Image: Corey Jackson (Little C-Note) on the Ellen DeGeneres show
The videotaped arrest of 12-year old Corey (Lil C-Note) Jackson along with his aunt Coraletha Jackson has once again slapped another black youth in the face with the message that no matter what path chosen whether it be positive or negative you will be criminalized and penalized for either breaking the law or daring to think outside the box when it comes down to self-determination.
The early October arrest at the Cumberland Mall in Cobb County, Georgia came after Lil C-Note allegedly refused to speak to the officer or give his name after supposedly being warned twice to not sell CD’s at the mall. Jackson was also accused of trying to break the po’lice’s fingers and his aunt has been in the hot seat for not “acting appropriately” after defending her nephew from the talons the cop had deeply and harshly clutched onto the young man’s arm.
The video showed the officer threaten to incarcerate Corey while the soft-spoken youth said that he was aware of his rights and the voice of his aunt in fight-or-flight mode to turn lose her #@%&! Nephew was heard in the background. Cobb County police chief Michael Register has upheld his officer’s decision, despite the county’s department catching heat that is documented in the International Association of Chiefs of Police studies for being plagued with “perceptions of racism.”
“Discipline is not the enemy of enthusiasm”
Some argue that what Lil C-Note had done was criminal and he should not have returned to Cumberland mall after being told twice he wasn’t allowed to sell his merchandise there. Others asked where were the parents to discipline the child but as the video showed, the officer refused to speak with the father who was on the phone with the kid’s aunt displaying disrespect for Corey’s real authority. What is wrong in my opinion with this picture is the generational wite supremacist ethics the cop possessed of discouraging Black people against inter-dependence just like our ancestors were forbidden to read and own property. When unjust, discriminative laws are put into place that even goes against the very laws of nature resistance and punishment is inevitable. One de-escalating approach would have been for the cop to acknowledge that what the youngster was doing (entrepreneurship) was a positive move instead of doing negative things but (biased or not) the law is the law and the job of the kkkop is to uphold it and tell him that he had to leave the premises. What made the officer think that Corey Jackson had “rabbit in him”, meaning the possibility the kid may run away is unclear and may be the reason he held onto the boy with such a vice grip- that would fall under the category of “Presumptuous Prejudice” and this could have led to a much worse scenario.
The aunt, Coraletha Jackson, was faulted because of her reaction. But how was she to react to her nephew’s life being jeopardized in the hands of an agent who works in a field that has a terrifying past and present of slaughtering Black people (and others) and getting away with it? The conscious and subconscious fear and anxiety of our loved ones being taken away and in most cases never seen or heard from again is a generational psychological condition but no one wants part of this conversation and would rather write it off as negroes just being criminals that are subjected to arrest without explanation and denied the right to remain silent or exercise the 5th amendment.
DID ANY OF COREY’S “COP FRIENDS” SPEAK UP AND OUT??
NO COMMENT, NEXT POINT!!!
If Lil C-Note was barred from returning back to Cumberland Mall for trying to make an honest living my question would be then why did any of US go back to the mall? It’s not about supporting wrongdoing but you must question and challenge laws that makes it illegal for folks- especially Blacks to become self- sufficient (without selling one’s soul) and to call out any agents who crosses the line of detainment and child abuse/endangerment. Our blood-stained dollars should not be invested in any establishments that criminalizes the people for putting food on the table!
Our Nation’s youth should be supported by creating spaces for business-minded children to come out with their tables and sell/trade their goods without the fear of having the police called on them by “BBQ bastids” and “Presumptuous prejudice patties” for simply making a living that doesn’t consist of scrubbing the crap out of Becky’s toilet. With adult guidance, create protocols to ensure customer satisfaction/ liability and let the children do their thing! POOR Magazine’s DeeColonize Academy not only educates the youth and their families but also supports the children and encourage cultural activities, journalism and micro- business. After all, the children are our future so let us not allow for these “beasts with badges” to continue to discourage and brutalize them when they are doing good, but let’s teach them well with more fierceness and let them lead the way!
Queennandi Xsheba