Does Black-on-Black Crime Include Snitching on Black Children?
Does Black-on-Black Crime Include Snitching on Black Children?
A white mob murdered Yusef Hawkins in Bensonhurst in 1989. It suspected him of coming down with jungle fever. This suspicion was baseless. He was pursuing an ad to buy a used vehicle. Seeing a Black person in 1989 in Bensonhurst is like a bull seeing red. The Howard Beach prosecution had failed to convey the message that Black life is not cheap.
Since Brooklyn District Attorney Elizabeth Holtzman would boast about being an intern in the law offices of C.B. King, she had to show some commitment to civil rights. King was one of the best in the business as noted by the late William Kunstler. King had been a major force in southwest Georgia including the Albany Movement.
In any event, she was about to take on the new task of counting New York City’s money. Thus, she decided to do the right thing –in part—and prosecute some members of the mob. This would also allow the new district attorney, Charles Hynes, to inherit a criminal prosecution.
In May 1990, Joseph Fama would be convicted of murder and given a minimum term of 33 years. Hynes had apparently forgotten that a lynch mob acts in concert and each member of the mob must suffer accessorial liability. Only a fraction of the mob was ever apprehended and those unapprehended suspects all got away with murder. In other words, the prosecution invoked the three-fifths provision of the Constitution.
Recognizing that Blacks were outraged over slap-on-the-wrist justice and scapegoating, the business community in Bensonhurst feared that the marches would resume in the spring. The marches in Bensonhurst after Hawkins’ murder put a financial hurt on Bensonhurst.
These businessmen had been watching the Saturday marches in Teaneck, New Jersey over the senseless, state-sponsored murder of Phillip Panell, another Black youth who had to face street justice. In shoot-to-kill assassinations, cops enjoy complete immunity. They feared a return of these marches in Bensonhurst.
These Bensonhurst businessmen had concocted an offer that they hoped Blacks would not refuse. Businesses had lost a lot of money in 1989 after the murder of Hawkins due to the relentless marches in this cesspool of racism. When you take the profit out of white supremacy, white businesses will start singing like Ella Fitzgerald.
I made them a counter-offer which they refused immediately. The identity of the mob would halt the marches. Most of the marchers were seeking retributive justice. They had something else in mind in Bensonhurst. Their offer would kill two birds with one stone.
I remember Assemblyman Frank Barbaro looking at me and saying, “Mr. Maddox, we do not turn in our children.” Rev. Al Sharpton, C. Vernon Mason, Moses Stewart and Rev. Herbert Daughtry, who was acting on behalf of Mayor David N. Dinkins, would continue the negotiations. In the end, the marches stopped and Barbaro stood his ground.
Two reasons come to mind for Barbaro’s statement. Bensonhurst is a community and not a colony. The residents are loyal to each other and not to an outside entity. The businesses were prepared to lose money rather than to throw their most precious asset –their children—to the dogs.
Moreover, an eye-for-an-eye and a tooth-for-a-tooth commandment has meaning in a white supremacist community when a white mob kills a Black youth. In this situation, the identity of the perpetrators is non-negotiable. Whites close their ranks. In a community, it is “all for one and one for all.”
Things are quite different in a Black colony. First, the residents are saddled down, psychologically, with Negro inferiority. “If you are Black, get back.” Every Negro is for himself or herself and the white man reigns supreme. “Are we sick boss?” Every Negro is striving to be an HNIC, a house Negro or a slave driver, Politics, after 1965, allows Blacks to pick their own gatekeepers.
In the criminal justice system, with Blacks as defendants, the cure is invariably worse than the crime. This is especially so with Black youth. This fact must have been known to Eric Adams, a retired cop, when he posted a reward in the death of an NYU student. He is now seeking to become a gatekeeper. As we elect more gatekeepers, our condition gets worse.
On the road to political recognition, a Black elected official must do in his or her own people. The white man is unable to trust any Black person with clean hands. There must be some blood and it better not come from white folks. This shows loyalty.
To get on a political ticket, there is an initiation process. Success means getting on the ballot and enjoying media attention. The capture of four Black youth for allegedly murdering a white NYU student in Harlem can only boost Adams’ standing in the Big House.
“What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.” Our relationship with any group must be based on mutual respect and reciprocity. If whites refuse to turn over their children to the police for killing or raping a Black person, we must follow suit. It is unprecedented for white people to snitch on their children to put them in the dock.
There is a more compelling reason for keeping our mouths shut. Unlike the system of justice in France, the system of justice in this country is adversarial. This means that no person should be compelled or encouraged to assist the police or the prosecution.
This is why there is a Fifth Amendment in the Constitution. As a beneficiary of the criminal justice system, Adams should know why he is able to retire and live off the public trough. Critical thinking and legal reasoning are missing from his arsenal.
The consequences of aiding and abetting the police in the arrest of four youth who are presumed to be innocent will be catastrophic on their lives and the lives of their families. These youth are being fed to the prison-industrial complex. Slavery is back in effect. No one stands between them and the criminal justice system. There is no good Samaritan today. Things were different in the 1970’s and 1980’s.
The criminal justice system has already started hitting below the belt. These youths, in accusatory instruments, are being overcharged. The cases of the thirteen -year-olds should be in Family Court. Murder charges are excessive. Where is the intent to murder?
Admissions were extracted from them in violation of law and the Geneva Conventions. The court has refused to hold bail hearings in violation of the Eighth Amendment. Despite the presumption of innocence, they are unable to attend school. What did Adams expect? Has he ever heard of Dred Scott?
With all of these mounting violations against these children, you will not hear a mumbling word from any self-appointed spokesperson, any elected official nor any prominent activist. The Black colony is, hopelessly, voiceless. Gatekeepers, acting in concert with prison-industrial complex, are throwing our children to the wolves. They were once our future.
4/10/06
A white mob murdered Yusef Hawkins in Bensonhurst in 1989. It suspected him of coming down with jungle fever. This suspicion was baseless. He was pursuing an ad to buy a used vehicle. Seeing a Black person in 1989 in Bensonhurst is like a bull seeing red. The Howard Beach prosecution had failed to convey the message that Black life is not cheap.
Since Brooklyn District Attorney Elizabeth Holtzman would boast about being an intern in the law offices of C.B. King, she had to show some commitment to civil rights. King was one of the best in the business as noted by the late William Kunstler. King had been a major force in southwest Georgia including the Albany Movement.
In any event, she was about to take on the new task of counting New York City’s money. Thus, she decided to do the right thing –in part—and prosecute some members of the mob. This would also allow the new district attorney, Charles Hynes, to inherit a criminal prosecution.
In May 1990, Joseph Fama would be convicted of murder and given a minimum term of 33 years. Hynes had apparently forgotten that a lynch mob acts in concert and each member of the mob must suffer accessorial liability. Only a fraction of the mob was ever apprehended and those unapprehended suspects all got away with murder. In other words, the prosecution invoked the three-fifths provision of the Constitution.
Recognizing that Blacks were outraged over slap-on-the-wrist justice and scapegoating, the business community in Bensonhurst feared that the marches would resume in the spring. The marches in Bensonhurst after Hawkins’ murder put a financial hurt on Bensonhurst.
These businessmen had been watching the Saturday marches in Teaneck, New Jersey over the senseless, state-sponsored murder of Phillip Panell, another Black youth who had to face street justice. In shoot-to-kill assassinations, cops enjoy complete immunity. They feared a return of these marches in Bensonhurst.
These Bensonhurst businessmen had concocted an offer that they hoped Blacks would not refuse. Businesses had lost a lot of money in 1989 after the murder of Hawkins due to the relentless marches in this cesspool of racism. When you take the profit out of white supremacy, white businesses will start singing like Ella Fitzgerald.
I made them a counter-offer which they refused immediately. The identity of the mob would halt the marches. Most of the marchers were seeking retributive justice. They had something else in mind in Bensonhurst. Their offer would kill two birds with one stone.
I remember Assemblyman Frank Barbaro looking at me and saying, “Mr. Maddox, we do not turn in our children.” Rev. Al Sharpton, C. Vernon Mason, Moses Stewart and Rev. Herbert Daughtry, who was acting on behalf of Mayor David N. Dinkins, would continue the negotiations. In the end, the marches stopped and Barbaro stood his ground.
Two reasons come to mind for Barbaro’s statement. Bensonhurst is a community and not a colony. The residents are loyal to each other and not to an outside entity. The businesses were prepared to lose money rather than to throw their most precious asset –their children—to the dogs.
Moreover, an eye-for-an-eye and a tooth-for-a-tooth commandment has meaning in a white supremacist community when a white mob kills a Black youth. In this situation, the identity of the perpetrators is non-negotiable. Whites close their ranks. In a community, it is “all for one and one for all.”
Things are quite different in a Black colony. First, the residents are saddled down, psychologically, with Negro inferiority. “If you are Black, get back.” Every Negro is for himself or herself and the white man reigns supreme. “Are we sick boss?” Every Negro is striving to be an HNIC, a house Negro or a slave driver, Politics, after 1965, allows Blacks to pick their own gatekeepers.
In the criminal justice system, with Blacks as defendants, the cure is invariably worse than the crime. This is especially so with Black youth. This fact must have been known to Eric Adams, a retired cop, when he posted a reward in the death of an NYU student. He is now seeking to become a gatekeeper. As we elect more gatekeepers, our condition gets worse.
On the road to political recognition, a Black elected official must do in his or her own people. The white man is unable to trust any Black person with clean hands. There must be some blood and it better not come from white folks. This shows loyalty.
To get on a political ticket, there is an initiation process. Success means getting on the ballot and enjoying media attention. The capture of four Black youth for allegedly murdering a white NYU student in Harlem can only boost Adams’ standing in the Big House.
“What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.” Our relationship with any group must be based on mutual respect and reciprocity. If whites refuse to turn over their children to the police for killing or raping a Black person, we must follow suit. It is unprecedented for white people to snitch on their children to put them in the dock.
There is a more compelling reason for keeping our mouths shut. Unlike the system of justice in France, the system of justice in this country is adversarial. This means that no person should be compelled or encouraged to assist the police or the prosecution.
This is why there is a Fifth Amendment in the Constitution. As a beneficiary of the criminal justice system, Adams should know why he is able to retire and live off the public trough. Critical thinking and legal reasoning are missing from his arsenal.
The consequences of aiding and abetting the police in the arrest of four youth who are presumed to be innocent will be catastrophic on their lives and the lives of their families. These youth are being fed to the prison-industrial complex. Slavery is back in effect. No one stands between them and the criminal justice system. There is no good Samaritan today. Things were different in the 1970’s and 1980’s.
The criminal justice system has already started hitting below the belt. These youths, in accusatory instruments, are being overcharged. The cases of the thirteen -year-olds should be in Family Court. Murder charges are excessive. Where is the intent to murder?
Admissions were extracted from them in violation of law and the Geneva Conventions. The court has refused to hold bail hearings in violation of the Eighth Amendment. Despite the presumption of innocence, they are unable to attend school. What did Adams expect? Has he ever heard of Dred Scott?
With all of these mounting violations against these children, you will not hear a mumbling word from any self-appointed spokesperson, any elected official nor any prominent activist. The Black colony is, hopelessly, voiceless. Gatekeepers, acting in concert with prison-industrial complex, are throwing our children to the wolves. They were once our future.
4/10/06
posted by Attorney Alton Maddox at 11:58 AM
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