Recent News

November 13, 2019

The Pragmatism of Understanding Racism in Police Encounters

As black people in America, it is important to accept things for what they are. Dr. Ibram Kendi articulates a simple fact plainly in his book, ‘Stamped from the Beginning.’ America is country that was built on racist ideas. The race-based mechanisms of our country are a system of control that operate in all areas of human activity.

May 24, 2019

The Importance of Identity Politics for Black Americans

With the announcement of Kamala Harris for democratic candidate for president, a new and not clearly understood issue has arisen. The question of whether Kamala Harris is really black has been discussed amongst the intellectual black circles and beyond. White Twitter has also embraced the discussion.

May 25, 2019

Should a Black Man Carry a Firearm?

Having lived in the Houston area for 15 years, I’ve incorporated many of the cultural habits of a Texan. While I have yet to wear cowboy boots when I represent a client in court, I have attended rodeos, Texas bar-be-ques and spent hundreds of hours at football games.

June 6, 2019

Glorify the Hood

The other day, my 9-year-old son randomly asked me a question that I did not anticipate. “Dad, what is the ‘hood’?” My entire family had just left my 5-year-old daughter’s first dance recital and we were all seated in the rear of a local seafood restaurant in Northwest Houston.

May 26, 2019

Covington Catholic Commentary

It doesn’t surprise me that the young men of Covington Catholic High School in Kentucky adopted a victim narrative with respect to their behavior in Washington DC after receiving criticism for their disrespectful mocking of senior citizen Nathan Phillips.

June 2, 2019

Can Compliance Cost You Your Life in a Traffic Stop?

One of the benefits to being a lawyer is that we tend to have personal relationships with other lawyers. Today on social media, one of my lawyer friends posted a video clip of an Arkansas police officer who seemed to be baiting a young, black man to reach inside of his vehicle during a traffic stop.

May 28, 2019

Baytown, Texas Shooting…Should Past Behavior Matter?

So, I understand that the officer (who as of right now has gone unnamed) that fired five shots at 44-year-old Pamela Turner killing her last night was her neighbor. The early reports are that he lived in the same Baytown apartment complex as she and that she complained about him harassing her in the past.

March 2, 2018

Black Boy Crime Law

According to the NAACP, “nationwide, African-American children represents 42% of children who are detained, 32% of children who are arrested and 52% of children whose cases are judicially waived to criminal court.”

May 24, 2019

The White Thugs of Memorial High School

On Tuesday, approximately 30 white students at Memorial High School in Houston wore cornrows, fake tattoos, baggy pants, gold chains and handcuffs for what many of the students referred to as “Thug Day.” Within the week, pictures of a group of white girls participating in the cultural mocking had gone viral on Twitter.