Injustice in Ferguson

Injustice in Ferguson

     Well surprise surprise the man or police officer who shot Micheal Brown dead in the street has just been let go free and this decision made by the courts in Ferguson,Missouri has formed uprisings, riots, and the burning of buildings and businesses.

     In my opinion this was the worst possible course of action they could have taken. The officer shot an unarmed teenager and I'll tell you why, pure racism. The boy was unarmed with his hands up(according to several witnesses), had no weapon and yet he shot him dead. He unloaded his gun on the boy. The officer called for back-up and everything, gave descriptions of the boy to make him out to look like a demon or behemoth (in fact those are his exact words of how he described the boy), and yet he handled the situation all by himself just fine.

     A few days ago, word had got out that after his resigning this man received money for interviews and a "go fund me" account, totaling over hundreds of thousand dollars, for the act of killing a young black teenager.  This makes me wonder if my life, and the lives of other boys that look like me matter.  I respect the law, but does the law respect me?

                                    

                                                                    Works Cited:

Associated Press.  No Indictment for Ferguson policeman shooting Unarmed Michael Brown. 

   Associated Press, adopted by News ELA  November 25, 2014. 

   <https://newsela.com/articles/ferguson-grandjury/id/6162/>/

McShane, Larry. Donors give nearly $500,000 so far to support Ferguson police Officer Darren Wilson.  New           York Daily  News, November 28, 2014. <http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/500-000-raised-support-darren-wilson-legal-fight-article-1.2027042/>.

Racial injustice of American police

Racial injustice of American police

     Many of you know what happened in Ferguson,Missouri right ? In case you didn't an 18 year old black teen named Micheal Brown was shot down and killed by a white police officer. Many have said it was a hate crime others say the police had reason to soot him to death. But there has been many a history of American police making mistakes like this one including all the way back during segregation. Racial injustice is the unjust actions taken upon a certain race by another race this even dated back to the 1800's in slave times but their form of police were in fact slave patrols and their jobs were to hunt down any escaped slaves and bring them back to the plantation for punishment and to work they would also hunt any black who spoke out against slavery or were rebelling against their master's rule. After slavery ended we still had Jim Crow laws which was basically another word for segregation. Cops would mostly crack down on African-Americans for any reason at all whether it made sense or not they would always find a way to nail blacks and put them in jail. Now in modern times we have people who are complaining about a president not because of what he's doing but because of the color of his skin. 

     On my last note as far as I am concerned, the broken bones, bruises, spilled blood, paralysis and death we suffer in addition to the tear gas, pepper spray, stomping, choke holds, bullets and billy clubs unleashed on Black bodies throughout contemporary America are nothing but modern-day manifestations of racist slave patrols.  Acknowledging this fact brings us to the logical conclusions that 1. Black people are to a large degree, perceived and treated by state agents as neo-slaves, people whose labor, mobility, and freedom is subject to control. 2. We are therefore seen as physical and political threats by the established order, which both explains why we continue to be unfairly criminalized and subject to physical attack by law enforcement agents (and even white vigilantes) on any given day. 3. While decent and fair-minded police officers of all racial and ethnic origins do exist, the police department is an institution that “serves and protects” certain class and race interests, and their repeated acts of brutality against us are not incidental or arbitrary, but constitute a mandated, deliberate and organic part of the American social order. The sooner we all understand this , the the more educated we'll all be on this subject. 

Tyehimba, Agyei.  Racist Police Brutality Part I: History of the American Police State. My True

     Sense Blog, Scoop It. August 17, 2014. <http://mytruesense.org/2014/08/17/police-brutality-part-

     i-history-of-the-american-police-state/>.

Are the police really protecting us ?

Jordan Kellam

Honors English

Ms. Salter

10/26/14

How Should the Police be Protecting Us?

Throughout the years, America had soldiers protecting us throughout the world but then who would protect us while they were away? Police officers have been keeping the peace, upholding the law, and executing justice.  Now police have been making more and more mistakes, causing citizens to doubt their intent in keeping the community safe.

     The police in Ferguson, Missouri have been supplied with military grade weaponry from the U.S military including all-terrain military vehicles, rocket launchers, assault rifles, and other combat rifles, yet they aren't the only ones. This type of weaponry is being supplied to school districts and universities across the state of Georgia. In Georgia, three public school districts and six colleges and universities have obtained these weapons just to protect students.  Police say they need these weapons to protect the school and its students, but I'm pretty sure you don't need flash bangs and a rocket launcher to protect colleges or high schools.

Leaders from about a dozen national organizations signed a letter demanding that school police no longer are armed with military weapons. Also last week, Congressman Hank Johnson filed the Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act. If Congress approves the act, local police forces will be banned from receiving certain weapons. Banned weapons would include tanks, flash-bang grenades, rocket launchers and all guns greater than .50-caliber.

While I appreciate the police doing what they can to protect us, this is simply too much. If things get out of hand what weapon of choice would you want used against you, an assault rifle or a stun-gun that would temporarily paralyze you until they put you in hand cuffs?

                                                              Works Cited:

Atlanta Journal and Constitution. In Georgia, police at some schools getting guns from military. Adapted by NewsEla Staff, September 30, 2014. <https://newsela.com/articles/weapons-georgiaschools/id/5380/>.

Chaos in Ferguson

Jordan Kellam

Honors English

Mrs. Salter

October 19, 2014

Chaos in Ferguson, Missouri

     Ferguson has gone through a lot of turmoil and chaos these past few months. The shooting of the unarmed 18-year old, Michael Brown, by a white police officer has sparked resentment and uprising in the black community (St. Louis Dispatch). Eye witnesses say, even though he had put up his hands to surrender the teen was shot continuously and fell down dead in the middle of the street.  Rioting, looting, and police brutality have taken over Ferguson, however there is hope to calm this fury of anger and aggression. 

     Mediators, called The Community Relations Service arrived to see what the problems are and hold meetings, usually in secret, to talk about issues and how to resolve them peacefully(St. Louis Dispatch).  Their goal is to mediate between the community and law enforcement.  They meet with protesters and law enforcement to discuss ways to protect law abiding protesters, and lessen the appearance of a police state. Hopefully, with their help we can end the civil uprising and riots throughout Ferguson,Missouri and end this conflict once and for all.

Photo by Jamelle Bouie

Works Cited

St. Louis Dispatch. When the Peacemakers Came to Town. News ELA Staff, October 10, 2014.

<https://newsela.com/articles/ferguson-agency/id/5625/>.

Bouie, Jamelle. How a Demonstration Turned into a Disaster. Slate.com, August 14, 2014.

<http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/dispatches/2014/08/ferguson_police_attack_protes

tors_with_tear_gas_rubber_bullets_on_site_reporting.html>.

How Threatening is ISIS ?

Jordan Kellam

Honors English

Ms. Salter

October 12, 2014

How is ISIS threatening the world?

     As we know ISIS has been a big problem for the people of Iraq and Syria, but what about the rest of the world? ISIS are a group of radical terrorists who, this year have beheaded Americans, caused damage to middle eastern cities, and worst of all are responsible for the selling and raping of young girls from 8 to 15 years old (Murphy).  Yes, ISIS has been terrorizing not just Americans but young girls who are barely old enough for high school or even middle school.  ISIS is serious and they will never stop this terror.   According to the Home Secretary of Britain, Theresa May, ISIS could get a hold of biochemical weapons and attack the UK or their allies (Morris).  The American military, along with the United Nations have to stop this group of radical terrorists before something even worse happens. I mean, what if a another event like 911 happens?  I know you want to keep your families safe so it's time America does something more about it and does it fast.  Air strikes are not enough!

Works Cited

Morris, Nigel.  Isis could become 'world’s first truly terrorist state' and bomb UK with nuclear and chemical weapons, Theresa May warns. The Independent, 12 Oct. 2014. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/isis-could-become-worlds-first-truly-terrorist-state-and-bomb-uk-with-nuclear-and-chemical-weapons-theresa-may-warns-9765049.html.

Murphy, Jack. ISIS Sexual Slavery and Human Trafficking. Sofrep, 8 Sept. 2014

http://sofrep.com/36888/isis-sexual-slavery-human-trafficking/.

How do politicians influence our votes ?

Kellam 1

Jordan Kellam                                                                                                              

Ms. Salter

Honors English 

9/28/14

Politicians are More Clever Than You Think

     Politicians are known for their aggressive attitudes and most of all their very creative political
 commercials.But how do those political commercials affect our opinions in who we choose to vote
for? This year in 2014 The Center for Public Integrity has done investigations on who's trying to
influence the 2014 elections through advertising, in an effort to consider sources of where political
power lies in this country. After reading about how the Center of Public Integrity created to tracking
apps to chart how much money is spent on negative and positive ads in different states, I looked at
Georgia.  In the current election for Governor, the app breaks down how much Nathan Deal and
Jason Carter spent in this election cycle.  Both candidates have spent roughly 2 million dollars each,
however Nathan Deal has spent around 383,000 dollars to Jason Carter's 193,000 dollars on negative
ads targeting the opponent.  The election for Governor of Georgia is this November.  It's going to be
interesting to see if the negative ad influences the outcome.  My personal opinion is that most voters
are loyal to their political parties, but undecided voters will be influenced.

Link to Article- http://www.publicintegrity.org/2014/09/22/15734/whos-calling-shots-states