Black racism

As a general rule of thumb, I’ve tried to avoid questioning the wisdom of my critics. I try to accept criticism as meant to be constructive feedback from engaged readers, and I appreciate it whenever anyone takes the time and goes to the trouble of expressing their thoughts about my work, both positive and negative.

However, there are exceptions to every rule. When James L. “Jimmy B.” Bradbury recently posted a rather inflammatory comment in response to my article on Brian Bell and the bizarre death of Kendrick Johnson, I decided the gravity of his very serious accusation warranted and even mandated a rebuttal.

Mr. Bradbury strongly implied that I became an accessory after the fact in a murder when he wrote:

Dear John,
Either you haven’t done your homework or you have some personal interest in helping
cover up this murder. Unless you’re just a complete moron you have to give some credence to the very suspicious happenings surrounding the videos, the two autopsy’s [SIC], the fact that the Bell brothers refuse to speak to investigators, the missing body parts, the police incompetence in gathering the physical evidence and all the other elements involved. This is a real mystery and that’s why the government is investigating. It took the Police 3 month to close the case, Why is it that the Federal Government has already taken 16 months, If nothing was wrong they would have closed their investigation long ago. Nice try, Jimmy B.

That is a very powerful accusation, indeed.

It is my intent to go well beyond merely responding to”Mr. B.’s” somewhat insidious accusations about me to address a much larger issue, which is racism in modern American society.

First, let me address the specific charges against me. That I “haven’t done my homework” is simply a ludicrous accusation, as the majority of this article will demonstrate.

That I “have some interest in helping cover up this murder” [emphasis mine] is the most outrageous and unsubstantiated accusation made by Mr. Bradbury. Considering the fact I’ve never met any of the parties involved in this case, it would be interesting to see what evidence he would offer in defense of his libelous claim. The only possible reason for making such an unreasonable and unjustified charge is obviously to intimidate me into silence.

Good luck with that.

Now it is true that for most of my life, I’ve been woefully ignorant of the reason why Mr. Bradbury, and a small but vocal group of black people seem to be so angry, and distrustful of white people in general. For example, I didn’t know enough about that dark period of American history between the end of the Civil War in 1865 and the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

I haven’t always known about the story of Emmett Till. I didn’t know about the incomprehensible and unconscionable murders of a pregnant woman and three other adults at Moore’s Ford bridge in 1946.

Black lives matter.

Nobody should ever get away with murder. Nobody. In 1955, fourteen-year-old Emmett Till was brutally murdered by two white men for the “crime” of whistling at a white woman. He was a mere child.

There is no defense or excuse for what happened to him. Not only did two white men literally get away with murder, they even reaped a reward for their despicable crime when Look magazine paid Roy Bryant and J. W. Milam $4,000 to print their confessions.

Legal protections against double jeopardy  allowed two vicious killers to mock the judicial system that so badly failed young Emmett Till. Falsely accusing an innocent young man of murder won’t correct an old injustice, however.

Suggesting Brian Bell is somehow responsible for Kendrick Johnson’s death is not only egregiously wrong, it is inherently evil to do so at this point, in light of known evidence readily available in the public domain. Brian Bell was in Macon weighing in for a state wrestling tournament when videotape evidence showed Kendrick Johnson was still alive in Valdosta. Apparently some 37 different witnesses have corroborated this information, eliminating the possibility of mistake to the point of absurdity. In other words, either a conspiracy of epic proportion conveniently provided Brian Bell with an ironclad alibi for a murder he had no real motive to commit, or you’ve got to be nuts to insist Bell is responsible for something he could not possibly have done.

In my rarely humble enough opinion, it is a grotesque insult to the memory of Emmett Till to compare his brutal murder to what obviously appears to have been a tragic accident.

Brian Bell is white. Kendrick Johnson was black. The Johnson family obviously believes Brian Bell murdered their son in a racially motivated crime. However, every publicly available scrap of known evidence flatly contradicts their belief.

Though I’m not actually a private detective, I do write detective novels, so a big part of my job is to think like one. I like the practice.

So give me a list of names, I don’t mind doing a little research.

Let me get right to the point, Mr. Bradbury…is Reverend Floyd Rose part of your conspiracy? And SCLC investigator Leigh Touchton, is she also corrupt?

Because their reputations and track records strongly suggest otherwise — they are two long time, dedicated and long suffering civil rights advocates who certainly deserve and command our respect.

No offense, but your name only shows up online in connection with Kendrick Johnson. If asked to choose between Reverend Rose, Professor Touchton, and the opinion of “Jimmy  B.”, why should anyone choose to listen to you over two people known to have devoted most of their adult lives to civil rights issues? For that matter, where are Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson? Why aren’t they leading your protests, Jim?

You have asserted that I don’t do my homework. That is laughably untrue. Please take note…

For example, when I read a long list of alleged black “victims” of violent crime who suffered a similar fate to Kendrick Johnson at one of the pro-family websites, I took a few notes and did a little investigating on my own volition.

When Emmett Till’s name appeared on a list of names that someone in the “Kendrick Johnson was murdered” camp posted online, it immediately caught my attention because Till’s story was so fresh in my memory. If you were trying to offend me by insinuating I would have turned a blind eye to the vicious murder of Emmett Till, you succeeded beyond your wildest expectations, I’m sure.

Oh, I am offended! Sadly for you, offending me does not make me timid. It gives me motivation.

Comparing the case of Kendrick Johnson to Emmett Till is a disgrace and an insult to the memory of Emmett Till. You might as well go spit on young Mr. Till’s grave while you’re at it.

But I’ve got an idea — why don’t we look at some of the other names that were on their ‘victims’ list?

Trayvon Martin — teenager shot in famous altercation with George Zimmerman. Why the cases are not comparable: There was clear and incontrovertible evidence that Martin died from gunshot wound and Zimmerman was responsible, but claimed self-defense. Zimmerman was tried and acquitted of murder charges. The Johnson family has hired Benjamin Crump, former attorney for the Trayvon Martin family. That particular attorney is about all the two cases share in common.

Jordan Davis — unarmed black teenager murdered at a Florida gas station by a white man named Michael Dunne, for allegedly playing music too loud. However, Dunne was convicted and sentenced to life in prison plus 90 years. Justice has been served.

Oscar Grant — an unarmed black man shot in the back and killed while allegedly resisting arrest in Oakland, California. A white police officer involved claimed that he reached for his Taser and pulled his service revolver instead. The policeman was convicted of involuntary manslaughter. Again, justice was served.

Marlon Brown — Florida man accidentally run over by a patrol car while fleeing from police. The officers involved were disciplined and policies changed after the tragic death, but it apparently was an accident. No evidence suggests the officers deliberately ran over Mr. Brown with their vehicle.

Andrew Joseph III — Florida teen who died after being accidentally struck by a car while crossing a highway. There were some rumors that the young man had been ejected from the Florida State Fair that evening due to his alleged involvement in a “wilding” incident, but the actual cause of death was clearly an accident and not in dispute.

Rodney Mitchell — Florida man shot and killed by police during a routine traffic stop. Mitchell allegedly tried to run over one of the police officers while attempting to escape arrest. The family is disputing whether or not Mitchell was actually trying to run over the officer or merely attempting to evade capture, but the official ruling was justifiable homicide.

D’Quan Armstrong — Florida teen killed in a hit-and-run accident. The cause of death was obviously accident, and the race of the other driver is currently unknown. In other words, the only connection between Armstrong and Johnson’s cases are that both involve dead black teenagers.

Michael Brown — Ferguson, Missouri teenager shot and killed by white police officer Darren Wilson after Brown robbed a local store and physically assaulted the uniformed officer. The grand jury refused to indict Officer Wilson. Unless you are in a small minority of people who think it would have been preferable for Officer Wilson to allow young Mr. Brown to beat him to death using only his bare hands, the ruling of justifiable homicide seems appropriate.

Tamir Rice — Young teenager tragically shot and killed by police in Cleveland after pulling a toy gun from his pants and pointing it at uniformed officers. The tell-tale orange safety features that identified the gun as a toy had been removed. Sad, tragic, and unfortunate, yes. But murder? No way.

Sidney Bivins — killed by another black man who was subsequently acquitted of murder charges. The 2009 shootout occurred in a Valdosta housing project. An obvious case of black-on-black violent crime — I was mildly surprised to find it mentioned on the list. But apparently the details of each individual’s cause of death were less important than creating the impression that young black men are being routinely murdered for no reason, correct?

Jared Little Whiteman — alleged drug dealer killed for drugs and money by three non-Caucasians who were subsequently charged with his murder. No discernible comparison to Kendrick Johnson. Yet another name thrown on this “list” for no apparent reason, except the story involved the premature death of a young black man.

Khamiyah Newsome — three-year-old child struck and killed in a tragic accident when she ran in front of a moving car. Once again, no discernible comparison to Kendrick Johnson.

Lloyd Morgan, Jr. — four-year-old accidentally killed in a housing project in New York City by a stray bullet when a fight broke out between several thugs after a basketball game. No discernible comparison to Kendrick Johnson. The distortion of the truth gets worse with every new name, yes?

George Kemp — his death has been described by officials as a gang-related shooting. The suspect in his murder has been identified as a black male between 17 and 19 years old. Once again, no obvious comparison to Kendrick Johnson, other than the race of the victim.

Tinoris Williams — man with thirty arrests on his record who was shot and killed while allegedly struggling with a sheriff’s deputy for the officer’s gun. This guy is supposed to elicit our sympathy?

O’Shaine Evans — car burglar shot and killed by police when he pointed a gun at them. Seriously?

Lee Weathersby — California teen shot and killed on New Year’s Day in 2014. His murder is unsolved. Okay, this is a tragedy, for sure. But where is the evidence that the shooter was white?

Kendall Dawn — assuming this actually refers to Kendall Dawn Sidle, she was a twenty year old white woman who was killed when she was ejected from her vehicle in a single car accident. Who killed her…Ted Kennedy?

Hadiya Pendleton — Chicago teen shot in the back and killed by two black gang members. Should we be outraged at this stupid murder? Absolutely. But why shouldn’t we blame the people actually responsible?

Gabriel Jackson — California man killed in an ATV accident. The relevance to the case of Kendrick Johnson completely escapes me.

Karvas Gamble, Jr. — Florida man killed by police officers investigating a complaint about drugs when he allegedly pointed a gun at them. At some point, we are beginning to wonder what might constitute ‘reasonable force’ in the mind of Mr. Bradbury and those supporters of Kendrick Johnson responsible for compiling this list.

Tiphne Hollis — Florida teen killed in a Jacksonville neighborhood known for gang activity when several shots were fired at the car in which she was a passenger. The vehicle was a former police car with dark tinted windows. Evidence seems to suggest the shooting was random, and the intended victim was suspected of being a police officer.

Alfred Wright — allegedly died of an accidental overdose. A black drug dealer was charged with crimes related to his death. Mercifully, we’ve finally reached the end of this sordid list.

After investigating every name on it to the best of my ability, I discovered only one of them had been a black person actually murdered by a white man — the case involving Jordan Davis.

Six of the alleged victims on the list obviously died by accident. At least five cases involved black-on-black murders. In fact, there didn’t seem to be any rhyme nor reason for the names included on that list, except the list’s authors apparently believed all the victims were black.

That doesn’t mean these deaths weren’t tragic and lamentable– it just means that someone else shouldn’t be held responsible for a murder they didn’t commit. Nor should a tragic death be used as an excuse to foment race-based hatred.

Mr. Bradbury, if you’re going to persist in your beliefs that Kendrick Johnson was murdered by Brian Bell, you’re going to need better evidence if you hope to convince others of a racist conspiracy.

With all due respect, lacking such evidence makes it appear that you are the only racist participating in this debate.

Here are a couple of names I’d like you to investigate, Mr. Bradbury: please research the tragic, pointless murder of Kiaja Smalls, because black lives do indeed matter.

Also while you’re reading, please learn about the stupid, senseless murder of Keith Passmore.

Because white lives matter, too.

Or do you only care about the deaths of young black people that you believe can be blamed on whites, in order to further divide people by race?