Bringing Killers to Justice

More than 50 years after Emmett Till was brutally murdered in Mississippi after whistling at a White woman, there is still no justice to be found in this heinous, racially motivated slaying. A grand jury in Leflore County, Miss., has refused to hand down an indictment of Carolyn Bryant, the widow of one of the two men charged and later acquitted in Till’s murder trial. Carolyn Bryant is the White woman at whom Emmett Till allegedly whistled. She was allegedly with her husband and his cohorts when they kidnapped Till, shot him, and tossed his lifeless body into the Tallahatchie River.

Witnesses who were with Till on that fateful day in 1955 lament that the failed indictment is evidence that nothing has really changed in rural Mississippi over the course of 50 years. It certainly raises the question of whether there have been many advances in a county now infamous for overt racism. And now, with both of the original suspects dead, and Carolyn Bryant in her 70s, time has all but run out for ever realizing justice in the Till case.

Despite overwhelming evidence, witnesses, and the image of Emmett Till’s disfigured, decomposed body ingrained in their minds, the recent ruling continues a legacy of injustice in the Till case. This jury may not have been an all-White one like the jury that deliberated only slightly more than an hour and then allowed J. W. Milam and Roy Bryant to walk out of the courthouse, smiling and celebratory. Adding insult to injury, Milam confesses to the crime to a journalist who published his story in Look magazine. And still no justice. Now, the outcome is the same. An accessory to a civil rights era killing walks free. Another brutal hate crime goes unanswered.

Our hope for future justice rests in the 74 unsolved, racially motivated civil rights-era killings that were handed to the FBI for further investigation by the Southern Poverty Law Center. The FBI has already re-opened investigations into 12 civil rights era deaths, and nearly 100 unsolved cases are being reviewed in all. Despite the lack of closure in the Till case, at least families of those who lost loved ones in brutal fashion may one day take comfort in knowing that the ones responsible, who have escaped punishment for many years, may soon be brought to justice.

From Immigration to Imprisonment

America—land of the free, home of the brave; a place where you are presumed innocent until proven guilty. That is, unless you are one of thousands of persons the federal government suspects has immigrated into the country illegally. Never mind that there is no proof to substantiate their suspicions. Usurping all of the inalienable rights that any person in this country should enjoy, the federal government has taken to housing immigrants in correctional facilities—in other words jail, prison, the big house, the slammer, the cooler, the joint. An injustice by any other name…

In Texas, the T. Don Hutto Correctional Center is one such facility that is intended to house persons who have been convicted of crimes but is now being used by the government to curtail what it calls the immigration “problem.” Families—men, women, children, babies, and toddlers—are being subjected to all of the degrading, dehumanizing accoutrements afforded to convicted criminals on “lock down.” Children are separated from their mothers at night, for hours on end, and are allowed only an hour of playtime outside of isolated prison cells. Wearing prison clothes is mandatory and pregnant women are forced to go without prenatal care. And the real injustice here is that the more than 22,000 immigrants being detained in this manner have not been charged with a crime!

The “inmates” housed at Hutto are involved in deportation proceedings—many are applying for political asylum from countries such as Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Somalia, and Palestine, according to a recent In These Times news report. Such imprisonment, which has been likened to concentration camps, is being justified by the government in the name of “keeping families together.” In reality, the government is treating these people like cattle. Just as raids by ICE and “shoot to kill” commands by border security patrols are justified as “protecting the people.”

It is an atrocity that has caught the attention of human rights groups, who are advocating for more human treatment of immigrants in Texas and nationwide. There is no reasonable justification for subjecting children to conditions under which they are becoming physically ill, or denying them the tiniest pleasure of a stuffed animal for comfort. The assertion of power over these people who have yet to be found guilty of any crime is truly disturbing. It appears as though the government is attempting to combine its immense power and ability to instill fear as a tool to threaten and/or remove immigrants from the country that prides itself on its “melting pot” image and the pursuit of happiness. The real crime here is the unwarranted and inhumane use of intimidation by our own federal government.

When BIG BROTHER Wants to Move, He Moves...FAST!

Why is it when it comes to providing relief efforts to African Americans in New Orleans, the government moves like molasses, but when it comes to reclaiming emergency funds given to Louisiana families through their own faulty, botched distribution process, they move like lightning? Someone needs to get their priorities straight.

The government is hot on the trail of more than $300 million—and the estimated total is expected to increase—worth of Katrina money that they gave to households in Louisiana, some to homes that didn’t exist, according to FEMA data from the U.S. Census. Some households received double or triple payments. Pursuing those who may have received monies in error with gusto, the Justice Department has already logged more than 400 storm-related fraud prosecutions, recovering $18 million so far. Literally, JD has been going around arresting folks for holding on to money that was sent to them, in Louisiana as well as in states where Katrina survivors now temporarily reside, such as Texas and Mississippi.

Some attributed the government’s post-Katrina track record of being slow to provide aid to Katrina survivors as a byproduct of it being a bureaucratic entity that moves slow on all fronts. But, the speed with which Big Brother has started recouping the lost funds shows that it can pick up the pace when necessary.

Given the dire circumstances of those who remain displaced, it is understandable that families who received checks in the mail may not have questioned receiving the disbursements. Perhaps some families used the funds to pay for food, clothing, and shelter after their FEMA vouchers, which only lasted a short while, expired. And who could blame them? They were failed by a government that was supposed to help them after the storm, but instead deserted them during some of the lowest, most desperate days of their lives. Instead of opening doors to return to the city and rebuild their homes, this same government has closed and locked the doors to New Orleans, barring low-income residents from returning.

Instead of slapping handcuffs on the victims of the Katrina tragedy, the government would be better off directing its energies toward allowing displaced residents to return, rebuild, and restart their lives. In this way, they could make amends for the slow and mismanaged response to Katrina, and start moving in a positive direction—toward equitable recovery.

Forward Ever, Backward Never

There is evidence that, in our lifetimes, we may witness a resurgence of violence rivaling the hate-filled, racist attacks that African Americans endured during the Civil Rights Era. One difference between then and now is that immigrants, rather than Blacks, may be the primary targets of assaults by White supremacist groups. Another is that the new-age White supremacy won’t be perpetrated by extremists wearing hoods and robes, lynching people in the streets; more than likely, the offenders will look like the average person on the street, sporting a suit and driving a nice car but have equally vile, yet more clandestine methods of spewing racial hate.

According to a new report from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), membership in the Ku Klux Klan (KKK)—a cluster of fraternal organizations known for using terrorism, violence, and acts of intimidation such as cross burning to oppress African Americans and other groups, is on the rise. The disturbing trend is that the KKK, a group that was viewed as being relatively dormant in recent years, is using U.S. immigration as a rallying point for recruiting new members. ADL Civil Rights Director Deborah Latuer said, “If any one single issue or trend can be credited with re-energizing the Klan, it is the debate over immigration in America.”

Even more troubling is that Klan meetings and rallies have resurfaced across the country, including southern, Midwestern, and Mid-Atlantic states. The new crop of KKK members employs the Internet to proliferate its hate messages, as well as public relations tactics such as radio broadcasts and fliers. And, KKK members are joining forces in increasing numbers with other “skinhead” and racist groups.

What this means for persons of color in America is that first, we must develop an awareness of the strategies being used by these hate groups. More importantly, it is imperative that we spread the messages of justice, racial equality and tolerance to counteract and neutralize the White supremacy beliefs under girding this culture of hate. This news should be a wake up call to teach us that extremist groups are alive and well, and looking to seize opportunities to thwart racial justice in America. It is confirmation that there is an urgent need to invigorate the racial justice movement, to advocate for effective hate crime legislation, to educate Americans about ways to combat racism, and to forge and strengthen alliances across racial lines so we can be a united force against radical groups who threaten to erode the forward progress gained during the Civil Rights Movement.