Sharon
Hills, PA
(BlackNews.com) - Dr. Stephen Jones, author of Seven Secrets
of How to Study, recently attended the National Society of
Black Engineers (NSBE) conference in Boston, which boosted
attendance of over 8,000 African American students. Sadly,
no television reporters attended to tell about the good news.
"African
Americans must start a revolution that will not be televised,"
Jones says.
Dr. Jones and many others agree that the media will only show
up in the Black community, if there is a crime or an FBI investigation.
"There
were over 8,000 potential college graduates doing good things
for their colleges and local community and it was not breaking
news," Jones says.
Standing
outside the walls of San Quentin prison, the rapper
Snoop Dogg urged California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
to grant clemency to convicted murderer Stan "Tookie"
Williams. Williams, the co founder of the notorious
street gang the Crips, was convicted and sentenced to
death for the 1979 slayings of Albert Owens, Yen-I Yang,
his wife, Tsai-Shai Chen Yang, and their daughter, Yu-Chin
Yang Lin. Barring intervention by the governor, he will
die by lethal injection on December 13. Speaking before
a thousand young people and supporters, Snoop lectured
the governor: "Stanley `Tookie' Williams is not
just a regular old guy, he's an inspirator. His voice
needs to be heard." Snoop, Mike Farrell, Danny
Glover, Jamie Foxx and the other celebrity voices now
raised in support of Williams offer a clear picture
of the distorted moral vision of the Hollywood left.
It is a vision that finds virtue contemptible and props
up homicidal maniacs who write bad children's books
as role models for the
masses.
The argument for commutation of Tookie's sentence centers
on all the good work he has done since going to prison.
The series of children's books he has written and his
work to stop gang violence is proof of his redemption.
His death, they say, will only serve to rob those youth
currently in gangs or considering joining gangs, of
hope. Witness that his supporters do not claim that
Tookie is innocent of his crimes. They are not seeking
that Williams be released, only that his sentence be
commuted. Williams, however, has never admitted guilt.
That little inconsistency suggests the great "inspirator"
is not only an unrepentant murderer, but a liar as well.
The portrayal of Williams as some pied piper of peace
for the gang community also holds very little water.
A quick review of Book Scan shows the Tookie series
of books have hardly been blockbusters. His top seller,
"Gangs and Violence" has sold 330 books. Another
book "Gangs and Wanting to Belong" sold exactly
two copies. No one is reading his books, least of all
his two sons, one of whom is serving time in San Quentin.
The other was just arrested on charges of aggravated
rape. Poor book sales are not reason to send someone
to the execution chamber, but then Williams was not
convicted of lackluster book sales. He was found guilty
of shooting four innocent people in cold blood, a fact
his supporters continue to forget.
Here again, wealthy celebrities are telling hard working,
law-abiding citizens that the example offered by them
is inadequate to save their communities; the models
of competence, creativity and virtue that are alive
in these neighborhoods is simply insufficient. No matter
that hundreds of young people find the strength of character
- the hope -- to resist the gang life. No matter that
many of the stars have themselves found the strength
to rise out of the tough streets. All that means nothing
as compared to the words and example of Tookie Williams.
On Sunday November 13, one week before the "Save
Tookie" rally at San Quentin, fourteen-year old
William Cox and a friend were attending a neighborhood
carnival when they were gunned down by a man who mistook
them for rival gang members. Cox, who was not in a gang,
was struck in the chest and died at the scene. That
is the evil wrought by Stanley Williams!
Of course Snoop and Danny Glover did not hold a rally
for William Cox. His death went unnoticed by the Hollywood
commissars of compassion. They were too busy trying
to save the life of a cold-blooded killer to notice
one more young life snuffed out by gang violence. That
tells you all you need to know about the corrupt vision
the Hollywood left has for America.
Joseph
C. Phillips is an actor/writer based in Los Angeles.
His column appears regularly in several newspapers and
he is a regular commentator on News and Notes with Ed
Gordon on NPR and has a book due out from Running Press
in April. Contact him at: Joseph@josephcphillips.com
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