The 10 Most Under-reported Black Stories of 2015
Posted by Xena
Ebony has published “The 10 Most Underreported Black Stories of 2015. The list is long, so the following are several that I found quite interesting – things I did not know.
Black Lives Matter throws support behind police shooting victim, Zachary Hammond, who was White.
The Black Lives Matter movement is serious about the message that police violence is epidemic in America. So race didn’t factor in when they took up the cause of Zachary Hammond, an unarmed, White 19-year-old South Carolina man, who was shot to death by an officer on July 26, 2015 in Seneca, South Carolina. Black Lives Matter publicly cried out for justice for Hammond, just as they did for so many other cases where Blacks were killed by cops. And just like so many others, the officer in Hammond’s case was not charged. While his family has vowed to continue to fight for justice, Black Lives Matter has included Hammond’s name in the long list of victims of excessive police brutality.
As Lincoln Blades commented in The Grio, acknowledging the systemic causes of Hammond’s death means “admitting that black folks haven’t been lying or exaggerating when we’ve said that there is a real problem with policing in America.”
Bomb explodes outside Colorado Springs NAACP office
(I did not know that a person had been arrested, and already sentenced.)
The January 2015 explosion just outside of the NAACP office left many questioning whether or not it was an attack on the national organization and if anyone was targeting Black groups. The accused bomber, Thaddeus Murphy, maintained he was trying to get back at an accountant who worked in the same building and who he said destroyed his tax records. But Henry D. Allen Jr., president of the Colorado Springs branch of the NAACP, said he had no knowledge of any such accountant working from that building, according to The Denver Post. Murphy was sentenced to five years in federal prison.
Minnesota Black Lives Matter Protestors Shot
(I read the news report and that several had been arrested, but did not know that they have not been charged with a hate crime.)
The Black Lives Matter movement broke out of its social media origins and made its mark socially and politically in 2015, but in places like Minnesota it was also violently targeted. In November, five people were shot near a BLM encampment adjacent to Minneapolis police station during a demonstration protesting the police shooting of Jamar Clark, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Four men, Allen Lawrence Scarsella, 23, Joseph Martin Bakman, 27, Nathan Wayne Gustavsson, 21, and Daniel Thomas Macey, 26, were charged in connection with the violence, but were not charged specifically with hate crimes.
Daniel Macey of Pine City, Joseph Backman of Eagan, and Nathan Wayne Gustavsson of Hermantown are charged with one count each of second degree riot with a dangerous weapon. If convicted, they face a minimum of 3 years in prison. The fourth man, Allen Lawrence Scarsella of Lakeville, is charged with first-degree assault. The LA Times has more on this story.
Two Of My Own …
The film, “A Clear View” was released May 1, 2015. It’s a film film based on the events of August 24, 2009 when unarmed Mark Anthony Barmore was killed in a church’s daycare center in front of 9 children and staff. He was shot in the back 3 times by two officers of the Rockford Police Department. Very few people, unless they live in Rockford, know about the case. There’s a saying/theory that all things corrupt in government have their testing ground in Illinois.
Mark Anthony Barmore was killed in 2009 and folks, if you want to read how local decision makers misrepresent facts to cover for the police, this is the story. As one example, in challenge to Jesse Jackson seeing Barmore’s body with three gunshot entrance wounds to his back and no exit wounds, the Winnebago County coroner said that Jackson is not a physician because the back wounds could have been exit wounds. (sigh)
In the event that you’ve kept up with the subpoena situation with Twitter, and the counter-claim against the parents of Kendrick Johnson, you might find it interesting that the two officers who killed Mark Anthony Barmore filed a counter-claim for defamation against the Pastor and the church. Yes — it has happened before. The City of Rockford settled with Barmore’s parents for over a million dollars. The Pastor and his church then dismissed the case against the City of Rockford in the federal court and to move their state claims to the state court. With that action, the counter-claim for defamation was also dismissed.
There’s another film, a documentary, that is coming soon.
What a Hoot!
I had forgotten that in April 2014, a 10-page book was published by “George Zimmerman” titled, “Tips On Being An Effective Neighborhood Watch.” So, I checked on its sales for 2015. The copyright holder is George Zimmeran. It was selling for .99 cents, and is now free. There are comments on the Amazon page, some from those who highly rated it in support of Zimmerman
Our own towerflower posted a comment that in essence, said that George Zimmerman is not qualified to write a book on effective neighborhood watch. Her comment was met by one from David Piercy who supported the book. He didn’t read it. I did – all 10 pages. It’s a parody and mocking of George Zimmerman. It contains a few good laughs. The section on paranoia being a requirement to work an effective neighborhood watch is hilarious, as well as who is accredited for inspiration.
Posted on 01/02/2016, in Black History Month, Cases, George and Shellie Zimmerman, Potpourri and tagged A Clear View, Black lives matter, BLM, Colorado, defamation, George Zimmerman, Jamar Clark, Mark Anthony Barmore, Minnesota shooters, NAACP, protest, Thaddeus Murphy, Tips On Being An Effective Neighborhood Watch, Zachary Hammond. Bookmark the permalink. 21 Comments.
Reblogged this on It Is What It Is and commented:
Somethings to think about … and research!!
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Good morning Horty! Thanks so much for the reblog, dear friend.
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I will take time to watch the movie, a “Clear View.” I did not know about the Mark Anthony Barmore story. I am impressed with BLM movement for supporting Zachary Hammond, a 19 year old White young man. Police targeting any unarmed person who ends up being a fatality which could have been easily prevented, needs to be stopped.
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Good Morning Gronda! I cannot find the full movie. I looked on Amazon and they do not have it. If you can find it, please let me know.
There was something in my heart that says when any unarmed person, regardless of race, is killed by police, that BLM will pick it up and support the family. I do believe that it requires the family to agree. Oh how I wish that Ethan Saylor’s mom had come forth to meet with Eric Garner’s family. Ethan, who was Down Syndrome, was choked to death by off-duty, moonlighting officers in Maryland. No one was charged.
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THIS IS WHAT I FOUND:
B.U.P. Films | CURRENT PRODUCTION – WIX.com bupfilms.wix.com/bupfilms2013#!current-production/cb3i
On August 24, Mark Anthony Barmore, a 23-year-old Black man, was murdered, shot in the back, by two … A Clear View written by Sean “Spoatcoat” Brown.March 22nd – August 10th Production
© 2013 by B.U.P. Films. bupfilms@yahoo.com
Reactionary Counter-Attack in Rockford, Illinois/
On August 24, Mark Anthony Barmore, a 23-year-old Black man, was murdered, shot in the back, by two white cops in Rockford, Illinois. The cops had chased Barmore into the day care center of a church, and shot him down in front of 10-12 children—including three shots to the back, as he lay on the floor. The cops claimed that Barmore had wrestled one of their guns away; but witnesses contradicted this story.
In last week’s Revolution, we went into the official attempts to cover up, and the increasing resistance of the people of Rockford to this outrage. (See “Masses Rise Up Against Police Murder in Rockford Illinois,” Revolution #177.) For the next 10 days, hundreds of the Black people in the city poured out in marches and rallies, speakouts and vigils, town hall meetings, and church services, expressing their outrage at the brutal murder. Then, on September 12, one thousand people marched through the streets of Rockford to the police station, demanding justice. While overwhelmingly Black, this march also included whites and Latinos, some brought out by labor unions and churches, and some who were just outraged by accounts they read in the mainstream news.
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Thanks for the info, Gronda.
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Reblogged this on The Militant Negro™.
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Happy New Year Mr. Militant Negro! Thanks for the reblog, dear friend.
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Lets hope 2016 is the year for real hope & change.
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Indeed, Mr. Militant Negro, indeed.
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Thank you for this post. More people need to know the BLM movement isn’t only supporting those in the black community murdered by LEO!
Happy New Year everyone!
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I agree mindyme62, BLM is pretty awesome if only everyone understood it’s true meaning. It’s a shame.
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Reblogged this on Let Our Voices Echo .
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Hey Lady! Thanks so much for the reblog. Happy New Year!
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Happy New Year to you! You’re very welcome
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Thanks for spotlighting these stories, Xena. They need to be kept in the light of day.
I do want to watch the “Closer View” movie.
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“A Clear View”
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The killing of Natasha McKenna seemed to only be reported locally. Her tasering death (20,000volts) at the hands of a prison extraction team did not seem to received much national TV coverage.
My heart is still sick and devastated for Natasha.
Here is my transcript of Erica Totten’s speechat the September 14, 2015 public meeting of the Fairfax County Ad Hoc Commission to Review Police Practices:
(Timestamp 55:48 to 1:00:50 of the public meeting video posted below.)
Here is the meeting video. Most of the community input begins at timestamp 50:36. Erica Totten begins speaking at 55:48.
(Xena, if the meeting video which I have posted slows your page down because it is over 2 hours, you may remove it or just post an excerpt from it.)
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Natasha’s story is devastating. When it was making its way around Twitter, I was too sick and overwhelmed to blog about it. Thanks for posting it here, Yahtzee.
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THe worst part of this particular tragedy is that the pro-gun fanatics would willingly sacrifice one of their own white children in pursuit of the terminal love affair with guns sponsored by the NRA.
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Dreamer,
Wasn’t that done with Sandy Hook, and most of the school shootings? It really bothers me that some people resist background checks. That’s not a solution, but at least it’s a start.
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