Posted on 07/03/2013 11:15:43 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Watching the testimony of Rachel "Dee Dee" Jeantel last week and the strong reaction her testimony elicited in the press and on social media provides a fertile opportunity for us to examine if we are, as Chief Justice John Roberts and the Supreme Court argued in Shelby County v. Holder, truly post racial.
In 1865, the state of Mississippi sought to disqualify blacks from participating in legal proceedings as witnesses by subjecting them to "rules and tests of the common law as to competency and credibility." At a time when very few African-Americans had the benefit of an education, literacy was the most common device used to exclude the testimony of black witnesses and relatedly through the denial of the right to vote, black jurors (selected through rolls of eligible voters). The inability to read and write was often used to challenge a potential witness's competence, while the inability to articulate oneself clearly was used to establish a lack of credibility.
Although clearly not barred from providing testimony in the Trayvon Martin case, it seems that many in the public sought to hold Rachel Jeantel to the same "racialized" standard. While the ridicule and mockery cut across racial lines, it is hard to believe that critics would shower such harsh treatment on a white witness of similar speech and disposition. While her language and demeanor may not have been palatable to some, neither should impugn either her credibility or integrity as a witness. The intense focus on her conduct alone, and not in conjunction with the actions of George Zimmerman's defense attorney, is equally problematic. The failure of Zimmerman's lawyer to show compassion for a young woman who was the last person to speak with Martin and "felt guilty" over his death was hardly the most egregious example.....
(Excerpt) Read more at ctpost.com ...
Yohuru Williams, Ph.D, is chair of the Department of History and Director of Black Studies at Fairfield University.
Laughable. Another crybaby affirmative action Jackson, who couldn’t get a real job if he tried. Or is that a she with a first name like that?
It's more as if people are COMMENTING on how SHE presented herself and showcased her absence of intellect.
If your heart BLEEDS "political correctness" then QUICK... feel sorry for this poor girl.
She is what she is. Nothing more, nothing less.
So we are all supposed to pretend to believe whatever a liar says is the truth?
If we don’t, we are racists!
Somebody has to tell us all exactly when, why and how much black on white racism, becomes a separate crime.
This is true for most blacks and illegal immigrants . They should be deported.
i wonder what race yohuru is...
This young lady had the opportunity of an education! She did not utilize it!
If that is the case then the Sate Board of Education in Florida must be indicted for failure to educate!
I would suggest time is of essense and subpeonas be issued at once to charge these educators with malpractice and failure to educate! There are many children at risk from the non working teachers that have a so called degrees to educate our children and are paid tax dollars to do so! This slacking of ones trusted to mold young minds cannot be tolerated. I call on the Govenor of Florida to initiate a full investigation of all schools and school boards, this young lady has been denied the education deserved by all childern.
Evidently the State of Florida cares not about it’s students but rather the money paid for a non performance job!
A sad state of affairs!
You know STUPID has no color, if in fact it had been( to keep real) a big ignorant, let’s say she spoke Creole, English and Spanish you can speak several languages and still be ignorant, white redneck how do you think she would be treated by the press? How would she be treated by the so called pundits on comedy central or Letterman? would they show her sympathy, call her intelligent? Hell no! If she was fat redneck girl they would have ripped her to shreds with ridicule!
“What we all deserve is a system free from the taint of racial prejudice and those with the courage to speak out against the larger societal injustices that have helped to make the system what it is.”
Actually, we watched a young woman who had the benefit of a taxpayer funded public education, but CHOSE to slack off. She couldnt read cursive? I was writing it in the second or third grade, as I’m sure we all were. A high school junior at 19? She was already a year older than most graduates! most people who have had the same number of years of education have a high school diploma, and an associates degree! She was held back at least twice. The there was the insolence. Disrespect. Appalling racism from her. Trayvon had said that there was a “creepy ass cracker” following him, and it hadn’t occurred to her that it was racist!
There is a picture of him here. http://www.fairfield.edu/academic/profile.html?id=239
R we talkin’ ‘bout Mop Head?
It is unfair to judge an ignoramus against the standards of educated people because they will always fail.
The illiterate, overweight, lying woman with the really bad attitude didn't seem all that credible to me.
She can't become credible just by virtue of the MSM telling us that she's so credible.
She is a liar, and she is so unbelievably stupid that it is an indictment of America, its government and its educational system.
She is a sad illustration of what African Americans have allowed to become an acceptable norm within their community. And people who are going out of their way to convince others that she is somehow worthy of praise and respect are only doing more damage by not stating that this has been allowed to go on long enough.
She was so stupid that it was painful to watch.
Not sure but I think her sister was that black communications broad on the orig. Star Trek TV show...
Race really isn’t the point. If you can be made to believe in “thought crime” then the battle has been won. Enslaved while you were not paying attention.
How do you know she was lying? One group thinks everybody who is white is lying? Another group thinks everyone who is black is lying? What’s the difference?
If she can’t read cursive she can’t have written that letter, right?
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