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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (July 25, 2012)
Opinion Zimmerman Tries to Speak for God “Challenging People to Shape a Better Future Now” B ERNIE F OSTER Founder/Publisher B OBBIE D ORE F OSTER Executive Editor T ED B ANKS Advertising Manager J ERRY F OSTER Account Executive L ISA L OVING News Editor H ELEN S ILVIS Multimedia Editor D AVID K IDD Graphic Designer M ONICA J. F OSTER Seattle Office Coordinator J ULIE K EEFE S USAN F RIED Photographers The Skanner Newspaper, established in October 1975, is a weekly publica- tion, published each Wednesday by IMM Publications Inc., 415 N. Killingsworth St., P.O. Box 5455, Portland, OR 97228. G eorge Zimmerman, the Florida man who killed Trayvon Martin, told Fox News personality Sean Hannity that the events that occurred on Feb. 26 were “God’s will.” What a cynical manipulation of our Cre- ator, to suggest that the massacre of an African American teenager by a crazed vigilante is the will of God. Actually, if one wants to know about God’s will, one might simply to go to the Ten Command- ments, the sixth of which is quite explicit: Thou shall not kill. George Zimmerman has proven himself to be a multiple liar. He called himself destitute while col- lecting tens of thousands of dollars from a website that was formed to fund his defense. A judge put him back in jail for that lie. He declined medical attention the night he killed Trayvon, and then showed up the next day with bumps on his head, but no evi- dence of who put them there. This is the equivalent of a drunk driver fleeing the scene of an accident and turning himself in sober the next day. Now, Zimmerman faces a camera from an undisclosed location because he fears death threats, faking sincerity and regrets but saying that Trayvon’s death is God’s will. Trayvon Martin’s death is not God’s will but Zimmerman’s, and the will of those legislative vigi- lantes who have passed “Stand Your Ground” laws in many states. Trayvon’s death is the will of those who have peddled these vigilante laws all over the nation. Just as Zimmerman has manipu- lated the God’s word, he has also B ENNETT C OLLEGE Julianne Malveaux manipulated the truth, and he ought to be ashamed. Note that “Stand Your Ground” laws are different from the “Castle Laws” that allows residents to use force against those who unlawful- ly enter their property. These laws have their own downside – wit- George Zimmerman says this case has divided our nation, and he is, perhaps right. How else could an admitted killer garner more than $200,000 via the Internet unless some rabid souls choose to support the wanton massacre of young African American men? At the same time, this admitted killer has had hubris enough to provoke the New Black Panther Party to make him the target of incendiary rhetoric. But the New Black Pan- ther Party, a small organization that is more bark than bite, may have offered a death threat. Zim- merman, who was told not to fol- low Trayvon Martin, actually Trayvon Martin’s death is not God’s will but Zimmerman’s, and the will of those legislative vigilantes who have passed ‘Stand Your Ground’ laws in many states ness the case of a man who shot Halloween trick-or-treaters. But these laws allow folks to shoot people (as opposed to formerly held laws where one was required to retreat) if they are in a place where a defendant is allowed to be. Using such laws, had Trayvon had a weapon he might have justi- fiably used it on Zimmerman, since he had the same right to be on the streets as Zimmerman. But does anyone have any doubt that if the shoe were on the other foot, Trayvon would have been allowed to leave jail without being charged? committed one, and were it not for the national attention this case has garnered, might have never been charged with the evil he commit- ted. I had the opportunity to meet Sybrina Hudson, Trayvon Martin’s mother, and attorney Benjamin Crump at the most recent Rain- bow/PUSH annual conference. Sybrina is soft spoken but deter- mined, a woman who would not have sought the limelight but for her commitment that her son, and other young Black men targeted by racists, should have justice. She has started a website www.justicetm.org, that will pro- mote justice for Trayvon and the many other young Black men whose lives are placed in jeopardy by “stand your ground” laws. She is to be commended for turning her pain into passion and power. The rest of us who love young hoodie-wearing Black men who have every right to walk through streets, to stop at stores to buy iced tea and Skittles, to hang out at bus stops, as other teens do, to play basketball on courts at night, now must tell them the racist rules of the game. One friend told me that she instructs her sons never to look a White policeman or a threatening- looking White man in the eye. She says she hates the Reconstruction- inspired instructions but embraces it if it will keep her sons alive. Another has banned evening excursions, choosing to drive her sons to get snacks rather than to have them walk. Still another, who lives in a tony suburb in Maryland, has instructed her son to turn on the microphone embed- ded in his phone so that, in case of confrontation, she has a record of what happened. George Zimmerman’s says his murder of Trayvon Martin was “God’s will. He knows another God than most of us do. Julianne Malveaux is President Emeritus of Bennett College in Greensboro, North Carolina Read the rest online at www.theskanner.com Telephone (503) 285-5555. E-mail: info@theskanner.com World Wide Web site: http://www.theskanner.com Fax: (503) 285-2900 The Skanner is a member of the National Newspaper Pub lishers Associ- ation and West Coast Black Pub lishers Association. All photos submitted become the property of The Skanner. We are not re - spon sible for lost or damaged photos either solicited or unsolicited. © 2012 The Skanner. ALL RIGHTS RE SERVED. REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT PERMISSION PROHIBITED. To see The Skanner News on your smart phone go to theskannermobile.com or scan this QR code with your app. • • • • • • • • Local news Opinions Jobs, Bids Sports Entertainment Music reviews Bulletin board RSS feeds Page 4 The Portland Skanner Blacks Allow Obama to Disrespect Them W hile watching Mitt Rom- ney’s speech before the NAACP in Houston, it dawned on me how Romney and President Obama are out of touch with the needs of Black communi- ty. Last week, I dealt with Rom- ney. This week, it’s Obama’s turn to be scrutinized. Much has been made of Obama’s decision not to address the annual convention of the NAACP, the nation’s oldest civil rights organization. It’s troubling how many so-called Black leaders almost tripped over one anoth- er apologizing for the president’s behavior. Ben Jealous, president and CEO of the NAACP, said on TV that, “they (NAACP) will give the president a pass because they were told he had a scheduling con- flict.” Scheduling conflict? That’s the oldest trick in the book. It’s such a lame excuse that whenever the term “scheduling conflict” is men- tioned in Washington – which is pretty often – people laugh openly. In most cases, it’s not a scheduling conflict, it’s a case of people scheduling a conflict. But, once again, Obama has con- cluded that there is no price to pay for such presidential disrespect. Unfortunately, he is correct. Obama believes that pretending that he is not Black will make peo- ple believe he is not Black. As one “public intellectual” put it, Obama runs from Black people like Black July 25, 2012 GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS Raynard Jackson people run from cops. I am amazed at the silence from the Black community on these snubs. Blacks seem to have accepted this insulting treatment. The silence in the Black communi- ty is deafening. Blacks get exact- unemployment rate in the Black community], we probably would be marching on the White House…There is a less-volatile reaction in the CBC because nobody wants to do anything that would empower the people who hate the president.” How about empowering the peo- ple who put him in office? After President Obama’s spoke to the National Urban League con- Much has been made of Obama’s decision not to address the annual convention of the NAACP, the nation’s oldest civil rights organization. It’s troubling how many so-called Black leaders almost tripped over one another apologizing for the president’s behavior ly what they deserve from Obama—nothing! Ben Jealous is not the only prominent Black person to make excuses for the inexcusable. Consider what Congressional Black Caucus Chairman, Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) said last year on “Meet The Press.” With no sense of shame he said, “If [former Pres- ident] Bill Clinton had been in the White House and had failed to address this problem [the high vention this week in New Orleans, even the NAACP pretended that he hadn’t snubbed them. For the record, I voted for Obama in 2008. And as a Republi- can, I took a lot of heat from those in my party for doing so. My vote for Obama had little to do with his race. He was by far the better can- didate. There was no way I was voting for a ticket that included Sarah Palin. The Republican Party did not deserve my vote. I will vote every time on a case-by- case basis because nobody owns me or my vote. Last week, I talked about the importance of Black business leaders. They justifiably complain about limited access to capital – which is not good in a capitalistic society – and the failure of gov- ernment at every level to make sure Black businesses get a fair shot of landing contracts. After all, Blacks pay taxes too, often at a higher rate. You would think that this would change under President Obama – but it hasn’t. According to a recent story in the Washington Post, “U.S. gov- ernment contracts to black-and Hispanic-owned small businesses fell last year for the first time in a decade, declining at a sharper rate than awards to all companies. Can you tell me what Obama and the Democrats have offered as a solution to this problem? You guessed it, absolutely nothing. I am not surprised by Obama or Democrats. After all, this is the same party that dissed and embar- rassed Congressman Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) when they fell into minority status in the House in 2010 and had to shuffle the top leadership posts. Of course, the first Black president sat quietly by and said absolutely nothing. Read the rest online at www.theskanner.com
