Yesterday, Rev. Jesse Jackson (remember him?) reared his opportunistic head to warn that Michael Jackson may not get a fair trial because there are no blacks on his jury. Unfortunately, this represents the nature of black political activism in America today. It’s only a matter of time before Rev. Al Sharpton, the Congressional Black Caucus and NAACP join in 3-part harmony.
But Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. must be rolling over in his grave to see the heirs to his civil rights mission clamoring about the legal rights of accused child molesters (like Jackson and R Kelly).
Where is their clamor about last week’s government report that 45% of black children in America remain mired below the poverty line; or Friday’s CDC report that the HIV infection rate among black Americans has doubled over the last decade; or the many other pressing social, economic and political issues affecting black Americans that are truly worth clamoring about?
But, regarding Jackson’s headline seeking concern about Michael’s white jury, he (and others) should be mindful that Michael chose to live in an all-white community. And a defendant’s jury is selected from amongst residents in his community.
Nevertheless, if lawyers for that defendant fear that racial prejudice might prevent a fair outcome, they can (try to) have the trial moved to a more racially friendly venue (as OJ’s lawyers did – from white Brentwood to black South Central LA).
Michael’s own lawyers have pleaded no concerns about his white jury. Therefore, Jackson and his other defenders would do well to channel their concerns elsewhere.
News and Politics
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Anonymous says
Speaking of controversy: as one of the most powerful and wealthiest economies in the world, the contradictions in American society never ceases to intrigue me. In the USA today, how do we justify that “45% of black children still live below the poverty line and that the HIV infection rate has doubled among black Americans over the last decade”? Perhaps part of the conditional aid which we so eagerly give to developing countries should be directed to poverty reduction in our very own developing quarters. Moreover, it would seem that black Americans would be more likely targets for donations of HIV aid and anti-retroviral drugs; as, unlike the rural South Africans, where electricity is still being rolled out, at least black …sorry…African Americans already have refrigerators to store such medication appropriately.
Anonymous says
How about diverting some of the Defence budget towards addressing the plight of these hapless, poverty-stricken black Americans?