Publisher's Point by Bill Marable

I’m mad as hell
and you should be too!
   On Friday, September 16, Terence Crutcher’s car began
malfunctioning and stopped in the middle of the road.  Someone called
911 Emergency Services and wouldn’t you know it, within a matter of
minutes a bevy of policeman arrive on the scene.
   According to multiple reports and video dash cam evidence,
Crutcher, 40, of Tulsa, OKLA. was confronted by a female officer,
later identified as Betty Shelby.  In the ensuing moments, it was
reported that Shelby radioed that the “suspect” was being
“non-compliant.”
   Crutcher can be seen on police video, walking toward his vehicle
with his hands raised.  He stops at the rear of the SUV where he is
quickly surrounded by several officers.  Within less than a minute
Crutcher can be seen falling to the ground, after being mortally
wounded by Officer Shelby.
   Situations like this -law enforcement killing unarmed and in the
majority of cases, innocent Black men -are on a steady increase in
this country.
   I can still remember the murder of Roy Glenn, Jr. of Humboldt back
in 2010 at the hand of a Humboldt Police officer.  Glenn was shot
several times while running from police who had pulled over a car he
was a passenger in for a traffic violation.
  Murders of innocent, unarmed Black men by people in positions of
authority has been occurring in this country since slavery was
introduced in the 1700’s.
   We Southern Blacks harbor a particular distrust of Police
especially given the fact -as we know it - that many of our ancestors
were dragged from their homes, tortured and killed under the guise of
being arrested by the local sheriff or police.
   To see the upswing in police initiate violence on Black men and
women in this country is disturbing and only adds fuel to the fire of
distrust of authority.
   How can we as a society continue to sit ideally by while atrocities
like the ones in Humboldt and Tusla and New York City and Milwaukee
and Baton Rouge and Hempstead and Chicago and other unnamed cities
continue across this country?
   How long will it take for the masses to stand up and declare
“ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!” and demand that those intrusted with our local
safety be held accountable for their actions?
   Must Colin Kaepernick, Megan Rapinoe and the handful of other
prominent athletic stars who elected to protest the National Anthem go
it alone in defense of millions of Black men and women in this country
who find themselves victims or potential victims of violence
perpetrated by police?
I, for one, am mad as hell and you should be too!
   I am the father, brother, uncle, cousin and friend of Black men and
women and do not wish to loose any one of them at the hands of
senseless violence by anyone, especially the police.
Peace!
Bill Marable is the Publisher of The West TennesseeExaminer
Newspaper and can be contacted at: b.marable0@gmail.com or send your
comments to: wtenews@gmail.com