American Justice - How Much is Your Life Worth?

Down in Mississippi, Way Down

For sisters Jamie and Gladys Scott, $11 earned them each double life sentences.

Jamie and Gladys were convicted of being accomplices to a 1993 robbery. The teenagers who carried out the robbery served only two years in prison. Sixteen years later, the Scott sisters are still in prison. And if Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour doesn't intervene, they will die in prison -- all over just $11.

When the Scott sisters were put on trial, neither Jamie nor Gladys had a criminal record.

Ben Jealous, NAACP President and CEO is asking Americans to get the word out about this horrific injustice. (Even the original prosecutor in the case has since become an advocate for the sisters' freedom.) And now, their freedom is becoming a matter of life and death. In prison, Jamie Scott has lost renal function of her kidneys and cannot survive without a transplant. The Department of Corrections has refused to allow tests for kidney compatibility even though numerous volunteers have come forward.

Sign the NAACP Petition to Governor Barbour Asking Him to Free the Scott Sisters

When the Golden State Refuses to Shine

Judge Robert Perry handed Johannes Mehserle a two-year sentence for killing Oscar Grant on New Year’s Eve, 2009. Mehserle, the former Oakland BART police officer, shot the twenty-two year-old Grant in the back as he lay handcuffed on the floor of a BART platform. The scene was captured by numerous cell phone cameras and immediately broadcast on the worldwide web, showing the merciless killing of the young man.

Police misconduct is not a new concept in the African American community. A Department of Justice survey in 2005 showed that African Americans (4.4%) and Hispanics (2.3%) were more likely than whites (1.2%) to experience use of force by police. African Americans accounted for 1 out of 10 contacts with police, but 1 of 4 instances where excessive force was used.

The Department of Justice is now conducting an independent investigation to determine if the evidence merits federal prosecution.

Dr. Gates, Edwards, Moats, Grant, Louima, White, Diallo
July 23 - August 5, 2009 SNIPPETS

Killer Gets Life

Jurors in New Haven Superior Court voted unanimously to send Steven Hayes to death row for the murder of a woman and her two daughters tied to their beds and left to die in a gasoline-fueled fire.

African-American Represents

The Gambia on World Stage

Oklahoma native Chris Dean, who now resides in The Gambia and whom we featured in the August - October 2009 print issue of Port of Harlem, was one of 15 Africans from 6 countries who participated in a program in Wales. During the program, Welsh experts shared their experience with the African entrepreneurs at the Welsh Institute of Natural Resources (WINR), Bangor University. Dean and the other participants are committed to the UNIDO ideal of promoting industrial development for poverty reduction, inclusive globalization and environmental sustainability.

See more on this YouTube video.

Meet Dean when Port of Harlem returns to The Gambia April.  For more information on the Gambian visit, send us an e-mail.

No Battery Required Toys

By Wayne A. Young

It may seem hard to get excited about a toy that doesn’t need batteries or doesn’t have a volume control button, but that I did when Port of Harlem got three Twisterz toys to evaluate. Each of the toys allows the user to twist sturdy rings around a cylinder. The challenge with Story Starter is to randomly twist the rings (all with short phrases written on them), read the unique combination of short phrases, and complete a story.

In addition, Word Builder helps youngsters build words and Alphabet Matcher is simpler: children are challenged to choose a letter and find the five corresponding images that begin with that letter. (For ages 3 and up).

          Shopping

• BZB Gift Show starts Friday and Saturday, November 26 and 27 at Shiloh Baptist Church, 9th and P Streets, NW, Washington and continues Saturdays December 4, 11, and 18 with extended hours from 10a to 8p.

• The Graham Collection and Zawadi will hold their annual Artists Holiday Ornament Show at Zawadi, 1524 U Street, NW, Washington on Saturday, November 27 from noon to 7p.

• Fashion designer Millee Spears of Khismet Wearable Art, MAJA from Baltimore, and Stepfnty Fashions will display their wares at a Private Christmas Sale, 6506 Luzon, NW, Washington on Saturday, November 27 from noon to 7p. Call Spears at 202-288-2364 for more information.

• The Amazulu Holiday Craft Show takes place at the PA Convention Center, 12th and Arch Streets in Philadelphia, Saturday, December 4 and Sunday, December 5 from 10a to 7p on both days. For information call 215-620-8331.

• Prince George’s Arts Council is holding its 10th annual holiday bazaar featuring handmade arts and crafts on Friday, December 10, , 10a. - 6p, University Town Center, Metro 3 Building, Lobby Atrium, 6525 Belcrest Road, Hyattsville, MD. For more information, call301-277-1402.

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• The Apollo Theater's float in Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade celebrates the world-famous Apollo Theater’s 75th Anniversary with a 12-foot tall Top Hat, complete with a classic bow. Paying homage to the landmark Theater where she got her start will be Amateur Night winner, Apollo legend Gladys Knight. Along for the ride with Knight will be winners from the 2010 Amateur Night season. NBC broadcasts the parade Thursday, November 25 at 9p .

• Christmas in Africa is a concert celebrating the season with Afro-funk, Reggae, Calypso, Nigerian or Ghanaian High Life, Calypso High Life, Makossa, and Ndombolo gospel praise and worship songs. Church of the Living God hosts the concert Sunday, December 26, at 1417 Chillum Road, Hyattsville, MD. Tickets are $20.

           Film

• Alexandria’s Kwanzaa celebration starts Saturday, November 11 at 11a to 1p and followed by the film screening of "The Black Candle: A Kwanzaa Celebration" 4:30p to 6:30p at the Alexandria Black History Museum, 902 Wythe Street, Alexandria, VA. (703-746-4356)

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Carol Moseley Braun

Runs for Mayor of Chicago

Margaret Burroughs Dies in Chicago

Carol Moseley Braun, who made history in 1992 when she became the first African-American woman elected to the Senate, is running for mayor of Chicago. "This great city can't survive if some Chicagoans are treated like second class citizens," says Braun. 

African-Frenchman Jean Baptiste Point du Sable was the first non-Native American permanent resident of what is now Chicago.  Also, the founder of the city's African-American museum, named in duSable's honor, died Sunday, November 21.  Margaret Burroghs was 93.

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The HIVE is at 2027 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave SE in the heart of the Historic Anacostia Business District in Washington, D.C.. The state of the arts space is in both a Federal and D.C. Government "Enterprise Community," and a Federal Small Business Administration HUB Zone. These governmental designations enable companies and businesses to receive preferential considerations when applying for Federal and D.C. based contracts.

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Blank Space SE is a permanent creative pop-up space that is available for 2, 5 and 7 week rentals. Blank Space welcomes all professional, experimental, visionary, original artists and organizations to use the space as their own temporary creative home, as it is meant to be the ideal rental venue for all forms of creative projects and outlets. Renters can use the space to produce their own art exhibit, small scale dance or theatre event, new installation piece, or performance.

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