Final Four has Historic Lattin Flavor

Final Four has Historic Lattin Flavor

Commentary by Sanford D. Horn

April 1, 2016

The juxtaposition is nothing short of delicious on so many levels, both for me, as well as the bigger picture and the protagonists of this story.

“Out in that West Texas town of El Paso,” to boldly borrow from Marty Robbins’ song El Paso, there seemed to be more tumbleweeds than traffic lights, when a brash, confident basketball player stepped off a bus from Houston onto a campus rich in beautiful Bhutanese architecture to begin life as a student at the Texas Western College of the University of Texas. That young man, now 72, was David “Big Daddy” Lattin.

Little did Lattin know in 1965 he would be a part of something special; something historical; a lasting legacy as pivotal and unintentional to the fabric of the Civil Rights movement as Rosa Parks sitting in the white section of a bus on December 1, 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama.

Lattin was part of a Texas Western team that would toil in virtual anonymity during the early stage of the 1965-66 season under the tutelage of their coach Don Haskins, a former girls high school coach who took a pay cut to coach on the college level in that dusty West Texas town, also the home of Fort Bliss. Haskins would coach the Miners from 1961-99 compiling a record of 719-353, for a winning percentage of .671 – one of the winningest coaches in the NCAA. He earned a spot in the National Collegiate Hall of Fame in 1997, retired in 1999, and passed away in 2008 at age 78.

The Miners record reached 12-0 before earning any national recognition, ranked ninth in the polls. By the time the Miners were 23-0 they had risen to number two in the nation, but the team of 12, containing seven black players, most of who started on a regular basis, dealt with racial animus along the road, and not just in the south. Confederate flags could be seen at many road games and racial epithets rained down on the players in some places both on and off the court. During the team’s final regular season game on the road at Seattle not one single foul was whistled against the host team as they dealt the Miners their first loss of the season 74-72. More than just a bit suspect? Yet the Miners maintained their resolve and cohesive structure.

Not to be deterred, the Miners won their first NCAA tournament game, yet dropped to third in the national rankings, where they would remain through the national championship game.

The historic national championship game, played on March 19, 1966 – the year I was born, was hosted by the University of Maryland – my undergraduate alma mater. The all white University of Kentucky team, coached by the legendary Adolph Rupp, took to the court at Cole Field House, where I watched so many games as a Maryland student, as the favorite. The Texas Western Miners, to be renamed the University of Texas at El Paso in 1967, more commonly known as UTEP – where I attended graduate school, took the court with an all black starting lineup – an NCAA championship first. (Not until 1969 would a black player suit up for Kentucky.)

Coach Haskins informed his team he would only be employing his black players that night – the five who would start – including Lattin, Orsten Artis, Harry Flournoy, Bobby Joe Hill, and Willie Worsley, as well as two off the bench – Willie Cager and Nevil Shed. No doubt the white players were disappointed they would not see action in the championship game, but they each played a vital role as basketball is a team game. Jerry Armstrong, Louis Baudoin, Dick Myers, Dave Palacio, and Togo Railey each made key contributions to the team’s run to the title game throughout the season.

The Kentucky team featured well-known names such as Pat Riley and Louie Dampier, both who played professional basketball – Riley in the NBA and Dampier in both the ABA and the NBA. Lattin would also play pro ball – five seasons – two in the NBA with the San Francisco Warriors, who made him a first round, number 10 overall pick, and the Phoenix Suns, as well as three in the ABA with the Pittsburgh Condors and Memphis Tams.

Led by Bobby Joe Hill, who scored a team high 20 points against Kentucky, Lattin was not far behind with his 16 points, and Artis contributed 15 to pace the Miners. Both the Willies, Cager and Worsley, scored eight points apiece, while Shed and Flournoy added three and two respectively to provide the 72 point total for the Miners. Those 72 points held up as Kentucky fell seven points short with 65, earning not only the lone NCAA men’s basketball championship in Texas Western, now UTEP, history, but the only NCAA men’s basketball championship in the state of Texas. The story of the 1965-66 Miners is depicted, with some liberties, in both book and film entitled Glory Road.

Fifty years ago the Texas Western Miners were champions of the NCAA. Fifty years later the grandson of David “Big Daddy” Lattin, Khadeem Lattin, a Houston native, will take to the court at NRG Stadium in Houston to play in the Final Four for the University of Oklahoma, where his color will be unnoticed. The younger Lattin, a sophomore public relations major, has started all of the Sooners’ games this season, averaging 5.7 points per game, and 5.3 rebounds per game playing 22 minutes per game. During the tournament Lattin has averaged 7.5 points per game in 21 minutes of playing time per game.

Five black starters may lace up their sneakers for any number of teams and it is just another day, another game, for thousands donning uniforms on campuses across the United States. In a national climate with more racial strife than we should accept, young men and young women take to the fields of competition in many arenas working as the cohesive units teams should. David Lattin helped pave a path that has made life easier for his grandson Khadeem Lattin, and regardless of the score on the court, everyone emerges a winner.

Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN.

Holder: For Obama, Against the People

Holder: For Obama, Against the People

Commentary by Sanford D. Horn

October 2, 2014

The strategy behind the resignation of Attorney General Eric Holder is about as dangerous as the six-year tenure we the people have endured with him on the job in the first place.

From Fast and Furious to voter fraud/ID issues to the New Black Panther Party to constantly injecting race into virtually every issue flying anywhere close to his radar, Holder should have been out of his job almost as soon as his swearing in. Fortunately, the United States Constitution has deeper roots than the resolve of Holder and Barack Obama combined.

Ironically, it was Holder’s supposed “independence” that Obama touted as a reason for nominating him for the post of attorney general in the first place. Yet Holder remained steadfastly loyal to Obama – even when the Constitution took a back seat. This in an administration determined to be the most transparent in history, yet has been anything but.

Holder and Obama have worked in unison to impede virtually all legislation that would help secure the borders or pertain to limiting the “rights” of illegal aliens, who should have no rights in the US in the first place. Holder called any attempts to curtail illegal immigration “racial profiling.” In getting involved with state matters such as illegal immigration, as he did in the Arizona SB 1070 case, Holder violated the 10^th Amendment of the US Constitution.

Early in his tenure at the helm of the Justice Department, Holder loudly decried, that on the issue of race, America was, and is, a nation of cowards. However, once the racial missile was launched, any response would have been viewed as defensive (for good reason) and racially insensitive. The present day politically correct environment disallows honest discussion or debate and lends credence to Holder’s accusation, making it a self-fulfilling prophecy.

If Holder actually wants to have the race conversation, fine, but it should be conducted sans recriminations where people can opine at will without fear or threat of the loss of career, reputation, or garnering the label of racist. We are not a nation of cowards when the mere mention of race as an issue is so volatile and divisive that it provokes a hair-trigger response rich with venom and an unwillingness to listen.

Announcing he typically did not trust police officers, Holder often came down on the wrong side of issues involving law enforcement. He did not serve the best interest of the American people, and was too often an activist attorney general.

At every turn Holder thwarted the employment of photo identification requirements pertaining to voting. Yet, he remained silent when myriad events featuring government officials and particular Democrat candidates required ID of those wishing to attend. Photo ID would be vilified and castigated by Holder as a racist tool of the GOP or conservatives to stunt the vote of ethnic minorities. In reality, requiring photo ID to vote protects the sanctity of all votes and voters, preventing voter fraud by not diluting the power and value of any singular vote cast by legal voters.

Holder also came down on the wrong side of another voter issue – voter intimidation by the New Black Panther Party in Philadelphia in 2008. Wielding nightsticks and baseball bats, members of the New Black Panther Party scared, exclusively potential white voters, from several polling places. This was wrong when whites did the same thing to potential black voters in the 1950s and 1960s in numerous southern precincts, and it is just as wrong in the 21^st Century.

Tit for tat, and all that, does not work in the justice system and revenge justice is neither justice nor does it right the wrongs of prior injustice. Holder should have done his job and prosecuted the New Black Panther Party members as well as all who have committed voter fraud.

Fast and Furious, the failed program that literally put American guns in the hands of Mexican drug lords under the foolhardy machinations of capturing said drug lords, only made the border crisis more dangerous and the borders themselves more porous and welcoming to illegals. Add to that failure, the tragic murder of border patrol agent Brian Terry in December 2010. Failure by Holder to produce documents demanded by Congress made him the first sitting cabinet member to be hold in contempt of Congress – June 2012.

Mere grumblings of an attempt to remove Holder from office were met with resistance and cries of racism. The Obama administration plays the race card with such regularity and ease, yet this is the same so-called racist nation that elected a black president – twice.

But it is the behavior – the actions – of Holder and his Justice Department that are under scrutiny, not the color of his skin. Holder and the DOJ behaved questionably with regard to spying on Fox News reporter James Rosen and other members of the press, under the guise that they violated the Espionage Act. This scandal did not receive the full measure of attention it required as the actions by the Justice Department were egregious at best, illegal at worst, and an attempt by the Obama administration to hamper an otherwise free press.

Military activities and the methods of terrorists notwithstanding, a free press should be sacrosanct.

“Our liberty depends on the freedom of press, and that cannot be limited without being lost.” – Thomas Jefferson

Jefferson adroitly prioritized the press above the government: “…were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.”

With the Barack Obamas and the Eric Holders in charge of the nation and its laws, a free press may be civilization’s last line of defense against the tyranny of our own government.

And as for the strategy behind Holder’s departure, tyranny should be on the minds of the rank and file. Holder has agreed to remain on the job until Obama nominates a replacement. Obama will no doubt attempt to nominate a candidate prior to the November 4 midterm election and have this nominee approved by the lame duck Senate before a potential Republican majority Senate convenes January 5, 2015. While this is bad enough, worse yet, is what will become of Holder once he leaves the Justice Department behind.

With two years remaining in his term, Obama would sacrifice a kidney for the crack at putting another of his acolytes on the Supreme Court – a lifetime appointment. Out goes octogenarian Ruth Bader Ginsburg who will finally retire, paving the way for Holder to rise to the High Court. Thus a greater imperative for the GOP to claim the Senate. Obama’s AG appointee will only serve two years maximum, while Holder, at 63, could serve upwards of a quarter century.

Keep the power in the hands of the people by electing Republicans to the Senate from Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, New Hampshire, North Carolina, South Dakota, and West Virginia – pivotal states to a GOP majority. Simultaneously the Republicans must hold the states where there is little to no Democratic threat. Let’s ensure Holder’s retirement is permanent.

Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN.

"Thrill Kill" Strikes Out Baseball Player

“Thrill Kill” Strikes Out Baseball Player
Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
August 22, 2013

The depravity of American society continues sinking to a new low with what is being labeled a “thrill kill” perpetrated by three teenage males in Oklahoma on Friday, August 16 against an Australian national in the US attending school and playing collegiate baseball.

Chancey Allen Luna, 16, James Francis Edwards Jr., 15, and Michael Dewayne Jones, 17, all of Duncan, OK, are responsible for the murder of Christopher Lane, 22, of Melbourne and rightfully will be tried as adults as per Oklahoma law. These miscreant murderers deserve nothing less than the death penalty for randomly selecting Lane and shooting him in the back while he was on a training run. They claimed they were “bored” and murdered Lane “for the fun of it.”

A deeper look into the potential motive behind this unconscionable crime links these three murderers to gang activities and a future gang initiation. Apparently there was a list of future victims to be slaughtered. The motive matters not. An innocent life was taken and no explanation will return Christopher Lane to his family, friends, and teammates.

Lane had been visiting his girlfriend in Duncan when he was murdered. He was attending East Central University in Ada, OK on a baseball scholarship – he was a catcher, and had planned to marry Sarah Harper, his girlfriend and a collegiate golfer attending Oklahoma Christian University.

Senseless waste – of four lives – Lane, the murder victim, as well as the three responsible for the slaying, Edwards, Jones, and Luna who could have chosen an alternative path other than murder at random for the sake of curing one’s boredom. It matters not that the three sociopaths are teenagers. They committed an adult crime with no regard for human life – in fact one of these thugs, Edwards, was laughing and dancing while being arrested.

This depravity stems from a lack of parental involvement in their lives. Currently, Edwards, whose mother is in jail, has had prior brushes with the law. Did these vicious thugs even attend high school? Apparently there was an abundance of violence-themed video games in their lives, not that that is an excuse. There is a dearth of time consuming activities in these three boys’ lives – no jobs, no community activities, no religious-based activities. They have no moral compass. One of the defendants showed up to a court hearing with his pregnant girlfriend – another example of the spiraling down of society.

Additionally, Edwards boasted of the crime and had Tweeted “90% of white ppl are nasty. #HATETHEM” begging the question as to whether the murder of Lane should be considered a hate crime. All crime is a form of hatred and thus singling out certain crimes as worse than others degrades those not labeled as such.

Yet, as this horrific slaughter was committed by two black males and one white male, there is a racial component, once again. Where are the outraged voices of Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and Barack Obama? Does everyone hear the crickets chirping? Of course, because this crime does not fit the political agenda of these race hustlers. Just as the deafening silence following the life-threatening beating of a white child on a school bus in Florida by three of his black schoolmates because the white child informed to authorities that the black children were pushing drugs.

Although, to be fair, Jackson did comment on the Lane murder, but only by adding severe insult to injury. “Praying for the family of Chris Lane. This senseless violence is frowned upon and the justice system must prevail,” texted Jackson. Frowned upon? This is not a debate about whether or not it is okay to snitch a grape at the supermarket. This is not a question of whether or not one should wear white after Labor Day. This is the taking of a human life, you pinhead.

Jackson later expounded upon his weak-kneed text, but still nothing from Sharpton, who, if the races were reversed, would have organized a march and protest before the victim’s body was cold.

As for Obama, if he can say the Cambridge police “acted stupidly” before having all the facts and information; if he can say if he had a son he would look like Trayvon Martin, why hasn’t he spoken out against this heinous crime?

In fact, Fox News White House correspondent Ed Henry asked on Wednesday of White House Deputy Press Secretary Josh Earnest why Obama has remained silent five days after the perpetration of such a crime. Earnest said there was a lack of familiarity with the case, as if that prevented Obama’s Cambridge police remarks.

Proving the hypocrisy of the Obama administration, Earnest continued that he “wouldn’t want to get ahead of the legal process,” which Obama clearly did in both the Cambridge and Martin cases. Although Obama should not opine on local cases, once he traverses that road, he needs to maintain a level of consistency and speak out on the complete spectrum of noteworthy issues.

Obama is pretty quick to speak out on the civil war in Syria that has now reached a new level of its own depravity with the killing of its own children via chemical weapons. Yet Obama remains woefully ignorant and silent regarding pressing matters at home.

And before the liberals start their usual handwringing over the need for additional gun control and laws that duplicate those already on the books, remember, gun control only works to control law abiding gun owners, and criminals will invariably find ways to procure firearms.

The bottom line is a lack of a moral invective coming from Obama, his spokespersons, and the usual suspects where race is always a factor leading them to the microphone. For while Trayvon Martin is this generation’s Emmett Till to an erroneous Oprah Winfrey, the wanton thrill killing slaughter of an innocent college baseball player is merely “frowned upon” by one of the supposed leaders of the black community.

There is little doubt this country is on a collision course with oblivion. America is burning while Obama, the race hustlers, and all those who think more government is the answer fiddle. The United States as given to the American people is on borrowed time and only an epic turnaround, a backbone, moral values, and a relationship with G-d can be its salvation.

Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN.

As a postscript, and certainly not to diminish its significance as it is a developing story, but World War II veteran Delbert Belton, 88, was beaten to death by two black teen males still at large. The beating occurred Wednesday, August 21 as Belton was about to enter the Eagles Lodge in Spokane. He died the following morning. Belton, who was wounded in the Battle of Okinawa in 1945, served in the US Army. He later worked for Kaiser Aluminum for more than 30 years.

This story is two days old as of this writing and nary a word has been uttered by Jackson or Sharpton, which is no surprise. While Obama’s silence is also to be expected, as Commander in Chief he should decry the murder of a veteran as the unmitigated outrage that it is.

This growing pandemic slaughter of innocents at the hands of the underclass thug-society must be stopped before the advent of another, perhaps bloodier, civil war.

NAACP the Real Clowns

NAACP the Real Clowns
Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
August 19, 2013

Live, from New York, it’s Chevy Chase making a career out of mocking President Gerald Ford!

Ford stumbled and fell once or twice and the former All American University of Michigan football center becomes the subject of perpetual ridicule that people forget he was a talented athlete, and not just on the gridiron, but also on the golf course.

The Saturday Night Live alumnus was merely one in a class of presidential mockers, the champion of which had to be Dana Carvey’s President George H. W. Bush – “wouldn’t be prudent – at this juncture!” Such humor actually netted Carvey an invitation to the White House.

And don’t forget the masks of just about every president since JFK, especially the lampooning of Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush – especially masks promoting Dick Nixon’s prominent proboscis.

So what of a rodeo clown performing at the Missouri State Fair last week having donned an Obama mask as part of his routine? That resulted not just in the firing of the rodeo clown, but a lifetime ban from working at the Missouri State Fair.

Adding insult to injury, the Missouri chapter of the NAACP has demanded an investigation in to the rodeo clown. In a statement it released, the NAACP said “The activities at the Missouri State Fair targeting and inciting violence against our president are serious and warrant a full review by both the Secret Service and the Justice Dept.”

For what? For doing his job of entertaining the crowd at the rodeo? For mocking the president? Should all late night TV talk show hosts be investigated by the Justice Department and the Secret Service? What a waste of time and fiscal resources that should be used on genuine menaces in this country.

What was so provocative as to garner such intense scrutiny by the Missouri NAACP?

Here are the clown’s words “inciting violence” as suggested by the Missouri NAACP: “President Obama. Hey, I know I’m a clown, he’s just running around acting like one, doesn’t know he is one.”

Disrespectful? Sure; no more than any late night comic or SNL actor. Inciting violence? No chance, Lance.

Then, as the bull was readying to charge the clown, the next set of words were: “We’re going to smoke Obama man. You ready, Obama, they’re coming for you! I’m ready. This bull’s going to get you Obama; he’s going to get you!”

Inciting violence? Still no way, Jose. Exchange the Obama mask for one of President George W. Bush and nary a peep would come from the NAACP or any organization for that matter.

Even liberal Fox News contributor Jehmu Greene laughed as she said, “It’s ridiculous! The NAACP is out of their dang mind to think that should be investigated by the Department of Justice – it’s way overkill.” Greene went on to defend the hard work of rodeo clowns with the knowledge of one who has attended more than one rodeo.

Erik Rush, author, columnist and another FNC contributor called this incident “The biggest example of race baiting… the NAACP struggling to stay relevant promoting hypersensitivity.”

This is yet another example of how liberals (NAACP, et al) wish to limit the free speech of those with whom they disagree. It is a pervasive, over-sensitive, censoring of First Amendment rights in the United States. Sadly, a recent survey demonstrated that 36 percent of those asked could not name even one of the freedoms granted by the First Amendment to the Constitution.

This is not just sad, but frighteningly dangerous as more and more people, particularly younger and younger Americans, believe the First Amendment grants too many freedoms to the American people.

What the United States needs is more speech. We don’t fight hate speech with censorship, but with the implementation of more speech. Yet, the Missouri state fair commission also said it will force clowns to undergo sensitivity training – yet another example of overkill.

Following the firing of the rodeo clown, Texas Congressman Steve Stockman invited him to perform in the Lone Star State. ”A rodeo clown is really a nominal thing and it hurt no one,” said Stockman, who noted that when Bush 43 was portrayed as a murderer the NAACP was patently silent.

And where was the NAACP and such race hustlers as Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton when three black teens were videotaped beating the daylights out of a white teenager on a school bus? The crickets are chirping loud and clear.

Were Obama not as thin-skinned as he is known to be, he would take the lead, request the rodeo clown be reinstated, and invite him to the White House to perform for children unable to afford to attend a rodeo or circus. After all, if he can host a beer summit, he can host a rodeo clown at his own big top.

Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN.

Zimmerman-Martin: Symptom of Problems Ignored

Zimmerman-Martin: Symptom of Problems Ignored
Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
July 18, 2013

The verdict is in, the jury has ruled, and justice has been served. George Zimmerman has been found not guilty of murdering Trayvon Martin. You are now returned to your regularly scheduled country and news about the Obama administration scandals; and not a moment too soon.

A-ha; you think we forgot about the numerous scandals plaguing the Obama administration such as Benghazi, the IRS, the NSA and Edward Snowden, Fast and Furious, Attorney General Eric Holder’s racial cherry picking – ignores New Black Panther Party voter intimidation antics in Philadelphia, plays up interest in Trayvon Martin

The prosecution pitched a terrible game, over-reached in its charges against Zimmerman (second degree murder and manslaughter) and their own witnesses made better defense witnesses than that for the prosecution.
MSNBC whipped up the liberals and race-baiters into a frenzy by doctoring the 9-1-1 tape recording eliminating the 9-1-1 operator asking Zimmerman about the suspect’s race, thus making it appear as Zimmerman initially volunteered the information. The lame stream media showed pictures of Martin as an allegedly cute and innocent 12-year-old, instead of as the 17-year-old thug, misogynist, and marijuana user he became. Martin was no choir boy, had a rap sheet, as well as school expulsions to his "credit." The prosecution’s witness, a supposed dear friend of Martin’s testified he was no stranger to “weed.” Martin’s phone contained pictures of scantily clad and naked women and young girls.

Did Zimmerman know this? No, of course not. Zimmerman was confronted by a person who seemed to be looking for a fight and Zimmerman did the right thing by defending himself. This case was NOT about race, which, again, was trumped up by the media to create a feeding frenzy. Sadly, on the other hand, there is a culture of fear endemic in American society, promulgated even by the likes of Jesse Jackson himself.

Even Jackson said a number of years ago, “There is nothing more painful to me … than to walk down the street and hear footsteps and start thinking about robbery, then look around and see somebody white and feel relieved.” (US News & World Report, 01/17/94)

As is typical of the post-Watergate media, it attempts to inculcate itself into stories to be part of the news, and not do its job of objectively reporting the news. They tried to turn this into a ratings bonanza, yet ignore the continuing slaughter of young blacks at the hands of other young blacks in the killing fields of Chicago, Detroit, Oakland, et al.

I was accused of arrogance in making my declarative statement about the trial’s conclusion and verdict as a matter of fact. There was nothing arrogant about my comment. I simply assessed the outcome of the trial from a legal standpoint. American jurisprudence is to be free from emotion, and while the system may be imperfect, it is still the best system going. In this country, we are presumed innocent until proven guilty, thus the burden of proof lies squarely on the prosecution who, in this case, had little bona fide evidence, and worse yet, many of the prosecution witnesses were damaging to their own case, and more helpful to that of the defense.

We live in a society of laws. To follow and adhere to them does not make me, or anyone, for that matter, devoid of human decency, as was suggested by a reader.
The jury did its job, even when handcuffed by a judge who seemed to side with the prosecution from time to time. The case is over. While it is sad that a family lost a son, it is also sad that the media and the race-hustlers turned this case into the circus it became turning it into something it was not.

Injecting race into this case is simply a red herring and blacks from both sides of the aisle have agreed on this point – even the grieving parents of Trayvon Martin and their family attorney said as much following the issuance of the verdict. Both Col. Allen West, a former member of Congress (R-FL) and Dr. Benjamin Carson have been outspoken that the jury correctly did its job based upon the preponderance of evidence, or lack of same, in finding Zimmerman not guilty.

As noted above, this case was not about race or politics, so adding to West and Carson from the right, there are rapper Lupe Fiasco and civil rights attorney Leo Terrell from the left who agreed the verdict was accurate from a legal standpoint. Terrell, also a radio talk show host on KABC said the “jury was absolutely correct as a lawyer,” while a guest on Fox News’ Hannity on July 16. The prosecution neither proved second degree murder nor manslaughter, said Terrell, who admitted to agreeing with the conservative Hannity for the first time. Even that anointed king of the liberals, Jimmy Carter said, “I think the jury made the right decision.”

And yet, once again, Obama and Holder entrenched themselves into local matters, ultimately making the situation more volatile and political when neither were necessary. Recall Obama and the Cambridge police matter regarding the arrest of Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Obama, lacking the full story, said “the Cambridge police acted stupidly.” Obama called for calm following the not-guilty verdict, yet he was the one who lobbed the first grenade shortly after the shooting of Martin occurred when Obama said if he had a son, he would look like Trayvon Martin.

Holder announced at the NAACP conference July 16 that charges pertaining to the violation of Martin’s civil rights may or may not be forthcoming against Zimmerman. The prosecution never raised the issues of racism or bias, as neither was determined to have been found. Even the FBI determined no racial animus existed in this case.

Holder also questioned the validity of the stand your ground laws existing in roughly 30 states as well as the concept of a self-defense defense overall. The rejection of these protections will give miscreants an even bigger advantage than they already have, outgunning law-abiding citizens.

Additionally, on July 15 Holder called the death of Martin an “unnecessary shooting.” Are we the people to assume, Mr. Holder, that the thousands of other shootings in this country that you have ignored were necessary? No? So why THIS case?

This case is a symptom of a bigger problem – not that justice is blind, or even color blind in this instance, nor is it about politics. It is about education. Thousands of trials are conducted and thousands of verdicts are handed down that do not have an ultimate result of violence, looting, robbery, and vigilante justice permeating the streets across America. We the American people – not we the black people of America, not we the white people of America – live within a construct of laws

And where are race-hustlers extraordinaire Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton when black thugs are pillaging and plundering, rioting and looting in cities like Oakland and Los Angeles? When did that behavior become an acceptable norm of response when something does not go as expected – such as the result of a trial or an election? Where and when was this taught? These are the bigger problems the majority of the black community and so-called mainstream media refuse to publicly acknowledge. Did whites react violently as miscreants burning and looting following the not guilty verdict in the OJ Simpson case? No, in spite of the overwhelming public opinion that Simpson slaughtered his ex-wife Nicole and her friend Ron Goldman.

Where are Jackson and Sharpton when cities like Chicago continue to explode with the runaway homicide rate of black on black massacre? Doesn’t fit their profile?

Instead, Sharpton publicly fanned the flames when speaking at the NAACP conference on July 17, repeatedly calling out “Time to march again!” Marching is fine – it’s a time-tested way of gaining positive attention – peaceful marching. But then, Sharpton added, viscerally “Stand up; fight back!” Plus, just after the verdict was delivered, Sharpton said, “This puts every child at risk.” And still nothing from Sharpton about the daily tragedies befalling inner-city parents as their children continue getting massacred. 

We live in a culture of fear permeating society whether from physical or verbal backlash where the issue of race is concerned. While it is perfectly okay for Bill Cosby and political commentator Juan Williams to take the black community to task, for 70-plus percent of out of wedlock births and the heinous amount of black on black crime and murder, G-d forbid a white person does likewise, he or she will be castigated in the media and forever be branded a racist. While this simply is not fair, we live in a society that parses every syllable anyone says seeking racism, sexist, homophobia, and any other –ism and –phobia as opposed to dealing with the crux of the matters.

Williams’ book Enough: The Phony Leaders, Dead-End Movements and Culture of Failure That Are Undermining Black America – and What We Can Do About It (2006; Crown Publishers) is excellent and highly recommended.

According to Justice Department data from 1980-2008, “blacks were six times more likely as whites to be homicide victims and seven times more likely as whites to kill,” wrote Williams in The Wall Street Journal.

There is a systemic disconnect within the underclass of the black community, which can be attributed to a paucity of education and the advent of the so-called Great Society and War on Poverty under the ill-fated leadership of Lyndon Johnson (1963-69). In fact, in 1964, the black out of wedlock birthrate was 23 percent, while today it passed 70 percent. In the classroom, graduation rates from 2010-11 are equally dismal for both the black and Hispanic communities. Asians lead with an 81 percent graduation rate, followed by whites at 80 percent, Hispanics at 68 percent and blacks at 62 percent. (www.theatlantic.com) All rates are depressing. There is no reason for an English-speaking American not to graduate from an American high school.

Educated blacks do not take to the streets in violent vigilantism and crime. Yes, there is a frustration about the justice system, high rates of unemployment, even living in substandard housing with no air conditioning or enough food to eat is enough to raise one’s ire, but that simply is no excuse to commit robbery, looting, mayhem, and even murder. When the news media does cover such actions, the viewing public sees fires set in black neighborhoods, and storefronts shattered with thugs carrying away big screen televisions, not shopping carts full of food and books.

But G-d forbid a white writer comments on these behaviors. He will be excoriated as a racist, and for what? Telling the unvarnished truth. If there are people offended by these words, take actions within the several communities to educate those who need it, drive them to take personal responsibility over their own lives, and end the criminal behaviors.

Rest assured the black community is not monolithic. More and more black people are taking public issue with the Obama administration, joining the Republican Party and even running for office under the GOP banner. This is good for not just black Americans or white Americans, but all Americans who feel blacks only speak via one voice – an amalgamation of Obama-Holder-Sharpton-Jackson.

Instead Tim Scott (R-SC) has emerged from the Palmetto State as its junior senator as a solid conservative voice for all South Carolinians. Both Allen West and Benjamin Carson would be excellent candidates for president and Herman Cain brought many good ideas to the table during his campaign for the White House in 2012.

There were several stellar black Republican candidates for Congress, who hopefully will remember that Abraham Lincoln lost eight elections prior to becoming the first Republican president in the United States, and try, try again. Saratoga Springs Mayor Mia Love (UT), author and political commentator Angela McGlowan (MS), columnist and founder of the CURE (Coalition on Urban Renewal and Education) Star Parker (CA), and my personal friend, writer and activist Princella Smith (AR) to name just a few are accomplished black conservatives who are also solid role models.

The Virginia GOP nominated Rev. E.W. Jackson to run for Lieutenant Governor this year and there are some Congressional candidates readying for the 2014 mid-term races. Will Hurd (TX), Glo Smith (FL), and Erika Harold (IL) are just a few of the hopefuls who are already working to represent the people of their districts – all the people.

What is important, is that the black community, while, again, certainly not monolithic, has choices in candidates from both sides of the aisle and so that the Democrats do not take for granted the solid support they have enjoyed from the black community since the New Deal.

Once no longer beholden to the Democrats, who have kept the majority of the black community on what Deneen Borelli astutely calls the “government plantation,” in her excellent book Blacklash (2012; Threshold Editions) they will take control over their lives, strive for home ownership instead of rental properties about which they don’t care, strive for higher education which will lead to greater employment opportunities and less dependence upon government, ending the vicious multi-generational cycle.

Sadly, for now, the body count continues to mount while the current crop of so-called black leaders, Obama, Holder, Jackson, and Sharpton play politics, perpetuates the culture of dependency, and ignores reality hoping to pass the buck to the next generation. Let’s help break that cycle sooner rather than later.

Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN.