It’s days like this that I wonder why anyone would really choose to be Black.
I woke up this morning still on a high. The previous night, I had the time of my life. I partied it up with close friends of mine to music I grew up listening to. It was really a great night. It was supposed to be a great morning, until I turned on the news.
Let me rewind some. The news of an attack on the oldest African-American church in the South, Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church had broken before I even left the house. My mind wasn’t ready to process whatever was going on right then. All I could think about was having a good time with some good friends. That good time bubble burst immediately when I heard what happened.
A gunman walked into a church during a bible study. This man, later identified as 21-year-old Dylan Roof from Lexington South Carolina, sat for an hour as church parishioners congregated in the name of the Lord. Maybe that was the best place for them to be at the time. By 9 p.m., Roof unleashed hell on the church. When it was all said and done, 9 people laid dead.
All 9 people matter, before anyone attempts to comment about my next statement. One person in particular deserves more than what he’s getting.
South Carolina senator Clenenta Pickney was shot and killed last night. The Pastor left behind 2 children and a flock of followers who came in every Sunday to hear him speak the word of the Lord. As fellow members of the community and pastors from other churches came to pray with members of Emmanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, one thing seemed to get lost in translation.
https://youtu.be/igopIdC6lJo
Emanuel African Method Episcopal Church is a monument in its own right. The oldest church south of Baltimore, they can count Denmark Vessey as one its founders.
The shooter was being refereed to as a “lone gunman”. Before he was even identified, it was mentioned that he was “mentally ill.”
What wasn’t mentioned was that he was a terrorist. The dictionary definition of the word states, “The use of violence or the threat of violence, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political goals”
Mr. Roof was said to have announced that he was “here to kill Black people” before he unloaded his weapon.
He mentioned the rape of White women and stolen land before he made his escape. The reporters covering the story had no problem calling the attack a hate crime. They didn’t mix words when it came to that. So why not call Dylan Roof what he is, a terrorist? He made a premeditated attack on a church that included the assassination of a State Senator. All those elements should add up to terror. Yet that’s not how it’s being presented.
It’s about time for us to call the media to the principles office. Too many times over the last 4-years, we’ve heard accounts of Black teens (ages 15-17) being referred to as adults. We heard the word “thug” being attached to anyone who protested against police brutality. A man who walks into a church and purposely kills 9 people after announcing why he did it can’t be called a terrorist by anyone.
Lets put this in perspective. Before Boston bomber suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was apprehended, the word terrorist was attached to his name immediately. And I can see why. He planted bombs set to detonate close to the finish line of one of the most historic sporting events in our country, in one of our nations most historic cities. They had to give him a tag that would let people know that there was an attack on our home front. There was a terror attack on our soil!
Yet, a mass shooting takes place in the most historic African-American church in the South, in one of the most historic cities in the South and the word terrorist can’t be heard or found anywhere. Why is that? I mean, if Senator Lindsey Graham had been killed, do you think Dylan Roof would be a “lone gunman?” No! Members of all parties would call a spade a spade. Roof would’ve been a terrorist. Before we explore his mental health history, we’d be discussing his affiliations would rogue organizations. The press would’ve found his family, friends and anyone who agreed with his stance to explain why he would commit a terrorist.
Yet from CNN to Fox News to MSNBC. No mention of the word.
Lets be understood. This was a terrorist act, committed by a citizen of our country on a public official. Bottom line! He should be considered a terrorist. His affiliations should be examined. His social media should be monitored. This should be happening. But as far as I can see, it’s not.
What part does race have to do with this? A lot. Lets not be naive. Again, if this was Lindsey Graham, tanks would be deployed because a terrorist is on the loose.
And it’s worth mentioning that this terror act took place in the city where a police officer has been charged with the death of an unarmed Walter Scott. A death that he would’ve got away with it not filmed by a passer-by. It’s also worth noting that Senator Pickney was an advocate of placing cameras on police officers as a way to police the police.
I pray for the families of all those who lost their lives at the hand of this terrorist. I pray for the media as well. I pray that they stop playing a game of, “He’s a thug, he’s a terrorist, he’s a loner” depending on the color of the person involved. It’s not conspiracy theory when it comes to how the national media (CNN, Fox, LA Times, etc) plays this. They’re playing towards their viewers responses and not toward what you know is right.
Something that mainstream media could try would be going back to being unbias. People in general has shifted away from looking to mainstream news as their source for what’s going. The bias many feel they see from station to station is a reason many will turn the channel at the sight of a news reporter.
Part of not looking bias, is treating people as even as possible. So that means, If Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is a terrorist, then so is Dylan Roof.
Roof was captured by North Carolina police earlier today. He was still not called a terrorist. Chances are, he never will be either. Our sources state that he was brought into custody without even a scratch on his body. Those teenagers at that Texas pool party didn’t fare too well though.
