By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | In pictures and words in Western society, we understand justice to be blind, meted without favor to rich or poor, powerful or powerless, famous or average Joe.
“Justice for all,” we recite in the Pledge of Allegiance. The concept of equal justice is a foundation of American jurisprudence. Everyone is supposed to be treated the same in the eyes of the law if they run afoul of it.
CHARLESTON, S.C., June 18, 2015 — As I headed to bed Wednesday night, a white gunman shot and killed nine people in an historic black church in the center of town just four blocks from where I used to live. Unaware of the evil, sleep came quickly.
But in the wee hours, the ping of a text from an Australian colleague woke me. I didn’t want to read it and tried to go back to sleep. But after tossing and turning, I read the text, only to learn the heart-wrenching news about what was going on a few miles away. I was dazed. Several instant reactions percolated and struggled to the surface:
By Andy Brack | North Charleston, the state’s third largest city, has never been an easy place in which to live. With large pockets of poverty and schools that face inner-city conflicts not found in suburbs, daily life — even today — can be a struggle.
Back in the late 1980s as a police reporter, I headed to North Charleston often to find out what was happening. The police culture was insular, tough and tight-lipped. There was a particular way of doing things in North Charleston and often, it seemed, it involved knocking heads.
In 2006 and 2007, a total of 54 people were murdered or killed in North Charleston, which led to the city being named one of the nation’s most dangerous.
We Can Do Better, South Carolina! (2019) by editor and publisher Andy Brack offers incisive commentaries on the American South, politics, the common good and interesting South Carolina leaders. Available exclusively for Kindle for $7.99. A paperback version will be ready soon. Learn more.
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