Ring Time Pro Wreslting show is back on the air. We have taken a long break but we are now again to share our thoughts on whats hot in wrestling. Join us on BlogTalkRadio as we make our return
This week’s documentary suggestion has not aired just yet. So here is a chance to set your DVR or tune in to see it. This project will air on PBS on February 18th. It is an Independent Lens project about civil rights leader Whitney Young.
Young is a figure that is not discussed as much as a MLK or Malcolm X. Young’s methods were not through marching or other forms of mass direction action. He fought for the economic empowerment for African Americans. His work with the National Urban League helped blacks fight for employment in careers that were traditionally reserved for whites.
His influence allowed him to mingle with CEOs of Fortune 500 corporations and helped them see the value in the black workforce. His was very influential in political circles also. Young was an advisor to Presidents Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon. Nixon even tried to recruit Young to be part of his cabinet after the 1968 election but Young declined. Young was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Johnson. This documentary will be a great chance to learn more about this civil rights icon.
In the ongoing struggle for civil rights in America there have been a lot of people who found ways to stand up against racial injustice. Charles H. Houston chose the legal system as his weapon to attack the injustice. His plan was to break down the fact that there was no equality in the “separate but equal” doctrine that was established in the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson case. Through his efforts Houston became known as “The Man Who Killed Jim Crow.”
Born in 1895 in Washington DC where his father was also a lawyer. Charles attended Amherst College where he was one of six valedictorians and graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1915. For the first two years after graduation he taught English at Howard University until 1917. After that he entered World War I at the rank of 1st Lieutenant. His experiences in the military are what lead Houston to decide to study law. In one of his writings he stated so:
“The hate and scorn showered on us Negro officers by our fellow Americans convinced me that there was no sense in my dying for a world ruled by them. I made up my mind that if I got through this war I would study law and use my time fighting for men who could not strike back.”
In 1919 Houston entered Harvard Law School and earned his Doctor of Laws degree in 1923. While at Harvard, Charles served as an editor for the Harvard Law Review. After leaving law school he was admitted to the District of Columbia bar and began practicing law with his father. During the 1930’s Houston began his relationship with the NAACP. He was the first special counsel and was involved most of the civil rights cases.
Houston was also involved in the academic world as he joined the faculty at Howard Law School. He helped create a relationship between Harvard and Howard’s Law Schools that still exist today. As a teacher he also mentored a young Thurgood Marshall. Using his position at Howard, Houston was able to recruit the best young black legal minds for the NAACP legal challenges.
With the NAACP Houston attempted to pass anti lynching bills and went after housing discrimination cases. His main focus became the unequal education system that he thought was the biggest problem with Jim Crow. He wanted to show how the states were failing to meet the “separate but equal” standard that the Plessy v Ferguson case was supposed to have established. His goal was to finally overturn the ruling of that case.
Houston was going to use evidence of how school systems in the south spent far less money on black schools than white ones. The facilities were out of date and materials were all hand me down at the black schools. He started out attacking law schools. He used the reasoning that judges might some sympathy toward the plaintiff who wanted entry into the profession that they loved so much. It worked as in evidence in the Gaines v Canada case of 1938.
Lloyd Gaines was denied admission to the University of Missouri Law School because he was a black man. There was no law school in the state for blacks to attend. Gaines felt like this violated his 14th Amendment rights. The school tried to pay his tuition and a law school in a nearby state but Gaines declined. Houston battled this case all the way up to the Supreme Court who ruled in Gaines favor. They ruled that state must provide in-state education to whites as well as blacks. States can either allow blacks to enter or created a second school of for blacks. There were other successful cases argued after that such as Siquel v. Oklahoma State Baord of Regents which was won by one of Houston’s prized students Thurgood Marshall.
Unfortunately Houston did not see his dream finally come true as he died in 1950. In 1954 Marshall argued the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case that ended legal school segregation in the United States. Houston’s legacy is strong and still lives on today. The main building at the Howard University Law School bears his name, Charles Hamilton Houston Hall. The Charles Houston Bar Association is named after him and Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice is located at Harvard when he studied.
The Editor of Harvard Law Review Barack Obama 1991
This week’s social media flavor appears to be The Atlanta Mall Cop. His government name is Darien Long but he has dubbed himself The Mall Cop. He operates under this moniker despite having no police authority but we will get back to that later. He is a security guard at The Metro Mall in downtown Atlanta, GA. This place is only a mall in name only; it is more an organized swap meet. His rise to internet fame is due to that fact that he videos his confrontations with shoppers at the establishment in which he works.
Long got a big spike in attention when a video of him using his taser on a young lady that he had a confrontation with. He was deal with her, a friend and her children all who were yelling and cursing at the man. Now like a lot of people who saw the video I thought he good for him. Some people just think that the can behave anyway in public and disrespect others with no consequence. As a full confession I laughed like a lot you did when those volts hit her. If you didn't laugh you are a better person then me.
The Video That Started It All
Now in watching this video I didn’t know that it was one in a series of his Mall Cop dairies. Apparently this how is building his micro celebrity brand. He profile by local news in Atlanta and he says that his goal is to clean up the mall and attract more business to the area. He wants downtown to prosper. He believes that being that close to the state capital of Georgia things like this shouldn’t happen. Agree with Mr. Long that people should behave better and follow the establishment's rules.
News Interview
After watching a few of these videos for myself this is what I see when I see The Mall Cop. I see man getting high on his own micro celebrity brand. The name Mall Cop already implies that you taking this a little too far. I guess because I have a blog that I can call myself an internet journalist. It doesn’t work that way. Also as someone who has about 4 years of security experience I can tell you that Long breaks a one major rule almost every time. He escalates a situation when his job is to diffuse situations.
Just Way Too Much
He deals with people in an aggressive manner that invites confrontation. He uses his taser and pulls his handgun way too much for my taste also. He automatically draws down one people whether they appear to be resisting him or not. Going after young men and making accusations that he cannot prove with his own video evidence. This will only antagonize people and invite those who want to cause trouble their 3 minutes of internet fame.
I understand that people think that this shouldn’t happen near the capital or in downtown. Here is what they are not taking into account. The type of establishment that we are talking about is not one that most people would frequent when they come to Atlanta. You kind of know what you are getting when you go there. If you buy a pair of Jordan’s or gold at this place then it’s probably not real. As far location, yes it is near the capital but it’s a lot closer to Fulton County jail and not too far from Magic City strip club. If larger more upscale business wanted that location or anywhere near it they would have it. I have never heard of the work of a good security guard for the reason to gentrify an area. They just do so whether it’s the will of the citizens or not.
So if you are visiting Atlanta soon and make a wrong turn at the Underground then know that top flight mall cop is on duty.
This week’s documentary suggestion takes a look at comedy in the black community. The movie Why We Laugh takes a look at black comedians from the minstrel era until the modern comedy clubs and television specials that comics today enjoy. The film really does a good job at analyzing the relationship between comedy and the ongoing social change in America over the years.
Acts such as Eddie Murphy, Redd Foxx and Amos N Andy are talked about in the documentary. Also the social and cultural impact of shows like The Cosby Show and Living Color are profiled in the piece. Directed by Robert Townsend this film was released in 2009. The film was narrated by Angela Basett and features interviews with Chris Rock, Keenan Ivory Wayans and Cornel West. Why We Laugh can be found on Netflix streaming and available on DVD through various online outlets.
