HomeOld_PostsUS racism: Where are you Obama?

US racism: Where are you Obama?

Published on

WATCHING Sky News for the past three days, the international (and domestic news) is overshadowed by the protests in Missouri (USA) where thousands of people thronged the streets to demonstrate against the brutal killing of the 18-year-old teenager, Michael Brown.
On August 9, Michael Brown was walking from a convenience shop with a friend when the police officer shot him, “at least six times, including twice in the head”, and an independent pathologist hired by his parents suggests that, “a bullet wound to his right arm may indicate his hands were up or his back was turned”.
The brutal murder of this young man has sparked racial unrest in Missouri.
To quell the protests, the USA army was called to support the police.
One would have thought it’s a warzone: Iraq or Syria.
But, no, it’s the USA where police brutality has claimed many lives of young black men probably more than any other country in the world.
A few days ago, Jay Nixon, the Governor of Missouri, even imposed a curfew and a state of emergency in Ferguson where the young man was murdered.
A curfew and a state of emergency remind me of Rhodesia.
A curfew was imposed in my village (Chikomba District) between 1977 and December 1979.
We were not allowed to leave our homesteads between 6 pm and 6 am or you would be shot by Rhodesian Front forces; something they did with impunity.
In another bizarre police brutality, Santa Rosa police in California shot dead a 13-year-old boy, Andy Lopez, last year in October.
The teenager had been holding a replica (plastic) handgun.
An eye witness, Ismael Mondragon, speaking to a local television station KGO-TV, said: “He pulled over to the kid walking and he just opened the door and shot him, three shots.”
It appeared Andy Lopez was just a little kid enjoying his toy-gun!
In September last year, the police in North Carolina shot dead another black man, Jonathan Ferrell (24 years), who was seeking help after a car crash.
He was shot 10 times after police officers who were, “responding to a 911 call placed by a woman who said someone she didn’t know was knocking on her front door.
“Nearby, a man matching the description began running toward the police officers.” 
Commenting on the shooting, the family’s attorney, Chris Chestnut said racism could not be ruled out.
“The officer is white, Mr Ferrell is black,” he said.
“This might be more of a reflection of where we are as a country.”
In March 2013, police in New York City shot dead a 16-year-old African-American man, Kimani Gray in another cold blooded murder.
Enjoying a Saturday night-out with friends, Kimani was shot dead by the police who stopped him because he was acting suspicious.
The police claimed that he had pointed a 38-calibre revolver at them, but his family and friends denied that he had a gun.
But it was the shooting of a 17-year-old African-American Trayvon Martin, on February 26 in Florida, which gripped America, prompting President Obama to comment that, “If I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon.”
Trayvon was shot and killed by a neighbourhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman who denied charges of second-degree murder and alleged that he had acted in self-defence.
He was later acquitted for second degree murder and manslaughter!
The brutal murder of Michael Brown raises questions of whether President Obama is really doing enough for black people, or African-Americans.
When he came into power in 2008, there was a lot of jubilation not only in the USA, but black people the world over.
Many people had very high expectations of him: He had lived in the ghetto, and had experienced what many black people go through in their everyday lives.
Many black people believe that President Obama let down Troy Anthony Davis, who, until the minutes he was executed by lethal injection on September 21 2011, denied killing a police officer Mark MacPhail in 1989.
Some of the people who had testified against him had backtracked, saying they had been coerced by the police to testify against him.
Despite attracting the support of international organisations, politicians, religious leaders including Pope Benedict XVI and a former FBI director and judge, William S. Sessions, Davis was executed.
His last words were, “Well, first of all I’d like to address the MacPhail family. “I’d like to let you all know, despite the situation – I know all of you are still convinced that I’m the person that killed your father, your son and your brother, but I am innocent.
“The incident that happened that night was not my fault.
“I did not have a gun that night.
“I did not shoot your family member.
“But I am so sorry for your loss.
“I really am – sincerely.
“All I can ask is that each of you look deeper into this case, so that you really will finally see the truth.
“I ask my family and friends that you all continue to pray, that you all continue to forgive.
“Continue to fight this fight.
“For those about to take my life, may God have mercy on all of your souls.
“God bless you all.”
Many black people are angry with President Obama because he could have intervened and pardoned Troy Davis not because he was a black man, but because there was not enough evidence to substantiate his role in the murder of the police officer.
On the eve of Davis’ execution, one African-American wrote the following about President Obama: “What we won’t do well, however, is push our brownish President to take a stand for Davis.
“We admire Obama’s status too much for that, even if the cost of that status is disavowing and further subduing African-Americans in order to prove his obedience to America’s normalised racist structure.
“Barack Obama doesn’t care about us and there’s a very good reason why.
“He doesn’t care because he knows that the justice department he serves is not our justice department.
“It’s not our White House (or his).
“Yeah, a black man works there, but he doesn’t matter.” — (breakingbrown.com).
Maybe the writer was right after all.
Because Obama, as a black President (or brownish according to the writer), he should really do more for African-Americans.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Latest articles

Kariba Municipality commits to President’s service delivery blueprint

By Kundai Marunya IT is rare to find opposition-controlled urban councils throwing their weight on...

The resurgence of Theileriosis in 2024 

THE issues of global changes, climate change and tick-borne diseases cannot be ignored, given...

Britain haunted by its hostile policy on Zimbabwe

TWO critical lessons drawn from the recent debate on Zimbabwe in the British House...

The contentious issue of race

 By Nthungo YaAfrika AS much as Africans would want to have closure to many of...

More like this

Kariba Municipality commits to President’s service delivery blueprint

By Kundai Marunya IT is rare to find opposition-controlled urban councils throwing their weight on...

The resurgence of Theileriosis in 2024 

THE issues of global changes, climate change and tick-borne diseases cannot be ignored, given...

Britain haunted by its hostile policy on Zimbabwe

TWO critical lessons drawn from the recent debate on Zimbabwe in the British House...

Discover more from Celebrating Being Zimbabwean

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading