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A Hard Road To Justice
When news broke that charges were being filed against the father and son who shot and killed 25-year- old Ahmaud Arbery as he was jogging down a Brunswick, Georgia, road, there was a sense of relief for many who believed justice would finally be served. To me, though, the announce- ment came off as a desperate move by the State to keep the wolves at bay.
My skepticism that the of- ficials involved were actually planning to do the right thing stems from the fact that they were in possession of video ev- idence clearly showing Ar- bery's murder for months. And it was only after the video was made available to the pub- lic did they decide it was in their own best interests to pur- sue charges.
They didn't want to hold the two men in question, Gre- gory and Travis McMichael, accountable.... Their hands were forced.
The way the events have transpired in this case re- minds me of what happened 8 years ago following the mur- der of Trayvon Martin. Like Georgia, the State of Florida also had to be pressured into
AHMAUD ARBERY
arresting Martin's executor, George Zimmerman.
After a high profile trial, Zimmerman, who most ob- servers thought would be found guilty, was able to walk away scot-free. With the de- layed charging of Arbery's killers, history appears to be repeating itself.
Some people will say that this time around the video will make a difference. But what they forget is that there was also a video in South Carolina when a police officer, Michael Slager, shot an un- armed Black man in the back.
In that same footage Slager was also captured planting evidence to cover up his crime. While Slager even- tually pled guilty and was sen- tenced to 20 years, what stood
out about that episode was that his initial trial ended in a hung jury.
One of the jurors, a white male, said he would never vote to convict Slager for doing "his job." And that's the con- cern I have with seating a jury in Brunswick. How many peo- ple in that small town will feel the same way?
Even though the Arbery case has been handed over to a Black female prosecutor from Atlanta, after two local prosecutors recused them- selves due to a conflict of inter- est, you have to assume that it will be hard to find an unbi- ased, predominately white jury in the deep south willing to rule against a former cop for the killing of, what they may consider, a worthless "nigger."
This, unfortunately, is the hurdle that will prove difficult to overcome. Though the cal- endar says it’s 2020, when it comes to the lives of Black men in America, we seem to be stuck in 1820 instead.
Of course, if the feds get in- volved, with their history of in- discriminately body slamming anyone who crosses their path, it may be a different outcome. But believing Arbery's death will be vindicated inside of a Georgia state court, where 12 good ole' boys and girls will have the final say, could wind up being wishful thinking...
Reality On Ice is © by the Florida Sentinel Bul- letin Publishing Com- pany. You can contact Mr. Barr at: cbar- ronice@gmail.com.
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The Darker Side Of The Corona Era
If predictions prove accurate, then gone are the days of bear hugs and handshakes. However, while corona and social distancing took precedence over the nation’s attention, Donald Trump and his termites have been eating away at our American in- stitutions and safety-nets. Consider the following message, therefore, as a wake-up call.
Trump’s 20-21 budget cuts include a fifty five bil- lion dollar cut to social security... a citizen-paid-for safety net for senior citizens, the disabled and chil- dren.
Moreover, Trump cut 1.6 trillion dollars from low income programs, and completely eliminated funding for public radio and television (Sesame Street, WEDU, WUSF, and WMNF-locally).
Programs that help struggling low-income and moderate income households afford the basics and access to health care have been eliminated as well. Within the budget cuts also is a proposal to extend the costly 2017 tax cuts for high income citizens and busi- nesses beyond 2025.
At the same time, Trump’s budget calls for cuts to Medicaid and Food Stamps despite the needs created by the Coronavirus.
Another $360 billion in cuts is scheduled for pro- grams that help low-to moderate income people make ends meet, or to improve their chances to succeed (SSI, TANF, SSBG, refundable child care tax credits, uncompensated hospital care, and other Medicare payment.
Overall, these cuts will reduce programs by nearly half (forty-four percent). Overall, within a ten year period the cuts will increase income disparities, and will widen inequality across racial and ethnic lines.
Speaking of protests, these proposed budget cuts are really something to protest about. For what it means is that the so-called new-normal will be any- thing but new or normal.
Virus Death Toll Climbs To 44 In Hillsborough County
The Florida De- partment of Health in Hillsborough County releases information pertaining to the num- ber of COVID-19 cases as well as the deaths associated with the virus. The information is released once a day on Florida’s COVID-19 Surveillance Dash- board.
The information can be found on their website at https://floridahealth- covid19,gov. The web- site also contains other important information regarding COVID-19. Individuals can also follow it on Twitter @DOHHillsborough for local updates.
There are currently 42,402 cases of the virus in the state with a total of 1,827 deaths.
In Hillsborough County, there are 1,494 cases of the virus and a death toll of 44.
The first death linked to the Coron- avirus took place on Wednesday, March 25th. The 69-year-old man passed away at home. The oldest vic- tim claimed by the virus was a 100-year- old female. The youngest victim was a 35-year-old woman.
The age and sex of the victims are: 69-year-old male 71-year-old female 92-year-old female 68-year-old female 86-year-old female 77-year-old male 55-year-old male 78-year-old male 74-year-old male 62-year-old male 74-year-old male 73-year-old male 63-year-old male 93-year-old female 64-year-old female
66-year-old male 35-year-old female
73-year-old male 57-year-old male 92-year-old female 94-year-old female 81-year-old male 89-year-old female 100-year-old female 72-year-old female 88-year-old male 76-year-old female 63-year-old female 73-year-old female 56-year-old female 94-year-old female 81-year-old female 64-year-old female 62-year-old female 73-year-old male 84-year-old female 78-year-old female 87-year-old female 67-year-old female 70-year-old female 70-year-old female 71-year-old male 89-year-old male 79-year-old female
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