(Photo: Mike Segar/Reuters)

When I first heard of the Occupy Wall Street movement I thought to myself that it’s about time that people hold the greedy and selfish of Wall Street accountable. After all they are the ones who put this country into an economic freefall in the first place with its balloon mortgages and crazy gas prices… Go Occupy Wall Street!!!

Apparently I wasn’t the only one who felt in favor because across the country the movement grew. Now we have Occupy Columbia, Occupy Oakland, Occupy L.A., Occupy Chicago —even Occupy London. Name most states in the U.S. and a few major cities overseas and there is likely an Occupy movement going on as a cacophony of voices scream out “WE ARE THE 99 PERCENT”

I watched and reported on the Occupy Wall Street movement as I saw Zuccotti Park flooded with tents, people holding signs that brought awareness to the inequalities between the top 1% and the 99 percent. The park became a little community with volunteer medical assistance being provided as well as food. It was interesting to see but, after a month had gone by I also wanted to know what many people were asking: What are you actually demanding? What has to be done for the movement to stop? What’s the plan of action?

I never got a definitive answer when I interviewed  the people at the park, but I was told that the park was a cradle for liberty and that people from all over the world with various socio- and economic backgrounds would come to the park and discuss their grievances. The protesters made the park a microcosm of how they would like the United States to be, all people from all ethnicities working together for the greater good of humanity.

I understood once I saw this peaceful village in harmony without confusion. I imagined what the world could be like if it adopts the ideology of the Occupy Wall Street movement.

Sadly, that Utopian ideal for Zuccotti Park is over, because under the cover of darkness earlier this week, the police raided the park supposedly to “clean” it. The park was evacuated and the tents that have been the focus of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s ire have been confiscated and no sleeping in the park ban has been enacted. This raid came two days before the movement two month Anniversary.

Now, on the two-month anniversary of the movement, protesters faced off against police as they blocked traffic into New York City’s financial district. As the world watched, demonstrators were arrested and some were bloodied after encounters with police, but their resolve was strengthened as they chanted “ALL DAY, ALL WEEK, SHUT DOWN WALL STREET.

Let’s see what happens next!

Picture this:  You have one ambitious street pharmacist pursuing his venture in the inner city, and you have another cat from the suburbs with the same amount of product pursuing the same goals.

 Each of them is equally guilty of committing the same crime. But when they were convicted, one got 30 years and the other got five. Why? Because they were peddling different forms of cocaine. One was selling crack—which is just cocaine cooked with baking soda to create a purer form to smoke. The other was selling the powdered version.

 That’s the way it was, until November 1, 2011 when new federal sentencing guidelines took effect. The old rules penalized crack cocaine offenses much more severely—by one estimate, 100 times more harshly. For example if someone got caught with 10 grams of crack, he would be penalized as if he had 1000 grams of cocaine.

 This policy unfairly affected the Black population and seemed racially motivated because a great number of crack-related crimes were committed by African-Americans, while whites were mainly convicted of powder cocaine offenses.

 Finally, after more than 20 years of uneven justice, Congress addressed the historic wrong. President Obama signed off, and now the crack versus cocaine punishment ratio is 18 to 1. I personally think it should be one-to-one,  but some progress is better than none.

 A government panel announced in June that the new guidelines would be implemented retroactively, so a lot of people will have their sentences reduced or be released from federal prisons. On Nov. 1, the day the new rules went into effect, 526 federal prisoners were released.  Approximately 12,000 inmates are expected to benefit.

 It’s about time!

(Photo: Family Photo)

I’ve been reporting people’s stories consistently for five years now, and when I come across a great success story I always compare it to my own life, to see what would have been different if I might have chosen another path or had made different decisions.

My latest success story is about a young lady name Autum Ashanté. She is 13 years old and has just started college. When I was 13 years old, I was in a juvenile detention center serving 18 months. Let’s explore the differences between our two lives that caused us to go down totally different paths.

I grew up in a very diverse community in Park Slope, Brooklyn until I was 8 years old. There, I attended a school where getting straight A’s was encouraged not only by the teaching staff, but by my peers as well. The competition was thick as we joyfully and willingly competed to get the best grades. Black, white, Asian, Latino — every ethnic and racial group you can possibly name was in it to win it.

Autum was homeschooled since the age of 5 by her single black father, who nurtured Autum’s talent for reading and writing poems. OK … so far we are on similar paths when it comes to the nurturing of our academic pursuits.

By the time I was 8, my parents couldn’t afford for us to stay in that part of town anymore, and we had to move to a less fortunate, more impoverished neighborhood in Brooklyn.

By the time Autum turned 8 years old her father Batin Ashanté was meeting with retired teachers and elders in his community to strategize on how to bring Autum up to college level by age 13.

When I entered the school system in my new neighborhood, the mentality about education was the polar opposite. If you were an A student you were considered a nerd and would most likely have to fight off a number of bullies and their sisters.

Autum never entered the public school system and was constantly around elders, with education being their primary focus.

I wanted to fit in so I dumbed myself down and developed a behavioral problem to fit in. It stopped me from being bullied but my academic potential wasn’t being fully nurtured. This was the turning point in my young life that later led to me dropping out of school and entering a detention center by age 13.

What would have happened to me if I had been homeschooled instead?  It is estimated that close to two million children are being educated outside of the traditional school structure and 10 percent of them are African-Americans. There are many reasons for this trend: to protect their children from the distractions and negative peer pressure that I experienced, for religious purposes, etc.

Autum Ashanté was homeschooled since the age of five by her single black father and took her SAT test when she was 12 years old. She is now 13 and a full-time college student. Her father Batin Ashanté had planned for her to be in college by the age of 13 since she was eight years old and says “things are right on schedule.” He believes that we shouldn’t be marginalized by standard academic tests according to age but should, instead, be evaluated by performance, which shatters all glass ceilings and expectations.

If things continue to go according to plan, she will be attending the Latin American School of Medicine in Cuba when she turns 16.

I wonder what turn my life would have taken if I’d continued to live in Park Slope, or if I were homeschooled.

(Photo: Family Photo)

They say if you aim for the stars you will at least land on the moon, and when it comes to academic achievement, a young star named  Autum Ashanté is now learning how to moonwalk.

Before Autum started attending Norwalk Community College in Norwalk, Connecticut, she had her heart set on going to the University of Connecticut.  She took the SAT aiming for a score of at least 1350 in hopes of attaining a full scholarship, but reportedly scored a 1260, which is still a big accomplishment for a 13-year-old.

After receiving her score, Autum’s father Batin Ashanté applied to the University of Connecticut on her behalf with the hopes of fulfilling her dream.  According to Batin, UConn accepted Autum and later rescinded her acceptance. Many media outlets covered this story, and a protest lead by a UConn Alumna, Josephine Minnow, followed.

BET.com reached out to UConn regarding her status and received this email statement from the school’s media relations office:

“Autum Ashante applied to UConn and her application was not accepted. Nothing was rescinded.”

The general focus around this story has been, typically, the back-and-forth between the father and UCONN over whether Autum was ever admitted. Headlines such as “Did Dad Dupe Daily News About Autum Ashanté UConn Admission?” and  “13 Year-Old Bronx Girl Who Got Accepted to UConn, Gets Bitter Lesson as College Rescinds Offer” appeared in national news reports covering the story.

Many people ask me: Samson, what do you think about this? Do you think that something is funny with Batin’s story? Do you think that UConn is on some racial ish? Well, this is my reply to those questions. It’s not about the conflicting testimonies, it is all about Autum!

We’ve heard from everyone but her about this issue and now, finally, here’s what she has to say:

“The transition from me wanting to go to UConn and then coming here to NCC is a little disheartening, you know, because I had my heart set on something … you know, [a] big college because ‘we are going to do it big [at the] University of Connecticut.’ And then to have to go downgrade to a community college, it’s kind of painful. It’s a little … it hurts, it hurts. You know … it is what it is, this is life and I will move on. I will be fine [and] do what I need to do and then I can move on.”

All I wanted to do was go to Puerto Rico this weekend to chill in the sun and then Irene came through Sunday night to rain on my parade. How did she find me? Why would she want to ruin my weekend? What did I do to deserve this?

This hurricane traveled at 75 miles per hour and dropped as much as 10 inches of rain and inconvenienced a lot of folks throughout the Caribbean. It’s expected to be headed to the United States. Here in Puerto Rico power lines, store fronts and trees were knocked down leaving a lot of damage while affecting approximately one million people. The following day it was back to work as crews began to clean up the damage.

I was supposed to be in New York by now but like thousands of other folks my flight was canceled, leaving me unprepared for the extended stay. But I won’t complain I’m thankful to be safe.

(Photo: REUTERS/Rick Wilking/Landov)

There are diamonds hidden in the rough but to find those hidden jewels sometimes you have to keep a keen eye, a sharp ear and a closed mouth. It was rough growing up in Pink Houses Projects in East New York, Brooklyn, as well as the Brownsville projects in Brooklyn but I always listened to the OGs and found the hidden gems in their street proverbs. The gospel that sticks with me today after reading an article about Chicago’s wrongfully convicted is “never listen to what a man says always watch what he do”—excuse the grammar, but it is what it is in the hood.

In the state of Illinois, DNA evidence proved the innocence of 10 men who were convicted as teens. Many of them were convicted by confessions coerced by police and some had served more than 20 years behind bars thus far. You are presumed innocent until proven guilty is what the Constitution says which SUPPOSE TO represents the character of our country but, after these men were cleared of guilt by DNA evidence, why are they still sitting in jail? The constitution says one thing but the state of Illinois is doing another. “Never listen to what a man says always  watch what he do”  Check out this article by Color of Change.org about the wrongfully convicted in Chicago Illinois.

In contrast, Columbus, Ohio, prosecutor Ron O’Brien wasted no time in releasing Robert McClendon, who served 18 years for a rape that he didn’t commit, once DNA evidence proved his innocence. BET.com sat down with O’Brien and DNA experts to discuss how the process worked in Mr. McClendon’s case. Check it out and see our show in full” HELLO TRUTH” The Robert McClendon Story” on  Aug. 30.

Truth is when facts correspond with actual events. They say that the truth shall set you free but, when the truth of one man’s reality battles with the fiction of another and it’s up to man to determine the winner, the REAL TRUTH has a chance of losing.

Robert McClendon was found guilty by a judge trial and served almost two decades for a crime that he didn’t commit. Listen to Robert as he takes us back to that dark day in the courtroom.

Hello Truth, The Robert McClendon Story in full length is coming soon.

  I come from a place where there are many abandoned buildings, boarded-up windows, graffiti on walls that tell a story of gang affiliation, desperation and plain old ignorance. A place where smelling urine in the hallways and elevators is as common as breathing.

 My upbringing in East New York and Brownsville, Brooklyn, was like many others who grew up in poverty-stricken areas across our nation. It taught me to accept all means of survival, hence phrases like “you can’t knock the hustle,” “they doing what they have to do,” “you can’t tell that man how to eat” were commonplace. These phrases allowed for one to rationalize illegal activities, deeds that can even justify murder but, in this cruel environment where almost anything goes there is a crime that is never to be justified… RAPE!

 From main street to the hood, no society is fond of sexual predators. They receive stiff sentencing, attend sex-offender classes and must register as a sex-offender in the community that they wish to reside, alerting everyone in their neighborhood of their perverted obsessions. Where I come from a known rapist can end up on a milk carton without anyone uttering a word to authorities.

 There is strong ostracism and penalization that comes with being a sexual predator and that’s why I think that falsely accusing someone or to flatly fabricate rape should carry similar consequences.

 In Columbus, Ohio, a 10-year-old girl was allegedly abducted but, definitely raped on April 25, 1990. She pointed the finger at her biological father, Robert McClendon, as the accuser. Mr. McClendon went to trial and was found guilty by a judge and was sentenced to 15-years-to-life in prison.

 Robert served 18 years in prison and was exonerated in 2008 due to DNA evidence. It was not Mr. McClendon who committed the crime, but another family member.

 The issues of abuse, incest, lies and deceit drives the Robert McClendon story making it one filled with complexity and heart filled emotions. As an journalist it  inspired me to go down to Columbus to find out the real deal and get answers to questions like: Why would a girl blame her father for an assault that another family member committed? How did the legal system fail Mr. McClendon? Is the real perpetrator being prosecuted?

 I interviewed almost everyone involved with the case and now I can tell the story like it has never been told. 

 Stay on the lookout for Hello Truth: The Robert McClendon Story