Opinion
Florida Man Gets Away with Murder
“Challenging People to Shape
a Better Future Now”
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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.
Telephone (503) 285-5555.
A
s we approach the second
anniversary of Trayvon
Martin’s murder on San-
ford, Fla., justice again has been
shortchanged in the Sunshine
State. It was incredulous that
George Zimmerman, a neighbor-
hood watchman and wannabe cop,
was found not guilty of murder
after killing the unarmed Black
teenager who had visited a nearby
convenience store to purchase a
bag of Skittles and a can of Ari-
zona Tea.
Last Saturday, a hung jury could
not decide whether Michael Dunn,
a 47-year-old White computer pro-
grammer, was guilty of murdering
Jordan Davis by fatally shooting
him in the chest groin. According
to court testimony, Dunn pulled
into the parking lot of a Jack-
sonville convenience store and
became involved in an argument
after he accused 17-year-old Jor-
dan Davis and three of his teenage
friends of playing their music too
loudly.
Apparently, an argument erupt-
ed. Dunn’s lawyer claims that
Davis used vulgarity-laden lan-
guage to tell his client what to do
to himself. Witnesses said Dunn
shouted at Davis: “You can’t talk
to me that way!”
Taken by themselves, the words
have no special meaning. Howev-
er, when uttered by a White man to
a Black teen in a region that prid-
ed itself as this nation’s last
bastion of White supremacy, they
take on a separate life of their
own. Remember, it wasn’t all that
long ago when Blacks were
expected to stare at the ground
when speaking to White folks.
They were expected to say “Yes,
sir” and “Yes, Ma’m,” knowing
thought he saw the barrel of a
shotgun protruding from a win-
T HE C URRY dow of the Dodge Durango SUV.
R EPORT
But no such weapon was ever
found and for good reason – it did
not exist. Even Dunn’s girlfriend
George E.
said he never told her about the
Curry
teens having a shotgun.
And what did Dunn do after he
killed the Black teenager? He
returned to the hotel room where
that their parents, regardless of he was staying after attending his
their age, would always be only son’s wedding. He acted as if
addressed by their first names, he had just finished a routine day
even by White children. Refusing at the office. He didn’t bother to
to show what was considered notify police. Dunn acted as if
proper respect to Whites often had nothing had happened.
According to Rolling Stone, Dunn told
detectives, ‘They didn’t follow my
orders. What was I supposed to do if
they wouldn’t listen?’
violent repercussions, even death.
I can almost hear the words: You
can’t talk to me that way!
And to prove his point, Dunn
But something did happen. Jor-
dan Davis had his life cut short
that day. The high school senior
would never get the chance to
He was not guilty of murdering Davis,
but was guilty of attempting to murder
Davis’ three friends
opened fire on the Black
teenagers, striking Jordan Davis
twice. Even as the teens peeled
rubber trying to get away, Dunn,
6’4” and 280 pounds, continued to
shoot into the vehicle, firing 10
times in all.
He would later say that he
make his parents proud by don-
ning a cap and gown and walking
across a stage to receive his high
school diploma. He would not get
a chance to attend college or pur-
sue a career. He wouldn’t even get
a chance to breathe again because
he wasn’t supposed to talk to a
White man that way.
According to Rolling Stone,
Dunn told detectives, “They didn’t
follow my orders. What was I sup-
posed to do if they wouldn’t
listen?”
For starters, he wasn’t supposed
to take the kid’s life. But he did.
His lawyer plans to argue that
Dunn was Standing his Ground.
His lawyer, Corey Strolla, told
Rolling Stone last year, “I don’t
have to prove the threat, just that
Mike Dunn believed it.”
Evidently, Strolla sold the jury
on that belief. They couldn’t agree
that his client murdered Jordan
Davis, who was shot twice. But in
their contorted reasoning, they
found him guilty of three counts of
attempted second degree murder.
In other words, he was not guilty
of murdering Davis, but was guilty
of attempting to murder Davis’
three friends, neither of whom
were struck by a bullet.
Florida State Attorney Angela
Corey said she will retry Dunn on
first-degree murder charges. But
this is the same State Attorney
who unsuccessfully prosecuted
George Zimmerman for first-
degree murder. If she puts on a
case as poorly as she did against
Zimmerman, Dunn won’t have
anything additional to worry
about.
Still, he’ll probably die in
prison. And if some of the true
thugs catch up with him in the
slammer, he might like how they
are going to talk to him.
George E. Curry, former editor-
in-chief of Emerge magazine, is
editor-in-chief of the National
Newspaper Publishers Associa-
tion News Service.
E-mail: info@theskanner.com
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Fax: (503) 285-2900
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ation and West Coast Black Pub lishers
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Black History: Needed Now More than Ever
E
ver since the 2009 election
of Barack Obama as Ameri-
ca’s first Black president
and the 100th anniversary of the
National Urban League in 2010,
the perennial debate about the
need for Black History Month has
intensified. Some have questioned
the need for a special month to
recognize the many unknown and
unsung achievements of African
Americans. With Obama as presi-
dent, the logic goes, we have now
achieved Dr. King’s dream of a
non-racial America where every-
one is judged by the content of
their character, not the color of
their skin. I wish it were so.
Last year, we celebrated the 50th
anniversary of the March on
Washington and the passage of the
Voting Rights Act. This year
marks the 50th anniversary of the
1964 Civil Rights Act and the
repeal of the poll tax. But unfortu-
nately, the suppression of voting
rights and other instances of racial
discrimination remain. All one
needs to do is look at the glaring
disparities between Blacks and
Whites in income, employment,
incarceration rates, educational
achievement and health status to
see that race still matters in Amer-
ica. Income inequality and equal
opportunity are still part of the
unfinished business of American
democracy.
In 1926, after centuries of
T O B E
E QUAL
Marc Morial
Blacks being excluded, not only
from the mainstream of American
life, but also from the textbooks in
our schools, African American
historian Carter G. Woodson did a
service to all Americans when he
created Negro History Week,
is a goal that America is still strug-
gling to achieve.
In fact, legislatures in a number
of states, including New York, Illi-
nois, Pennsylvania and New
Jersey, have passed laws mandat-
ing or encouraging teachers to
broaden their history courses to
include more ethnic, racial and
gender diversity. That is why we
still recognize March as Women’s
History Month, May as Jewish
American History Month, Sep-
tember 15 to October 15 as
Hispanic Heritage Month and Feb-
ruary as Black History Month.
‘There is no more powerful force than
a people steeped in their history. And
there is no higher cause than
honoring our struggle and ancestors
by remembering’
Lonnie Bunch, founding director, National Museum
of African American History and Culture
which was expanded to Black His-
tory Month in 1976. Woodson’s
vision was one of unity and inclu-
sion. He said, “What we need is
not a history of selected races or
nations, but the history of the
world void of national bias, race,
hate and religious prejudice.” That
Page 2 The Portland and Seattle Skanner February 19, 2014
These celebrations serve a dual
purpose: first to build self-esteem
among historically oppressed peo-
ple, and second to remind all
Americans that in the face of
seemingly insurmountable odds,
our diversity is our greatest
strength.
Black history is American histo-
ry. While the story and
achievements of African Ameri-
cans are especially celebrated this
month, the contributions we have
made and the struggles we still
face deserve recognition every day
of the year. Next year, for the first
time, Black History will enter the
mainstream when the Smithson-
ian’s National Museum of African
American History and Culture
opens on the National Mall in
Washington.
The
Museum
describes itself as “a place of
meaning, of memory, of reflection,
of laughter, and of hope. It should
be a beacon that reminds us of
what we were; what challenges we
still face; and point us towards
what we can become.”
As we honor those who have
made history, we must also recog-
nize that we are history in the
making. Through our work, com-
mitment to equality and civic
engagement, we can and we must,
in the words of President Obama,
continue to “right the wrongs of
history and make our world
anew.”
Marc H. Morial, former mayor
of New Orleans, is president and
CEO of the National Urban
League.