East St. Louis Trayvon Martin Rally/March

                                   
On July 20th childhood friends of Tracy Martin, Tommie Liddell, Undre Howard, Reginald Jordan and Raymond House with the assistance of Stephanie Miles planned and organized a march/rally in Martin’s hometown of East St. Louis, Illinois. The march to the United States district court and the rally that took place there were to show love and support for Martin in his continued fight for justice in the aftermath of the acquittal of his son's killer. The peaceful demonstration, attended by several hundred people, started at the East St Louis Board of Education. It occurred under the umbrella of the National Call to Action Day, a nationwide protest where people in over a 100 cities marched on the lawns of federal courts to pressure the U.S. Justice Department to file charges against George Zimmerman for the violation of Trayvon Martin’s civil rights.

Barry Malloyd, a minister at Mount Sinai M.B. Church and author of the book Mama Said Write It, started the rally on a spiritual note.  He petitioned God with a passionte prayer asking that justice be served in the nationally known case. Malloyd said, "Truth crushed to stone will rise again." He also pleaded for peace in East St.Louis, a community plague by violence and crime.

Among  the featured speakers were personal friends of Tracy Martin, Tommie Liddell and Raymond House, Ayonna Khayyam, financial literacy educator and vice president of Young Money Entertainment Inc., and Saint Louis radio personality Carol Daniel.

House (left) professed the community's love for the Martin family. He said, "East St. Louis loves Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton and we are especially proud of them for the way they have expressed themselves with dignity, from the circumstances surrounding their son's death and throughout the trial of the man who killed him. They took the high road when there where so many other avenues they could have taken".

Daniel (left) delivered a powerful message to the youth in attendance. She said “We need you to be all that Trayvon Martin will never be”.

Liddell (right) read a statement from Martin to the residents of East St. Louis. His message in the wake of the aquittal verdict was “My faith is being tested right now".
                                                                                               http://youtu.be/ohG4VjgjY6o
14 year-old Khayyam (right) also addressed the younger people. She said "Knowledge is the key to success. If you're illiterate nobody's going to take you seriously, and with our generation, not taking school seriously, society is going to treat us like a joke"!

As Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton continue to pursue justice in the killing of their son, they are advocates of the Trayvon Martin Foundation, a non-for-profit organization that raises awareness of ethnic, gender and racial profiling. A goal of the organization is to educate youth in the area of conflict resolution as part of a larger effort to prevent deadly confrontations between them and strangers.                                                                         

                                                                                               

East St. Louis Trayvon Martin Rally Speech

                                            

Photo by Linda Gardner-(center) Raymond House

Good Afternoon Everyone. No Justice! No Peace! No Justice! No Peace! East St. Louis loves Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton, and we are especially proud of them for the way they have expressed themselves with dignity, from the circumstance surrounding their son’s death and throughout the trial of the man who killed him.  They took the high road when there were so many other avenues they could have taken.

Last year when they came to support the stop the violence rally here in East St. Louis, we the friends of Tracy Martin, presented him and Sybrina with a plaque in memory of their son Trayvon. Inscribed on the plaque was our pledge to them and our prayer for them.  As written it reads “We stand with you, we support your fight for justice and we pray that God continues to be your strength”.  That was our promise then and in the overcast of the verdict, it remains the same. We stand and support them in their continued fight for justice.

Similar to the nationwide marches that led the state of Florida to charge George Zimmerman with second degree murder last year, there are nationwide marches now to have charges filed against him in federal court. Today is a national call to action and people all over the country have answered by marching, because we want an investigation to determine if Trayvon Martin’s civil rights were violated. George Zimmerman killed Trayvon Martin, lied about the circumstances surrounding it, never explained it court and was still found not guilty by the jury. There is a grave injustice in that!

In the community of common sense we don’t believe for a minute that Trayvon was peering through windows and looking at houses, just because Mr. Zimmerman said he was.  Who does that when walking from the store in the rain while talking on the phone in a neighborhood where they have business to be? In the community of common sense we do believe that George Zimmerman created reasons to report Trayvon Martin to the police, to portray him as a suspicious person.  What really made him suspicious?  In the community of common sense we do believe that if Trayvon Martin were white George Zimmerman would have gone on to Target instead of making him a target.  He would have stayed seated in his vehicle and we would not have had to question whether he was standing his ground or not.

Fifty years ago, a march driven by the force of a quarter of a million people traveled to Washington D.C. to fight for civil rights and against this kind of discrimination. Because of that march and the laws passed behind it, forty-five years later an African American man was able to walk into the White House, not as a servant, but as the president of the United States, the highest office of power in the world. As far as he has come as an African American man to get there, if an African American boy isn’t able to walk a few yards to a house in neighborhood he’s visiting, without being discriminated against and being killed, then we as a people still have a long way to go. Thank you

The March on Washington 50th Anniversary

http://youtu.be/LkntwZKBpWw

A walk from the National Mall to the White House is a relatively short distance to travel. Depending on the starting point and the pace the stroll could take as little as thirty minutes. At any rate, if  you begin from where African Americans began fifty years ago it would be a much longer journey. On August 28, 1963 from a place of second-class citizenship, a group of African Americans and their supporters gathered at the National Mall for the March on Washington. The march was a demonstration for freedom and jobs. Driven by a force of a quarter of a million people its influence would travel through time to the White House and into history.

As a vehicle of the civil rights movement, the March on Washington carried its message of equality for African Americans from the National Mall on Capitol Hill to the the floor of the legislature in Congress. Dispatched from the Lincoln Memorial, the message boldly served as a notice of intent to reform. Adjoined with a civil rights bill proposed by President Kennedy, it trudged through the bureaucracy of Washington. The moving message prompted the passage of two important laws in successive years, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Impelled into reality by the march,  the landmark laws embarked on a mission to remove the road blocks of injustice that prevented minorities from moving forward. Persevering for decades through systemic racism the enduring statutes went on to break down those barriers.  Consequently, a path toward better educational and employment opportunities was constructed. It was through that path that the course of life for black people changed and the way was paved for the first African American to arrive at the White House as the president of the United States.

On January 21, 2013, four years after serving his first term as president, Barack Obama arrived at the National Mall again, almost fifty years after the March on Washington.  He was there to be sworn in for his second term as president.  He took the oath on the holiday named for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, the keynote speaker at the March on Washington. The bible used to swear him into office was Dr. King's traveling bible.

    

Dred Scott: Statue of Freedom

                                                                                             

Photo By Raymond House

In the mid 1800’s a legal issue in the state of Missouri involving slavery further flamed the debate of whether to abolish it and eventually led to the Civil War.  At the center of the controversy was Dred Scott.  He had been born a slave around 1799 to the Blow family in Virginia.  After the family relocated to Saint Louis they sold Scott to John Emerson.  When Emerson died Scott tried to buy his freedom from the estate of Emerson’s wife who inherited him as property. The attempt was unsuccessful and in 1846 with the help of legal representation, Scott filed suit in the Saint Louis Circuit Court. The basis of his argument hinged on the fact that he had been taken by his owner from the slave state of Missouri into areas where slavery was against the law. This was a violation of “Once free, always free”, a common law doctrine that had been previously recognized by the courts. The law made it illegal for slaves who had ever been freed to be enslaved again.  Under the ownership of John Emerson, Scott had lived with him in the free-state of Illinois and the free territory of Wisconsin.  The governing entities in anti-slavery areas also supported the view that time spent by slaves in free-states and territories made them free. Since there were no laws within their boundaries to govern the possession of slaves, they believed that slave owners with slaves in their jurisdictions forfeited their rights to own them.  Without a legal precedence of someone trying to obtain their freedom after leaving a free area and returning to a slave state, the court had to determine a course of action.  In 1847 the case went to trial and despite the favorable legal presence of the Once Free, Always Free Law and the strong anti-slavery sentiments of abolitionists, the judgment went against Scott and he remained a slave. However, due to the evidence of hearsay discovered after the verdict, the judge ordered a re-trial.  In the second trial, citing the fact that Scott had been wrongfully enslaved while living in free-areas a jury decided to grant him his freedom.  Displeased with the decision, his owner appealed it and in 1852 the Missouri Supreme Court overturned it.  The court stated that “Once free, always free”, which had been adhered to for the previous 28 years was no longer applicable.  Scott was returned to a life of slavery. Since Scott’s owner lived in New York, his lawyer was able to have the case retried under appeal in the federal district court. Another trial was held. Nevertheless, the original decision was upheld, Scott lost his case and again was denied his freedom.  In 1857 the case went to the United States Supreme Court. It decided against awarding Scott his freedom too. The judge ruled that no person of African ancestry could claim citizenship in the United States. Furthermore, since he was not considered a citizen, it was illegal for him to file suit in a federal court. The court also concluded that granting Scott his freedom after he temporarily lived in anti-slavery areas, would have denied his rightful owner of possessing his property, which would have been a violation of the Missouri Compromise.  Still considered as the property of the newly married heiress Irene Emerson, Scott's status was reaffirmed to be that of a slave.  Emerson's marriage prior to the Supreme Court verdict was the start of an unexpected turn toward freedom for Scott.  Emerson's husband was an abolitionist and had been unaware that his wife owned the most controversial slave in the country. After finding out, he and his wife decided to return Scott to his original owners, the Blow family.  The Blow family had also become abolitionists and just four months after the Supreme Court ruling they released Scott and his wife Harriet.  Finally after years of fighting court battles as a slave Scott was free. In September 1858 he went to work as a porter and less than two years later he died from tuberculosis. In 1863, a few years after Scott's death the Emancipation Proclamation, an executive order by President Lincoln started the process of freeing all slaves.


Interestingly, it was in the court of law that Scott pursued his liberty, but it was through the court of changing public opinion that he gained it. As the progressive attitude to abolish slavery grew it persuaded the people who owned Scott to set him free.  Perhaps it’s fitting where the statue of Scott and his wife erected in 2012 is located. 155 years after its ruling to keep him enslaved the statue of Dred Scott stands in the yard of the Saint Louis Old Courthouse. Ironically, as a lifeless sculpture he has gained more freedom outside the courthouse than he was able to as a living person inside of it.

The Smoking Gun: The George Zimmerman Case/Trayvon Martin Video

              Hear the Smoking Gun Evidence in the George Zimmerman Case!

                                  

                                                         Kel-Tec PF-9 

                                                                                                              

Only minutes after George Zimmerman made a phone call to the Sanford Police Department to report Trayvon Martin as a suspicious person, their paths briefly crossed and Martin’s life suddenly ended. Since it became a major story in the media people all over the world have wondered what really happened that night.  According to Zimmerman, he killed Martin in self-defense shortly after Martin tried to take his firearm. Zimmerman claims that Martin went for his concealed weapon when it became exposed during a struggle.

Now, with the trial fully underway, new clues have emerged from previously released evidence. They cast doubt on Zimmerman's assertion that Martin tried to take his gun, which he says was in his holster. The clues arise from the very call that the neighborhood watchman made moments before the shooting.  While it’s not a secret, it is a mystery that the evidence isn't more widely known. Especially, since the call revealing it was released and broadcast repeatedly in the news. One possible explanation is that listeners have been distracted by conversation. The startling clues are faintly heard in the background of the on-going dialogue between Zimmerman and the dispatcher. I’m not a detective nor am I an attorney. Neither am I familiar with all of the prosecution’s discovery,  but I would venture to say that one of the most damning pieces of evidence in the murder case against George Zimmerman is that recorded phone call.  After carefully listening to it again, I am convinced that the distinct and compelling noise heard in it is the smoking gun. It’s those sounds that likely led to the second-degree murder charge against him and could very well lead to a conviction.

   Listen for yourself and decide. (Stereo headphones enhances the quality of sound).

                                               http://youtu.be/3Cb3yBpYjYM

                  

At the 2:00 minute mark of the recording Zimmerman is still in his vehicle while giving directions for arriving officers to get to his location. Within a few seconds he abruptly uses an expletive as he states for the first time that Martin is running. A second later what sounds like the following noises are heard, a vehicle door opening, an open door alert sounding, and the door of a vehicle closing.  Next Zimmerman’s voice is heard slightly straining as he continues to talk to the dispatcher while moving to get out of a vehicle.  Apparently tracking Martin movements, he reports to the dispatcher where the teen is running.  The dispatcher then asks Zimmerman if he’s following him. Zimmerman responds, “Yeah.” The dispatcher says, “Okay, we don’t need you to do that” and Zimmerman’s says, “Okay.” As there is no obvious change in the background noise, there is no way to confirm that Zimmerman discontinued following Martin. The dispatcher says, “Alright sir what is your name?” “George,” Zimmerman responds.  For a second time Zimmerman states that Martin is running. The dispatcher asks Zimmerman his last name.  When he responds, the evidence that has been largely unheard by listeners boldly speaks, perhaps as a chilling prelude to the heart-wrenching screams heard on the 911 call shortly before Martin is shot.  At the 2:56 mark on the recording as Zimmerman states his last name with particular emphasis, what sounds like the mechanisms of a gun are clearly heard. Almost simultaneously, Zimmerman seemingly preoccupied with doing something sounds frustrated, as he utters two words in a very low voice.  One sounds like the expletive, “s**t” and the other is “no.” A few seconds later tapping noises are heard. The noises are heard intermittently for approximately 22 seconds until the 3:23 mark on the recording.  The call ends shortly thereafter.

It's circumstantial audio evidence, but it can be just as compelling as visual evidence. Obviously the prosecution would have to convince a jury that the noise heard is Zimmerman preparing his firearm.  If gun experts can testify that the sounds are consistent with preparing that type of gun for shooting, it would be a start toward persuading a jury.  Furthermore, if they could re-create the same kind of noise heard, using Zimmerman's own gun, it would be very powerful testimony. Since there is no visual evidence, the prosecution would also likely argue that the context in which these sounds occur make the accusations that Zimmerman was getting his gun ready for use more probable. How Zimmerman's weapon was introduced into the confrontation is an important point. If Zimmerman prepared his gun with the intent to pursue Martin without provocation, at that point he engaged in premeditated criminal activity. If that's the way it happened, Zimmerman's unlawful behavior subsequently led to the death of Martin, who was unarmed, not committing a crime, and running away from him.

Trayvon Martin Plaques Presented

On Friday May 25, Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton, the parents of Trayvon Martin, the Florida teen who was shot and killed during an encounter with neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman on February 26, were presented with twin plaques at a Stop the Violence rally in East Saint Louis, Illinois. Martin, who is from East St. Louis and Fulton were in town to support the campaign against youth violence. The two were presented with the plaques at the North End Missionary Baptist Church by friends from the neighborhood where Martin grew-up.

The plaques read-Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton, as your friends we also mourn the loss of your son, Trayvon. In your time of need, we are an ear to listen and a shoulder to cry on. We stand with you, we support your fight for justice and we pray that God will continue to be your strength. 

Photo By: Linda Gardner
Story By:Raymond House

BLACK UNIVERSE-COLORFUL WORLD

Black, the most mysterious, the most abundant, and the most powerful color in the universe.  It's no wonder that Black people, who are born in more shades than any other race, are the most colorful people in the world.