Missouri lawmakers filed more than sixty bills inspired by last year’s protests, but only court reform passed into law, according to an Associated Press analysis. One of the bills that failed to move through the statehouse sought to make Missouri’s use-of-force laws compliant with a 1985 US Supreme Court decision. Other bills would have made body cameras mandatory and require special prosecutors to investigate officer-involved shootings. Last year, activists accused county prosecutor Bob McCulloch of being too close to law enforcement to objectively handle Wilson’s case.

Furthermore, the Washington Post reports that:

So far this year, 24 unarmed black men have been shot and killed by police – one every nine days, according to a Washington Post database of fatal police shootings. During a single two-week period in April, three unarmed black men were shot and killed. All three shootings were either captured on video or, in one case, broadcast live on local TV.

Those 24 cases constitute a surprisingly small fraction of the 585 people shot and killed by police through Friday evening, according to The Post database. Most of those killed were white or Hispanic, and the vast majority of victims of all races were armed.

However, black men accounted for 40 percent of the 60 unarmed deaths, even though they make up just 6 percent of the U.S. population. The Post’s analysis shows that black men were seven times more likely than white men to die by police gunfire while unarmed.

The latest such shooting occurred Friday, claiming Christian Taylor, 19, a promising defensive back on the Angelo State University football team. Police said Taylor crashed an SUV through the front window of a car dealership in Arlington, Tex., and was shot in an altercation with responding officers. The case is under investigation.

The disproportionate number of unarmed black men in the body count helps explain why outrage continues to simmer a year after Ferguson — and why shootings that might have been ignored in the past are now coming under fresh public and legal scrutiny. (Emphasis added)

One year after the death of Michael Brown, the Black Lives Matter Movement has failed, for the most part. People are still marching, protesting and engaging in civil disobedience in Ferguson and around the country. That proves that the movement has not achieved its objectives. The End Racial Profiling Act has not been passed. In fact, a bill to protect lions and other wild animals is a greater priority in Congress than the End Racial Profiling Act. That is an obvious sign of failure. While unarmed movement members are arrested for engaging in civil disobedience, killers like Darren Wilson and George Zimmerman continue to walk free and armed white militia patrol the streets of Ferguson looking for trouble from the black natives. That is not success. That is failure. As previously stated, the brutal police continue to harass and kill unarmed black people. Recent examples include the killing of Walter Scott, Freddie Gray and Sam DuBose. Our lives still don’t matter.  Again, the movement has failed miserably.

Parents of Michael Brown, Michael Brown Sr. and Lesley McSpadden listen to a speaker during a rally, Sunday, Aug. 17, 2014, for their son who was killed by police last Saturday in Ferguson, Mo. Brown’s shooting in the middle of a street, following a suspected robbery of a box of cigars from a nearby market, has sparked a week of protests, riots and looting in the St. Louis suburb. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Certainly, the movement’s catch phrase “Black Lives Matter” has become a popular slogan. That slogan has generated a much needed national discussion. Even that discussion has detoured into discussion about how “all lives matter.” More importantly, slogans alone are a poor substitute for actual substantive reforms. Discussions are just that, discussions. Discussions are not actions. Clearly, the movement has gained publicity. Nonetheless, publicity without a focused purpose, other than 15 minutes of fame, is meaningless. Publicity for the stake of publicity accomplishes nothing.

For example, this past weekend, purported Black Lives Matter activists Marissa Janae Johnson (a former Sarah Palin supporter) and Mara Jacqeline Willaford interrupted Democratic Presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders’ speech. Ms. Johnson’s “I don’t give a f***” attitude is childish and unsophisticated. Unfortunately, that is not the first time that Black Lives Matter activists have interrupted a program. They also interrupted Al Sharpton’s Justice for All march.

It is just plain stupid to attack, alienate and discard allies, especially when your movement is funded by the same white progressives that you criticize. By the way, black organizations should be funded primarily by black people. Anyway, the Black Lives Matter Movement should collaborate with Al Sharpton and other prominent civil rights leaders and organizations. Potential allies like Sanders have the power to pass laws to address the problems of police brutality and racial profiling. Instead of interrupting fellow progressives, the movement should be interrupting the police who harass and kill black people. Instead of interrupting organizations that have the same goals and objectives, the movement should be interrupting a Congress that is more concerned about slain lions than slain black people.

Marissa Janae Johnson’s and Mara Jacqeline Willaford’s actions expose another fundamental flaw of the movement, its leaderless and decentralized nature. Such a structure breeds chaos and rogue action. If it is to be successful, the movement needs more structure and more discipline. Otherwise, it will be another short-lived moment just like the Occupy Wall Street movement. It will be here today and gone tomorrow. Rather than having an arrogant “know-it-all” approach and attitude, the movement should learn effective strategies from civil rights veterans and black power veterans.

Instead of engaging in such juvenile publicity stunts, the movement must present a clear set of demands to elected officials and candidates. The movement must demand that all politicians pass legislation that is in accord with those demands. Instead of just tweeting and marching, the activists should be conducting effective and massive voter registration and education drives. If we do not vote, we cannot complain about politicians not implementing reforms. If we do not vote, we cannot complain about juries and grand juries letting killers like Darren Wilson and George Zimmerman go free. Through the vote, we are able to serve on juries and render justice.

[Originally posted at New Possibilities]

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Justice Department lawyers will recommend that no civil rights charges be brought against the police officer who fatally shot an unarmed teenager in Ferguson, Mo., after an F.B.I. investigation found no evidence to support charges, law enforcement officials said Wednesday.

Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. and his civil rights chief, Vanita Gupta, will have the final say on whether the Justice Department will close the case against the officer, Darren Wilson. But it would be unusual for them to overrule the prosecutors on the case, who are still working on a legal memo explaining their recommendation.

A decision by the Justice Department would bring an end to the politically charged investigation of Mr. Wilson in the death of 18-year-old Michael Brown. The Missouri authorities concluded their investigation into Mr. Brown’s death in November and also recommended against charges.

But a broader Justice Department civil rights investigation into allegations of discriminatory traffic stops and excessive force by the Ferguson Police Department remains open. That investigation could lead to significant changes at the department, which is overwhelmingly white despite serving a city that is mostly black.

Benjamin L. Crump, a lawyer for Mr. Brown’s family, said he did not want to comment on the investigation until the Justice Department made an official announcement.

“We’ve heard speculation on cases before that didn’t turn out to be true,” Mr. Crump said. “It’s too much to put the family through to respond to every rumor.”

At this point, bloggers, activists and civil rights organizations must escalate and intensify our demand that a special prosecutor be appointed in Ferguson. We must relentlessly continue to demand that a new grand jury be convened. We must blog, petition, march, agitate and disrupt until that happens. This grave injustice cannot stand.

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But then, you have the usual oppositional comments from those who likely don’t know what it’s like to be a part of “the other”. From the obviously racist to the naive hypocrisy glaring in the phrase “Violence never solves anything.”

Yeah. Violence never solves anything per sae, but it’s a hell of a sure fire way to get what you want. Besides, if you use that phrase to condemn the protesters against a racist, oppressive system, but stand behind Darren Wilson, you’ve proven to be the biggest hypocrite since Bill Clinton.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, or have allowed to school system to brainwash you, you would know that violence gave birth to this country. America, as you know it, would never be what it is without the genocide of the First Nation people, the brutal kidnapping, enslavement and holocaust of Africans and their descendants, the bombing of other nations, including those in Asia and the Middle East, the oppression of Blacks, keeping out immigrants from below the southern boarder and all forms of systematic violence against poor people, including whites.

But alas, I’m not supposed to bring all that shit up, because that would be blaming the ever-innocent white man. It’s all ancient history. So, that doesn’t matter. There’s no need to bring it up. Funny, how some people consider the past irrelevant whether it’s 500 years ago, 50 years ago or five minutes ago when it concerns forms of white racism.

Crime and violence are not exclusive to black culture just like terrorism is not a part of the Islam faith, nor is the word “illegal” is not used as an adjective against a person of color from another nation. History shows that white culture – like it or not – throughout history has been the leader in those sins. Maybe it’s past time to own up and pay up.

And if you think this is another case of blaming the white man, go ahead and think that, because that’s probably what needs to happen. White men are not as innocent as they proclaim themselves to be. If you’re stupid enough to link terrorism with Islam, then don’t be shocked when we link the KKK with Christianity.

So, pardon me and other folks when we tell you to stuff that fake pacifist shit up your ass when you support government actions that take the lives of so many people. Violence is an American as apple pie, and so many of us are ravenous for it. Do yourself a huge favor, and deal with that shit and own up to it before you make a colossal ass out of yourself.

P.S. I almost forgot. Some of you lose your shit after sports events like Hockey or mundane things like pumpkins, as it seems. You have a problem with violence going on in your community with murder-suicides, serial killings and sexual assault. So, how can you tell us that violence doesn’t solve anything when your people are still using it for insignificant events and pathological hatred against your own?

Go ahead. I’ll wait for your weak-ass argument.

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And no, I’m not surprised. I’m actually glad that my TV switched back to Dancing With The Stars. You know, a show that I have never watched in its entirety before tonight. You know, a show that I will never watch again due to my busy schedule and lack of desire. Then again, I had even less desire to listen to this grand jury no-indictment either. It seemed that the stars were aligned for there to be no indictment in the first place.

Darren Wilson Wasn’t Going to Be Indicted In The First Place

I need for all of us to remember this fact: Darren Wilson was not going to be indicted in the first place. You had a better chance of witnessing Tyrone Biggums kick his crack habit then actually watch Michael Brown receive any sort of justice. Most of the witnesses were practically discredited. Then again, they didn’t give a damn about Michael Brown when his body laid there for hours. So, this “decision” was made as soon as we realized that Michael Brown was less than human. This “decision” was made when Darren Wilson earned six figures from a funding campaign for his “hard work”.

Meanwhile, Sadie and Mark dance to their Super Mario Bros. freestyle dance routine as my timeline explodes with disgust. The utter irony. The utter fucking irony of it all.

Darren Wilson, Rudy Guliani, and the Racism of America

I hope we do know that even a ham sandwich can be indicted, right? Right. So, let me continue.

I knew things weren’t going to be such a great situation when Rudolf Giuliani showed his prejudiced ass colors on TV. In such an “interesting” debate, Michael Eric Dyson slightly read Giuliani is asinine ass rights about his prejudices. Although Dyson should have mentioned the facts against Giuliani’s bullshit “93 percent of blacks killing black” crap, he decided to “take it easy on him”. Personally, I would have told him that “87 (or so) percent of whites kill whites and most of those whites prefer their cucumbers pickled, you presumptuous fuck”. Then again, I am not Michael Eric Dyson for that reason: I lack the proper filter for such debates.

And Dancing With The Stars plays on in the background.

Darren Wilson and The Lack of Justice

https://twitter.com/THEREALBANNER/status/537075294864044032

Paying attention to David Banner’s tweet, we get to understand that America did send a brutal message to Black America. That message read like this: we don’t give a fuck about you. And honestly, this message would hurt. In fact, this message SHOULD hurt. But the problem is that this narrative has become so commonplace that we can’t be totally shocked anymore. Policemen vs. Black people usually ends with Black people losing. Call it socially conditioning. Call it me being a pessimist. Call it what you want as long as you don’t call me collect cause I’m not accepting charges if you start talking stupid.

And people wonder if this is what democracy looks like? My answer is “of course”. Democracy isn’t made for a race considered chattel that could be hung for whistling at white women. Democracy isn’t for those that is blamed for society’s ills while society has given us the syndrome to live with. Democracy is not for a people that will place the blame on ourselves for the condition being wrought upon us. Democracy wasn’t made for us.

Darren Wilson and the Endgame

As expected, there is no justice for Michael Brown. This cannot become the surprise of the century. This should be the expected outcome. At some point, Black people need to figure out how we are going to police the police and hold them accountable at all times. As such, the justice system is working perfectly because it wasn’t meant for us in the first place. Thus, we have to move accordingly and construct a system that works for OUR benefit.

And just like that, Dancing With The Stars is off my TV. No more dancing and smiling in the midst of societal madness.

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There seems to be an issue that is rearing its ugly head. In fact, there is a conclusive “duh” moment that seems to have occurred within the Ferguson, Missouri populace due to some “cosmetic choices” of some policemen within the state:

Yesterday, after reports that a mysterious fire had been set to a Michael Brown memorial, a photo allegedly depicting a Ferguson, Mo., police officer wearing an “I am Darren Wilson” bracelet, in support of the officer who shot and killed Brown, began to circulate on social media.

The photo was first published on the Instagram account MediaBlackOutUSA. In a press conference today,Missouri Highway Patrol Captain Ron Johnson confirmed the bracelets’ existence and argued that they were a personal statement for the officers wearing them, BuzzFeed reports. “I think that was not a statement of law enforcement. I think wearing that was an individual statement,” he reportedly said. [1]

Well, I must say that things did escalate faster than I had planned. I would eventually find people that would “support” Darren Wilson. However, I did not think that I would find a disturbing wrist band like that so soon. More than anything, I did not think any policemen would wear anything in support of Darren Wilson at all.

Darren Wilson Bracelets Equal No Justice

What those bracelets represent is a slap in the face. If there was any way to make a statement of defiance against the Ferguson community, this was a thought provoking way to do it. It should be noted that Darren Wilson is, practically, a murderer. So, wearing an “I Am Darren Wilson” bracelet only works to justify his right to kill a young man in the street. To wear that bracelet is to be blatantly disrespectful to those in Ferguson (and the world) with little regard.

With actions like the aforementioned, there needs to be an understanding of what those policemen in that area are all about. They are all not about “doing their job”. Plenty of them are about disrupting the fabric of social existence within that city. Others will specifically justify the actions of Darren Wilson with a hint of empathy. Too many of these policemen are around to take advantage and show loyalty to their badges.

So, can we end all of the “kumbaya” talk as it is? We know have the definite proof that some of the cops in the Ferguson are hard pressed to even go against their brother in arms. This relationship between the citizens and police is beyond repair in Ferguson. Darren Wilson has become the poster child for rogue police officers that have a “kill-at-will” mentalities and Marshall law tendencies. Why would any citizen want to hold hands with the same policemen that plan on strangling them?

I mean, let me be real here: there is a reason why many wanted Iyanla Vanzant to shove her “Ferguson council” she gave to those two men up her ass. This is not a “two way street” situation where two sides just can’t get it together. This is an example of one side forcing themselves upon the other. One is the predator and the other is the prey willing to fight for their life. I’m not sure Iyanla Vanzant is built for issues within the urbanely figurative animal kingdom.

Darren Wilson Bracelets are a Disgrace

Once again, America I blame you all for this stupidity. Instead of forcing someone to take the stand and bring Darren Wilson to justice, we have the blatant disrespect and admonishment of guilt on full display. Now, other cops want to make it seem like they are Darren Wilson. This doesn’t surprise anybody because there are too many pigs and not enough policemen. However, I need for people to not be shocked when the citizens of Ferguson start having a taste for bacon.

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When George Zimmerman killed Trayvon Martin, nothing happened. When Michael Dunn killed Jordan Davis, nothing happened. When a New York City police officer choked Eric Garner to death, nothing happened. When Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson killed Michael Brown, the people of Ferguson erupted. The time bomb finally exploded. It was long overdue. You can only push a people so far. Eventually, they will lash out at the system, the system that humiliates them, the system that harasses them, the system that negates their humanity, the system that kills them. It was only a matter of time. America is reaping what she has sown.

Officer Wilson lynched Mike Brown. According at least two witnesses, the officer reached out of his police car window and grabbed Mike Brown, an unarmed 18 year old African American man. Mike Brown eventually was able to pull away from the officer. As he pulled away, the officer shot Mike Brown. Then, Mike started running away and the officer chased him and shot him again, this time in the back. According to one of the witnesses, Mike’s body jerked. He turned around and raised his hands in the air and the officer continued to shoot Mike Brown several more times. Then, Mike fell to the ground and his head hit on the street pavement. After that pig killed Mike, the police left Mike’s body in the middle of the street for an extended period of time like a damn dead skunk on the middle of the street. Black life means nothing to those people.

When the people of Ferguson began demonstrating in the streets, they told the world that black life matters.  It is sacred and

(Reuters/Lucas Jackson)

precious. When the people engaged in acts of rebellion, they forced the world to feel their pain. When police freely violate the law with impunity, the people quickly lose faith in the police and criminal justice system. When the self proclaimed protectors become the predators, the people have no choice other than resistance. If our lives have no value, your law and order will have no value. Your property and businesses will have no value. If you shoot at and kill black people like animals, do not be shocked and surprised when they defend them and do the same to you.

There is a segment of our society that has been abused, harassed, dehumanized, neglected and an unheard for far too long. In words of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., “a riot is the language of the unheard.” In Ferguson, some of the people are speaking that language. The world clearly hears, sees and understands them now. They will not be ignored. Their rage is justified and righteous. They refuse to be contained by the clergy, the civil rights industry, empty prayers and grandiose federal investigations talk. They are not interested in vigils and neat, orderly, peaceful civil rights performances. They are not soothed by the words of a smooth professional politician who seeks to placate everyone by playing on both sides of the fence. They are feed up. They have had it with the nonsense, with the brutality.

Now, Ferguson no longer looks like an American city. It resembles the West Bank, Iraq and Afghanistan. Police cars have been replaced by military jeeps and tanks. Instead of wearing traditional police attire and using standard weapons, the police wore military gear and toted military weapons. Ferguson became a war zone. Law enforcement is anxiously looking for an excuse to kill more black people. I would say, “Don’t give them an excuse.” But it does not really matter, they will always find one. If they cannot find one, they will invent one.

The people must continue to protest in the streets and online. Until that killer, Darren Wilson, is arrested, charged, convicted and sentenced, there will be no peace. We should not condemn the people’s rage.  We should embrace the rage, channel it, harness it, direct it, focus it and organize it, if possible. We do not need peace. We need justice. We need power, black power, and it is time to seize it.

According to Time magazine, two-thirds of the Ferguson’s population is black. However, Time notes that “the city is the mayor and most of its city council members are white, and only three of the city’s 53 police officers are black.” The African Americans in Ferguson must seize power not through the bullet, but through the ballot. Although I strongly sympathize with the people’s rage, a fleeting moment of rebellion is no substitute for sustained, focused, mission driven political action and unity. Unlike Lowndes, Alabama in 1950s and 1960s, another predominantly black town once ruled by whites, racist white terrorism does not prevent the people of Ferguson from voting today.

Through elections, the people can seize power over city hall, city council and ultimately the police department. Through the electoral politics, the people may be able to reform and transform the police department and make it resemble the community that it is supposed to serve. The people can force the police department to implement training designed to combat and end racial profiling.  Each and every one of us must demand that Congress pass a federal anti-racial profiling act. Otherwise, the senseless harassment and brutality will continue forever. We cannot allow this problem to be passed on to the next generation.

In the short term, distant elections alone are not sufficient. Who will defend our sons and daughters? Where are our soldiers?  Where are our protectors? I am not talking about America’s solders. I am talking about our black liberation soldiers.

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This will be short. We now know the identity of the officer who executed Michael Brown. His name is Darren Wilson. He needs to be arrested and charged with murder in the first degree immediately. We now have at least three witnesses, all strangers, all witnessing from different angles, the cold blooded murder of Michael Brown. They all depicted in great detail a boy who put his hands up, on his knees and was then shot several times. Wilson was so crazed that he even shot into a home nearby.

It’s time to arrest Darren Wilson. Not only has he not been arrested but we know that he had left town and gone on a paid vacation. This makes me want to throw up. Can you imagine the police allowing a black kid, heck anyone for that matter, to leave town if there was this amount of evidence pointing to them? Anyone who isn’t outraged by this crap can only be a blatant racist, there is no other excuse. I have heard from several of them in the past few days.

We are now seeing the usual character assassination of the victim. A video that has all of a sudden surfaced showing someone who might be Michael Brown stealing something from a convenience store.  No information about the killing of Brown but plenty of video about a nickel and dime robbery. This facile attempt to make the victim the bad guy will only go over with the racists. It already has. People who did the same thing when they were teens or had friends who stole gum or cigarettes from a store when they were young are now trying to justify that Brown deserved to be shot 6-8 times while his hands were in the air because he may have stolen something. I guess they feel that they or their friends should have been executed for doing the same thing when they were kids?

Ferguson police chief Tom “stonewall the case” Jackson needs to be removed from duty and now. He is an incompetent fool. He has now flamed the fires again after they were put out by the state police. He simultaneously releases a video that has nothing to do with the execution of Brown while telling everyone that officer Wilson is a wonderful guy that has never had any complaints against him in his six years on the force. Jackson is a joke. He needs to go.

We have a video of an alleged small crime but still NO photo of the killer cop. No evidence being released regarding how many shots Wilson took or how many bullets hit Brown. No real details about the killing at all.

At least three witnesses now. All telling eerily similar accounts of the murder of an 18 year old boy. Hands in the air, on his knees, begging to not be shot. Executed in cold blood.

Darren Wilson needs to be arrested for murder in the first degree. Now!

Mike.Caccioppoli@yahoo.com

@CaccioppoliMike

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