Manns Medium

I was reading an article titled “ Convict in 1964 civil-rights deaths won't confess ” written by Jack Elliott Jr. for the Associated Press.  In the article it talked about a man who was imprisoned for his role in the death of a staple in the movie “Mississippi Burning”.  The article seemed to be fixed on this guy confessing which really makes no sense if he has not done so by now.  He, apparently, has found his peace with what actions or  inaction  he took back in those days and is not afraid of the upcoming meeting he will have with his maker.  No, I was not too interested in the subject of the article but I was intrigued by something that was mentioned within it.  Now to appease that itch that some of you may be feeling, let me give you a little bit of that article mentioned above.  It states “Craggy-faced and ornery, Edgar Ray Killen bears the signs of his 89 years. His hands are still scarred and rough from decades in the east Mississipp...

Ever wonder how something so detrimental to the bounding of a nation could be so blatantly abused and dismissed that as a nation attempts to recover from years of neglect from its leaders, is wiped out and no one seems to notice or to care.  That a nation who owes so much to those who provided the ultimate sacrifice does not seem to care about the one item they all gave their lives for and continue to fight for to preserve. This dismantling began with the Supreme Court’s decision in Shelby County vs Holder and continues to destroy the most vital, if not the most, important of rights that any American could ever hope to enjoy.  The Voting Rights Act is more than just a few words on paper, it is the life blood that curses through the veins of a nation and the birther of all other rights and privileges earned by simply being born in or naturalized to this country. According to an article titled “Between the Lines of the Voting Rights Act Opinion” written by John Schwartz...

Many people are all up in arms about the recent Supreme Court decision to gut a portion of the Voting Rights Act and the long-awaited voting rights laws that’s affecting many Republican-controlled states and municipalities, but what they seem to be missing is the real reason why. Some say it is to stop a certain type of voter from voting in the up-coming elections, some say it is to give the GOP a better chance of controlling all aspects of government both local, state and national but there are those who say that it is to fight voter fraud.   Regardless of which you choose to believe and you are free in this country to believe whatever you desire, one thing is extremely true and undisputable. It is the new adaptation of the “southern strategy”, one where the “closet Klan members” and “fake Christians” rule as they did in the time of Jesus where only the laws of Moses were important to those religious and righteous leaders.   Where a simple man born to a carpenter co...

According to an article written by Beth Fouhy, Associated Press titled Goodbye to federal funding for 2012 candidates “a cornerstone of U.S. politics since the 1970s, public funding of presidential campaigns may soon go the way of other relics of the era like long sideburns and lava lamps. Neither President Barack Obama nor any of the leading 2012 Republican contenders is expected to accept federal matching funds and the limits they impose.   Obama's record-breaking fundraising in the 2008 campaign allowed him to abandon the public system in both the Democratic primaries and the general election. With his success as a benchmark, top-tier Republican candidates now are planning to go it alone.   But the emergence of free-spending independent political groups — since the Supreme Court in 2009 cleared the way for unlimited corporate spending in campaigns — is expected to help close the imbalance between Obama and the GOP. Several of the Republicans also have immense personal we...

On this, the third day of February 2011, Black History Month, it is quite fitting that we address the recent revisions of slavery that we have heard from a few of our elected leaders.   If we ever intend on getting past this divisive history, it must first be presented correctly by those who we choose to lead. We all should be aware by now, the news that Michele Bachman made when she informed us that the founding fathers had abolished slavery.   Many can remember what Governor Hailey Barber said about how bad things were for blacks growing up in Yazoo, Mississippi.   There have been others as well but those were the most recent ones to memory.   We can all admit that it was a time which has stained this country for generations and probably will for generations to come but there is coming a time when we are going to have to let this stay in the past and not regard it as something of a third rail and untouchable. Many suffered during this time and that suffering was ...