JUSTICE FOR ALL?
The United States of Amerika was built on the world's most heinous crime known to hue-manity, slavery. Yet the populace speaks about the United States as though the founding fathers worked the land with their hands, teaching their families that if they work hard and are good at what they do, they will become wealthy. I'm willing to bet that a thorough investigation into the history of US corporations will show that the majority of them have their roots embedded in slavery.
Recently, the media reported that Aetna Insurance Company wrote insurance policies insuring slaves. John McCain confessed during his presidential run that his family roots are laced with slavery. Hollyweird made a love story about Thomas Jefferson's years of raping Sally Hemmings (one of his 200 slaves) after a debate within some of the mainstream media that this never happened and that Thomas Jefferson was not the father of her children. I ask you, would you allow me to come into your house, take it and you by force, own you and work you to the end of your natural life, and consider "that's cool"?
The US government refuses to apologize for slavery, let alone give reparations. Review history, and you will see that laws were passed making it legal to own Afrikans as property. In other words, this was the law of the land. The Catholic Church was on hand to soothe the slave-owners' conscience by justifying enslaving Afrikans. If you could afford to buy Afrikans, you could own them. Even poor Whites at the end of slave auctions had an opportunity to bid on Afrikans.
Every fiber of the USA is embedded in slavery, and many of the super-rich Europeans' wealth can be traced back to it. The only way islavery could exist here for so long is because it had the blessings of the US government and all of its entities (e.g. military, legal system, churches, and education), which sanctioned the lynching parties that took place.
James Allens' book Without Sanctuary is a powerful piece of US history that shows the depth of racism and hatred of Afrikan people.To see Europeans gather at lynching parties with their families like they were going to the park for a family outing and posing for pictures with the lynched victims, was so barbaric that I do not have words to describe how I felt reading about it. During this same era, Europeans put these lynchings on postcards and sent them to relatives and friends just as we would send Kwanzaa or birthday cards.
Some 4,000 lynchings took place from the 1800s until about 1944. Some 15,000 Europeans turned out in Waco, Texas, on May 16, 1916, to participate in/witness the lynching of Jesse Washington. Where is the justice for those families whose loved ones were lynched? Where is the justice for the 456-plus years of free labor of Afrikans? When you switch the above from the 1800s to 2000, what has really changed for Afrikan people in the US?
With the murders of Amadou Diallo, Tyisha Miller, Timothy Wilson, Carol Kern, and some 2,000 other innocent victims by State and Federal agents, I can only imagine the depth of my ancestors' fears in a land where there was no sanctuary, nowhere to go to escape the evils of racism and death. However, I do know how I feel today because the same environment remains as we enter the 21st Century--a feeling of having no sanctuary, no avenue to petition for justice.
How can the people who massacred a nation and stole their land, who invaded another country and kidnapped its people to enslave them on the stolen land, who have no respect for mother-earth-how can these same people be expected to render "Justice For All"?
The perceived organizers of the International Day In Support of Mumia Abu-Jamal were arrested by Kansas City Police on May 13th after the rally. Sarah was arrested for not using her turn signal and given a ticket for an expired driving license issued by another state; however, it was not expired. Mike was arrested when about 9 KC kops surrounded his car, opened the door, unbuckled his seatbelt, hand-cuffed him, video-taped him, then arrested him for yelling in a bullhorn and blocking traffic. These young people filed a lawsuit against Kansas City, Missouri, challenging its policy of requiring insurance for any gathering in the park. Also, if you want to march down city streets you must pay for a police escort for at least 4 hours, which comes to $1300. What grassroots organization has this kind of money to give to the city to use our public parks and streets? What about our tax dollars? Haven't we already paid for this service?
In every city, we should challenge these unjust laws that violate our so-called rights of freedom of speech and expression.
Feel Free to call Sista Shiriki at (819) 333-9814, or write me at P.O. Box 320441, Kansas City, MO 64132 or email me: <Shiriki@gvi.net>.