will the next mayor of Atlanta be white?

Not all of the votes are counted, but the race is getting closer for the next mayor of Atlanta. Thirty six years of Black mayors since the ascension of Maynard Jackson to the office may end tonight. As of this post Mary Norwood is leading Kasim Reed in the runoff election to see who the city will elect.

However, the thought arises as to whether the Black citizens of Atlanta really care that tonight may end the 36 year reign of Black faces in the mayor’s office. Since the election of President Barack Obama, and the disappointment expressed by many in the president’s urgency on healthcare and his snails pace towards recovering jobs, leaves many Blacks in Atlanta that I've spoken with caring little about the ethnicity of the mayoral candidates and more interested in who will do the best job.

Polls in the “whiter” areas of Atlanta seem to suggest just the opposite. Like the fervor behind the election of Barack Obama for president, whites seem to be pouring out and voting heavily for Mary Norwood. It could be argued that whites are purely voting for Norwood on race alone since she could be considered part of the problems with the city of Atlanta. Norwood has been on the Atlanta city council for the past 11 years.

On the other hand Kasim Reed may be viewed as just another candidate being pushed by the big Democrat machine that’s running the “style over substance” game and may continue the re-gentrification of Atlanta started by the previous Black mayors. At any rate, with 72% of the votes counted at 10pm, Norwood is leading Reed 52% to 48%, tomorrow morning Atlanta will have a new mayor elect. Though I don’t live in Atlanta proper, all of us that live here know that what happens in the city of Atlanta trickles out north, south, east and west, we shall see.

HABESHA On Black In America 2

HABESHA is a community based organization in the city of Atlanta, founded in 2002 by Cashwan Meyers. Their focus is on the uplift of the youth in the City of Atlana based in the Mechanicsville area. HABESHA will be featured on Black In America 2 later this month on the topic of urban gardening. I, like one of the commenter’s on this blog, am a bit skeptical of the purpose of the Black In America series, however I have admired the work of HABESHA in Atlanta.

Bad parenting makes bad children; Aimee Michael and Jonathan Redding

This post was to be about how too many of us continue to see ourselves through eyes of enslaved Africans. We continue to say how the white man stole or bought Black people in Africa and carried them packed like sardines in the holes of slaving vessels. And, how we continue to put ourselves into a bent over posture, because we are not aware we are giving the pale face way too much power. 

This post was to be about how we make the pale face a god by believing he could transport, and sustain millions of living human beings for a three month voyage across the Atlantic without running water, refrigeration, bathroom facilities or medical care. 

This post was to explain how the idea of such an undertaking as to transport hundreds of millions of people across the sea in the 17^th, 18^th, and 19^th centuries is an expanded tale and we should stop giving so much power to the pale face, for he has never been that powerful. 

But, this post was interrupted by the evening news as I was writing it caught my attention concerning a murderer that murdered for the sake of murder in the Grant Park area of Atlanta and a letter his mother wrote and sent to the District Attorney. Then, Aimee Michael, her mother, and Aimee’s Easter Day carnival of death on Camp Creek Parkway popped into my brain. 

In January, a white* bartender was killed while closing up for the night. A robbing crew, that the Atlanta Police Department is calling a gang, broke out the glass door of the bar, entered with guns drawn, demanding money and killing Atlanta bartender, 27 year old John Henderson. This month, 17 year old Jonathan Redding was arrested and indicted for the murder of Mr.Henderson. Redding was involved in a home invasion a couple days after the murder of John Henderson, carrying the same pistol used in the murder of Henderson. Redding kicked in the front door of a Southwest Atlanta home, and was immediately met with AK-47 7.62 rounds hitting him in the shoulder, he dropped the 9mm pistol along with his blood. The blood left behind at the scene of the home invasion was taken and used as DNA evidence that lead to the arrest of Redding for the murder of John Henderson. 

Easter 2009, Aimee Michael was to run to the store to pick up some ice cream for her mother and grand mother. Somehow she ended up on Camp Creek Parkway. Camp Creek Parkway is a very long and wide road that runs directly into the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, so speeds can legally reach 55 miles per hour. Ms. Michael’s 740 BMW struck the Mercedes of Robert and Dalisia Carter. Carter lost control, crossed the divide and slammed head on into the VW Beatle of Tracy Johnson and her 6 year old daughter. The crash killed Robert Carter, Dalisia Carter, and their two children. Tracy Johnson survived but, her 6 year old daughter was killed in the Volkswagen.

Aimee Michael fled the scene, leaving all the victims to die. Now, here’s the rub. The parents of these beings are making excuses and covering up their children’s heinous acts.

In the case of Jonathan Redding his mother wrote a ridiculous letter to a local Atlanta news station, stating 17 year old Jonathan “is not the monster that he has been portrayed to be but was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Jonathan has strong family values and ties, and we feel he is currently a victim of the judicial system.”  

What the hell??? I could not believe the family had the audacity to produce and release this statement

“…Jonathan is not a monster…in the wrong place at the wrong time…strong family values…currently a victim of the judicial system” are they kidding? This being has a tattoo on his face of the alleged gang he claims, and we are to believe he was in the wrong place at the wrong time? 

He shot a man that contributed to the man’s death and that man has a family that now misses him and will never see him again. So, the Redding family really needs to explain what the definition of family values are for themselves and Jonathan.  Jonathan is a monster Redding family, and you raised him. You created this situation Jonathan now lives in. Jonathan is a victim of your family injustice system.

There is no reason a 17 year old boy should be running around the city at all hours of the night with a gun, with the explicit intent to harm other citizens. The Redding family is a horrible example of the societal decay which is slowly becoming the norm. I don’t know whether or not Jonathan had a dad living or dead, but its apparent he has some sort of family. But, we know Aimee Michael has a full family unit including a dad in the house and in her life, so what will be the statistical data to validate her bloody act?

Aimee Michael, is a 22 year old graduate of the University of Pittsburg, was headed to Wake Forrest to begin a master’s program to further her education. Yet, an Easter Sunday run to the store, careless driving changed her fate and she became the confessed killer of five people including three children. Aimee knows she hit the Mercedes, saw the car cross the center divide and strike the Volkswagen and what does young Ms. Michael do? She puts the pedal to the metal and heads home to Ma and Grandma (dad was away working overseas when the accident occured.) She is said to have told them, upon her return, that she had a headache and immediately went to her room and shut the door. For two weeks the city of Atlanta and all the surrounding counties in Metro Atlanta were in a search for the missing BMW 740 that Aimee later confessed started the chain of events. While the search is on Aimee calls an auto body shop, takes the car in, pays a deposit.  Later, Sheila Michael pays off the balance for repairs to the BMW to cover up her daughter's part in the crime.  Sheila Michael, a 52 year old, second grade teacher in the public school system, the mother of Aimee did not turn here daughter in, did not pay a retainer to an attorney for legal advice about her daughter's crime, no she paid to cover up her daughter's crime. What kind of people are they?  Why would supposedly right thinking people do such a thing?  Ms. Michael would you tell us please?

There is no statistical data to confirm the reason for the acts of these children and the response of their families. The data doesn’t back the actions for the Michael’s actions. We could easily deduce that Jonathan Redding is a victim of the statistics that we often hear of, but actually there's not much information about who comprises Redding’s family to pin the “no father in the home” statistic label as the reason for his action. But, we know this doesn’t fit Aimee Michael’s family profile.  Quite simply these are bad parents that have always excused and covered their bad children's bad actions, even until the deaths of innocent children at the hands of their bad children.  Shameful.

*I mentiion that John Henderson is white, because immediatly after his demise the caucasians in the Grant Park neighborhood organized a candlelight vigil  with the city counselman of their district in response to his brutal murder.  I believe this only occured because Henderson's death was by the hands of a Black boy.  Not often do whites protest the death of one of their own when its by the hands of another white man.

Warren Ballentine and Rev. Al Sharpton back on the air in Atlanta!

Warren Ballentine and Al Sharpton will be returning to the air waves here in the ATL.  WAOK 1380 AM, a CBS affiliate, have picked up the programs and will air them beginning Wednesday April 29.  At 10am will be Warren Ballentin and his Truthfighters and at 1pm comes Rev. Sharpton.

Much, much more could be said about this transition, however at this time I will just be content with the fact that a radio staion in the Atlanta area will run the shows.