Hip Hop Responds to the War on Terror (Police Terror) By Davey D The War on Terror is one that for all intensive purposes does not seem to be ending anytime soon. In fact in recent weeks more and more victims are falling victim to it. We had a 92 year old Black woman shot in her home in Atlanta by terrorists. In Seattle Washington, well known Hip Hop pioneer DV One, a coach and a man with no criminal record became a victim when he was beat down in front of his young daughter after he went to her aid during a after school football game. In Pittsburgh, Pa a 7 year girl had a gun pointed in her face and was told to stop crying or get shot by terrorist. The mother of this young girl was later arrested for interfering with the terrorist who pulled a gun out on her daughter. The latest victim of terrorism was a New York City resident named Sean Bell who left an after hours club with two friends where they went to celebrate his upcoming wedding which was less than seven hours away. Terrorist shot at the group 50 times killing Sean Bell who was unarmed. The list of terrorist acts goes on and on with each passing day and they seem to become more outlandish and unbelievable with each occurrence. These acts do not discriminate; they have victimized everyone from Congress People like Cynthia McKinney on down to paraplegics like Glen Boyd here in the liberal city of San Francisco. For folks who aren’t aware, the War on Terror is not limited to those of us who live in this country fighting Osama Bin Laden and his Al Qaeda organization. In fact that War on Terror pales in comparison to the amount of carnage and amount of time it’s been fought in this country by people in Black and Brown communities. . It’s been the cause of most of this nation’s most devastating urban riots and uprisings. Make no mistake police terrorism is the biggest threat to our national security. From Los Angeles California to Miami Florida and all places in between the War on terror is a brutal one. But it is one where more and more people are fighting back and letting it be known that they are unafraid. In the wake of the Sean Bell killings we gathered a number of police terrorism experts from the Hip Hop generation and freedom fighters from around the country to participate in the first of several roundtable discussions we are having on this subject. They included Rosa Clemente of the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, DJ Paradise Gray of X-Clan and the One Hood Movement in Pittsburgh and Minister of Information JR of the POCC and the Block Report radio show. Together these individuals not only shed light on the extent and insidiousness of police terrorism, but they also offered concrete example of what is being done to put an end to the madness. Contrary to what many in power would like you to believe the Hip Hop community is not simply sitting down and letting all this stuff go down with no response. As you listen to this riveting interview please read this excellent article penned by Big Ced of Industrycosign.com about police terrorism and reflect on what can be done. Part two of this roundtable which includes Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney will be up for you to peep next week. It Needs To Be CED: Them Damn Cops! by Big Ced of industrycosign It seems like all I have to do is place this on the site every 3 months or so and it will ring true. What makes it even worse is that it’s been going on for so long that I am not the least bit surprised. One of my fears is that it will be me that it happens to next. Excessive firing at an unarmed Black man, they make it seem as if it is a right of a police officer to use excessive force when dealing with Blacks. If this were an isolated incident, we would look at it differently. Is it a natural fear of a Black man that causes even Black and Latino cops to react like their white counterparts? As a Black man having been stopped to many times to count (in just this year alone!), I can say that I am ALWAYS fearful for my life because of a police officer’s ‘assumption’ that I may be a criminal. Nowadays, it’s not about a description anymore (As in, ‘You fit the description of……’, this was the phrase I’ve heard ever since I got my license), it’s about either a look or skin color. I just happen to match both, being dark-skinned and wearing ‘Hip-Hop’ attire which means automatically that I am engaged in some type of illegal activity. In fact, the last time I was stopped with 3 other ‘types’, we were illegally taken out of my car, illegally searched while my car was being treated the same way, as they had no right or reason to go into, not only my vehicle, but my glove compartment, which, any law enforcement official should know, is a no-no, grounds for dismissal, if indeed something illegal is found! But, growing up Black AND in New York City, it’s a shame, but you just learn to deal with it as it is a way of life. Go figure! I have NEVER seen ANY police officer, pursue aggressively, white men when they are in fact being rowdy. They approach cautiously with a ‘let’s take it easy’ attitude. But when dealing with Minorities, it’s a ‘My way or the get beatdown way’ mindset. You can look back to earlier this year when the riot in Crown Heights (Brooklyn, NY) happened and see how the Jews were treated, as if they had done no wrong and they were very peaceful. There were videos of people throwing garbage cans, spitting at police and acting very ‘unfriendly’, yet, there were no arrests or injuries reported. If that was Harlem and involved Black people, there would have been several deaths, numerous injuries and police swinging batons and firing shots into the crowd. There is never an excuse to firing so many shots when none are fired at you. I have been stopped and when I ask for identification from undercover officers, some, no, most never show me their badge. I am sure when and if they approach whites, they are very respectful, badges showing and carrying out everything by the letter of the law. Maybe it’s a fault for not complaining or lodging complaints with the police force. I have always said that when we are mistreated we need to file formal complaints the way the whites and Jews do. You will NEVER see them treat and harass them the way we are harassed. The first step is to make those accountable for their actions. How can the police force judge its own and be fair? History shows that when the police are involved, they are usually right, ESPECIALLY when dealing with Blacks. We are always viewed as being stupid, lazy and criminal. We need to show outrage EVERYTIME something like this happens. Try that shit in Crown Heights or any predominantly white or Jewish neighborhood and see what happens to the offending law breakers, cause that’s what those officers became when they killed that unarmed, non-breaking a law Black man. And that idiot, Detectives’ Endowment Association President Michael Paladino had the nerve to say ‘If the driver of the vehicle had responded to the detective’s command this would not have happened’. What is wrong with this guy? Do you have to be a dick to become president of his organization? If you have any men approaching you with guns shooting and not identifying themselves as law enforcement, are you supposed to just stop and allow them to keep shooting? Less