Internet Tributes to the Victims of the Newark Slayings- Why We Can't Wait on the League of the Immorally Indifferent

[T]here's another far more subversive and uplifting element of do-it-yourself video production. Before You Tube, we were at the mercy of newspapers and TV news offering us a decent profile of the victims of heinous crimes - sometimes only receiving a few minutes of coverage while our "if-it-bleeds-it-leads" media would focus their attention on the criminal minds of the perpetrators.Diary of an Anxious Black Woman

Now, everyday people can create their own video montages and highlight victims of senseless crimes, victims who don't always get the attention that is due them. In this shocking story of three college youth gunned down in Newark, NJ - Terrance Aeriel, 18, Iofemi Hightower, 20, and Dashon Harvey, 20 - their friends have created tribute videos to give us a glimpse of who they were when they were alive. Diary of an Anxious Black Woman

There are too many to put up, I encourage other bloggers to put up some of the others and we can link to each other. ON the top video when it gets through playing, you can scroll over the other videos in the fram and find other tributes.

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"Niagra Movement" for Black Women Being Born

Read why what is now going on is not the usual howling at the moon about all that is wrong in the world. There is something different going on in a post-Imus world.

I don't know all the details at this point, but when I do, you know y'all will be the first to know. If Don Imus was the Arch Duke Ferdinand of a battle between Black folks with common sense and those without, then the RADIO SILENCE on the Dunbar Village gang rape is the Pearl Harbor that is going to draw Black women from the sidelines.

If the "self appointed" leaders refuse to speak out or take steps to protect the Black community, ALL of THEM, then we must take steps to defend ourselves. If the organizations that hold themselves out as being focussed on the needs of the Black community are throwing conventions and banquets and awards ceremonies while ROME BURNS, then they need to shutter their doors and turn in their charters. If they are too archaic and incompetent to meet 21st century problems with 21st century methods, then WE WILL DO what THEY CANNOT or WILL NOT DO!

Don't worry moi will not be "leading " anything. I am a general, not a diplomat. Other folks are going to take the lead. That is the way it should be. We all have our roles to play. No single one of us can do everything.

Let the League of Industrious Black Women ( and those who love and care about us) be born! Don't worry y'all that is not the name of the group. Also, I know that Arch Duke Ferdinand and Pearl Harbor were from two different wars. Here at WAOD, we love to mix the metaphors.

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NAACP Contacts WADO- National Office Won't Be Speaking Out On Dunbar Village- Addressing Hate Crimes Against Black Women Not 'Mission'

Ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate racial hatred and racial discrimination. Mission of the NAACP.

Apparently somebody at the NAACP can't tell the difference between "and" and "or."

It is What It Is.

I just had an enlightening conversation with Richard McIntyre(sp) from the NAACP's National Office in Baltimore. First, despite this story being about a month old, nobody in the NAACP National Office had apparently heard of it. Second, they were so late in returning my call because they don't check their voicemail ( his words not mine). Third, the NAACP does not get involved in Black on Black crime at the National level because it is not the result of racism. Fourth, the local Florida branch will be going to West Palm Beach on Monday(I'd ask why it took them over a month, but we have bigger battles to fight). Fifth, when asked point blank whether they would have become involved if the West Palm Beach victim had been attacked by White teenagers, Mr. McIntyre said the NAACP would probably become involved at the National level.

Mr. Mcintyre kept referring to the crimes at Dunbar Village as if they were your run of the mill crime and not an assault on humanity and civilization. When asked whether they had become involved in the dragging death of James Byrd, a hate crime, Mr. McIntyre replied that he believed that the NAACP did become involved in that case. When I pointed out that this woman appeared to be targeted because of her national origin and gender, Mr. McIntyre conceded that both of those classifications are protected classes.

Mr Mcintyre instructed me to read in order to explain why the NAACP National Office will not become involved in Dunbar Village. I have. My question for him is have the folks at the NAACP read their mission?

This was truly an "educational " experience and I actually was shocked at his candor and I thank him for it. Now that we know the narrow mission of the organization, you can adjust your dues payments accordingly. I have offered Mr. McIntyre all the space he needs on WAOD to rebut anything I have said describing our conversation. He seemed perturbed that I didn't see fit to reason with him. He kept saying " I wasn't hearing [him]." He then implied that we are just after headlines. DUH. We stated that openly that this case isn't getting nearly the attention that it should if the employees in the national office of something called the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People don't know about one of the most heinous hate crimes committed against a "colored" person I have heard of in recent history.

He also said that he had heard of me so I guess I am on the LIST of Belligerent Working Class Black Folk. Well good, because he is on OUR LIST!

Don't be mad at Mr. McIntyre. Thank him for his candor. He was honest enough to tell us that the NAACP is only interested in the advancement of colored people n cases where that advancement is inhibited by White folk. If he had not told us so, we would have just kept speculating. Now we know that the NAACP does not become involved in crimes unless the attacker is non-African American so the folks in Newark MIGHT get some response out of the NAACP. Apparently they haven't seen the statistics that Black folks make up 50% of the homicides in this country, but only 13% or the population and 85% of the time when a "Colored" person is slaughtered, it is by another "Colored " person. They have a specialty and that is that....

I just have to ask... How the hell can "Colored" people be "advanced" when they are dying in droves? What good is your housing initiative if you can't be secure inside of your house? What good is promoting education and economic empowerment, if you get gunned down over a parking lot on your way home from work?

So it looks like we know which side they are on in the War on Black Women. The answer is NOT OURS! That is very good to know. Y'all might not like it, but it is what it is.

I am struck by this prong of their mission:" To ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of all citizens." The residents of the housing projects of Dunbar Village would beg to differ.

F.Y.I. Don't hold your breath waiting on any presidential candidates addressing Dunbar Village. it slipped my mind that Florida is a "battleground state." Another blogger pointed that out to me today.

P.S. Bruce Gordon.... Now I understand COMPLETELY!

For a look at a 21st century organization addressing 21st century problems, check out the Harlem Children's Zone.

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Donating to the Dunbar Village Victim Assistance Fund- My "Wachovia Experience"

Read about the horror at Dunbar Village here.

Today I passed a brand new branch of Wachovia on my way home and made a U-turn to go see if I could make my donation there. First, it is so new that they don't have any customers so when I walked in 18 people were lined up to say "Welcome to Wachovia!" I told them "Okay, THAT was scary."Then I asked them if I could donate to a victim's assistance fund being handled by Wachovia in Florida. They asked for the name: Dunbar Village Victim Assistance Fund and then the city: West Palm Beach Florida. They pulled it up in about 5 seconds. They only would accept cash or check so I had to roll down the street to my bank to get some cash. You can use the Wachovia ATM, but I would rather burn up gas driving a half mile than to pay an ATM fee ( Yes my bank sucks).

When I got back to the Wachovia, they had everything set up to go. They had pulled up the account number for the fund. I handed over my cash and the man gave me a receipt. Three minutes max. So save a stamp and just walk in to any Wachovia Bank near you. Ironically, when I got home to check my mail, I had a cash back bonus award check in the mailbox. Give to the Universe and the Universe gives back to you. Take up a collection at work, family, whatever and drop it off at a Wachovia branch near you.

Checks can be made payable to the Dunbar Village Victim Assistance Fund-St. Ann. They can be dropped off at any Wachovia branch or mailed to: St. Ann Catholic Church, 310 N. Olive Ave., West Palm Beach, FL 33401. The church’s phone number is (561) 832-3757. (SOURCE)

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Blacks 13% of Population 50% of Murder Victims -Background From West Palm Beach- How the Heck did Dunbar Village Happen?

Nearly half the people murdered in the United States each year are black, part of a persistent pattern in which African Americans are disproportionately victimized by violent crime, according to a new Justice Department study released yesterday.(SOURCE)

YES, it really is THAT BAD! Y'all we are less than a fifth of the population, but HALF of the folks murdered in this country. WHEN THE HECK ARE WE GOING TO MARCH ABOUT THAT?

Newark Massacre
Arrests have been made in the Newark case. One is 15 years old. SMH( Shaking My Head)

More on Dunbar Village.
Take a moment to read some of the recent posts over at Essential Presence(scroll down). She has actually talked with local leaders in West Palm Beach, FL to figure out how this happened on their watch. The Dunbar Village gang rape was not an isolated incident. Don't worry, our public shaming of the "List of the Immorally Indifferent" continues, but we are making plans to act if they do not. Maybe that is the way the Universe intends it because their silence is breathtaking and perplexing.

Content Black Woman is also holding it down about Dunbar Village over at Why Black Women Are Angry.

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