Late to this conversation, but for those reflecting on rich Black men, this NYTimes study, "Extensive Data Shows Punishing Reach of Racism for Black Boys" is sobering. Follow the remarkable graphics for trajectories of rich Black boys compared to their white peers. We have a long way to go.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/03/19/upshot/race-class-white-and-black-men.html
Tuesday’s conviction, after just a couple of hours of jury deliberation, represents a victory for the U.S. Department of Justice, which has vowed to more aggressively prosecute hate crimes, and for civil rights groups that have demanded greater accountability in racially motivated attacks against Blacks and other minorities.
“Tomorrow will be the two-year mark for when their son Ahmaud Arbery was lynched for jogging while Black,” Crump said. “These parents joined a fraternity that no parent wants to be a member of — and with such dignity. They stood up for Ahmaud to say that Ahmaud’s life mattered, that Ahmaud Arbery will never be forgotten.”
“It’s been a very long, stressful fight,” said Cooper-Jones, wearing a blue dress and dark sunglasses. “As a mom, I will never heal.”
May his memory be a blessing.
@lovendures I danced a jig of Joy when I heard that! That area of Georgia " down below the gnat line" (Macon,Ga is the gnat line) has long been racist and racial hate crimes abound. I hope this begins the change from looking the other way to holding them accountable. I feel good knowing we ARE making the changes... we ARE making a difference.
@journeywithme2 @coyote. I hear both of you on this issue. It is heartening that the federal government has stepped in and I am glad if it means there is change. It is horrible what happened.
@coyote I lived in nyc when Eric garner was killed and then moved to St. Paul right after philando Castile died and still live here. What is worth celebrating is that 5 years ago cops and anyone like George Zimmerman could take the lives of black folks with impunity- without legal consequences. None of these lives should have been taken but I celebrate the fact that Derek chauvin didn’t get away with it and neither will these killers. That is the BLM movement effecting change- I’m thankful for the sacrifice and the hard work of standing up to power that anyone who has joined the movement. This work is slow, it is full of blowback and it is needed. Without BLM I don’t see these trials having these outcomes.
@coyote Saying to you ever so lovingly and gently.....and I honor and respect your opinion and your feelings. I beg to differ....The first step in Healing is to acknowledge that there is a problem and the diagnosis is all important in creating an environment for Healing and making the needed changes. In my eyes? Having grown up and seeing it in action and seeing a blind eye turned and others get away with it because of being white and male? Is to say "no more denial...this was a crime committed against someone solely because of the color of their skin, their ethnicity, their belief, their gender, their orientation ". Until eyes are opened? to acknowledge that? There can be no true Healing, it has been swept under the rug for far too long. We can not, I will not, turn my eyes from it and will call it what it is. There is no Healing without Accountability. Yes.... Ahmaud SHOULD be alive today. He is not. Those that hunted him down? Did so purely because of his skin color and because they felt they had a right to.There is STILL a lot of that in Georgia...especially in rural farming country. Read some of Jimmy Carter's experiences to get a true glimpse of what it was like... and... still is.
@coyote I agree with you
WHen I heard the news I felt relief that the jury had made the decision validating the rights and value of Black persons' lives , and condemning the actions of those who do not value those rights. It would have been an abomination had they judged otherwise.
But I did not feel celebratory. The whole thing is a tragedy for all involved. For Mr. Arbery, his family and friends of course... but even for the perpetrators of the crime. Why did they have to be so hateful? That they were hateful is a tragedy in itself, even if they had never followed through with the crime in the first place. I am sad for their damaged souls.