https://www.shelbystar.com/story/news/2021/05/24/rev-elaine-ollemi-and-pastor-billy-houze-share-thoughts-policing/5179937001/
Letter to Editor (Shelby Star):
Over the past five years, Cleveland County has seen a tremendous increase in teen shootings within the low-income and minority community. Can anyone name any one of those shootings in the past five years involving the police shooting of an innocent person? I will wait…
So why are our local black leaders in the recent Shelby Stars article “Local activist call for police accountability” calling for police accountability and not community accountability? And why the radio silence by our black leaders within the minority community in Cleveland County when we have seen killings of young blacks by young blacks, shootings of innocent bystanders like with the 8-month-old girl shot in the lungs during a drive-by shooting in Shelby, or the 2-year-old boy shot in the stomach in a drive-by-shooting just steps from First Baptist Church in Lawndale or the two shootings that happened within minutes of each other on Fredrick St. and Lenoir Dr. Where both shootings were just a stone’s throw from a black Shelby City Council Member’s house that resulted in three people shot and an 18-year-old young black man being killed? All these shootings have taken place over the past year.
The topic of police accountability should be a topic of discussion, but the most pressing issue in Cleveland County that needs to be addressed right now is what is being done to give our kids in the community something better to do than to shoot each other. That is not the responsibility of the police, that is the responsibility of the community leaders.
Willie A. Green, Sr.
In our opinion, Mr. Willie Green is spot-on with this letter. And, you would think the Shelby Star would immediately print Willie’s letter. But, NOOOoooo!!! I went to the Lawndale library this afternoon to check the Shelby Star’s for Willie’s letter. And found none. What I did find was interesting.
Yesterday’s Shelby Star (May 27th) front page had an article Parents Accused of shooting toddler. The two-year old boy from Lawndale that was shot in the stomach was apparently shot by one of his parents, who then faked a drive-by shooting. Sheriff Alan Norman and his crew solved this one quickly. The daddy is under $150,000 bond and the mother is under a $100,000 bond. The daddy’s bond is higher because he is also charged with possession of a firearm by a felon.
I reckon I owe the gangs of Shelby an apology for speculating they had travelled to Lawndale and fired that shot. I am glad I was wrong on that one. That means the gangs of Shelby are still in Shelby. Still shooting one another instead of exporting their violence, tales of racial tension, protests and activist narratives.
And Mr. Willie Green’s letter is even more to the point. This Lawndale shooting and the others mentioned that are actually in Shelby are community problems. NOT law enforcement problems. At least not until the finger on the trigger actually pulls that trigger when the gun is pointed toward somebody else.
But I learned more on my trip to the Library than just that.
Tales of racial tension, protests and activism have filled the Shelby Star for the past five days in a row. Maybe more as I only checked the past five days. Most of those tales in the Star were from somewhere else. Graham, Greensboro and other places. It is like the Shelby Star is intentionally fomenting racial hatred and conflict here in Cleveland County and Shelby for some specific and evil purpose. Stories about KKK activity and such. Going back 42 years and more.
One article in particular caught my eye. The article mentioned the KKK’s conflict with the Communist Worker’s Party in Greensboro back in 1979. Five people were killed by the Klan in that conflict. What the article accidently forgot to say, was that four of the Communists that the KKK killed were white and one black woman communist caught in the melee.
A mostly white-on-white shooting, and the Communists were attacking the KKK. A Guilford County jury acquitted the KKK of all charges. Same with the following Civil Rights lawsuits.
There is more.
“One headline article in the Shelby Star (May 24th) was titled “Charlottesville is coming Here.” The article itself did not indicate anything about how anything about Charlottesville, Va. was coming to Cleveland County or Shelby, N.C. A “fake news” tactic all the way. Establish a phony narrative and depend on unsophisticated readers to not know the difference.
A May 25th Front Page article was titled “In Graham, events of the past year continue.” A big long article about racial strife, protest and confrontation. A subtitle for that article was “Activists of both sides of racial justice fight remain in action of the same tactics.” More of the same dirty tricks. Ask yourself, Is “racial” justice for a few preferable to the “same” justice for everybody?
The May 27th Front page article was titled “Parents accused of shooting toddler.”
All this on top of the Sunday, May 23rd Star article titled “Local activists call for police accountability.” which was the subject of Willie Green’s Letter to the Editor. Which, once again, the Star has not printed and may not print Mr. Green’s letter until they read this article, which tells the tale on the Shelby Daily Liar.
Now, let’s go back to that May 23rd Star Article and Mr. Green’s Letter to the Editor.
Just like Mr. Green stated in his letter, why would the Shelby Star question the “accountability” of the local law enforcement agencies; the Sheriff’s Office and the Shelby Police? And only include and quote Rev. Billy Houze, Pastor of the Lawndale Baptist Church and the Cleveland County NAACP President Rev. Elaine Ollemi? And, then not talk about responsibility and accountability as related to law enforcement???
Of course, Police and Sheriff’s Offices must be held accountable. But accountable for WHAT? Arresting criminals-YES! Keeping jails in proper order?-YES! Serving legal papers?-YES! Protecting and serving the public?-YES! Babysitting delinquent children?-NO!!! Being a good role model?-Yes! Being responsible or accountable for raising good children when the parents or their community won’t or don’t?-No!! Being Social workers? -Not no, but HELL NO!!!
Of course, Rev. Houze and Rev. Ollemi had some good points. Police brutality should not be over-looked!! Ever! Is qualified immunity for police used to hide bad acts?-Yes it is!!! But qualified immunity also protects bad politicians in elected offices. Houze and Ollemi and others seemed to forget that. Also, most other Black Ministers seem to forget that too. Ask about why the Black community doesn’t or won’t support Mr. Willie Green’s efforts to build a Sports Complex or high-end Condos in Shelby. All you get are the ”sounds of silence” when that subject comes up. The talk goes on and on that Law Enforcement is accountable for everything and the “Community” is accountable for nothing.
A perfect example of that was when Ollemi says “The first thing we need to do is return to human decency. We need to go back to the original laws of God. We have completely lost our moral compass. Before we can move forward, we must acknowledge the history of America and what has gotten us to this point.”
Of course, Rev. Ollemi is right about this losing of our moral compass. But who is accountable for that? Who is responsible for getting us back on the right track? Certainly not the police. Didn’t we learn from Nazi Germany about the Gestapo and the killing of 6,000,000 Jews who had lost “their” moral compass (according to the Nazis) and were exterminated for it. WE certainly don’t want that kind of responsibility and accountability for any one governmental agency in America and in the twenty first century.
I agree 100% with Mr. Willie Green that the “community” and especially people with Rev. before their names are responsible for that. Starting immediately!!!
A good ending point for this article would be right now, with that said. However, what is the Shelby Star up to with all their stirrings up of racial division, hatred and protest in the past five days. A better question is who might be putting the Shelby Star and the other media in NC and the USA up to and what they are doing?? Some would say it’s the Democrats. Others would say it’s Russia, China, North Korea and Iran. Whoever it is, I would say they are doing a good job at it.
I would also say that it is the Community, consisting of me and you and You and You are responsible for fighting the evil and deception going on in Cleveland County , North Carolina, the USA and the world and are responsible for educating ourselves to the truth of the matter and not allowing ourselves to be taken in by all the deception. I am a part of the “Community” and so are YOU. It is OUR responsibility and accountability to learn the truth of the matter and change what needs changing. Do you hear that School Board??? Do you hear that County Commissioners and Cleveland Community College??? The Community is responsible and accountable for the task at hand and I am not about to run from it!!! Mr. Willie Green either!!! But, What about YOU???