Media Coverage on the Heather Ellis Trial Continues

CNN is going to interview Dr. Boyce Watkins on Friday, and Fox 5 has jumped on the case.

Christopher Metzler Spars with Bill O’Reilly

Dr. Christopher Metzler at Georgetown University spars with Bill O’Reilly over President Obama’s position on race relations.

Anderson Cooper 360 Discusses the Heather Ellis Case

Heather Ellis’ case was debated on Anderson Cooper 360

Do Black Women Have any Say in the haircare industry?

Black women spend billions on hair but don’t own the companies that make it.

The Heather Ellis Case Reminds us of the Constitution: Why We need to Protect Civil Liberties

Dr. Wilmer Leon, Howard University, Sirius/XM Satellite

One of the things that make America unique is its Constitution, specifically the Bill of Rights. In its original form, the Constitution did not include a list of basic civil liberties or guarantees to the individual. Many prominent Americans, including Thomas Jefferson insisted that a list of fundamental protections be included to restrain the national government from tampering with the fundamental rights and civil liberties of its citizens. The intent of the framers of the Constitution was to level the playing field. They felt it necessary to restrain the very powerful government, prosecutors, and police from arbitrary and capricious action against the less powerful individual. Over time these protections have been passed down to the state level.

The case of Heather Ellis is a perfect present day example of why individual American citizens need to be protected from over zealous capricious prosecutors and police. For a young woman to be facing up to fifteen years in prison for trespassing, disturbing the peace, and two felony counts of assaulting a police officer, all for allegedly cutting a check-out line at a Wal-Mart is unconscionable.

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Dr Boyce Watkins: Ben Bernanke Needs a Lesson in Racial History

by Dr Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University 

I’ve always had mixed feelings about Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. I feel that he is better than the previous chairman, Alan Greenspan, but the Fed Chairmanship (like the presidency) is almost never given to the right man. Just the fact that it is almost always given to a man is problematic enough, and the truth is that only white men need apply for the job.
Well, when you are limited in your option pool for the top job, bad leadership and flat out ignorance can sometimes be the result. While Fed Chairman Bernanke might know some nuts and bolts about economics, he appears to be shockingly misinformed about economic disparities between blacks and whites. His embarrassing and highly inappropriate statements at Morehouse College serve as a significant case in point.
In a recent interview at Morehouse, the Fed Chairman was asked what he felt to be the reason for the wealth gap between blacks and whites. In response, Bernanke said that the gap was due to a lack of "financial literacy" and "financial education" on the part of African Americans. That’s all he mentioned.

click to read.

Black Political News: Birmingham Mayor Convicted of Corruption

It’s hard to blame residents of Alabama’s most populous city if they’ve got the Birmingham blues.

An interim mayor took over Thursday after her predecessor, Larry Langford, was convicted on 60 felony counts for bribery and kicked out of office.

Across a park from City Hall, officials at the Jefferson County Courthouse are trying to avoid filing the largest municipal bankruptcy ever, a mark the governor says would stain the entire state.

Citizens are moving out of Birmingham by the thousands, and few are replacing them. The population has dropped to an estimated 209,639, down more than 13 percent since 2000. The state high school football championships even left town this year, abandoning decrepit Legion Field for the state’s two major universities.

Ronnie Coats, 42, has been living in Birmingham and volunteering in local politics for almost three decades, and says he’s disgusted.

"There’s a problem with government here. It’s called greed," he said.

 

Click to read.

Lawrence Watkins speaks at Cornell University

Listen to Lawrence Watkins speak on the secrets of business success.

Dr. Julianne Malveaux speaks on Dr. Niara Sudarkasa

by Dr. Julianne Malveaux, President: Bennett College

Dr. Niara Sudarkasa, the first woman President of Lincoln University, has a name that reflects her reality. Niara means woman of high purpose, and that she is, indeed. After leaving Lincoln University in 1998, she traveled and consulted, and has recently been scholar-in-residence at the African American Research Library and Cultural Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Last week, she donated her papers and personal library, including more than 3800 books, 4100 issues of journals and periodicals, plaques and other collectibles, including the outfit she wore when she was enstooled as a chief in the Ife Kingdom of Nigeria. This is a sister and scholar whose name ought to be spoken frequently among African American people, especially those who have concerns about the African American family, and those who have interests in things African. We are more likely to know entertainers, however, than we are to know scholars. This is a scholar certainly worth knowing.

I had the honor of traveling to Fort Lauderdale to help salute Dr. Sudarkasa on the occasion of her very generous gift (valued at more than $270,000) to the library. In thinking about Niara’s life and career, I was especially focused on the work she has done as an Africanist and anthropologist, long before it was fashionable for African American people to look at our African roots. Indeed, Niara learned Yoruba as part of her doctoral work and studies the work that women did in African society for her dissertation. Her early work lays the foundation for contemporary work on linkages between Africa and the United States.

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Dr. Boyce Watkins Discusses the Heather Ellis Case

Dr Boyce Watkins discusses the Heather Ellis Case, the rally and plans to find justice for Heather and her family.

Dr. Elaina George Discusses Swine Flu on Michael Baisden – 10/20/09

Dr. Elaina and Michael Baisden break down the hype and misinformation about the Swine flu.

Black News: MediaMatters.org Steps in on the Heather Ellis, KKK Case

Racial injustice rears its ugly head again, this time in rural Missouri, where heavy-handed prosecutor Stephen Sokoloff is threatening to impose a lengthy prison sentence on a woman after an altercation at a local Wal-Mart almost three years ago.

In January 2007, 20-year-old Heather Ellis, then a student at Xavier University, and her cousin David went to a Wal-Mart in Kennett, Missouri, near the Tennessee border, in an area commonly known as the Missouri Bootheel.  Kennett, in rural and conservative Dunklin County, which boasts that it seceded from the Union during the Civil War, is overwhelmingly white.

At the check-out line, the pair split up in order to find the shortest line.  When Ellis left her line to join her cousin at a shorter line, customers complained and a store employee accused her of cutting, at which point an argument ensued and a manager notified a security guard, an off-duty Kennett Police officer.  The situation escalated from there:

In the Ellis version, she was shoved by another customer, had her items pushed aside by the clerk and then was short-changed when she finally was checked out. The police affidavit contends, at numerous times, Ellis became belligerent, loud, abusive and cursing when she was told to leave by the store’s assistant manager. Summoned by a frantic phone call from her son, as the pair walked out to the parking lot, [Ellis' aunt] Blackmon says she arrived in time to witness her niece being brutalized by police during attempts to place her in a squad car.

[...]

Ellis was charged with disturbing the peace, trespassing, resisting arrest and two counts of assaulting a police officer. Yet, curiously after being described in the police affidavit as "completely out of control" during her arrest, she was released to the custody of her parents to receive medical attention only 45 minutes after being jailed. However, her arrest triggered a whole series of problems. Although she returned to school in Louisiana, two months later, an attorney hired by the family tried to talk Heather into taking a plea deal offered by powerful Dunklin County Prosecutor, Stephen Sokoloff.

 

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Walter Currie Lives Near Heather Ellis – Set on Fire by a White Kid

To give you a picture of the location in which Heather Ellis fights for her freedom, meet Walter Currie, a 15-year old in nearby Poplar Bluff, who was set on fire by his classmates with the attacker allegedly yelling the words “Burn nigger burn” while he did it – visit SaveHeatherEllis.com.

Updates on The Heather Ellis Case

Heather Ellis is a college student facing15 years in prison for cutting line at Walmart – visit www.SaveHeatherEllis.com for more details on the national protest to be held in Kennett, MO on November 14.

Dr Boyce Web Chat: Megan Williams is Definitely a Liar

No matter what, Megan Williams is definitely a liar – the question is what did she lie about?

Barack Obama White House Address: Attacking Insurance Companies

In his weekly address, president Obama gets nasty with insurance companies.

Woman Teaches Kids in Jail How to Get It Together with Beats, Rhymes and Poetry

T. Denise Manning is emerging as a leader for at-risk youth and teaching them how to get it together using a microphone, pad and pen as their weapons of choice.

Your News: Massive Protests planned in the Heather Ellis Case

from Your Black World, SaveHeatherEllis.com

Kennett, MO. – Heather Ellis, a young college student out of Kennett, MO is now facing 15 years in prison if she is sentenced after being accused of cutting line at a local Walmart. Her case has gotten the attention of the nation, and has been the subject of extensive online protests.

Heather was in a Walmart store 3 years ago with her cousin. The two split up to find the shortest line. Since her cousin was in the shorter line, Heather joined him. That’s when the clerk accused Heather of cutting in front of the other customers. An argument ensued, leading to the manager and security guard being called, and finally the police.

The incident left Ellis, an honor student on her way to medical school, charged with disturbing the peace, trespassing and two counts of assaulting a police officer. After Heather refused to sign a plea agreement, Stephen Sokoloff, the town’s prosecutor, filed felony charges against Heather.

 

Click to read.

Method Man Arrested for Taxes, but Not Nicolas Cage?

Method Man was arrested for tax evasion, but not Nicolas Cage – What’s up with that?

Heather Ellis on CNN: Faces 15 Yrs For Cutting Line at Walmart

The KKK has threatened Heather Ellis,who faces 15 years for cutting line at Walmart.