UK Black Lives Matter Activist Sasha Johnson Shot In The Head

 Sasha Johnson

Sasha Johnson is in critical condition in hospital after being shot in the head in London. The Black Lives Matter activist and member of the Taking the Initiative Party attended a gathering in the early hours of Sunday (May 23) morning in Southwark.

 

The Metropolitan Police confirmed a 27-year-old was critically injured in a shooting just before 3am.

 

According to the BBC, the activist was taken to a south London hospital with life-threatening injuries and is currently being treated.

 

As doctors were looking after Ms. Johnson, police were combing through the shooting scene to find any evidence that would explain what happened.

 

The shooting happened near a house party in Southwark, and there were multiple people in the area.

 

Detectives have said at this stage there's nothing to suggest Sasha was targeted in the shooting.

 

The Specialist Crime Command believes the shooting was random.

 

"While the investigation is at an early stage, there is nothing to suggest that the woman who was shot was the subject of a targeted attack or that she had received any credible threats against her prior to this incident," the Command said in a statement.

 

However, the Taking the Initiative Party has contradicted that sentiment and believes Sasha was directly targeted as a result of her activism.

"It is with great sadness that we inform you that our own Sasha Johnson has been brutally attacked and sustained a gunshot wound to her head. She is currently in intensive care and in a critical condition," the party wrote.

 

"The attack happened in the early hours of this morning, following numerous death threats as a result of her activism.

 

"Sasha has always been actively fighting for Black people and the injustices that surround the Black community, as well as being both a member of BLM and a member of the Taking the Initiative Party's Executive Leadership Committee.

 

"Sasha is also a mother of 2 and a strong, powerful voice for our people and our community. Let's all come together and pray for Sasha, pray for her recovery, and show our support to her family and loved ones. 

Do Black Lives Really Matter In Africa?

An image that went viral of a two-year-old Nigerian child accused of being a witch and rescued by a Scandinavian woman, Anja Ringgren

Before Africans will be genuinely accepted by the developed world as normal human beings like everyone and be free from oppression, discrimination, racism, and sub-human conditions, they must first learn to respect and love themselves.

There is no love at all in Africa, and the cruelties emanating from every part of the continent against fellow Africans because of poverty, greed, nepotism, tribalism, and corruption are dividing the people and causing hardships to others.

Decades after the abolition of slavery, colonialism, and Apartheid, Africans and African-Americans continue to suffer in the hands of successive governments that are interested in building high walls of institutional racism to deny the black man equal opportunities.

Thanks to the late George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter Movement, things have changed for African-Americans today, but what about Africa, a continent plagued by the viruses of hate, corruption, tribalism, nepotism, and contract assassinations?

It's dehumanizing and barbaric to see children and old people accused of witchcraft and being lynched by people across Africa, in videos on YouTube. Do Africans know what Europeans or Americans think about the continent if they watch such videos on YouTube?

Africa, the place often referred to as the dark continent in terms of color, in reality, is inhabited by tribes and clans that, from the ancestral period influenced by traditional custom and superstition, often accuse old people as witches. 

Nobody talks about or accuses someone of witchcraft in the developed world, but only in Africa, where such issues are very common, and to me, illiteracy, hardships, and superstition play roles in these accusations.

As one of the centers of underdevelopment, Africans face many problems and hardships beyond their control. These unfortunate circumstances are often blamed on innocent old women accused of witchcraft.

In sub-Saharan Africa, long-term unfavorable population trends are combined with dire poverty and high-income inequality, dire health care, education, high unemployment, and large-scale forced migration. 

Most struggling Africans don't consider these problems; instead, they blame innocent people, accusing them of witchcraft, and it's really agonizing to watch these videos in an open window across the world and wonder what the developed world thinks about Africa.

In terms of the diversity, scale, and intertwining of social problems, Africa stands out as a poverty-stricken continent in the developing world. There are so many resources on the continent of Africa than on any other continent in the world, yet Africans continue to live in miserable conditions.

Till now, many societies in Africa are completely immersed in beliefs such as witchcraft, ghosts, spirits, etc, putting the lives of many people, including children and old women, in danger.

An ugly scene of a 90-year-old woman accused of being a witch in Ghana

AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis are among the main causes of high mortality in the African population, and all these problems affect and frustrate others to accusations of witchcraft.

Therefore, it doesn't make sense at all when old women are beaten up and the videos are uploaded on YouTube. That is not the trademark of Africa. In whatever we do, Africans must show maturity and wisdom to convince the developed world that we have aims and objectives.

If African leaders are not interested in protecting old women accused of witchcraft in Africa, they must ban the upload of such videos on YouTube because it not only degrades Africans but also allows the developed world to commit more crimes in Africa.

Not All White People Are Racist

A white woman supporting the 'Black Lives Matter' Movement

It is not an exaggeration,  Black history is very bitter and at the same time, they are people that have suffered a great deal through slavery, colonization, Apartheid, and deliberate disease infections but the true fact is not every white man or white people are racist.

In Belgium, I have enjoyed the company of many good white people that have nothing to do with the color. They give everyone whether white or black, love, and respect.

In Africa, I used to see written at the rear of some vehicles, 'Travel and See,' these three words mean a lot. I fully understood the concept behind this to know that most people who hate black people are those that never travel.

Yes, it's true, white people that travel a lot are never racists because they have learned a lot through the diversity of culture. Even though many call white people racists, there are also black racists full of hate.

Why do people hate others because of the color of their skin? Why do people hate others because of their religion? There is nothing more satisfying on earth than peace and love.

The two are the most important things in life that everyone needs because they create a good society. If you are a human being and you don't have them, you must cultivate it to live peacefully and happily with your neighbor.

The Intrepid ‘Public Enemy’s Role In The Emancipation Of Black People Through Music

Left, Flavor Flav and Chuck D

In the 1930s, the name commonly used to describe individuals whose activities are seen as a threat became the name of a controversial African-American hip-hop group in the late 80s, as ‘Public Enemy.’ 

How did this musical group that later became so famous revolutionize racist America through their music? And what role did they play in bringing African-Americans, or Black people in general, this far before the continuation of the 'Black Lives Matter' force?

400 years ago, a ship carrying human cargo from Africa landed at the shores of the United States of America. Decades after the abolition of slavery, physical and psychological abuse, and denial of freedom and equal opportunities, African-Americans have put the bitter memories of slavery behind them to move forward.

Thousands of African-Americans have excelled in a manner that has shocked institutionalized-racist America. Instead of being recommended, camouflaged-democratic-racist America is now killing the African-Americans they brought from Africa to build their colonies with blood, sweat, and tears because they don't want them to be successful.  

"God's ways are mysterious," they say; out of the lion carcass, the sweet honey was formed. Surviving the brutal ordeal of slavery through spiritual music, African-Americans now dominate R&B and the hip-hop music scene, which started very early with Public Enemy and Run D.M.C. before inspiring many music groups such as A Tribe Called Quest, Nutty By Nature, and other independent musicians such as LL Cool J, KRS-One, Queen Latifah, and many others.

When Public Enemy made their presence felt in the musical mainstream in the late 1980s, their intention was to seek recognition for the Black man, not only African-Americans. They demonstrated that through the names of their music: It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, Fear of a Black Planet, Rebel without a Pause, and, most famously, Fight the Power.

The politically conscious and eloquent Carlton Douglas Ridenhour, popularly known as Chuck D, with William Jonathan Drayton, better known as Flavor Flav (no longer with the group), expressed the oppression and persecution of Black people, or African-Americans, through music, despite the victories of the Civil Rights movement in the 60s.

The group, through the video 'Can't Truss It,' showed how the slave masters abused their power and cruelly dehumanized and raped African-American women, slaves. The music group 'Public Enemy,' itself, wasn't violent, but the message of the music was sharper than a double-edged sword. In reality, their music changed and improved the lives of African-Americans in a way they weren't expecting.

Public Enemy's 'Fight The Power' music video is an example of the cry for justice that has eluded African-Americans in a so-called democratic America. 

Since the eruption of demonstrations after the brutal murder of George Floyd, Google, the owner of YouTube, has denied the access of showing the videos of Public Enemy on other platforms. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PaoLy7PHwk

The African-Americans music group, 'Public Enemy'

However, a movement under the slogan 'Black Lives Matter,' which exists but has been inactive for some time, suddenly jumped in to continue the similar work of Public Enemy, following the murder of the African-American, George Floyd, by white racist police, spreading to Europe and other countries around the globe.

African-Americans still have a long way to go, but if, through civil rights movements, organizations, and music, they have reached so far, then the victory of collapsing the built-in institutional racism in America is much closer than expected.

African-Americans, or Black people in general, shall overcome.

Kevin De Bruyne, Black Lives Matter, and the Debate Over Racism in Belgian Football

Kevin De Bruyne and others support the Black Lives Matter movement following the murder of the African-American George Floyd. Photo credit: rtl.be/sport

Kevin De Bruyne is a Belgian professional football player who will be 29 on June 28, 2020. His prowess in football as a midfield player has enabled him to play for the league club Manchester City and the Belgian National Team.

After a hundred days of the English Premier League suspension due to the coronavirus, Manchester City and Arsenal players exhibited jerseys on the soccer field with the inscription 'Black Lives Matter' behind.

Why ‘All Lives Matter’ Misses the Truth About Racial Injustice

Demonstrators in front of the painting of murdered George Floyd

There is jealousy and hate emerging from many parts of the world, not because George Floyd was brutally murdered by white racist police officers, but because the spirit of this man who couldn't breathe and was calling for his mama has changed the world.  

Priti Patel and Britain’s Double Standards on Black Lives Matter

Priti Patel, a British politician and member of Parliament

On May 25, 2020, a 46-year-old African-American or Black man called George Floyd was brutally murdered by white racist police officers in the United States of America. This sparked demonstrations, riots, and looting around the world, including in America and the United Kingdom.

DO BLACK LIVES MATTER IN BELGIUM?

Defaced statue of King Leopold II following the demonstrations over the brutal murder of George Floyd 

In Ghana, my country of birth, there is a proverb which says: "Out of every misfortune comes a blessing," that means even though it's unfortunate George Floyd, the African-American, brutally murdered by white police officers is dead and gone, yet the outcome of his death has changed the mind of how many people view black people.

THE USE OF BLACK PEOPLE IN AMERICAN POLITICS

Are blacks important when it comes to politics in America? Hillary Clinton, Beyoncé, and Jay-Z.

There was a time in America when the black man couldn't vote, on public transport, he had to stand for the white to sit down, and he was deprived of many things because of his color.

Racism was so strong that the Ku Klux Klan was happy to be recognized as a hate group. Hanging and the lynching of black people occurred repeatedly with impunity because their skin color was considered inferior.

Like a movie, blacks are killed daily. In fact, it's easy to see the body of a black on the streets of America shot by the police than a white American, so I am now wondering why all of a sudden American politicians are now using the people they once rejected and ignored to solicit votes?

African-Americans, like native Africans, had suffered a great deal. They didn't call for slavery, but greed and cheap labor. America and Europe's desire for so much inspired them to invade Africa and capture Africans across the Atlantic to Europe and America as slaves.

Many believe that slavery still exists in many ways after the abolition, but the question is: Does it also exist in politics? The recent images of Hillary Clinton with Beyoncé and her husband Jay-Z are another example of how black people are used by some politicians, and then later the police assassin bullets turn on them.

Just imagine the nature of America's politics now. It's in a complete crisis that many don't even know what comes tomorrow. Hypocrisy, blackmailing, witch-hunting, and other criminal activities are now what America's politics are made of. 

If 'Black Lives Matter' in America, it should have been the task of every American, including Hillary Clinton, to show it, but not Alicia Garza, Opal Tometi, or Patrisse Cullors. Thus, in my opinion, Hillary Clinton's dependence on black celebrities for votes is pure hypocrisy and fake. There is no love behind this.

I live in Belgium. There is no statute of Adolf Hitler because he killed six million Jews, but there is a statue of Leopold II because he killed over ten million Africans, including women and children. Many American politicians visit Brussels, but none have told the Belgian government to demolish it.

Respect is not a commodity sold at the supermarket. So if Africans and African-Americans want to be respected, they should begin to think and do everything as human beings. That will break the psychological chain still holding many people.

African-Americans can forget everything, but they shouldn't forget this story. Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor black tobacco farmer whose cells were taken without her knowledge in 1951. They became one of the most important tools in medicine, vital for developing the polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping, and more. 

Henrietta’s cells have been bought and sold by the billions, yet she remains virtually unknown, and her family can’t afford health insurance. 

Such an emotional story should be in the mind of African-Americans daily and ponder over it to determine if America really loves and cares about them, or only when votes are needed in American politics.