By Michel Martin

Law professor Paul Butler says the rate of incarceration for young black men in particular is so high that it's time to start taking extreme measures to address it -- like routinely voting to acquit so-called non-violent drug offenders, even if you think they are guilty. He says we should also listen to hip-hop music. He says people should stop cooperating with the police for money and that defendants in criminal cases should get to find out sooner what evidence the authorities have against them.

Are you saying, yeah sure, makes sense? Or is your hair standing up on your neck yet? Are you ready to go give him a piece of your mind (or, even more than that, tell him where to GO)?

Well, read what he has to say. His article in The Nation is a good pr??cis. And this is the link to the book. Listen to the interview, let us know what you think.

What I also think is this: as provocative as all this sounds NOW, it is pretty tame stuff compared to what William Kunstler was talking about and doing back in the day, back in the 60s, 70s and up though the 80s, when he was openly challenging judges, telling them they were racist and the system was corrupt and broken. If you follow civil rights law or activism or were around in those days, then you probably know the name. But I am guessing a good many people won't remember exactly what he did or who he was. That's why the documentary, Disturbing The Universe -- made by two of his daughters -- is so powerful and interesting.

The project walks you through the history and also gives you some insight into what it was like to live through those times. And it reminds us that what sounds so out-of-the-box today might have been a dinner party conversation back in the day, and vice versa.

Who knows? What we think is so radical and crazy now, our kids might someday think is just ... common sense.

By Michel Martin

Obviously that term is a moving target ... it's often used as an epithet ... something we say to people who we think are suppressing necessary truth for fear of offending. That would mean OUR truth, whatever OUR truth is. Often, let's face it, it's another way of bullying by people who resent having to watch their P's and Q's in a way they did not have to in the past. "Oh, you mean I don't get to call you the N word, the B word, the W word, or the F word? You're being politically correct."

Having said that...let's assume there are times when truth is being shut down and suppressed, when necessary truths are unspoken, because of fear of giving offense. The question we want to ask is: was the Fort Hood shooting one of those times? Did fear of causing offense keep Maj. Nidal Hasan's colleagues and associates--in the military and at the mosque--from telling the truth about him out loud?

We wanted to know, so we talked to two reporters who cover the military closely for their take on these important issues. AND we talked about the converse in the Muslim community. Did people there not discuss Hasan's growing anti American radicalism --and perhaps his growing mental instability-- for fear of causing offense within that community? We asked Asra Nomani, who has written widely about gender and other contemporary issues in Islam, for her take. And we called Imam Johari Abdul Malik, who is director of outreach at a mosque formerly visited by Maj. Hasan. He has denounced the shootings, but what about BEFORE? Would he call out elements in the mosque who express bigotry toward others?

Continue reading "What Does It Means To Be Politically Correct?" >

Megan Williams, left, and her mother Carmen Williams (now deceased) stand outside of the Logan County Courthouse in March 2008 in West Virginia. Karen Burton and Frankie Brewster were sentenced for kidnapping and sexual assault of Megan Williams. Brewster and Burton were among seven white Logan County residents who were charged in the Williams case. Authorities say Williams was held captive for several days in 2007 at Brewster's trailer home. (Stan Barouh / Woolly Mammoth)

By Lee Hill

An update to an update:

Weeks ago, we reported that Megan Williams, a young black woman from West Virginia, recanted claims that she had been brutally abused in 2007. Original reports stated that Williams was raped and tortured at the hands of her white former boyfriend, Bobby Brewster, and his family.

We covered both the original allegations and William's subsequent claim that she made the story up. (Tell Me More also reported how, in response to William's retraction, Frankie Brewster, one of the women convicted of abusing her, said that the attacks did happen and that Williams is not telling the truth.)

Now, according to a recent story by The Charleston Gazette, Megan Williams -- now living in Ohio -- says the whole thing is true. She says she was abused, although she still says some of the earlier torture claims (such as her being made to eat rat feces) were, indeed, false. Megan Williams also says her adoptive mother Carmen Williams, who is recently deceased, encouraged her to fabricate parts of her original story.

We'll keep you updated as the story warrants.

The Muslim Community Center, a mosque once attended by Army Maj. Nidal M. Hasan, is seen in Silver Spring, Md. Hasan is suspected to have shot and killed at least 12 people at Ft. Hood, Texas on Thursday. (Jacquelyn Martin / AP)

By Michel Martin

We are sorry we didn't get to BackTalk, our letters segment, again today. A last minute interview came through that we really thought added value.

We were able to track down James Yee, the former Muslim chaplain at Guantanamo for his take on last week's deadly shooting at Ft. Hood. Yee is attending a conference in India and we were interested in his views about what happened, and how religion may or may not play into it all. Obviously, there's been some conversation about whether Army Maj. Nidal Hasan's (the suspected shooter) religious identity played a role in what happened. We also heard from a former National Guard medic and a former Marine, both Muslim-Americans, who had a different perspective than Yee.

Why are we focusing on Hasan's Muslim identity, as opposed to his psychiatric background or his identity as a suburbanite? ... As a man? A single man?

Those are legitimate questions.

Let me tell you where we're coming from on this. We feel there are other people who are already addressing some of these stories. The New York Times, for example, had a very interesting piece over the weekend about military psychiatrists.

And it's no secret, if you listen to the program, that we're interested in the way life is lived right now. We're interested in identity, we're interested in how people see themselves within the context of the changing American story. That's part of our mission and I, personally, was very interested to hear three different perspectives from three different service members about how that particular part of their identity played out for them.

I know that some have no patience for these kinds of stories and discussions, and I understand that. But please know that some people have no interest in sports or science, or cars or any number of other things that NPR produces programs about.

This is some people's story. And I, for one, am very interested.

Continue reading "Did Faith Play A Role In The Ft. Hood Shootings? " >

By Alicia Montgomery

Right after the Fort Hood shooting on Thursday afternoon, the whole Tell Me More team did what good journalists are supposed to do; we sought out the facts and mapped out how we could best bring the story to our listeners.

But in the first moments after the news broke, I had the awful feeling that there was something about this story I was missing ... something I just couldn't quite put my finger on. Then it clicked in the back of my mind.

My cousin Paul is stationed at Ft. Hood.

At that moment, I stopped thinking about my job and started thinking about my family. Paul is a good young man. He's smart, decent, hard working and honest. And while I was proud that he had joined the military a couple of years ago, I dearly wished he hadn't. My family has had enough tragedy, and the idea that one of our best and brightest young men would be in a war zone scared the hell out of me.

When Paul was deployed to Iraq, I didn't talk to anyone about it because I didn't want to think about it. That was the only way I could concentrate for those months while I was working here, where our network and our program regularly covered stories about service members being injured or killed.

In a way, there was a part of me that held my breath for every day he was overseas.

That part of me didn't exhale until this spring, when Paul was back in America, where we all knew he'd be safe...in Texas, at Fort Hood.

The hour or so yesterday between the time the story broke and the time I got news of Paul, I was in agony. I drove home crying, with gospel songs turned all the way up as I sung and sometimes shouted prayers in time with the music. When I got home and saw a text message saying he was okay, I collapsed with relief.

During that long drive yesterday, one of the things I swore I would do if Paul was safe was to reach out to our listeners, especially those touched by this tragedy.

Here's what I want to say:

I know that sometimes it seems like news organizations don't really understand, appreciate or care about the victims of war or crimes like these. I imagine that sometimes it looks like we're more focused on telling the story of the perpetrators of these crimes than the victims.

But I want to let you know that THIS organization is made up of people who do understand that every one of those victims was the precious son, daughter, husband, wife or friend of an untold number of people. And now that circle of loved ones has been plunged into unimaginable grief. In our work, we're doing everything we can to recognize that loss and to honor their lives. And if at any moment, you feel we're falling short, please let us know, and give us the chance to do better.

Take care.

The home of Anthony Sowell is pictured on Wednesday in Cleveland. The former U.S. Marine is charged with murder, rape and kidnapping after police recovered the bodies of 11 women from Sowell's residence. (J.D. Pooley / Getty Images)

By Lee Hill

We have our collective eye on a chilling story out of Cleveland, Ohio.

Anthony Sowell, 50, was arraigned Wednesday on five charges of murder. He is accused of strangling and burying several women in and outside his house. So far, 11 decomposing bodies have been found (one of the bodies was reportedly found outside the house, although away from public view). Officers will continue to search Sowell's house for more victims.

Cleveland authorities say Sowell's neighbors reported a foul smell in the area for years, which was eventually blamed on the sausage company next door to Sowell's Imperial Avenue home. Apparently, the odor was so strong that city officials ordered the sausage establishment to make $10,000 worth of repairs. Those repairs included flushing the sewerage system with bleach.

There are many questions to be answered in this case.

Sowell, who was previously convicted of attempted rape, re-entered society in 2005 after serving a 15-year prison sentence for assaulting a 21-year-old woman in 1989. In some jurisdictions, such as Washington, D.C., sex offenders can expect random home visits, or "accountability tours" from local police. The felon's residence is subject to inspection for pornography and anything else that could signal a relapse in reform. Still, among the questions: how can 11 rotting bodies go undetected in a home for so long, even when neighbors complained of a stench?

Also, were these victims -- all of which have been confirmed as black women -- ever reported missing? And what was the status of police investigations into their disappearances?

What we do know, from Sowell's earlier conviction, is that the former Marine (who served eight years in North Carolina, Okinawa, Japan and California) seemed to have a penchant for targeting women who were already on the fringes of society. The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports a former victim of Sowell's, who escaped, as having been told by him:

"You're just another crack [expletive] from the street. No one will know if you're missing."

And, of course, just who is Anthony Sowell? One ponders how the alleged serial killer could murder and then live among his decomposing victims -- especially considering the neighbors' description of the stench as unbearable.

And while police try and pin down exactly when and why these murders occurred, we also want to know more about the working-class neighborhood surrounding the Imperial Avenue house. Some find it unconscionable that such a scene could go unnoticed as bodies accumulate on a property, leaving an odor that alarms the senses.

So, how was such a situation undetected for so long in this neighborhood?

We're on the story, and we hope to tell you more.

Meanwhile, here's Cleveland Police Chief Michael McGraff's earlier press briefing on developments in the case:

Boxer Jack Johnson, former Heavyweight Champion of the World, enjoys a moment in San Francisco in the early 1910s. (FPG / Getty Images)

Lee Hill, here ...

We have our collective eye on a story that involves Arizona Sen. John McCain, fellow Republican New York Rep. Peter King, President Obama and a long-deceased professional boxer.

How might these individuals be linked?

Jack Jackson became the first African-American Heavyweight Champion of the World in 1908. Among Johnson's detractors were those who thought him to be unworthy of the title and its notoriety because many of the champion's (defeated) opponents were white. But tensions reached a tilting point in 1910, after Johnson stepped into the ring to defend his title against boxer Jeff Jeffries. Jeffries had been branded as the "Great White Hope" who would defeat Jack Johnson and end his reign in the sport.

Didn't happen.

But in 1912, Johnson was convicted of violating the Mann Act, which was intended to crack down on prostitution. The boxing legend was found to have traveled with a white woman, whom he had dated, to another state (Johnson was very public -- and unapologetic -- about his affinity for white women). He went on to serve 10 months in prison, which dealt a blow to his champion profile.

Sen. McCain and Rep. King have asked the president to issue a posthumous pardon for Jack Johnson. In a letter to Obama, McCain (a known boxing fan) suggests the charges were ill-conceived and bogus:

Mr. Johnson served 10 months in prison on these charges brought forward clearly to keep him away from the boxing ring where he continued to defeat his white opponents.

Filmmaker Ken Burns produced a 2005 documentary on the boxer. In the film, Burns references remarks from the man who prosecuted Johnson:

This Negro, in the eyes of many, has been persecuted. Perhaps as an individual he was. But it was his misfortune to be the foremost example of the evil in permitting the intermarriage of whites and blacks.

The pardon, years in the making, now awaits the signature of the president --- almost 100 years after Johnson's arrest. If and when that happens, we'll tell you more ...

There is one more story about teen violence -- rather, violence directed at a teen by other teens -- that's getting a lot of attention.

It's the story getting a lot of play on cable (I have to warn you, it's awful) about Michael Brewer, a 15-year-old boy who was set on fire, allegedly by a group of other kids.

Apparently, it is because he reported that one of the suspects had stolen his father's bike, which they had stolen because he, supposedly, owned them $40 for video games.

Broward County Sherriff Al Lambert, who offers more on the case:

We did not focus on it yesterday because we wanted to highlight the issue of safe passage to and from school. BUT, I do have to say this is extremely troubling. It reminds me of that incident last year where a group of girls beat another girl because they decided she had been "talking about" them.

Craziness.

Posters serve as a memorial to 16-year-old Derrion Albert, who was beaten to death outside Fenger High School in Chicago on Sept. 24, 2009. (Stan Barouh / Woolly Mammoth)

Three weeks ago today, on September 24, Derrion Albert, a high school honor student in Chicago, was beaten to death on his way home from school. He got caught in a brawl that, by all accounts, had nothing to do with him -- a continuation of a conflict that started earlier that day when a shot was fired outside of a neighborhood high school. Albert lived in that neighborhood, but attended another school. He had to pass by on his way home.

Was there another route he could have taken? Another bus? A different subway? I have no idea. But I do know he shouldn't have had to. Didn't he have the right to go the fastest way home without fear of losing his life?

He isn't the only one.

ON Tuesday, five D.C. teenagers were shot around 4 in the afternoon, two of them died and by accounts of police and relatives one of the murdered had nothing to do with the conflict , He was just 15. So that's the headline we'll all remember but what about the stuff that doesn't make the front page, that barely makes the papers at all? The every day violence that kids are subjected to.

For the last few weeks, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for The Washington Post Colbert King has been writing about how the students at a public school in D.C. are routinely attacked by other kids on their way to and from school. Just last week, a ninth grader had to be hospitalized after being jumped for no reason on his way home.

(Here are the columns by King if you want to read them: the first piece and then the follow-up.)

I remember when I was a White House Correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, unlike reporters for the broadcast networks or the wire services we didn't stay at the White House all day, our offices were nearby so we would come and go depending on what was going on. And I think I have written about this before, but I remember standing at the edge of Farragut Square Park everyday and debating whether I wanted to go the shortest way, the most direct way, and endure the gauntlet of sexist, personal, and degrading comments about my legs, my body and whatever else from the bike messengers, homeless men and hangers-on who took up residence in the park. (You can say what you want about words don't hurt and all that but it was often very graphic and very disgusting and I bet you wouldn't want someone talking to your mother or your daughter or you that way so ... let's just leave it at that.) But I never feared for my life. And if I really did, you know what? I am sure my boss would have sprung for a cab, or a car service, even. I guarantee it. I would not have been expected to risk my life going about my daily job, unless I was in Iraq or Afghanistan and I had intentionally signed up knowing that was the deal.

So what about these schoolchildren, folks? Did they sign up for school? Or did they sign up to go through a war zone everyday?

That's what I want to know.

Mildred Muhammad, former wife of convicted Washington, D.C., area sniper John Allen Muhammad, recently gave her first broadcast interview to NPR's Tell Me More. Muhammad candidly described to NPR her initial reaction to authorities when told her then-husband was believed to be a mass murderer. (Argin Hutchins / NPR)

Did you notice anything interesting or slightly unusual about the program today? (I'll answer at the end of this post.)

But first, Mildred Muhammad.

There is no easy path is there? She is the former wife of John Allen Muhammad, the convicted Beltway sniper, who, along with Lee Boyd Malvo, a young accomplice he trained (although many might say manipulated or brainwashed) killed ten people and wounded three others in a three week shooting spree throughout the Washington, D.C., area in October 2002. We spoke to her for the program today. She's written a new book, an excerpt of which was recently published in The Washington Post Magazine, and later paired with a live Web chat.

Many of the broad outlines of the story were known, but it was hard to put it all together. Long story, short: John Allen Muhammad, she believes, orchestrated the D.C.-area shootings so that he could eventually kill her and reclaim his children (whom he had previously kidnapped), so he could make himself out to be the "hero dad."

I was curious about the venom directed at her in the Web chat. One man called her "disgusting" saying she had a lack of compassion for the "real victims" because she has written a book and wants people to buy it. Huh?

One does not have to agree with her or buy her book. But, it does seem worthwhile to hear first-hand from a person who was so close to someone who did something so unthinkable. Why anyone feels a need to direct opprobrium at such a person is beyond me. It seems we often want to (and I can't bring myself to use that real term) hate on the messenger.

Continue reading "Perhaps The Closest We'll Get To Ever Knowing 'Why'" >

John Allen Muhammad sits during a motions hearing in Manassas Circuit Court, Thursday, May 29, 2003, in Manassas, Va. Muhammad and his accomplice, Lee Boyd Malvo, were behind a three-week shooting spree that gripped the Washington, D.C., region, leaving 10 dead and three injured. (Muhammad and Malvo were later also linked to shootings in Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana.). Muhammad was sentenced to death for the slaying of Dean Meyers at a Virginia gas station, and is scheduled to be executed Nov. 10. (Davis Turner / AP)

There are so many times we ask ourselves, why would he ... why would anybody ... do ... that?

Whatever that is.

Sometimes it's just something stupid. But other times, when we ask each other that question, it's about something so tragic, so meaningless, and so awful, that you just can't wrap your head around it.

... And you just want somebody to tell you, why?

That's what it was like here in the Washington, D.C., area in the fall of 2002. Our nerves were already on edge because it was only a little over a year after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the anthrax attacks. Nobody knew what to expect, or whether there was another shoe yet to drop.

Then, all of a sudden, people were dying. Getting shot. They were being struck in the morning, in the middle of the day, at dusk, while pumping gas, loading groceries, crossing the street -- for reasons no one could fathom.

One man was the devoted caregiver to his elderly wife; one man was a loving father and husband, who was on his way home from a far-flung job assignment.

Perhaps most horrific of all was when a 13-year-old boy became a victim. He was shot walking into school.

Why? Why would anyone do that?

As it turns out now, we might have some answers.

The man behind the shootings was named John Allen Muhammad. His accomplice was a young man he recruited, Lee Boyd Malvo. Together, they killed 10 people and wounded three others in the Washington region. And now Muhammad has been sentenced to be executed November 10. (His accomplice is serving a sentence of life without parole.)

Muhammad's ex-wife, Mildred, was the first person he learned to terrorize. Now, she is telling her story. We talked to her for tomorrow's program. It is her first national broadcast interview.

It is very enlightening.

Nadashia Thomas, 6, a cousin of Derrion Albert, holds a sign beside a poster of Derrion Albert at Fenger High School in Chicago, Sept. 28, 2009. A vigil for Derrion Albert was planned outside of Fenger High School. (Nam Y. Huh / AP)

Lee Hill, here ...

As we discussed on today's program, the fatal beating of 16-year-old Derrion Albert by a mob of teenagers last week in Chicago has underscored the city's alarming rate of youth whose lives are being lost to violence. To place things in perspective, Albert is the third Chicago student to be murdered this school year, in addition to the 34 youngsters who didn't live to see the end of the last school year. Their lives were met with the same fate.

Albert was killed in the Roseland community on the city's south side. I was in that neighborhood, coincidentally, last summer and reported on this very issue. When we first arrived to the area, residents were still buzzing about Percy Rounds, a 15-year-old, who had been shot in the head and killed just a day earlier while sitting on his back porch. And I remember later that afternoon, as we wrapped-up our day in Roseland, being taken -- along with fellow TMM producer Jasmine Garsd -- to Percy's house by Bob Jackson, an anti-violence activist with the group CeaseFire (Jackson was on the program today). We decided to try talking to the family about the youngster's recent death. We thought the tragic example of Chicago's ongoing violence might help us tell a more complete story.

Let me just say, this is when the story became more than just an "angle." It became painfully real.

As journalist, our job is to tell you the story -- the what, why, when, how and who of it all. Sometimes we do that from a glass-enclosed studio behind a microphone, sometimes as observers from our newsrooms with help from television monitors. Others of us do it in front of cameras in heavily lit (and powerfully air-conditioned) state-of-the-art studios.

But, I must say, there is something especially gripping that comes from, literally in this case, walking into the story.

When we pulled up to the home of Percy Rounds, my first thought was ... what could I possibly say to comfort this grieving family at the house where, less than 24 hours ago, this young man was very much alive? My second thought was,
and why on earth would they want to talk to, of all people, two reporters at a time like this?

I was nervous, but I said a quick prayer and began walking up to the house.

The front lawn of the modest residence was filled with people who came to console the family and who, obviously, had some connection to Percy. And there we were -- strangers to just about everyone there -- stopping by and actually having the nerve to want something from the bereaved.

It was, by far, one of the more challenging moments of my relatively young career.

Percy lived with his aunt and was killed at her home. As it turned out, she was more than willing to talk to us, as she fought back tears, about her nephew's murder.

But more importantly, it was clear that -- above all else -- she wanted the story of Percy Rounds to be told. For her, his loss was more than just the latest homicide on the block; it was more than just the latest story to generate the typical "it's a damn shame" community response. It was about a young life that was no more, a potential forever silenced as part of a much bigger problem. For us, as well as our audience, hearing from her humanized the story beyond the headline.

And so today, as we reported on the recent killing of Albert in that same community, we also touched on the fact that his beating -- captured on videotape and posted to online -- has generated an enormous amount of interest in the circumstances surrounding his death.

(WARNING: This link to a YouTube video shows a mob of young people in Chicago beating 16-year-old honor student Derrion Albert to death. The footage is graphic and may not be appropriate for some viewers. YouTube requires those who want to watch the video to verify that they are at least 18 years of age.)

Now, there are some who take issue with what appears to be the photographer's decision to film the beating, rather than help the victim. There are also those who find fault with certain news organizations for deciding to air that footage; it's a matter of decency and respect for the deceased, critics say. Still, there are others, namely the Chicago police, who credit the video as the only known eyewitness to the crime, which, so far, has lead to the arrest of four suspects in Albert's death.

In today's conversation, we asked Bob Jackson, who has spoken with family members of the late teenager, what the family thinks about tape being shown.

Like Percy Round's aunt, Jackson says Derrion Albert's family just wants his story to be told.

Alicia Montgomery, here ...

The story that struck my heart most in today's program was our Faith Matters interview with the authors of "Bending Toward the Sun." It's a memoir written by Leslie Gilbert-Lurie, a lawyer and former television executive, and her mother Rita Lurie, a Holocaust survivor.

The two women and Leslie's daughter, Mikaela, joined Michel to talk about the book, and how Rita Lurie's experience during the war affected the family for generations. The book took ten years to pull together, and the family's experience sheds a unique light on what it means to survive.

The matriarch, Rita, had hidden from the Nazis from 1942 to 1944 in an attic of a Catholic family in Poland. She was just 5 -years-old when she and more than a dozen relatives began living there. The confinement left Rita nearly mute, a consequence of having to remain silent to avoid detection. The cramped space didn't allow for much movement, so after they left, Rita also had difficulty walking. And the physical hardship was nothing compared the psychological trauma she endured. During those years, Rita watched first her younger brother then her mother die in that attic.

Here's Leslie, reading an excerpt from the book:

Decades later, Leslie Gilbert Lurie finally begins to understand how -- despite her mother's best efforts -- the sense of fear that scarred Rita's life after the Holocaust had affected her own American childhood, and was influencing the way she raised her daughter Mikaela.

Here's 14-year-old Mikaela reading an excerpt:

The story of how this family found the strength to sustain itself, and share even the most wrenching moments of its collective history, makes for a haunting read and a compelling interview.

iStock

 

It's happening! Another dream realized!

Sometimes people ask me (and others who work on this program) how and why we started Tell Me More. I often quote Toni Morrison, who, when asked why she started writing, said, "I wrote the book I wanted to read."

When Executive Producer Marie Nelson and I started this program more than two years ago(!), we quickly realized we were not starting with a blank slate at all. Many of the segments you hear are those either one or both of us had long wanted to produce when we were working in other media outlets and, for whatever reason, could not find the right vehicle.

Today's program represents a down payment on one of the ideas I have desperately wanted to see realized for a long time.

Education is so important. It is fundamental to who we are as Americans. We live in a country where we believe -- even against great odds -- that every child can be whoever he or she wants to be.

Do you remember childhood stories about enslaved Americans learning to read in secret, about the young Abe Lincoln plowing the field with a book in his hands, about the late Daniel Patrick Moynihan taking his city college entrance exams with his longshoreman's grappling hook still in his pocket? Do you remember Barack Obama talking during the campaign and in his memoir about how his mother used to wake him up at the crack of dawn to review his lessons because she felt his school in Indonesia wasn't rigorous enough?

Continue reading "A Topic Well Worth Discussing" >

Police gather in front of the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., following yesterday's shooting. Win McNamee/Getty Images

 

Isn't it strange how a day can start out one way, take a completely different turn, and then end on a completely different note?

Yesterday started out as just a regular day. My big challenge was getting the kids down to the office so I could see them. They are home with a sitter this week because they're between school and summer camp, and we're scrambling for things for them to do. With construction work going on in the house, we kind of want them outside, but the weather is not great, and most of the museums here engage a five-year-old for only so long, so it's been challenging. I wanted them to visit for lunch because I had an evening commitment.

Our Executive Producer Marie Nelson and I were going to see a new play written by Janet Langhart Cohen (former broadcaster, wife of former Defense Secretary William Cohen) that was being staged at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. I was looking forward to seeing the play (we still plan to feature a discussion with Mrs. Cohen about her play and all that's happened on Friday) and, frankly, seeing a number of old friends who were also scheduled to attend.

So I had CNN on, but the sound was down, and then I saw the headline flash: Shooting at the Holocaust Museum ... two shot ...

And I thought,huh? That's ridiculous. Who would do that?

Continue reading "Surprising Twists to My 'Normal' Day" >

Torture.

Who ever thought we'd be talking so much about this? I confess I did not. I thought this was something out of the past back in Medieval times with Torquemada and the Spanish Inquisition and that whole crew.

Of course, we know that the American prisoners in Vietnam were tortured. And we know that various guerrilla groups torture people and the purpose is clearly to dominate, humiliate and punish and hurt those victims as well as those who care about or identify with them. But I don't think it ever occurred to me that American soldiers or CIA interrogators or contractors would torture people, at least not routinely, and at least not under the cover of law.

And now we have this debate: Did we or didn't we?

Members of the Bush administration defending the government's policies and actions during this time say we -- and it is WE, if this was done in our name and on our behalf as Americans -- did not, and that the U.S. stayed on the right side of a not very bright line. Others say we crossed that line, too many times, and now we have to try to cross back.

Two speeches today lay out this very serious and important case. The President and former Vice President Dick Cheney are both speaking today. And we will be watching, and listening. And we hope you will also, if you can. Because this is about what we think is right. We may never know all of what actually happened (although something tells me we will), but we do have a responsibility to come to terms with it, whatever side of the debate we happen to be on.

Of course, that could be my naivete.

Summers

 

So, I'm back. Remember, I had to duck out of the program after jury duty yesterday.

I was not selected for a jury yesterday; more accurately, I was excused. Let me just say the particular facts in the case before us were uncomfortably close to a situation that had occurred in my family, and I felt it necessary to disclose that.

It's a difficult dilemma. My husband is a lawyer, so I know very well how necessary it is for citizens to participate. And jury duty is a hassle. Everyone knows that. But I think it was the judge who said, we really don't want a jury made up just of people with nothing better to do, and I know that if I or someone I cared about were jammed up in some way, I'd want someone like me on the jury. What does that mean? I'd want somebody who does actively listen, who does try to put aside pre-conceived notions, who does care about the facts and the law.

But I also think it's important to be honest, and when I heard the facts of the case I found myself replaying the other personal event in my mind, and I thought, that can't be the right way to go about this. Every case deserves to be judged on its own merits.

Hard, isn't it?

Which brings me, strangely enough, to the Moms parenting conversation today. The mothers on the program today want us to change the way we think about addicted mothers. They want us to think about what they described as a disproportionate number of women who are addicts because they have been victims themselves -- very often of child abuse and/or other forms of sexual violence -- and turn to drugs as a way to self-medicate. These women, who founded The Rebecca Project for Human Rights, are dedicated to increasing the options for addicted mothers, especially increasing the options in lieu of incarceration.

Think about it, over 200,000 women are in prison or jail in the U.S., according to the Institute on Women & Criminal Justice, and a million women under criminal justice supervision. Two thirds of them are there for non-violent offenses. And nearly two-thirds of the women in prison are mothers, and not just mothers, the primary caregivers. So this is not a small number of people we're talking about. And, what happens to them affects not just them, but the children they are trying to raise.

Worth a listen, I think.

Pictured in 2007, Roses at the foot of a light post serve as a small memorial outside Norris Hall, where 32 students were killed on the campus of Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va. Getty Images

As journalists, we often hesitate to make ourselves the story (well, some of us anyway).

Stories of the harassment and abuse of journalists are a different matter. We feel it our obligation to let you know that a colleague of ours, freelancer Roxana Saberi, is being held in Iran on charges of espionage, charges that seem to have little foundation in fact.

She is Iranian American and out NPR President and CEO Vivian Schiller has spoken about her case. You can read her comments by clicking here.

We also wanted to speak to two journalists who have been where Saberi is -- one is American, one is Iranian. They'll tell you what happened to them.

And you can read what they have written about this issue by clicking here.

And if you, like me, got that email asking what the heck was that Turkish newscaster guy in blackface all about, we wanted to know, too, so we dialed up a colleague in Turkey to tell us.

Here's the video, so you know what we're talking about.

Finally ...

It's the second anniversary of the terrible tragedy at Virginia Tech. So for many, today is a day to mourn ... and remember. Last night I saw several people on the street wearing V-Tech caps in downtown Washington, D.C. I wondered if it was just a coincidence, or if they were wearing those hats as a private memorial...

We can't say it often enough: if you lost someone on that day, if you were injured, if you're still recovering ... we remember you. We see you. You are not forgotten to us.

I think one of the worst things about loss is that you sometimes feel you are alone in it. You see people going out to eat and having birthday parties, and laughing and walking around -- and you don't begrudge them this -- but sometimes you think, how can they do it? Why don't they remember?

We remember.

To all those who mourn, for whatever reason. We are thinking of you.

I've said it before, I'm not in the "should" business.

But if you don't do anything else today, please listen to my conversation with Leslie Morgan Steiner about her new memoir, Crazy Love.

And if you have a young daughter who's just starting to date, give her the book. Or show her the excerpt on our site, or listen to the chapter she read for us.

And if you have a son. Show it to him, too.

The motto of our program is nothing is assumed. People assumed Leslie was fine because, as she puts it so well, she was blond, tall, smart, went to Harvard, her family had a vacation house in Vermont.

But she wasn't fine. Her first husband was beating her routinely and almost killed her (and, yes, she is happily remarried and doing well).

And yes, we know, men are battered, too. But it has to be said that women are more likely to be killed by domestic violence -- women of every race, every ethnicity, every religion.

Let's not get confused. Let's not keep telling ourselves these lies about how "black women put up with this," "white women have no problems we need concern ourselves with," "Asian women are different, this doesn't happen to Latinas" ... and so on.

It's happening right now to someone, somewhere, to someone who looks like you. No matter who you are. Let's try to stop this, people. Please.

Perhaps you heard about the case of the Dallas police officer who detained a man and his family in a hospital parking lot after they ran a red light while they were rushing to attend to a dying family member. The women in the family were able to get to their loved one's bedside in time; the men who stayed behind to deal with the officer did not -- even though hospital security went down to the parking lot to tell the officer what was happening.

The officer not only detained the man, who happens to be NFL player Ryan Moats (but Moats never mentioned that fact), he was nasty and obnoxious while doing it.

But don't take my word for it. We have the tape:

We find out what his superiors have to say about all that, and I'm interested to hear what you had to say about that.

And why don't we put our cards on the table. This is exactly the kind of scenario that pushes many minority people's buttons all the time. You hear about police misconduct when it involves killing someone or beating someone, but how about being needlessly cruel and insensitive?

And do you think race is a factor?

This is one of the ongoing irritants for African Americans and Latinos in this country. Here's a stat according to a 2007 Pew Poll (pdf) on racial attitudes (conducted in association with NPR):

Young people, regardless of race, have the least amount of confidence in local police. Only 16% of all blacks under the age of 30 consistently express trust in police on all three measures, compared with 26% of those blacks 65 years and older. While whites have significantly more confidence than blacks in local police, young whites are skeptical.

Continue reading "Putting the Cards On the Table" >

Oakland Police officers listen to a press conference announcing the shooting deaths of three fellow officers March 21, 2009. Getty Images

Lee Hill, here ...

Unfortunately, today our attention was directed once again at Oakland, as part of our ongoing look at cities in crisis.

Last weekend was brutal for the city across the Bay from San Francisco. Four policemen -- Sgt. Mark Dunakin, 40, Officer John Hege, 41, Sgt. Ervin Romans, 43, and Sgt. Daniel Sakai, 35 -- were gunned down on Saturday, allegedly at the hands of 26-year-old parolee Lovelle Mixon. Authorities in the area say the ordeal, which spanned across two crime scenes, began as a routine traffic stop. (Mixon was later killed in the incident by police officers).

As you might recall, earlier this year we reported on another fatal incident involving Oakland law enforcement. Oscar Grant, 22, was shot and killed on New Years Day, allegedly by Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) police officer Johannes Mehserle, 27. (Mersherle has since resigned from his post and is now charged with murder.) The incident touched off racial tensions in the city, which eventually lead to rioting -- Mersherle is white, Grant was black.

But although there is at least one apparent similarity between the two Oakland cases -- civilians Grant and Mixon were both African-American -- the differences seem far more distinct. In the recent incident, the officers are mourned as victims. In the Grant case, a "man of the shield" is allegedly a perpetrator.

Also, Grant was unarmed in the January shooting, while Mixon was reportedly toting serious weaponry.

For whatever reason, it seems lightning chose to strike twice (and hard) in the same place, for reasons we'll probably never know.

... But maybe it's what we do know about Oakland that deserves a closer look; a backdrop, if you will, to the city's "headline" troubles. For example:

- Oakland faces at least a $50 million budget deficit, which could increase

- 90 percent of city homicides in 2007 were caused by gun violence

- The unemployment rate in Oakland is 14.7 percent. (In February, 8.1 was the national average.)

I'm curious to know about the relationship, if any, between such city crises and "the (bigger) crisis."

Tomorrow, we take a look at another beleaguered city: Detroit.

As always, please don't hesitate to tell us how you're processing events where you live ...

Our deepest condolences to those who tragically lost loved ones to recent violence in Oakland, or anywhere.

We are welcoming our new CEO Vivian Schiller today, so we must rehearse our spontaneous witty remarks. ... So this will be brief.

I have to give kudos to my staff for pulling together some important bookings for today's show over the weekend. It's not as easy as you might think, especially since last week was New Year's. And although we were here on Friday, Jan. 2, a lot of the people we wanted to reach were out of pocket.

Today, We wanted to follow up on the stories that reached critical mass last week -- one here, one abroad.

We wanted to talk to some voices that are easily disappeared during a time of conflict, the peace activists on both sides. Listen to our conversation with advocates of non-violence Abu Sammi and Vivian Silver. Silver is an Israeli. Abu Sami, which is, of course, a family name he uses because there are still concerns about his safety owing to his activism in Gaza, is a Palestinian who has since relocated to Ramallah. As we were speaking to him on the air, he was on his way to a hospital to locate a child who had been sent from Gaza after being told a child was being sent there without any family.

You can hear the strain in both their voices.

And the carnage at home: another in our conversations about why the murder rate among young black males has surged in recent years when that does not seem to be happening in other groups and in other communities. Last week, we reported on the study. Today, we wanted to go deeper so we found two mothers who have both lost sons to gun violence -- Sylvia Banks in Detroit, and Karen Graham in Milwaukee. We also spoke with Ron Moten, an ex-offender and co-founder of Peaceaholics, an anti-violence group that works to try to stop urban violence.

We'll have more to say in the days ahead because we can't sit here and act like we don't know this is happening in our own communities.

Among our staff, we talked about whether having a conversation about obituaries was a bit too much, but I hope you'll agree with us that the stories we talked about were not depressing at all.

I bet you all know an unsung hero whose passing deserved notice. How wonderful that these 11 Washingtonians' lives were memorialized by this fine writing. Here they are. Tell us what you think.

Let's hope your new year is getting off to a good start.

Singer and actress Jennifer Hudson, left, poses with mother Darnell Hudson Donerson in 2006.

Jason Miccolo/NABJ

Lee Hill, here...

Another long day here. As many are, we're still trying to wrap our minds around actress Jennifer Hudson's recent tragedy -- the murdering spree that claimed the lives of her mother, Darnell Hudson Donerson, her brother, Jason Hudson, and her seven-year-old nephew Julian King.

In the absence of the recent high-profile murders, few may have known that Chicago's murder rate outnumbers that of both New York City and Los Angeles, cities with far more residents than the Windy City. Some say Hudson's devastation, albeit unfortunate, brings long-awaited national scrutiny to Chicago's crime problem.

We talked about this today with NPR's Chicago-based correspondent Cheryl Corley (a.k.a. frequent TMM guest host).

Other developments ...

It seemed like the end of a soap opera, or a really bad movie, when we were alerted to news that former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick would begin his jail sentence today. He pleaded guilty last month to purjury charges in a scandal that rocked the city.

WDIV-TV in Detroit has video of Kilpatrick being sentenced today to 120 days in jail.

Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Hudson is pictured in an undated photo (taken from her MySpace page) with nephew Julian King.

celebrity.myspace.com

UPDATE: Chicago Police have confirmed that the body of a seven-year-old boy, found earlier today in the back of an SUV, is that of Hudson's nephew, Julian King.

The dilemma of the day: what to do about this truly awful story about actress Jennifer Hudson's family? If you haven't followed the details here's a link.

And, trust me, we know that such things, sadly, happen to people who are NOT famous. But you'd have to be made of stone not to grieve for this young woman who has so much going for her, who is in such a wonderful time of life -- an Oscar, a new CD, a new beautifully crafted film, newly engaged -- and to lose her mother and brother and possibly her nephew in such a fashion is beyond words. And the fact that she was just here with us -- sitting right next to me, wearing a beautiful dress -- on her way to the premiere of her new film, in a lovely happy place, makes it all the harder to take.

What do we do with that?

As it happens we had already planned to bring you a conversation about a new group that advocates for missing persons of color, one might say, why on earth do you need a group like that? Well, let's listen to what they have to say.

And, of course, one of the things we all find ourselves saying in a situation like the one involving Hudson's family: who would do something like that? Why would anyone do such a thing?

That's a question we find ourselves asking when we hear, say that four guys were connected in connection with some lame plot to kill Sen. Barack Obama, as occurred during the Denver convention. You ask yourself, are they racist or mentally ill, or both?

Or where's the line? That's the conversation we also had today. Let us know what you think.

And our hearts go out to all those who are grieving the loss of a loved one today.

Warning: (Unavoidable) Obscenity below.

TMM Producer Douglass Hopper is back from Mexico City, so I can't leave the heavy lifting to him anymore. Oh well.

Today we had a debate over the lede of the show.

Do we talk about Ron Suskind's new book? Or do we go with a bloggers' roundtable discussion on politics?

Follow this link to an interview on Ron's new book with Steve Inskeep on NPR's Morning Edition.

Our question was: what can we add to the conversation? Is there a guest we can bring you who can shed light on the truth or falsity of his claims? Is there more to say that Steve didn't get to talk about?

In the end, I'll be honest, it came down to ... I have to finish reading the book before I can do a credible job with the interview. We'll keep you posted.

And so it was on to the question of whether Sen. Hillary Clinton's name should be put into nomination at the upcoming Democratic National Convention. On its face this is not an interesting question; typically that is what's done for a former opponent of the expected nominee. But this election has been so fraught with discord, party leaders are wondering whether that's a good idea.

And, some erstwhile Clinton supporters say yes they can!

What to do, what to do? We don't know, so we asked two bloggers to hash it out: Darragh Murphy of PUMA.org and Pamela Merritt of Angryblackb--ch.com

(That's really the name of the blog, but it has interesting content ... so what can I do?)

And, I'd like you to tell me more about what you think about the lack of diversity in the cast of moderators selected by the Commission on Presidential Debates to moderate the, well, Presidential debates. Yes, Gwen Ifill will, once again, moderate the VEEP debate (and, yes, she is one of my closest friends), but still ...

Finally, our hearts go out to the family of LaVena Johnson who died while serving in Iraq in 2005. But did the Army investigate her death fairly, or is her family in denial? ... And how will we ever get to the bottom of it?

Let us know what you think.

Lee, here.

So, maybe 15 minutes after we finished producing this morning's program, news comes that the U.S. Supreme Court decided to rock the boat mightily here in Washington, D.C., with regard to a three-decade old gun ban. Of course, by now, we've learned how to scramble. Through a bit of quick hustling, we were able to stay on top of the news and offer an updated conversation to reflect the development.

The justices say the District's ban is unconstitutional, that the rule has overstayed its welcome in the city. There are a lot of emotions out there about this one. And they're sort of all over the place.

I don't know how long you've been following us, but if you were with us during our early podcast pilot days (kudos if you were), then you might remember hearing the story of two D.C. moms -- they shared two similar experiences, but two very different perspectives. Shanda Smith and Valencia Mohammed both lost children to gun violence. One was dedicated to keeping a ban on handguns in the city. The other, however, was against the restrictions. And they were both rooted in their stance. The conversation still lives on our blog, so take a listen. I'm sure you'll find it interesting.

There's a common feeling that retracting the ban would theoretically open the floodgates to gun violence in the city. As of today, the city is just one murder shy of where it was last year (85 to 86 homicides, respectively, although it's unclear how many of those murders can be traced to gun violence). For that very reason, others say it's about time they're allowed to protect themselves. Regardless, it'll be interesting to see how people react to the being told they can now do something they've been told for so long was unlawful.

I should point out that today's high court decision still allows the city some say as to who can now own a handgun (mental illness or a felony conviction are likely disqualifiers).

We'll see.

Also, make sure you're with us next week. Michel's packing her bags, and we're taking the show on the road (let's just hope we can persuade her to come back!). More to come ...

Hi all. It's Cheryl Corley, sitting in Michel while she takes some time off.

After we went off the air, we learned that Tim Russert, the host of NBC's Sunday Talk Show "Meet the Press" had died of a heart attack while at work. It was a shock wave for our industry. Russert was a journalist who loved his job and what we do - reporting, investigating and talking to people. He was one of the country's best known political reporters on television and we join the rest of our industry in honoring his life and his commitment .

Today's show was a mix of politics, religion, and court rulings. For example, if you think everyone has a right to a legal hearing if they get arrested, it seems the Supreme Court agrees! Today, we talked about the court's 5-4 ruling giving detainees at Guantanamo Bay a right to challenge their detentions. Our two guests, Cully Stimson with the Heritage Foundation and Shane Kadidal at the Center for Constitutional Rights have decidedly different views on Guantanamo but they agree we're not likely to have a more pragmatic detention policy until there's a new administration.

How best to mix politics and religion, if poverty is the subject? That was the question for our three guests, Iman Malik Mujahid, Alexia Kelley and Reverend Kip Banks. They joined us to talk about the discussions being held between religious leaders and a congressional caucus over the country's priorities. They say religious leaders have a moral responsibility to make sure issues like poverty stay in the forefront of the political arena.

And it's Friday, so the Barbershop Guys had a lot to say about Barack Obama's "fight the smears" website, the big Spike Lee/Clint Eastwood argument over World War II movies, plus the squabble between our own Barbershop guy Ruben Navarrette and CNN's Lou Dobbs. Check it out.

And of course we heard from you, which we always love.

Have a great weekend. We'll talk more Monday.

Cheryl

When is a local story not a local story, or not JUST a local story?

Your opinion is as good as ours but we felt that this issue of what to do about spiking crime especially homicide is one that many cities are struggling with. So when we saw that DC and police officials were trying something new we felt others would want to know what it was all about. It's a story about the police checkpoints in DC. They went up this weekend in a neighborhood called Trinidad. The DC councilman who represents the area, Harry Thomas Jr., was our guest today and told us there have been some 22 homicides there in a matter of months; there were seven in the city the weekend before last and three of them in Trinidad. This is not the first time that DC police have tried this. Here's a piece in the Washington Post that talks about some of the history.

Here's another piece that details the circumstances around the seven people killed the weekend of May 30 through June 1.

It's important to note that in many cities the crime rate is actually trending DOWNWARD. Here's a piece in the Philadelphia Inquirer today that makes that point. But the number of homicides is still too high. One is too many if the victim is someone you love.

On a more amusing note ... Gas prices (ok, not that amusing...). We had two guests from the two countries were prices are HIGHEST and LOWEST:Norway and Venezuela. Two analysts told us why.

And the MOCHA DADS. We always try to do something spicy for Father's Day. Today we got the idea to do a roundup of DAD bloggers, particularly interested in those that combine the Dad world with multicultural concerns. That's why we had an African American dad, and an author of the blog Rice Daddies, about Asian-American fatherhood. But the conversation wasn't exclusive. Jeff Steele of DC Urban Moms and Dads is not a man of color, but the list serve he moderates and the blog he writes definitely addresses, as the name implies, urban issues.

If you are a Father or thinking about becoming one or want to support someone who is, consider checking them out.

Enjoy.

(PS. Douglas here. About the piece on the police checkpoints ... we've put together an audio slideshow from the Trinidad neighborhood. We asked some residents how they felt about the new checkpoints and I think you'll find their answers very compelling.)

Hello everyone, it's Cheryl Corley, sitting in for Michel Martin today.

Today's show commemorating the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s, assassination and the legacy of his life was a travel through so many moods and emotions -- from the startling revelation from Martin Luther King, III, that he and his siblings learned their father had been shot while they watched the evening news on television to the continuing dispute over who was involved in King's slaying, to an examination of the civil rights leader's speaking styles.

The Rev. Martin Luther King's death shook this nation in so many ways, but as his son reminded us, the assassination was the most "tragic and traumatic" time of the King family's lives. Martin Luther King, III, continues the push for civil rights and runs an organization called Realizing the Dream, Inc. This week, he wrote an op-ed piece calling for the next president to appoint a cabinet level position to confront poverty head-on.

Former Congressman Louis Stokes joined us and recounted the findings of the House Select Committee on Assassinations which investigated both King's death and the assassination of President John Kennedy. The committee concluded that James Earl Ray was indeed the person who killed King but it also found there may have been a conspiracy. The congressman says the committee investigation, conducted in the late 1970s, came too late to identify any co-conspirators. Don't say that to William Pepper and Judge Joe Brown, though. They remain irate over the congressional results and have performed deep investigations of their own. Pepper was an attorney for Ray -- who recanted his guilty plea almost immediately -- and represented Ray as he sought a new trial. Judge Brown listened to those proceedings and testified himself during a civil trial, saying that the bullet that struck Dr. King did not match the gun Ray reportedly used.

We listened to just a bit of the Barbershop guys today on the show as they talked about Dr. King's legacy but their entire conversation is here on the web. Our last piece was a wonderful discussion Michel had with author Jonathan Rieder, which was more about the man than the myth of Dr. King. It was a chance to get a little behind the scenes peek at a King who was not on the stage but who still had "fire in his bones." The bonus: clips from a few speeches we don't often hear.

That's it for this week. Until the next time ... peace. Michel is back next week.

-- Cheryl Corley

How interested are you in how the sausage gets made?

A lot? Not too much? A show of hands ...

OK, so I'll compromise.

Short version: suffice it to say, the show we planned at 11 p.m. yesterday bares only a slight resemblance to the show you heard today. Let's just say that one guest's travel plans changed unexpectedly, another became SICK AS A DOG (you don't want to know, trust me) ... and, just as we were coming in today, we learned of new developments (which came Friday evening) in a story we've been following. It was a tiny bulletin in the stream of national news, but an important development, nonetheless. We felt we should bring you, but did not reach the right person until early this morning ...

(Sigh. Never a dull moment. That's why we're in the news business. As I say all the time, it'll either keep us young, or make us prematurely gray.)

I am particularly interested in your comments about the early release of folks convicted for crack cocaine offenses.

We've been following this. For years, activists have been complaining that the sentences for crack offenses were way too severe, compared to those for powdered cocaine. The U.S. Sentencing Commission finally agreed and lowered the sentences for some nonviolent offenses retroactively. As a consequence, about 1600 incarcerated persons were immediately eligible to have their sentences reduced; up to 20,000 could be released.

For many, this is a rare victory of common sense over ideology. It is so easy to pretend to be "tough on crime" by ratcheting sentences up, whether it makes a difference or not.

But does it make a difference?

Have these harsh sentences contributed to safer streets? And now that there seems to be a burgeoning agreement that this is unfair, what happens next? What do these folks face when they go home? Are their communities ready to welcome them, or are there mixed feelings about the devastation to which they contributed?

This is the territory we want to explore. Any ideas, comments are appreciated. And, if you are willing, we might put you on the air. So please let us know if you are game for that.

Happy Leap Day.

Are you happy, or sad, to have an extra day? They say that time is the one thing they're not making any more of (so is land, actually), but I, for one, like Leap Day because it makes me feel like I am getting an extra 24 hours for free. It's not as fabulous as the Daylight Savings Time. (Fall back? Love it. Spring ahead? Not so much. ... That sleep thing again).

I want to flag a couple of things about today's program and get your feedback ...

The Sean Bell case. I think that perceptions of law enforcement and interactions with police are among the issues where blacks (and to a lesser extent browns) and whites disagree most.

Why do I say that?

Consistently, polls show that African Americans are likely to view interactions with law enforcement as negative, and the police as biased. Whites tend to take a different view (check out the recent Pew poll (pdf), done in association with NPR, on racial attitudes).

Not to make assumptions, but I bet the degree to which you've followed the Sean Bell case depends very much on who you are. Bell, as you may recall, was leaving his bachelor party in New York in November 2006 when he and two friends were shot by undercover police. A total of 50 early morning shots were fired by city police officers, three of whom are now under indictment. Bell, who is African American (as were his friends), was to have been married later that day to his longtime girlfriend and mother of his two daughters.

The interesting wrinkle: the three officers are white, black, and Latino. Although the white officer fired the most shots (30), needless to say, there are very different views of what happened that night.

The prosecution says the officers were reckless to the point of incompetence, causing a needless loss of life. The defense say the officers were in fear of their safety, had reason to believe Bell and his cohorts had a gun (although they didn't) and that Bell was drunk and tried to run them down with his vehicle.

The trial is expected to last for several more weeks, and we thank NPR member station WNYC's Brian Lehrer -- expert on all things New York -- for a rundown.

The question? When something is very important to some people, and not to others, how do you balance it? Are you willing to listen if something very much affects someone else, even if it's something you don't care much about?

Why, or why not? ... And how do you decide?

The second issue we discussed today: our Faith Matters conversation about religion in America. Another Pew poll (they're busy over there, aren't they?) described how fluid Americans are about religious identity. I find this subject fascinating and want to know if you do, too. (I'm not asking you to do my job, just gauging your interest on whether to go deeper on this topic).

Let us know, as Lee Hill says, and blog it out.

Have a great weekend.

Lee, here...

I would argue that many of you have heard something about the story that lead our broadcast today -- a woman, Sarah Kreager, according to authorities, was terribly beaten while riding public transportation in Baltimore.

But, perhaps it's fairer to note that many are expressing frustration over why this story hasn't been covered more in the news. At a glance, it seems to have all the elements of a headline story, with tense undertones -- a white woman is severely beaten, allegedly at the hands of black teenagers. (Kreager's companion, along with the black driver who came to her defense on the bus, were also allegedly assaulted.) Black leaders, such as Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon and U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), have strongly denounced the attack, as might be expected.

But is it fair to compare what happened in Baltimore -- either looking at the facts (many of which are still unclear), or just public sentiment -- to the situation in Jena, La.? Are folks quicker to assume this was a hate crime because of the perceived racial dynamics at work?

Interesting to note: At this point, hate crime charges have not been filed in the "Jena Six" ordeal (the timeline of those incidents includes the hanging of a noose), nor in the Baltimore case. Since news of the attacks on Kreager and others on December 4th, more incidents have surfaced involving patrons of public transportation in Baltimore.

We want to know where you come out on this. Before our reporting today, were you familiar with the story in Baltimore? If so, what was your initial reaction? ... Racially motivated, or a random, unfortunate attack on the innocent?

Tell us more.

Also...

Stay tuned, we're working on our list of fascinating people in 2007. We pretty much have it narrowed down. Wonder if you'll be surprised by our picks ... Any guesses?

Weird cocktail today, but we hope it worked.

We talked about holiday dilemmas ... Plus, news about why the death penalty was abolished in New Jersey. Whatever you think about the subject, I think you will find yourself riveted by State Sen. Ray Lesniak's account of why he pushed his state to repeal the death penalty. It was, he said, a matter of personal conviction, driven by a spiritual awakening.

How often does that happen? How often does a public figure say that?

It leads to all kinds of interesting questions, not all of which we could get to, not least of which is why Lesniak's personal convictions should drive public policy. But remember, this is an act of the legislature, signed by the governor yesterday.

We hope Lesniak will post something for the blog later, along with another lawmaker who strongly opposes repealing the death penalty. Until then, some numbers from the Quinnipiac University poll... They polled New Jersey residents extensively on the question. We had their assistant polling director on to help us sort out the findings.

And, holiday dilemmas. This was one of my all-time favorite shows. We had not quite wine women and song, but we did have wine diva Callie Crossley to help us get the lowdown on sparkling wine. And, we had etiquette guru Harriette Cole on to tell us how to conduct ourselves at holiday parties!

Enjoy!

(But don't make me read about you in the paper. Or rather, if I do read about you, be sure it's the Style section of the newspaper, not the crime page. ...And you know what? This time of year, you might want to stay out of the Style section, too. They're looking for bad behavior, and we don't want that.)

Sean Taylor

Getty Images

Happy Monday. I hope you all had a fine weekend.

A bittersweet day in Washington and Miami today. Washington Redskins football player Sean Taylor was laid to rest in Miami. The whole team was there...

Now I know what some of you are thinking because I've heard it at the grocery store and I've read it on the blogs. Some of you are saying, look, if it was MY mother or brother nobody would notice (a man said this to me last week when I was in the checkout line). And some of you are saying ... what about the men and women in Iraq? Why is this more important?

I'm going to push back on both of those themes.

We WOULD notice. On this program we've made it our business to notice the violence going on around us: our interview with Anwan Glover of HBO's "The Wire," whose brother was murdered just a few months ago; our ongoing coverage of the murders in Philly ... in Delaware, in Baltimore; our conversation with Valencia Muhammad, a former D.C. school board member, who lost two sons to gun violence and is active in the conversation on gun control (and not on the side you might think); and our conversations about "snitching." I think we've been there, and we will be there.

But there is no question that this awful death has struck a chord. The facts are now known -- Taylor confronted burglars in his home in the early morning hours last week; one of them shot him, he died soon after ... his fiance and baby cowering under the covers.

In the early days, a theme seemed to emerge: was Taylor somehow complicit in his own death? Were his brushes with the law a factor in his murder? It turns out that none of that was true, but what was true is that Taylor was a black man killed in his own home by other black men who wanted to take what he had.

So is this about celebrity? ... About envy?
Is this about the low regard for life among too many young men?
Is it about being in the wrong place at the wrong time (in the middle of the football season, Sean wasn't expected to be home)?
I don't know -- all of it ... none of it?

Here's what I do know: if something makes you ask that many questions, if it haunts you in this way, then it is something to talk about.

I recommend the pieces by the two columnists we had on today -- David Aldridge and Omar Kelly...

Continue reading "Sean Taylor Coverage ... Fair?" >

Here is a post that came in while we were broadcasting from Las Vegas. Our web producer Lee Hill sent it to me and I decided to wait to reply because I thought it deserved a more thoughtful answer than I could deliver amidst the craziness last week.

The post came in response to our segment on the employment prospects of ex-offenders. Andre told us she is an African American woman, married, with two children, one college-bound and one still in high school.

Here's an abbreviated version.

She writes:

I am irritated by the constant focus on black male incarceration rates and the obsession with black male ex-offenders. Its as though we now accept that the black male progression to adulthood includes at least a stint or two in the penitentiary followed by a life of low-wage jobs, drug dependency, violence, or recidivism. ...I would love for your show to tell me more about the following: I want to know why so many black parents are getting away with shirking their responsibilities, especially black men? I want to know why parents are not being held accountable. I want to know why black men, after all of their Million Man March bravado, are missing in action. But I don't want to hear the excuses. None of these excuses explain away the violence, the depravity, and self-annihilation that consumes many black communities. ...I want to hear about college-bound brothers and entrepreneurs. I want to hear about fathers who come home every night, check homework, read bedtime stories, and shoot hoops with their sons.

We had a man like that on the show today. His name is James Harvey and I'm sorry to tell you the reason we had him on. His son, Dashon Harvey, was one of the four children -- no, young people ... no, college students -- who were gunned down on their knees by five boys and men in a Newark schoolyard last weekend.

When you get some time, here's a tribute to Dashon:

I asked Mr. Harvey if he was ever afraid, as his son was growing up, that that day would come. He told me no, never ... because he had no regrets. He said he'd been there for his son when he was supposed to be there, and his only regret was the many who were not there for their own children.

It seems now that at least three of the assailants were teenagers, one of them possibly as young as 15.

Would somebody please tell me, why?
Why were four young people, on their way to college in the fall, fated to die on their knees at the hands of two or three others?

Let's say you believe evil walks the earth. OK, then what?

Let's say too many parents aren't doing their job. OK, then what?

Let's say it's racism, or the economy, or whatever. OK, then what?

That's why, I say, it's not one or the other. Our conversations cannot be just about thugs (in this case it seems that they were all Latino, but I'm not sure what difference that makes) and their false machismo or upright, do-right men men headed to Ivy covered quads.

The two are linked, if for no other reason than that the world is small, and there is no fence high enough to keep the two apart. This is not to say I don't understand Andre's frustration. I do. But as long as thugs keep do-right young men and women from growing up, then we need to hear their stories, too ... if for no other reason, we need to know why one ends up holding a gun and the other ends up on the other side of it.

Our condolences, once again, to the families of Dashon Harvey, Iofemi Hightower, Terrance Aeriel, who were buried this weekend. Our best wishes for a full recovery to Natasha Aeriel...the only survivor of the Newark attack.

May their deaths and their families' suffering not be in vain.