Giglio gives an awe inspiring talk about the awesome nature of the God we serve. We sometimes take liberties based on our understanding and perceptions of who God is . God is the great ‘I AM” we are not qualified to define him. Giglio shines a light to give us a sneak peek on just how little we know about the creator of the Universe. Let’s listen to Louie.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atUGBua2AzE
DECEMBER 1ST 1955 A YOUNG WOMAN REFUSED TO GIVE UP HER SEAT ON A BUS IN MONTGOMERY ALABAMA. SHE KNEW SHE WOULD BE ARRESTED OR WORSE, YET SHE DID WHAT SHE KNEW SHE HAD TO DO, AND SHE DID IT.
SHE WAS ARRESTED FINGERPRINTED AND PHOTOGRAPHED LIKE A COMMON CRIMINAL. LATER WHEN SHE WAS ASKED WHY SHE DECIDED NOT TO GIVE UP HER SEAT? SHE SAID SIMPLY “I WAS TIRED.
IF YOU NEVER HEARD OF ROSA PARKS YOUR NATURAL INSTINCTS WILL PROBABLY TELL YOU SHE MUST HAVE HAD A LONG DAY.……AND YOU PROBABLY WOULD BE RIGHT.…. HOWEVER, ROSA PARKS WAS NOT SAYING SHE WAS TIRED FROM THE WORK OF THAT FATEFUL, DAY SHE WAS TIRED OF BEING TREATED LESS THAN A HUMAN BEING.
ROSA PARKS WAS NO STRANGER TO THE FIGHT FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE, DIGNITY AND EQUALITY. MS PARKS WAS THE SECRETARY OF THE MONTGOMERY CHAPTER OF THE NAACP. MS PARKS DIGNIFIED RESISTANT TO BIGOTRY SPARKED A MOVEMENT, INSPIRED A NATION WHICH INTRODUCED THE WORLD TO A KING.
A KING MANY NOW REFER TO AS THE GREATEST MORAL LEADER OF THE 20TH CENTURY. EVEN AS WE RECOGNIZE AND REVERE ROSA PARKS FOR HER BRAVERY FOR STANDING ON THE STRENGTH OF HER CONVICTION, WE WOULD BE REMISS IN NOT ACKNOWLEDGING THOSE BEFORE HER BEFORE HER 1) IRENE MORGAN IN 1946. 2)SARAH LOUISE KEYES IN 1955,3) AND THE MEMBERS OF THE BROWDER VS GAYLE LAWSUIT, CLAUDETTE COLVIN , AURIELA BROWDER SUSIE MCDONALD AND, MARY LOUISE SMITH .HAD ALL TAKEN SIMILAR ACTIONS AND WERE ALL ARRESTED.
TODAY WE SALUTE ALL WOMEN AND IN PARTICULAR THE FINE, TALENTED WOMEN OF GOD OF THIS CONGREGATION. WE RECOGNIZE YOU FOR THE TASKS YOU TIRELESSLY PERFORM IN THE MANY MINISTRIES OF THIS GROWING CHURCH.
ENRICHING THE LIVES OF INDIVIDUALS, HEALING OUR COMMUNITIES AND FULFILLING YOUR PURPOSE. I APPLAUD ALL OF YOU, NONE MORE-SO THAN OUR OWN SISTER BOTTOMS WHO GIVE OF HERSELF SELFLESSLY AND UNCEASINGLY.
I WAS BLOWN AWAY WHEN SHE TURNED UP AT THE HOSPITAL EARLY THAT MORNING OUR SON KODI SUDDENLY FELL ILL. I WILL ALWAYS CARRY IN MY HEART HER CARING WORDS, AS SHE SOUGHT TO DETERMINE IF WE WERE GOING TO BE OK.
AND TO THE QUEEN OF MY HEART AND OF OUR HOUSEHOLD, MY WIFE CHERYL WHO WORKS A DEMANDING FULL-TIME JOB , YET SOMEHOW DRIVES OUR SONS TO FOOTBALL PRACTICE, BASKET-BALL PRACTICE, MEDICAL APPOINTMENTS.
DO PARENT TEACHER APPOINTMENTS, KEEPS THE HOUSE CLEAN, TAKE CARE OF EVERYTHING ELSE AND STILL HAS A MEAL ON THE TABLE BY THE TIME I GET HOME FROM WORK. I HONESTLY HAVE NO IDEA HOW SHE DOES IT, I COULDN’T DO IT MYSELF.
WE DEPEND SO MUCH ON YOU WOMEN, YOU ARE THE GLUE IN MOST CASES WHICH HOLD THE FAMILIES TOGETHER. YOU ARE OUR MOTHERS AND FATHERS, YOU GO OUT TO WORK, RAISE THE KIDS, PREPARE THE MEALS, YOU COMFORT US WHEN WE ARE IN NEED OF A LISTENING EAR AND A TENDER TOUCH.
I KNOW THIS ALL TOO WELL, I WAS RAISED BY A SINGLE WOMAN WHO HAD NO CHILDREN OF HER OWN, YET SHE RAISED EIGHT OF US AS IF WE WERE HER ALL HER OWN. THE LESSONS SHE TAUGHT ME THEN, GUIDE MY LIFE TODAY.
I APPLAUD THE DIGNITY AND DECIDED AUTHORITY OF MY OWN WIFE, IN THE WAY SHE ADMINISTERS GUIDANCE TO OUR CHILDREN EVEN AS I KNOW AND UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS WHAT EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU DO, DAY IN DAY OUT.
THE DEDICATION AND DISPATCH WITH WHICH YOU ATTEND TO THE TASKS OF THE VARIOUS MINISTRIES AND FUNCTIONS OF THIS CHURCH IS INSPIRING. I HAVEN’T BEEN HERE VERY LONG , YET I AM IMPRESSED WITH THE LEADERSHIP AND FOCUS OF ALL OF YOU WHO HAVE GIVEN OF YOUR TIME IN DIFFERING WAY TO BRING GOD’S WORD TO MYSELF AND OTHERS AS WE SEEK THE PATH TO SALVATION.
YOU ARE MOTHERS , WIVES , SISTERS, AUNTS, TEACHERS , COMFORTERS , AND SOMETIMES FATHERS TOO. EVEN AS YOU GIVE SO MUCH OF YOURSELVES, WE ASK AND DEMAND EVEN MORE OF YOU . WE ASK THAT YOU CONTINUE TO IMPRESS ON OUR YOUNG WOMEN THAT THERE IS MORE TO LIFE FOR THEM THAN A BABY-STROLLER.
WE ASK THAT YOU IMPRESS UPON THEM THAT IF THEY PLACE TRUE VALUE ON THEMSELVES, MEN WILL HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO VALUE THEM. I CHALLENGE YOU TO CONTINUE TO HELP US IN THIS FIGHT TO RECLAIM THESE OUR CHILDREN FROM THE RAVAGES OF TEEN PREGNANCY, DRUG ADDICTION, GANG VIOLENCE AND ILLITERACY.
I BEG OF YOU , ALL OF YOU,THAT YOU RETURN TO BEING TEACHERS. SCHOOLS ALONE CANNOT AND WILL NOT EDUCATE OUR CHILDREN. I ASK THAT YOU HELP US TO RECLAIM OUR SONS FROM THE PRISON INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX. LET US CONTINUE TO RAISE OUR CHILDREN IN THE WAY THEY SHOULD GO SO THAT WHEN THEY ARE OLD IT SHALL NOT DEPART FROM THEM . 
LET US NOT SEEK TO CONFORM TO THE WORLD, BUT RATHER LET US LIVE OUR LIVES IN A WAY WHICH CONFORM TO THE WAYS OF CHRIST SO THAT WE MAY BE DIFFERENT. LET US NOT CHANGE OUR SALVATION IN ORDER TO BE RELEVANT.
LET OUR RELEVANCE BE SEEN BY THE GOD IS US. THE BATTLES OF THE 50’S AND 60’S ARE THE BATTLES BEING FOUGHT TODAY, WAGES, JOBS, VOTING RIGHTS, AS WE COME FULL CIRCLE FROM THE MOVEMENT OF THE 60’S LET US BE MINDFUL THAT 71% OF ALL BABIES BORN THE THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY ARE BORN OUT OF WEDLOCK TO A TEEN MOTHER. LET US REMEMBER THAT THOUGH WE ARE JUST 12% THE NATION’S POPULATION WE MAKE UP MORE THAN HALF OF THE INMATE POPULATION.
THAT IS A STUNNING ONE MILLION PLUS MEN LOCKED AWAY . AS WOMEN CONTINUE TO BEAR THE BRUNT OF GOING OUT TO WORK AND RAISING THE KIDS, IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT IF WE DO NOT ARREST THIS FRIGHTENING INCARCERATION RATE OF OUR MEN , THEN THE CHALLENGES FOR YOU,OUR WOMEN GOING FORWARD WILL BE EXPONENTIALLY GREATER.
THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE AND UNSUSTAINABLE, LET US COME TOGETHER TO FIX THIS, OUR WOMEN HAVE ALWAYS LED, LET US MEN NOW SHOW THE WOMEN WE LOVE, THAT WE ARE READY , WILLING AND ABLE TO RISE TO THE CHALLENGE BEFORE US.
GOD BLESS YOU ALL.….…THANK YOU.
Robert George Seale was born October 22, 1936 in Dallas, Texas. Seale was one of three kids. His mother was a stay at home mom and his father was a carpenter in Dallas. After moving around Texas a few times, the family moved to Oakland, CA during WWII. Seale attended Berkeley High School and joined the U.S Air Force and was there three years before he was discharged for fighting with an officer. When he went back to Oakland, he began attending night school to earn his high school diploma.In 1962, at the age of 25, Seale began attending Merritt College, a community college located near the Berkeley city-limits. There, he joined the Afro-American Association and met Huey Newton, with whom he later co-founded the Black Panther Party. Seale and Newton were heavily inspired by Malcolm X and his teachings. The two joined together to create the Black Panther Party in 1966 and adopted the slogan,” freedom by any means necessary”.
Bobby Seale was one of the original “Chicago Eight” defendants charged with conspiracy during the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, but the evidence against Seale was slim. The judge though sentenced him for four years for his outbursts during trial .While serving his four-year sentence, Seale was put on trial again in 1970 in the New Haven Black Panther trials. Several officers of the Panther organization had murdered a fellow Panther. The leader of the murder plan, George Sams, Jr., testified that he had been ordered to kill the Panther by Seale himself. The jury was unable to reach a verdict in Seale’s trial, and the charges were eventually dropped. Seale was released from prison in 1972. http://www.gusd120.k12.il.us/high/academics/Business/movements/seale.html
Huey Newton was born in a small town in Louisiana and later moving with his family to Oakland, California as an infant, Huey P. Newton became the co-founder and leader of the Black Panther Party for over 2 decades. Dr. Newton, who founded the Black Panther Party with Bobby Seale, became one of the most charismatic symbols of black anger in the late 1960’s. After his conviction in 1967 in the death of an Oakland police officer, radicals and many college students took up the rallying cry ”Free Huey.” At the same time, Dr. Newton and the Black Panthers were accused of being controlled by the Communist Party and were investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. In recent years Dr. Newton continued to face numerous legal charges, served time in jail and fought to rehabilitate himself from alcohol and drug abuse. Newton Co-founding The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense (later shortened to The Black Panther Party) with Bobby Seale in 1966, Newton and his compatriots were known for their strong leftist politics, all-black garb and sound intellectual debate. Beyond the activism and fight for equality for African-Americans, the Panthers also started “survival programs” designed to assist the less fortunate such as meal programs, self-defense classes, medical clinics and first aid. The original Black Panthers would largely dissolve the organization in 1982.http://www.biography.com/people/huey-p-newton-37369
On June 10, 1940, Marcus Mosiah Garvey, Jr., publisher, entrepreneur, orator, and Black Nationalist, died. Garvey was born August 17, 1887 in St. Ann’s Bay, Jamaica. In 1914, Garvey founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association, “To unite all people of African ancestry of the world to one great body to establish a country and absolute government of their own.”Garvey moved to New York City in 1916 and founded the Negro World newspaper. In June, 1923, Garvey was unjustly convicted of mail fraud and sentenced to five years in prison. That sentence was commuted by President Calvin Coolidge and Garvey was released in November, 1927 and deported to Jamaica where he is interred at a shrine inNational Heroes Park.
There are memorials to Garvey around the world, including statues and streets and schools named after him in Jamaica, Trinidad, the United States, Canada, Kenya, Nigeria, and the United Kingdom. A number of books have been published about Garvey and his movement, including “Black Power and the Garvey Movement” (1971), “Marcus Garvey: Anti-Colonial Champion” (1988), and “Negro with a Hat: The Rise and Fall of Marcus Garvey and his Dream of Mother Africa” (2008).http://theburtonwire.com/2013/06/10/politics/akosua-report-marcus-garvey/
Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little on May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska. His mother, Louise Norton Little, was a homemaker occupied with the family’s eight children. His father, Earl Little, was an outspoken Baptist minister and avid supporter of Black Nationalist leader Marcus Garvey. Earl’s civil rights activism prompted death threats from the white supremacist organization Black Legion, forcing the family to relocate twice before Malcolm’s fourth birthday. Regardless of the Little’s efforts to elude the Legion, in 1929, their Lansing, Michigan home was burned to the ground. Two years later, Earl’s body was found lying across the town’s trolley tracks. Police ruled both incidents as accidents, but the Littles were certain that members of the Black Legion were responsible. Louise suffered emotional breakdown several years after the death of her husband and was committed to a mental institution, while her children were split up among various foster homes and orphanages.
Eventually, Malcolm and his long-time friend, Malcolm “Shorty” Jarvis, moved back to Boston. In 1946, they were arrested and convicted on burglary charges, and Malcolm was sentenced to 10 years in prison, although he was granted parol after serving seven years. Recalling his days in school, he used the time to further his education. It was during this period of self-enlightenment that Malcolm’s brother Reginald would visit and discuss his recent conversion to the Muslim religion. Reginald belonged to the religious organization the Nation of Islam (NOI). Intrigued, Malcolm began to study the teachings of NOI leader Elijah Muhammad. Muhammad taught that white society actively worked to keep African-Americans from empowering themselves and achieving political, economic, and social success. Among other goals, the NOI fought for a state of their own, separate from one inhabited by white people. By the time he was paroled in 1952, Malcolm was a devoted follower with the new surname “X” (He considered “Little” a slave name and chose the “X” to signify his lost tribal name.). Intelligent and articulate, Malcolm was appointed as a minister and national spokesman for the Nation of Islam. Elijah Muhammad also charged him with establishing new mosques in cities such as Detroit, Michigan, and Harlem. Malcolm utilized newspaper columns, as well as radio and television, to communicate the NOI’s message across the United States. His charisma, drive, and conviction attracted an astounding number of new members. Malcolm was largely credited with increasing membership in the NOI from 500 in 1952 to 30,000 in 1963. The crowds and controversy surrounding Malcolm made him a media magnet. He was featured in a weeklong television special with Mike Wallace in 1959, called The Hate That Hate Produced. The program explored the fundamentals of the NOI, and tracked Malcolm’s emergence as one of its most important leaders. After the special, Malcolm was faced with the uncomfortable reality that his fame had eclipsed that of his mentor Elijah Muhammad. In addition to the media, Malcolm’s vivid personality had captured the government’s attention. As membership in the NOI continued to grow, FBI agents infiltrated the organization (one even acted as Malcolm’s bodyguard) and secretly placed bugs, wiretaps, cameras, and other surveillance equipment to monitor the group’s activities.
Malcolm’s faith was dealt a crushing blow at the height of the civil rights movement in 1963. He learned that his mentor and leader, Elijah Muhammad, was secretly having relations with as many as six women within the Nation of Islam organization. As if that were not enough, Malcolm found out that some of these relationships had resulted in children. Since joining the NOI, Malcolm had strictly adhered to the teachings of Muhammad, which included remaining celibate until his marriage to Betty Shabazz in 1958. Malcolm refused Muhammad’s request to help cover up the affairs and subsequent children. He was deeply hurt by Muhammad actions, because he had previously considered him a living prophet. Malcolm also felt guilty about the masses he had led to join the NOI, which he now felt was a fraudulent organization built on too many lies to ignore. Shortly after his shocking discovery, Malcolm received criticism for a comment he made regarding the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. “[Kennedy] never foresaw that the chickens would come home to roost so soon,” said Malcolm. After the statement, Elijah Muhammad “silenced” Malcolm for 90 days. Malcolm, however, suspected he was silenced for another reason. In March 1964, Malcolm terminated his relationship with theNOI. Unable to look past Muhammad’s deception, Malcolm decided to found his own religious organization, the Muslim Mosque, Inc. That same year, Malcolm went on a pilgrimage to Mecca, which proved to be life altering for him. For the first time, Malcolm shared his thoughts and beliefs with different cultures and found the response to be overwhelmingly positive. When he returned, Malcolm said he had met “blonde-haired, blued-eyed men I could call my brothers.” He returned to the United States with a new outlook on integration and a new hope for the future. This time when Malcolm spoke, instead of just preaching to African-Americans, he had a message for all races. After Malcolm resigned his position in the Nation of Islam and renounced Elijah Muhammad, relations between the two had become increasingly volatile. FBI informants working undercover in the NOI warned officials that Malcolm had been marked for assassination – one undercover officer had even been ordered to help plant a bomb in Malcolm’s car. After repeated attempts on his life, Malcolm rarely traveled anywhere without bodyguards. On February 14, 1965 the home where Malcolm, Betty, and their four daughters lived in East Elmhurst, New York was firebombed. Luckily, the family escaped physical injury.
Malcolm X.
One week later, however, Malcolm’s enemies were successful in their ruthless attempt. At a speaking engagement in the Manhattan’s Audubon Ballroom on February 21, 1965, three gunmen rushed Malcolm onstage. They shot him 15 times at close range. The 39-year-old was pronounced dead on arrival at New York’s Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. Fifteen hundred people attended Malcolm’s funeral in Harlem on February 27, 1965 at the Faith Temple Church of God in Christ (now Child’s Memorial Temple Church of God in Christ). After the ceremony, friends took the shovels away from the waiting gravediggers and buried Malcolm themselves.Later that year, Betty gave birth to their twin daughters.
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Malcolm’s assassins, Talmadge Hayer, Norman 3X Butler, and Thomas 15X Johnson, were convicted of first-degree murder in March 1966. The three men were all members of the Nation of Islam. Malcolm X’s legacy has moved through generations as the subject of numerous documentaries, books, and movies. A tremendous resurgence of interest occurred in 1992 when director Spike Lee released the acclaimed movie, Malcolm X. The film received Oscar nominations for Best Actor (Denzel Washington) and Best Costume Design. Malcolm X is buried at the Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York. http://www.malcolmx.com/about/bio.html
THE MAN WHO DID NOT KILL MALCOLM X.
The Man Who Didn’t Shoot Malcolm X. He spent twenty-two years in prison for an infamous murder he didn’t commit. But Khalil Islam, confined, traveled inward. http://nymag.com/news/features/38358/
Born at noon on Tuesday, January 15, 1929 at the family home in Atlanta, Martin Luther King, Jr. was the first son and second child born to the Reverend Martin Luther King, Sr. and Alberta Williams King. The son of a minister, Martin Luther King, Jr. grows up to follow in his father’s footsteps; studying at Morehouse College, Crozer Theological Seminary, and earning a doctorate at Boston University’s School of Theology.Dr. King heads the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) to protest the arrest of NAACP official Rosa Park for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white man. 
Dr. King’s vision expands globally and a trip to India increased his understanding of Gandhian ideas of nonviolent resistance. With the SCLC King helps organize the Birmingham protests, writes “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, and focuses attention nationally with the March on Washington. King speaks out on the Vietnam War and forms the Poor People’s Campaign, designed to prod the federal government to strengthen its antipoverty efforts.http://www.thekingcenter.org/about— dr— king
ROSA PARKS.
“Rosa Louise McCauley Parks (February 4, 1913 to October 24, 2005) was an African-American civil rights activist, whom the U.S. Congress called “the first lady of civil rights” and “the mother of the freedom movement”.[1] Her birthday, February 4, and the day she was arrested, December 1, have both become Rosa Parks Day, commemorated in the U.S. states of California and Ohio.
On December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, Parks refused to obey bus driver James F. Blake’s order that she give up her seat in the colored section to a white passenger, after the white section was filled. Parks was not the first person to resist bus segregation. Others had taken similar steps in the twentieth century, including Irene Morgan in 1946, Sarah Louise Keys in 1955, and the members of the Browder v. Gayle lawsuit (Claudette Colvin, Aurelia Browder, Susie McDonald, and Mary Louise Smith) arrested months before Parks. NAACP organizers believed that Parks was the best candidate for seeing through a court challenge after her arrest for civil disobedience in violating Alabama segregation laws though eventually her case became bogged down in the state courts.[2][3]
Parks’ act of defiance and the Montgomery Bus Boycott became important symbols of the modern Civil Rights
Movement. She became an international icon of resistance to racial segregation. She organized and collaborated with civil rights leaders, including Edgar Nixon, president of the local chapter of the NAACP; and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a new minister in town who gained national prominence in the civil rights movement.
MARCUS GARVEY.
On June 10, 1940, Marcus Mosiah Garvey, Jr., publisher, entrepreneur, orator, and Black Nationalist, died. Garvey was born August 17, 1887 in St. Ann’s Bay, Jamaica. In 1914, Garvey founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association, “To unite all people of African ancestry of the world to one great body to establish a country and absolute government of their own.”Garvey moved to New York City in 1916 and founded the Negro World newspaper. In June, 1923, Garvey was unjustly convicted of mail fraud and sentenced to five years in prison. That sentence was commuted by President Calvin Coolidge and Garvey was released in November, 1927 and deported to Jamaica where he is interred at a shrine inNational Heroes Park.
There are memorials to Garvey around the world, including statues and streets and schools named after him in Jamaica, Trinidad, the United States, Canada, Kenya, Nigeria, and the United Kingdom. A number of books have been published about Garvey and his movement, including “Black Power and the Garvey Movement” (1971), “Marcus Garvey: Anti-Colonial Champion” (1988), and “Negro with a Hat: The Rise and Fall of Marcus Garvey and his Dream of Mother Africa” (2008).http://theburtonwire.com/2013/06/10/politics/akosua-report-marcus-garvey/
HUEY NEWTON.
Huey Newton was born in a small town in Louisiana and later moving with his family to Oakland, California as an infant, Huey P. Newton became the co-founder and leader of the Black Panther Party for over 2 decades. Dr. Newton, who founded the Black Panther Party with Bobby Seale, became one of the most charismatic symbols of black anger in the late 1960’s. After his conviction in 1967 in the death of an Oakland police officer, radicals and many college students took up the rallying cry ”Free Huey.” At the same time, Dr. Newton and the Black Panthers were accused of being controlled by the Communist Party and were investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. In recent years Dr. Newton continued to face numerous legal charges, served time in jail and fought to rehabilitate himself from alcohol and drug abuse. Newton Co-founding The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense (later shortened to The Black Panther Party) with Bobby Seale in 1966, Newton and his compatriots were known for their strong leftist politics, all-black garb and sound intellectual debate. Beyond the activism and fight for equality for African-Americans, the Panthers also started “survival programs” designed to assist the less fortunate such as meal programs, self-defense classes, medical clinics and first aid. The original Black Panthers would largely dissolve the organization in 1982.
BOBBY SEALE.
Juan is Mexican; he tells me he has lived in the United States for over 20 years. I got to know him having done business with him over the years. Like most Mexican Immigrants in the city of Poughkeepsie, he is hard-working, a dedicated family man. Then suddenly I did not see him for a while, in situations where people come and go it’s hard to say how long he was gone before I realized he was no longer around. Even then I though he may have just moved away. Then one day a few weeks ago he reappeared, I was delighted to see him .
He tells me he has driven without a licence for years because despite being in the United States for over 20 years he is classified as an Illegal Alien. he related his story to me with deep melancholy in his voice. He choked up at times ‚not wanting to display emotions ‚he would stop for a minute before continuing to relate his story. I have a family , my wife and kids , all I want to do is to provide for them, my kids were born here. He gave me horrifying accounts of driving his car and a police cruiser coming up behind him , he tells me sometimes he is afraid to breathe , knowing if he is pulled over he will be arrested, his car confiscated jail time as punishment. In fact he says, that is exactly what happens to him on several occasions. He would be hit with a hefty fine for driving without a licence.He would then pay a licensed driver to remove his car from the pound, pay the fine and towing fees and start the process all over again. He tells me the last time he faced a judge the judge was tempted to send him to prison, he was terrified at the prospect of going to prison leaving his wife and kids without any means of support , the judge told him he would be doing a year in jail. He said he told the judge “you can send me to jail and my family will starve, or you can fine me and I will find a way to pay”. The judge relented and imposed a fine.
The last time he was arrested (ICE Immigration and Customs Enforcement came, they took him to a detention center in New Jersey, then to Louisiana. He related the treatment meted out to him and other detainees whilst on the flight from New Jersey to Louisana even while they were shackled and bound. Crew members tossed sugar-buns and bottles of unrefrigerated waters at them most of which fell on the floor of the plane. When they complained about being treated that way they were told they were lucky to receive anything at all. The detention center was just as bad Juan laments, most of the guards were Latinos, yet they were treated like dirt. Frustrated and bewildered he asked one guard “how can you treat your own people this way” . The guard retorted “if you came over the fence illegally you are a criminal”.
He was eventually sent back to his native Oaxaca where he immediately undertook the perilous journey back, braving desert thirst, Unscrupulous Coyotes, hard-nosed border-Agents and a whole list of other challenges. All so he could come back to the country he has called home for over two decades to see his family. He knows the next time he is pulled over, the next time the police runs his ID, the nightmare begins anew . He tells me resignedly , I will just have to come back, I love my family. Juan’s Employer is taking a chance hiring him, he tried to regularize Juan’s status in the United States. The Government refused his petition. The Obama Administration deported a record 1.5 million people in his first term.
The trial of Adijia Palmer (o/c)Vybez Kartel has ended with the 11 person jury returning a verdict of Guilty against the accused. The Entertainer has been in jail for over two years pending the outcome of this trial. Palmer was convicted for murdering Clive (Lizard) Williams. The prosecution alleged Williams was killed in a dispute over lost gun/s. Kartel’s Attorneys have indicated they will appeal the guilty verdict, as was to be expected. There is also information coming out of Jamaica that the Director of public Prosecution will be proffering charges against one juror who allegedly approached the jury fore-person with an offer of $200.000 to vote to release the accused. We will talk more about this as more information becomes available.
Kartel and his co-accused Shawn Campbell,Kahira Jones, Andre St John, were all found guilt as charged with the jury finding Shane Williams not guilty. This trial created a buzz , not just in Jamaica but in the Jamaican Diaspora. This was evident on social media, where everyone felt at liberty to let their voices be heard. In these Blogs we argued that this was one of the very first time there has been so much incontrovertible evidence against an accused, yet there was no corpse. It was not the first time an accused was found guilty in a murder case where no body was recovered. This created much hand wringing in social media, those wanting a guilty verdict worried about that fact in the case. Others wanting an acquittal pointed out there is no body,so there is no murder. There has been the usual ignorant behavior from that fringe of the country which defies logic. It seemed that the police were prepared this time. The jury is still out on whether this verdict will result in civil unrest as is customary when anyone from the underworld is placed in custody. That speaks to the moral rot which has taken over our country.
In the end there did not need to be a body. The mountain of circumstantial evidence,including the words of the accused was enough to gain convictions against them.They never quite challenged the evidence put forth by the Prosecution. Reading what happened in the court room daily, I wondered if his celebrity would allow him to wiggle out of what I thought was a slam dunk case. Save and except for some allegations of impropriety by police regarding a cell phone, the defense’s case appeared to be innuendos, trying to cast doubt ‚allegations of a frame up, but never seriously attempting to indict the evidence presented by the state.
Those who wanted an acquittal may want to hold their horses for awhile, in Jamaica anything is possible. The Appeals court still gets to have a say. That court has never seen a verdict it could just leave alone. I have consistently pointed to the Liberalism in Jamaican Judicial system, Jamaican Judges are largely products of the University of the West Indies a well know far left liberal institution. For now however, Jamaicans who are tired of crime and violence may down a cold one and heave a sigh of relief that for once the system worked. The system is badly broken, just not dead yet. Maybe, just maybe, it can be salvaged.
This is not a victory for Clive Lizard Williams who clearly was no Saint. In fact Williams allegedly died because he lost Kartel’s gun. What Williams did, who he robbed or killed with that gun, we may never know. This was a victory for the few Jamaicans who still believe in the value of God and country, hard work and sacrifice , education and the rule of law, decency and honest, good communities and good friends. It is a victory for the Jamaicans who yearn for the innocence of yesteryear, when neighbors looked out for neighbors. When everyone raised everyone’s children, when people were secure in their right to enjoy their country. Whenever, wherever, however, and with whomever they chose. That Jamaica may be only a memory on the distant horizon in the rear-view mirror of time, but for one moment, just once more, these nostalgic Jamaicans may dream of a time when their country was theirs, just this once.….
There’s great excitement surrounding the possible decriminalization and potential legalization of (Cannabis Sativa) Popularly know as Marijuana or Ganja. This sense of euphoria is not confined to my native Jamaica where feelings are running high but in several American states as well. In Jamaica, marijuana users are in proverbial seventh heaven at the prospect of being able to smoke to their heart’s content without having to worry about (babylon) the police. For their part, some European countries had long eased restrictions on cannabis use, the Netherlands readily comes to mind. Colorado and Washington states in the pacific north west of the United States, have moved to legalize the use of cannabis, although they have done so under the cover of (for medicinal purposes). Of course the American Federal Government has not done anything to suggest that it will be moving to decriminalize the use and sale of Cannabis Sativa. In fact as I said in a previous blog ‚the Obama Administration continue to deport people , including Jamaicans from the United States for the sale of marijuana.
As a child growing up in Jamaica I had marijuana tea, I never smoked the weed. My family members were local farmers who planted it among hills of yams for their personal use. One cousin actually went to prison for 18 months for planting it. Later I joined the Police department and it was my sworn duty to enforce the laws, including that of cannabis use, sale and cultivation. I just never went out of my way to make criminals of anyone who used it. In fact there were a few times that I turned a blind eye to amounts of the weed that would have sent the owner to prison for long periods of time. I am neither proud of it neither am I ashamed that I did. Yesterday I hinted in a discussion forum that no one expected brains under the fog of cannabis smoke to be objective participants in this necessary discussion surrounding legalization. That leaves the rest of us who are disinterested parties, to think through the haze and the smoke from those blazing away with euphoric abandon. Despite the passionate zeal of supporters, it bears looking at what potential negatives may occur from legalization/decriminalization in Jamaica ! American states taking steps to ease restrictions have solid infrastructural support in place to deal with potential fallout if any.
US Justice Department noted that jurisdictions that had enacted laws legalizing marijuana in some form, implemented strong regulatory and enforcement systems to control cultivation, distribution and possession, and which are in compliance with such laws, “are less likely to threaten the federal priorities of enforcing the federal law”. Jamaica cannot say the same . How then can a small nation like ours, which is struggling mightily with myriad issues of crime , child delinquency,unemployment, gang activities, drug addiction and poverty to name a few, not be cautious?
Does anyone, mind unclouded by marijuana smoke, uncluttered by unrealistic dreams of excess amounts of ganja dollars, really believe Jamaica’s problems will not be exacerbated if this issue is not looked at carefully? Where is the evidence which shows legalization will be a panacea to the country’s financial woes? Was Alumina, Coffee, Sugar-cane, Banana,Cocoa , or even Tourism that silver bullet? Experts have warned that despite potential positives of marijuana, it is still an addictive gate-way drug which leads to addiction to more potent drugs. How do we square this with hundreds of thousands of our young school-age children legally puffing away on their way to school, while in school or on their way from school? How do we deal with the health effects? And lastly, have anyone bothered to think of the effects this will have with free flowing weed and the guns coming in? Of course not ! Everyone is currently actively engaged in talking about potential tax revenue to be had. Some are even talking about Jamaica becoming some kind of ganja smoking Utopian paradise. I am just concerned that we do not wake up from our ganja induced slumber to find we have a reached a point of no return. Before supporters start counting the windfall, whats wrong with looking at the potential downside?
Washington has offered threats and sanctions to pressure Russia, but what kind of compromise is it pushing for?http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/3/11/obama-yatsenyuk-meeting.html
Ukraine’s interim Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk will fly to Washington to meet with U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday to discuss “how to find a peaceful resolution to Russia’s ongoing military intervention in Crimea,” the White House announced over the weekend, a sign that the United States intends to advance its patronage of the new, West-facing government in Kiev, which Russia has decried as illegitimate.
As is to be expected Obama’s detractors on the right are unhappy with the fact that he hasn’t moved to start a war of mutual assured destruction with the Russian Federation.
For all the threats and sanctions from the U.S., wrote Leslie Gelb, a former government official and a president emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations, the U.S. has failed to convince Putin there is any real imperative for him to back down. “As it stands today, the Russians may feel that they can get away with their power grab,” he wrote in an op-ed for The Daily Beast. “Putin surely remembers how little [George W.] Bush did to punish Moscow for its meddling in Georgia in 2008 or for its practical annexation of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Perhaps he now reckons that once again there will be no serious consequences for his territorial lust.”
There have been a chorus of criticism coming from the usual quarters like the Lindsay Graham of this world, yet no one have been able to say what they would actually do against Russia, a heavily armed Nuclear nation. Neocons love to play brinkmanship with American military might. Over the last two decades plus , America has engaged militarily in three major wars. In neither of these wars have the Russians or any other power intervened . Judging from the continued saber-rattling from the right, it appears nothing will please them unless they force a mushroom cloud vaporizing all of us.
Allan Douglas a former Colonel of the Jamaica Defense Force wrote a scathing Article in the Jamaica observer criticizing the passage of the new Suppression of Criminal Organisations) Bill. Most of his venom was directed at Opposition Jamaica Labor Party member Delroy Chuck. Now let it be understood , Delroy Chuck is no crime fighter. Chuck is actually a member of that Elitist club who believe crime can be wished away. Notwithstanding, Douglas blasted him for voicing his support for the new piece of legislation designed to help law enforcement rid the country of the scores of murderous gangs terrorizing citizens. It should also be noted that Douglas is presently employed by the Portia Simpson miller Administration. Was this guy speaking as a former professional soldier or as a true orange-lathered member of the PNP cult? I recall it was his party which stood in the way of the security forces in 2010. The PNP voted unitarily not to extend the limited state of emergency after the Tivoli Gardens incursion. We know where they stand on crime! It is troubling nonetheless when people who ought to know better allow political associations and affiliations to color their judgement. It is sad when they put party over country. This is exactly what’s at the heart of this broadside by Allan Douglas.
Here is a synopsis of what Allan Douglas had to say Quote :MP Chuck acknowledged that some private individuals and organisations were concerned about the Bill but failed to say why there were more compelling reasons than the objections raised for passing this piece of legislation. I am sure the member of Parliament is aware of the manner in which members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) have conducted themselves under the provisions of the Suppression of Crime Act (1974), which stayed with us for 20 years. Wasn’t it Mr Chuck’s political party that fought for the repeal of that very Act? Isn’t it that very Act that is widely believed to have contributed to the disregard our present-day JCF shows towards citizens’ rights or what the Wolfe Report (1992) described as a ‘suppression of crime culture’?http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/columns/Can-we-really-entrust-the-JCF-with-the-anti-gang-legislation-_16149216
Okay I’m not given to name calling , but this guy is an absolute Jack-ass. Quote : Can we really entrust the JCF with the new anti-gang legislation? Who should we empower with enforcing our laws? I have long argued that one of the greatest impediment to law and order in Jamaica is Elitism. Some people who live above Cross-Roads who benefit from the sacrifice of others . Those who are so far removed from realities on the ground that they pontificate and pretend the crime and terrorism is happening some place else. I wonder whether Douglas ever had to deal with the ferocity of Jamaica’s urban terrorists? Maybe after Douglas graduated from one of the schools which turn out Liberal Elitists they slapped the Colonel Rank on him !! What did he do to earn that Rank. In real military establishments Officers must show that they can command to be a Colonel. If as I suspect Douglas was given that rank for sitting on his ass at Up-Park-Camp, I suggest he leave law enforcement to the real heroes who brave the bullets. I have dodged bullets with many members of the JDF in almost every ghetto in our country. Most were fine men who understood what’s at stake. Douglas should be ashamed to call himself a former soldier. Where was he when the men of 1, 2 and 3JR were side by side with heroic cops, fighting, so he can pontificate about something he knows nothing about? I do not believe Grenada qualifies Douglas to be an authority on crime fighting and terrorism .The question is should Douglas’ broadside be even debated , or should it be seen as the attack of another political hack , unworthy of mention?
Αs Jamaica struggles to bring crime under control, some residents are finally realizing that their safety and security are ultimately their responsibility and as such they have to be proactive in ensuring same. If the Authorities are serious about reducing crime to a minimum, they must launch a media campaign educating citizens on what their responsibilities are. There is no shortage of people who purport to know their rights, but what of their responsibilities as citizens? Usually knowing their rights means a misguided belief that they are somehow immune from law enforcement action. As Jamaica reluctantly move toward becoming a country of laws , it is imperative that citizens are made aware of their responsibilities so they may not only obey the laws, but are less likely to be ensnared by them.
Observer photo:
Recently pockets of people in some crime-ravaged communities have taken the bold steps to march against criminal elements within their communities. This was evident in east and west Kingston recently. This is not new, from time to time various organizations have marched for peace and freedom from crime. What is ultimately needed though, is a sustained coalescence of actions between all stake-holders, including law enforcement agencies that will invariably send a strong message to the criminal underworld that citizens will not tolerate their activities any longer. Over the years community Over-Lords have used demonstration against the police as a potent weapon, as they solidify their control of communities. It is time citizens turn the tables using the very same methods. What is needed from the police now, is less bravado, less empty rhetoric and more leadership. The Police department is top heavy with people who do not earn their pay, it has always been that way, it is time for these people to get up off their lazy asses and go into the communities and stay there. It cannot be that people are scared to report matters to the police anymore because they are afraid of police corruption and being labeled informers. It is time for the stupid dance-hall jargon “informa fi ded” to become a thing of the past.
Jamaican Judge Lennox Campbell has began summation in the murder case the state against Adijia Palmer o/c Vybez Kartel. He’s told the jury to consider two main questions…those questions are:Is Clive “Lizard” Williams dead and did the accused men kill him if he’s in fact dead?
He’s also warned the jurors not to allow feelings of sympathy or prejudice to influence their judgement.http://rjrnewsonline.com/local/judge-begins-his-summation-in-kartel-trial. Campbell also told the jury “If there is any doubt in their minds they must acquit. This trial has gone on for over 2 years. There has been charges and counter charges hurled both ways but mostly by the defense which still has not substantively deflected the charge of murder from their client. What Juror sitting on that jury who believes a primi-face case has been made out against the accused will not feel pressured to vote to acquit?
I’m not a betting man , but these people clamoring for the accused to be freed may soon have their wish granted. What does it say about a country however when people want accused murderers to beat the rap?
Jamaican Government Minister Phillip Paulwell, the leader of Government Business in the House, told the nation that Ganga would be legalized before year’s end. Ever the cautious one, I wondered how this bold pronouncement would be received in the International community , despite what appears to be an attitude change toward the weed. https://mikebeckles.com/mywpblog/?p=6336
It now appears those concerns were not unfounded in light of America’s large foot-prints on the global stage. As I said on February 24th, despite Pulwell’s grand pronouncement, Jamaica was a very small nation which is signatory to International agreements and treaties as it regards the production sale and trafficking of dangerous drugs. Whether we disagree with the idea that Cannabis is a dangerous drug is immaterial in this sense.The Jamaica Observer reported Thursday than in response to queries they received two separate statements. Both the State Department and the Department of Justice sidestepped direct comment on how the US would react to decriminalization of the weed.
“The US respects that different nations have varying approaches on the matter; it is the duty of each nation to decide drug policies that meet its specific needs within the framework of International Laws,” the State Department said in its response.
But appearing to play it safe, the State Department cautioned: “Under US federal law, marijuana remains a dangerous drug, and is subject to high levels of control with corresponding criminal restrictions on distribution and sale. The United States is committed to upholding its obligations under the United Nations (UN) drug control conventions and to work with international partners to promote the goals of the convention.“http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/US-softens-_16180412
Jamaican conventional wisdom is, if Ganga is decriminalized, and or legalized, all of Jamaica’s economic problems disappears overnight. Ever the contrarian, I cannot help wondering why our country is still mired in poverty and despair, despite the legality of Banana, sugar-cane, coffee, cassava, cocoa and a host of other agricultural products. Even if the nagging little problems of International laws and treaties were to disappear , does that translate into mass cultivation of cannabis by Jamaicans? Or does it mean much more crime based on existing characteristics which fuel crime? Wouldn’t some people farm the weed , while others scheme how to kill them and simply take it? Wouldn’t the mass proliferation of a potential cash cow like cannabis create even more corruption in an already critically lame police department still trying to extricate itself from corruption? What about the claim by the medical community that cannabis is a gate-way drug which leads to even more serious addiction to other drugs?
In fact the US Justice Department noted that jurisdictions that had enacted laws legalizing marijuana in some form, implemented strong regulatory and enforcement systems to control cultivation, distribution and possession, and which are in compliance with such laws, “are less likely to threaten the federal priorities of enforcing the federal law”.Observer:
As we alluded to on February 24th, US States legalizing and decriminalizing the weed already have infrastructural framework in place to deal with potential consequences as a result of policy and legislative change. Jamaica simply does not, I caution that Jamaica tread rather careful despite mass support for legalization and decriminalization . Many lives have been ruined over the decades in this so-called war on drugs which included cannabis. Countless people have been ensnared in the fight against marijuana, even more have been deported . Jamaica has suffered immensely as a result. Let us tread carefully as we stop sending people to prison for a weed.
The long sought after merger between the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) and it’s main auxiliary the Island Special Constabulary(ISCF) has been approved by the Parliament . National Security Minister Peter Bunting and Police Commissioner Owen Ellington highlighted perceived positives to be derived from the merger.
Peter Bunting: “By combining them you will release more personnel to be on the streets patrolling communities, working in crime control and crime prevention,”.
Owen Ellington :“I think the public stands to benefit greatly from it. “It should result in a net increase in the numbers that are deployed on the streets as we give up a lot of administrative and support services that are duplicated because we had to maintain two command structures.” http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Finally – Gov-t-approves-JCF – ISCF-merger-_16189683
Let’s look at the facts, after all what matters is whether the Jamaican people are getting value for money. Commissioner Ellington started off by saying quote> “It should result in a net increase in the numbers that are deployed on the streets as we give up a lot of administrative and support services that are duplicated because we had to maintain two command structures. ” The Minister of national security agrees with that assessment. May I just digress for a minute? I never quite understood why there were ever two command structures. The ISCF is an auxiliary of the JCF, if there is something in the two Acts which prevented the JCF from managing and supervising the ISCF, it could have been fixed decades ago by an act of Parliament. Anyway back to the merger. It’s difficult to argue that the merger will not free up a few more cops for the streets. However the question remains, “is Jamaica’s crime problem necessarily a result of not enough cops”? The Minister of national security stressed that there should be no problem, as salaries of ISCF members will be brought up to par with that of their contemporaries in the JCF . “The truth of the matter is that the salaries were almost identical before. There will be a marginal top up for the ISCF members; but in the scheme of things, it is not even one-tenth of the budget of the police force”.
The Minister is reaching here, to integrate all members of the ISCF into the JCF there will be cost. The minister argues it will be less than 1⁄10 of the annual police budget. Whichever way the Minister dices it, there is cost to the country. Either in a larger police budget or a 10% cut in police service. Unfortunately for the people after this merger is implemented they will be just as disappointed as before. The addition of another 2’000 officers will not change the country’s crime trajectory, unless 1)There are serious changes in the Agency’s investigative capabilities. 2) A complete de-annexation of the force from political interference and influence.3) A serious push to modernize the force through constant training programs aided by clear and concise policy directives understood by all members. 4) Proper supervision of younger members. 5) Removing some gazetted officers, making the agency leaner and more effective. 6) Rebuilding confidence within all communities, estranging and alienating criminals in the process. 7) Educating the public on their responsibilities as citizens. 8) Eliminating ineffective archaic laws. 9) Passing necessary laws commensurate with the country’s needs on a continuüm . 10) Revamp and redo the criminal justice system , which now does little to inspire confidence in the process of justice.
The American story is long and complicated. Relying on what you hear in the main stream Media will not give you an accurate picture of the sordid history of this Democracy. The sanitized romantic version fed to our children in the schools belie the sordid gruesome realities which was, and still to this day continue to be the real facts of America. The genocide visited on Native American tribes and the annihilation of tens of millions of Africans through forced labor , mutilation, rape and murder, are two of the indelible stains no Public Relations Firm, denial, or whitewash can remove. No dredged up romantic story will replace the factual events of how this nation came into being. African-Americans just concluded the observance of black history month. The question remains, have we come far enough ? Are we mindful of where we are? Are we conversant of the precipitous position of our people in this land our fore-fathers occupied long before Europeans knew the world was not flat. The struggle for equal rights and justice is not a fight for black and brown anymore. The fight is a much larger one, one which includes average ever-day Americans regardless of color. As President Barack Obama alluded to the need for a more perfect Union, American must face it’s shameful past if it wants to have a better future. African-Americans have an even greater burden if they wish never to return to the pogrom visited upon them in the past. Yet I am not confident that our people have the desire, or the commitment of the warriors who went on before us. Our Generation and the ones coming after us, seem to have a singular need, that of being entertained. When one examines the real story of this land, we must do so against the background of facts. The murder , rape, mutilation and mangling meted out to Native and Africans Americans can only be fully appreciated for its vile barbarity, when we understand that it was only after the Civil war that European murderers and Rapists were not being shipped here anymore. The demonic slaughter of countless people of color , black and brown, did not occur at the hands of innocent Pilgrims fleeing religious persecution. It happened at the hands of principal felons , their children and grand children. Lest we forget, we must remind ourselves that the Moors had crossed over the mountains of Italy and went to the gates of Rome .Historians and archaeologist have confirmed that the first people in the Americas were black.http://www.theafrolounge.com/2013/10/14/blacks-were-the-first-people-in-the-americas/ The fact that evidence exists that Africans sailed to the Americas and settled there, almost 200 years before Columbus is widely unheard. The recitation of the Americas discovery often begins in the late 1400’s. Yet historians are well aware of the knowledge,.http://www.examiner.com/article/evidence-africans-discovered-america-170-years-before-columbus.
We must remember that our people long traveled from Africa and populated Australia, North America, and as far away places as New Zealand, long before the British or any European knew they would not fall off a flat earth. All over the world people of African descent, Black people, were living long before the white man arrived. Our fore-fathers traveled the seas and settled new lands. They did not kill the people they found living in those lands. The settled the land and peaceably coexisted with the inhabitants. Yes, that also included this land we now know as the United States. When the white man came here he found black people living peacefully with their Native-American brothers. Neither our fore-fathers, nor the native Indians thought they owned the land, they looked to the land for sustenance and they respected it. What happened to both peoples was everything but respectful, we should never forget.