Whose Streets? Film and the New Black Leadership

Although I plan to see the Ferguson, Missouri uprising documentary Whose Streets? in a theater this week, I’ve declined to write about the film up to this point because mentalunrest’s editorial policy typically forbids me from writing about media I’ve neither seen nor experienced, but I have to share some thoughts about the recent and […]

OBAMA’S DESPERATE AGAIN, HE’S TALKING TO CBC ABOUT TPP

(Laughing) You know that President Obama is scraping the bottom of his friendship barrel at this point since he’s now talking to the Congressional Black Caucus about— Wait. That sounds awfully familiar… Anyway, President Obama must be desperate again—he’s talking with the CBC about helping him pass a bill that will give him carte blanche […]

THE FERGUSON EFFECT AND DEADLY VERTICAL THINKING

Vertical thinking— disguised this time as the pseudo-theoretical Ferguson Effect—is once again blurring the Post-Racial American debate as proponents of ham-fisted shock troops policing through communities of color attempt to send followers of the Black Lives Matter movement scurrying back to a minimized existence with tails between legs. Unfortunately Americans seem to often fall for […]

PRINCE – BALTIMORE

“It’s time to hear the guitar play.” As promised by Prince, also known in my world as His Royal Badazz-ness, he released his city-titled tribute to the people of Baltimore as well as the people of African descent who have fallen. HRB surprised the hell out of me—given his aversion to many digital artifacts and […]

CITY OF FERGUSON DESERVES MAFIA TREATMENT

Over 90 years ago in young America, gangs began to squeeze money out of communities using a mixture of business savvy, intimidation and terrifying brute force. You likely know most of these gangs by another name—the Mafia. There seemed to be no end to the Mafia’s momentum of reign in America, if not for two […]

BLACK CAUCUS’ FERGUSON THOUGHTS – MORE EMASCULATED VERTICAL MIC PREACHING

Presenting additional proof last night that the removal of your genitals will force you to at least say something, members of the Congressional Black Caucus shared their opinions about Ferguson, Missouri and Michael Brown’s death on the House floor—after the House completed its votes for the day, of course. The question I asked myself is […]

AFTER FERGUSON: WHY THERE WILL BE MORE BLOOD

On the Ferguson Grand Jury decision to not indict Michael Brown’s killer, Officer Darren Wilson… My pen has been silent up to now. I’ve been sharing my thoughts online since Brown’s death, so I’m not sure what’s new to add here. I’m hurt by the lack of an indictment, but I’m not surprised. Not one bit. While […]

TEAM OBAMA ENABLED FERGUSON INJUSTICE

On the one hand, you have President Obama—albeit late—discussing Ferguson, Missouri and the Michael Brown shooting as examples of America’s imperfect and unjust criminal justice system, while the other has one of the President’s federal agencies creating a no-fly zone over Ferguson this past August so that that media helicopters could not record the police […]

WHAT THE US SHOULD REALLY INVESTIGATE IN FERGUSON

The strong possibility that the US Justice Department will not pursue civil rights violation charges against Officer Darryl Wilson for shooting Mike Brown in Ferguson, Missouri may not bode well for the simmering temperaments in the area, but I always thought that focusing solely on Brown’s unfortunate death misses a much larger Federal investigation […]

A TALE OF THREE RIOTS

College students in Morgantown, West virginia witnessed an event yesterday that caused them to set fires, pull down streetlights and cause additional property damage worth thousands of dollars. The students also threw bottles and rocks at police officers, who attempted to contain these riots. Pepper spray and tear gas were eventually used to disperse the crowd. What was […]