The case for reparations: 1921's Tulsa Race Massacre

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Nobody asked me but...

***Kudos to Judge Carolyn Wall for allowing a reparations lawsuit for victims of the Tulsa Massacre of 1921 to proceed past the motion to dismiss that was filed by defense lawyers. 

What's amazing to me is that this case even is being litigated as opposed to the defending parties seeking in good faith to settle claims with survivors and descendants who are still impacted by one of the more infamous acts of racist violence in American history!

In late May of 1921, Dickie Rowland, a respected Black shoe shiner in Tulsa, was arrested on suspicion of assaulting Sarah Page, a young white woman. While speculation held that the pair was intimately involved during a period when interracial affairs were forbidden by law, Rowland was arrested and marked for lynching by a large group of angry white men. When a large group of armed Black World War I veterans appeared at the jail to protect Rowland, all Hell broke loose, and over the next two days, Blacks were slaughtered by the hundreds—while homes and businesses in the "Black Wall Street" section of the city were firebombed and razed. 

What's worse is that many whites then sought to possess Black-owned property for pennies on the dollar, but due to the efforts of Attorney B.C. "Buck" Franklin, a graduate of Atlanta Baptist Seminary (now Morehouse College), some Black families retained their property rights following hearings in the Tulsa circuit courts.

Still, Black Wall Street was never quite the same and more crucially, all of those Black lives that were taken were never avenged in court—until now! Thus, my sincere prayers are that the plaintiffs win (and win big) in the days ahead! 

***Just as there's nothing more useless in a home invasion than the homeowner holding an unloaded firearm, to Ol’ Hobbs, there's nothing more useless than Democratic U.S. Senators who vote like Republicans.

Yes, I'm talking about you, “Democratic” Sen. Joe Manchin (WV) and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (Az), and your refusals to vote to cancel the filibuster so that some federal protections can be guaranteed for abortion rights.

With the news leaking this week that Roe vs. Wade will be overturned, Congress could pass measures to strengthen such rights on a federal level in hopes of staving off red-state draconian restrictions that are sure to come. But the lukewarm, fence-straddling Manchin and Sinema will remain a problem in getting anything done in the Senate, which is one more reason why “all both of ‘em” should receive primary challenges the next time they come up for re-election!

***As to the preceding paragraph, while Roe's reversal is deplorable, the real impact will be that the individual states will decide what abortion restrictions to maintain.

So, I expect the entire former Confederate States of America and the Rebllion leaning border states of Kentucky and Missouri—the most heavily Republican region in America—to eliminate abortion straight out. Other red states, particularly those in the Midwest, Arizona, and Utah, may follow suit with total or partial bans.

But heavily populated blue states like California, Illinois, Maryland, and New York, will likely still authorize the practice—which means that women and girls seeking safe and legal abortions may have to travel some distance to facilitate the procedure. 

***What makes any man or woman feel as if they have a right to tell a woman what to do with her body? Or, to tell any man or woman who to love or how to love?

I keep reading and hearing "I don't agree with abortion," or "I don't agree with same-sex unions" and when I hear as much, I always reply: "Well, seems to me that you shouldn't have an abortion or same-sex relations!" 

If only nosey people would mind their own businesses, this world would be a tad bit better place…

***Oh, how I wish that politicians were compelled to take a political platform morality lie detector test prior to qualifying for federal office! I can just see it now when conservatives get asked whether they have had or have caused an abortion, used drugs, had underage and/or same sexual relations, when said conservative lies and says "no," the polygraph machine would then scribble like mad and reveal their hypocrisy to the entire world!

Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Tim Murphy, a strong anti-abortion advocate, resigned in 2017 when it was revealed that he had paid to have his girlfriend abort their child. Methinks there are far more conservative hypocrites lurking in the shadows…

But no, that would be too much like, right, in an era when right-wing folks act all righteous in public, but privately behave in the same manner as the very folks they condemn...

***Comedian Dave Chappelle was attacked on stage during a Netflix comedy review last night and while unhurt, his attacker, who was armed, took a sound beating from security.

Chris Rock, the comedian who was slapped by Will Smith during the Oscar Awards ceremony this past March, later went on stage and jokingly asked "was that Will Smith." While humorous, what's not humorous is the idea that some clown carried a weapon and attacked Dave; I fear that more copycats will pop up like whack-a-mole and I can only hope that venues will tighten security to prevent someone from being seriously hurt or killed. 

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