Disruption Now

Mueller tells Congress it’s your job to impeach. Republicans and Democrats have to decide will they do what’s politically convenient or will they fight for the rule of law and America. We are a nation of laws and we started in rebellion to a King. This is about our constitution and holding on to the principle that no one is above the law. I don’t care about losing an election as much as losing freedom and the rule of law.

Kirk Perry is an example of what opportunity can and should be in America. From the outside looking in Kirk Perry looks as if he had a seamless path. Working for two decades at Proctor and Gamble and now leading Google Brands. Mr. Perry is responsible for driving Google's revenue a trillion dollar company, with the world's largest advertisers and advertising agencies. But his path wasn’t always so easy, from growing up poor, to almost not making it through college, to health scares of cancer with himself and daughter, Kirk has had anything but an easy path. His struggles did not deter him but made him more determined to focus on what really matters in life.

Maxine Waters was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the fifth of 13 children reared by a single mother. She began working at age 13 in factories and segregated restaurants. After moving to Los Angeles, she worked in garment factories and at the telephone company. She attended California State University at Los Angeles, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. She began her career in public service as a teacher and a volunteer coordinator in the Head Start program. She is married to Sidney Williams, the former U.S. Ambassador to the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. She is the mother of two adult children, Edward and Karen, and has two grandchildren. Congresswoman Waters made history as the first woman and first African American Chair of the House Financial Services Committee. She has the gavel and knows how to use it.

Holley learned the ropes from Johnny Cochran during the Oj Simpson trail dubbed “the trial of the century.” In May 2018, Ms. Holley and Kim Kardashian West met with President Donald Trump at the White House to lobby for the release of Alice Marie Johnson, a first-time, non-violent drug offender who was serving a sentence of life without the possibility of parole. Ms. Holley and Ms. West were successful in persuading Mr. Trump to commute Ms. Johnson’s sentence in her twenty-second year of imprisonment.

Holley was raised in the Fairfax neighborhood of Los Angeles. Her mother went to school at night working earning her M.B.A. Eventually, working her way up from legal secretary to the office manager at a large law firm. Holley was unimpressed and thought being an attorney was boring. Holley ended up as a waitress at the first ever California Pizza Kitchen when she met a “cool” lawyer who did work that excited her. She enrolled in Southwestern Law School in 1985. Shawn began her legal career in the Los Angeles public defender's office before being hired by Johnnie Cochran. She eventually became the Managing Partner of The Cochran Firm and was a member of O.J. Simpson's legal defense team, know as the "Dream Team." With more than sixty trials to her credit, Ms. Holley is the rare trial attorney who practices in the areas of both civil and criminal litigation. She was a highly visible member of the O.J. Simpson defense team and worked closely with Mr. Cochran on a number of high-profile civil and criminal cases when the firm was known as The Law Offices of Johnnie L. Cochran, Jr. Among others, Ms. Holley has represented or currently represents Kanye West, Justin Bieber,Michael Jackson, Tupac Shakur, Snoop Dogg, Kathy Griffin, Rosario Dawson, Ryan Phillippe, Lindsay Lohan, Nicole Richie, Paris Hilton, the Kardashian/Jenner family, Katt Williams, radio personality Charlamagne tha God, Mike Tyson, “Sugar” Ray Leonard, Lamar Odom, Reggie Bush, accused Symbionese Liberation Army member Sara Jane Olson, celebrated Black Panther leader Geronimo Pratt and members of Black Lives Matter.

Does black male privilege exist? If you talk to most black men they will openly agree that privilege is a real thing among their white male counterparts. However, if you ask is their black male privilege there is a wide variety of reactions and opinions. What does black male privilege look like? Is it the same white male privilege? Are there any unique responsibilities or obligations black men have toward black women?

Privilege is a loaded word that invokes strong reactions; especially from white people. After a Jazz fan got into a heated argument with Russel Westbrook, it was later discovered the fan had made racially charged comments. As Kyle Korver detailed in his article on white privilege; dealing with overt racism is easy, the harder issue is dealing with subtle racism that has overt results from education, employment, and our criminal justice system.

Something that was overlooked by the mainstream media in the coverage of the Mueller Report was how Russia focused on fueling racial tensions to influence the election. The Internet Research Agency was an organization created by Russia that stoked white fears and connected with the black protest movement to increase the chances of a Trump victory.

According to Michelle Alexander, author of the New Jim Crow, more black men are in prison or jail, on probation or parole than were enslaved in 1850, before the Civil War began. The recent Kerry Lanthan incarceration demonstrates how our criminal justice system is applied in ways that is oppressive to black men without regard for whether it is making us safer or rehabilitating people. The most logical explanation may be that the ideal of a fair administration of justice by the criminal justice system is undermined by the scars from America never fully dealing with the issues of race and negative stereotypes around black men/women. Many know Nipsey Hussle was shot and killed but most don't know there were two others who were shot as well. Kerry Lathan was one of these people and he was arrested for violating his parole terms. His violation - simply meeting with Nipsey to look for opportunities to work (because of Nipsey’s historic gang affiliation). Nipsey had long ago left gang life and was in fact actively working with community leaders to reduce gang violence. Yet, he was still seen as nothing more than a former felon by our system. Hence, Lanthan was arrested after being shot while trying to find employment. Kerry Lathan’s arrest is an example of everything that is wrong with our criminal justice system because it illustrates the system not just failing to offer real opportunities for reintegration, but actively preventing one from seeking such an opportunity out for themselves. There are thousands of Kerry Lathan’s being sent to jail because of our system is not sufficiently focused on rehabilitation and the provision of opportunity, and essentially promotes recidivism by default.

Laura Ingraham’s coverage of Nipsey Hussle continues to demonstrate her lack of skills as a journalist and as a human being. She can’t understand why others would mourn Nipsey’s death. This is because Ingraham doesn’t care about what is good for this country or what is even accurate. It’s all about inflaming the base to make money for Fox. Ingraham didn’t actually talk to people on the ground, instead she laughed at them. A father, community member and leader was shot down. I guess it’s too much to ask for Laura Ingraham to have empathy.

Conspiracy theories popped up all over black Twitter and social media following the murder of Nipsey Hussle. Why did so many think his death was a conspiracy? Perhaps the answer is America has confirmed conspiracies against African Americans.