February 28, 2021
GREATER HOUSTON EDITION
Vol. 26, Issue 07
“Addressing Current & Historical Realties Affecting Our Community”
DEATHBED CONFESSION
By: N.L. Preston
PREJUDICE VS. RACISM By: Roy Douglas Malonson
Prejudice vs Racism. Is there any difference? Not to me. It’s the same thing housed under different words, intended to make Blacks feel as low as they can go. But if you check the dictionaries, they will tell you there’s a difference, so for the sake of not mixing words, we want to explore the “ugly truths” of both. Prejudice is defined as a preconceived judgment or opinion, or an irrational attitude of hostility directed against an individual, a group, a race, or their supposed characteristics. In simpler terms, it is judging someone without really knowing them. It can be likened to automatically judging your father’s new, young girlfriend before you ever have a chance to meet her. You may not like her just because she’s “younger” and you feel she is up to no good. As
with the definition – her youth is just one of her characteristics. We know how much that happens. But in terms of this piece, when breaking down “prejudice,” it can be equated to thinking that “all Blacks are this” or “all Blacks are that,” and the “this or that” is NEGATIVE -- without even knowing a person. It’s like a White woman clutching her purse tighter while walking on the sidewalk with a Black man – thinking he wants to steal from her. When, in all fairness, the Black man could possibly have more money on his wrist than the White woman has in her empty handbag. Still, she thinks he is a danger – not even knowing his name or his background. We all know how much this happens as well. Simple prejudices and fears of the unknown lead to the bigger monster of racism. Prejudice cont’d Racism is defined as prejudice,
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Malcolm X’s family is asking for the reopening of his murder investigation after the deathbed confession of a former New York police officer who claims he, the NYPD and the FBI were involved in the assassination. The letter was released to the public on the anniversary of Malcolm X’s death. The letter, which was written in 2011 by Ray Wood, explains that Wood helped to convince members of Malcolm X’s security team to get involved with a Statue of Liberty plot, getting arrested days before the planned assassination, leaving the civil rights leader with less protection on the day of the planned murder. Wood’s letter stated, “The Statue of Liberty bombing idea was created by my supervisor handler. Using surveillance, the agency learned that Bowe and Sayyed were key players in Malcolm X’s crowd control security detail. It was my assignment to draw the two men into felonious federal crime, so that they could be arrested by the FBI and kept away from managing Malcolm X’s Audubon Ballroom door security on February 21, 1965. On February 16, 1965, the Statue of Liberty plot was carried out and the men were arrested just days before the assassination of Malcolm.” He said he was urged by his supervisor to be at the Audubon Ballroom, but to DO NOTHING, no matter what happened. Wood shared that he wrote the confession in hopes of clearing Thomas Johnson of the murder of Malcolm X. “I am aging with Deathbed cont’d page 3
WASH YOUR HANDS FREQUENTLY • AVOID PUBLIC SPACES OR EVENTS WITH MORE THAN 10 PATRONS • SANITIZE AND STOCK UP • AVOID TOUCHING YOUR EYES, NOSE AND MOUTH • PRACTICE GOOD HYGIENE