A school board member's home is bombed in Milwaukee

A school board member's home is bombed in Milwaukee

Sunday, September 20, 2009 at 11:30pm Isthmus Newspaper
Madison, Wisconsin

January 10, 1997

A Shameful Silence
Charles J. Sykes

A school board member's home is bombed in Milwaukee, and no one is
outraged.

We don't know for sure whether the firebombing of Milwaukee School Board
member Leon Todd's house in late December had anything to do with his
opposition to Afrocentrism. Even without the political implications,
the firebombing marked a dramatic act of violence against one of the
city's most prominent black elected officials.

So far, police haven't made any arrests, and Todd, who has been pushing
a resolution to ban the teaching of Afrocentrism in the city's schools,
cautions against rushing to any conclusions.

None of that has stopped former Ald. Michael McGee, who went on his
radio talk show two days after the bombing to applaud the attack and
warn Todd that if he "were smart, he'd get his butt out of the black
community."

"My wholehearted congratulations," McGee broadcast, "to the
guerrilla who issued a little warning shot to Todd. I know where it
came from." Describing the thugs(s) who tossed the Molotov cocktail,
which caused about $1,000 in damage, McGee said, "They are the kind of
people I would like to pin a medal of honor on."

McGee also made it clear that the firebombing may just have been the
beginning. "Its a warning," he said on his program, broadcast on
WNOV-AM. "Next time, there ain‚t going to be no warning shot."

I should make it clear that I am not a fan of Leon Todd. But it is
difficult to name another elected official who has been subjected to
more abuse than him. His crime is his opposition to a curricular fad
that Todd claims "mythologizes and falsifies the past and provides
inaccurate information."

Seldom one to mince words, Todd calls Afrocentrism "racist
pseudo-science" which aims to raise children's self-esteem, but which
contributes to widening gaps between inner-city black children and white
middle-class youngsters.

"I am concerned about the fact that we are running a dual school
system once again," he says. "One system for poor blacks, and another
for middle-class children."

At one Milwaukee school that embraces Afrocentrism, curriculum materials
flatly declare that Aristotle stole most of his ideas from Africans.
Children are also taught that Africans discovered America 3,000 years
before Columbus. Some Afrocentric courses teach children that black
Egyptians had learned to fly, using gliders for both business and
pleasure.

For Todd, all of this is cant, pure and simple. But, as he has
discovered, these matters are not about history or facts, but about
politics and inflamed emotions. He found himself at the center of what
is becoming, quite literally, a firestorm of vilification. For weeks
before the firebombing, Todd was labeled an "Uncle Tom" at public
hearings, called a traitor, and warned that opponents would "get him."

As the debate mounted in intensity, several things became clear:
There was remarkably little tolerance within the black community for
dissent, intimidation and slander could be used against anyone who broke
ranks, racial slurs and race baiting could be used with impunity, and
liberals (who profess to be troubled by the state of civility in our
society) would not lift a finger for the victim.

Few expected, however, it would go as far as it did. But the real
shock was not the bombing of Todd's house. The real shock was what came
afterward. And what did not.

Imagine for a moment that a prominent black official pushing for civil
rights was the victim of a firebombing, and that white racists went on
the air to applaud the burning. Imagine further that prominent members
of the radical right threaten the uppity official to shut up or get out
of town.

One would hope that both the hate crime and the hate speech would be
met by a howl of outrage ˜ from the black community certainly, but also
from the community as a whole, the churches, the civil rights community,
and the media.

But in Milwaukee, a prominent black official was attacked, the
bombing applauded, his life threatened, and the response has been . . .
. silence. No protests from the community or the churches. No
candlelight vigils, no community forums. Media coverage has been tepid
to nonexistent.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, which originally reported McGee‚s
threats in a story on page 35, did not even editorialize about the
apparent incitement to violence for more than a week, and then in only
the most perfunctory way.

If Todd, as a black elected official, has any right at all to
independence of thought, no one is willing to stand up and say so.
So much for the celebration of diversity. The intolerance of
dissent has been paralleled by an almost limitless tolerance for
intimidation as long as it is black on black.

That silence has already sent an unmistakable message. When the
dispute over Ebonics made headlines, few black leaders were willing to
be associated with Todd's criticism of the notion that black English was
a legitimate dialect. Similarly, few leaders of the African American
community dare criticize the incompetence or corruption of Milwaukee's
Social Development Commission. White critics may say what they like,
but there are simply some things that you cannot say in Milwaukee
safely, if you are black.

In Milwaukee, everyone pretends that none of this is happening.
That way, we can keep looking the other way, hope that nothing worse
happens to Leon Todd, and try not to be ashamed.

============================================================

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

McGee applauds firebombing
He claims knowledge of attack on Todd's home

by MEG KISSINGER, Jessica McBride of the Journal Sentinel staff
Journal Sentinel staff

December 21, 1996
Edition: Final
Section: B News
Length: 484 words
Record Number: MWS96122101929

Former alderman Michael McGee said Friday that he knew where the fire-bombing of Milwaukee School Board member Leon Todd's home "came from," and he congratulated those responsible for their work

"They are the kind of people I would like to pin a medal of honor on," McGee said on "The Word Warriors," his radio show on WNOV-AM (860)

McGee and his radio show partner, Teju Ologboni, began their show by talking about Wednesday night's firebombing


The Molotov cocktail, thrown around 11 pm at the front door of Todd's home in the 3400 block of N 47th St, caused $1,000 damage No one was injured and police have no suspects in custody

Todd has been at the center of a controversy over his proposal to ban the teaching of Afrocentrism in Milwaukee Public Schools But he said Thursday night the incident didn't necessarily have anything to do with that

On Friday, McGee said: "My whole-hearted congratulations to the guerrilla who issued a little warning shot to Todd I know where it came from"

Later in the program, McGee said he was glad that the person who threw the firebomb took his advice and wore rubber gloves so that the police could not trace it

"You listened to me when I told you, `Always wear rubber gloves and wipe down your device so there can't be no trace' Just a little tip," he said

McGee told his listeners that the firebombing "needed to be done"

"It's a warning," said McGee "Next time, there ain't going to be no warning shot"

He added that if Todd "were smart, he'd get his butt out of the black community"

Police Sgt Anna Ruzinski, public information officer, said she had informed detectives about McGee's remarks Friday afternoon but did not know whether detectives plan to interview McGee

Ruzinski said Friday afternoon that there were no suspects and "no new leads" in the firebombing of Todd's home

Todd was unavailable for comment on McGee's remarks

Ruzinski said she was aware of no connection between the device used in the Todd firebombing and Molotov cocktails tossed against the Korean-owned Beauty Island, 5241 W Fond du Lac Ave, last spring

McGee had made remarks on his radio show concerning protests at the beauty supply shop, including instructions on how to build a Molotov cocktail There were at least three small arson fires at Beauty Island last spring, the target of a yearlong protest by some members of the African-American community

One of those fires broke out just days after McGee warned of further reprisals against the beauty supply store

Caption:
Photo 1
Todd
Photo 2
McGee

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Resolved: That in 1997, they'll get it right

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

January 1, 1997

The start of a new year prompts many people to make resolutions: to lose
weight, to quit smoking, to spend more quality time with the kids, whatever.
Private citizens generally know what's best for themselves, but people in
the public eye, in their ceaseless quest to do better by those who look up
to them, may need some friendly, practical advice. Herewith, then, are
suggested New Year's resolutions for some more-or-less famous men and women:

..............

Michael McGee: to procure a very large megaphone -- not to more loudly
broadcast your goofy ideas, but to harmlessly dissipate all the hot air and
blather you generate, like the praise you offered to whoever firebombed the
home of School Board member Leon Todd.

..............

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Lighting a fire under a few explosive issues

McCann Online
Dennis McCann
April 30, 1997

Act III, after which I will bow if you applaud.

You can call it curious that Mayor John "Casey Jones" Norquist would court his old enemy, Michael McGee, to advance the cause of light rail, but I call it brilliant strategy.

When Norquist starts throwing burning tires on Waukesha County highways -- and in the mood he's in, don't bet against it -- McGee will get all the blame.

Bow. Hey, come on. http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=168568074615