On the heels of the shooting death of 93 year old, Pearlie Golden, This letter that SpiritHouse Project sent to Attorney General Holder carries great urgency. Last night I asked you to unite with SpiritHouse Project in a 1000 share campaign for her. Its easy just push your share button. NOW THE LETTER. SpiritHouse Project sent this letter to Attorney General Holder when we went to DC to break the silence on modern day lynching. Attorney General Eric H. Holder U.S. Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. April 22, 2014 Dear Attorney General Holder, The SpiritHouse Project has been collecting data that shine the light on the extrajudicial murders of Black people by White police officers, security guards and vigilantes since 2007. As you are aware, these deaths are not decreasing. In fact, they are escalating at a higher rate than lynching at its height during the 1890s. These deaths have certain disturbing factors in common that correspond with lynching. Often the bodies are defiled. Limbs are missing. Ears or tongues are removed or eyes are gouged, and in some instances men have been castrated. As during lynching, society considers the victims to be a dangerous treat to the social order and especially to the security of the White community. What differs today, however, is that there are increasing reports that organs have been removed from these dead bodies. We know of at least three reports in which this has been the case. The parents of Jason Smith of Eros, LA; Kendrick Johnson of Valdosta, GA; and Ryan Singleton of Atlanta, GA discovered this gruesome reality when they retrieved their sons’ bodies. Attorney General Holder, Sir, these 21st century anti-Black state sanctioned crimes are committed under the cover and protection of the law and represent a disturbing element of states’ rights. As has been the course in history, the rights of states to violate the safety and the civil rights of Black Americans seems to trump the power of the federal government and the Constitution. As an African American Civil Rights veteran, I remember and know the cost that people of all colors in this nation paid to contest the violence that was inherent in the system of states’ rights. I believe the price of the ticket was too high. We have come too far to allow these hate crimes under the cover of law to continue. Too many Black families are grieving across the country at police executions of their loved ones. One such case is that of twenty-five-year-old Keaton Otis whom White police stopped for an alleged traffic violation. Police killed him when they shot at him thirty-two times. Twenty-three bullets hit his body. His sister, Alyssa Bryant, is with us today to participate with other families in an all day gathering organized by the SpiritHouse Project to build a national grassroots movement that breaks the silence on these 21st century lynchings. This event begins with a press conference at 1:00 p.m. at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 400 I Street, S.W. Alyssa will be joined by Tracy Roberson, sister, and Sarun Roberson, cousin, of Jack Lamar Roberson. Although Jack Roberson was a veteran, he did not die from bullet wounds at the hands of strangers in a foreign land. Instead White police killed him in his home. His mother had requested Medics come to save him from a reported overdose of diabetic medicine. Rather than the medics responding to the emergency call, the police came and shot him 9 times. They say they shot him because he had knives in his hands and was dangerous. However, bullet wounds in his wrist and arms make it appear that he was in a defensive posture when shot in the back, chest and head. Mrs. Cecelia Jackson and Mrs. Jeanette Thomas will tell their stories of their son and grandson, Nathaniel Lee III who was shot in the back by two convicted White felons who were never charged or tried for his murder. Five years later his mother, Cecelia Jackson, says that she is coming to Washington DC because she wants the world to know that her son was not irrelevant. He mattered to people. Today we come as a community to speak as a community rather than as disparate individuals. We do this because we recognize that this violation of civil and human rights is a clear and present danger not to just a few but to all of us. This is not a Black problem. It is an American problem. It is important to stress here that although individuals have been the victims of these murders they represent an unconstitutional act of racial profiling and the criminalization of Black people of all ages and gender. Even our children are not safe as in the case of eight-year-old Donald Maiden, Jr. who was shot in the face while playing in his yard by his White neighbor, forty-seven-year-old Brian Cloninger. When the police asked him why he shot little Donald he retorted, “Because I wanted to.” This is all too reminiscent of another 100 year period in history when Whites had the license to kill Black people indiscriminately and without fear of legal reprisals. The Stand Your Ground laws fertilize this kind of environment today. We have come to ask you to use your power as Attorney General of the United States to end this reign of terror and the violation of our civil and human rights. Often we have heard President Obama say that he must be the President of all the people. We agree with this and firmly underscore the point that this means Black people too. It is from this understanding that we ask you, the highest law enforcement officer in the nation, to take a public position that reaffirms the rights of Black people to be safe. We implore you to use the power of your office and your resources to promote law and order amongst police officers across this nation. Although they are charged with ensuring law and order, they often are the chief violators. We cannot tolerate this. Otherwise, we find ourselves living under the weight of a terrorist police state. We know from your record that this goes against the grain of your vision for America. We also know that you understand that we do not live in a post-racial America and that these are racialized crimes. We are willing to stand with you as you break the silence against these 21st century lynchings. We invite you to come to our press conference today at 1:00 p.m. at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 400 I Street, SW to participate in this landmark grassroots event where ordinary people are speaking up and breaking the silence against this tremendous assault on the Black community. We deeply appreciate your involvement in this American crisis. Sincerely yours, Ruby Nell Sales Founder and Director of SpiritHouse Project Like · · Promote · Share
Posted on: Thu, 08 May 2014 14:29:11 +0000
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