In the book, blahblahblah, author states the following”. These kinds of statements are harder for a nay-sayer to attack and conversely, they are easier for you to defend.
Human beings have a tendency not to believe in things that cannot be measured. Do you know the impact that your conversation will have on a person? NO. Can you determine the impact it will have on yourself? NO. You don’t know and you will never know because we don’t have a scientific and quantifiable way of measuring that impact. But by the same token, it’s difficult to measure the impact of a mother’s love yet no one would challenge its importance in child rearing. That being said, do not pass up an opportunity to share your knowledge with another human being. Do not be a defeatist. Do not assume that your words will have no effect – simply because you do not see that effect.
TO CONCLUDE
Some people will dedicate their life to service and for them we should be grateful. Other people will live their entire life selfishly with no thought for their neighbor. Most of us will fall somewhere in between. To you, I will leave this charge: you hold knowledge that can make our world better – share it. Not sure how? Try this: the next time you meet a co-worker at the water cooler, ask them if they heard about the baby in Georgia whose nose was blown off by the grenade a police officer threw while serving a drug-related arrest warrant. Don’t forget to mention that the deputy who threw the grenade avoided any criminal charges. If that starts a good conversation, GREAT. If not, no problem. What a person does with the torch of knowledge is their own cross to bear. Yours is simply to pass that torch.
-H. Pace
]]>
-Picture of a police officer leaning against an LAPD cruiser inscribed with the words “to protect and serve”
The excerpt for this blog is a bold face lie. The Supreme Court's ruling did not take place while we were distracted by "Game of Thrones". Reason being, "Game of Thrones" wasn't even out yet when the ruling took place. The latest ruling took place in 2005 on June 27th. What's worse, that ruling was a reaffirmation of the original ruling that took place in 1989. Yeah. Staggering. For a quarter of a century, the police - those fellas we rely on to protect us - have not even been obligated to do that.
In 1999, her estranged husband, whom she had a restraining order against, murdered Ms. Gonzalez's 3 school-aged daughters. It was avoidable.
If you refer to the picture above, you'll notice that the cruiser in the image is emblazoned with the words "to protect and serve". I have left the words uncapitalized as I have judged them to be hollow considering the "Supreme" courts ruling and Southern California's wretched track record of police brutality (think Rodney King, Oscar Grant, BART cops, and the Black Panther Party's reason for being). The reason LAPD vehicles still bear this cliche is because it's still their advertised motto.
WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH ME?
I am glad you asked, but you asked the wrong person. You should ask Jessica Gonzalez. In 1999, her estranged husband, whom she had a restraining order against, murdered Ms. Gonzalez's 3 school-aged daughters. It was avoidable. You see, immediately after her husband violated the order and kidnapped her children, Ms. Gonzalez called the police department and entreated them to search for the man. They refused. Hours later he showed up at the station firing the same gun he used to kill all 3 of the children. To make a long story short, she sued the police department and lost. The jury cited the original ruling handed down in the 1989 case DeShaney v. Winnebago County
DESHANEY V WINNEBAGO COUNTY
The following is a real tear jerker so get ready to be appalled.... In 1980 the courts awarded Randall DeShaney with custody of an infant. Three years later the police were called to his house on suspicion of child abuse. The Department of Social Services (DSS) became involved and mandated reoccurring visits from the state agency to ensure that nothing was amiss. On 5 different occassions during 1983 DSS employees reported suspicion of child abuse in conjunction with those visits. In March of 1984, Randall DeShaney beat his 4 year old son so badly that the boy ended up in a life threatening coma. He lived, but sustained brain damage that would impair the boy for the rest of his life. The mother sued the state and lost.
CONCLUSIONS
I am a harsh critic of this country. One of my harshest critiques has to do with the almost unbridled, fearful gun culture that exists in America. This assessment is not my opinion, it is a fact. We are the only developed/industrialized country on the planet to experience nearly 10,000 gun homicides a year. Worse, there are only 4 countries on the planet that experience more gun homicide per year than the U.S. And just as a reference, our northern neighbor Canada only experienced 173 gun homicides in 2012 as compared to the U.S.'s staggering 9,146. As other countries have comparable access and regulation, I attribute this disparity to our culture. This culture is spread by people like Dan Cannon, founder and editor of gunssavelives.net. I am not a fan nor am I a supporter of Cannon and his site. In my humble, he's just another gun nut who is propagating this sick and harmful obsession with firearms. I bring him up because if you follow the link I embedded 2 sentences ago, you'll find an article where he cites this Supreme Court ruling as a reason to be a shooter/vigilante.
This is what we are up against. This is why 136 unarmed Black people were killed in 2012 by police, security guards, and vigilantes like george zimmerman (caps left off on purpose). And this is why we need to turn the T.V. off and pay attention to the laws that our elected officials and our "Supreme Court" are crafting right under our nose.
-H. Pace
]]>2. Nevuary 15th
3. May 33rd
4. When you no longer have a need for your hands
5. Never ever ever in your life!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- Hannibal Pace
]]>EXTRAJUDICIAL SHOOTINGS IN AMERICA | |||
Date | Victim | Race | Armed? |
1999 | Amadou Diallo | African | No |
2000 | Patrick Dorismond | African | No |
2003 | Ousmane Zongo | African | No |
2003 | Orlando Barlow | African | No |
2003 | Michael Pleasance | African | No |
2004 | Timothy Stansbury Jr | African | No |
2005 | Aaron Campbell | African | No |
2005 | Ronald Madison | African | No |
2005 | James Brissette | African | No |
2005 | Travares McGill | African | No |
2006 | Sean Bell | African | No |
2009 | Victor Steen | African | No |
2009 | Oscar Grant | African | No |
2010 | Steven Washington | African | No |
2011 | Alonzo Ashley | African | No |
2011 | Flint Farmer | African | No |
2012 | Kendrec Mcdade | African | No |
2012 | Timothy Russel | African | No |
2012 | Ervin Jefferson | African | No |
2012 | Wendell Allen | African | No |
2012 | Ramarley Graham | African | No |
2012 | Trayvon Martin | African | No |
2012 | Rekia Boyd | African | No |
2012 | Atwain White | African | No |
2012 | Stephon Watts | African | No |
2012 | Manuel Loggins Jr | African | No |
2012 | Johnnie Warren | African | No |
2012 | Justin Sipp | African | No |
2012 | Dante Price | African | No |
2012 | Melvin Lawhorn | African | No |
2012 | Bo Morrison | African | No |
2012 | Nehemiah Dillard | African | No |
2012 | Jersey Green | African | No |
2012 | Robert Dumas Jr | African | No |
2012 | Sheron Jackson | African | No |
2013 | Jonathan Ferrell | African | No |
2013 | Kimani Gray | African | No |
2014 | Zikarious Jaquan Flint | African | No |
The world doesn't yet know that we have this much money. Think I am lying? David Lazarus of Marketplace.org reports, "Companies spend $75 billion a year on advertising, but only three percent of that is in Black publications, and casting Black actors, and on Black TV and radio stations." Three percent is next to nothing. But I assure you, once they rub the racism out of their eyes and put on their greed-glasses, this is going to change. Businesses will start clamoring for our dollars and and they will be making it even easier for us to hand those dollars over (e.g. less stringent credit lines, more liberal lay-away plans).
As a COMMUNITY, we need to actively work against this pending assault on our wallets. As a COMMUNITY, we need to harness our dollars for with economic power comes political power and increased access to resources and legal protection. The way we can do this is with group economics.
GROUP ECONOMICS
In short, group economics is a concerted effort to spend money within one's own demographic/constituency AND FOR THE BENEFIT of one's own demographic/constituency. Currently, every other cultural group in America seems to do that well except for African Americans. We don't value or appreciate the impact we can have on each other's lives. The easiest way to understand the group economics dynamic is to think about jobs. African American unemployment in America has always been almost double that of whites and everyone else. Why? RACISM pure and simple. If you doubt that, read this study =====> (click here). The conclusion of this very well structured scientific experiment is that if you have a name common in the Black community, you will get 50% less call-backs during your job hunt than someone with a "white name". If you can justify that conclusion with anything other than racism, you are probably a racist. GROUP ECONOMICS is the answer to this.
WRAPPING UP/GETTING RICH :-)
An open hand smack hurts. A closed fist punch can kill. We need to pull our dollars together with the same intensity that a prize fighter closes his fist before s/he strikes. And it is easy! If you are a buyer, buy within your community! Don't wait until the last minute to purchase something as the urgency will prevent your from being able to spend time searching for the African American supplier. Plan your expenditures well in advance so that you can spend the time searching for the RIGHT supplier, one within your own community. If you are a seller, get creative AND GET RICH. $1.1 trillion dollars is a lot of money. Meet the needs of your people and watch a percentage of that money come straight to you...
-Hannibal Pace
]]>The day before I killed the girl, I asked a crowd of people in the neighborhood, “What do I have to do around here to get some peace, quiet and respect? Shoot someone?" You see? I gave them an opportunity to lower their music. I gave them 24 hours to realize that loud music won’t be tolerated. They didn’t listen.
I work for the illustrious Chicago Police Department. Even though you might have seen us in the news lately when one of my brothers in arms (Steve Mandell) was arrested for extorting local businessmen in a homemade torture chamber I assure you that we are the good guys. In fact, I am only the 2nd Chicago cop to be indicted for a shooting since 1997. You may be thinking, “That’s just because the system doesn’t work,” but I assure you, it’s because we behave ourselves 98% of the time. That being said, we expect deference. That’s why when I drove up on a crowd of people at 1 AM whilst I was off duty, I expected to be obeyed when I demanded that they turn the music down. They didn’t. Luckily for me 2 circumstances lined up: 1) I already had my gun in my lap and 2) some black guy pulled a cell phone out. I shot at the guy, but unfortunately he was only wounded luckily he survived. Unluckily, Rekia, an innocent bystander, was killed. I swear to you that when I peeled off shooting my gun over my shoulder blindly, I was trying to hit the black guy, NOT Rekia.
Truthfully, I was scared. You may be tempted to challenge this claim, but I was. You see, even though I have been trained by the city to responsibly handle high-danger and high-stress combat situations, I get really nervous around black guys, especially when they wear hoodies and baggy pants. It took such personal courage for me to decide to live in the Douglas Park area. You see, one of my vices is trap-music/gangster-rap/drill-music/crack-music. I have been listening to it for years now. In this "genre", I have listened to countless rappers declare that black manhood is linked to violence. So when I see black guys who look like the rappers, I instantly become anxious and apprehensive. This isn’t racism. Is it? I mean it's you black people who are informing me of what you all are capable of. I'm no expert on black people so I have to trust those who are.
In conclusion, I really hope you all understand that I am the real victim here. Just like my buddy and Fraternal Order of Police spokesman Pat Camden said, “It's a sad day when an officer is charged for doing something he was trained to do.” That being said, I am just going to be frank with you. I don’t view poor black people as full human beings which is why myself and my brothers in blue don’t treat you all with the humanity that us white people deserve. Which is why when we serve low risk warrants to many non-violent offenders, we knock doors down and tear up the house as is deserved. But we calmly enter white people’s houses and politely request cooperation because that is what civilized people deserve.
I hope you people reading this have a better understanding of what happened and I encourage you to change YOURSELF and you might get better treatment from the law. Even Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal said that and he’s a brown person.
Antonio Cross pictured on the left, was shot in the hand by Chicago Police Officer Dante Servin. He lived. The young lady pictured on the right was shot during the same altercation by Servin. She died. Her name is Rekia Boyd may her soul forever find peace.
DISCLAIMER: This interview did not take place. THIS IS SOCIO-POLITICAL SATIRE. Dante Servin did not provide any of the aforementioned copy. However, police brutality is STILL a very real problem for poor Latino and African Americans and it is a phenomenon that does not receive enough media attention. For every case that achieves notoriety, there are 10 that are swept under the rug. The time for action is long overdue…
]]>When I was a young undergrad, I had the privilege of listening to our sister/mother/Champion Dr. Angela Davis speak at my alma mater. I was a young finance major intent upon discovering the magic of how money makes money. Dr. Davis had made mention about the dangers of capitalism’s profit pursuit and upon hearing it, I perked up, and I prayed that she would open up the forum for question and answer. I couldn’t wait to debate her on how profits were essential to job creation. She did. So, I waited in line for my opportunity and when it arose, I argued the essentials of profit pursuit and the virtues of the free market system. As you may have already guessed, I did not change her mind.
She went on to highlight how the theory of capitalism and free markets does NOT match up with the reality. I didn’t agree at the time, but now I do. WHOLEHEARTEDLY. Here’s why:
Last year in 2013, Jamie Dimon (Chase's CEO) took home $11.5 MILLION in bonus money. Just bonus money. ALL of that money went to one person, in a year where his company was riddled with lawsuits and where over 5000 people were laid off. Further, this $11.5 million bonus represented a 53% cut from his 2012 bonus of $23.1 million.
Lastly consider this: the median household income in America last year was $51k/year (amazing since I barely know anyone who makes that much money but I digress....) If you divide Dimon's 2 year BONUS checks by the median household income, you get 678.
YUP, [11,500,000 +23,100,000]/51,000= 678 HIGH PAYING jobs
that could have been created - but weren’t.
#timeforrealchange
-Hannibal Pace
]]>I looked for a speech excerpt to try to exemplify this, but I couldn’t find one. Then I realized that I didn’t need to. Malcolm X was threatened constantly throughout the last 2 years of his life, but that never stopped him from campaigning for our rights. Ultimately he was killed because he did NOT stop working for the advancement of others. That kind of sacrifice is the epitome of love.
In grammar school, young Malcolm was discouraged by some of his teachers from pursuing his dream of becoming a lawyer. He was told that practicing law was beyond a ni**ers scope. This negative messaging was all too common during the Jim Crow era. Malcolm never missed an opportunity to remind African Americans that we are worthy of love and respect.
Misogyny is real. It was even more pervasive in the 60’s. But Malcolm regularly proclaimed, “The most disrespected person in America is the black woman…. The only time a Muslim really gets real violent, is when someone goes to molest his woman.”
Before Malcolm was a preacher and a champion for human rights, he was a criminal - plain and simple. He found religion within the confines of a federal penitentiary. But just like Job, when he was released, and the protective hedge was removed, he did not go back into a life of crime. He did not curse his god. Instead, he began his work opening mosques and leading people away from vice and toward virtue.
Like many civil rights leaders of the ‘60’s, the CIA had Malcolm X under surveillance for many years. They never found any dirt on him. EVER. The legacy of any leader who denied self to advance others cannot and will not be tarnished by his or her personal shortcomings. I would never cast a disparaging eye nor would I denigrate any civil rights leader who might have had some of his or her skeletons pulled out of the closet by the prying claws of the American government. Yet I think it speaks volumes that Malcolm preached righteousness, and through the meddling of the CIA, we know him to have practiced exactly what he preached.
In America, we are encouraged to venerate celebrities. People cry when musicians die. People follow the comings and goings of movie stars. And more commonly, people adorn themselves with the jerseys of their favorite sports super star. I think that we should honor and revere people like Brother Minister Malcolm. Do so and think about the sacrifice, the love, and the values that this man lived and died for.
-H. Pace
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