There are problems in the Midtown area of St. Petersburg. In 1996, the St. Pete cops shot and killed Tyron Lewis after Lewis attempted to run down Officer James Knight. There was an existing warrant for Lewis’ arrest, and he was found with cocaine in his pocket. The International Peoples Democratic Uhuru Movement (InPDUM), along with its leader Omali Yeshitela, took to the streets in protest. This ignited two nights of rioting, looting, arson, and similar disobedience. InPDUM has a different version of events
Lewis’ family sued the city for wrongful death seeking $1.7 million in damages. In an earlier trial, Knight was cleared of criminal wrongdoing. Yeshitela suggested a settlement might prevent “the city going through a trauma.” Earlier today, a jury sided with the city of St. Pete, found the officer in the ’96 shooting did not act recklessly, and Lewis’ family is not owed any damages.
Since that episode in ‘96, St. Pete has promised economic development in Midtown, and the government has poured over $100 million into the area - $100,000,000.00. New schools and government offices have opened, and a grocery store is coming soon. Yet even with this, Yeshitela calls it “nothing.”
Less than two weeks ago, Marquell McCullough was shot to death by St. Pete police after he led them on a 20-block chase, and once cornered, tried to run them down with his truck. McCullogh was found to have 30 rocks of crack on his person. Yeshitela called it an assassination. There was a protest for this police shooting on Wednesday night, along with some Tyrone Lewis protesters, which again led to violence and looting. InPDUM claims it did not organize this protest, but refused to denounce the violence.
Mary Jo Malone wrote that Yeshitela does not have as much support as he would like you to believe. Lisa Williams, mother of the two children killed tragically on 22nd St. in Tampa in March wanted nothing to do with him. But Blogwood is convinced the InPDUM is an upstanding organization, and blames the unrest on the city, the cops, and the St. Pete Times:
one of their own high ranking officers says that the officer involved did not have to kill the kid.
Blogwood uses the opinion of an administrator who was not at the scene to condemn a cop who was in fear for his life. He goes on to say the police showing up may have caused the problems Wednesday night.
there may well have been no disturbance at all if not for the incendiary presence of the murderous police.
Then he piles on the St. Pete Times, denouncing their unflattering (but true) descriptions of InPDUM as “antipolice.” To find more flattering description he went to InPDUM’s own website, and posted their platform:
- 1. We Demand National Democratic Rights and Self-Determination for African People in the U.S. and Around the World.
- 2. We Demand Community Control of the Police in the African Community and the Immediate Withdrawal of the Terroristic Police and Military Forces from the African Community.
- 3. We Demand Community Control of the Schools and Mandatory African History in Public Schools.
- 4. We Demand African Community Control of Health Care.
- 5. We Demand Community Control of Housing.
- 6. We Demand the Removal of Parasitic Merchants and Slumlords from the African Community.
he then suggests, based on the above, that “pro-community” might be a better description.
Blogwood failed to post the rest of their platform which is:
- 7. We Demand an End to the Colonial Court and Prison Systems which have the Majority of African Men Incarcerated, on Probation or Parole, and the Immediate Release of all Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War.
- 8. We Demand an End to the Theft, Kidnapping, Sale, Abuse and Removal of African Children from their Communities under the Genocidal Foster Care System.
- 9. We Demand an End to the Political and Social Oppression and Economic Exploitation of African Women.
- 10. We Demand Reparations for African People.
- 11. We Demand a United nations Supervised Plebiscite to Determine the Will of the African Community in the U.S. as to their National Destiny.
- 12. We Demand an End to the Political Economy of the Counterinsurgency; the Parasitic Relationship that Benefits the White Population with Millions of Dollars for Jobs, Resources and a Stabilized Economy off of the U.S. Counterinsurgency (war) on African People in the U.S.
Sounds to me like “anti-American” might be apt.
All I know is this: Two drivers, eight years apart, each with illegal drugs were pulled over by the cops. Both criminals tried to elude police by attempting to kill them. Juries found the officer in ‘96 not at fault, and today the city not at fault (for Lewis). Had the two thugs simply given themselves up, they would both be alive today.
InPDUM says they do not encourage violence, but they declined to denounce Wednesday’s violence. Yeshitela and InPDUM were instrumental in effecting the changes in Midtown after 1996. Even though the methods were radical, a positive impact was felt in St. Pete. Sadly, Yeshitela fails to see the good he’s done, and insists on fighting the same battle he faced eight years ago. He’s divisive and confrontational, rude and opportunistic. Yeshitela is a very outspoken person, with some radical ideas for the African Community – unfortunately not the community at large. If he continues to use these same tactics, he will never have the respect of most people.
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