NAACP Update: Denise Osei: Juneteenth 2015: Our Voices: IN THIS Naima Quarles-Burnley A Life and Career 150 Year Anniversary A Right Cross and is New President Serving Others of the End of Slavery a Left Hook ISSUE Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 13 July 2015 www.blacklensnews.com Vol. 1 Issue No. 7 Spokane’s Black Community News Source A Not So Little Lesson In MISDIRECTIONRachel Dolezal And The “Gotcha” Tactic Used To Distract Blacks Analysis by Sandra Williams be defined as pointing out the wrong way. Another way of defining misdirection is by Based on the unprecedented level of fury focusing on its function. Any magic effect and international “outrage” that was as- (what the spectator sees) requires a method sociated with the discovery that Rachel (the method used to produce the effect). Dolezal, the former Spokane NAACP President, was in fact a “white imposter”, The main purpose of misdirection is to as some people called her, you would have disguise the method and thus prevent thought that she was responsible for pull- the audience from detecting the method ing out her service revolver and emptying whilst still experiencing the effect.” eight bullets into the back of an unarmed, In other words, doing something to distract fleeing black man. No wait, that wasn’t her. people so that they don’t notice what is ac- Well, if she didn’t murder anybody, she tually happening. must be the one to blame for the dispropor- If it wasn’t such a painful thing to watch, tionate rates of Black people that are be- it would have been fascinating to observe ing arrested and incarcerated in a criminal the degree to which our community got “justice” system that actually profits off of caught up in the “importance” of Rachel’s the point of declaring that Rachel Dolezal I had no idea at the time how profound that those arrests and incarcerations. But, no, identity. The “truth” of who she “really” was somthing akin to the embodiment of advice would turn out to be. that’s not her either. was had been discovered, and uncovered, the anti-christ? Well, then Rachel has to be the one respon- Misdirection, according to a 2012 arti- like someone pulling the curtain back on sible for creating a system that exploits Many more years ago than I care to admit, cle titled “Misdirection-Past, Present and the Wizard of Oz. Gotcha! And everybody, the labor of Blacks while systematically when I was just beginning what would be- the Future” by Gustav Kuhn and Luis M. and I mean everybody, had something to developing barriers to prevent them from come my journey into the work of social Martinez, published in Frontiers in Human say about it. In fact, we were clamoring so benefitting from the fruits of their labor. justice, I was given some advice by a per- Neuroscience (http://journal.frontiersin. desperately to be heard on the subject that Nope. She didn’t do that either. son whose face I can no longer even re- org), is described as manipulating people’s I likened it to a school of piranha tasting a member, but whose words have continued attention, thoughts, and memory. drop of blood. So, why the over the top level of anger, to echo in my ears. “When everybody else “In a literal sense, the prefix ‘mis’ means There are many tactics that can be used to and why did this “story” cause the entire is looking to the right, you look to the left. wrong or wrongly, whilst direction means distract people. I think that in this day and world, it seems, to come to a virtual stand When everybody else is looking down, you to point out a way, or to guide or to in- age, given the way that we live our lives still for a period of time, bringing some to look up. That’s where the answers are.” struct. Misdirection can therefore literally Continued on Page 14 SHOULDN’T OPO COMMISSIONERS GET DUE PROCESS TOO? The Black Lens Raises Questions About Investigation Into Misconduct By Sandra Williams and City Council President Ben I wonder how many other people city, but instead with a laundry list sioner, Adrian Dominguez, who Stuckart stood before cameras in Spokane bothered to read the of questions and concerns about was out of town at the time, was Along with most of Spokane, I saying that they were “deeply dis- report for themselves? fundamental things such as the given until June 24 to respond to heard through media reports on turned by the findings” and calling process with which the findings the allegations, and has opted to Wednesday, June 17, about the It took me several days just to get on the three Commissioners to re- were obtained and what appears to resign as well. summary of findings from an “in- through the report and through sign “immediately” based on what me to be a lack of due process for dependent investigation” into al- the lengthy exhibits, and I am still In a joint statement issued yester- was contained in the report. the Commissioners. legations of misconduct by three looking for additional information, day by Mayor David Condon and members of the Office of the Po- So, I downloaded a copy of the re- such as the recordings of OPOC However, on Thursday, June 18, Council President Ben Stuckart, lice Ombudsman (OPO) Commis- port that afternoon from the City’s meetings that were referenced merely, one day after the report they said, “Truth, transparency and sion, Rachel Dolezal, Kevin Ber- Website and began the process of multiple times in the report to was released to the public, the City trust are core City values. It’s the kompas and Adrian Dominguez. reading through the twenty four prove misconduct. Council held a special session and reason we released the report for public inspection as soon as it was Media outlets seemed to be re- pages, as well as the included ex- I came away from my week long voted to remove Rachel Dolezal available.” porting the findings of behavioral hibits, and looking through the unfinished investigation not in from the OPO Commission, and misconduct contained in the report websites for both the OPO and agreement as to the findings that to accept the resignation of Kevin Here is the link to the report issued as fact, and Mayor David Condon OPOC. were issued to the public by the Berkompas. The final Commis- by the city: Continued on Page 14 Page 2 July 2015 www.blacklensnews.com The Black Lens Spokane CSM THOMAS E WILLIAMS QUESTION OF ONTHOUGHTS MY FROM MIND THE EDITOR by Sandra Williams THE MONTH The Blue Pill or the Red Pill “If you do not know what went on before you came here and what is happening at the time Which person is under you live, but away from you, you will not know the world, and will be ignorant of the world and mankind.” arrest for murdering -Marcus Garvey nine unarmed people? In the famous scene from the now classic movie “The Matrix”, the character Morpheus, played by Laurence Fishburne, offers the character Neo, played by Keanu Reeves, a choice between a blue pill or a red pill. “This is your last chance,” Morpheus says, “After this, there is no turning back. You take the blue pill—the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill—you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes. Remember: all I’m offering is the truth. Nothing more.” For all of Hollywood’s catering to the lowest denominator by churning out an endless stream of movies that are nothing more than mindless advertisements for overpriced products, there are times when the folks behind the studio cameras get things right, and offer moviegoers a chance at higher level thinking disguised as entertainment. The Matrix was definitely one of those times. # 1 - Eric Garner, under arrest for selling “illegal” cigarettes; #2 - Dylann Roof, I have always been a red pill kind of person, it seems. When faced throughout my life with the choice of looking at the reality of under arrest for murdering nine un- things, no matter how harsh or painful that reality may be, versus armed people in a Charleston Church. a much more pleasant and easier to swallow illusion, I seem to always pick the bumpy road. Every time. It doesn’t seem to be a choice for me any more, and if I were asked to choose a charac- teristic about myself that I am most proud of, I would have to say that consistently “choosing the path least travelled” would have to be one of them. But I have to admit that there are moments, like this past couple of weeks, when the blue pill sure does seem like a much more appetizing alternative. I had a conversation over the weekend with a person who was asking about The Black Lens. They assumed that publishing a newspaper had been a dream of mine, and I think they were taken aback when I shook my head said that no it was not. I like what I am doing, I said, but it was not my dream. As I mentioned in a previous issue, this paper was a distrction for me when my dad was sick. It was my way of occupying my mind so thoroughly that I didn’t have the time or the energy to think about anything else.