News from Grits

I see that my friend Rev. Alan Bean will be guest-blogging in Scott Henson's Grits for Breakfast during the Tom Coleman trial in Tulia. Alan has been closely involved with the Tulia fiasco from the start. He and his father-in-law, Rev. Charles Kikker, formed Friends of Justice in response to the arrests of a group of Tulia residents which occured as a result of false information on the part of Coleman.

I remember reading about the Tulia busts in the Austin Chronicle way back in 1999. At that time, I thought to myself, "That sounds just like Palestine!" Back when I lived in East Texas, about every six months or so there would be an article in the newspaper about a cops rounding up a few dozen black folks on drug charges. Come to find out, Tulia WAS just like Palestine, and Hearne, and scores of other small Texas towns where local narcotic task forces arrest a group of people who are not likely to be able to afford lawyers and use these arrest numbers to ensure that they'll get more federal grant money for the next year.

Anyway, the worm has finally turned and the chickens have come home to roost. The lying scum bag (or as Scott calls him -- "gypsy cop") Tom Coleman will now answer for his sins. And Alan Bean will be posting the blow-by-blow on the Grits site.

On a personal note, I'm happy to see that Scott has a link to the Tea Pad on his page.