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Without A Doubt: Redux- Michael Davis , From The Edge

Published Fri, 12 Dec 2014 12:00:14 -0600

Last updated Fri, 13 Mar 2020 09:22:01 -0500

Illustration by Michael Davis from a Photo By Mike Siegel / Seattle Times

Michael Davis is an artist, writer, mentor, and entertainment executive. He writes,

What I do from time to time is run the same articles on Bleeding Cool and Comicmix. This happens when I think a subject is important enough. This is one of those times. Usually, I'll add something to the Bleeding Cool version and I've done so here.

That said, there is a pop culture and comic book angle in this piece, but it's very small. Truth is, to me it's the most important part of what I've written but being Bleeding Cool, there are bound to be some who will consider this a waste of time.
I'm letting those people know now, don't read this. It will just piss you off and as much as I delight in doing so, this is not the subject; I or most other African American men take lightly.

Lastly-I will comment on this article and no, it does not have to be on this subject. I figure you put up with my sometime political rants, I can show my appreciation for you doing so.

My beloved New York City has a law on the books known as "Stop and Frisk."

In a nutshell, it means if a police officer suspects, for any reason, that you may be up to no good, they can detain and search you. Guess who the majority of people being stopped are?

Black and Latinos. OR, as they are known to NYC cops, niggers and spics.

A New York State Of Mind. Nov. 1, 2012 Michael Davis World

I forgot that I've written about this racist bullshit law before. (Stop and Frisk) NYC is going to appeal the court ruling. Of cause they are, because NYC is run by a bunch of racist motherfuckers. The law has done nothing to curb crime, and the vast majority of people stopped are young black men. What's funny is the vast majority of people found with weapons were white guys.
Seriously. Check the stats.

I Read The News Today, Oh Boy, Aug. 16, 2013 Michael Davis World

What happens when I don't take my meds and voicing my ire on Facebook is not enough? What happens when I've had enough of seeing UNARMED Black men choked because THEY WERE BLACK? What happens when I realize that I don't eat skittles anymore because it just reminds me of an unarmed BLACK CHILD KILLED BECAUSE HE WAS BLACK?

The Middleman Aug. 15, 2014 Comicmix

My life is not my own. It belongs to any cop having a bad day. Any D.A. wanting to get an uppity nigger, regardless of proof. My life belongs to any white racist punk ass bitch drunk in a bar or any racist coward with a gun who hates hoodies.

Like I said, why not cut out the middleman out and kill myself?

The Middleman Revised Aug. 15, 2014 Bleeding Cool

Despite the often-racist policies of City Hall and its Choke-An-Unarmed-Black-Man-to-Death police force, NYC will always be my home.

The Great New York Con Oct. 29. 2014 Comicmix

NO resistance, whatsoever. NONE. NADA. He made NO MOVE to resist while they were choking him nor did he make any aggressive move BEFORE they threw him to the ground. While on the ground he repeated, "I can't breath. I can't breath." His death was RULED a homicide by the Medical Examiner.

OH, did I mention the 'choke hold' the 'officer' applied was illegal? That's right,

NYPD FORBIDS the use of that particular way of restraining someone.

Why? Because, it may cause severe injury or death. Watch the video on line; don't take my word for ANY of this.

So, WITH ALL THIS NOT IN DISPUTE, it's clear to me the 'officer' will not have to stand trial.

Why? He was an unarmed Black man.

Duh.

My Facebook Status in response to: New York bracing for grand jury decision in police chokehold case. Dec. 1, 2014 2 days before the Eric Garner Grand Jury announcement. Yahoo News (AFP)

As if there was any doubt.

My Facebook Status in response to: Grand jury declines to indict officer in chokehold death of Eric Garner. Dec. 3, 2014 day of the Eric Garner Grand Jury announcement. (PIX)

A Washington state police officer won't face felony charges after punching an allegedly drunk and combative (BLACK) woman in the face, breaking her eye socket and causing a concussion.

Prosecutors last Friday said that Seattle cop Adley Shepherd, 38, would not be tried on a second-degree assault charge for the injuries to 23-year-old Miyekko Durden-Bosley, the Seattle Times reported.

The Huffington Post: No Charges For Seattle Cop Caught Punching Handcuffed Woman In Face Dec. 9, 2014

No. No doubt at all. Those are just a few of thousands of words, in dozens of articles, I've written about race over the years. Most have been rants about how Black men are targets nearly all have forecasted the trend of killing unarmed Black men will continue.

My Facebook status on Dec. 1 if this year, wasn't my reaction upon hearing the cop who shot Mr. Garner was free to live his life. I let everyone know two days before there was no doubt he would walk. No Black person I spoke to beforehand thought the cop would get indicted. Not a one.

My Facebook post described the overwhelming evidence against this man. The tape was clear as day, this man was guilty as sin and I wanted it on the record I knew that cop would walk.

He walked.

Perhaps, for some, who believe I often play the 'Black card,' my foreseeing this outcome with such certainty, would demonstrate to them racism does indeed exist in the age of Obama.

Not only does it exists it targets Black man.

That's the reality of Black men in America. No, it does not happen to everyone, however, if you are not Black but know someone who is Black, they know someone it happened too, if not them.

I guarantee it.

I knew the cop would go free, but I wondered what explanation would the 'man' give when asked how that conclusion was reached. I would concede whatever bullshit reasons those fucking murderers on Staten Island gave for taking his life if they explained just one thing to me.

I'd accept, agree and explain why regarding the following:

Murderers: He should not have resisted.

I agree. His hands were up while stepping back. Clearly he was readying his Black Panda Strike.

Murderers: He was REALLY FAT.

Yep! Thousands of fat people die from choking every year. Mama Cass choked on a sandwich! She was Fat. Simple changes in his lifestyle, drinking more water, exercise, avoiding being Black. If he only did the latter, I'm sure he'd be alive today…and thinner.

Murderers: He should have not been breaking the law.

On THIS I could not agree more! This man's crime, selling cigarettes is the reason this country is going to hell. Put him down. Put him down like the animal he and that OTHER unarmed Black fat kid shot in Ferguson were. I mean what IS it with these fat Black kids? The kid shot in Ferguson committed the second worst crime known to man, SHOPLIFTING.

Our police officers put themselves on the front line every. Let's not forget that! Remember the confused young man whom shot all those people at a Batman screening? MY GOD that poor misguided young man had enough firepower to start a war. The police managed to secure him without firing a shot! Now that young man can get the help he needs.

Just the other day some 12-year old Black child was shot 3 seconds after the police rolled up. He was in a playground, playing with a toy gun. What else could the police do? Park their car a safe distance away and, using that for a shield, speak to the child through a loud speaker, which every police car has for reasons just like that?

NO, ABOLUTELY NOT!

Someone may have shown up at the empty playground and if the child had a real gun no doubt would have been killed.

Again I'd concede every bullshit point to the murdering bastards of Staten Island, say one. His death was RULED a homicide by the Medical Examiner.

The Staten Island Medical Examiner.

Just on the basis of that, the Grand Jury should have ordered those cops to trial. Funny, no one addressed that during any of the post press conferences.

Those police officers murdered that man. Eric Gardner was murdered and the WORLD knows it. How can anyone look at that tape and tell me how does this man deserve to die?

All he did was raise voice in frustration, telling the officers he did not feel like being harassed and choose not to be someone's bitch that day. If this had happened to a white guy, Y E A H R I G H T, it would be the funny story he'd be telling at his company Christmas party. It would be a joke.

Well the jokes on Eric Gardner, he's dead.

Some months ago I wrote an article about cutting out the middleman-middleman being the officer who's going to put a bullet in my head if I dare to look at him the wrong way one day. Why don't I just put a bullet in my own fucking head because any fucking white cop can decide I'm the wrong nigger in the wrong fucking place at the wrong time.

More than one of my friends thought I was going to commit suicide. I'd just lost my mother she was everything to me the last of my family consequently, I'm now all-alone in the world.

At my annual dinner at Comic Con last July; I broke down in front of some of the biggest names in entertainment, sports and finance, when that thought hit me while welcoming my guests. Trust me, you have not lived until you're crying like a little girl and Neyo gets up and hands you a handkerchief.

This has been the best professional year of my life and the worse, absolute WORSE year of my life personally. So-it's fair to say my mental state is not one where a confrontation with a police officer because I'm JUST not in the mood to be treated like my fucking name is Toby is out of the question.

That's fair to say but what's blatantly UNFAIR is ending up dead because I know my rights and the day I decide to practice them by not remembering my place, I'm choked or shot to death.

This is appalling beyond measure and as you can see from the new shootings almost every day of UNARMED Black boys and men, it's common. Those on the far right no longer have to wonder why so many black people hate the police. It's simple; many Black people hate the police for the same reason Americans hate terrorists.

They are killing our young men for no other reason than they feel they have a right to do so. They don't, and America is letting them know it as I write this.

Dwayne McDuffie, Denys Cowan, Derek Dingle and I created Milestone to give young kids of color heroes that looked like them. The police were represented as heroes and role models and they are; just not where poor Black kids live. Not where I grew up. I don't live in the hood anymore but still feel the same way about police and with good reason. Since I've been living in my nice house on my nice hill, I've been stopped repeatedly and arrested once.

I don't hate the police. I fear the police. This is not North Korea; no American should hate or fear the police except criminals. In guess that does mean I'm allowed, technically, I am a criminal, having taken a plea deal, rather than go to court on a charge, even with videotape evidence of my innocence.

That's how much I fear the police and the courts. I still can't bring myself to hate the police because I'm too smart to paint all police with one brush. It would appear that although I hold out hope that things will get better, as a Black man, I feel it's best for me to hold on to my fear and I will.

I don't hate the police but without a doubt, some police hate me

Because of that, in America today, I can't breath.

Michael Davis is an artist, writer, mentor, and entertainment executive.

His positions as an entertainment executive include: President & CEO of Motown Animation & Filmworks, President of Animation at Magic Johnson Entertainment, President of Publishing at Blackboard Entertainment, and Vice President, Director Of Talent, and Co-founder of Milestone Media. He's created, written, illustrated, or produced original content for comics, television, radio, publishing, and reading programs as an independent producer. Alumni from his Bad Boy Studio mentor program are some of the most respected talents working in comics, television, and illustration today.

Current projects include graphic novels, The Underground from Dark Horse and Jackie Robinson Day 1, mainstream novels such as Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Black People But Were Afraid To Ask from Full Court Press, White Winter, Black Night Books 1-4 from Simon & Schuster. The Littlest Bitch from Sellers Publishing (with David Quinn) is in its third printing and currently in development for television.

Michael is also the creator and host of The Black Panel, a powerhouse forum that brings together some of the biggest names in the African American media space.

Among his honors and awards are Mentor Of The Year from Mentor Magazine 1995, The Michael Davis Auditorium named at The Gordon Parks Academy 1996, Renaissance Award from the Arizona Black Film Festival 2006, and The Inkpot Award at Comic Con International 2013.

He fully realizes his bio is now the longest and most corporate of the BC contributors, something his haters will no doubt consider just another way to talk about himself.

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