Tag: Black Lives Matter

Jackie Robinson Marker Finds a New Home

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By Michael January 28, 2022 Off

Marker in Robinson’s Georgia Hometown Damaged by Vandals

Like fellow Georgian, Martin Luther King, Jr., Jackie Robinson was a peacemaker. Robinson was born in Cairo, Georgia, on January 31, 1919, nearly 13 months before Andrew Foster organized the United States Baseball League, a league for Negro players, designed to compete with the White major league for the heart of baseball fans in America. The organizational meeting took place at the Paseo YMCA in Kansas City, Missouri. read more

Atlanta’s Moment of Decision

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By Michael October 11, 2021 Off

Reed A Strong Candidate for Atlanta Mayor

Kasim Reed, the son of a courageous civil rights worker, has a strong chin and a personality to match. People either love his matter of fact-ness, or they loath it. With Kasim, you know on which side of the issue he stands. He is for an idea, or he is against it. One thing is sure, his steadfastness, once locked in, is unmovable. read more

The Endearing Legacy of Tyrone Brooks

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By Michael September 13, 2021 Off

Bridging the Gap From Civil Rights to Black Lives Matter

In 1967, Rev. Hosea Williams, a trusted aide of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., introduced his 21-year-old protégé, Tyrone Brooks, to Dr. King, hoping to get King’s approval to hire the young man whom Williams was grooming for civil rights work. King told Williams that he did not do the hiring and firing at the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. The organization’s Vice President, Rev. Ralph David Abernathy, discharged those duties. read more

SCLC Fights To Free Death Row Inmate

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By Michael July 13, 2021 Off

While Evidence in Pervis Payne Case for Killing White Woman Disappears

Last week President Joe Biden hosted an impressive list of civil rights leaders at the White House. They came to discuss national efforts by Republican officials to restrict voting rights and criminal justice reform considering an alarming uptick in police killing of Black people since the 2008 election of Barack Obama. read more

Black Kids Dream Of Playing HBCU Baseball

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By Michael May 3, 2021 Off

While the Face of Black College Baseball Grows Whiter and Whiter

When I was a high schooler in Macon, Georgia, I dreamed of playing collegiate baseball at Georgia Tech in Atlanta during the early days of school desegregation. In 1969, the year I graduated from the majority white high school that I had integrated four years earlier, there were no Black American baseball players on the Georgia Tech baseball team. read more

Black Skin As a Perpetual Threat

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By Michael April 13, 2021 Off

Brooklyn Center another case of trigger happy policing

I’ve lived through three encounters with the police that could easily have ended in my death. Each time I see another Black man lose his life to a trigger-happy cop; it brings back that same dread I had on those three occasions.

In the mid-1970s, I was a young reporter covering the city hall beat for a Black-owned weekly tabloid. One day I went home for lunch with a couple of girls who worked in the newsroom. They were curious to know how I prepared a vegetarian hamburger. This was decades before the meat alternatives we have on the market today and a lot less appetizing. read more

Did The Civil Rights Lawyers In The Floyd Case Leave Money On The Table

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By Michael April 3, 2021 Off

Is $27 Million Enough to Set An Example for Other Police Departments?

Two months after a stunned, pandemic world watched the killing of George Floyd at the corner of 8th Street East and Chicago Avenue, a battery of civil rights attorneys filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city, Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the three cops who participated in Floyd’s death. The lawyers’ chief spokesperson is Benjamin Crump, who has built a cottage industry in police misconduct cases following the Trayvon Martin family’s representation nine years ago. read more

Four Early Take-Aways From The Derek Chauvin Trial

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By Michael April 1, 2021 Off

New Time Period Suggests Civil Case Settled Too Soon and For Too Little Money

Four early take-aways are evident after the first three days of testimony in the Derek Chauvin trial for the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

First, there is no doubt that Chauvin used excessive force from the get-go on Memorial Day 2020. After banging on the driver-side door of an SUV driven by Floyd, Chauvin immediately drew his firearm and pointed it at Floyd. The officer’s approach caused Floyd to cringe and beg for his life. He asked Chauvin to not shot him. Floyd never physically attacked Chauvin or any other police officer on the scene. He initially gripped onto the steering wheel of his SUV as he asked the officers why they were bothering him. read more

A Wonderful Historic Moment for Black College Baseball

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By Michael March 13, 2021 Off

Why the Ralph Garr-Bill Lucas HBCU Baseball Classic Matters?

A faint breeze slightly chilled the night air, the sky tinted ocean blue, and patches of small fluffy clouds lingered in the afterglow of dusk, hinted at the artistry of the Divine.

Down below on a baseball diamond where Triple-A professionals dream of getting a call up to the big league are two historic Black universities, Florida A & M University and Grambling State University. Each is seeking their first win since the pandemic derailed their season a year ago, prepared to do battle in the first Ralph Garr-Bill Lucas HBCU Baseball Classic. read more

Georgia Civil Rights Groups Flex Political Muscle After Senate Victory

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By Michael January 24, 2021 Off

Demand Congress Oust Six GOP Reps

Two weeks after an angry mob stormed the US Capitol in what can only be described as an outright act of war against the federal government, two civil rights groups in Georgia have demanded the ouster of six Georgia delegation members in the House of Representatives.

The civil rights groups alleged that six Republican members of the US House knowingly told lies, claiming that impeached President Donald J. Trump had won the 2020 Presidential Election. Their lies stirred up the hatred that led to a raid on congressional offices and legislative chambers, placing the entire Congress and the Vice President in jeopardy of serious bodily harm or death. read more