Trayvon Martin Target: Police Officer Ron King Fired For Bringing Offensive Target To Gun Range

PORT CANAVERAL, Fla. — A police officer accused of bringing targets resembling Trayvon Martin to a gun range has been fired.

Port Canaveral Interim Chief Executive Officer John Walsh told WFTV on Saturday (http://bit.ly/175m2lH) that Sgt. Ron King was leading a target practice with two other Port Canaveral police officers and a civilian port employee when he pulled out the targets April 4. Walsh says King asked the group if they wanted to use the targets and they said no, telling King to put them back into his patrol car.

Port Canaveral is about 50 miles southeast of Sanford, where the 17-year-old Martin was killed in 2012 by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman.

Zimmerman says he shot Martin in self-defense. His trial is set for June.

Port Canaveral is about 50 miles southeast of Sanford, where the 17-year-old Martin was killed in 2012 by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman.

Zimmerman says he shot Martin in self-defense. His trial is set for June.

Obama’s Kamala Harris ‘best looking’ comment crossed the line California Attorney General Kamala Harris is brilliant, accomplished, and by all accounts has a very promising political future. President Barack Obama and Attorney General Harris are close personal friends, so when he reportedly saidat a Democratic fundraiser about Harris, “She’s brilliant and she’s dedicated, she’s tough…She also happens to be, by far, the best looking attorney general,” the president certainly meant it as a harmless compliment about a friend. But his comments about Harris’ looks in a public space are not appropriate. President Obama is a feminist ally which is why it’s important to call this remark out, with love, in order to bring awareness to the issue of sexism in politics. The focus on Harris’ looks is not new. Harris’ run for district attorney in 2003 was wrought with sexism. Salon’s Joan Walsh wrote yesterday, that while covering Harris’ race in 2003, she received calls from Democrats who wanted to comment on how Harris’ success was in part because she was physically attractive and had a past personal relationship with former San Francisco mayor Willie Brown. Kamala Harris’ looks are irrelevant Harris’ physical appearance is not relevant, in terms of how she does her job. Harris is not a fashion model; she’s the chief law enforcement officer in the state of California and should be judged on her credentials and nothing more. Adding her looks to a list of adjectives describing her talent diminishes her accomplishments, even if the president said it in an off-the-cuff passing comment. Harris should be praised for her record, not her physical allure. Women are not objects who simply exist for male commodification. Harris is by all accounts a very serious person, tackling important issues, including sex trafficking and the death penalty. That’s all that matters. Her looks are not relevant to her skills and performance as attorney general and they don’t matter when she is evaluated for how she does her job. Harris is not a fashion model or a woman up on display. Good intentions don’t make it right The president’s remarks, while mild mannered and with no malicious intent, are still problematic because they come in the context of a culture which more often than not values how a woman looks above everything else. The context of the president’s comments matter both in terms of the public setting with which they were made, and the sexist culture with which they permeate in our collective psyche. Calling out the president for these remarks doesn’t mean he’s a bad person or even that he is sexist. As I said before, President Obama is an ally. This past weekend, Melissa Harris-Perry laid out a number of rules on how to be a good ally, which included, “be[ing] open to learning and expanding your consciousness by listening more and talking less.” There are many allies and Obama supporters who don’t think what the president said is problematic and who think this is all much ado about nothing. But it’s important to remind people that Attorney General Harris is a smart and successful person based on her merits and there are plenty of other compliments the president could have offered up in that public setting that would not have been inappropriate. The hope is that Obama is listening and the next time he will simply say, “She’s brilliant and dedicated. She’s tough,” and stop talking. Follow Zerlina Maxwell at @ZerlinaMaxwell

Instead of sticking to exotic backdrops, some of the models in the special Sports Illustrated Issue are featured standing next to people allegedly representing the various countries—an editorial decision that makes the “native people” tantamount to exotic props.

I go in on twitter! Follow @zellieimani

What do you think of the Christopher Dorner manhunt and his allegations of racism within the LAPD?

In case you don’t follow me on twitter @ZellieImani here’s a brief recap of my tweets from today. I’m still going in follow back and talk to me. Let me know what you think as well. Black Love.

The police firing on the pickup (two women shot) sounds like a shoot on sight order, which is illegal…

I recommend everyone to search for and read the entire Dorner Manifesto… It wasn’t the rant of a lunatic that you’d expect..

LAPD needs an outside review badly.

LAPD to review its own corruption. Now how legit is that?

Dorner manhunt: LAPD will give new truck to women shot by officershttp://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2013/02/lapd-will-provide-new-truck.html … via @lanow

The woman laying in ICU for being mistaken for Dorner will appreciate the LAPD’s offer to buy her a new truck i’m sure.

Have you seen the pic of the truck the Asian women were in? It’s bullet ridden from behind. They shot on sight.

Police Officers routinely get away with violating the laws they swore to uphold.

Racism and Racial profiling is a plague in police forces across the US.

We need to take a serious look at internal affairs of the police. Police brutality is a very serious matter that seems to be shrugged off.

The current LAPD is no better than the LAPD of the Rodney King days.

Make sure you follow, i also tweet alot of good news articles and retweet alot of great comments i come across in twitter land! Black Love

@ZellieImani

“

The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), The FBI, and the CIA are all trying to prove that they are the best at apprehending criminals. The President decides to give them a test. He releases a rabbit into a forest and each of them has to catch it.

The CIA goes in. They place animal informants throughout the forest. They question all plant and mineral witnesses. After three months of extensive investigations they conclude that rabbits do not exist.

The FBI goes in. After two weeks with no leads they burn the forest, killing everything in it, including the rabbit, and they make no apologies. The rabbit had it coming.

The LAPD goes in. They come out two hours later with a badly beaten bear. The bear is

yelling: “Okay! Okay! I’m a rabbit! I’m a rabbit!”

”

Love this family - duck faces and all lol… They are so “regular” yet so perfect.

Tonight on Twitter 8PM EST. We will be discussing the Sandy Hook tragedy and its effects on America

Make sure to follow me @zellieimani and the official magazine for the NAACP @thecrisismag

We are going to talk about different aspects of this tragedy. I feel sick to my stomach as an adult whenever I hear a child is harmed or killed. Yet, this is something as painful as it will be to talk about, must be discussed.

*What effects,if any, does this have on Black America? I’m reminded of recent quote, “When a Black man kills, he is a menace to society. A foreign man kills, he is a terrorist. When a white man kills he’s psychologically unstable”

*What effects will this have on gun control reform? Is gun control the answer? Refer to the @NIKKI_T post i recently posted and the lucid strike post i posted as well.

*What effects will this have on the attack on teacher unions and those saying teacher’s get paid to much to do what they do? The Sandy Hook tragedy highlights how teachers are not just responsible for the education of your kids, but their safety as well.

I will be postin on tumblr as well as leading the discussion on twitter. #AmericanViolence

Follow me @zellieimani and the official magazine for the NAACP @thecrisismag as we talk about this and much more!

black love

Raena Lamont, 3, wears a Captain America costume at a polling center Tuesday in Staten Island, New York. The polling station doubles as a donation site as Staten Island works to recover in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy.

Perceptions. Black Women in a White Society

When the term “black women” was searched on Google, the first result that popped up was “Nearly Half of Black Women Have Herpes.”When the image of black women is clicked, pictures of women posing nude or semi-nude pops up. As to whether the allegation of half of black women have herpes is fact or fiction, or whether all black women are viewed as being naked, self-degrading women is not the point; the point is the results about black women are ostracizing ones that put down half of black women in general. Black woman are often viewed in a more negative, disgusting, profane manner than anyone else in today’s society. Whether it is coming from the view of a man, woman, child, or media, black woman are disdained and disrespected in a country realm.

“I’ma nigga wit money [x3]

And I don’t love dat bitch

I tell her bitch, bitch, bitch, bitch make me rich

Not only is he calling a black woman out of their name, which is upmost disrespectful, he is stating that he tells them to make him rich. Artists such as Lil’ Wayne in hip-hop promotes disrespectfulness towards women, and the large portions of the African-American community that listen to him listen to adhere to what he says. When a main figure in a community speaks negatively on a set or group of people, it is easy understood that the likelihood of people reacting to what they hear since music generates a plethora of emotions when listened to. This a a problem because it causes an even more lack of respect men already do not have for women.

In addition to the misogynistic lyrics that degrade women, Morgan feels hip-hop music promotes black women as sexual figures. She quotes rapper Jeru the Damaja as saying, “Now a queen’s a queen but a stunt’s a stunt. You can tell who’s who by the things they want.” This quote she mentioned expresses how black women in the eyes of African-American men can be seen as a queen, but for the most part are “stunts.” Stunt is defined by UbranDictionary.com as a person who gets around and is very easy. A woman even being called “stunt” is disrespectful, but in addition to that, knowing that he feels he can determine what kind of women they are by the things she wants is disheartening. In personal experiences, I have seen a black woman ask a black man for help, and he automatically begins to think negative thoughts, or even sexual thoughts based on the innuendos he says towards the woman. Instead of being the loving black man that sees a black woman in need, he demonstrates the basic image of a black man disrespecting the women.

This leads to the next point. Men do not love themselves so they do not know how to love black women. In the text, Morgan states, “One of the most important lessons you will ever learn in life and love, is you’ve got to love people for what they are – not for who you would like them to be.” She further goes on to say, “But recognize: Any man who doesn’t truly love himself is incapable of loving us [Black Women] in the healthy way we need to be loved. It’s extremely telling that men who can only see us as “bitches” and “hos” refer to themselves only as niggas.” It is clear and precise that black men cannot respect and love women because they lack respect and love in their selves. Many black men are not men at all. Most cannot define their own manhood and follow the lead of other ignorant and insecure black males. They perpetuate the hate and disrespect of the slave owners; ie use of the word “nigga.” That alone is proof they are still generations behind, and still have not grown to love and respect themselves. Although this situation is disappointing, the portion of men who do disrespect women, need self-love and need a self-evaluation. Until that occurs, black men will continue to disrespect black women.

Not only are men guilty of viewing black women in a negative manner, women are just as guilty. This is displayed in Jamaica Kincaid’s, “Girl.” In this text, Kincaid illustrates a vivid image of a mother speaking to her daughter who is coming of an age close to womanhood. The text starts off with a list of commands for the daughter to do such as, “wash the white clothes on Monday and put them on the stone heap; wash the color clothes on Tuesday and put them on the clothesline to dry; don’t walk bareheaded in the hot sun….” Women in the West Indies society feel that learning the duties of becoming a housewife should be taught at a young age. They feel they could make nothing more of themselves, so being able to perform basic and intricate tasks around the home will make them a perfect contender for being a housewife in the future.

In today’s American society, most have the mindset that black women cannot succeed, and in this text, she is proving this point further. In this essay, she constantly mentions to the young girl that there are certain things she should not do or say, so she will not be a slut. “Sundays try to walk like a lady and not like the slut you are so bent on becoming…” Or, “This is how to hem a dress when you see the hem coming down and so to prevent yourself from looking like the slut I know you are so bent on becoming.” These basic notes she is giving to this young girl is to prevent her from becoming a slut, but she constantly reinforces in her mind that she is bent on becoming a slut regardless of what she does. In society today, black women are looked upon as being promiscuous, and feisty, thus leading to the disgust women see in black women. Black women look to each other’s as sluts, so other women will look at them in the same way.

When a child shows distaste towards a women, it is because someone in that child’s life had that view point. A child’s mind warps based on the community or society that they live in, and in Toni Cade Bambara’s, “The Lesson,” the idea of children thinking negatively of black women in the American society is displayed. This story illustrates three children, and their upmost disrespect towards a black educated woman. In today’s society, it is not often you find an educated black woman, and if you do, they are frowned upon, and disrespected because they took a further step to not be what Kincaid demonstrated in her essay “Girl.”

In “The Lesson,” the main character Miss Moore (educated black woman) decides to take three children in the projects of New York City, to the most expensive part of the “Big Apple” to show the economic differences between their place of living, and to inspire them to understand that one day they can live their too. One of the children in the story is discussing her distaste towards Miss Moore, and says, “I am hating this nappy-headed bitch and her goddamn college degree.” To know that a child thinks negative thoughts of a woman who evidently is considered a prominent figure in the African-American community just because she does have a college degree is baffling. When a black woman is educated, it is criticized in the community, and the black woman are usually said to be, “pretending or trying to act white.” White women are the people seen on television when you think of education, not African-American woman, so when a child, man or another woman sees a black woman emulating something a white woman normally does; it is ostracized, and talked about. Black women are not portrayed as the lawyer on Law and Order, and they are not the doctor on shows like Grey’s Anatomy, so when they are actually of these professions in society it appears as if they are pretending to be something they are not.

Men do not love or respect black women because of insecurities within themselves as illustrated in Morgan’s, “From Fly-Girls to Bitches and Hos.” Women belittle themselves to just be the typical housewife presented in Kincaid’s “Girl.” And lastly children disrespect the unfamiliar; the unfamiliar being an educated black woman who ultimately is trying to teach them a lesson. Society has more negative views on black women, and the positive ones are often neglected because the negative ones weigh the positive ones out. Although generalization and stereotypes should not occur in today’s American society, black women will always be looked down upon whether she is educated or trying to be a rappers “stunt.” The black community needs a revolution to occur in order for black women to receive love black men, respect from children, and honor and respect from other women.

Written by @NIKKI_T

http://atouchwithreality.blogspot.com/2012/10/perceptions-black-women-in-white-world.html?m=1

George Bush Doesn’t Care About Black People

“

Women are increasingly the breadwinners of the family

Obama

”

I’m on twitter commenting on debates! Follow me and discuss @Zellieimani

I’m on twitter commenting on the debates. Follow me @Zellieimani

Here’s a few of my tweets

I hate Romney and shit anecdotes. He has a story for everything.

We just going to trust that you know what it takes? Okay. #VoteRomney

Now, this is why you need to listen to Obama. Specifics! Details of how he plans to encourage growth of the economy.

They keep talking about the middle class. What about the 46.2 million people in the US in poverty? They don’t vote?

Gas production is down because oil is running low and being exhausted. Nothing to do with Obama.

He don’t respect him as a man, let alone as the President.

Romney wants to get the additional 3 million women out of poverty. But he keeps your reproductive rights.

“Women are increasingly the breadwinners of the family” - Obama

basically RT @active_neurons Yes yes. Lets talk about women. The mothers of the motherfuckin planet. Lets go.

Obama is very knowledgeable on sexism in America. Romney is oblivious to how and why it exists. Strong economy or not, sexism will exist

And more, follow me @zellieimani

Mitt Romney on Obama Voters

As Romney claims on the tape, 47 percent of Americans “believe that they are victims.” and “these are people who pay no income tax”. He laments: “I’ll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives.”

Black Culture