Black Women in Charge: Profiles in Umbrage
The anniversary of George Floyd’s death this past weekend was marked by claims that the country’s attempt to finally deal with its systemic racism had been brushed aside with “the resurgence of old power structures” — as put by University of Connecticut professor Manisha Sinha, who represents the NEW power structure where Indian immigrants get all the good affirmative action jobs.
Inspired by a crack addict’s death, the Racial Reckoning required, among other things, putting black women in charge of everything. The plan was foolproof. It literally had no flaw. Unburdened by what has been, there was no telling what these scrappy gals could do.
This column will be part 2 of a continuing series that I call “Black Women in Charge.”(The last one was in 2023, then other news intervened.)
“Within two years, Rollins had “transformed” her office into a personal revenge racket, leaking government secrets to harm a political opponent, among other wildly illegal acts.”
Elected after the summer of BLM terror, President Joe Biden put more black females on the U.S. Courts of Appeal than all previous presidents combined. Half of his U.S. attorney nominees were black. Given that only 5% of the nation’s attorneys are black, for the past four years, every black lawyer in the country had a decent shot at becoming a federal prosecutor or judge. (Hence, the expression, the “affirmative action to federal bench pipeline.”)
Among the nominees was Rachael Rollins, Biden’s choice to be U.S. attorney for Massachusetts. But things are never easy for a black woman. As put by Charles Pierce, Esquire’s political reporter, two “asshat” senators decided to “demagogue” a “Perfectly Qualified U.S. Attorney Nominee.”
Specifically, Sens. Ted Cruz and Tom Cotton opposed Rollins on the grounds that she supported decriminalizing a slew of crimes, such as shoplifting, malicious destruction of property, drug possession with intent to distribute and resisting arrest. (No word yet on how those policies have played out in cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Seattle, etc.)
The Senate split 50-50 on Rollins’ nomination.
In a transcendent moment of Black Girl Magic, the first black woman vice president cast the 51st vote to make Rollins the first black woman U.S. attorney of Massachusetts. Upon Rollins’ confirmation, Sens. Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren praised Rollins for “transforming the criminal justice system.”
And, boy, were they were right! Within two years, Rollins had “transformed” her office into a personal revenge racket, leaking government secrets to harm a political opponent, among other wildly illegal acts. Biden’s own Office of Special Counsel informed him that her violations were “among the most egregious transgressions” the office had ever seen.
She resigned before any further action could be taken against her and is currently weighing offers from several Ivy League universities.
Atlanta, known as the Black Mecca, is home to a great number of black millionaires. There’s Shelitha Robertson, former assistant city attorney of Atlanta turned lifestyle podcaster, who is so rich she sported a 10-carat diamond ring and drove a Rolls Royce. How was she able to afford such luxuries on an assistant city attorney’s salary, you ask? It turned out all her bling was purchased with the $15 million she stole from COVID-19 relief funds on behalf of her nonexistent 400 employees.
In addition to the swag, Robertson used her stolen money to make a campaign donation to Fani Willis, whose name may ring a bell. Immediately upon her election to Atlanta district attorney, Willis announced a fishing expedition against Trump and his allies, accusing them of a criminal conspiracy for engaging in standard, everyday politicking. If Trump’s challenging the results of Georgia’s presidential election constitutes a RICO violation, then Al Gore should be hunted down and given the death penalty for the 2000 election. (Is there a solar-powered electric chair yet?)
To assist her office in pursuing the crackpot charges, Willis did what a child would know is wrong. I know! I’ll hire my boyfriend and then he can take me on vacations with all the money I’m paying him!
Even Stacey Abrams was saying, “Oh c’mon!”
For her comical corruption, the Georgia Court of Appeals removed Willis from the case. No other D.A. showed any interest in pursuing the charges, suggesting some flaws in Fani’s theory of the case. (At least Gore can rest easy.) Willis’ office was later ordered to pay about $75,000 in fines and attorneys’ fees.
Just last week, Charlotte, North Carolina, city council member Tiawana Brown was indicted, along with her daughters Tijema Brown and Antionette Rouse, for stealing at least $124,165 in COVID relief money and spending it on luxury goods, including a $15,000 birthday party featuring a horse-drawn carriage and a throne. (Legal tip: If the criminal complaint against your client includes the words “horse-drawn carriage” or “throne,” start negotiating a plea.)
Far from contrite, Brown seems a tad miffed that anyone would expect her to resign because of the multiple felony-charging indictment, saying, “Why would I resign? I haven’t been convicted of anything.”
My final entry in this week’s installment of Black Women in Charge is Dr. Karen Johnson, who describes herself as “World Changer,” “History Maker” and “Visionary,” proving how systemic racism crushes black people’s self-esteem. (I’ve been unable, so far, to determine which medical specialty Dr. Johnson practices but I’ll keep digging.)
In March 2021, Dr. Johnson was appointed director of Washington state’s first-ever Office of Equity. Getting off to a great start, she told a local NBC news affiliate, “No Black person in their right mind … wants to be leading this kind of work, convincing white people they want to do something they have no intention of doing.”
In short order, a third of the office had quit over Johnson’s sexism, racism and fat-shaming. At one point, she announced, “I generally distrust Mexican people.” Denying it was racist, she said, “That was not my takeaway from the conversation.” After two years promoting “equity,” Johnson was fired.
But there’s never a shortage of jobs for black women accusing everyone else of racism, so Dr. Johnson is now executive director of the Texas Center for Justice and Equity, and this Black Women in Charge series may never end.
https://www.takimag.com/article/black-women-in-charge-profiles-in-umbrage/