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Editorials/Columns
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Killing Made Easy
wo weeks ago Reginald
Bowman was acquitted in the shooting death of Lyfe Coleman. Apparently, since Coleman was no longer around to give his version of events, the jury chose to go by the account given by the only other person on the scene ... The man who pulled the trig- ger.
To be honest, I was sur- prised as anyone that Bow- man was able to beat the rap. I mean is that all it takes these days to get away with murder in Florida? Meet someone in a secluded place, blow his brains out and claim that you were standing your ground?
If that’s the case, then I suggest we all become a little more careful around any po- tential enemies because the Bowman verdict just gave anyone, who would want to do us serious bodily harm, the blueprint on how to do so without going to prison.
The thing that bothers me the most about how this trial turned out is that it didn’t seem to matter to the jury that Bowman, who stated that he feared for his life, was the one who went to Coleman’s house, who never contacted the police for almost two years after the incident took place and who even had the audacity to say he never knew he shot Coleman during the incident. It is just inconceivable to me that 12 people (I’m assuming it was 12) were able to stretch the boundaries of their imagi- nations to the point where they could find any part of Bowman’s testimony re- motely credible.
As large of a story as Cole- man’s death became and as much as Coleman’s father, Life Malcolm, made it his business to make sure that his son’s murder would never be forgotten, even if Bowman thought he missed, you have to
believe that at some point word got to him that he’d actu- ally hit his target. And the fact that he still didn’t come for- ward willingly means that he was attempting to get away with something he’d done that he knew was wrong.
To me this is just another example of how the Stand Your Ground Law is nothing more than a legal loophole that gives people the green light to kill. There was a time when I naively believed that the Legislation was specially designed to protect the George Zimmermans of the world from the conse- quences of their reckless be- havior.
Now I’m starting to realize that anyone can apply it as long as the victim is a person of color, particularly a Black male.
Bowman didn’t get off solely because they couldn’t prove he was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Now, all we can hope is that he doesn’t go out and do it again.
Reality On Ice is © by the Florida Sentinel Bul- letin Publishing Com- pany. You can contact Mr. Barr at: barr6502@gmail.com.
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Flu Season Etiquette
fter sitting through three doctors appointments
and a meeting last week, two of our writers de- cided we needed to remind our readers that there is a standard of behavior that should (must!) be honored during flu season, especially a flu season that is the most virulent it has ever been.
They observed several people coughing, sneezing and sniffling, apologetically explaining that they were “just getting over the flu.” (Tsk, Tsk!) Our writers won- dered why the people were so selfish as to spread the flu around others, instead of wearing a mask or staying at home until they had completely gotten over it . . or was that too much to ask?
So, readers, we wish to remind you of proper eti- quette during the flu season. First of all, stay home if you’ve got the flu until ALL symptoms have gone away.
Second, Get a flu shot if you’ve not already done so and even if you are scared-to-death of needles.
Third, if you must go out wear a surgical mask to avoid infecting innocent bystanders who for various reasons cannot take the flu shot. Who cares if you look strange?
Fourth, avoid shaking hands if you have flu symp- toms.
Fifth, use hand sanitizer frequently to avoid spread- ing flu germs or contracting them.
Sixth, avoid hugging people if you have the flu.
And finally, remind your loved-ones of all the above and to wash their hands frequently.
Most certainly, we wish all of you the best of health and freedom from the flu.
But remember: A little bit of common sense helps a flu shot go a long way.
Africa-Town Revisited
everal years ago, I wrote
about Black towns in America which included Africa- town, located three miles north of downtown Mobile, Alabama. Africa-town was the first town founded and continuously occu- pied and controlled by Blacks in America, and still exists today.
The town was formed by 32 slaves who were among the last known illegal shipment of slaves to the United States from the Kingdom of Dahomey on the ship, Clotilda, after the Atlantic slave trade had been banned in 1808.
Earlier last month, a news reporter, Ben Raines, found the charred remains of a ship on the Alabama River. The reporter and archeologists who reviewed the remains of the ship believe the charred wreck is the Clotilda, a ship owned by a slave owner, Timothy Mea- her, who made a bet with friends that he could secretly import slaves from Africa unde- tected by federal officials.
So, in May 1860, Meaher and his wealthy slave-owning friends invested money to hire a crew and captain to take the ship Clotilda to Africa and buy slaves. The vessel sailed from Whydah (pronounced “ouid- dddah”, Kingdom of Dahomey
(modern Benin) in May 1860, with a cargo of 110 to 132 Africans sold into slavery by Ghezo, King, of Dahomey, to William Foster, captain of the Clotilda for $100 per slave.
The Africans were believed to be ethnic Yoruba, Fon, Nupe, Dendi, Isha, and Takpo people from a band of Yoruba from the interior of present day Nigeria.
The Clotilda reached the port of Mobile in July 1860; was towed upriver to meet a steam- boat where the slaves were loaded offshore; and was then set fire to and sank to hide evi- dence of the slave smuggling.
Maeher distributed the slaves among the men who had invested in the slavery scheme. Meanwhile, Meaher put 32 slaves to work on his plantation, and then released them after the Civil War ended.
Forming their own commu- nity, the freedmen and women appointed Gumpta, a Fon rel- ative of King Ghezo, known as Peter Lee or African Peter as their chief, and established a ju- dicial system based on their own laws.
Having applied for free pas- sage to Africa and being denied, residents of Africa-town taught their children to read and write at the African Church (later
known as the Old Landmark Church and then Union Mis- sionary Baptist Church, which still stands today); the women raised and sold crops; and the men worked in the paper mills for one dollar day. They also started its first public school, Mobile County Technical School.
Cudjo Kazoola Lewis,
who died in 1935, served as a spokesman for the people of Africa-town, which grew to a population of 12,000 when the paper mills operated there, and noted Blacks (Zora Neal Hurston, Booker T. Wash- ington, etc.) visited the com- munity.
The residents retained their West African customs and lan- guages well into the 1950s. Today, Africa-town’s population is 2,000 with approximately 100 descendants of the slaves from the Clotilda.
Africa-town was designated as an African American Heritage Trail site in 2004; was placed on the national Register of Histori- cal Places in 2012, and its Africa-town Graveyard has a large historical plaque telling its history. A Cudjo Lewis memo- rial statue was placed in front of the Union Missionary Baptist Church in 1959, in recognition of his leadership. Residents of Africa-town want the Clotilda remains to be preserved as a centerpiece of a museum and community center in their com- munity.
May Africa-town live on, and may its history never be for- gotten. Harrambee!
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