While listening to a podcast about the strange case of The Atlanta Child Murderers, and the theory that a Georgia KKK member named Charles T. Sanders was actually responsible for some of the murders, the long-suppressed memory of 14-year-old Kerrick Majors suddenly came to mind. Majors was brutally tortured, raped, and murdered by three white assailants, after he accidentally broke a $2 vase a The Nashville Flea Market in April 1987. Donald Ray Middlebrooks, Tammy Middlebrooks, and Robert Brewington were each convicted in the case. The trio beat Kerrick with brass knuckle knife, yelled racial expletives at him, forced him drink urine, sodomized him with a stick, burned him, carved an X into his chest, and later stabbed him to death. According to court documents, the entire ordeal lasted for three to four hours. Young Kerrick was left in a wooded area, naked, and hidden under a mattress. His body was not found until the next day.
Donald Ray Middlebrooks was sentenced to death-and has failed in multiple attempts to appeal. Robert Brewington received consecutive sentences 40 & 35 years, and Tammy Middlebrooks was sentenced to life. Kerrick Majors story was buried in the archives, never to be mentioned again, by a city that has always aggressively pursued control over how it is viewed by the rest of the country. Buried so much so, that after an hour long Google Search, I could not find his obituary nor a single stand alone photo of this young martyr.
http://tncourts.gov/press/1999/07/06/supreme-court-upholds-middlebrooks-death-sentence
https://law.justia.com/cases/tennessee/supreme-court/1992/840-s-w-2d-317-2.html
https://books.google.com/books?id=wrMDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA36&lpg=PA36&dq=Kerrick+Majors&source=bl&ots=jpq9MRyym5&sig=ACfU3U2l8hUNDxRxqVp8kxuIY2iCfNDS3g&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj2grW844niAhUPnKwKHbnwBpgQ6AEwCnoECAgQAQ#v=onepage&q=Kerrick%20Majors&f=false
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While many of us remember the 1991 beating of Rodney King, by The LAPD; how many remember the name Latasha Harlins? Shot in the head by a Korean Store Owner that suspected the 15-Year-Old of stealing a bottle of orange juice, the murder of young Ms. Harlins was just as much a core reason for the riots as what happened to Mr. King. Latasha died with $2 dollars in her hand-the money to pay for the $1.79 bottle of OJ (no pun intended). Did I mention that she was shot in the back of the head? Soon Ja Du had confronted young Latasha physically; resulting in Ms. Harlins attempting to just leave the store. But instead her life ended on that Saturday Morning of October 9th, 1991. As for her killer? Soon Ja Du was initially charged with 1st Degree Murder, with Special Circumstances; but ultimately, she was only convicted of the far lesser charge of Voluntary Manslaughter. Soon Ja Du was only sentenced to 5 years on probation and 400 hours of community service (with a $500 fine as restitution to The Harlins Family), despite recommendations that she receive the full maximum sentence of 16 years in prison allowed under California Law. Judge Karlin actually argued that Latasha, the murdered victim, was actually the implied criminal in this case. Sound familiar???
The murder of Latasha Harlins occurred just six days after the beating of Rodney King. And while Soon Ja Du’s Empire Liquors store would become the constant target of protests, the building would be torched and destroyed during the riots that went down after the officers that beat Rodney King were acquitted in April 1992. The store never re-opened. While the entire country would have an opinion as to what happened to Rodney, anyone of the requisite age in South Central California would surely tell you that it was the unpunished murder of young Miss Harlins that was the true defining moment that led to an angry rebellion. The verdict in Simi Valley was just the lighter fluid added to an already smoldering fire. Latasha Harlins would be 42 today…
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SOURCES:
https://www.theroot.com/a-fallen-black-girl-remembering-latasha-harlins-1790898980
https://www.good.is/articles/latasha-harlins-rodney-king-anniversary
https://www.nola.com/opinions/index.ssf/2017/04/los_angeles_riot_25_years.html
https://www.nytimes.com/1992/01/24/news/judge-who-gave-probation-in-a-slaying-may-be-moved.html

On the morning of September 15th, 1963, a bomb was detonated from under the front steps of The Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. While most of the church members had already transitioned upstairs to begin, five young girls were still downstairs in the basement area of the church. As a result, Cynthia Wesley, Denise McNair, Carol Robertson, and Addie Mae Collins would be killed in the explosion. Addie Mae’s sister Susan Collins would survive; but would be blinded for life due to her injuries. Another 14-20 people were reportedly injured in the bombing; and two teenagers (Virgil Ware and Johnny Robinson) would be killed for protesting the murders of these young girls. This horrible moment of domestic terrorism and racist evil would serve as one of the most notable events among those that would galvanize the fight for civil and human rights in America and around the world.
“The blood of our little children is on your hands.”
The Sixteenth Street Baptist Church had been the base of operations for most of the activities centered around the fight for desegregation and equal rights in Birmingham; and was also considered to be a centerpiece of The Black Community. After intense efforts by Dr. King and The SCLC to mobilize the masses, a victory in the overall war had been achieved. On May 10th of that year, Birmingham officials would relent to desegregating the local restaurants, public restrooms, public fountains, stores, and more. This led to an onslaught of retaliatory violence from white groups that included fire-bombings and other bombing attacks at The Gaston Hotel (where Dr. King has previously stayed), the home of Dr. King’s brother A.D., and twice at the home of NAACP Attorney Arthur Shores. Four members a local KKK Splinter Group (The Cahaba River Group) would be named as suspects in 1965; but no indictments would come after an almost five-year investigation. In 1971, a new investigation would be launched, by then Alabama Attorney General Bill Blaxley. Robert Chambliss would eventually be found guilty of murder in 1977.  As for the other three assassins, Bobby Frank Cherry and Thomas Blanton would be sentenced to prison after The State Of Alabama again re-opened the case files in the year 2000. Herman Cash escaped punishment, as he died in 1994. 
SOURCES:
https://www.cnn.com/2013/06/13/us/1963-birmingham-church-bombing-fast-facts/index.html
https://www.nps.gov/articles/16thstreetbaptist.htm
https://www.britannica.com/event/16th-Street-Baptist-Church-bombing
BONUS READING:
https://www.npr.org/2013/01/25/170279226/long-forgotten-16th-street-baptist-church-bombing-survivor-speaks-out

Dr. Ossian Sweet was highly successful Detroit physician, and graduate of Howard University Medical School. But he would most well known for an incident that occurred at his home in the Fall of 1925. Having purchased a two-story home in an all-white neighborhood that July, the residents immediately began to protest. Dr. Sweet and his wife would not actually move in until September of that year; and he came escorted by armed "associates" and a police escort. One night later, a mob of whites would attack the house-throwing rocks and bottles. Their attempts to intrude further, and enter Dr. Sweet's home were met with gunfire. One member of the racist mob was killed; and another one was wounded. Dr. Ossian Sweet, and his associates would each be arrested and charged with First-Degree Murder.  

Famed Attorney Clarence Darrow would be brought in by The NAACP to defend them at trial. A mistrial would eventually be declared, and the subsequent retrial would ensure the freedom of Dr. Ossian Sweet and his comrades.  

Though racial codes were already routinely used in real estate contracts, this practice would be made more aggressively in the aftermath of his victory in court. Dr. Ossian Sweet's life would never again be the same. His wife and daughter died shortly after he was freed; and he would be harassed over taxes, medical licenses, and more for decades. He would ultimately commit suicide in 1960. The house on Garland Road is now listed upon those preserved by The State Of Michigan, as a historical landmark. 

SOURCES: 
http://www.blackpast.org/aah/sweet-ossian-1895-1960
https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/detroit/d4.htm
http://www.detroit1701.org/SweetHome.htm

The neighborhood watchman has struck again.  But this time the mainstream media has opted to not report this one.  For those that not privy to the story, 39 Year Old Chad Copley has been charged with First Degree Murder after the executing unarmed 20 Year Old Kouren-Rodney Bernard Thomas on August 7th.  Now labeled under the moniker "George Zimmerman 2.0,” Copley called 911 complaining about “hoodlums” in his Raleigh, North Carolina neighborhood.  Kouren-Rodney Bernard Thomas, and a few of his friends, had been in the area attending a party a couple of houses away from Copley's.  On the 911 call, Copley tells dispatchers that “I’m on neighborhood watch. I am going to have the neighborhood meet these hoodlums out here racing up and down the street. It’s 1 in the morning. There’s some devil in them. They have firearms and we’re going to secure our neighborhood. If I was you, I would send PD out here as quickly as possible.”  He would go on to say "I’m Locked & Loaded & I’m Going to Secure My Neighborhood."  Secure it from What???!!!  According to police, would then leave his garage (with his shotgun) and fatally shoot young Mr. Thomas.  Copley would call back to 911 dispatchers, claiming to have fired a "Warning Shot" and that he was now somehow under attack.
“We have a lot of people outside our house, yelling and shouting profanities. I yelled at them, ‘Please leave the premises.’ They were showing a firearm, so I fired a warning shot and, uh, we got somebody that got hit...I fired my warning shot like I’m supposed to by law. They do have firearms, and I’m trying to protect myself and my family...Ma’am, I don’t know who they are. There’s frigging black males outside my frigging house with firearms. Please send PD."
no one was armed, except Mr. Copley.  And according to all reports, not only was Copley not under any assignment as neighborhood watch, he was never under any imminent threat.  Chad Copley has been charged with first-degree murder, and held without bond.  Experts say that he will have trouble advancing with any type of self-defense claim.  Whether Copley ends up spending 1 day or 1000 years in jail, WE must begin the push to hold ALL FORMS OF MASS MEDIA accountable for how The Black & Brown are portrayed in the media. The cold-blooded murder of Kouren-Rodney Bernard Thomas is a MAJOR story.  But it has received little to no coverage outside of Raleigh, North Carolina.  More importantly, we have to boycott those media channels that chose to only present shows, movies, and music that overly dramatic/aggressive and prone to violence Black Men, Women & Child day in and day out.  We make excuses and justify it as "just entertainment;" but these are the images in the heads of so-called law enforcement when they engage us-and in the minds of the jurors that let them walk free.  Change the paradigm.  #ReversePolarity    

http://heavy.com/news/2016/08/chad-cameron-copley-kouren-rodney-bernard-thomas-raleigh-north-carolina-shooting-911-calls-audio-video-photos/

​http://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/crime/article94904167.html