IS THIS PAER PC ENOUGH FOR YOU?
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NEWS INSIGHT
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Was Ron Brown murdered or simply another conspiracy spin?
by Earl Ofari Hutchinson
Special to USAfrica The Newspaper and USAfricaonline.com
A statement by an Air Force pathologist that a mark at the base of Commerce Secretary Ron Brown s skull resembled a gunshot wound has touched off conspiracy jitters among some blacks. Black leaders such as Maxine Waters, chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, and Kweisi Mfume, NAACP head, immediately demanded a federal probe of Brown s death. These leaders apparently give some credence to the shop worn belief among conspiracy theorists that Brown s death is part of an on-going plot to wipe out black leaders.
The Air Force insisted that there was no evidence of foul play in Brown s death and Attorney General Janet Reno said the Justice Department has no plans to investigate the claim that Brown was murdered. There is as yet no hard evidence that Brown s tragic death in a plane crash in Croatia in April, 1996 was anything more than an accident.
But Brown is a especially inviting for conspiracy theorists to wave as evidence that black leaders are systematically being murdered. In the days after his death Clinton and legions of political leaders called Brown a talented, self-less, dedicated public servant who rose to the pinnacle of power and success through hard work and dedication. But many of the same individuals that praised Brown after his death denounced him as a crook and demanded that Clinton fire him and a grand jury indict him when he was alive.
When partisan Republicans accused Brown of financial improprieties, Attorney General Janet Reno immediately appointed Miami lawyer, David Pearson as independent special counsel to probe his political and financial dealings. The investigation was relentless and wide-ranging. The press gleefully pawned off every bit of gossip, innuendo, and rumor about Brown's alleged shady dealings as fact. He was accused of reaping huge profits from the Belle Haven Apartments in Prince Georges County, Maryland. They claimed that the owners had deliberately neglected repairs to cut costs and increase profits. He was accused of being an influence peddler for using his office to snare lucrative contracts with the Public Employees Benefit Services Corporation. He was accused of using insider trader information to bag profits from stocks in the Corridor Broadcasting Corporation. He was accused of failing to disclose a mortgage loan. He was accused of buttonholing a friend to pay off his personal debts. Brown denied the allegations. Investigators to date publicly have found no concrete evidence of any criminal wrongdoing by Brown, or that he misused his office for personal gain. The conspiracy theorists believe that Brown was targeted by the political right because he was a highly skilled administrator and a talented political and business leader.
He made a major effort to increase job and promotion opportunities for minorities and women within the Commerce Department. He increased government funds and programs for minority businesses and economic development projects in local communities. He was a solid and effective role model of success and achievement for African-Americans. And most importantly he would have been a key player again in Clinton s reelection bid. But the odds were overwhelming that Clinton would have been reelected anyway, with or without Brown. Also the scandal ridden Brown was a political liability and there was the real possibility that Clinton would have asked for his resignation after his reelection. There was no need to physically eliminate him and the thirty-four others that died with him on the plane to hurt Clinton.
The search by some African-Americans for a conspiracy behind the death of every black leader makes African-Americans look silly, erodes the credibility of black leaders, and detracts from the battle against crime, drugs, gangs, poverty, the assault on affirmative action, and the gaping racial disparities in the criminal justice system. And there s no mystery about the damaging consequences of these ills on blacks.
Dr. Earl Ofari Hutchinson, prolific writer on public policy issues, isthe author of The Assassination of the Black Male Image and the forthcoming The Crisis in Black and Black. (email:ehutchi344@aol.com). He contributes editorial opinion to USAfrica The Newspaper and usafricaonline.com
February, 1998
Provide a link from the mainstream media. Washington Weekly I've never heard of. What is it, an attack site trying to lie about the Clintons and make up conspiracy BS? |
