Is It Or Is It Not? Campus Officials Can’t Decide If Noose Found On University Student’s Desk Is A Hate Crime!

In 2008, it is beyond sad to report that there are still cowards and hate mongers who refuse to let ignorance take a back seat in their pitiful lives.

Apparently, at the Abilene Christian University, where African American students make up about 13% of a student population of 4,700, cowardice and ignorance is the discussion of the moment. Last week, university student Daniel Paul Watkins, a political science major, entered his student government office to find a noose lying casually on his chair.

Reporting this incident to the Abilene Christian University campus police and other university officials has so far proved to be futile. There has been no arrests in the case and no suspects. The local police department nor the FBI have been contacted regarding the incident either. Why? According to Abilene Christian University President Royce Money, “campus police are are still determining if the case could be considered a hate crime.”

What more significant could Abilene Christian University campus officials need in calling this heinous incident a hate crime than a noose? A noose. Symbolic of the legally sanctioned mass murdering of African American males, and occasionally African American women, by means of lynching, which also included other methods of torture such as burning, quartering, the butchering of male reproductive organs, gang rape and etc.

With a history as such closer to the pulse of African Americans than many realize, it is difficult to ascertain why Abilene Christian University officials refuse to acknowledge it instead of sitting on their hands, absolving themselves of the entire matter. Money told the Associated Press Monday that “someone has jeopardized the fine reputation of a top academic institution…the entire image of a university is challenged by an individual.”

So there it is! The reason why Abilene Christian University officials are so reluctant to call a noose, situated on a chair purposely with an invisible, historic message attached to it a ‘hate crime’ is simply because “reputation” translates into tuition monies. Dollars. Greenbacks. Euros. Without a public outcry on this matter, this ‘hate crime’ at  Abilene Christian University will fade into obscurity, away from public scrutiny, and then subsequently breed future incidents of this sort, more heinous than the first.

If Abilene Christian University officials are not careful, Michael Baisden and The Family, along with the tens of thousands who participated in the march for justice regarding the Jena 6, publicity of a different kind will arrive on their doorsteps that will most definitely incite the type of ‘reputation’ that I am most assured will not be a cakewalk.

Movie Star/’Original King Of Comedy’/Hit Television Show Creator, Bernie Mac, Dead at 50!

The Associated Press has just reported that one of ‘The Original Kings of Comedy,’ Bernie Mac has died as a result of serious complications from pneumonia. Bernie Mac was 50.

An inspiring and multi-talented African American man, Bernie Mac was able to parlay a past-time into a fortune. Growing up poor and living on a diet of “bologna for dinner,” Mac once said, “it was through a little luck and perseverance” that he was able to transcend a poverty-stricken existence to star in some of Hollywood’s notoriously financial blockbusters such as, “Bad Santa,” the “Ocean’s Eleven” franchise, “Transformers,” “Friday,” “Get On The Bus,” and the stellar “Original Kings of Comedy” tour and documentary by Spike Lee. Currently Mac has two films in post production.

“The Bernie Mac Show,” a magnificent sitcom about raising his drug-addicted sister’s children in California, earned Mac the prestigious Peabody Award in 2002. When the “Bernie Mac Show” premiered, it took America back to the “Cosby Show” with excellent values, realistic situations, a loving married African American couple that formed a stable nucleus to sustain a family. The major problems came with FOX constantly changing the date and time slot of the show due to so-called ‘low’ ratings. Despite the ratings and movement of “The Bernie Mac Show,” it continued to win numerous NAACP awards and was beloved by the African American community.

Bernard Jeffrey McCullough, born October 5, 1957, also known as Bernie Mac, “was a good father, raised his kids. My heart goes out to his family. This is a heartbreak,” lamented fellow “Original Kings of Comedy” stand-up comic, morning show host and friend Steve Harvey. “My heart goes out to his family,” Harvey said this morning.

Bernie Mac…Dead at 50.

Dexter King “Shocked” By Lawsuit Filed By Siblings

In a recent statement and interview given by Dexter King, whose siblings, Rev. Bernice King and Martin Luther King III filed a lawsuit against him in Fulton County Federal Court last week, announced he was “shocked” and “blindsided” by the legal action.

“It totally blindsided me. I think maybe it was a reckless attempt to express their grievances. They are false claims and I will address them accordingly. We are a private family, it is a private business matter. You know, a family dispute, if you will. It’s probably blown out of proportion, but until I’ve had a chance to thoroughly review the complaint, it’s just kind of difficult for me to address it.”

Dexter King is accused of mishandling funds from King Inc., hiding important business documentation from his siblings and taking money out of the Coretta Scott King Estate and depositing these monies into his own personal account.

When questioned whether or not he had spoken to Rev. Bernice King and Martin Luther King III since the suit was filed, Dexter King replied, “I left them a message to call me, so we could talk, and they have not returned the call. I just…I don’t understand it.”

It looks as if a bad case of telephone tag is behind this lawsuit. Maybe if Dexter had returned his siblings telephone calls from jump, none of this embarassing press and subsequent legal action would be taking place.

That is, if he hasn’t anything to hide. Stay tuned.

Don Imus: “I Was Misunderstood”

On Tuesday, controversial radio talk show host Don Imus told his listeners that the statement he made on Monday, considered racist by some in the African American community, was generally misunderstood. Imus said that in his comments about the arrest and suspension of Adam “Pacman” Jones, he was trying to “make a sarcastic point about the unfair treatment of Blacks in the criminal justice system.” He further noted that the uproar caused by his efforts in defense of African Americans was “ridiculous.”

Upon reviewing the transcripts from Imus’ Monday broadcast, it is difficult to ascertain the validity of his explanation. However, shockingly, I am in total agreement with Imus when he said that this media storm surrounding his comments is “ridiculous.” Why? It comes down to simple common sense. Did we in the African American community believe that Don Imus had magically reformed his stereotypical racist attitude? Could we in the African American community been fool enough to suppose that after his suspect ‘apology’ six months ago to the young women of the Rutgers University basketball team, Don Imus had an epiphany of some kind?

Don Imus does not owe the African American community another half-baked apology. He did not need to clarify his comments either. Who in the African American community actually listens to a Don Imus broadcast? I thought most of us was laughing and listening to Tom Joyner, Steve Harvey and Michael Baisden? When you have these three on the radio dial, and soon Mo’Nique, who has the time or inclination to even want to listen to anyone else?

Besides, going after Dom Imus is like going fishing. Why would you knowingly bait and catch a small fish in a deep ocean? Rev. Al Sharpton can answer this question for me. Or maybe he can’t. You see, Don Imus is a small fish. Throw him back. The deep ocean is the media, mainly cable news; and the big fish we REALLY want to catch and fry is FOX News Network. But seeing  how ‘friendly’ a relationship Rev. Al Sharpton has with FOX, it is no wonder why he would jump on the Don Imus bandwagon and not on the backs of FOX News. Just last week, you could find Rev. Sharpton on the “O’ Reilly Factor” explaining why he assumes the IRS is harassing him. Bill O’Reilly. Need I say more?

I say let Don Imus alone. Who cares that he, like a leopard, will never change his spots? We have ‘bigger fish to fry.’