Crab Meets Lion

Hotep,

Once again the month of July is upon us.  The 7^th month of the year is most indicative of the summer season.  It has always been a blessing to my physical existence, from the time of my birth (7/22/68), to this present date, especially since the incarnation of my “Summer Breeze” on 7/20/12.  July will always be a landmark month for me.  Na mean?

My granddaughter, Daleah Janeice Mann, a.k.a., “Tear,” is physically unable to know the warmth of her G-Dad’s embrace, but if I were able to sit at her bedside and tell her a story of her lineage, it would go something like this:

My dad, Leroy E. Mann Sr., was born under the astrological sign of Cancer (7/3/42).  Your great-grandmother tried her hardest to make my birth the perfect birthday gift for a father expecting his first child, but you G-Dad - being the Mann that he is – showed up 19 days later.  I was born on the last day of Cancer (7/22), and on the cusp of Leo (7/23).  Your G-Dad was destined to be an enigma.

Your G-Dad was born with asthma.  Animal dander would send me into an asthmatic fit.  So, my grandparents’ house pets, Chip (dog) and Frisky (cat) were totally off limits to me.  I can still recall those dismal trips to the emergency room.  Cough syrups, inhalers and Vick’s Vapor rub were staples in my earliest years of existence.  SMH.

Yeah, Baby girl, your G-Dad’s first few years of this life were touch and go.  Word is bond!  But, I guess I was around 6 or 7 years old when my asthma appeared to fall back – giving my respiratory system a much-needed break.

I don’t remember how, or exactly when, but this beautiful eggshell colored German shepherd became a fixture in my childhood.  Tito was the undisputed protector of our fam. Ya heard?  He lived in our basement, but the mailman and anybody else approaching the residence of 850 N. 6^th Street knew of his presence.  Na mean?  He was a mean dog Baby Girl, but he took care of his fam.  If you lived in 850, Tito had your back.  I don’t recall having an asthma attack while Tito was living with us.  Real talk.

His defining moment of loyalty arrived when I was standing on the banks of the Schuylkill River – feeding the ducks.  The ducks came so close.  Close enough that they were eating the popcorn kernels out of the palm of my hand.  The hungry pecks to my palm heightened the adventurous spirit of your G-Dad.  I lost my footing when I reached out to touch one of the hungry specimens before me.

The splash fell on deaf ears and my sights were set on the webbed feet of the duck, vigorously paddling above me.  I don’t remember a feeling of panic – only the act of reaching for the webbed feet above me.  That could’ve easily been the end of your G-Dad’s presence in this world, Baby Girl.  Overcoming asthma, only to fall at the webbed feet of a duck just wasn’t how my story was meant to be told.  Feel me?

The powerful jaws of a wet, eggshell colored German shepherd grabbed the sleeve of my sweatshirt and pulled me to safety.  How or why this scenario played out the way it did, is secondary to the grateful feeling I have to live for more than 4 decades to tell about it.  Na mean?

 

The moral of the story is:

When you begin to understand your earliest memories, you’ll realize that your purpose, in this life, has driven your entire existence.  Tito pulling me from the Schuylkill River made way for the physical existence of your daddy; your older brother and now you Tear.  Your one-year milestone is engraved in the heart of your G-Dad.  Someday, I hope this particular story will do the same for you.

Happy Birthday, Baby Girl!!

Much Love,

MannofStat, a.k.a., G-Dad

Copyright © 2013 by Leroy Elwood Mann

We the People

State Senator Thom Goolsby of Wilmington is chomping at the bit to resume executions in North Carolina.  He led the charge to repeal the Racial Justice Act, which became law in 2009.  The RJA was drafted and enacted to address historic racial disparities in the criminal justice system, particularly as they applied to capital punishment.  The RJA was recognized internationally for its progressiveness and showed that N.C. was ahead of the curve in its commitment to change.

For much of this country’s history, African-Americans were not permitted to serve on juries.  The Civil Rights Act of 1875 made it a crime to exclude people on the basis of race.  But, despite federal law, there was little change.  In many states, no people of color served on juries.  And in N.C., there was outrage; even violent resistance to implementing these laws.  The Wilmington Riots of 1898 are just one dramatic illustration of this resistance.

It was only after the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s that the need for participation of African-Americans on juries was taken seriously, and it is during this same period that peremptory strikes became relevant to race discrimination.  Prosecutors’ power to use these strikes increased significantly during this same period.  In N.C., prosecutors strikes jumped from six in capital cases to the current fourteen, thus giving prosecutors who are of a mind to discriminate greater opportunity to do so.

The move to repeal the RJA now, stinks to high heaven!  Especially considering that the first four cases heard under the Act demonstrated clear racial bias and the death sentence in all four cases was vacated.  It appears that African-Americans are still denied the right to participate on capital juries and that there is definitely a need for this legislation.

Mr. Goolsby claims to speak for the families of murder victims.  However, several family members of murder victims have spoken out publicly that state-sanctioned murder is not what they want.  Support for the death penalty is at an all-time low.  There have been no executions in the state since 2006 and the murder rate has not risen; in fact the overall crime rate is down.  So why the push?

Who is Mr. Goolsby really representing?  A brief look at some of the bills he and his cronies have endorsed in only the last few weeks since the inauguration of republican governor, Pat McCrory show a frightening trend: a voter I.D. law, that would restrict minorities and the poor from voting.  A bill that throws out a valid election not even two years old, to redraw some county school board districts, in an attempt to re-segregate schools.  Blocking federal grant money that would guarantee health insurance for the state’s poor, etc., etc.

Mr. Goolsby and his ilk do not represent the interests of the people of North Carolina.  They represent a tired ‘ole’ doctrine that apparently is incapable of change.  In the Raleigh News and Observer (4/10/13), House Speaker Thom Tillis was caught sneaking out of the legislature to avoid speaking to his constituents.  These are the actions of a man who knows that what he’s doing is reprehensible and can’t stand the light of scrutiny.

It is up to the good citizens of North Carolina to stand up and demand that their proper interests are represented.  The current legislations have no intention of governing.  Their actions, if successful, will make the state grotesquely unrecognizable.  It is up to the people to step up and hold them accountable.  Jones Street should not have a moment of peace until there is justice and democracy that we can all be proud of.

Real Talk,

Mr. Blue

Copyright © 2013 by Paul Brown