Durham Artists Create New Voices Against Violence Anthem

For many years Durham has gotten a bad rap for being a bastion of crime. The “City of Medicine” has gained a national reputation as being the “City of Violence.” In recent months, the violence seems to have escalated, leaving many residents scratching their heads, unsure of what to do to stop the senseless murders plaguing the Bull City.

However, a Durham musician and producer thinks that he may have the solution.

Marcus Cox, of DreajMusic  has launched the Closed Eyes Project and is making a challenge to other Triangle Area artists to raise their  voices against violence.

https://soundcloud.com/closed-eyes-project

Cox, with the help of  some Bull City artists,  has recorded what they hope will become the official anti-violence anthem of Durham. The project is streaming on Soundcloud.com  and  will consist three version of  Cox’s song “Closed Eyes.” 

The first  release (available now)  is  a Hip Hop version to appeal to Durham’s youth co-produced by Prince 8 and also features Hip Hop artist, Big Lah and Durham activist “TRUTH Minista Paul Scott.

https://soundcloud.com/closed-eyes-project/closed-eyes-hip-hop-version

The second release  will be  a “Soul Survivor”  version” featuring Cox along with spoken word artist, Tim Jackson for the “less rap music inclined.  “

https://soundcloud.com/closed-eyes-project/closed-eyes-soul-survivor-version

And thirdly, there will be  a “Make Your Own Remix” version, on which Cox is asking Durham residents to add their own rap about stopping the violence over an extended instrumental and put it on social media under the hash tag #closedeyesproject

https://soundcloud.com/closed-eyes-project/closed-eyes-make-your-own-remix

Cox says that he chose the title “Closed Eyes” because too many people  have closed their eyes to the problems facing the young people on the Bully City streets. He hopes that his Closed Eyes project will make all of Durham’s citizens open their's.

For more information contact Marcus Cox at marcuscox@musician.org  or   919-283-9680

NWSF Bullet: Profiling Possibility or Paranoia ?

I got "the TRUTH Mobile" inspected today and was driving off the dealership lot when I noticed that some knucklehead, who was probably in a hurry to go Christmas shopping, forgot to put my inspection decal back on the windshield.

I did a Dukes of Hazzard U-turn in the middle in the street and made a beeline to the service attendant.

"Yo, dude. Ya'll forgot my sticker," I said thinking about the extra minutes I would have to waste on a Saturday morning.

The attendant informed me that as of Nov.1, NC doesn't require inspection decals, anymore.

"So, instead of forkin' over the 30 dollars I just paid, I could have just yanked my old sticker off?"

Nope. All your inspection info is now in a data base tied to your license plate.

The repair dude had to spend 15 minutes convincing me that he was not just covering up for an absent minded coworker.

Finally, he gave me a copy of the new regulation and told me to keep it in my glove compartment. (Just in case.)

http://www.ncdot.org/dmv/vehicle_services/emissioninspection/nomoresticker/

My last question was, "Do the police know about this sudden change in regulation?"

He said that they "should" and I thanked him and drove off, slowly. Very, very slowly.

Most people will consider this real convenient. But for a black male, the implications are frightening. I mean, contrary to popular belief, racial profiling is still an issue.

Now, "5-0," will be running my license plates for no apparent reason, every time I venture into the section of town with the manicured lawns and the white picket fences. So much for probable cause.

I can see it now.

I'm rollin' down Country Club Road late one night and get pulled over by the cops.

"What seems to be the problem officer?"

"First, we noticed that you didn't have an inspection sticker and when we ran your tags...."

I rode home thinking about the "freed slaves" who had to carry around "freedom papers" back in the 1800's. Black folks have always had to have our paperwork in order.

Maybe, all those black history books that I read have made me paranoid.

But then I looked in my rear view mirror and noticed a police cruiser had been tailing me for the last couple of blocks...

NWSF Bullet: Police Release Report on "Myspace" Scandal

As you may remember about a month ago, there was quite a scandal involving some Durham cops and an alleged diss of President-elect Barack Obama. Apparently, some of Durham's finest, allegedly, put some nasty things about Obama on Myspace.

All across Durham, inquiring minds wanted to know what was said and who said it...

Well, today the Durham Po Po came clean with the "official" results of "their" investigation.

http://www.durhampolice.com/news/pdf/081212_1.pdf

Now, we still don't know "who" but it seems we now know part of the "what." (I guess.)

If you remember WTVD broke a story back on 11/12 that started with the headline:

"The Durham Police Department is investigating whether its own officers posted racially charged remarks about President Elect Barack Obama. "

http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&id=6500831

The story said that "two" officers were under investigation for allegedly putting the messages on Myspace.

According to the "official" police statement, there were three officers under investigation and it wasn't "Myspace" but Facebook.

Or at least the Facebook page is the one that is talked about in the report.

Is the public getting the real deal or just a sanitized version of what could have been a PR disaster ?

The world may never know unless one of the City Council folks raises the question or WTVD tries to redeem itself by posing some real tough questions, tomorrow.

Now, according to the police department's release, come to find out there was nothing racist about Obama at all on at least one of the "Facebook" pages...

According to the release, some of the statements on the page "included" something about the officer preparing for his "2nd dan " and realizing "that's what we get for passing the 14th amendment." He later said that he meant the "19th amendment" not the 14th.

So, he was dissing women voters not black folks...

(And all this time ya'll thought they had called Obama the N word.)

Excuse the scepticism but NWSF wants to know if that is all there was to it, then why all the hush hush ? Wouldn't it have been easier just to post the Facebook page on the police department's website a month ago and let that have been the end of it?

Also, is there an original "Myspace" page showing Obama in a monkey costume floating out in cyberspace, somewhere ?

I mean, Myspace, Facebook, Bebo they're all the same to me...But for professional journalists who get paid the big bucks to fact check, well....

I wonder if the outcome would have turned out differently if the City Council would have held its own investigation instead of letting the fox guard the hen house?

Oh well, shotty journalism by the media or a good spin job by the police department ?

You be the judge.