Aubrey R. Taylor is the president and CEO of Aubrey R. Taylor Communications, the publisher of Houston Business Connections Magazine. Call Aubrey R. Taylor at (832)212-8735 to discuss your inclusion in our next edition.
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By Aubrey R. Taylor
Publisher of Houston Business Connections Magazine
I have been proclaiming for years that the time has come for African-Americans and other minorities to reconsider the practice of blindly supporting people because they are claiming to be a Democrat. Heck, a blind straight-ticket vote for any political party is a practice I can’t condone. And a prime example that this practice at least, as it relates to trying to get fairness and justice in the criminal justice system in America is what we just saw unfold in Ferguson, Missouri involving Democrat Bob McCulloch and his failed attempt to secure an indictment against Officer Darren Wilson.
The shooting of (unarmed) teenager Michael Brown occurred on Saturday, August 9, 2014, in Ferguson, Missouri, which is a suburb of St. Louis. Brown, an 18-year-old black teenager, was fatally shot by Officer Darren Wilson, 28, a white police officer. The accounts of what actually led to the shooting differed drastically, as some say the young black man had his hands in the air; while others claimed he was rushing toward Officer Wilson before he was shot dead in the street.
We may never know exactly what happened during that fatal encounter back on Saturday, August 9, 2014 when the paths of Michael Brown and Officer Darren Wilson crossed. However, going forward, the African-American community must definitely reconsider how it goes about the business of electing the people who represent the communities where we live.
Many across America are in an uproar about the handling and presenting of the case by Prosecuting Attorney Robert P. McCulloch to the grand jury. But the sad reality is that the people of St. Louis County, Missouri have continued to blindly support this Democratic prosecutor year after year. McCulloch has been in office since 1991. He’s won re-election (by wide margins) in every election where he's drawn a challenger since first being elected to serve the people of St. Louis County, Missouri.
McCulloch, won his re-election bids with bipartisan support in 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014 respectfully. Now the only question that remains, is whether the people of St. Louis County, Missouri is ready to remove him from office the next time the opportunity presents itself.
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“The grand jury’s decision shows that facts do matter,” said Project 21 member Joe R. Hicks , a former executive director or the Greater Los Angeles chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and Los Angeles City Human Rights Commission."
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St. Louis/Washington - After a grand jury chose not to indict Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death last August of local resident Michael Brown, members of the Project 21 black leadership network are speaking out about the ruling, what it means for the black community and how protesters might redirect their energies to find some redemption from the loss.
“Now that we have a grand jury decision, may the process of healing begin in earnest,” said Project 21 member Stacy Washington, a St. Louis resident who hosts a local radio talk show. “I truly hope for a refocus of protest energy towards reflection and away from blaming the police for the difficulties facing black Americans today. We must begin to look at improving ourselves instead of blaming groups of others for endemic problems that plague the black community. May God grant the Brown family peace and closure.”
“The grand jury’s decision shows that facts do matter,” said Project 21 member Joe R. Hicks , a former executive director of the Greater Los Angeles chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and Los Angeles City Human Rights Commission. “From the inception — and despite the hyperbolic rhetoric from national black leaders, local protesters and political opportunists of all stripes — my position was that the facts and a thorough investigation would tell the story of what happened on that street between teenager Michael Brown and Officer Darren Wilson. Now that Officer Wilson’s actions have been deemed within the scope of a lawful police response to the dangerous actions of Mr. Brown, it’s now important to watch how the so-called black leadership responds. Will they irresponsibly reject the decision, along with the facts it revealed, and continue to claim that Brown was the murder victim of a racist white cop? To what extent will Ferguson protesters defy the orders of authorities for lawful behavior? We don’t need a replay of the violent, pathological riots we saw on the streets of that small suburb of St. Louis.”
“It amazes me that there are so many who dismissed the fact that Michael Brown robbed a convenience store and attacked a police officer prior to being killed,” said Project 21 member Michael Dozier, Ph.D “Once again, the black community largely turned a blind eye to the real issues affecting the very lives of our youths. Black-on-black crime is an epidemic and thousands of black children are brutally killed every year, yet we do not see the Al Sharptons or Jesse Jacksons protesting their deaths. The President doesn’t proclaim their lives would reflect the life of a son he never had. The black community needs to stop with the excuses and victimization and stop allowing antagonists to come into their communities to promote their own agendas.”
"Now that the grand jury has rendered a decision, people on both sides can now peacefully debate the result. The decision does not give anyone the right to engage in property destruction, physical assaults and general chaos if they don’t agree with that decision,” said Project 21 member Kevin Martin. “The grand jury looked at all the evidence, and it surely did its best to render a judgment respectful of all parties. It is long past the time for those who might seek to use violence to achieve an outcome to decamp from Ferguson and allow the community to heal.”
Since August, Project 21 previously issued six press releases and posted numerous news-related blog entries addressing the death of Michael Brown and related events. Project 21 members have already completed over 150 radio and television interviews on the death of Michael Brown and unrest in Ferguson, Missouri and been mentioned by Cal Thomas in his nationally-syndicated column. Several Project 21 members have visited the area in the wake of the initial rioting, and two members live in the immediate area and another is currently there to chronicle events as they unfold.
Additionally, Project 21 member were interviewed or cited by the media over 1,500 other times in 2014 – including TVOne, the Philadelphia Inquirer, Fox News Channel, Westwood One, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, SiriusXM satellite radio and the 50,000-watt radio stations WBZ-Boston, WHO-Des Moines, KDKA-Pittsburgh, KOA-Denver and WJR-Detroit – on issues that include civil rights, entitlement programs, the economy, race preferences, education and corporate social responsibility. Project 21 has participated in cases before the U.S. Supreme Court regarding race preferences and voting rights, defended voter ID laws at the United Nations and provided regular commentary during the Trayvon Martin judicial proceedings in 2013. Its volunteer members come from all walks of life and are not salaried political professionals.
Project 21, a leading voice of black conservatives for over two decades, is sponsored by the National Center for Public Policy Research (http://www.nationalcenter.org).
Contributions to the National Center are tax-deductible and greatly appreciated.
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Ferguson Aftermath
The shooting of Michael Brown and all that has happened in its aftermath makes it abundantly clear that we all still have work to do to help improve the relationship between law enforcement and the African American community, and the broader minority community in general, all across America.
As U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Rand Paul (R-KY) have recently been advocating, we need to reform our criminal justice and judicial systems to make them fairer and more inclusive.
It's not just a matter of better relationships between police officers and the community, it’s also a matter of better relations between prosecutors and the community.
We have to seriously address this issue with positive action rather than empty speeches, violence and looting. These actions will not solve the problem, but collectively and together we can make a positive difference in the criminal justice and judicial system.
The African American community believes-rightly or wrongly that deadly force against young African American men has too often been used by police officers. This concern has to be addressed and can't simply be dismissed out of hand.
If we don't address this concern with forthright discussion, sadly there will be more "Fergusons".
Sincerely,
Carroll G. Robinson for Houston
Get in touch with me!
Phone:(832)863-8092
Email: campaign@carrollgrobinson.com
Political Ad Paid for by Carroll G. Robinson for Houston, Victor L. Cardenas, Treasurer
P.S. Contributions cannot be accepted until February 1, 2015. If I can count on your support, I would greatly appreciate a contribution on February 1, 2015. The campaign can only accept personal or PAC checks.
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About Carroll G. Robinson
Carroll G. Robinson is an Associate Professor at the Barbara Jordan-Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs at Texas Southern University (TSU) where he has served as Associate Dean of External Affairs and is Associate Director of the E-MPA program. Professor Robinson is a Co-Principal Investigator of the TSU National Transportation Security Center of Excellence-Petrochemical Transportation Security and is Associate Director of the Master of Public Administration (MPA) E-Government Center. He is Chairman of the Houston Citizens Chamber of Commerce, a member of the Board of Directors of the National Black Chamber of Commerce, Third Vice President of the NAACP Houston Branch and a former board member of the Northeast Family YMCA, a member of the Houston Independent School District™'s (HISD) Bond Oversight Committee, was a member of the City of Houston™'s Term Limits Review Commission, and is a former At-Large (elected citywide) member of the Houston (Texas) City Council where he served as Chairman of the city™'s Transportation, Technology and Infrastructure Committee. Professor Robinson is also a former member of the Board of Directors of Children at Risk (C@R) and the National League of Cities where he served as a member of the Board™s Finance Committee and was a member of the Energy, Environment, and Natural Resources Steering Committee.
He is a former member of the Texas Municipal League™s Utilities and Environment Committee and Transportation Task Force; a former Vice Chair of the Houston-Galveston Area Council™s (H-GAC) Transportation Policy Council, is a former member of H-GAC™s Board of Directors; a former Advisory Board member of the Texas Environmental Defense Fund; a past President of the Texas Association of Black City Council Members; has served as a member of the Texas Department of Transportation (Tx-DOT) 2001 Work Group on Transportation Goals and Objectives, is a former Advisory Board Member of the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) at Texas A&M University and is a member of the Advisory Board of the TSU Center for Transportation Training and Research. Professor Robinson provided testimony to the Texas Governor™s Task Force on Evacuation and Logistics on October 26, 2005 on how to use technology to improve Emergency Preparedness.
Professor Robinson has worked in the Texas Legislature as Chief of Staff and General Counsel to Texas State Senator Rodney Ellis. He received his Bachelor of Arts (with Honors) in Political Science from Richard Stockton State College in Pomona, New Jersey and his Juris Doctorate from the National Law Center at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
Professor Robinson is a Life Member of the NAACP, Omega Psi Phi and the author of numerous legal and public policy articles and commentaries.
Prior to his election to the Houston City Council, Professor Robinson was an Associate Professor at the Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University and served as Executive Assistant to two Presidents of the University. He has also served as an Adjunct Law Professor at South Texas College of Law in Houston, Texas where he taught Constitutional Structure. Professor Robinson is a past President of the Houston Lawyers Association and has served on the Board of Directors of the State Bar of Texas and National Bar Association.
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