Look, we either want strong black men to step up to the plate and grab wayward black men back from the brink or we don’t. I, for one, do want that and cheer it on every time I see it. So Judge Marvin Arrington asked white attorneys to leave his courtroom so that he could [...]

***UPDATE 3/31 - NAACP RESPONDS

That old adage about speaking truth to power means doing so even when that power is an ally. For more than a week black bloggers have circulated a digital letter that calls for action against the NAACP and Al Sharpton’s National Action Network for the alarming and wrong choice they’ve made [...]

To listen to audio from the show - CLICK HERE.

Once again I had the opportunity to mix it up with two other bloggers on NPR’s “News and Notes” program. Host Farai Chideya put us through our paces and we enjoyed a particularly thoughtful discussion.

Just a question. If the best the US government can do to enforce its borders is after the fact deportation which is expensive and wholly ineffective, why doesn’t ICE start in the jails and the prisons? Deport violent criminals and drug dealers (we don’t need more than we’ve homegrown) first and let working people work. [...]

**UPDATED LINK** - Hillary Clinton says “Obama was looking for a fight.”
My trainer and I had a good laugh yesterday afternoon. He mentioned that he was excited about Monday night television. I said, “Me, too!” He then said, “Yeah. ‘American Gladiators’is on.” I chuckled back, “Well, I meant the Democratic debates. But there may not [...]

M takes on Jena 6 Developments over at Problem Chylde
Plea bargaining is the state’s most insidious power chip for filling the belly of the prison industrial complex. It embodies the essential difference between talking to the police and snitching – another dynamic that characterizes the criminal justice system as it stands now. The state holds [...]

I recognized the importance of justice for the Jena Six early on, and wrote about the case frequently. And later when we found out more about Mychal Bell’s past criminal record, I explained that his previous crimes did not negate his right to equal justice in the Jena beating case. After the crescendo of the [...]

Alexis Goggins is a victim of our failures. She is the latest young victim of the violence that rages through our country, most pointedly in our cities and often against women and children. Alexis is a victim of our lack of concern and activism on behalf of the most vulnerable members of our society.

This [...]

In the 80’s it was New York City’s Bernhard Goetz. Now, in 21st Century America, we have Houston’s Joe Horn. There is no question that Joe Horn ended the lives of the two men he watched stealing from his neighbor. Horn shot the two men killing them both. Joe Horn pushed outside, directly defying instructions [...]

I’ve been bogged down by real world annoyances (like getting broken heat and hot water fixed!) for the past few days. More posts coming soon. In the meantime, here are a few articles worth reading.
“Waiting for Godot” set in post Katrina New Orleans (Brilliant, right?) – Click to read more.
Should we still support historically black [...]

As always, Howard Witt of the Chicago Tribune is right on top of the latest news related to the Jena situation. In his coverage of today’s House Judiciary committee hearing looking into the Jena 6 case, Witt reports that US Attorney Donald Washington has finally acknowledged what many legal experts, and bloggers of color, have [...]

Why am I not surprised that the Louisiana District Attorneys Association is defending Judge Mauffray’s secret hearing and decision to end Mychal Bell’s probation?
…Pete Adams, the director of the Louisiana District Attorneys Association, said Bell’s is a routine case, and “that’s all it is.”
“It’s not being handled any differently than any other case in [...]

As the facts come in, the situation becomes clear. Judge J.P. Mauffray appears to be using his position on the bench to pursue a personal vendetta against Mychal Bell and perhaps all of us determined to fight for justice for all defendants in the Jena Six case.
Mychal Bell, 17, was unexpectedly sent back to prison [...]

UPDATE — Legal experts say Judge’s order may contradict Louisiana laws — READ: ‘Jena 6 teen’s return to jail draws queries’ Howard Witt, Chicago Tribune
I awoke to the news that Mychal Bell, now the most well known defendant in the Jena Six case, was back behind bars, in jail. It appears that because of Bell’s [...]

This is really ugly. Reed Walters’ racism and ignorance of history glistens like a pus covered carcass in midday desert sun. His reaction to the proud and peaceful demonstration last week?
“I firmly believe that had it not been for the direct intervention of the Lord Jesus Christ last Thursday, a disaster would have happened,” LaSalle [...]