Everyone knows the name Michael Brown.
He was the "Gentle Giant" who, we were first told, was gunned down by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, without any provocation.
It was a lie, of course. Even then-Attorney General Eric Holder had to admit it was a righteous shooting in self-defense by a police officer who was attacked by Brown.
Nevertheless, the incident touched off mayhem in the streets, not only in Ferguson, but around the country because of media hysteria quick to label it another white-cop-shoots-unarmed-black-man story. Barack Obama, Holder (before he examined the facts), Al Sharpton and other community agitators and race-baiters didn't help matters any. This was the incident that prompted the "Hands up, don't shoot" phenomenon.
We all know the names of many other black men killed by police – Eric Garner in New York, Dontre Hamilton in Milwaukee, John Crawford in Beavercreek, Ohio, Ezell Ford in Florence, California, Dante Parker in San Bernardino, California, Akai Gurley in Brooklyn, Rumain Brisbon in Phoenix, Jerame Reid in Bridgeton, New Jersey, Tony Robinson in Madison, Wisconsin, Phillip White in Vineland, New Jersey, Eric Harris in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Walter Scott in North Charleston, South Carolina, Freddie Gray in Baltimore.
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There are more. Some of them were no doubt innocents. But all of their cases got national media attention, and their names were blared on bullhorns at rallies and demonstrations.
That raises the question: Why do the deaths of black men at the hands of police get so much attention while the deaths of innocent black women don't?
The good question was raised recently by Kendall Alexander of EnStarz.com who wrote: "I am struck by the rarity in which cases of police brutality involving black women get heavy media coverage." It got me to thinking. Why is that?
She was prompted to write about the strange case of Sandra Bland, 28, who was pulled over July 10 for a traffic stop after she failed to signal a change in lanes. A Texas state trooper approached her car and explained the problem. Everything seemed fine. The officer returned to his vehicle, then came back to her car and took her into custody. She was booked and thrown in jail. Later, she was found asphyxiated by a trash bag. Her death was ruled a suicide.
Strange, indeed. Bland was college educated and on her way to a new job at Prairie View A&M University. Why would she kill herself for changing lanes without signaling?
Alexander mentioned two other cases of interest:
Tanisha Anderson, 37, died after officers in Cleveland allegedly slammed her head on the pavement while taking her into custody. Anderson's family said she had bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. The investigation into the case remains ongoing, and no charges have been filed against the officers involved.
Miriam Carey was shot and killed by Secret Service and Capitol Police in Washington after making a wrong turn near the White House.
While I'm not an expert on the Bland and Anderson cases, I do consider myself somewhat expert in the strange case of Miriam Carey – a death that would have been all-but-forgotten had it not been for the investigative work of WND, which continues to this day with lawsuits against the federal government for a cover-up of the extraordinary circumstances.
I, too, wondered why I never heard her name mentioned by the so-called "civil rights" leaders.
I wondered why the same federal officials who jumped to the wrong conclusions about Michael Brown uttered not a word about Miriam Carey.
I wondered why my colleagues in the press didn't investigate the killing for a year or more after WND's aggressive pursuit of the case.
I have my theories. But I'm still wondering. And still pursuing the truth.
Media wishing to interview Joseph Farah, please contact [email protected].
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