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>
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> Visit The DISH online at www.thedish.org
> Vol. 9 No 48...Dedicated to the Dialogue on Race.
> ********************************************************
>
> Table of Contents
>
>
> 1. Bit of History...John Alexander Sommerville (1882-1972)
> 2. Hood Notes...Grandma Died, Police Lied
> 3. Warred Upon While Black...By John Burl Smith
> 4. Disgruntled
> 5. Comments from the Bat Cave
> 6. Venue for an Artist...Police Brutality...By Ank Justice SteadySpear
> 7. Intuit's Vibe...I Wish Thanksgiving Were For All of Us...By Jeralyn
> Merritt
> 8. Mailbox
> ******************************************
>
>
>
> Bit of History
> John Alexander Sommerville (1882-1972)
>
>
>
> Born in Jamaica on December 1, 1882, John Alexander Sommerville immigrated
> to the United States in search of a new life. He initially settled in San
> Francisco, California, where he came face-to-face with the racist
> realities of US life. Sommerville moved to Los Angeles. For two years,
> he worked in a bowling alley and saved enough money to attend the USC
> School of Dentistry.
>
>
>
> Sommerville's white classmates threatened to boycott classes, if he was
> not removed. Apparently, the white students opposed his presence and
> objected to him being treated as their equal. Like Rosa Parks, who
> refused to give up her seat on a public bus to a white man, he refused to
> be removed.
>
>
>
> Five years after arriving in the US, Sommerville became the first black
> person to graduate from the USC School of Dentistry. He graduated first
> in his class with the highest score recorded at the time. Sommerville
> opened his dentist office at 4th and Broadway in the heart of LA's black
> business district. He became the first black member of the Los Angeles
> Chamber of Commerce.
>
>
>
> In 1912, Sommerville married Vada Watson, the first black female, second
> black person to graduate from the USC School of Dentistry. She also
> became the first black female certified to practice dentistry in the state
> of California. The Sommerville's worked tirelessly to achieve the good
> life for themselves under difficult circumstances, as discrimination was
> prevalent during this period in US history. While the couple prospered,
> many blacks in the City of Los Angeles were less fortunate. They founded
> the LA Chapter of the NAACP.
>
>
>
> Socioeconomic and political restrictions placed on blacks became more
> pervasive with an influx of people from other states, especially whites
> and blacks from the south. Jim Crow laws placed public hotels off limits
> to blacks. To satisfy the growing black demand for housing, Sommerville
> built La Vada, a 26-unit apartment building. He later built Hotel
> Sommerville.
>
>
>
> Like so many businessmen, Sommerville suffered a financial setback during
> the 1929 stock market crash. Although forced to sell his hotel,
> Sommerville did recover from his financial woes. Active in politics, he
> became the first black delegate to the California Democratic National
> Convention (1936). The first black appointed to the Los Angeles Police
> Commission (1949), Sommerville was declared an Officer of the Order of the
> British Empire for his contributions to Anglo-American relations (1954).
>
>
>
> Vada Sommerville died in 1972. Months later, John Sommerville died at the
> age of 91. (Source: www.aaregistry.com)
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Hood Notes
> Grandma Died, Police Lied
>
>
>
>
> On November 21, 2006, undercover narcotics officers, armed with a
> ‘no-knock' warrant signed by Fulton County Magistrate Kimberly Warden,
> burst into the home of 88-year old Kathryn Johnston. Early reporting
> indicated the elderly woman fired on the officers. During the melee, she
> reportedly wounded three, none seriously. Johnston, shot twice in the
> chest, was pronounced dead at the scene.
>
>
>
> According to a police informant, investigators involved in the botched
> raid asked him to lie and go along with the story they fabricated after
> the shooting incident. The informant has been placed in protective
> custody.
>
>
>
> Atlanta Police Chief Richard J. Pennington has promised a thorough
> investigation. He has asked the U.S. attorney's office, the FBI, the
> Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Fulton County district attorney's
> office to assist in uncovering the truth. Until the investigation is
> concluded, the narcotics team has been placed on administrative leave with
> pay.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Warred Upon While Black
> By John Burl Smith
>
>
>
> Revealing his lack of diplomatic and foreign policy savoir-faire following
> "shock and awe," George W. Bush designated Iraq "The central front in the
> war on terror." Searching for neocon's Holy Grail, "A New American
> Century," Bush's domestic policies, opposing affirmative action, Title IX,
> pubic education, Social Security and Medicare, became the scrimmage line.
> Up front at Bob Jones University about racial justice, equality and black
> economic empowerment, Bush's 2004 campaign plan to win the war in Iraq
> showed his lack of political savvy as well. Enriching friends and
> political supporters while bankrupting the US, Bush now hopes to pass Iraq
> off while keeping the oil and right-of-ways for US companies, as in
> Afghanistan.
>
>
>
> Including Homeland Security, Bush was given everything he asked for to
> win. He was denied nothing. No WMD, various justifications –
> democratizing Iraq, stabilizing it, etc. – have been offered as winning
> plans. Money for schools, hospitals, water systems and power plants was
> his first priority because "Iraqis would greet us with flowers." The
> money has been spent. Is there anything to show for it? No one can point
> to what we got for all that money.
>
>
>
> What does Iraq have to do with Bush's domestic spending? Every penny
> spent to invade Iraq is a penny that should have gone to schools,
> hospitals, water systems, recreation and infrastructure in the US. For
> instance, simply to fund the conservative political movement, Bush drained
> off even more money that should have gone to social programs with his
> faith based initiative. The real crime in that sleight-of-hand is money
> went to rich churches not the poor. Funds funneled into faith- based went
> into the pockets of preachers supporting Bush. No oversight, faith-based
> is far less efficient and effective than community-based social programs.
>
>
>
> Warring in Iraq put blacks on the front line in the "war on terror."
> Throwing money at Iraq, while black people were catching hell, Bush and
> Congress have cut aid for cities to the marrow; there is no bone left.
> Supplemental government employment, manufacturing or production jobs left
> cities long before they left the country. Outsourced, American taxpayers
> pay more salaries in Honk Kong than in DeKalb County Georgia. No Child
> Left Behind replaced education with fundamentalism. This changed
> curriculums from knowledge to religious based, and the US has been left
> behind by countries that it sent teachers to ten years ago.
>
>
>
> Warred upon, urban dwellers in the US and Iraqis share a similar fate in
> having no right of self-defense. Whether on streets or in their homes,
> there is a lack of safety. Iraqi homes can be invaded at anytime by US
> soldiers, property destroyed and the occupants killed. No matter how
> gruesome the circumstances, if anything at all is done, soldiers only get
> slapped on the wrist. Blacks in the US are under the same threat to life,
> limb and property from police. Throughout the 1980s and 90s, police
> killed blacks at an alarming rate. Amadou Diallo in 1999 and Sean Bell
> in 2006 died in hails of bullets from police for nothing more than living
> while black. Recent shooting deaths, like Anglio Freeland, who Florida
> police fired at 110 times, indicate the war continues. Whites deny racism
> is involved in such gruesome murders. However, the question remains, why
> whites are never killed by police in this manner?
>
>
>
> The latest case in point. Looking for a drug suspect and armed with a "no
> knock search warrant," three hooded undercover Atlanta police raided the
> home of Kathryn Johnson, an eighty-eight year old grandmother. Kicking in
> the door, shots were fired and granny lay dead. Police said she shot
> first without provocation, so they killed her. Police consider the old
> woman's death justified. Warred upon while black, Jamil Al-Amin (H. Rap
> Brown) survived a midnight attack by undercover cops. Charged with
> attempted murder, he is serving life in prison. Had he died, the
> undercover cops would have been exonerated. When blacks die in
> unjustified police shootings, it's oops, my bad! If they defend their
> life, a crime was committed! Is this Iraq or did black hatred get
> extended to Iraq?
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Disgruntled wants to know: In 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed
> the Kerner Commission to investigate the cause of the race riots of the
> mid-1960s. Headed by Illinois Gov. Otto Kerner, the commission concluded
> the US was moving towards two societies, one black and one white –
> "separate but unequal." A number of lawmakers have called on the Justice
> Department to investigate the recent spate of high-profile police
> killings. Given neither the racist institutions established to support
> the 3/5 Compromise nor deeply held racial attitudes, as displayed in the
> recent racist rant by Michael Richards, have changed little since the
> 1960s, could another Kerner Commission kick start a much-needed dialogue
> on race in America?
>
>
>
> Disgruntled says: You cannot protect and serve those you fear!
>
>
>
> Disgruntled feels: Slammed! In general, telephone consumers are nickeled
> and dimed to the poorhouse. I recently discovered Bellsouth had assigned
> my telephone number to AT&T for long distance, after I had specifically
> opted out of long distance on my land line. AT&T blames Bellsouth, which
> blames AT&T. Neither will fully reimburse me for all the erroneous
> charges. This is a form of slamming that should be illegal.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Comments from the Bat Cave
>
>
>
> The Dark Knight-Batman/White Ninja/Zorro is not shy when it comes to the
> mental and sometimes physical torture of his younger brother – Ty. He
> apparently likes making him cry. When asked for comments on his violent
> views and the sorry state of their relationship, the Dark One/Ninja/Zorro
> boldly exclaimed, "It's my job. And, I'm good at it!"
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Venue for an Artist
> Police Brutality
> By Ank Justice SteadySpear
>
>
>
> It's not a fantasy it's very much a reality
> Be afraid- be very afraid of police brutality
> In every era of humanity
> these demons harm many innocents of society
> For the wealthy in prosperity they protect and serve
> From stone to gun they are following immoral codes of hired mercenaries
> Everywhere under the sun
> there is no hiding nowhere to run
> In human daughters and sons
> there is great power in union as well as their guns
>
>
>
> As a little boy I felt police brutality,
> I saw one shoot a man down
> Then told me to run,
> my father in financial difficulties
> extended his brutality
> A police stabbed me with a gun,
> whipped me with a cane
> then lied about it the next day
> For hissing his teeth
> a sixteen-year old boy never got up off the street
> Brooklyn New York I saw the body of a friend
> 21 shots most in the back police did that
> When a police say you must
> I give no second chance to trust?
> In court I will contest the law
> to show you have gone too far
>
>
>
> Police brutality and evil doctors of humanity
> insured by cooperating fatality
> The companies of crazed mentality
> causing great pain and suffering
> My internal is crying; I am slowly dying
> my screams have been muted
> The constitutions of men's laws are polluted
> so my anguish is fluted
> One day justice will be my token
> I hope my back will not be broken
> Standing firm is hard
> especially with blows to head, ribs and feet
> Doctors care not to treat
> while the insurance companies cleaning their teeth
>
>
>
> A crooked cop not checking the facts,
> the statement of witness on the spot
> Who do I seek payment for their attacks
> and breach of contracts
> My health is deteriorating
> I am having many spasms and stiffness of the side
> I no longer can sit comfortable in relax
> or walk without breaths of gaps
> I am so poor
> I ponder if the next time I will get up from the floor
> The pains are sharp when they attack
> it's like a knife in my side and back
> I know I will not live too long
> for my wife and daughter I will be strong
> Deep breathing to redirect the pains
> controlling the flowing of blood through my veins
>
>
>
> Holland's police brutality
> my wife and I experienced in the Netherlands this reality
> On the third day of the eleventh month,
> year two thousand and one
> I was happy he did not shoot me where I stand
> because I am a full-black man.
>
>
>
> About Me: American/Jamaican poet and music student living in Holland with
> his wife Diana and child Ama, sample Ank's art at
> www.iota.tv/the_scribe/poetry/chitao.html.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Intuit's Vibe
> I Wish Thanksgiving Were For All of Us
> By Jeralyn Merritt
>
>
>
> I'm not in a particularly upbeat mood this Thanksgiving. I know we just
> won an election and hopefully have started on a path to end the War in
> Iraq and take back our country from the right-wing extremists. I'm
> thankful that the days of appointing right-wing ideologues to our federal
> courts and the Supreme Court may be behind us.
>
>
>
> But I live in a peculiar world, one that is filled with days spent
> visiting mostly non-violent prisoners in jails, and it saddens me that for
> them and their children and parents, I see little hope.
>
>
>
> For two hours on Sunday night, I sat on a cold bench at the jail in Omaha,
> waiting to get in to see a client (the mechanical doors had malfunctioned,
> and there was nothing anyone could do until a repairman fixed them.) The
> bench was in a waiting room between the door to the outside world and the
> partitioned glass window where a lone sheriff's deputy sat, taking money
> from a stream of inmate family members, who were bringing it to be placed
> on the inmates' accounts so they could buy food and hygiene items from the
> commissary.
>
>
>
> In order for the inmate to be able to purchase anything from the
> commissary and receive it by Thanksgiving, the money had to be in by
> Sunday night. The Sheriff's deputy would come out for five minute
> stretches and then disappear behind closed doors for a half hour or so.
> During the time she was gone, the room would fill with parents,
> grandparents and children, all coming to put $20 or $40 on their loved
> one's "book" so that their Thanksgiving would be a little less dreary. The
> line got really long at times and I got to hear all their stories. It was
> just a parade of pitifuls, one after the other.
>
>
>
> The incarcerated are human beings too. Everyone is more than the sum of
> their misdeeds. Wouldn't we be better off shortening the prison terms of
> non-violent offenders and spending the money we saved on educating,
> rehabilitating and training them to live productive lives? It's not just
> drug and economic crimes. When are we going to stop allowing prosecutors
> to try juveniles as adults where they become especially at risk in adult
> prisons? America is a prison nation. More than two million are currently
> housed in our state and federal jails. Of those, more than one million are
> incarcerated for non-violent offenses at a cost of more than $24 billion
> per year.
>
>
>
> What I hope for in the coming two years is that Democrats tackle their
> agenda of ending the War, providing universal health care and saving
> Social Security as fast as possible, so they can turn their attention from
> those at the center, the middle class, to the most marginalized among us
> -- the more than 2 million inmates in our prisons.
>
>
>
> When that happens, then I'll give my thanks. (Read this and other posts
> by Merritt at www.huffingtonpost.com)
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Mailbox: E-Mails, Faxes and Telephone Calls
>
>
>
>
> Email www.ajc.com Atlanta Officer accused of lying in '01 wreck...By S.A.
> REID...An Atlanta narcotics officer tied to last week's deadly drug raid
> on a elderly woman's home was the subject of a 2002 lawsuit that said he
> "fabricated" the events that led to his head-on traffic collision with
> motorcyclist Samuel T. Gulley Jr., who received a $450,000 payment from
> the city last year to settle his claims against Officer Arthur B. Tesler,
> the city and the Atlanta Police Department. The civil case was dismissed
> after the settlement by Fulton County State Court.
>
>
>
> Email www.liberalcomment.com Iran signs its "death warrant", claims
> conservative analyst...Extreme right-wing columnist Jerome Corsi claims
> that Iran has signed its death warrant with its recent decision to move
> away from the U.S. dollar in its foreign exchange transactions. As a frame
> of reference, Saddam Hussein also announced a policy of dollar divestment
> just prior to the invasion of his country.
>
>
>
> Email www.prisonpolicy.org Crime & Punishment How the US prison system
> makes minority communities pay..."At the start of Reagan's administration
> in 1980, there were approximately 501,886 prisoners in the nation's
> prisons and jails, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. In June
> 2001, there were 1,800,300, a nearly four-fold increase. Of this number,
> 803,400 were black males and 69,500 were black females. This boom shifted
> federal funds from minority and poor communities that export prisoners to
> poor white towns, which started "hosting" prisons in the 1990s as a means
> of escaping economic despair. Studies show that in a society that
> ratcheted up its criminal penalties to control crime and place offenders
> out of sight and out of mind, the prison industry has begun to affect the
> political landscape." To the ruling elites, the clang of cell doors was
> also a big ka-ching for investors and corporate types looking to get rich;
> but first they had to use their pull with the politicians to pass laws to
> make more holding facilities necessary.
>
>
>
> *********************************************
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