Cagle World

11 white jurors and one Black juror.

We are in week two of the Ahmaud Arbery trial, and I wanted to remind you of the make-up of the jury in the case of a Black Georgia man who was shot and killed by three white men.

A father and son duo — Gregory McMichael and Travis McMichael — and their neighbor, William Bryan, decided to take the law into their own hands. They told authorities they pursued Arbery to make a citizen’s arrest because they “suspected” he was the culprit in a string of break-ins in their neighborhood.

From the outset, even prior to the start of the trial, the case has been mired in controversy and questionable decisions.

Kevin Gough, Bryan’s attorney, openly worried the jury pool didn’t have enough “Bubbas or Joe six-packs.” Eight potential Black jurors were removed by the defense, something Linda Dunikoski, a special prosecutor from the Cobb County District Attorney’s Office, challenged in court. Dunikoski cited a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that states that it is clearly unconstitutional to prohibit potential jurors based on their race or ethnicity.

More than one-quarter of Glynn County residents (the country where the trial is being held) are Black. Glynn County Superior Court Judge Timothy R. Walmsley conceded that “quite a few Black jurors were excused through peremptory strikes executed by the defense.” Despite this admission, he ultimately ruled that the defense had given legitimate reasons for why each juror was removed.

Really? Makes you wonder!

When I first found out about Arbery’s death, I will confess it took me a few minutes to process what I had heard and read. A man murdered for jogging? Yes — jogging! I was incredulous! This happened in March 2020, almost 8 years to the day after the grizzly, savage murder of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin by that abominable creature, that poor excuse for a human being, George Zimmerman. This grim irony has not been lost on many Black people.

Jogging while Black. Driving while Black. Walking while Black. Sitting in a public space while Black. Asking for help while Black. Eating while Black. Merely existing while Black. The cold, agonizing, disturbing truth is that to be Black in America is to regularly endure an ongoing onslaught of assaults and insults. These incidents are a stark reminder that to be Black in America means to live in a constant state of uncertainty.

Even more disturbing is the fact that it took over two months for the men to be arrested and charged in the killing. Jackie Johnson, the former district attorney for the Brunswick Judicial Circuit, was charged with violating her oath of office by currying favor to Greg McMichael, whose father once worked in her office. She was also indicted on obstruction of justice charges for telling officers on the day of the shooting not to arrest Travis.

The fact is that Arbery was minding his own business when the sinister father-and-son duo took it upon their racially profiling selves to violently and sadistically pump several bullets into his body. He was the victim of a modern day lynching. The entire issue is sickening.

As if the searing drama in the trial itself isn’t horrific enough, the dastardly antics and shenanigans surrounding jury selection gives many legal observers cause for pause. The trial reeks of political and judicial incest, resembling something straight out the Jim Crow south.

Our criminal justice system states that when a person is charged with a crime, they are entitled to a jury of their peers. No one can argue that the lopsided racial demographics of the jury in this case have been favorably granted toward the defense. Those of us hoping a for a fair trial can only hope that truth and justice will prevail.

–

Copyright 2021 Elwood Watson, distributed by Cagle Cartoons newspaper syndicate

Elwood Watson is a professor of history, Black studies, and gender and sexuality studies at East Tennessee State University. He is also an author and public speaker.

Unless you’ve been in a deeply comatose state, you’ve probably noticed the profoundly intense battles occurring over the issue of critical race theory, the latest bogeyman for many right-wingers.

A number of conservative cultural critics have been working morning, noon and night in an attempt to discredit proponents of the movement. While some of these antics have been amusing, others attacks have been disingenuous and downright offensive. In some cases, certain teachers have been subjected to physical, verbal and various other sorts of abuse, and in some cases, death threats.

Things have reached a fever pitch in a handful of state legislatures. Some states, like as Mississippi, Tennessee (where I currently live) and Oklahoma, have enacted laws prohibiting the teaching of such content, arguing that this kind of literature teaches children to develop an augmenting hatred for their nation and causes white children to feel bad about themselves.

None of this is true, and conservatives who have weaponized the issue for political gain know this.

This is just one of the numerous defensive positions that have been echoed by many on the political, social and cultural right. Charges of being “anti-American”, “racially divisive, ” and “hate-filled” have been leveled at those who highlight issues of prejudice in American society. Some of the most fervent observers have also been freely hurling terms like “Marxist” and “communist” as insults. Conservatives believe they have found another issue in the so-called culture wars to entice their largely bigoted, sexist, homophobic, and xenophobic base of voters with.

These (largely white) men and women believe the nation has become infested with hordes of immigrants, overtaken by non-white radicals, and become saturated with gays and lesbians advocating supposedly “perverted and unhealthy lifestyles.” Predictably, the situation has become a battle royal of irrational emotions.

Groups invade school board meetings, swarming like locusts while targeting school districts and bombarding administrators with tedious, time-consuming requests. They also routinely engage in chronic litigation alleging discrimination against white students.

Unfortunately, these agitators have become superheroes in right wing circles, and have successfully placed the debate over critical race theory front and center on the national stage.

Critical race theory recognizes that systemic racism is part of American society and challenges the beliefs that allow it to flourish. Some of the theory’s earliest origins can be traced back to the 1970s, when lawyers, activists, and legal scholars realized the advances made during the civil rights era of the 1960s had stalled and were in need of a jump start of sorts.

It is one of a number of approaches that examine white supremacy. The model combats the nostalgic beliefs of those who harbor the idea of a sedate America that was once innately fair and confronts those who seek to promote and embrace a “let bygones be bygones” message among the American public. Most notably, it is not taught at the k-12 level.

Sadly and predicably, most of the drama is rooted in politics. Because it’s all but impossible to tar President Biden with a “radical leftist democrat” brush, MAGA supporters and other right-wingers need a more frightening villain to keep their people engaged. They believe they’ve found a suitably malevolent specter in the form of critical race theory, and at the moment, offering up a scapegoat appears to have had some temporary effect in terms of fostering hostility. But the truth is such victories are likely to be Pyrrhic.

In a nation where the majority of children who inhabit the public education system are students of color, it will be imperative that the history of Black and Indigenous people of color be included as part of the curriculum. Moreover, white fragility, white supremacy and intellectual dishonesty are vices that must and will always be challenged.

–

Copyright 2021 Elwood Watson, distributed by Cagle Cartoons newspaper syndicate

Elwood Watson is a professor of history, Black studies, and gender and sexuality studies at East Tennessee State University. He is also an author and public speaker.

He said the quiet part out loud is a phrase commonly used in the Black community when referring to whites and others who reveal their innermost thoughts.

Former Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden resigned earlier this week after a trove of racist, homophobic, misogynistic and xenophobic emails attributed to him publicly surfaced.

Gruden made the bigoted, anti-gay comments for more than decade, but was only held accountable for such odious behavior when his scurrilous remarks became public property. Among other things, he callously said DeMaurice Smith, the executive director of the NFL Players Association, possessed “lips the size of Michelin tires,” and referred to the league’s commissioner, Roger Goodell, using homophobic and misogynistic slurs.

Gruden also criticized Goodell for recruiting LGBTQ football players, sent photos of topless women to other coaches, and denounced the recruitment of female referees. The list of disgraceful, reductive commentary goes on.

An in-depth expose published by New York Times detailed that Goodell directed league officials to review 650,000 emails that were sent over the past few months. The NFL launched an investigation to look into allegations of sexism, and other indignities that plagued the league. which as of this moment, have only barely scratched the surface.

The league fined the Washington Football Team $10 million for workplace misconduct, but gave owner Dan Snyder a benign slap on the wrist and have steadfastly refused to release any comprehensive materials that could potentially shed light on untoward behavior.

Let’s be honest, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to conclude why the league has resisted opening up emails for public consumption. Those of us who are Black Americans definitely know the answer.

As is often the case with individuals when caught and exposed with their hand in the racist cookie jar, Gruden reverted to the “Who me? Nah man, I’m not a bigot. There is not a racist bone in my body. That is not who I am” dishonest defense. Well guess what, Gruden — your actions and emails blatantly demonstrate otherwise! You embody all of the traits you profess not to harbor.

Gruden and certain other members of the NFL are representative of a segment of Americans who long for a time when Blacks and, in some cases, Jews, were occasionally seen, certainly not heard from, and deprived of any sense of dignity, fairness and equality. Women were largely relegated to second-class status, were of no competition in the workplace, had to often quietly overlook or turn a blind eye to infidelity or spousal abuse, and were largely relegated to objects of sexual objectification. LGBTQ people were seen as less than human, regarded as deviants, perverts and unworthy of any form of respect. Disabled people were seen as quasi-human, burdensome and semi-tragic figures.

Yes, for a notable segment of Americans like Gruden, these were indeed the “good ol’ days.”

Gruden and Allen arrogantly believed that their comments would not enter into the public domain. Truth be told, they had ample reason to believe such a possible reality. For more than a decade they were given free rein to engage in such perverted, hyper levels of toxic masculinity.

While there has always been a segment of Americans that have harbored rabid levels of hostility and hatred toward non-white people and other marginalized groups, these men and women were largely forced to resort to discussing and reaffirming their racist, anti-Semitic, bigoted, myopic, sectarian and other reductive and largely pathological viewpoints with other like-minded individuals.

Their bigoted views were largely confined to white supremacist newsletters and magazines, obscure far right radio programs and the darkest, racially sordid corners of the web. This was primarily the case up until a few years ago.

The current climate has afforded individuals such as Gruden, Allen, and other closet racists a green light to express their regressive viewpoints with growing levels of fierce pride and confidence. The NFL is just a microcosm of this rabidly festering cancer saturating our society.

–

Copyright 2021 Elwood Watson, distributed by Cagle Cartoons newspaper syndicate

Elwood Watson is a professor of history, Black studies, and gender and sexuality studies at East Tennessee State University. He is also an author and public speaker.