STAND YOUR GROUND

Y'all see I was trying not to say anything about Maddy the Madd Juror aka #29. She has some nerve giving a discourse on the impending wrath of God upon George Zimmerman. She better look in the mirror. This woman has eight children and could not muster enough strength to stand her ground and do what was in her heart.

 On September 19, 2011 I served on a six jury panel in Orleans Parish Criminal Court and was the lone African American juror. The gender composition was four males and another female.  Without going into the specifics of the case it involved testimonies from two arresting New Orleans Police Officers. Their account of the incident (drug possession) was disjointed, twisted, and flagrantly lacked reporting protocol. The defense's position was that drugs were planted on the young man. I was a rather experienced juror having served in complex civil cases and additional criminal matters. There was nothing that flowed in this case for me. When we marched off to the jury room it was very obvious that each of my jury colleagues had fully determined this father of two who was arrested after taking his sons to the barber shop was guilty. Well they refused to give credence to my position and I refused to give in to theirs. As the time approached 8:00pm the other female juror angrily stared at me and said "look I'm ready to go home." I stared back at her and said "honey today is my wedding anniversary and my plans for the evening were canceled when we came in this room at 4pm I have no where to go and I am not, and I repeat not changing my position." Fifteen minutes later the jury foreman in sheer exasperation called for the court officer to escort us back to the courtroom. The judge asked if we had a verdict and the foreman had to say no. When the jury was polled I proudly said NOT GUILTY. 

The following day I received an email from the defense attorney emploring with me to call her at any time. After two days I decided to call her and she profusely thanked me for giving her another chance to present her case. She asked for advice on how she could improve her presentation and asked what issues the other jurors had with the case. 

The brevity of the referenced case does not come close to the Martin/Zimmerman tragedy. However, we have to get outta our way and stand our ground. Making statements after the fact usually has zero influence on the outcomes.

                                                             

THE TALKING SILHOUETTE

"Juror B37 says George Zimmerman feared for his life in his fatal encounter with Trayvon Martin". So we finally get an idea of the "creepy" thoughts that were floating around inside the head of one juror in the Zimmerman trial. This interview speaks volumes and fortifies the necessity to file further charges. Juror B37 refused to get outside of her own mind long enough to use a simple ABC Analysis as it related to the core facts of the case.

(A) Antecedent=George Zimmerman against advisement exited his vehicle. (B) Behavior=George Zimmerman shot Trayvon Benjamin Martin in the heart. (C) Consequence=Trayvon Benjamin Martin dies of a fatal gunshot wound. 

Anderson Cooper Interview: http://youtu.be/LcdSZw2-C18

WHAT DO WE SAY TO OUR BLACK SONS BORN IN 1995?

I wrote this blog three years [7/14/13] ago when my son was eighteen years old and a recent high school graduate. Today he is a college senior and unfortunately injustices for Black men in the United States have eroded at a fast and furious pace. I felt a reposting was in order as the anguish of parents of Black men in recent days is crushingly heartfelt. So I ask again What Do We Say To Our Sons Born In 1995?

As a mother of an eighteen year old born in 1995 I am very cognizant of situations involving young men in my immediate community and around the nation. On last evening shortly after the Zimmerman verdict was read my eighteen year old son arrived home from one of his two jobs. As he sat in our dining area eating a burger I could sense his spirit was perplexed. I glanced over at him from our kitchen and he looked numb. He was just staring at the television a million miles away. My heart just broke even more as he came face to face with the reality of inequities all Black men in America must accept as part of their citizenship. Most of our sons born in 1995 do not pay significant attention to race. Their knowledge of racial disparity are derived from lyrics of rap music and through social media. Rarely are they slapped with a hard lesson as my son experienced last evening. What do we tell our sons? This goes beyond earning good grades and going to college. How do we tell them race does not matter when it does. Black boys born in 1995 wanted George Zimmerman to get time for doing the crime. They wanted Trayvon to be a symbol of hope when things go extremely wrong. Today many of them are still numb. Social media is a tool to help vent their frustrations. I do not know what to say to our 1995 Black boys, but I do know that despite the hurt and confusion we as a race are experiencing today Trayvon did not die in vain. He jolted a sleeping nation from a deep slumber.

OUR HEARTS ARE BROKEN

Trayvon you entered into life after life as a result of actions connected to a fearful irrational man. From the place where you now exist everything is clear and you indeed are so free.There are no rights and wrongs. In fact the State of Florida does not even exist. Those of us who still live in a body [you transitioned from] wanted a more favorable outcome for you today. We were stunned and left spinning. Our thoughts were all over the place [what's wrong with those women jurors]. You did nothing wrong and yet you were profiled and murdered. The natural advocates within us can't let you go just yet. We feel compelled to bring the verdict to another level in hopes of eradicating laws that make it easy for young black boys to be murdered by scared wanna be cops. We know you can see everything so clear and we ask that you would give us the clarity you now have and guide us to Justice for All.

                                                       

STEVE HARVEY GETS IT! SO CAN YOU

                                                        http://youtu.be/zrE7dq1b9fc

                                                  

                                        

IF YOU WANT TO STAY DOWN KEEP GOING UPSTREAM

                                      

 I am a student of vibrational frequency and energy balancing. When I first started comprehending the requirement of accurate alignment for manifestation I struggled with getting a visual picture of detecting when I was not a vibratory match to my desires or when my energy was unbalanced. A few years ago I heard a teacher of vibrational energy say "nothing you want is upstream." I am a visual learner so I had a better grasp of the concept but it was still clear as mud. Then my mind went back to a little boating excursion I had as a pre-teen with my great-uncle, sister and two cousins. We were in a pirogue [tiny flat boat commonly used in southeast Louisiana]. We were just floating along when suddenly our tiny boat became caught in a current. My uncle quickly became engaged in this battle with this fierce water stream. He started yelling instructions to each of us girls and we finally guided the boat downstream. That's when I got it! Nothing I want is upstream. 

Downstream is the direction of the water flow. If you jump into the water at point A you will float downstream to point B. The current will carry you to point B. On the other hand, if you want to get to point C which is upstream, you are going to have to swim against the current. I have no desire to swim against a current. So when my thoughts are dark, fearful, non-fruitful [upstream] or even when I desire to take control of a situation or person [upstream]. When my thoughts are clear, joyous, or when laughter fills my body [downstream]. So if you have spent a significant amount of time wondering where your stuff is while living like Debbie Downer you are probably in the middle of an upstream journey. We were created to flow downstream. Remember "nothing you want is upstream."