Posted on 01/29/2005 3:46:04 AM PST by WKB
A Controversy is Brewing in Jackson A Controversy is Brewing in Jackson
He was convicted in the death of a Jackson police officer nearly 25 years ago. Next week he will speak inside city hall. Imari Obadele was invited by Councilman Kenneth Stokes to speak at a black history program Tuesday, and his appearance is causing quite a stir.
The scene was chaotic on Lewis Street in August of 1971 hours after Jackson police officer William Louis Skinner was gunned down during a house raid on Lewis Street .
“I heard the shooting. I was there when skinner got shot," said former JPD chief Jim Black.
The 32-year veteran of the Jackson Police Department was in the hospital when Skinner died.
"It was very emotional for all the police officer that were there," Black said.
Police and FBI agents were serving an arrest warrant. Inside were members of the Republic of New Afrika , a separatist militant group. Twenty-six-year JPD vet Jimmy King was nearby.
"It was quiet all of a sudden; sounded like a small war going on," said King.
"You just didn't lose an officer like that. It was very traumatic," Black stated.
In 1972, RNA president Imari Obadele along with several others was found guilty in the killing of Skinner. He served nearly six years. On February 1, 2005, Obadele will stand inside Jackson City Hall in front of an audience to talk about the RNA eleven.
"I think it's an abomination a slam on the good black people of Jackson and the good white people of Jackson," expressed Black.
The speech is part of a black history program. His host is city Councilman Kenneth Stokes.
"To me this would be like promoting Byron De La Beckwith. It's just a travesty," stated King.
The police training facility in Jackson is named after William Louis Skinner, remembering and honoring his service. But his colleagues say the invitation by a Jackson city councilman of Obadele will have the opposite affect.
Black says, "He is absolutely showing no respect for the man and woman who have given their lives in the line of duty."
Inside the training facility, Skinner's picture sits in between others who paid the ultimate price. Above is a sign saying lest we forget. Skinner's colleagues haven't forgotten, and their memories fuel emotional disappointment. An assistant to Councilman Stokes told WLBT he was out of state. When we offered to do a phone interview, she contacted him and Stokes declined. Just before 6:00 p.m. WLBT received a statement from Skinner's son justice court judge bill skinner. He says quote: "For more than 33 years my family and I suffered the loss of my father. This is not a black and white issue; it is a right and wrong issue. The fact that the city would celebrate a convicted felon who murdered my father tells me this is not the best of the new south."
City officials say this not a city-sponsored event. Councilmen have the right to invite speakers into city hall. Mayor Harvey Johnson released a statement saying he learned Friday about the event.
"The mayor's office has not been and will not be involved in the planning and implementation of this event," he said.
One of the things that is truly outrageous about this Obadele affair is the degree to which this unrepentantly racist criminal has been honored in academia. Recall that he got his Ph.D. (Temple Univ.?) and has taught at several major universities (Prarie View, etc.) AFTER he was convicted of these crimes.
Imagine how far Sam Bowers or some other white racist would have gotten had he applied to graduate school in the 1970s? Even if he had been admitted, would he have gotten a job afterwards? What self-respecting university would allow him to spew his racist propaganda under their aegis?
We must not forget. Obadele's story is not only about his crimes (those are obvious and heinous enough). It is also about the intellectual crimes of those who honored this man, advanced his career, and put him in a position which allowed him respectability and the opportunity to shape young minds.
He died in '99 but I'll bet he's turning over right about now. That was a very difficult time for him.
Well said.
Bourbon, you're right, and it's yet more evidence that we MUST take control BACK of our infostructure. (I MAY have invented that word; not sure:) From kindergarten through PhD, liberals control the vast majority of acedemia. We must wrest control back of that and the media if we're ever to change the direction of our country.
MM
post #85 is for y'all too.
saw that the other day. thanks, though.
Thanks bourbon. Salter's Opinion piece is well worth the time to read, ponder & digest. He speaks a truth others are afraid to whisper.
Is Stokes related to former Detroit mayor Coleman A. Young????
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