Thornton: Tells 911 Of Racist Work Place

Omar Thornton, 34, The emergency call confirmed suggestions from his relatives and girlfriend that he believed he was avenging racist treatment in the workplace.


"You probably want to know the reason why I shot this place up," he said, his voice steady. "This place is a racist place. They're treating me bad over here. And treat all other black employees bad over here, too. So I took it to my own hands and handled the problem. I wish I could have got more of the people."



Connecticut State Police released the audio of the four-minute emergency call on Thursday, the day company and union officials rebutted suggestions that the company had ignored Thornton's complaints of racism.



Is Hartford Distributors Racist?

According to Thornton; these people were racist from day one!
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Hartford Distributors president Ross Hollander said there was no record to support claims of "racial insensitivity" made through the company's anti-harassment policy, the union grievance process or state and federal agencies.


'Ugly allegations'

"Nonetheless, these ugly allegations have been raised and the company will cooperate with any investigation," Hollander said.



Sankofa*

In my opinion, The Black Community should boycott Budweiser Brewery, as well as the union leader, for ignoring his complaint about racism at his place of work.

The Black communities should stop buying their products, as a show of unity.

Many of us don't realize how stressful it is, to be the only Black in a company, surrounded by racist vibes, at the work place. Racism can be felted, and seen by the actions of those who want it to be known.



The idea that Thornton's motive may not have been retaliation for losing his job has not sat well with many of the people who knew the victims.



This is obscured, We all could plainly see, a frustrated hard working "Black Man", trying to cope with the racist attitudes, he had to deal with, day to day.

When the report first broke, they were saying they asked him to resign, later they say he was fired. In my view we have to weigh in and sift out the truth for ourselves.

When I first heard of him shooting his union representative, I thought, why? But later understood, he ignored Thornton's complaints, now he was there for the termination. I could just imagine what was going on in his head.

Although, seeing this tragedy, we feel for the families, but had not Thornton's complaint been ignored, maybe this tragedy wouldn't have took place.


Thornton's ex-girlfriend, Jessica Anne Brocuglio, told The Associated Press on Thursday that he had a history of racial problems with co-workers at other jobs and believed he was denied pay raises because of his race.

She said he told her: "I'm sick of having to quit jobs and get another job because they can't accept me."


Thornton's girlfriend of the past eight years, Kristi Hannah, said he showed her cell phone photos of racist graffiti in the bathroom at the beer company and overheard managers using a racial epithet in reference to him. Police said they recovered the phone and forensics experts would examine it.


Thornton complained about nooses being hung in the bathroom at work. High level managers doing the deed. Although, they are saying they have minorities working for them, I feel they would be afraid to admit any wrong doing, in fear of retribution.


BOTTOM LINE............

We really need to deal with the issue of Racism in the US.

Wyclef Jean Runs For President Of Haiti

Wyclef Jean Hip-hop star Wyclef Jean is running for president of his native Haiti after officially filing election papers confirming his candidacy on Thursday.

The Fugees rapper ended weeks of speculation when he jetted into the country on Thursday morning and headed straight to the electoral council office in the capital Port-Au-Prince to lodge the documents, according to the AFP.

Jean, who had earlier stepped down as head of his Yele Haiti charity, was accompanied by his wife Marie Claudinette and their adopted daughter, Angelina.

The star revealed his race for presidency was driven by "the people of Haiti", who are still dealing with the aftermath of January's devastating earthquake - and he's hoping to tackle issues including education and infrastructure if he's elected.

But Jean admits the rebuilding of the impoverished Caribbean nation "is going to take 25 to 30 years."

He tells the Wall Street Journal, "I always say that Wyclef Jean is not running for the presidency of Haiti, I'm being drafted by the people of Haiti.

"My whole life since I was a kid, the country has had political turmoil. The reason why is that there's never been one person who can unite all parties and get them to work together.

"I think there are issues we can start tackling - the education, the literacy problem, the job creation problem, the agricultural component. The idea that if everything is being imported how do we get our export back.

"These are some of the things that I feel we can start tackling. And when I say job creation, the infrastructure, the reconstruction of Haiti, should not only (involve) international contractors, but there should be local Haitian contractors too."

Jean is expected to join revered newsman Larry King on his CNN show tonight to give his first official interview as a candidate in the Haitian presidential elections.