50 years of precedents paved way for blatant police brutality

November 30, 2006
BY MARY MITCHELL Sun-Times Columnist

We don't have a black and white problem as much as we have a black and blue problem. While the race of police officers who have been involved in questionable, high-profile shootings have been black, white and Hispanic, the race of the citizens who have been shot by police have been the same: black.

In most instances, those citizens have also been males.

Isn't it ironic.
It took a ballistic white man spewing the "n" word for black leaders to finally call on Black America to stop using the racial slur.

On Monday, the Rev. Jesse Jackson and other black leaders applauded comedian Paul Mooney for agreeing to stop using the "n-word."

After watching a video-clip of "Seinfeld" has-been, Michael "Kramer" Richards, going into a racist tirade in response to black hecklers at a West Hollywood comedy club, I have only one question:

Are African-Americans still confused about the word "nigger?"

Mitchell column: Marriage is for black people, too.

Black man, it is time to get married. No more pathetic excuses about not being ready, or not being able to get along, or not having a good enough career.

In the old days, when a man got another man's daughter pregnant, the father would march the expectant father down the aisle at the end of a shotgun. We don't believe in forcing couples to get married these days.

And look what's happened.

At the rate black men -- many of them fathers -- are not marrying, the entire race may be at risk.