Why hasn’t the racial makeup of the grand jury convened for Darrin Manning’s case been disclosed?
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I asked ONE QUESTION last week at a press conference held at the DA’s office where Seth Williams, in front of the city’s top reporters, revealed he’s also stopped by the police for existing while black.
I wanted to know what the racial makeup was of the grand jury was who concluded a white female officer didn’t injure Darrin Manning on January 7th, 2014, on the 1400 block of Girard Avenue.
Of course I didn’t get a real answer.
“Grand jurors are selected at random. They were all Philadelphia citizens. So we have a little of everything. We have young people, medium people, old people, men and women – a little of everything,” said former state prosecutor Mark Costanzo, who assisted in the investigation.
That answer isn’t good enough for me, and I know it isn’t good enough for any other taxpayer in Philadelphia that has a stake in the black community.
In my opinion, the disclosure of the racial makeup of a jury in this case is just as important as it was in the Trayvon Martin case, the Jordan Davis case and in any other situation where black bodies are exterminated and the system sees it as population control instead of an injustice.
And though Manning didn’t die, his case shares the same common thread as all the ones I mentioned previously, which is the system’s inability to see a black body as something of value.
The racial makeup of this grand jury is important because “all Philadelphia citizens” don’t experience that unexplainable level of terror that blacks feel when walking to the store and a police car passes by. “All Philadelphia citizens” don’t have to talk to their kids about surviving a police interaction before they discuss the birds and the bees. “All Philadelphia citizens” aren’t considered suspicious when they wear a hoodie, or cover their face in below zero weather. “All Philadelphia citizens” don’t endure the level of injustice everyday from people who look like them, only black people do.
So “all Philadelphia citizens” is a shady response to a shady situation, and I want an answer!
Thanks for reading. Until next time, I’m Flood the Drummer® & I’m Drumming for JUSTICE!™
Which brings up the obvious question … should the racial makeup of the jury matter? For that matter, should the gender makeup of a jury matter? Christopher, you know I like your work but I’m struggling with the idea that because someone is not of the same race, that he/she can’t be fair. If I was plopped down on a jury, you’d more then likely look at me as this some old white guy from a middle to upper middle class suburb of Chicago and think that there is no way this guy understands. But on the other hand, you… Read more »