I wrote about the case of Dorothy Dixon on this blog almost a year ago. I also mentioned Dorothy Dixon in an article I did for the September issue of ESSENCE magazine about maternal homicide.
For those who don’t know, Dorothy Dixon was a pregnant mentally disabled Black woman who was tortured for months allegedly by the people who who lived off her Social Security check:
Although her main torturer appears to have allegedly been a White woman, this case got almost NO media attention because two Black teens were also implicated in the crime. Thus “technically” Dixon fell into the relm of a victim of Black on Black crime, thus she gets no attention. Michelle Riley worked at a state facility where Dixon lived and eventually took up residence with Dixon, collecting Dixon’s Social Security check and serving as a ring leader in the ongoing torture of Dixon. They literally used Dorothy Dixon for target practice, the coroner removed BB pellets that were embedded into her skin:
Banished to the basement, the 29-year-old mother with a childlike mind and another baby on the way had little more than a thin rug and a mattress to call her own on the chilly concrete floor. Five adults and a 12-year-old child were charged with Dorothy Dixon’s murder.
Dorothy Dixon ate what she could forage from the refrigerator upstairs, where housemates used her for target practice with BBs, burned her with a glue gun and doused her with scalding liquid that peeled away her skin. They torched what few clothes she had, so she walked around naked. They often pummeled her with an aluminum bat or metal handle.
Dixon — six months pregnant — died after weeks of abuse. Police have charged two adults, three teenagers and a 12-year-old boy with murder in the case that has repulsed many in this Mississippi River town. Investigators put much of the blame on Michelle Riley, 35, who they said befriended Dixon but pocketed monthly Social Security checks she got because of her developmental delays.
Dixon saw little, if any, of the money, Hayes said. For months she weathered the torment to keep a roof over her head and that of her year-old son, who weighed just 15 pounds when taken into state custody after his mom’s death….
Hayes watched the autopsy and found her injuries disturbing. X-rays revealed roughly 30 BBs lodged in her. Deep-tissue burns covered about one-third of her body — her face, her chest, her arms and feet — and left her severely dehydrated. Her face and body showed signs of prolonged abuse. Many of her wounds were infected.
None of the injuries, Hayes said, proved singly fatal to Dixon. Her system already was taxed by her unborn baby.
“The autopsy sort of indicates her immune system just shut down,” he said. “It was not capable of fending off any more.” Source
Now the media trail that was cold following Dixon’s death has grown ICE COLD in the intervening months so I took it upon myself to check in with the court handling the case and surprise, the first jury trial in this case is scheduled for 9:00AM on April 6, 2009. Judy Woods is the defendant. The trial of the suspected ringleader, Michelle Reilly, is scheduled for April 13, 2009. Interestingly enough they have both been assigned different judges same prosecutor.
I don’t know if the trials will actually occur or if they will be delayed, but I will check in again next week to see what is going on. If you are in the St. Louis area, I believe Alton, IL is about 15 miles north.
As yet another sign that SOME of US have lost our plum natural minds, once again certain members of our “community” are rallying on behalf of a suspected rapist- whether in West Palm Beach Florida, or Chicago, or Milwaukee some Black folks don’t acknowledge that fully grown people who violently attack young girls and women are the scum of the Earth, dangers to us all, and deserve to be thrown under the jail as a short pit stop before they head straight to HELL!:
Lovelle Mixon was linked by DNA to the February rape of a 12-year-old girl who was dragged off the street at gunpoint in the East Oakland neighborhood where Mixon’s sister lived, police said Tuesday.
Mixon, 26, a fugitive parolee who shot four Oakland police officers to death Saturday before he was killed as he hid inside his sister’s apartment, might have committed as many as five other rapes in the same neighborhood in recent months, investigators said.
All the victims of those rapes were attacked in the early-morning hours, as was the girl who was raped Feb. 5, and the assailant’s behavior was similar in all the assaults, police said. SF Gate
The 12 year old was not the only victim, but her attack was the impetus for rushing to search the DNA database and the girl provided the police with an accurate sketch.
Police would not go into detail about the other rapes. But they said that at least one happened this month and that another woman was dragged off the street and raped in the neighborhood in January.
The victim in that rape told police that the attacker “came up behind her. She was savagely raped and sodomized,” said Sgt. Jill Encinas of the police special victims unit.
Police said several victims of the early morning attacks were prostitutes or people the attacker may have believed were prostitutes. The East Oakland area, however, is not known for prostitution, Wiley said.
Most victims did not get a look at the attacker, but the 12-year-old girl did, Encinas said.
She helped police come up with a sketch of the rapist that strongly resembles Mixon, Encinas said. “It’s pretty dead-on,” she said.
The sketch was distributed to officers in the area.SOURCE
Now you would think that the community would be rallying to solve these rapes and make the streets safe for Black women and girls to move about freely. Uh Uh. We know better here at WAOD. In the grand tradition of the NAACP and the National Action Network SOME Black folks got together in Oakland to rally for a suspected serial rapist. Calling him a “hero” for murdering four Oakland police officers.
“Lovelle is a hero! Lovelle is a hero!” shouted a woman in the rally.
Demonstrators say Mixon was fighting back against what they see as an oppressive police force.
“I don’t condone what he did, but karma comes around. What goes around comes around,” said a man speaking to the crowd.
Many of those who chose not to take part in the march believe this tragic incident is a symptom of a much larger problem.
The small turnout at Wednesday’s demonstration reflected the community’s intolerance of Mixon’s actions, but the incident has created a strong desire to improve relations between the police and the community.ABC News
Now notice that I added “SOME” to the title of this post. 40 people does not make a movement, but lets not be to swift to dismiss this group in Oakland. The same thing happened in West Palm Beach with the Dunbar Village case- rallying for the accused violent rapists while ignoring the victims. I am sure many of you can add additional examples.
Moral authority matters. IT MATTERS!. You can’t move forward the cause of justice and equal rights standing on the pools of blood. You can’t turn a violent rapist and killer into a hero. Mixon didn’t stand over the wounded bodies of police officers and pump more shells into their bodies to help Black folks in Oakland. Mixon preyed on Black people in Oakland. He was a predator. He died the way he lived. Selfishly. Maniacally, Like the narcissist that he appears to be. Whatever he wanted, he took. Who ever he could get away with brutalizing, he brutalized. His goal in life was not freedom fighting, but to steal, to kill and to destroy. That’s not Heroic, that’s evil.
You can’t condemn the perceived violent oppression of a community by “the system” and use a man who violently oppresses women and girls by torturing, raping, and sodomizing them. EPIC FAIL! FAIL! FAIL!
You can’t call yourself a “civil rights” organization and promote the denial of basic human rights to half the population. VIOLENCE is a form of tyranny. Lovelle Mixon was a tyrannical predator he would been just as soon have pumped bullets into the 40 fools marching around calling him a hero if they stood in between him and something he wanted.
Now if only someone in a position of Leadership in Oakland would say the same thing. These 40 deluded self-centered narcissists and enablers on the street of Oakland do not represent me.
ON another note, it is too bad the Oakland PD didn’t put a rush on getting searching the DNA database when the prostitutes were being viciously raped and tortured prior to the 12 year old girl. They may have gotten that DNA match earlier. Women and children are canaries in the mine shaft.
One has to wonder how it is the new media chose to cover this band of 40 fools, but a meteorite has to strike the body of a Black woman before we can get coverage of violent crimes against her.
Stop the presses, CNN broke away from its coverage of Haley and put the story of the death of Chiquita Tate on the front page of CNN.com:
Tate, 34, had started her own law firm in downtown Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and was doing well, family and acquaintances said.
“She was up and coming,” said Cpl. L’Jean McKneely, a police spokesman in Baton Rouge.
Tate was representing a defendant in a high-profile murder trial when, police say, she became a homicide victim herself. Her body was found inside her law office on February 20. Tate was stabbed 38 times, according to a police warrant for[Greg] Harris’ arrest obtained by CNN.
While questioning Harris about Tate’s death, police discovered an outstanding warrant for him in connection with a battery-domestic violence case. It stemmed from a December 22, 2007, incident at the couple’s home.
Domestic violence knows no race or class. According to CNN, Tate married her husband a few weeks after charges were filed against him for battery:
Harris was accused of using “force and violence” against Tate, according to Baker City Court records. The court said Harris entered a not guilty plea on March 6, 2008, but did not appear for a May 8 pretrial conference. A warrant was issued for his arrest for contempt of court.
When Tate met Harris in late 2007, she fell for him, head over heels, said East Baton Rouge Parish Juvenile Court Judge Pam Taylor Johnson, Tate’s mentor and former boss.
“She came in my office one day: ‘I met the most wonderful guy! I need you to perform our marriage — tomorrow,‘” Johnson recalled Tate gleefully telling her.
“I told her she had to wait three days,” as required by Louisiana law, Johnson added.
Tate did wait a bit. The couple’s marriage license is dated January 10, 2008, just two and a half weeks after the domestic violence report from Baker police. They married on February 8, their marriage license shows. CNN.COM
I’m not a dranker, so its hard to boycott something I don’t use in the first place. In addition to foolishly lining the pockets of Shawn “Johnny Appleseed” Combs by selecting him as the spokesperson for Ciroc Vodka, Sandra Rose posted what purports to be open audition call for promo models to hand out Ciroc Vodka:
Ciroc Promotion Ciroc promo is this Friday, March 27, 2009
Time: 3:00pm – 7:00pm and 12:00am – 3:00am
Requirements:
Race: White, hispanic or light skinned african american
Height: At least 5′6 or taller
Size 7 or smaller.
This is a cash @ wrap job and the booking will be thru our partner. Please submit asap.Talent will only be contacted if the client is interested in booking you!!!
A quick google search reveals that at some point, this was also posted on Craig’s List Atlanta, however, the post has been removed – I don’t know if it was by Craig’s List or the poster.
Surely- SURELY no one could be so stupid as to post this on along side they’re client’s name in a public forum…. or could they? And a strongly worded denial from Ciroc or the person responsible for they’re Atlanta promotions should be released in 5…4..3..2..1.
UPDATE: Ciroc sent Sandra Rose a Statement of Denial. That was fast!
“CIROC Vodka has nothing whatsoever to do with this inappropriate and offensive casting call, which was done without the brand’s knowledge or consent. We are currently investigating how this occurred. CIROC Vodka has created a brand that defines sophisticated celebration for all consumers, and in no way condones this practice.”
This is about the fifth time I’ve seen some variation of this story: Due to the economy desperate women are driven to stripping, prostitution’s, adult films etc. I tried to view what these women were doing without imposing my own personal value system on them. Allowing them room as adults engaged in a legal activity to do what they wish with their lives. “Why should these women be ashamed for providing a form of entertainment and getting paid for it”, my moral relativist attempted argue before my judgmental spirit tackled my inner moral relativist and put her in a sleeper hold. I’m calling total and complete Foolishness on “The ECONOMY MADE ME DO IT!”:
The recession is making the adult entertainment industry increasingly competitive, and many employers in the field say they’re flooded with applications from college-educated women who, until recently, held down white-collar jobs. Gus Poulos, the manager of Sin City gentleman’s club in midtown, recently received 85 responses to a Craigslist job posting in just one day; he tells the AP, “You’re seeing a lot more beautiful women who are eligible to do so many other things.” Gothamist
This time I paused because the photo accompanying the story was a Black woman. The story was title From Jobless to Topless.
Stone, who has a bachelor’s degree in graphic design, took up dancing four years ago to help pay her student loans. She plans to go to graduate school this year to pursue a master’s in education.
Brown, meanwhile, has a ready answer for those critical of her career choice. “I have job security,” she said.
Dear ms. Brown. You clearly have not learned your lesson. Why on earth would you pursue a graduate degree when the undergraduate degree didn’t work out all that well for you since you had to turn to selling your body in order to pay for what clearly was an inefficient use of your time and treasure.
Of course the mainstream media article crowed that the strippers could make between $100,000 to 300,000 a year while glossing over a single sentence in the story that many of the women were driven to alcohol in order to cope with turning themselves into animated objects.
Some performers said they were initially so nervous that only alcohol could calm their nerves.
“It is like giving a speech, but instead of imagining everyone naked, you’re the one who’s naked,” Brown, 29, said.
Eva Stone, a 25-year-old dancer at the Pink Monkey, said dealing with occasional verbal abuse from patrons requires “a thick skin.”
Back in elementary school we learned that a noun is a person, a place, or a thing. These women are intentionally choosing to convert their PERSON into a THING- an object like a door knob, a shoe, a horse, a cow, a jeep. It isn’t okay when other people dehumanize us. It isn’t okay when we sign up for the privlege.
The true test of your character isn’t what you will do when you have great options- the true test is what you are willing to do when you have really crappy options. To the girl who is stripping to pay back student loans, its called a deferment or forbearance. Worst case scenario, move to Canada and throw Sallie Mae the deuce.
This is not okay. I don’t care how many articles of variations thereof MSM cranks out.
I’ll make an exception in her case. After all, in spite of the fact that affirmative action got her an Ivy League degree and a $7,000-a-week salary and, moreover, has sent billions of dollars for no particularly good reason to Africa, she insists this is a mean country. The burning question in my circle is: if the First Family gets a female dog, will she be the First Bitch or will she have to settle for second place?Huffington Post
If you read this passage you will see the edited version that currently resides on Town Hall
It’s not just the politicians, but also their mates, so long as they’re Democrats, who get the star treatment. Take Michelle Obama…please. Every time I turn around, there she is on a magazine cover. Now, normally, like the Mafia, I lay off the spouses, but inasmuch as this particular spouse attended the same racist church as her hubby for 20 years, I’ll make an exception in her case. After all, in spite of the fact that affirmative action got her an Ivy League degree and a $7,000-a-week salary and, moreover, has sent billions of dollars for no particularly good reason to Africa, she insists this is a mean country.
Naturally, the left-wing media is now trying to convince us that this James Brown-look-alike has all the allure, glamour and fashion sense of Jackie Kennedy.Town Hall
For those of you who do not read Michelle Obama Watch, You might have missed this tidbit from Tammy Bruce speaking about First Lady Michelle Obama:
BRUCE: What a shame. That must’ve just ruined her damn day. “I wanted the A for myself, and I wanted to do it, and ooh, they said you sounded like a white person, I don’t know what that means, but uhh.” Huh?
Man, oh, man. That’s who he’s married to, what does that tell you? This is what we’ve got — you know what we’ve got? We’ve got trash in the White House. Trash is a, is a thing that is color blind, it can cross all eco — ecosocionomic kind of categories, you can work on Wall Street or work at the Wal-Mart. Trash are people who use other people to get things, who patronize others, who consider you bitter and clingy.Courtesy of Media Matters
In case you missed video of the First Lady’s appearance with the high school students, you can watch the entire exchange including her entrance over at CSPAN:
A reader sent this story to me via the contact form, but they didn’t provide any detail. Hat Tip to Sandra Rose for additional details.
In two separate double murders a single mother and her daughter were killed. Karen and Karissa Lofton were shot in late January in their home. Deloris and Ebony Dewitt were found burning in a car. One in the back seat, one in the trunk:
In each case, the mothers were in their 40s and the daughters were teenagers. They were found dead early in the morning, on a Monday.
One other commonality that emerged yesterday – Karen Lofton, 45, and Deloris Dewitt, 43, were both nurses – appeared to be mere coincidence, police said. Lofton had just finished her first day of orientation to be a school nurse in Largo. Dewitt had worked at a nursing home in Clinton for the past nine years.
But detectives were searching for possible connections between the homicides and a string of burglaries in the area. In all, police said, more than 10 homes have been burglarized there since last fall.
Police questioned teenage suspects in those cases. Baltimore Sun
Today we interrupt my two-week blogcation to morn the beating of Lilianna Goodmann.:
A 14-month-old girl who police said was severely beaten by her mother’s boyfriend died Friday afternoon.
Lilianna Goodmann had been at the Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital at St. Vincent since Wednesday. She was taken off life support at 3:30 p.m. on Friday after a scan showed no brain activity, said Indianapolis police Sgt. Paul Thompson. SOURCE
Further, this proposal is likely to present an opportunistic boon for many entirely different types of programming models, but not for those models pursued by minority broadcasters. Specifically, business models like home shopping and infomercials would appear to benefit most from this kind of
squatters’ approach. The result would be that more non-minority broadcast channels, under the ultimate control of the same broadcasters who control the airwaves today, would get must-carry status, with the effect of squeezing out the precious channel space that would otherwise be available to prospective minority, women’s and other emerging cable and satellite programmers. Jesse Jackson, Sr. On Behalf of Rainbow PUSH to the FCC, October 30, 2007
I know all this telecom law is boring the heck out of half of y’all, but this is important. We return once again to Bob Johnson’s scheme to launch Urban Television LLC. For several months I have been covering Bob Johnson’s attempt to launch BET II, the broadcast edition.
Several of you have laughed at me referring to this latest scheme as a minority sharecropping infomercial channel, but I’m not joking, that is exactly what it is. BTW I didn’t come up with the term “sharecropping” to describe this scheme. That was Jesse Jackson, Sr. when he described the multi-cast “must carry” scheme that Johnson is pushing… that was before Rainbow PUSH apparently suffered the swift onset of amnesia likely brought on by Bob Johnson’s billions (technically millions-Shelia got half!)
Today I shall attempt to do a better job of explaining why you, an ordinary African American should be outraged at what Bob Johnson and Ion Media are doing. Continue reading →
