Last week I introduced to some, and made others more familiar with, Mychal Bell and his five Jena, Louisiana co-defendants. When wrapping up the Jena 6 post, I emphasized that the fate that befell those young men was not confined to Louisiana and parts nearby. In other words, this is not just a Southern phenomenon. Moreover, these events can invade your town; even your very own street.
To sharpen the theme to a finer point, this week’s conversation invites you to visit Latitude 42.240N; Longitude -83.268W, or more specifically, Taylor, Michigan. Taylor is a community located 15 miles south of Detroit, which is, of course, separated from Canada by the Detroit River.
In the vernacular…that’s up North! But, like Jena, Taylor is the site of a recent imbroglio involving Black youth facing questionable charges and subsequent arrests, stemming from attacks on a White victim. Similar to Mychal Bell in Jena, Devin Plummer and Franklin Smith are the principals in Taylor.
Police reports say the victim, Wendy Meinke, who was murdered July 30th, was shot by Plummer, who has been charged with first-degree murder, assault with intent to murder, and using a firearm to commit a felony. Smith is charged with being an accessory to murder. They and two friends, Brandon Pannell, and Clifford Collins, all students at Kennedy High School, purport they drove to the neighborhood, after hearing of the shooting, to check on a friend who lived there.
All four suspects profess their innocence. Pannell and Collins, who were arrested and later released, say they were not read their rights before being arrested. Plummer’s mother said her son maintained his innocence and repeatedly asked police to conduct a gunpowder residue test, and was repeatedly told they did not have to do one.
Pannell and Collins said while they were being interrogated at the police station, they heard screams from Plummer being brutally beaten to force a confession. Devin’s mother Aretha (OK this is a Detroit suburb) said she almost had a stroke listening to her son being beaten to force him to admit to a crime he did not commit. His sister Alicia said she asked a detective to stop beating her brother, and was told she would be arrested if she did not keep quiet.
Enough already. I’m not going to inundate you with more of the gritty details. I think the picture is HDTV clear. At least I hope it is, anyway. There is a level of vigilance we all must maintain. Regardless of zip code, area code, City, or County, if you are Black, and live in America, you are in a “State of Emergency.”
Holla back!
For more details on this case, see the following links:
http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/genInfo.php?locIndex=22163
http://seattlemedium.com/news/Article/Article.asp?NewsID=81424&sID=3&ItemSource=L
http://www.freepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070815/NEWS02/70815040/1004/NEWS02
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070827/METRO01/708270368/1006
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070818/NEWS06/708180380/1008
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070818/METRO/708180381/1003
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1 comment:
It is truly a travesty that in 2007, we still have to contend with such racism. Young Black people need to observe these things and consider why we are so concerned about their future.
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