Latreese Cooke: Taking back Texas' Stolen Children

Latreese Cooke and MEELJ

Kola's lecture at Emory was part of a larger National Herstory Conference of three Black women lecturers being featured at the Whitehead Biomedical Auditorium at Emory University. The crowd was relatively small but greatly invested in the issues brought forth by the speakers. When I entered the auditorium,  second speaker, Latreese Cooke, a Houston-based advocate who helps first time offenders or formerly-convicted people understand their responsibilities in receiving proper representation for their rights. She discussed the trials and tribulations of running her non-profit, MEELJ, as well as awnser questions regarding legal uncertainties with some audience member's relatives.

One topic she covered I hit myself for never even considering, like the emotional and mental condition of a person leaving prison 17 years after he goes in at age 16. He's learned how to be more violent, not just by inmates but by guards. He's spent 17 years under a strict routine that removed any sense of privacy we take for granted on the outside. His family welcomes him back and addresses him if he had not been in hell for 17 years. 17 years is a big chunk that you can't pretend is not missing. To disregard his mental state can be very harmful to him. If not dealt with appropriately he can react negatively. If we provide soldiers who've seen action mental health services, convicts who've served time need it as much. 

I also learned some random facts:

• 95% of Black and hispanic youths 16-18 are in Federal Prison.
• An ex-convict can vote in an election if s/he's completed parole, completed their sentence and has successfully re-entered society.
• A person who worked in a crack warehouse has warehouse/assembly line experience.
• Texaco Execs would never promote "Jigaboos" to corporate positions
• The Houston Federal Courts Sentenced 200 Young offenders to 120 months in 24 hours.
• There was no "youth prison crisis" in Texas until a white girl received a 10 year sentence for murder in 2006. 
• Parades and Marches helps media outlets get ratings more than they help the people they supposedly support. (Is Troy Davis alive?)

And the most important fact: Courts are not willing to sentence black and hispanic offenders anywhere below 10 years, while their white counterparts get misdemeanor charges and community service.

Ms. Cooke does not help those who bid their time on the inside until they can commit more crime. She helps those who made made a mistake, survived among the truly incorrigible and yet still work hard to be part of the society that threw them away so easily. 

There's nothing we can do to change this system, but we can challenge it. Sometimes it helps by offering access to someone who has no access to it. Or just providing legal services to someone in need of it but with no clue where to find start looking for it. In response to an audience member's question, it didn't mater whether your lawyer was court ordered, it is the family or individual's responsibility to seek information that will help their loved one. It may not get them acquitted, but it will get them the right sentence that truly fits their crime, and lessens their time.

Update: Since I returned from my trip, further online research revealed websites, mostly conservative or republican, trying to expose Ms. Cooke' alleged criminal background.  What these sites refer to as "dark secrets" were not so secret to Ms. Cooke, as she honestly shared them with us with sincere and unapologetic honesty. What this woman is doing is a serious threat to those in power. And like those she helps to re-enter society, these people are using political tactics to destroy her reputation.

 -_-'

Kola Boof at Emory University: A BAP in Decatur

Sometimes in life you gotta dive in head first, and that's what I did when I learned Kola Boof was returning to give a lecture in Decatur, GA while I was temporarily unemployed. Gathering my savings, I booked a hotel and took a train down to Decatur.

I had arrived to my hotel a little early and had no room ready so I decided to walk around downtown to kill some time. As I took in the scenery, I could't help but think of B*A*P*S, a bizarre movie starring Halle Berry whose character lived in in the city. I try not to let this kind of thinking happen, but I have to admit B*A*P*S may have influenced my preconceptions. Nonetheless I was impressed by what I saw:

I wasn't sure whether the city made an overhaul since the film's 1997 release, or if Robert Townsend, the director and writer, just did a good job making the place look like shit.

Edit: Robert Townsend did not write the movie. Troy Beyer Bailey was the screenwriter.

Understanding Sankofa

‎"Sankofa means it is not taboo to go back and fetch what you forgot. We forgot the Great Depression, which is why we are muddling through the Great Recession with austerity policy. We forgot the legacy of lynching, which is why a rabid gun-toting fool could execute Trevon Martin without being arrested. We forgot that California and Texas used to be part of Mexico, which is why so many oppose the DREAM Act that would allow undocumented people who have graduated from US high schools to attend college. We should never forget the forces that shape our contemporary reality."

- Julianne Malveaux, President of Bennet College, Greensboro

Crystal Mangum Revisited

Ever since I wrote my commentary for CCBC on the Duke Lacrosse case in 2007, I could not get my mind off of the well being of Crystal Mangum, the primary accuser of the Duke Lacrosse team and the one person in the whole affair who seemed to have the most to lose.

Well during my research I learned that Ms. Mangum did earn her degree in Police Psychology from North Carolina Central University. Sadly, my beaming was brief upon discovering Mangum would be arrested only two years later for fighting with her boyfriend and setting fire to property in the house, inadvertently endangering her children with them. The year 2010 only got worse for the young woman as she continued to violate her house arrest and child visitation orders. As of April 2011, Ms. Mangum sat in jail awaiting trial for the murder of her boyfriend. That started with him hitting her. He was still alive when she stabbed him.


Whenever tragedies occur, like school shootings or any murders by people who collaspe under the weight of social abuse, we always ask "why didn't anyone catch the signs before hand?" Well, Mangum did what she could to get help herself before she would reach a breaking point, by checking into a Raleigh psychiatric hospital and even confiding in her minister.   Her loved ones did what they could to warn her of her self-destructive behavior. What they couldn't fix though was an insecure girl who needed approval from others. A girl who did what she could to make everyone happy: mother, father, children, friends, lovers and anyone else, even it it killed her. Only consistent psychiatric support and intervention could fix that. Mangum's need to please others lead her to falling into attorney Mike Nifong's trap and exploitation of her mental vulnerability.

Despite all this, the courts found her mentally competent to stand trial. So Mangum's illness would declare her too incompetent to be a reliable accuser but just competent enough to be charged with murder.

What?

I'm sure everyone outside her family circle saw the signs, they just didn't give a fuck about a poor black girl with mental issues. Who now sits in jail. With a degree in Police Psychology. Never to be used now that she might be a convicted felon.



















Did I mention she'll never get to see her children again for a long time?



Let's see what those accused players are up to…..

You know what? Let's not. I just don't give a fuck. Too many people do.



And here's a link to Mangum's Memoirs.... (she has a right, after all)

“Real World” Politics with Jose Tapia

Originally Published October 17, 2007

Many fans of MTV may recognize Jose’ Tapia, who visited the Cafeteria on September 4 as part of the Rock the Vote tour. For those unfamiliar with Current MTV programming, Tapia was part of the cast of the Networks longest running programs “The Real World”. After the show finished production in October of 2006, Tapia used his sudden notoriety among youth to talk to students on College campuses about voting education. Thanks to Activities staff Jeff Lee and Nicole Chilipkl, the Catonsville Campus was given the chance to speak with Tapia to discuss current issues involving themselves, their communities and the world beyond. To many who are unfamiliar with MTV’s current programming, Tapia was indistinguishable from any other student present in the Cafeteria that day. Equipped with PowerPoint, microphone, and voting recruiters Tapia attracted a few students and staff that chose to sit and listen. Excluding Tapia, and staff members Jeff, and Nicole, the table included roughly 7 to 8 people, while the rest of the cafeteria carried the usual 40 or more inattentive students and staff. If anything, those at the table and those elsewhere represented where the youth of CCBC, if not central Maryland, stand politically, socially, and consciously. Realizing that his audience would expand no further beyond the one table, Tapia turned off the microphone and joined this table for a more intimae discussion, as well as related stories from his tour. 


On the subject of immigrants, Tapia shared the account of an Apple farmer in the Midwest. This farmer did not want to hire illegal immigrants to pick work on his farm so he hired America citizens. However, the American citizens refused to work field labor for the $10 to $12 he originally proposed. In closing, this Apple farmer had to raise the fees for his crops to afford the salaries to pay his employees, resulting in $5 apples. Many at the table agreed the issue with Immigration rose from American’s pride.  From this, participants shared other details, from the government proposal to have Mexicans work and pay taxes in the US before returning home to Giuliani’s plan for inserting tracking chips in Mexican immigrant’s heads. Although the concerns appeared silly on the surface, Cody, one of the more vocal participants in the group, presented a very philosophical viewpoint of the world, for he explained the long term intentions that many countries had for the US and that the problems occurring in the world are part of human nature and will recur in different incarnations. Cody explained things many within the baby boom and silent generations fail to realize themselves, proving that age alone cannot guarantee maturity. 


Another issue brought to the table was the outmoded institution of Social security. Tapia started the discussion with another story, this time about a student from a previously visited school whose father paid into the SSI for 25 years. When the father became injured on the job, he could not use his SSI as he “was not of age.”  This was one of many problems concerning Social security, for a program meant to support depression-era farmers was never intended to supply retired middle class workers in the 21^st century. As to how the decline of SSI will affect Generation Y in middle age and if there are new concepts to replace it were up for debate. Tapia then closed the discussion with what he called his “Check Story”. According to this anecdote, Tapia knew a professor whom the majority of his class had voted for Bush in the 2004 election. When asked by this professor to explain their decision, the students mentioned Bush’s tax cut, adding that they received a $300 check in the mail afterwards. This story presents a concern: many young voters do not vote with their best interests in mind.


 At this point Cody had departed leaving Michael to take over as the vocal element of the group. Michael started off with an oft-overlooked point: Even among the young demographic there are voters who lack the access to voting or voting education due to other priorities, such as work or dependant children. Tapia offered what he could on the issue of voting education: “There are so many avenues you can go to, such as absentee ballots. You can send your ballot in before election. You can do a lot of different things.” Michael rebutted with a common point about voting locally: “New voters don’t know too much about voting as to what we *can* do. So there are millions of people lining up who don’t know how to vote.” However what both young men agreed on is what is basic or common knowledge to the CNN or Fox News aficionado is more difficult to obtain for those voters who need it most.  Tapia responded by suggesting. “I do think some more education should be put out there, but don’t use “I’m too busy” or “I have other things to do” as a cop-out if you want to go out there and vote.” If voting access is one thing, but voter apathy is another. 


After the discussion, Tapia took a detour from the topics to answer questions about his life plans. A student at Florida State University before joining the cast, Tapia recently moved to Los Angeles, with hopes to finish his final year at UCLA or USC. Majoring in Real Estate and finance, Tapia also owns an investment company, several properties in Florida and plans to enter the field of Development properties. As soon as talks about his life began however, Tapia quickly redirected back to voting education and voter’s responsibilities, further showing the reality star’s ability to focus on priorities. Although Tapia says that the presence of minorities on the presidential ticket (such as Obama and Clinton) represents a sign of Change, Participant Michael reminded the group that these were still politicians and just because the color or gender of government have changed does not mean the politics will. In addition, another participant, Jaleesa, expressed a common issue with young voters: clashing with an opinionated parent over political views. Many other young voters are still finding themselves tethered back and forth between parents, media cliques, and self-interest groups when it comes to making a decision. Michael raised the question as to if Politicians and celebrities take advantage of this limbo. According to Tapia, P. Diddy’s “Vote or Die” campaign among others was responsible for the youth voting turnout among young voters in the 2004 election. 


This year some candidates, most notably Barack Obama and opponent Hillary Clinton, have opened MySpace pages to attract the youth vote. Already understood by most of the participants, today’s politicians are beyond the financial, social, and personal concerns other Americans must deal with and cannot help most citizens with these issues. If one common theme recurred throughout the discussion it was that we could no longer depend on the government in matters our parents and older siblings had.  In other words, Citizens must produce individual, independent plans for our stability as individuals, communities and a nation. If that reality is to materialize, it has to start with someone.

For Voting Information:

http://www.rockthevote.com
http://www.cnn.com

You can visit José Tapia at: 

http://www.myspace.com/Rikansalja

Skydeck Follies (Part Two)

     When I arrived to the top of Sears Tower Skydeck, an elementary school class was in the middle of their field trip. I can surely say children are fearless when it comes to dangerous situations.Their excitement with the surroundings had them literally running in all directions, even mowing down someone's toddling baby in the process. Even the adults had to watch for any children running up behind them. I had to wait a while until the glass casings where cleared of children. When I finally had a chance to step out on the glass casing I began to look down. 

     Maybe is was too many viewings of "Engineering Disasters" on the History Channel. Or that teenage girl who stomped on the glass casing earlier as a joke ( yeah, real funny). Or perhaps I'm just at that age where your amigdala finally matures and tells you what can get you killed. All I know is, I wasn't convinced all that thick plexiglass and steel bolting could hold my weight (even with my backpack removed.) This survival instinct didn't keep me from doing what I initially wanted to do, so here's the pic:

A better compromise

     Now remember that old science fact from middle school that heat rises? well, it reminds you with a vengeance. I don't know how the photographer and gift shop workers put up with it. The only reason anyone wants to return below is the cooler temperatures. I think it's the greenhouse effect that the sun and windows have on the place, considering that according to the tour video, the atmosphere at that height is much colder than at ground level. Anyway, once I began to sweat, I knew it was time to go.

Hidden Pleasures of B&Bs

House of Two Urns, Chicago

     I never thought about the profound distinction of  Bed & Breakfasts from hotels/inns until I stayed in one for the first time. When given the chance, the first thing a person wants to do after a long trip is sleep. Whenever I'm in a hotel, I question the purpose of the "Do Not disturb" door hangers they give you. I swear some housekeepers ignore them and barge in anyway. If not, they'll still wake you up with a loud rap on the door and the familiar call "Housekeeping!" If the housekeepers' runs are limited to certain days of the week,  you're obligated to leave your room. Otherwise you'll never get any fresh towels or clean drinking glasses for two days.  The Bed and breakfast provides you with enough toiletries to last you until their housekeeping day. 

     If you're staying for a week or longer, you need a place that feels like a temporary apartment. Hotels beyond three days can get really expensive, and God forbid if it doesn't have a mini fridge. 

     Sometimes you just need a place to stay, and the rest is under your control. That what is good about bed and breakfasts: they respect that mentality.