A Valentine Day Massacre: GunMan injured 16 on Northern Illinois University

On December 10, 2007, Anita Cochran of the United States Department of Justice was headed toward Fort Wayne, Indiana. Cochran was to meet with the Fort Wayne-Allen County NAACP #3049 and various community leaders. Cochran was scheduled to address community leaders about a racial note that was found at Heritage Junior-Senior High School. The note found at Heritage contained threatening words aimed at African-Americans students wrote AAIW:

On November 12, 2007 two students at Heritage Junior-Senior High School allegedly found notes in their lockers, with the following message: “Hunting deer or/hunting niggers/we’re getting drunk/and pulling triggers/ Welcome to Monroeville. The poorly scribbled hate note included a directive: “to move them north” and “2 bars 13 stars fuck you niggers the south is ours!”

Update: 7:45 p.m. 5 dead.

During her travel by plane to offer her service to assist the community with the racial tension, Cochran received word of a similar racial note found at an Illinois University. Unlike Heritage Junior-Senior High School in Fort Wayne, the University was shut down for a day. According to Reuters on December 10, 2007:

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Northern Illinois University was closed on Monday after the school received an anonymous threat, including a racial slur, that referenced the Virginia Tech shootings in April, according to a university statement.

NIU said in a statement on its Web site that the threat was scrawled on a restroom wall in a residence hall. The note warned that "things will change most hastily" in the final days of the current semester.

The DeKalb, Illinois, university on Sunday notified students, faculty and staff through postings on the school Web site, e-mail, voicemail, fliers and news media

The note found scrawled on the bathroom wall on December 8, 2007, according to MSNBC "The black ink on the stall read, "Tell those n------ to go home," and "ME/OUT … Die Sem Burr 10th … Hmz Sdn Cr," which officials reportedly believed was a reference to Dec. 10 and "Holmes Student Center."

But a day of closing was not enough to prevent the threat. According to MSNBC

Northern Illinois University was shut down for a day in December after graffiti were scrawled on a restroom wall warning of a shooting on campus. A spokesman said the warning, which was discovered Dec. 10, made reference to massacre of 33 people last year at Virginia Tech University, but he said it could not be immediately determined whether the threat was related to Thursday’s shootings

However, the Virginia Tech University shooting bordered on students bullying rather than the growing incidents of racial intolerance that are occuring on Universities and schools. The note’s message of domestic terrorism was viewed as a direct threat to harm African-American students. Especially with the increasing sighting of hanging nooses, violence from numerous students’ rage shooting occurring on school campuses, safety was the immediate concerns for all students at Heritage, according to AAIW

The shooting was the fourth at a U.S. school within a week.

School administration attempts at silencing racial conflicts create silent killing fields. According to Comcast.net It was as if the gunman knew who he wanted to shoot in a situation that would appear chaotic to others really was a planned execution by the gunman.


Update: CNN reports four other dead and killer kills himself.

Watch video interview.

Numbers to call:

Northern Illinois University has set up the following numbers for relatives of NIU students to call for information:
— 815-753 1573
— 815-753-6143
— 815-753-1574
— 815-753-1575
— 815-753-9564

Update: 6 dead

NAACP denies email supporting Obama as a hoax

Baltimoresun.com reports: The NAACP denounced as a hoax yesterday an e-mail purportedly written by the head of the civil rights group titled: "Your Ten Reasons to Choose Barack Obama over Hillary Clinton."

"I did not write the '10 reasons' and have not and will not support or oppose any candidate or party for president," Julian Bond, chairman of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said in a statement. He also said the group "is studiously nonpartisan and does not engage in partisan politics."

Richard McIntire, a spokesman for the Baltimore-based civil rights group, said he learned of the e-mail yesterday. He said it was not known who disseminated the e-mail or when it was first sent.

Where is the game plan

Jonathan Ray, CEO of the Urban League suggested at the Men of 's meeting that as an organization it can't be everything to all people. Ray was suggesting to the Men of Action group a need to focus on one area and do that area of focus well. This was after I had suggested that many of the programs that Men of Action were brainstorming were readily available resources in the community. Just knowing how to access these resource and incorporate them would free up valuable manpower and hours. To my surprise many leaders of the group were not aware of resources or contacts. How can this be,as I begin to feel frustration. How can you lead when you can't provide the people what they need or show them where to get their needs met?

Anyways, I goes over to Villager, and I find a lovely article about NAACP disagreement with Bruce Gordon. Gordon wanted to incorporate a service element in growing membership. The Board members did not necessary want to provide services but to continue battling the corporations on the legal battle fields. In essence, NAACP was leaving the component of meeting the service needs of the people to the Urban League. The lack of mutual agreement and the NAACP lost Bruce Gordon.

What it is means that the Board privileges its historic identity and therefore, honors the struggle to achieve full civil rights by a forceful agenda and set of strategies.

This calls into question any attempt to change the organization's mission into a service role. Without question, as Gordon has indicated, there is a huge role for leadership in turning inward and marshalling the strengths of the Black community to do what is necessary to achieve our goal of self-determination. However, the NAACP cannot do both civil rights and social service, effectively. And why should it, there is a fine black social service organization in existence known as the National Urban League, created just one year after the NAACP, such that they were clear then of the difference between the functions of the organizations. We have gotten somewhat confused today.

The article suggest that the Board members and Bruce Gordon could have come to a mutual agreement, I believe. The article suggest that the civil right organization battled for laws to be written. But, implemented of the law for the needs of the people is the current and even harder battle in which the NAACP should be focusing on.

What we are seeing is that in some ways, the fight to establish civil right laws was easier than its implementation, since all of them have been distorted to a major degree. Thus, the mission to infuse meaning into these laws is essentially one that pre-supposes a constant confrontation with systemic oppression, and it should do the work of such organizations - even if it continues to make all of us uncomfortable. For, as Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, it is this discomfort that produces the seeds of change.

In essence, the people needs to know how these laws are being used to further oppress them rather than used in a manner to improve their lives. The purpose of the law is not to help the servant but to maintain the master house. This is the distortion. The gatekeepers may appear as nice guys, but they lack a pure,clean and good heart. It's a difference.

So, when I suggest that gun amnesty program is a front and not meeting the needs of the people. I say it is a photo op for a political objective rather than meeting the social needs of the community. The community wants crime reductions for safe neighborhoods and jobs for their families. And I surmise to achieve these goals, to reduce crime and fund jobs for our youth, both the Urban League and the NAACP can do this. And not allow Sheriff Fries to waste precious dollars to help our community be used for photo ops. So why is not the NAACP addressing the laws and the Urban League the jobs to achieve this goal simultaneously? Men of Action what is your strategy or is this one more photo op moments, here, here and here.

Rev. Michael Latham, what were you thinking?

Ken Fries, Allen County Sheriff stated during his campaign nobody was going to tell him how to do his job. And that include you, Mr. President of the Local NAACP. Fries talked about all the millions of dollars leaving Fort Wayne based on drugs. How much do you think some of that drug money can keep those new sheriff posse members working? Sheriff Fries did promise them raises did he not? And did you notice his posse was made up of all raced white males. Yep, so much for inclusive in the Sheriff Department.

Now he decides he needs to convene the MetroSquad because he cares about African-Americans dying? Rev. Michael Latham, look deep into the man's eye and then tell me, if you think he cares one iota about a child dying on the southside. Tell him to hire some of these young men, if he is really concerned about their health or lives.

Can we say Tasers?

If you meet with the new sheriff in town, tell him to focus on getting some of those big money drug dealers off the street that harms thousands upon thousands of lives. Kevin Leininger wrote the story to say African-Americans don't want cowboys in our crime infested neighborhood. The point is we don't want cowboy harassing innocence folks in our neighborhood, which has pockets of permissible criminal activity. And the biggest activity everyone can agree on is drugs. Focus on that.

And I have a court case you can read and share with Sheriff Fries involving one of his staunchest supporter (one of his idol) and its got drugs written all over it. And if you could warn Fries about worshipping idol, it's in the bible. That's right, but Leininger's not going to write about that because it's an allegation. But Leininger has no problem writing about allegations about the thoughts and behavior of all African-Americans on the southside. I forgot these are his friends..can you say Republicans friends. You know your kind of friends Rev. Latham.

Tell the truth and shame the devil.

And while you're at it lay your hands on Leininger cause he needs Jesus.

Amen Amen