BMORENEWS.com

By Doni Morton Glover, www.bmorenews.com

“One ever feels his twoness-an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder.” – W. E. B. DuBois, “The Souls of Black Folk”

(BALTIMORE – March 25, 2012) – On one hand, there was shock. On the other hand, to be quite truthful, there was a sense that black people simply ‘ain’t goin’ out like that!’ And given the truly inhumane and unprofessional handling of the Trayvon Martin murder by Sanford, Florida police – given such a smack in the face in the year 2012 – the era of the first visibly black President of the United States …. some people, however difficult to admit, appreciate what the New Black Panther Party is doing by offering a $10,000 reward.

Others wonder why there isn’t outrage everyday considering the number of young black men who get killed in urban streets by other black men every day of the week. ‘Where is THAT outrage?’

To the right, there is the doctrine of Mahatma Ghandi and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. They believed in peaceful protest. They encountered the worst violence. They encountered vicious beatings, bricks, attack dogs, fire hoses, profanity, derogatory names. Yet, they still chose non-violence.

Malcolm X, sometimes considered the opposite of Martin, is often remembered for the picture where he is standing alongside the window ... with a rifle in ‘ready’ position.

As Janice B.’s commentary posted on BMORENEWS.com notes, one must be willing to accept the burden when one picks up a gun.

Interestingly, both Martin and Malcolm died from bullets.

For the sake of all, I would hope that authorities expedite the legal process and arrest Zimmerman.

If he were black, many agree, and if the kid killed was white – there would be no question as to whether or not there would be an arrest. A fair distribution of law is essential to a civilized society. And I say this, regardless of whether Zimmerman is white, Latino, Jewish, blue, purple, or green: Black people have handled enough of the abuse and mistreatment that a country can allow on any people. And black people – in 2012 – are tired of America’s chicanery; And, truth be told, don’t really want to hear any more lame excuses from politicians, law enforcement, or the Supreme Court. Black people – despite the challenges and obstacles – are well aware of the history of this country and how blacks always die first in real life and the movies. Black people have seen too many instances where black people – just as in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina – come out on the short end of the stick.

Black people have helped build this country from the ground up; helped raise many white babies; fought for the right to fight for this country (Imagine that!); died in foreign wars for this country, only to return home to a country that would make them come in the back door to eat or shop because of the insanity of American racists.

This country’s race relations are so horrible that unfortunately the closest whites and blacks have ever been is when there was the threat of a ‘common enemy‘ after Osama’s boys flew into the World Trade Centers.

… But again, the saddest part of this whole ordeal is that we’re even having this discussion … about race … in this, the 21^st century.

Should the New Black Panther Party offer this reward? What are your thoughts? Honestly, I don't know, and yet still commend them for doing something. I heard the screams and the shot on the 9-1-1 call. That little boy was terrorized. Surely, at least one of his ancestors fought for this country - only for his descendant to be treated worse than a dog. What 'does' resonate in my mind also are the words of Frederick Douglass, slave abolitionist-turned US Ambassador: "Power conceded nothing without a demand. Never has and never will."

In any event, I’ll leave you with this: I don’t think we, as a human race, have to worry much at all about intelligent life wanting to come to this planet, for there is surely a deficit here when it comes to brains.

Tags: $10, 000 reward, george zimmerman, new black panther party, racism, trayvon martin, USA