Message from Eddie

PRAISE THE LORD,

We saved the life of a young black boy, who at age 19, found himself in the wrong place, at the wrong time, with the wrong people… been there… done that. I know the pain of having a death penalty hanging over your head… except in my case, it was kidnapping, while robbing a bank. Taking hostages, even without a loss of life, still meant the death penalty to me.

THANK GOD.

The death penalty was outlawed in Texas in 1972, a burden was lifted off my shoulder. Thanks to everyone who supported this case, to the Texas Pardons & Parole Board- First, for giving Eddie Griffin a reprieve and Second, for redeeming the life of Kenneth Foster, Jr.

THANK GOVERNOR RICK PERRY.
Not only did he grant Kenneth Foster a reprieve, he recognized a flaw in the “law of parties”. He took the initiative to address the injustice in the law, and directed this flaw to the attention of the Texas State Legislature.

THANKS TO BOB RAY SANDERS & THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE STAR-TELEGRAM

For hearing the cry of a lowly prisoner and answering the call to conscious for justice and fairness. Had we lost this fight, we would have lost a piece of our souls.

THANKS TO THE AFROSPEAR NETWORK THAT TOOK THE CASE OF KENNETH FOSTER TO THE WORLDWIDE COMMUNITY… TO THE 24-EUROPEAN UNION NATIONS… TO FORMER PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER AND DESMOND TUTU… And the thousands of emailers, letter-writers, and phone callers, GOD BLESS YOU.

Sincerely,

Eddie Griffin

Here is a story that will bring tears to your eyes…

http://eddiegriffinbasg.blogspot.com/search?q=kenneth+foster

On Responsibility, Accountability and Values: Part 2

Michael Vick’s statement following his guilty plea in U.S. District Court to a dogfighting conspiracy charge:

“For most of my life, I’ve been a football player, not a public speaker, so, you know, I really don’t know, you know, how to say what I really want to say. You know, I understand it’s – it’s important or not important, you know, as far as what you say but how you say things. So, you know, I take this opportunity just to speak from the heart. First, I want to apologize, you know, for all the things that – that I’ve done and that I have allowed to happen. I want to personally apologize to commissioner Goodell, Arthur Blank, coach Bobby Petrino, my Atlanta Falcons teammates, you know, for our – for our previous discussions that we had. And I was not honest and forthright in our discussions, and, you know, I was ashamed and totally disappointed in myself to say the least. I want to apologize to all the young kids out there for my immature acts and, you know, what I did was, what I did was very immature so that means I need to grow up. I totally ask for forgiveness and understanding as I move forward to bettering Michael Vick the person, not the football player. I take full responsibility for my actions. For one second will I sit right here – not for one second will I sit right here and point the finger and try to blame anybody else for my actions or what I’ve done. I’m totally responsible, and those things just didn’t have to happen. I feel like we all make mistakes. It’s just I made a mistake in using bad judgment and making bad decisions. And you know, those things, you know, just can’t happen. Dog fighting is a terrible thing, and I did reject it. I’m upset with myself, and, you know, through this situation I found Jesus and asked him for forgiveness and turned my life over to God. And I think that’s the right thing to do as of right now. Like I said, for this – for this entire situation I never pointed the finger at anybody else, I accepted responsibility for my actions of what I did and now I have to pay the consequences for it. But in a sense, I think it will help, you know, me as a person. I got a lot to think about in the next year or so. I offer my deepest apologies to everybody out in there in the world who was affected by this whole situation. And if I’m more disappointed with myself than anything it’s because of all the young people, young kids that I’ve let down, who look at Michael Vick as a role model. And to have to go through this and put myself in this situation, you know, I hope that every young kid out there in the world watching this interview right now who’s been following the case will use me as an example to using better judgment and making better decisions. Once again, I offer my deepest apologies to everyone. And I will redeem myself. I have to. So I got a lot of down time, a lot of time to think about my actions and what I’ve done and how to make Michael Vick a better person. Thank you.”

Was Michael Vick sincere in his statement and apology? Was he just going through the motions of reading a statement scripted by his lawyers to say what the courts, NFL and public wanted to hear, in an effort to mitigate his sentence, suspension and rehabilitate his image? 

There is a lot of speculation and most of what I have heard in the media has been cynical. However, I will give Michael Vick the “benefit of the doubt”…. so to speak. I will believe that he was sincere in taking full responsibility for his choices and actions, and in his plea for forgiveness. I for one will wish him the best and hope that he will be successful in transforming his mind, values and spirit to become a much better Michael Vick.

Does Black Pride Exist in 2007? Next on Afronerd Radio.

Cross posted from Black Women in Europe

What does Black Pride look like nowadays? Who are our heroes or do they even exist in this day and age? Do people of color have a messiah complex? These are just a few questions that we will attempt to answer this Thursday at 9pm. Please take a long hard look at the interview with Malcolm X. One might think it a difficult supposition that Black conservatives often look to El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz as a template for self-reliance-just ask Clarence Thomas. Some may interpret our last show on Black English as being antithetical to Black pride but I respectfully disagree. Malcolm X’s erudite and alliterative oratorical prowess proves my point. But I will save my musings for the broadcast. We want to hear from our readers/listeners so drop us a line at: 646-915-9620 or via IM (afronerdradio@yahoo) courtesy of afronerdradiodot com.  Get all the juicy details about it by clicking the following www.BlogTalkRadio.com.

Rap Producer Polow Da Don’s Ignorant Comments about Women

(crossposted at Charcoal Ink with a few edits)

Just checked on Bossip and there is some ridiculous quote he told Allhiphop, stating:

AllHipHop.com: Now, you call yourself the “King of All White Girls.” Elaborate on that for me.

“Just the “King of the White Girls.” I ain’t self proclaimed but I run with it. [Laughs] There was a stage in my life where I went crazy with dating white women. I have nothing against black women, but they’re raised differently.White women are raised to respect and serve their men. Black women are taught to question [their men]. Black women look at submission as being weak. White women look at submission as being a woman. And anyone who has a problem with this statement is ignorant . Just look at the divine order; it goes man, woman, child.”

Besides his comment smacking of racist overtones towards white women, the fact that he generalises black girls in the mix just is infuriating! Look at the messages of this quote: submission is good, independence is bad. Am I the only one who thinks he is trying to be like one of the animals in the film version of animal farm by changing the ‘rules’? I could swear all day but I will restrain myself. What do you think? Is this funny or does it highlight an essential problem in gender communication of black men and women ?

The worst part of the interview is the way he is just trying to almost put black women down by comparing them to the white women he has gone out with.  Does he think because he has ”made” it that he is automatically inclined to chat bare noise like that? His words hint to confusion for our black people globally: do people *really* think like this?

The rest of the interview is here and interestingly, the man has a sister. I wonder what she thinks of the comments. I know what I think.

Update: The troll has responded to the furore. And note he calls certain people n&ggas & b^tches.

–A–

Just to stress one more time: Polow Da Don, you are a class A fool.

Dr. Juanita Bynum, Pastor Thomas Weeks, and the Pursuit

Cross-posted at In Pursuit of Perfection

Notes from England: Black and Asian Women “missing” from almost a third of workplaces in areas with significant ethnic minority populations

Cross posted from Black Women in Europe: 

As it releases the results of a two-year investigation, which reveals for the first time the full scale of the workplace penalties faced by Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Black Caribbean women, the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) is today calling for a fundamental cultural shift in the way black and Asian women are treated at work and by public policy makers.

Moving on Up: Ethnic Minority Women at Work, the largest investigation of its kind in Great Britain, has established that Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Black Caribbean women face significantly greater penalties than white women in the workplace. Those who want to work are finding it more difficult to get jobs, progress within them and are more likely to be segregated into certain types of work, despite leaving school with the same career aspirations as white girls and similar or better qualifications than white boys.

In areas with above average numbers of black and Asian women participating in the local labour market, BME women are entirely absent from 3 out of 10 workplaces and under-represented in almost 3 out of 5 workplaces. The EOC’s report suggests it’s not too late to set the country on a different course. 28% of employers surveyed said they intended to introduce steps to improve the recruitment and progression of black and Asian women. However, the same percentage said they were unsure what action to take.

The EOC is today urging Britain’s employers and policy makers to catch up with the diversity of modern Britain and develop ‘cultural intelligence’ – the awareness, understanding and confidence to communicate and relate positively to people from different cultural backgrounds, to get the best from them at work and design policy that meets their needs.

The EOC warns that cultural intelligence is absolutely crucial if Britain is to avoid paying a high economic and social price. Between 2001 and 2020, ethnic minority people are expected to account for over 70% of the growth in the UK population aged 16-59. With Britain’s employers facing skills shortages, it is crucial to tap into a growing and increasingly well-qualified pool of young Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Black Caribbean women’s talent if we are to maintain economic growth.

And with access to jobs being a key ingredient of community cohesion, policy makers will fail to build stronger communities unless black and Asian women’s skills and ambitions translate into better-paid jobs in a wider range of organisations.
Read more here.

By the numbers:

Breakdown of Black Caribbean women in English cities (Sources: ONS (2004) Census 2001: CD Supplement to the National report for England and Wales; GROS (2004) Scotland’s Census 2001: CD 5 Volume 1.):

Birmingham: 25,700
Bradford: 1,500
Leeds: 3,600
Leicester: 2,500
London: 191,500
Manchester: 4,700

The 27-nation European Union called Texas to put a moratorium on executions, which state leaders quickly rejected.

Brother Eddie shared this news on the fight for Kenneth Foster’s life from KVUE news: 

Texas to hit death penalty milestone

 

06:35 PM CDT on Tuesday, August 21, 2007

By ELISE HU
KVUE News

Texas is set to reach a milestone no other state can beat. It will execute the 400th inmate since the state resumed the death penalty in 1982. “I believe the death penalty ought to be an option for juries,” said US Senator John Cornyn, R-Texas, during a stop in Austin Tuesday.

But opposition to Texas executions is coming from all the way across the Atlantic Ocean. The 27-nation European Union called Texas to put a moratorium on executions, which state leaders quickly rejected.

“It’s none of their business,” said Cornyn. Governor Rick Perry’s office echoed the Senator. “Texans long ago decided that the death penalty is a just and appropriate punishment for the most horrible crimes committed against our citizens,” said Perry spokesman Robert Black. “While we respect our friends in Europe, and appreciate their interest in our laws, Texans are doing just fine governing Texas.”

The call to halt executions comes as Texas prepares to put to death Johnny Ray Conner in Huntsville, for the shooting death of a Houston convenience store owner in 1998.

It’s also putting another upcoming execution in the spotlight. Kenneth Foster is on death row for a 1996 murder, in which he was the getaway car driver, not the shooter.

A Texas law called the “law of parties” okays capital punishment for accomplices.

Foster supporters rallied outside the state capitol Wednesday, calling his sentence unjust. But the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has upheld Foster’s sentence, and he’s set to die on August 30.  

You can read how the August 21st rally turned out here: http://www.savekenneth.blogspot.com . More information on the Kenneth Foster case is available at http://www.freekenneth.com .

On Responsibility, Accountability and Values

I have been shaking my head at all the hype and commentaries concerning the Barry Bonds and Michael Vick sagas. Usually I don’t weigh in on these topics because I find that they are dishonest moments in media (and society at large) ingenuity. Yes Barry Bonds did steroids (allegedly). So did many other baseball players and MBL and the media knew about it, condoned it and turned a blind eye to it. The long ball, re: McGwire, Sosa, Giambi and Bonds resurrected  baseball after the 1994 – 1995 strike. So I say put an asterisk* by his name…. after you put one right beside Babe Ruth’s. Ruth got the record when African Americans weren’t allowed to compete in the MLB. He never faced pitchers like a Satchel Page, nor did he have to compete with the likes of slugger Josh Gibson for the home run title. And back then, just like when steroid use was rampant in the 90’s, the ownership and the media went along with the status quo. 

Then there’s Michael Vick. This multi-million dollar player got caught up in the world of dog fighting and the illegal gambling which goes along with it (allegedly). He apparently owned a house where the dogs were being trained and executed for poor performance. He has been indicted and offered a plea deal which expires Friday, when more charges will be pending.  

Now the reason I bring all this up, especially in this forum, is that I was listening to a couple of sports talk radio shows today. I found that all the Black callers were not only supportive of Bonds and Vick, but expressd that were indeed obvious victims of media bias, FBI conspiracies and societal racism. I know that Bonds has used the “race card” many times himself. One radio host, who was Black, stated that Vick shouldn’t accept the plea deal, because as everyone knows, as a part of any plea deal you will have to “snitch” on other participants and the code of the street is that you don’t snitch! Are you freaking kidding me!? This from a grown, mature man! A professional sportscaster!