Black and Shot in the Back - Achingly Familiar Brutality

Another young, unarmed black man has been shot and killed by a police officer. Early New Year's Day in Oakland, Oscar Grant, a 22 year old father, held his hands up and pleaded with the arresting officers not to hurt him because he had a daughter. But once he had been wrestled down to the ground, with one officer's knee in Grant's neck area, a second officer stepped back, took out his gun and shot Oscar Grant the back. And then Oscar Grant was handcuffed. And then Oscar Grant died.

Thank God it was all caught on tape. Several people knew they had better get it all on tape and used their mobile phones to do just that. Because lord knows that the eyewitness testimony of the dozens of people who witnessed this repugnant coward's act could be discounted and distorted. And it's kind of funny that BART authorities quickly told the public that their security cameras had not captured "a complete" sequence of the incident. But this was before anyone knew about the cellphone tapes.

Now, says BART's representative, they are investigating everything piece by piece. Does this all sound achingly familiar to you? It should.I was a new producer at the LA affiliate when ABC News obtained footage of the Rodney King beating.

That first time, as I watched the stark, moody, horrifying images of billy clubs raining down on Rodney King, my sadness and rage were peppered with a pinch of fear. That quiet, and on most days imperceptible current that many of us "successful" black folks ignore as often as we usually can. It's a fear that at any time, doing anything, my life is worth less than a white person's and therefore may be taken more easily than a white person's and with less repercussion. It's also the fear that because of assumptions about me, because of the color of my skin, that some of the "good guys" won't be good for me.

Leaving A Family Legacy

Will & Jada Smith have no problems with their children following in their footsteps in Hollywood.

Charley Gallay, WireImage

Willow & Jaden have both been cast into their father's movies.

Getty Images

Phillippi Sparks' son might not have carried on the family football tradition of the NFL cornerback. But his daughter found success in another field.

Stan Honda, Getty Images

Jordin Sparks, the winner of the sixth season of American Idol and sang the "National Anthem" for the Super Bowl XLII, which made he dad very proud.

Mark Mainz, FOX / AP

Actor Alan Thicke passed on his good looks to his son, but not the acting gene.

Michael Buckner, Getty Images

While Grammy Award winning singer Robin Thicke does acting on occasion, he actually carries on the legacy of his singer mother Gloria Loring, who co-wrote the theme songs to "Diff'rent Strokes" and "The Facts of Life" with his father.

Retna

A name as cool asCuba Gooding has to be passed down through generations. The elder Cuba Gooding, the lead singer of the soul group The Main Ingredient, has passed on his legacy of entertaining to his two sons.

Michael Ochs Archives, Getty Images

In Cuba Gooding, Jr. movie "Radio," there is a scene where he is listening to The Main Ingredient. He's pictured here with his brother Omar.

Gregg DeGuire, WireImage

Basil Patterson a labor lawyer and longtime political leader in New York and Harlem passed the torch to his son, the 55th Governor of New York.

Chris Hondros, Getty Images

Before becoming Governor, David Patterson represented the same Harlem district in the State Senate that his father did.

Spencer Platt, Getty Images

"F- tha Police"

I'm a law and order kind of gal. I believe that thieves, thugs and other miscreant bullies suck the lifeblood out of neighborhoods, stripping them of all hope of true community. So back in early '90 when I first arrived in Los Angeles from New York, I didn't understand what NWA and Ice T were talking about. I mean, "what was their problem?" And then, as an adventurous producer, I violated the rule that my friends who lived on the affluent Westside warned me about: "never go east of Western or south of Pico." If you are a Los Angeleno you will understand this, if not, well you can imagine.

On my first shoot down in "tha' hood" I watched with my mouth gaping open as two uniformed LAPD officers, in a black and white patrol car, slowly rolled up Crenshaw Blvd. And when they spotted a very elderly black woman shuffling her way across the four lanes, they suddenly burst into an extreme acceleration heading straight for this barely mobile pedestrian, only to then slam on their breaks stopping just about 12 inches from her body if that. They did this just to taunt her. The cops then laughed uproariously and burned rubber accelerating around her to proceed on their way. They did this as I, along with a sound man, a camera man and a local anchor stood off to the side preparing to shoot a stand up for the piece I was producing. It happened so fast that we couldn't catch it on camera. But in any case the officers didn't care. I wish I could forget what I saw, but it changed me - shaped me. It haunts me, ever lingering in my reactions and perceptions.

Another time, I was rear ended by a young white kid. It was broad daylight. I was a practicing Buddhist at the time and I was on my way to chant. I stopped for a pedestrian crossing the street and whammo. I was heading West, over to prayers, directly from work so I was well dressed and driving my brand new Nissan 240sx convertible. The disheveled young man who ran into me was driving a beat up, old, rusting Volkswagen Rabbit. When the white officer arrived to take the report, he walked around my car, looked at both of us and then turned to me and asked me, "So, what are you doing in this neighborhood?" And do you know what burns? You know what makes me cry right now? What sickens me is that I answered him because I felt afraid.

So when I watch Oscar Grant sitting on the floor with his hands up, begging for his safety, I understand. And I am nauseated.

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**UPDATE:** Still another unarmed, young black gunned down by a police officer. The young man was in the driveway of his own home.

BELLAIRE, Texas - A police officer shot a former professional baseball player's son outside of a Bellaire home early Wednesday, KPRC Local 2 reported.

Anthony Cooper said a Bellaire police officer approached him and his brother, Robert Tolan, in their driveway on Woodstock Street near Evergreen Street in Bellaire at about 2 a.m., after they returned home from a fast-food restaurant.

"We didn't know it was a police officer at all until he turned on his light, his flashlight, and had a gun," Cooper said. "They didn't even ask us any questions."

Cooper, 20, said the officer told them to get down on the ground.

"We were going into the house and our parents came outside," Cooper said. "Our parents said, 'What's going on?' They didn't say anything to us but, 'Get down on the ground.' They said, 'Well, it's a stolen vehicle, ma'am.' She's (the mother) like, 'What stolen vehicle? That's his vehicle.'"

"The vehicle was later determined not to be stolen," Assistant Police Chief Byron Holloway said. "The license plate was run, but exactly why they believe it was stolen ... just don't have the information to make a comment on it."

Cooper said the officer harassed Tolan's mother. Cooper said that when Tolan yelled at the officer, the officer shot him in the chest. Source