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is freedom?
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JamikaR.
Burnette
Guest
Columnist
According to the
National Registry of
Exonerations, out of 873
individual exonerations
from January 1989 through
February 2012, defendants
collectively spent more
than 10,000 years in prison
for crimes they should have
never been convicted of.
My question is, when
will Kalvin Michael Smith
be free, and to what
expense will he receive his
freedom?
While current debates
reflect falsities regarding
bogus assertions of exoner
ating the wrongfully
accused, Kalvin Smith's
reality consists of a recur
ring nightmare. Stuck in a
continuum of agony, he
wakes up every day as an
innocent prisoner suspend
ed within the restraints of a
system that erroneously
accused him of a crime he
didn't commit - a situation
that appointed officials can
fix, but have simply failed
to do so. At the end of the
day, everyone opposite of
those prison walls can live
a liberated lifestyle, but
Smith is void that opportu
nity.
Being a free black man
in America is a reference as
paradoxical as Aphra
Bhen's mention of a
"Royal Slave." Nothing is
royal about any facet of
being a slave, and nothing
is free about being a black
man in America's society.
Kalvin Michael Smith's
case reveals social and
political truths that amass
slavery-like elements, and
divisions of mental, spiritu
al, and physical brutality -
which result in anything
but freedom. The elements
of Smith's case allow us, as
un-incarcerated citizens, to
inspect the true trials of the
human experience that is
wedged within the w$bs of
an abhorrent criminal jus
tice system.
For centuries,
America's done a fine job
representing systemic
oppression through the
vices of European superior
ity and colonialism. These
inherited concepts thrive as
the paradigm of our justice
system to this very day.
Our "Injustice" system is
simply an allegory of
unprincipled, manipula
tive, evil behaviors and
century-old trends that
show us firsthand that the
"system" just can't be
trusted. Caught in a web of
socio-economic, cultural,
and POLITICAL factors,
Kalvin Michael Smith's
wrongful incarceration dis
plays specifically how the
African-American man is
warehoused for con
sumerism, exploited, and
commercialized based on
the features of the institu
tions he belongs to.
So, is Kalvin M. Smith
a metaphorical illustration
of modern-day slavery
within a romanticized
turned-political justice sys
tem? Is he a prime example
of the racism and the cruel
ties of modem slavery
within the core of a social
structure that promotes
inequality among all disad
vantage and marginalized
groups?
Our criminal justice
system romanticizes free
dom in the form of a
freewill that is offered to us
by elected officials, selec
tively. For example, based
on the institutions we
belong to, a person can
choose what schools his or
her kids go to, where they
live, or where they work, as
they are "constitutionally
free."
However, in all actuali
ty, our freedoms are desig
nated and assigned from a
footing of racism and the
unscrupulous, biased, and
horrific exploitations of
human lives. Our criminal
justice system has the abil
ity to make the horrid
sound meek, and make our
"freedom" seem less
restricting and racist than it
really is. Unfortunately,
Smith is a major, public
example of what a margin
alized human being in this
society has to sacrifice for
a large measure of freedom
- his life. Kalvin M. Smith
is not the "feigned hero."
He is a true, human and
very real hero of the mass
es. It's beyond time for jus
tice. Free Kalvin Michael
Smith!
Jamika Rose Burnette,
a native North Carolinian,
has been a freelance writer
since 2008. As a content
writer, she creates informa
tive articles for various
websites while pursuing a
Bachelors of Arts in
English. She is also an
active supporter for the
Can-Do: Justice through
Clemency nonprofit foun
dation that advocates
clemency for all non-vio
lent drug offenders, who
are caught in the conun
drum of the drug war.
Burnette is continuing her
studies at Salem College.
Republicans began
downward spiral by
blocking president
James B.
Ewers Jr.
Guest
Columnist
The politi
cal posturing
and back and
forth will
come to a
screeching
halt on
Tuesday,
xt~.. o ii r
l^UV. o. wc
can all agree
- Democrats, Republicans and
Independents - that this has been the most
vicious and mean-spirited presidential
campaign in modern day history.
New attack ads and unreasonable
strategies were coming from one candi
date's camp almost on an hourly basis. It is
my opinion that the Republican Party has
only themselves to blame for this political
farce of a campaign that they have repre
sented.
Republicans in Congress spent the past
eight years blaming President Barack
Ob&ma for everything from the weather to
the economy. They had a constant mantra
of "no." No to healthcare, no to women's
rights and no to education. These were
only of a few of them!
Instead of trying to develop meaning
ful dia
logues with
President
Obama, the
Republican
Party. used
"no" as
their everv
day response. President Obama used many
approaches to try and establish a relation
ship with them but nothing worked.
I will use three adjectives and they are
smart, black and male. Barack Obama fits
all these categories. While they will never,
ever admit it, many Republicans, not all
Republicans, just could not*take it.
Their privilege, their pride and their
self-perceived power could not understand
how a black man could become the most
powerful person in the world.
Even some in our communities were
against President Obama not because of
his policies and proposals but because of
his race. Unfortunately, too many African
Americans suffer from a crabs-in-the-bar
rel mindset. We simply do not want to see
other African-Americans succeed. Sad.
? So now for many months, the
Republican Party has had as their presi
I ?
"Shame on the Republican Party.
They should be thoroughly
embarrassed."
dential nominee a man who gloats about
not paying taxes, a man who demeans
women and a man who questions the fun
damental integrity of the voting process in
this country. These are just a few of the tru
isms associated with the Republican presi
dential candidate.
Shame on the Republican Party. They
should be thoroughly embarrassed. For
example, the state of North Carolina has
become the laughing stock of the country
because its Republican governing body
passed HB 2 into law. They want to legis
late what bathroom its citizens can use. So
if you are a Republican in my home state
of North Carolina and you supported this
law, then shame on you.
I am unbridled in my enthusiasm for
what will happen on the night of Nov. 8.
Somewhere between 10 p.m. and mid
night, television stations across America
will announce that Hillary Clinton will
become the next president of the United
States of America. I can hear Martha
Reeves and The Vandellas singing now,
"They'll be dancing in the streets."
A few weeks ago, as President Obama
talked about the Republican nominee's
credentials, some people began to boo.
The President's appropriate response was,
"Don't boo, vote."
We must as rational thinkers and rea
sonable people vote in record numbers on
Nov. 8 to ensure the victory for Hillary
Clinton. We will be making history with
each of our votes.
I am excited and I know you are. Get
your snacks 'ready, invite your friends over
because on Nov. 8, we will see Hillary
Clinton become the first woman to become
President of The United States of America.
James B. Ewers Jr. EdD. is a former
tennis champion at Atkins High School in
Winston-Salem and played college tennis
at Johnson C. Smith University, where he
was all-conference for four years. He is a
retired college administrator. He can be
reached at ewers.jr56@yahoox:om.
Bad Hombre
Tom
Hastings
Guest
Columnist
Watching the 2016
campaign is hypnotically
akin to the gawker slow
down that affects traffic
with the slightest accident.
Rubbernecking the three
most recent Trump offens
es in any given week has
given America an entirely
new hobby.
*He might be insulting
KIA Muslim American sol
diers or their parents, as he
did with Capt. Humayun
Khan. That was brilliant.
- t
Tack on his clumsy idiocy
about John McCain, telling
us that he. Trump, prefers
pilots who don't get- cap
tured. Does he not realize
he sounds like a sociopath
ic son of Saddam with
these chickenhawk utter
ances?
?
?He might be mocking
people with disabilities, as
he did with reporter Serge
Kovaleski. That took
courage. Trump, for all his
bluster and pomposity, is a
profile in pusillanimity.
?Inexplicably meeting
with Enrique Pefia Nieto,
President of Mexico, with
out bringing up The Wall
he's designed against all
the rapists crossing the bor
der now. The Wall that
Trump decides unilaterally
that Mexico will pay for.
Ineffable.
*He really fixed that
when he called Pope
Francis "disgraceful" for
the Pope's critique of the
proposed Wall. Just to con
tinue with the Catholic
vote, he managed to be the
first candidate in memory
to get booed at the Alfred
G. Smith Memorial
Foundation traditional can
didate roast.
?Perhaps his basket of
deplorable comments
about women in general
and specifically. Maybe
he's caught on tape brag
ging about his woman
groping. Donald! Basic
Groper manners - get per
mission, then grope away.
Calling Alicia Machado,
the former Miss Universe,
Miss Piggy. Women are
?
loving you, Donald.
Referring to Carly Fiorina,
he said, "Look at that face!
Would anyone vote for
that?" (OMG, Trump, look
in the mirror when you say
that and same thing when
you call someone a "nasty
woman.")
?Luckily, he is on top
of the refugees-as-terror
ists-in-the-US. crisis. Oh,
that's right. Zero terror
attacks by refugees inside
the U.S. to date. Looks like
they've all been vetted ade
quately, so far, despite his
hysteria.
We could go on, but
let's just leave it with a
secret for The Donald:
Oscar Wilde was brilliant,
but your devotion to his
erroneous dictum, "There
is no such thing as bad
publicity," is your political
undoing. You have your
base of basket cases and
that's it.
Michelle, you get four
years off for great behav
ior, but we want to see you
run in 2020. No one could
heal this nation better.
Tom H. Hastings is
Founding Director of
Peace Voice, of the Oregon
Peace Institute,
http://www.peacevoice.
t