43 year-old Samuel "Jehovah" Sharpe Jr. was shot and killed by multiple out-of-town cops brought in to protect the MAGA convention.
Commentary by Black Kos editor JoanMar
Don’t you just know it? A Black man, totally unconnected to the attempted assassination, ended up paying with his life for the actions of the white perpetrator.
Samuel Sharpe Jr. may or may not have been in the throes of a mental episode, his actions are not my primary concern. Out-of-town cops, with guns drawn yelling at someone to “drop the knife” must know that there’s no guarantee that their commands will be obeyed. Especially if mental illness is involved. Why were they screaming? Why was their first instinct to use deadly force? What about stun guns? Did they consider the possibility of hitting the other combatant?
Witnesses told WISN 12 News two homeless men were fighting in King Park, and one of them pulled a knife out. The witnesses said the men were startled when so many officers responded. Witnesses say the man with the knife was fired on by numerous officers.
The cops who killed Samuel Sharpe were from Columbus, Ohio and sent to Milwaukee to beef up security for the MAGA-Klan convention in wake of the attempted assassination. What could go wrong?
A Milwaukee police officer “would have known, no, no, no this is King Park, this is a known area for homeless to camp out, lots of folks with mental disabilities in here, tread carefully, de-escalate,” said Milwaukee Alderman Robert Bauman, who represents the district where the shooting happened.
Occupation forces:
“Why [were the] officers in this area in the first place?” wondered Radontae Ashford, a pastor at Infinite Church in Milwaukee who has volunteered with the area’s unhoused residents. “Nobody should be dead, especially somebody who was in their neighborhood.”
In a statement following the shooting, a coalition of half a dozen Black-led Wisconsin community organizations said, “We knew that bringing the RNC, without community input, would heighten the risks and make our city less safe,” particularly when out-of-state officers “had no accountability to Milwaukee residents.”
It’s worth noting that one of the stated intentions of the convicted felon — oh, the irony! — for his second term would be “a form of immunity” for cops .
“We are going to do something that I will say is slightly controversial, but it shouldn’t be. We are going to indemnify policemen and precincts and states and cities from being sued.”
Of course, the idiot is pandering, as cops already enjoy near total immunity for killing people, particularly in cases involving Black people. Yet, they claim that cops are being hampered and prevented from doing their jobs. To justify the necessity for a police state, fascists must first fabricate the narrative of rampant, out-of-control crime. Enter Project 2025:
In recent years, federal and state officials have succumbed to calls from anti-law enforcement advocates for so-called criminal justice reform…. This campaign is not just ill-advised; it has had real-world consequences in the form of catastrophic increases in crime—particularly violent crime—nationwide.
Alternate reality, MAGA-style. What they are not talking about is rampant police brutality and overpolicing. Yep, police accountability seems like a foreign concept nowadays, and it will most certainly be if we allow the orchestrated campaign of misinformation and disinformation to succeed in keeping Joe Biden from a second term.
“There have been 9 days so far in 2024 when police did not kill people in the U.S.”
According to Mapping Police Violence, US cops have killed 712 people year-to-date.
That’s an average of 100 people each month. Every month! Of those killed, 169, or 24%, are identified as Black. As alarming as that rate is, the truth is likely much worse. I strongly suspect that most, if not all, of those conveniently tucked into the “unknown race” category are Black, Brown, and Native individuals.
Samuel Sharpe Jr.’s name has not yet made it to the list of those killed by police in 2024, meaning, he’s not one of the 712 victims. In fact, the most recent addition to this list was for another knife-wielder suffering from mental illness who was killed on 7/6/2024. Just another leaf falling in the forest.
Those who knew and loved Mr. Sharpe, aka Jehovah, describe him as a “beautiful soul who just wanted to be left alone with his dog, Ices, and his Bible.” May he rest in peace. Condolences to his loved ones.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
News round up by dopper0189, Black Kos Managing Editor
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
President Joe Biden kicked off his Tuesday visit to Nevada by courting Black voters — a vital voting bloc — at the NAACP conference and an economic summit with Rep. Steven Horsford (D-NV).
Members of the NAACP crowd cheered Tuesday afternoon as Biden made his entrance at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, chanting “four more years.” During his speech, Biden emphasized the importance of economic equity and civil rights, promising to protect them during his presidency.
He criticized former President Donald Trump for stripping Black Americans of health care, minimizing the Black workforce and fostering white supremacy nationwide. If re-elected, Biden said that he would call on Congress to enshrine into law the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and restore Roe v. Wade within the first hundred days of his presidency.
“I’ll do everything the NAACP stands for,” Biden said.
Biden’s visit arrives at the heels of the attempted assassination of Trump, the most serious attempt to assassinate a presidential candidate since 1981, and a shaky debate performance that’s called his leadership into question and prompted calls to replace him on the top of the ballot. Following the shooting, Biden called for updated security measures at campaign events and postponed his Monday visit to Austin, Texas.
“It’s time for an important conversation,” he said. “The politics in this country have gotten too heated. We must reject not only political violence, but violence of any kind.”
Although 92 percent of Black Nevadans supported Biden during the 2020 election, enthusiasm for the president has dwindled. Nevada has the third highest growing Black population in the nation; a population that has become an increasingly important constituency during this year’s nail-biter race. Trump has also made attempts to court Black voters, having the most success with the youngest.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It should have been a star-making moment.
You had NBA legend and future Hall of Famer LeBron James endorsing three Black female fashion designers — Fe Noel, Kimberly Goldson and Undra Duncan of Undra Celeste New York — as the trio created James’ first women’s basketball shoe, the LeBron 16, with Nike, as part of a collaboration fostered by Harlem’s Fashion Row, an agency bridging the gap between brands and designers of color.
The collaboration was announced at Harlem’s Fashion Row’s annual gala in 2018, taking place at Capitale in New York City. I was in attendance as the then-editor-in-chief of The Root, an African American news site that covered the gala alongside a multitude of press clamoring for a quote from James. As I watched the pro baller applaud these three designers, many hailed this as a moment that would elevate Black women in fashion to the stratosphere.
“Initially the expectations of it were very high,” Duncan told me this spring during a video chat. “Three designers with relatively small brands getting picked for a massive opportunity ... The exposure through [Harlem’s Fashion Row] was huge. We had half a billion press impressions. The shoe sold out in three minutes. The resale market sold the shoes for $1,000, $1,500. Anticipation from it was through the roof. We just knew it would be the thing that would change everything for us.”
“It was surreal,” Goldson said. “It was one of those experiences that you can’t even dream about, because you don’t even know that it exists. It showed what dreams you could dream as a young Black designer, that you could dream even bigger. It was such a surreal experience.”
But those expectations came crashing down once reality set in.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From a childhood growing up on food stamps to working in the banking industry to eventually launching his own financial consultancy, Sabree understands firsthand the complexities of deep-seated trauma that can inform many people’s decision-making with money. He also understands that regardless of who you are, you can experience financial trauma. From his perspective, a capitalist culture like the U.S. that promotes consumerism 24/7 sets a lot of us up to be financially traumatized.
We’re constantly being fed advertisements and marketing that say, ‘You need this in order to be somebody.’ ‘You need this in order to be healthy.’ ‘You need this in order to be fit.’ ‘You need this in order to beat that diet.’ And so, we’re trying to fill those needs based on the messaging that we’re bombarded with all day, every day,” Sabree posited. “That is a traumatic experience.”
He added, “In a way, we’re all experiencing financial trauma all the time. It really just kind of depends on what the lens is that you’re looking at that trauma through.”
The financial adviser added that recognizing trauma and seeking out the tools or professionals that can help one navigate through it is ultimately the key. Doing so can “help you be conscious of these stressors, your reaction to these stressors, and how to make more informed, more intentional decisions as it relates to your money now, in the future, and for future generations,” he advised.
Tax and wealth transfer attorney Devin Blackburn also stresses the importance of gaining financial literacy and a genuine understanding of how to make money work for you. While she admits there are myriad systemic barriers to closing the gap, she considers a “lack of fundamental understanding around how money works” to be among the top.
“I think part of the wealth gap comes from just having a lack of understanding of really how money works,” Blackburn told theGrio.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In a powerful move to uplift and empower students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Power to Decide has launched the “Beyond the Sheets” initiative, bridging the gap in sexual and reproductive health service and education on HBCU campuses.=
This transformative program, introduced in December 2023, aims to bridge critical gaps in sexual and reproductive health services and education on HBCU campuses, especially in light of the two-year mark of the landmark Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case, which overturned Roe v. Wade.
HBCUs play a crucial role in the Black community, enrolling 10 percent of all Black students, with women comprising 64 percent of this population. Yet, many of these institutions are situated in regions with limited access to sexual and reproductive health resources, compounded by structural racism and healthcare disparities. Notably, nearly 75 percent of HBCUs are in states with restrictive abortion laws and often face underfunding for campus health services.
Even before Roe v. Wade was overturned, marginalized communities, particularly people of color in under-resourced areas, struggled to access essential reproductive health services due to systemic barriers. Recognizing this, Power to Decide has stepped up its efforts with innovative programs like “Beyond the Sheets.”
“At this critical time in history, as reproductive health is under constant attack across our country, ‘Beyond the Sheets’ ambassadors are at the forefront on HBCU campuses spreading accurate, trustworthy sexual and reproductive health information. The ‘Beyond the Sheets’ initiative empowers students to take what they’ve learned and champion this needed information in their communities,” said Power to Decide CEO, Dr. Raegan McDonald-Mosley.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When Cynthia Collazo Pacheco was a 5-year-old girl growing up in Puerto Rico, she begged for a perm. After being called names like “monkey” in school, she’d come to think of her natural Afro-textured hair as a problem. But even a perm didn’t fully resolve the hate.
“I would receive a lot of abuse from my classmates and comments about ‘smells like burnt hair,’ my hair, being called ‘dry,’” Collazo Pacheco told theGrio. “I hated my hair because I didn’t even know how it looked, but I knew that it wasn’t good, and there was a reason why my mother specifically had chosen to relax my hair.”
Cynthia is co-founder of Colectiva Resistencia Cimmarona (Maroon Resistance Collective), a group of Black activists partnering with 28 organizations in Puerto Rico, such as the magazine, Revista Étnica, and feminist health organization, Taller Salud, to obtain legal protections for Afro-descendants with natural hair.
Beyond anti-Black sentiments toward natural hair, there are often rules in the workplace and schools that ban Black and natural hairstyles like locs, cornrows, afros and more. The activists joined forces with a history-making Black female senator on the island, Ana Irma Lassen, to propose a law known as Senate Bill 1282. The legislation would specifically ban discrimination against natural hairstyles in the workplace and school, going beyond the generic anti-discrimination laws currently on the books. The campaign for the new law is known as “Mi Cabello es Mi Corona” (“My Hair is My Crown”).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WELCOME TO THE FRIDAY PORCH
IF YOU ARE NEW TO THE BLACK KOS COMMUNITY, GRAB A SEAT, SOME CYBER EATS, RELAX, AND INTRODUCE YOURSELF.
![Image of Bernice Johnson Reagon alongside her famous quote: “If you're in a coalition and you're comfortable, you know it's not a broad enough coalition” [All images published on AZQuotes are protected by copyright. But you can share our images under the condition that they link back to AZQuotes.] Citation: Bernice Johnson Reagon. (n.d.). AZQuotes.com. Retrieved December 12, 2023, from AZQuotes.com Web site: https://www.azquotes.com/quote/854611](https://cdn.prod.dailykos.com/images/1148974/story_image/Bernice.jpg?1672704833 "Image of Bernice Johnson Reagon alongside her famous quote: “If you're in a coalition and you're comfortable, you know it's not a broad enough coalition” [All images published on AZQuotes are protected by copyright. But you can share our images under the condition that they link back to AZQuotes.] Citation: Bernice Johnson Reagon. (n.d.). AZQuotes.com. Retrieved December 12, 2023, from AZQuotes.com Web site: https://www.azquotes.com/quote/854611")
