The Legacy of Hate

So the giant Jena, La rally ended with no rioting. No violence. But it also ended with an 18 year old and 16 year old being arrested for driving while intoxicated and driving with two nooses hanging from their truck. There were brass knuckles in the car and an unloaded rifle. The younger boy said his family is in the Ku Klux Klan. It's a shame these kids' folks raised them to be this way. Who would do this to their children? At some point the older idiots have got to start dying off and not raising new ones to replace them. Who thinks what this country needs is more division? Who believes that the answer to making America stronger and better is to have us all at each other's throats?

You know what I'd like to see, though? I'd like to see marches like this done in the worst of the worst neighborhoods in the inner city protesting black on black crime, gang violence, drugs, irresponsible parents, inadequate police response, lack of urban infrastructure investment...I want to see those marches, too. And I want to see them attended by presidential candidates. If you want that urban vote, come to urban areas. Frankly, I'm sick of marches and rallies being headed by Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. I'm not gonna bash them. You can go elsewhere to read people bashing them. But at some point, the torch has to be passed.

There's a lot of young black preachers out there who can step up. We need fresh faces. We need the Barack Obamas, the Harold Fords, the Bill Cosbys and rappers. They have a role to play because they connect with the street. Mos Def has been active but we need more. We need Kanye West, 50 Cent and others to stop their beefing and get out and really make a difference. It can't stop with the Jena 6.