Thursday, January 31, 2008

Judge Refers to Three Black Female Attorneys as "The Supremes"

01/30/2008
Washington County Circuit Judge W. Kennedy Boone III has been reprimanded by the Maryland Commission on Judicial Disabilities.
By ERIN JULIUS - erinj@herald-mail.com

HAGERSTOWN — Washington County Circuit Judge W. Kennedy Boone III has been reprimanded by the Maryland Commission on Judicial Disabilities for referring to three women of color in the Public Defender's Office as "the Supremes" and for suggesting that a defendant who wanted to replace his public defender be given an "experienced male attorney." Boone made the comments in open court April 24, 2007. [me: I'm not at all suprised to hear this. As an attorney, I've heard comments like this and worse from judges. I think judges tend to get extremely comfortable in their courtrooms, thinking that they are in their homes where they can say whatever they want. I can only imagine the "Archie Bunker-like" comments that the judge makes in the privacy of his own home].

The judicial disabilities commission concluded that Boone's comments were "undignified and disparaging," according to a notice of the reprimand printed in the Jan. 18 edition of the Maryland Register. "I have no defense," said Boone, who called the notice of the reprimand a fair document. He said he holds all three attorneys to whom he was referring with the "Supremes" comment in high regard, and he said each of the women has built a solid professional reputation. The judge acknowledged that his comments were "highly suggestive, if not indicative ... of racial and sexual bias," he said. [me: Indicative and suggestive . . .hell these comments were outright racist and sexist. Judge call it what it is. The first step to redemption is honesty].

Nancy Forster, Public Defender for Maryland, filed the complaint about Boone's remarks July 2, 2007. Forster has been with the Office of the Public Defender for 24 years and has never filed a complaint, she said Tuesday morning in a telephone interview. She found it "very disturbing" that anyone in this day and age would refer to three African-American women as "the Supremes," Forster said. [me: Suprised to hear that this was the first complaint. I believe that this was the first reported complaint that was so irrefutably and overtly racist and sexist that it could not go unpunished].

Boone called Forster after she filed the complaint and apologized profusely, said Forster, whose office is in Baltimore. The judge wanted Forster to know there would be no similar conduct in the future, he said Tuesday. Judges must be held accountable, Boone said. "The buck stops here when I'm wrong," said Boone, who said he never before had a sanctionable complaint filed against him.

Boone personally apologized to the women he referred to as "the Supremes." He met with each of them in June 2007 and offered to recuse himself from their future cases, according to a stipulation entered into by Boone and the Commission. Offering to recuse himself from the women's cases was "absolutely the right thing to do," Forster said. The decision to ask the judge to recuse himself has been left up to the three attorneys, Forster said. [me: It goes without question that I would ask the judge to recuse himself from hearing any case where I am counsel as he has already demonstrated that he is biased against black women attorneys].

All three women have since appeared before Boone in court, he said. "I appreciate their acceptance of my apology," he said. Both "the Supremes" comment and a comment that a defendant be given a qualified male attorney came during a hearing for Jermaine Jackson, a defendant charged with first-degree assault and other crimes who wanted to replace the male public defender who had been representing him. Boone wrote in his response that his comments were intended to shield the three female attorneys from representing a very difficult, streetwise and manipulative defendant. [me: Now this takes the cake. The excuse for making the comment is just as bad as the comment. As my cousin from Louisiana would say, "now come on." Black professional women do not have the luxury of going through life without dealing with "game" and manipulation. We deal with it in law school where professors are "pleasantly suprised" that we know how to respond analytically to the many questions that they throw out during lecture, assuming that we are there only because of a quota and not by our own merit and suprised when we are able to engage in the socratic method of discourse often used in law school; we deal with it in law firms where we are placed on certain "tracks" unless we find the right mentor to help us learn the firm's culture so that we are placed on the "partnership track" as opposed to merely holding a job. So, I'm almost certain that encountering this particular defendant was not the first time in which these women have had to deal with a difficult person or situation].

Washington County Circuit Administrative Judge Frederick C Wright III said Tuesday that the judicial disabilities commission has a fair process through which it issued the reprimand. The commission concluded that Boone's comments violated five canons of the Maryland Code of Judicial Conduct. [me: This incident makes clear the need for diversity on the bench. For too long our courts have been made up primarily of white men who have rarely if ever encountered minority groups except as criminal defendants in their courtrooms. If the judge had some kind of relation to or familiarity with black professional women he would have been reminded of women like Constance Baker Motley, Lani Guinier, Mary Frances Berry, Carole Moseley-Braun, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Frankie Muse Freeman, Elaine Ruth Jones, Patricia Robert Harris, Marian Wright Edelman, Consuelo Bland Marshall, Audrey Collins, all of whom are or were highly accomplished black women lawyers. Although I like the Supremes, I know that black women have orgins as professionals, community leaders, wives, mothers, feminists and even attorneys. If this judge truly wants to redeem himself, he will make efforts to learn of this rich history as well].

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

"He that is not with me is against me." (Luke 11:23)

Debra Lee of BET forms an "alliance" with
false prophets calling themselves black clergy

In the verse above, Jesus was saying that if a person is not on God’s side, he or she is on Satan’s. There is no neutral ground. Christ allowed no middle ground to the moneychangers in the Temple. Jesus was angry at the dishonest, greedy practices of the moneychangers and merchants, and he particularly disliked their presence on the temple grounds. They were making a mockery of God’s house of worship. Jesus took the evil acts in the temple as an insult against God, and thus he did not deal with them halfheartedly. He was consumed with righteous anger against such flagrant disrespect for God. (See John 2:13-16).

This past weekend, in reading the January 25, 2008 post on the blog Whataboutourdaughters, entitled "Payola in the Pulpit -- BET 'Bribes' Black Clergy," I learned that Black "Exploitation" Television (BET) is sponsoring the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference (SDPC) in New Orleans from February 11-14. This organization is made up of accomplished and highly respected black clergy. Apparently, the organization wrote a "clergy support letter" designed to counter the challenges that the Enough Is Enough Campaign and others have made about the offensive music video content BET markets to children and youth everyday on its top rated video programs. WAOD.

As we all know, BET for the last 25 years or more have been the purveyor of all things smutty as it relates to black folks and the images of black women in particular. I won't go into detail in mentioning all the “fine” shows that they've delivered to black people over the years. Some so-called activist are torn between allowing BET more time to produce positive programming on its network and continuing the fight against Debra Lee, the president of BET, in her mission to make money through the continual showcasing of black degeneration. I myself have weighed the merits and demerits in keeping the focus on Lee and BET and have come to the conclusion that the fight against Lee must continue.

In one respect, B.E.T sporadically offers positive programming in the form of shows like “Keep the Faith” and award shows honoring black community icons like Congresswoman Maxine Waters and in another respect, the network continues to showcase irrefutable smut through its videos shown all throughout the day and night featuring half-naked black women. I have reached the decision that the showcasing of the smut considerably outweighs any attempt by the network to redeem itself through the occasional use of an award’s show here and there. Apparently, the black clergy who have formed this "alliance" with BET have not come to this realization. You don't have to have a theology degree or to have gone to divinity school to know that when you align yourself with everything that is evil and reprobate in this world, then you have told the world that that is who and what you are also. I expected a bit more from people who call themselves men and women of God. It is a shame that people that we look up to would rather get paid than to stand up for what is right -- that is call BET out for "pimping" our community and degrading black women through its video.

To put it directly, the SDPC's decision to form a "strategic alliance" with BET shows that for that all mighty dollar they, like BET, are willing to support and need I say advance the degradation of black women. They have told all of us on whose side they stand and that is the Devil's side because BET, like the Devil, is no less than everything that is false, defiled, unrighteous, ugly and dishonest in this world. To analogize things, BET is to the SDPC as evil is to evil.

That said, we must continue to freeze the target – Debra Lee and BET -- and any organization that chooses to align itself with her in her war to assault and permanently damage the minds and souls of black folk. That means SDPC, like BET, you've been added to the axis of evil.

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Just the Facts Ma'am

Just the Facts Ma'am: Sen. Barack Obama's South Carolina Victory Over Sen. Hillary Clinton

I will not be providing an editorial or commentary on the facts surrounding Sen. Barrack Obama's first place victory in the South Carolina Primary on yesterday. There are media pundits and bloggers who believe that Obama's victory in South Carolina means that he is now been declared the "black candidate" and accordingly cannot win the Democratic nomination or the general election in November. There is another school of thought that claims that Obama, in his land-slide victory against Sen. Hillary Clinton, has proven that he is a unifying candidate who can bring people of various backgrounds together. It's my opinion that the facts speak for themselves. Here they are:

Sen. Obama: 55% (295,091)
Sen. Clinton: 26% (141,128)
John Edwards: 18% (93,552)

Sen. Obama won 52% of the vote of young white voters age 18-35.

Sen. Obama won 27% of white male vote, compared to Clinton's 28% and Edwards' 45%.

In Greenville County, which has a higher average income and a more educated populace than the statewide average and which is 78 percent white, Obama won by a resounding 22 percentage points.

Sen. Obama's margin of victory over Sen. Clinton was 28 percentage points.

Total turnout for Democrats in their primary was greater than the turnout for the Republican primary in the state of South Carolina, which is one of the most loyal Republican in the nation.

Four years ago about 290,000 Democrats voted in the state's primary: Saturday Obama alone got more than that number of voters.

Sen. Obama received more votes thatn John McCain and Mike Huckabee combined (279,723).

With Sen. Obama in the race, the Democratic turnout was twice that of 2004 (532,000 to 280,000). http://http//www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22859254/?GT1=10755.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

I Love Children's Books

I love children's books. I've purchased quite a few in the last month. I gave one to my nephew for Christmas and the other one, "I Love My Hair", I kept for my self because I love the topic of the book as well as the illustrations presented in it. The book features a little black girl discussing her thick, coarse black hair and how she is able to wear it in many different styles because of its texture. She extols love and appreciation for her coarse hair throughout the book.

I highly recommend giving children books for their birthday, Christmas and other major holidays rather than giving them toys with which they will quickly tire. With books, children are able to experience a journey that they can return to by merely picking up the book and reading it again. They also develop a love for reading, which gives them an advantage in school where reading is fundamental to learning and mastering all subjects. Finally, presenting children of color with culturally-centered books helps to impart a sense of pride and cultural awareness in them.

A few of my favorites are, "I Love My Hair!" by Natasha Anastasia Tarpley and He's Got the Whole World in His Hands by Kadir Nelson. Not only would you be introducing your child to the joy of reading, but in purchasing culturally-based books, you'd be helping them to see themselves represented in these books, and understand that the world is made up of many different kinds of people. Through books, cultural awareness can start before your child gets to college or enters the real world.

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
January 15, 1929 - April 4, 1968

"If there is no struggle there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet depreciate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground. They want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters. This struggle may be a moral one; or it may be a physical one; or it may be both moral and physical; but it must be a struggle. Power concedes nothing without demand. It never did and it never will."

-- Frederick Douglass 1849


Sunday, January 13, 2008

Clinton Resorts to Using Her House Negro Extraordinaire to Win Black Votes


January 13, 2008, 2:39 pm
BET Founder Slams Obama in South Carolina
By Katharine Q. Seelye

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Robert L. Johnson, the founder of Black Entertainment Television, who is campaigning today in South Carolina with Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, just raised the specter of Barack Obama’s past drug use. He also compared Mr. Obama to Sidney Poitier, the black actor, in “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.” At a rally here for Mrs. Clinton at Columbia College, Mr. Johnson was defending recent comments that Mrs. Clinton made regarding Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. She did not mean to take any credit away from him, Mr. Johnson said, when she said that it took President Johnson to sign the civil rights legislation he fought for. Dr. King had led a “moral crusade,” Mr. Johnson said, but such crusades have to be “written into law.”

“That is the way the legislative process works in this nation and that takes political leadership,” he said. “That’s all Hillary was saying.” He then added: “And to me, as an African-American, I am frankly insulted that the Obama campaign would imply that we are so stupid that we would think Hillary and Bill Clinton, who have been deeply and emotionally involved in black issues since Barack Obama was doing something in the neighborhood –­ and I won’t say what he was doing, but he said it in the book –­ when they have been involved.” Moments later, he added: “That kind of campaign behavior does not resonate with me, for a guy who says, ‘I want to be a reasonable, likable, Sidney Poitier ‘Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.’ And I’m thinking, I’m thinking to myself, this ain’t a movie, Sidney. This is real life.”

Side bar: Hillary, this advice is free: An endorsement from a man who literally and figuratively made billions of dollars off the backs of black folk by promulgating negative, misogynistic and despicable images of black women is not helpful to your campaign. Next weekend, you will have to focus on obtaining the black female vote and according to media pundits this vote will be the decisive factor in determining the victor in the South Carolina democratic primary.

That said, you will have to go to churches, and according to these pundits beauty shops (because according to them it is the only place where we debate issues of the day) and tell Sister Plunkett of the Morningside Baptist Church (fictional name and church) that you are the best candidate for the job and Bob Johnson says so. Most black women know that Johnson is the man who brought us such thought-provoking programming as "B.E.T. Uncut" which featured scantily-clad black women gryating to rap music for the pleasure of men. Sister Plunkett will be reminded of what Johnson represents because she unsuccessfully tried to stop her grand-children from watching B.E.T; a channel that is arguably a factor in the overall complanceny amongst black youth.

An endorsement from Johnson would be the equivalent to PetCo being endorsed by Michael Vick. It just doesn't make sense. Hillary, this is an endorsment that I would have passed on. Just my two cents.

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

The Obama Baby Does My Heart Good!



I must tell you that it is wonderful time to observe the current U.S. presidential race. For the first time in American history an African American has a serious chance of becoming the next President of the United States. As a black woman, it makes me proud, invigorated and encouraged to see Barack Obama contending for our Country's highest political office. To see Michelle Obama and their two little girls by his side simply warms my heart.

I haven't decided upon a candidate to support yet because I would like to know more about the Senator's position on issues of importance to me like the deployment of troops from Iraq, education reform, healthcare, violence in urban communities and national drug policy just to name a few. But it is great nonetheless to see him as a viable candidate in this presidential race.

My sister sent me this picture of my nephew in his Obama gear. Isn't he cute? I can't help but be grateful when I think that this baby has the same promise and potential as that of Senator Obama. When I look at the picture of my nephew and think of the fact that Barack Obama is being seriously considered for United States presidency, I'm reminded that Martin Luther King, Jr.'s hope that people not be judged by the color of their skin, but rather the content of their character is coming to fruition. For those of you who believe that I am saying that racism no longer exist. Stop. I'm not saying that at all. As a Black woman who has worked in law firms and lived in America I know that it exist. I also know that you cannot let anybody tell you what you can and cannot accomplish. Contrary to former President Bill Clinton's assertion, it is not a "fairytale" for a highly intelligent attorney, Senator and former community organizer who happens to be black to believe that he is the best person to help move this country forward.

Rather than listen to naysayers, Barack Obama presses forward in his bid for the White House. Therefore, I am overjoyed that my nephew has the same opportunities in this Country as that of Barack Obama provided that he let no man define him, but rather defines himself. So that's why it does my heart good to see Barack Obama in this race and to see my nephew in his Obama baby t-shirt. Now, may the best person win.

Monday, January 7, 2008

Change or Experience: Which Quality Is More Important to You?




Illinois Senator Barack Obama argues that he is the presidential candidate for change. While New York Senator Hillary Clinton labels herself as the candidate with experience. If I had to choose one of the two qualities in a leader, I would choose change. There is a saying, that nothing in the world is constant but change. A person's ability to embrace change puts him or her ahead of those who buckle under pressure when presented with change.

Arguably, one could say that Senator Clinton's decision to give President Bush unfettered power to wage war against Iraq was an example of buckling under pressure, and thus an example where experience proved futile. In my opinion, she did not want to be labeled unpatriotic as was the unfair label given to Congresswoman Barbara Lee for voting against the war in Iraq and refusing to abdicate her power to the executive branch.

It is undisputed that both candidates are extremely intelligent people. Both have ivy league degress (which I guess shouldn't be the standard for intelligence when we have Presidents with such degrees who have proven themselves to be absolute idiots), and were extremely accomplished lawyers before deciding to enter the political arena. But it seems that Senator Clinton did not exercise her experience at a time when it was dire. Therefore, it seems that those with all the experience, especially George "Dubya" Bush are responsible for the present state of our country.

The United States has had twenty years of "experience" through both the Bush and Clinton White House (four years of Daddy Bush, eight years of Bill and eight years of Dubya) the ultimate result of which is extreme party-polarization, Iraq, No Child Left Behind and distant reminders of the whole Monica Lewinsky scandle and Bill's resulting impeachment. Enough is enough. I like Senator Clinton, but her failure to exercise good judgment at a time when it was crucial is telling. Anyone with experience and good judgment knows that you never give away your power. Such a decision is inconsistent with our system of checks and balances. Barack Obama can't do any worse than good ole' Dubya and Senator Clinton in all of their experience. So I vote for change.

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Putting Myself on Blast -- 147 Pounds

There, I said it. I weigh 147 pounds -- 15 more pounds than I weighed just 6 months ago. I needed to disclose the number to myself and to you in order to feel embarrassed about it and propel myself into action; Because truth be told, I really believe that I carry this 147 pounds pretty well. But its just not healthy and its not what I want for myself. I'm not going to pretend that being "big-boned", "thick" and all the other euphemisms that we as black folk use to describe what really is fat is healthy for me. Well, to paraphrase an old Chinese proverb, "a One Thousand mile journey begins with the first step," and the first step for me is being honest with myself about my weight. Peace.

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

New Year's Resolutions -- Just for Today


I have made a few New Year's Resolutions for this year: (1) to improve my physical health by releasing weight and eating healthier; (2) to spend more time reading stimulating books, and less time watching television; (3) to develop and maximize my blog; (4) to invest more time in devotion with God; and (5) to improve my financial well-being.

It can be overwhelming to think of the work required to accomplish these goals. That is why the credo of Al-Anon resonates with me, because it reminds me to take it one day at a time; to break down my goals into smaller elements so that it does not seem so overwhelming and to forgive myself should I get off course because each day is a new day to start over again. Here is the Al-Anon credo. I hope it helps you.

Just for today: I will live through this day only. I will not brood about yesterday or obsess about tomorrow. I will not set far reaching goals or try to overcome all of my problems at once.

I know that I can do something for 24 hours that would overwhelm me if I had to keep it up for a lifetime.

Just for today: I will be happy. I will not dwell on thoughts that depress me.

Just for today: I will accept what is. I will face reality. I will correct those things I can correct and accept those I cannot.

Just for today: I will improve my mind. I will read something that requires effort, thought and concentration. I will not be a mental loafer.

Just for today: I will make a conscious effort to be agreeable. I will be kind and courteous to those who cross my path, and I'll not speak ill of others. I will improve my appearance, speak softly and not interrupt when someone else is talking.

I will refrain from improving anybody but myself.

Just for today: I will do something positive to improve my health. If I'm a smoker, I'll quit. If I am overweight, I will eat healthfully -- if only just for today. And not only that, I will get off the couch and take a brisk walk, even if it's only around the block.

Just for today: I will gather the courage to do what is right and take responsibility for my own actions.

I will update you on a monthly basis about my progress in each of these areas. Happy New Year!!!