Definitions Better Than Webster’s: Sheriff

“Under the laws of England during the 1500s, shires (counties) and other political subdivisions were organized to carry out the will of the king. Each shire had a reeve, or chief law enforcement officer. In later years, the term “shire” was combined with the term “reeve” (shire-reeve) to create the word “sheriff,” a term that is now applied to the chief law enforcement officer of most U.S. counties.” -From, “The Juvenile Justice System” By: Merlo, Benekos & Champion

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Black Lawyers: The Malcolm X Edition

Through his interviews and writings, Malcolm X often communicated his early-life desire to become an attorney. No one can deny that Malcolm X, history’s most potent advocate, would have been an incredible attorney. Before his life was taken, his youthful ambitions were snuffed out by a racist school system. He described the incident that dashed his hopes of becoming an attorney in his autobiography stating:

“He told me, ‘Malcolm, you ought to be thinking about a career. Have you been giving it thought?’ The truth is, I hadn’t. I never have figured out why I told him, ‘Well, yes, sir, I’ve been thinking I’d like to be a lawyer.’ Lansing certainly had no Negro lawyers-or doctors either-in those days, to hold up an image I might have aspired to. All I really knew for certain was that a lawyer didn’t wash dishes, as I was doing.

Mr. Ostrowski looked surprised, I remember, and leaned back in his chair and clasped his hand behind his head. He kind of half-smiled and said, ‘Malcolm, one of life’s first needs is for us to be realistic. Don’t misunderstand me, now. We all here like you, you know that. But you’ve got to be realistic about being a ni**er. A lawyer-that’s no realistic goal for a ni**er. You need to think about something you can be. You’re good with your hands-making things. Everybody admires your carpentry shop work. Why don’t you plan on carpentry? People like you as a person, you’d get all kinds of work.’

The more I thought afterwards about what he said, the more uneasy it made me. It just kept treading around in my mind.

What made it really begin to disturb me was Mr. Ostrowski’s advice to others in my class- all of them white. Most of them had told him they were planning to become farmers. But those who wanted to strike out on their own, to try something new, he had encouraged. Some, mostly girls, wanted to be teachers. A few wanted other professions, such as one boy who wanted to become a county agent; another, a veterinarian; and one girl wanted to be a nurse. They all reported that Mr. Ostrowski had encouraged what they had wanted. Yet nearly none of them had earned marks equal to mine.

It was a surprising thing that I had never thought of it that way before, but I realized that whatever I wasn’t, I was smarter than nearly all of those white kids. But apparently, I was still not intelligent enough, in their eyes, to become whatever I wanted to be. It was then that I began to change inside.”

57 years ago, Malcolm X was assassinated. Malcolm X often spoke about his desire to become an attorney. As a second-year law student, today, and every day, I salute and honor this most honorable ancestor. Thank you for your example, bravery, integrity, purity, self-discipline, love, intellect, Godliness, honesty, and leadership.

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Quote Of The Day

“For more than 350 years Black men in this country have been dying with courage and dignity for causes they believe in. This aspect of our history has always been known to Black people, but for many the knowledge has been vague. We knew the names of a few of our martyrs and heroes, but often we were not acquainted with the circumstances or the precise context of their lives. White America has seen to it that black history has been suppressed in schools and in American history books. The bravery of our ancestors who took part in slave rebellion has been lost in the mists of time, since plantation owners did their best to prevent any written accounts of uprisings.”-Huey Newton

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Quote Of The Day

“The individual can attain self-control in great things only through self-control in little things. He must study himself to discover what is the weak point in his armor, what is the element within him that ever keeps him from his fullest success. This is the characteristic upon which he should begin his exercise in self-control. Is it selfishness, vanity, cowardice, worthiness, temper, laziness, worry, mind-wandering, lack of purpose?- whatever form human weakness assumes in the masquerade of life, he must discover.” William George Jordan

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Black History Fact: What Famous Author Was Stokely Carmichael’s Freshman English Teacher?

When he was a freshman at Howard University, Stokely Carmichael had an English professor who was to become a Nobel laureate. She was also the future editor of two of his books.

He had this to say about his famous teacher:  “My freshman English teacher I’ve never forgotten. She was an instructor and a challenging teacher who was really down with black literature and our people’s culture. But this teacher was unusual in one other important respect: she was young, stylish, and really fine. Her name was Toni Morrison…About eight years later my teacher and I met again when she would be my editor at Random House for both Black Power and Stokely Speaks.”

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