Kalief Browder

[LOIE]

Hello. I am back after a self imposed hiatus from computers. But I want and need to post this.

Yesterday at church a young woman shared a story with us and urged us as Christians to put our faith into action. I borrowed most of the following from the Kalief Browder Foundation web page so the information would be accurate.


In 2010, Kalief Browder was arrested at the age of 16 for allegedly stealing a backpack and its contents. Charged as an adult, Kalief could not afford the $3,000 bail set on his freedom. He was imprisoned for over 1,000 days on Rikers Island without trail, spending 400 of those days in solitary confinement. He was starved, beaten and abused by guards and inmates.

Three years after his arrest, Kalief's charges were dismissed and he was released due to lack of evidence. He committed suicide two years later at the age of 22.

This is one of the saddest stories I have ever heard. And what disturbs me greatly is that it happened in 2010 – this is not ancient history - this is not the distant past – this is not the sins of our forefathers - this is not something that took place during slavery days, the time we are all told to forget about and stop bringing up because it’s sooooooooo over. This was eight years ago. This was a teenage kid. This was a vicious system. This was modern slavery. This was unforgettable and unforgiveable.

 

[TroglocratsRdumb]

Hello. I am back after a self imposed hiatus from computers. But I want and need to post this.

Yesterday at church a young woman shared a story with us and urged us as Christians to put our faith into action. I borrowed most of the following from the Kalief Browder Foundation web page so the information would be accurate.


In 2010, Kalief Browder was arrested at the age of 16 for allegedly stealing a backpack and its contents. Charged as an adult, Kalief could not afford the $3,000 bail set on his freedom. He was imprisoned for over 1,000 days on Rikers Island without trail, spending 400 of those days in solitary confinement. He was starved, beaten and abused by guards and inmates.

Three years after his arrest, Kalief's charges were dismissed and he was released due to lack of evidence. He committed suicide two years later at the age of 22.

This is one of the saddest stories I have ever heard. And what disturbs me greatly is that it happened in 2010 – this is not ancient history - this is not the distant past – this is not the sins of our forefathers - this is not something that took place during slavery days, the time we are all told to forget about and stop bringing up because it’s sooooooooo over. This was eight years ago. This was a teenage kid. This was a vicious system. This was modern slavery. This was unforgettable and unforgiveable.

Isn't NYC America's most progressive and diverse city?

 

[Billy_Kinetta]

That's New York for ya. The Democrats' paradise.

 

[IM2]

The broken windows approach that got this kid arrested was started by a republican. Giuliani

But seriously, you guys have got to be insane. You are all republicans posting chapters of racism then claim democrats are the racists.

 

[LOIE]

Hello. I am back after a self imposed hiatus from computers. But I want and need to post this.

Yesterday at church a young woman shared a story with us and urged us as Christians to put our faith into action. I borrowed most of the following from the Kalief Browder Foundation web page so the information would be accurate.


In 2010, Kalief Browder was arrested at the age of 16 for allegedly stealing a backpack and its contents. Charged as an adult, Kalief could not afford the $3,000 bail set on his freedom. He was imprisoned for over 1,000 days on Rikers Island without trail, spending 400 of those days in solitary confinement. He was starved, beaten and abused by guards and inmates.

Three years after his arrest, Kalief's charges were dismissed and he was released due to lack of evidence. He committed suicide two years later at the age of 22.

This is one of the saddest stories I have ever heard. And what disturbs me greatly is that it happened in 2010 – this is not ancient history - this is not the distant past – this is not the sins of our forefathers - this is not something that took place during slavery days, the time we are all told to forget about and stop bringing up because it’s sooooooooo over. This was eight years ago. This was a teenage kid. This was a vicious system. This was modern slavery. This was unforgettable and unforgiveable.

Isn't NYC America's most progressive and diverse city?

Progressive and diverse, yes, I suppose. But those things did not stop this atrocity from happening. And if something like this can happen in a progressive city, it makes me wonder what may be happening in small towns and rural places where some very backward thinking still exists and dominates folks behavior. I would not be surprised to find that there are black men imprisoned and forced into labor without fair trials or fair representation.

 

[Unkotare]

Hello. I am back after a self imposed hiatus from computers. But I want and need to post this.

Yesterday at church a young woman shared a story with us and urged us as Christians to put our faith into action. I borrowed most of the following from the Kalief Browder Foundation web page so the information would be accurate.


In 2010, Kalief Browder was arrested at the age of 16 for allegedly stealing a backpack and its contents. Charged as an adult, Kalief could not afford the $3,000 bail set on his freedom. He was imprisoned for over 1,000 days on Rikers Island without trail, spending 400 of those days in solitary confinement. He was starved, beaten and abused by guards and inmates.

Three years after his arrest, Kalief's charges were dismissed and he was released due to lack of evidence. He committed suicide two years later at the age of 22.

This is one of the saddest stories I have ever heard. And what disturbs me greatly is that it happened in 2010 – this is not ancient history - this is not the distant past – this is not the sins of our forefathers - this is not something that took place during slavery days, the time we are all told to forget about and stop bringing up because it’s sooooooooo over. This was eight years ago. This was a teenage kid. This was a vicious system. This was modern slavery. This was unforgettable and unforgiveable.

Isn't NYC America's most progressive and diverse city?

Progressive and diverse, yes, I suppose. But those things did not stop this atrocity from happening. And if something like this can happen in a progressive city, it makes me wonder what may be happening in small towns and rural places where some very backward thinking still exists and dominates folks behavior. I would not be surprised to find that there are black men imprisoned and forced into labor without fair trials or fair representation.

Such useful speculation and prejudice... ^^^^

 

[IM2]

Hello. I am back after a self imposed hiatus from computers. But I want and need to post this.

Yesterday at church a young woman shared a story with us and urged us as Christians to put our faith into action. I borrowed most of the following from the Kalief Browder Foundation web page so the information would be accurate.


In 2010, Kalief Browder was arrested at the age of 16 for allegedly stealing a backpack and its contents. Charged as an adult, Kalief could not afford the $3,000 bail set on his freedom. He was imprisoned for over 1,000 days on Rikers Island without trail, spending 400 of those days in solitary confinement. He was starved, beaten and abused by guards and inmates.

Three years after his arrest, Kalief's charges were dismissed and he was released due to lack of evidence. He committed suicide two years later at the age of 22.

This is one of the saddest stories I have ever heard. And what disturbs me greatly is that it happened in 2010 – this is not ancient history - this is not the distant past – this is not the sins of our forefathers - this is not something that took place during slavery days, the time we are all told to forget about and stop bringing up because it’s sooooooooo over. This was eight years ago. This was a teenage kid. This was a vicious system. This was modern slavery. This was unforgettable and unforgiveable.

Isn't NYC America's most progressive and diverse city?

Progressive and diverse, yes, I suppose. But those things did not stop this atrocity from happening. And if something like this can happen in a progressive city, it makes me wonder what may be happening in small towns and rural places where some very backward thinking still exists and dominates folks behavior. I would not be surprised to find that there are black men imprisoned and forced into labor without fair trials or fair representation.

Such useful speculation and prejudice... ^^^^

No it's the truth. I've been to such places and she's right.

 

[Unkotare]

Hello. I am back after a self imposed hiatus from computers. But I want and need to post this.

Yesterday at church a young woman shared a story with us and urged us as Christians to put our faith into action. I borrowed most of the following from the Kalief Browder Foundation web page so the information would be accurate.


In 2010, Kalief Browder was arrested at the age of 16 for allegedly stealing a backpack and its contents. Charged as an adult, Kalief could not afford the $3,000 bail set on his freedom. He was imprisoned for over 1,000 days on Rikers Island without trail, spending 400 of those days in solitary confinement. He was starved, beaten and abused by guards and inmates.

Three years after his arrest, Kalief's charges were dismissed and he was released due to lack of evidence. He committed suicide two years later at the age of 22.

This is one of the saddest stories I have ever heard. And what disturbs me greatly is that it happened in 2010 – this is not ancient history - this is not the distant past – this is not the sins of our forefathers - this is not something that took place during slavery days, the time we are all told to forget about and stop bringing up because it’s sooooooooo over. This was eight years ago. This was a teenage kid. This was a vicious system. This was modern slavery. This was unforgettable and unforgiveable.

Isn't NYC America's most progressive and diverse city?

Progressive and diverse, yes, I suppose. But those things did not stop this atrocity from happening. And if something like this can happen in a progressive city, it makes me wonder what may be happening in small towns and rural places where some very backward thinking still exists and dominates folks behavior. I would not be surprised to find that there are black men imprisoned and forced into labor without fair trials or fair representation.

Such useful speculation and prejudice... ^^^^

No it's the truth. I've been to such places and she's right.

I’ve been in very small towns in rural places where people couldn’t have been nicer.

Maybe sometimes things depend on the individuals rather than your categories.

 

[IM2]

Hello. I am back after a self imposed hiatus from computers. But I want and need to post this.

Yesterday at church a young woman shared a story with us and urged us as Christians to put our faith into action. I borrowed most of the following from the Kalief Browder Foundation web page so the information would be accurate.


In 2010, Kalief Browder was arrested at the age of 16 for allegedly stealing a backpack and its contents. Charged as an adult, Kalief could not afford the $3,000 bail set on his freedom. He was imprisoned for over 1,000 days on Rikers Island without trail, spending 400 of those days in solitary confinement. He was starved, beaten and abused by guards and inmates.

Three years after his arrest, Kalief's charges were dismissed and he was released due to lack of evidence. He committed suicide two years later at the age of 22.

This is one of the saddest stories I have ever heard. And what disturbs me greatly is that it happened in 2010 – this is not ancient history - this is not the distant past – this is not the sins of our forefathers - this is not something that took place during slavery days, the time we are all told to forget about and stop bringing up because it’s sooooooooo over. This was eight years ago. This was a teenage kid. This was a vicious system. This was modern slavery. This was unforgettable and unforgiveable.

Isn't NYC America's most progressive and diverse city?

Progressive and diverse, yes, I suppose. But those things did not stop this atrocity from happening. And if something like this can happen in a progressive city, it makes me wonder what may be happening in small towns and rural places where some very backward thinking still exists and dominates folks behavior. I would not be surprised to find that there are black men imprisoned and forced into labor without fair trials or fair representation.

Such useful speculation and prejudice... ^^^^

No it's the truth. I've been to such places and she's right.

I’ve been in very small towns in rural places where people couldn’t have been nicer.

Maybe sometimes things depend on the individuals rather than your categories.

I don't have any categories. I think that if you are in one of those places for a few hours or days your experience might be a little different than if you live there. I live in one of those towns right now. I grew up in this town. I represented this town honorably and well on the athletic field. My family has much respect and honor for the things my parents did and stood for as well as what we have accomplished as grown men. So your dumb ass assertions are just that. This is a small racist rural town with little to no crime where blacks are stopped 7 times more than whites by police. A place where there are very few social activities for blacks even with a unversity in town. A black hall of fame basketball player who played for this school was pulled over and harassed by police the very weekend his jersey was retired and since that time he has never returned. So understand that when I speak I am not like you. I know what I'm talking about.

 

[Unkotare]

Isn't NYC America's most progressive and diverse city?

Progressive and diverse, yes, I suppose. But those things did not stop this atrocity from happening. And if something like this can happen in a progressive city, it makes me wonder what may be happening in small towns and rural places where some very backward thinking still exists and dominates folks behavior. I would not be surprised to find that there are black men imprisoned and forced into labor without fair trials or fair representation.

Such useful speculation and prejudice... ^^^^

No it's the truth. I've been to such places and she's right.

I’ve been in very small towns in rural places where people couldn’t have been nicer.

Maybe sometimes things depend on the individuals rather than your categories.

I don't have any categories. I think that if you are in one of those places for a few hours or days your experience might be a little different than if you live there. I live in one of those towns right now. I grew up in this town. I represented this town honorably and well on the athletic field. My family has much respect and honor for the things my parents did and stood for as well as what we have accomplished as grown men. So your dumb ass assertions are just that. This is a small racist rural town with little to no crime where blacks are stopped 7 times more than whites by police. A place where there are very few social activities for blacks even with a unversity in town. A black hall of fame basketball player who played for this school was pulled over and harassed by police the very weekend his jersey was retired and since that time he has never returned. So understand that when I speak I am not like you. I know what I'm talking about.

What a load of crap. You have nothing but categories, into which you insist on placing all individuals in your sick world view. Anecdotes and racist insistence don’t shape reality for anyone but you and your counterparts like ptbw and brokeloser.

 

[LOIE]

Hello. I am back after a self imposed hiatus from computers. But I want and need to post this.

Yesterday at church a young woman shared a story with us and urged us as Christians to put our faith into action. I borrowed most of the following from the Kalief Browder Foundation web page so the information would be accurate.


In 2010, Kalief Browder was arrested at the age of 16 for allegedly stealing a backpack and its contents. Charged as an adult, Kalief could not afford the $3,000 bail set on his freedom. He was imprisoned for over 1,000 days on Rikers Island without trail, spending 400 of those days in solitary confinement. He was starved, beaten and abused by guards and inmates.

Three years after his arrest, Kalief's charges were dismissed and he was released due to lack of evidence. He committed suicide two years later at the age of 22.

This is one of the saddest stories I have ever heard. And what disturbs me greatly is that it happened in 2010 – this is not ancient history - this is not the distant past – this is not the sins of our forefathers - this is not something that took place during slavery days, the time we are all told to forget about and stop bringing up because it’s sooooooooo over. This was eight years ago. This was a teenage kid. This was a vicious system. This was modern slavery. This was unforgettable and unforgiveable.

Isn't NYC America's most progressive and diverse city?

Progressive and diverse, yes, I suppose. But those things did not stop this atrocity from happening. And if something like this can happen in a progressive city, it makes me wonder what may be happening in small towns and rural places where some very backward thinking still exists and dominates folks behavior. I would not be surprised to find that there are black men imprisoned and forced into labor without fair trials or fair representation.

Such useful speculation and prejudice... ^^^^

In response to this I started some research on the subject and have already found a man who has been in prison 10 years without even a trial in Alabama. Also found that many small towns are feeding people into jails in nearby places just to keep them filled. They are not even in the place where the alleged crime took place. When time allows, I intend to dig further. And no, this is not prejudice. It's simply looking at what is happening in one place and wondering if it happens elsewhere.

 

[LOIE]

I’ve been in very small towns in rural places where people couldn’t have been nicer.

I don't doubt there are nice people there - but did you have any interaction with local law enforcement?

 

[Unkotare]

Hello. I am back after a self imposed hiatus from computers. But I want and need to post this.

Yesterday at church a young woman shared a story with us and urged us as Christians to put our faith into action. I borrowed most of the following from the Kalief Browder Foundation web page so the information would be accurate.


In 2010, Kalief Browder was arrested at the age of 16 for allegedly stealing a backpack and its contents. Charged as an adult, Kalief could not afford the $3,000 bail set on his freedom. He was imprisoned for over 1,000 days on Rikers Island without trail, spending 400 of those days in solitary confinement. He was starved, beaten and abused by guards and inmates.

Three years after his arrest, Kalief's charges were dismissed and he was released due to lack of evidence. He committed suicide two years later at the age of 22.

This is one of the saddest stories I have ever heard. And what disturbs me greatly is that it happened in 2010 – this is not ancient history - this is not the distant past – this is not the sins of our forefathers - this is not something that took place during slavery days, the time we are all told to forget about and stop bringing up because it’s sooooooooo over. This was eight years ago. This was a teenage kid. This was a vicious system. This was modern slavery. This was unforgettable and unforgiveable.

Isn't NYC America's most progressive and diverse city?

Progressive and diverse, yes, I suppose. But those things did not stop this atrocity from happening. And if something like this can happen in a progressive city, it makes me wonder what may be happening in small towns and rural places where some very backward thinking still exists and dominates folks behavior. I would not be surprised to find that there are black men imprisoned and forced into labor without fair trials or fair representation.

Such useful speculation and prejudice... ^^^^

In response to this I started some research on the subject and have already found a man who has been in prison 10 years without even a trial in Alabama. Also found that many small towns are feeding people into jails in nearby places just to keep them filled. They are not even in the place where the alleged crime took place. When time allows, I intend to dig further. And no, this is not prejudice. It's simply looking at what is happening in one place and wondering if it happens elsewhere.

Keep looking and you’ll find that everyone in prison is innocent - according to them.

 

[IM2]

Progressive and diverse, yes, I suppose. But those things did not stop this atrocity from happening. And if something like this can happen in a progressive city, it makes me wonder what may be happening in small towns and rural places where some very backward thinking still exists and dominates folks behavior. I would not be surprised to find that there are black men imprisoned and forced into labor without fair trials or fair representation.

Such useful speculation and prejudice... ^^^^

No it's the truth. I've been to such places and she's right.

I’ve been in very small towns in rural places where people couldn’t have been nicer.

Maybe sometimes things depend on the individuals rather than your categories.

I don't have any categories. I think that if you are in one of those places for a few hours or days your experience might be a little different than if you live there. I live in one of those towns right now. I grew up in this town. I represented this town honorably and well on the athletic field. My family has much respect and honor for the things my parents did and stood for as well as what we have accomplished as grown men. So your dumb ass assertions are just that. This is a small racist rural town with little to no crime where blacks are stopped 7 times more than whites by police. A place where there are very few social activities for blacks even with a unversity in town. A black hall of fame basketball player who played for this school was pulled over and harassed by police the very weekend his jersey was retired and since that time he has never returned. So understand that when I speak I am not like you. I know what I'm talking about.

What a load of crap. You have nothing but categories, into which you insist on placing all individuals in your sick world view. Anecdotes and racist insistence don’t shape reality for anyone but you and your counterparts like ptbw and brokeloser.

Facts shape my views and reality unlike the imagination that you use for yours. I didn't create the categories used in this country you stupid idiot and for you to try lying and pretending they don't exist outside of some fake world you imagine is part of your own cognitive dissonance.

 

[Unkotare]

I’ve been in very small towns in rural places where people couldn’t have been nicer.

I don't doubt there are nice people there - but did you have any interaction with local law enforcement?

Yup

 

[IM2]

I’ve been in very small towns in rural places where people couldn’t have been nicer.

I don't doubt there are nice people there - but did you have any interaction with local law enforcement?

Yup

And so your 1-2 experiences are not anecdotal but they represent the totality of small rural all white or mostly white towns, but my growing up and living every day in one is just nothing but anecdotes.

 

[IM2]

We had this in our state overtly until at least 1997.

Sundown towns (1890-1968 ) were white-only towns in America where blacks and others were not allowed to live. There were thousands of them. They were outlawed in 1968 by the Fair Housing Act.

The name comes from signs at the edge of town warning blacks to leave by sundown. One sign in Hawthorne, California in the 1930s said, “******, don’t let the sun set on you in Hawthorne.” Blacks were allowed in town during the day to work but had to leave before nightfall.

Most sundown towns were not in the South, like you might think, but in the North and Midwest. The South kept the races separate and unequal with Jim Crow laws. In the North and Midwest many towns simply drove blacks out, especially in the 1890s, and kept them out. Blacks lost their land and houses and sometimes their lives.

It was not just blacks who were affected by this sort of thing. To a lesser degree so were Jews, Chinese, Mexicans and Native Americans, sometimes even Catholics. Idaho, for example, was once a third Chinese. That was before the whites drove them out.

These towns were not just here and there in lost little corners of the country. They were everywhere. President George W. Bush grew up in one. So did Emily Post, Edgar Rice Burroughs (who gave us Tarzan), Joe McCarthy (who drove out Communists) and Dale Carnegie.

Levittown on Long Island in New York state was one. It became the model for white suburbia – not just in its look-alike houses, but also in its Wonder Bread whiteness. No blacks lived there. Not because blacks could not afford it, but because whites were not allowed to sell their houses to them!

William Levitt, himself a Jew, said, “If we sell one house to a Negro family, then 90 to 95 percent of our white customers will not buy.”

Some other notable sundown towns: Darien, Connecticut, Grosse Pointe, Michigan, Tarzana, California and Cicero, Illinois.

A sundown town might have one or two black families, but no more were allowed to move in.

Whenever I return to America from overseas I know I am back home because I see black people again. Blacks are part of what America is. Even in Alaska.

So when a town has no blacks or just one or two families, it is unnatural. It means blacks are being kept out somehow.

Before 1968 towns could keep blacks out by law and by violence. The police or the good white people would throw them out – or sometimes even kill them.

But now there are other ways to keep a place nearly all white, like redlining. So the same thing still goes on today but by different means.

The proof of this is just how white the white suburbs are. Almost 90% of suburban whites live in places that are less than 1% black! Whites see nothing wrong with that – in a country where 9% of the middle class is black!

White suburbia has taken the place of the old sundown towns.

 

[Unkotare]

I’ve been in very small towns in rural places where people couldn’t have been nicer.

I don't doubt there are nice people there - but did you have any interaction with local law enforcement?

Yup

And so your 1-2 experiences are not anecdotal but they represent the totality of small rural all white or mostly white towns, but my growing up and living every day in one is just nothing but anecdotes.

Ok, let’s do this again:


Your life sucks and everything you have ever tried to do has failed because you have a boot on your neck. Is that right?

 

[IM2]

I’ve been in very small towns in rural places where people couldn’t have been nicer.

I don't doubt there are nice people there - but did you have any interaction with local law enforcement?

Yup

And so your 1-2 experiences are not anecdotal but they represent the totality of small rural all white or mostly white towns, but my growing up and living every day in one is just nothing but anecdotes.

Ok, let’s do this again:


Your life sucks and everything you have ever tried to do has failed because you have a boot on your neck. Is that right?

No, let's try it this way.

Prove when racism ended and its effects were allayed. Show, with data and peer-reviewed studies supporting your argument, when the effects of the hundreds of years of anti-Black racism from chattel slavery through Old Jim Crow leveled off. Show when the wealth expropriated during that oppression was repaid to those it was expropriated from and through. And remember, after you’ve addressed the end of anti-Black racism you’ll still have to explain when anti-Latinx, anti-Asian, anti-Arab, and anti-Native racism came to an end as well.

 

[LOIE]

Hello. I am back after a self imposed hiatus from computers. But I want and need to post this.

Yesterday at church a young woman shared a story with us and urged us as Christians to put our faith into action. I borrowed most of the following from the Kalief Browder Foundation web page so the information would be accurate.


In 2010, Kalief Browder was arrested at the age of 16 for allegedly stealing a backpack and its contents. Charged as an adult, Kalief could not afford the $3,000 bail set on his freedom. He was imprisoned for over 1,000 days on Rikers Island without trail, spending 400 of those days in solitary confinement. He was starved, beaten and abused by guards and inmates.

Three years after his arrest, Kalief's charges were dismissed and he was released due to lack of evidence. He committed suicide two years later at the age of 22.

This is one of the saddest stories I have ever heard. And what disturbs me greatly is that it happened in 2010 – this is not ancient history - this is not the distant past – this is not the sins of our forefathers - this is not something that took place during slavery days, the time we are all told to forget about and stop bringing up because it’s sooooooooo over. This was eight years ago. This was a teenage kid. This was a vicious system. This was modern slavery. This was unforgettable and unforgiveable.

Isn't NYC America's most progressive and diverse city?

Progressive and diverse, yes, I suppose. But those things did not stop this atrocity from happening. And if something like this can happen in a progressive city, it makes me wonder what may be happening in small towns and rural places where some very backward thinking still exists and dominates folks behavior. I would not be surprised to find that there are black men imprisoned and forced into labor without fair trials or fair representation.

Such useful speculation and prejudice... ^^^^

In response to this I started some research on the subject and have already found a man who has been in prison 10 years without even a trial in Alabama. Also found that many small towns are feeding people into jails in nearby places just to keep them filled. They are not even in the place where the alleged crime took place. When time allows, I intend to dig further. And no, this is not prejudice. It's simply looking at what is happening in one place and wondering if it happens elsewhere.

Keep looking and you’ll find that everyone in prison is innocent - according to them.

The point is that our system says that people are presumed INNOCENT until proven guilty and that there is to be due process and a speedy trial. In far too many cases, men of color are in prison because they cannot pay the cash bail demanded to free them until their trial. They have not yet been proven guilty but they are sitting in prison while they are presumed innocent. They may or may not be found guilty when the trial date finally arrives, but by then significant emotional, physical and mental damage may occur while they are incarcerated, waiting for that determination to be made.

And yes, it's common to hear that everyone in prison claims they are innocent - but some of them actually are! Just ask the Innocence Project and other organization that exist to uncover the many injustices within our criminal justice system.