Sorry but you're black!

What is the definition of rule of law in our society? Rule of law means everyone is treated equally in respect to the laws that govern us. It means everyone must obey the laws that are legislated in our society. The law does not discriminate based on social status, racial background or ethnicity. Moreover, no citizen is superior or above the law and everyone has the same equal right.

Question: Do you think rule of law is fair to all citizens?? Think about it for a second.

In my opinion, I believe rule of law is radicalized because most laws implemented in our society are created to target a certain racial class, particularly black people.

Geezzzzz where do I begin?? One of the most controversial cases in 2012 is the case of 17 year old Trevon Martin, who was gunned down by George Zimmerman in February 2012. If you have been following this case for the past few weeks, you can clearly see that many people are disappointed and fuming at the justice system. There is overwhelming evidence supporting the fact that Zimmerman killed Trevon out of poor judgment because he was a black boy wearing a hoody and looked suspicious. How can a man kill an unarmed adolescent boy, claim self-defense and allow him to walk away freely for so long?

Is this what we call justice?? Once again I am appalled and disappointed in the system.

So do you think the justice system is being fair to Trevon and black people as a whole?? 

OK, let me shift your mind to some laws that are systematically constructed to target the black community that many of us may not be aware of; for example, mandatory minimum -prison sentence.

It has been argued that laws within the criminal justice system such as the mandatory minimum -prison sentence and the plea barging unfairly targets black people. Do you know that black people are more likely to receive a harsher punishment than  white people when the same crime is committed?  As a result, there are disproportionate number of black people that are charged, investigated and also convicted for criminal offenses. This is a product of racism and discrimination against black people in the criminal justice system and also the over-surveillance in the black community.Racism in policing is very evident in black communities through systematic random checks that are hidden in police work .For example, police officers tend to stop and question a black person that is seen driving a nice expensive car.  

In addition, mandatory minimum- prison sentence and the plea bargain  impact the black community because most black people charged of a crime results in having a criminal record and being incarcerated. Mandatory minimum prison sentences for drug offense charges and firearm have been connected to the over-incarceration of black people in United States and in Canada. 

Harsher penalties are associated with crack cocaine because it is seen as the black people’s drug mainly because it's cheaper to afford and is common in the black poor communities in United States. On the other hand, anyone charged with the use of powder cocaine receives a lighter sentence because powder cocaine is considered to be a white peoples’ drug. For example, In United States, five-year mandatory minimum prison term for 28 grams of crack cocaine and 500 grams of powder cocaine triggers five years prison term.

Consequently, more black people are being incarcerated because of this drug law and because of mandatory minimum sentence; many black people are pressured to get a plea bargain in order to get a shorter imprisonment if they are not rich enough to hire a lawyer to defend them. As a result, an innocent person that is pressured into a plea bargain is sentenced and receives a criminal record.

It is a sad reality for black people, but I am certainly not surprised of how Trevon is being portrayed as a dangerous black boy in this case.

Inevitability, if the role was reversed and Zimmerman was a black man, he would not be allowed to walk on the streets of Florida. He would be handcuffed and taken to jail and would face the bitter side of the law. There would be no such thing as “innocent until proven guilty” for him. As a matter of fact, he would be guilty before he is proven guilty. Of course in the state of Florida, he would be facing the death penalty or life in prison without parole. In the end, the justice system would non-verbally express to him; Sorry but you're black!

**Express and Reflect on your World**

 Sincerely,

 Priscilla  Birago

OMG what was I thinking???

 

Have you ever looked back and thought to yourself … OMG what was I thinking?

What was I thinking wearing that outfit?

What was I thinking when I did that hair?

What was I thinking when I dated that “guy”?

What was I thinking back then?

Different thoughts randomly run through my complex brain when I reflect on moments in my past, and all I can do is laugh and say thank God I’ve changed.

But guess what??  I do not regret anything I did as a young girl, because my past experience has really shaped me into the woman I have become today.

Name it and I have probably done it!

Crazy hair colours, i.e. purple, red???   Yeap! Pink and purple was my favorite hair colors.

Piercings??  I loved my piercings…I had my bottom lip and upper lip pierced.

Tattoos? Got one on my back when I was 17... what is the meaning of a cross with a rose in the middle again ??

Shaved hair/ bald??  Yes I thought I was the coolest chick on the block back in 06-07.

Excessive drinking??  My 21^st birthday in New York was a memorable one… if I even remembered anything. I had a hangover for 2days.

Dated bad boys?? OMG that shouldn’t even be a question. Bad boys were my back bone.

Partying every day??  Partying was my daily bread in university.

Crazy outfits?? Laughing out loud … I thought I was a “fashionista” back in the days. I’m not sure what happened to my fashion sense.

2007 - BEFORE 

2012 - After 

 

Will I ever go back and do the things I did when I was younger?

No, but I certainly reflect on them because they keeps me motivated to do what I do today.

Who am I today??

I am a strong christian, a wife, a potential mother, criminology /sociology graduate, an aspiring criminology lawyer, co-founder of Hands of a Hero,  csc analyst, hairdresser, business woman, writer, mentor, and a risk taker.

This is just the beginning of greater and better things God is performing in my life. I am grateful and humble to the almighty God for guiding me through my darker days to my brighter days. 2012 has started just right; it will be a year of reflecting back and accomplishing more goals. In all I give thanks to God.

**Express and Reflect on your World**

Sincerely,

Prissy Birago

WE GOT THE POWER !!!

You must be wondering where am I going with this piece. Well, well, well… I will be discussing how women exercise power in relationships. Do you know that women have more power in their relationships than they think?

We got the power to make the world go around, so do not be manipulated by traditional values about power. Society perceive women as inferior and the weaker partner in relationships because men are molded to be the superior begin designed to make decisions. These societal values have been imbedded in the mindset of many women and have been programmed to say YES at all times to enhance male supremacy

 What is my point??

OK! I was having a conversation with four of my female co-workers at work and the topic of power came up.

During our discussion, one of my co-workers told us an interesting situation which sparked my interest to write this piece. She said she just got out of a 7 years relationship about 5 months ago and she was having a hard time getting over it. She said “I have been extremely sad because I have always been submissive to him and never taught he will end the relationship”.

So as the conversation got more fascinating, she said to us “I have a problem saying NO to men. I am currently seeing someone right now but I had intercourse with this guy too early. I feel guilty about my actions and I really wish I can say NO sometimes… the funny thing is that I don’t even know the status of this relationship. I feel like a sex fling to him. I can’t say NO if he wants to see me because I’m scared he’s going to leave me too.  I have developed some feelings for him but I’m certain that he doesn’t feel the same way about me.”

Let stop right here and Let me break it down.

Being submissive in your relationship does not mean you can’t say NO to your partner. As a woman, you should know where you stand because that would determine the success of your relationship. Men are more likely to mistreat, disrespect and take advantage of women that are afraid to say NO.

The truth is that women always had power from the moment God created us. But the problem is that some women have difficulties accessing this power through submissiveness. Although women are supposed to be submissive to their partner, it does not imply that we cannot access power through humility, meekness, patience and humbleness. Saying NO in respect to submissiveness does not make a woman difficult, stubborn and hardheaded. We are just exercising our power.

Don’t get me wrong or misunderstand me. We have all been in situations where we didn’t have the courage to say NO to something we disagreed with. Many years ago, NO was not part of my vocabulary. As I was getting mature, I came to the realization that I was not exercising the power I had. Honestly, learning to say NO has really boosted my self-esteem and enlighten my life


Practice to say the word NO.  

NO I’m too good for you.

NO I  don’t like the gift you gave me.

NO I’m not going to the movies with you.

NO I’m not sleeping with you.

NO I am not going out with you.

NO you have to wait till I am ready.

Learning how to say NO is an empowerment for one’s self because it gives us the authority to control situations. Learning to say NO can transform our life from negative to positive.

Utilize your power because you are in control of your own destiny

Cheers

**Express and Reflect on your World** 


 Sincerely,


 Prissy Birago

Positive affirmations…Transforming life

I use to wonder how I could attract positive energy to manifests in my life. I have concluded that the development of positive mindset is the most powerful life approach to a better life. I have been an advocate for positive thoughts for the past few years because I am a living testimony to this strategy.

We all know it is very difficult to develop positive energy or think positive in this distracting world. Some people believe that having a positive mindset about every situation in our life is not realistic. But, do you know that developing positive affirmations in your everyday life attract positive things on the personal and professional level?

Positive affirmations can be associated with the concept of “Law of attraction”. When you adapt to this technique, you begin to witness a positive transformation in your life. Positive thoughts change the mindset of individuals to have more passion about life. For instance, imagine waking up every morning, blasting excitement and joy for a new wonderful day. This will allow one to develop a positive attitude to life.

My success story about positive affirmations. 

At the start of 2011, I had a lot of goals I had set to accomplish before the end of the year. Attaining an excellent career was the number one goal on my list. However, I kept in mind that my accomplishment would not come easy because good things are not straightforward but I was determined to obtain what my heart craved for.

I am a firm believer in taking risks in life. On September 9^th 2011, I woke up at 6am in the morning getting ready for work, and suddenly felt in my spirit I needed to quit my job. I made a major move that morning; I called my job and advised them that I will no longer be working with them again. It felt great the first couple of days, but afterward, I started having thoughts if this “big move” was the right move for me at that time knowing that I had no secure job waiting for me.  Later on that week, I started reading books and some bible chapters to strengthen my thoughts and faith.

Having faith as a Christian means positive thoughts and having confidence that goodness will result out of the situation. Although I wasn’t working and didn’t have any source of income coming in, I still woke up in the morning happier than ever. I even decided to use my spare time to volunteer at my church convention for a month.

I had been applying for numerous jobs and attending jobs interviews that did not fit my criteria. On October 4^th, I applied for an analyst position at one of the major banks in Canada. Based on my qualifications and my educational background, I thought the position was way out of my lead. But I kept thinking positive and praying that God would open this major career path for me. Behold and behold, I was able to receive 2 interviews with this bank. Although, I had not been offered the position at the bank yet, I kept referring to the position as my job. At times I even told people that I was an analyst at the bank although my offer was not finalized.

From the moment I applied for the position, I refused to apply for any other job because I wanted to eliminate any second thoughts. This was how positive and certain I was about this job position. With some prayers and positive mindset, after a month of processing, I was offered the position. I started the job two months exactly after I terminated my position at my previous job. And to top it off, my starting salary is 50% more than my previous earning. This is what I call the genesis of tremendous possibilities.

Think positive, have faith and believe in yourself that you too can be great. God has granted us all the resources to become successful in this life, it is up to us on how we think about the resources and how to use them. Positive thinking and positive affirmations is a helpful technique to help us create and develop powerful and positive attitude towards life. With this power at hand, we can change failure to success and move up to new levels in life.  Be and think positive.

To God be the Glory

**Express and Reflect on your World**

Sincerely,

Priscilla  Birago

I AM TROY DAVIS

I am still in disbelief and extremely horrified at the inhumane and injustice act that took place on Wednesday night. The American Justice System has failed us once again! It’s not the first and it will not be the last. Georgia Parole Board denied clemency for Troy Anthony Davis, after being on death roll for two decades. Mr. Davis was accused for the murder of an off-duty officer in 1989.

This case has caused an international outrage and has many people asking if justice was really served. Personally, I believe justice was not served because Troy Davis was not guilty beyond reasonable doubt.

Anyone that followed his case clearly knows that this case was not prosecuted properly. How can a man be executed for murder when there was no solid evidence supporting the case? In addition there was no DNA evidence connecting Mr. Davis to the murder.

Mr. Davis claimed his innocence till his death bed and before his execution, he said to his family and friends “continue to fight this fight.” In order words, his family and friends should fight to prove his innocence and his freedom that he has been fighting for two decades.

Freedom does not come easy to some individuals. Freedom is independence, free-will, liberty, choice, self –determination, autonomy, sovereignty, and lastly, lack of restriction. We all seek for freedom but freedom is not easily obtained for individuals like Troy Davis. It takes determination and a long fight to achieve it and sometimes it is not achieve at all. Nevertheless, freedom comes easily to certain individuals or groups that are more favored in the North American society.

Evidently, black people in our society have fought a great deal to achieve freedom. Since emancipation from slavery, black people still faces the biggest restrictions in the justice system. North American justice system is manipulated and systematically set up to favor the higher class society. Presently, there are a higher percentage of black people that are concentrated on lower level of society, which means that the justice system of the state favors black people the least.

I am still outraged by the route the state of Georgia took. Troy Davis was innocent and he has been claiming his freedom and innocence for two decades.

Troy Davis said “All I can ask ... is that you look deeper into this case so that you really can finally see the truth." If troy Davis was white, I am certain that the system would have taken time to analyze his case careful and granted him freedom or reduced his sentence to life imprisonment.  It sad to say this, but the justice system is unfair.

It would be understandable if there was solid evidence supporting the murder and if all nine people who testified against Troy Davis did not alter their initial testimony. But that was not the case, because seven of the nine trial witnesses recanted their testimony against him. The US Supreme Court took an unusual long period of time to come to a decision. Troy was still executed after all these factors surfaced and indicated that he might be innocent.

There is no justice for capital punishment or an eye for an eye principle. It is tragic how the US justice system keeps on failing. Retribution punishment is certainly not the solution to crime in a civilized society. In my opinion it is barbaric and this form of punish does not deter crime. No-one and I mean no-one has the right to take a life, including the Government.

Before Troy’s execution, he also said to the prison officers “may God have mercy on your souls. May God bless your souls.” And Yes, May God truly have mercy on their souls for taking his life.

 I have now come to the conclusion that the “greatest nation” is not the greatest after all. It is uncivilized and has engaged in barbarism.

Many people have lost trust in the US justice system for many years because there are people that have been wrongfully convicted and incarcerated. As a result, people have been losing hope that the justice system will not be there to support them if they were in a similar situation.

I am certain that one of the many reasons Georgia Parole Board denied the clemency is because they did not want the world to identify the inaccuracy and errors in the system.

If they reopened the case to prove Mr. Davis was innocent, it will give people more reasons to loose faith in the American justice system. In addition, it will also cause the government millions of dollars to reopen the case and keep Mr. Davis alive.

It is a tragedy that they sacrificed Troy Davis’ innocence to glorify the US Justice System. “May God have mercy on their souls and may God bless their souls.”

Troy Anthony Davis, You’re in a better place. May your soul rest in peace.

**Express and Reflect on your World** 

Sincerely, 

Prissy Birago