6/17/20
A quote from an article written about a recent race protest related to George Floyd’s murder at the hands of the police:
“I felt a lot of love," Wilson said, tears streaming from his eyes. “That everyone is coming together... they don’t fully understand what it means to be black, but they are all standing right here. That means a lot."
So very proud of Justin Wilson, the CNU Soccer team, and all the CNU students.
Here is some backstory....
My son, Daniel Hulett, and Justin are best friends, soccer teammates, and rising seniors at CNU. In fact, Justin lived with our family last summer as Daniel and Justin played summer league ball and helped coach youth soccer camps.
I’m not going to lie, when Daniel told me he was going to Newport News to help Justin lead a protest, I was concerned. Then, Daniel shared with me the detailed planning Justin had completed. This included coordinating with CNU President Paul Trible's office, the CNU Soccer Coaching staff, the CNU and Local PD, CNU Event Planning, CNU Health Center, etc.
But ultimately, I got comfortable having firsthand knowledge of the kind of young man Justin is. My great hope is this protest is leadership practice for Justin, Daniel, and all those involved. The first of many opportunities for these young folks to strengthen our businesses and communities.
7/19/20
13th - Great movie documentary
Title refers to 13th amendment re: abolishing slavery. Following are takeaways from the movie. While I knew most of this, the movie does a great job telling the story and connecting the dots between the US prison system as a form of modern day slavery.
13th amendment loophole allows removal of freedom (ie, slavery) for criminals.
Today there are now more black men incarcerated than were enslaved in the 1850s.
The “Prison Industrial Complex” is huge business and requires new prisoners to maintain profits.
Prisoners work for well below market rates, producing products for many large companies.
ALEC is a non profit that writes laws for congress. ALEC, in part, is funded by prison companies and those that benefit from mass incarceration. Many “law and order” laws have been put on the books from ALEC and in support of prison profit.
The bail system works at the expense of poor people (mostly black) to help feed the prison pipeline.
“Law and Order” legislation plays on racial fears (human cognitive bias), some generational, of black men preying on white women.
The use of the 13th amendment loophole appears to be a form of tacit de jure discrimination. This reminds of the de jure discrimination of the FHA when its guidelines required redlining, keeping black folks in less desirable neighborhoods (like slums). The 1968 Fair Housing Act ended this practice. But only after the damage was done.
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