Trayvon Martin’s Friend, Rachel Jeantel, Offered Full Ride Scholarship from Tom Joyner

[kpete]

Tuesday morning on the Tom Joyner Morning Show, Joyner offered an olive branch to the embattled teen, offering her a possible full scholarship to any HBCU through the Tom Joyner Foundation.

Joyner proclaimed, “Hi Rachel, this is Tom Joyner, I love you, I really do love you”, Jeantel, shyly giggles before responding, “I know.”

But, Jeantel didn’t know how much she was loved because, Joyner was soon to dramatically change her life in a matter of minutes, saying, “If you want to graduate from high school, and go to an HBCU, even if it’s not in Florida but especially Florida, like Florida Memorial, Edward Waters or FAMU, if you want to do that, I want to help you do that.”

http://blackamericaweb.com/146558/trayvon-martins-friend-rachel-jeantel-offered-full-ride-scholarship-from-tom-joyner/#.UeVP6n_ag7M.twitter

[Little Star]

1. k&r

[femmocrat]

2. Nice story.

I hope she takes advantage of the opportunity.

[mountain grammy]

3. It just might be a silver lining in this whole mess..

for this young woman to rise above the oppression of racism in America.

[Spazito]

4. Wow, kudos to Tom Joyner!

and congrats to Rachel Jeantel, I hope she takes up his offer!

[BronxBoy]

5. Tom does a lot of this

He paid for Genarlow Wilsons education once he got out of jail on his BS charges. He graduated from Morehouse and I believe he is currently pursuing a masters degree.

Really like the fact that he also offered to pay for any support services she needs to get to that point such as tutoring, SAT help etc.

[Voice for Peace]

18. this made me so happy, I was hoping something like this would happen for her.

give her a chance.

[BronxBoy]

28. You know what would be a very sweet irony///

If in 10 years this young lady will have accomplished more in Zimmerman's 1st pathetic 30.

[Voice for Peace]

42. I was thinking the same thing.

And all those who view her with their pathetic little
judgements will ... ? I don't know how to finish
this sentence so I will leave it as is.

[Lucinda]

6. That's wonderful.

I hope she does it. ?

[FormalObserver]

7. Good

She needs it.

[protect our future]

8. I think she's a wonderful young woman.

No guile, no hypocrisy, amazingly truthful, says what she thinks, and gives us insight into Trayvon's character just because the two of them were so close. Thank you, Mr. Joyner.

[Bake]

11. She was the worst possible witness for the prosecution!

Combative. Whispering. Threatening not to come back.

If you want to list the reasons the prosecution lost the case, she's high on the list.

Bake

[Myrina]

12. So, because she was a 'bad witness' she doesn't deserve a shot at bettering herself?

I've worked in a domestic abuse shelter and a Victim/Witness program, and folks who feel that they aren't "part of" the system or grow up learning to avoid or fear 'the system' certainly aren't going to be willing participants in someone else's dog n' pony show.

She wasn't the most eloquent, to be sure, but she did her duty & testified. Can't ask more than that. And can't deny her a future because she didn't score the winning points for one team or the other.

[Bake]

14. My comments are about the case not the scholarship

She was a terrible witness. I think the prosecutors probably didn't prep her adequately, and that's their fault, but some of the best-prepped witnesses I've ever had we're the worst once they got on the stand.

She was awful for the prosecution.

Bake

[KT2000]

17. She was not!

Both sides destroyed her testimony. Did you see her on Piers Morgan? An entirely different person.
1. She was recovering from surgery for a sever under bite - bone surgery. She was unable to say certain words and likely did not feel comfortable speaking. Why didn't prosecutors bring that out>

2. She could have educated the jurors about the perspective of an African American teen-ager - in effect, speak for Trayvon. The prosecutors were too thick to even know that - to them all teen-agers must be the same. She was able to explain that to Piers Morgan and surely could have during the trial.

3. The prosecutors did not do one thing to stand up for her when she was being ridiculed by West. Hell - the judge was the only one keeping West somewhat in check while he was humiliating her.

4. She had not one friend among all the lawyers - it should have been the prosecutors. Instead they chose to really ignore her as a witness.

5. She had a contentious relationship with West as you may well imagine - I wonder why she did not appreciate his imperious, racist attitude?

On Morgan's show she showed a big personality, a sense of humor and dignity. It was not Rachel, it was an inept prosecution. What they all did to her was disgusting.

[heaven05]

19. you

stopped that in it's tracks. Wonder where bake went? Kudos!!!!

[Bake]

47. Bake's right here.

She was a terrible witness. You can argue that if you like, but as a lawyer, I can tell you she was awful. If she were my witness, I would have been wringing my hands. She didn't help AT ALL.

Bake

[heaven05]

49. whatever

you saaaay mr. lawyer sir!

[Starry Messenger]

24. +1

[Spazito]

27. Well said!

[noiretextatique]

33. thank you. when that idiot juror said she couldn't understand "her language"

i wish anderson cooper asked her who many languages she spoke. english is this young lady's FOURTH language.

[KT2000]

36. good point

B37 et. al could have been informed of that too!

[Bake]

48. That's great, but the jury doesn't give two shits about it.

Bake

[noiretextatique]

55. that's because the idiot prosecution didn't mention it...or

the fact that she'd had oral surgery shortly before testifying.

[REP]

51. Holy crap! I didn't know that! That's impressive!

I thought she showed very quick wit under extremely difficult and stressful conditions.

I wish her all the best - I'm sure she'll do very well.

[protect our future]

39. KT, thanks for your excellent post.

[BronxBoy]

23. Wow....

This was a positive thread about someone's attempt to help these young lady meet positive goals in her life. Why come shit on it with your opinions about her turn on the witness stand?

[LanternWaste]

26. Which is relevant to her being a wonderful person and receiving a scholarship how...?

Which is relevant to her being a wonderful person and receiving a scholarship how...?

Or is this merely an irrelevant non-sequitur to better advertise your expertise in the case?

[protect our future]

37. Only because the white jury members

discounted her testimony because they had no frame of reference and didn't understand the black community; also they couldn't understand some of the words she was using due to having no experience and no conception of the world in which blacks live.

[azmom]

54. I also think

it is a generational disconnect like Jantell pointed out herself.

[Skwmom]

53. Did you listen to her interview last night?

I didn't watch her testimony in detail so assuming what you say is correct, maybe she was combative, threatening not to come back because of

the prior harassment she had been subjected to by Zimmerman's attorney (he is a real jerk but she really pegged him when she said it's all about getting his check).
the harassment she was subjected to while on the witness stand.
the lack of preparation by the prosecutors (I'm beginning to wonder if there was an area they didn't screw up).
she is a teenager who was under extreme pressure.

In the portion of her testimony I saw she kept calling him sir. I think he just wanted her to explode to portray her as nothing more than another "angry" black.

I watched the interview last night and was stunned the prosecutors didn't have her explain in court while she had difficult saying certain words (she has an overbite that she hasn't had corrected because it requires having a bone pushed back and requires a year to heal).

She did not lose the case for the prosecution. The fact that the prosecution was worthless and the jury couldn't get past their racial bias is why the case was lost.

[pipi_k]

56. There are quite a few ways

to call someone "sir".

Her way was to be snotty, sarcastic, and contemptuous. No doubt the "sir" came about by being told by the prosecutor that she was displaying a disturbing level of contempt for the defense attorneys and should probably address him using the term "sir" on occasion. Of course, being a young person, she copped an attitude and embarrassed herself in the process.

I didn't see Don West harassing her. In fact, I was surprised to see how gently he was treating her despite the fact that she was acting like a shit.

OK fine...she didn't want to be there. But she was there to HELP the prosecution convict Zimmerman...not express her nasty displeasure at the attorneys on the other side who were doing the jobs they were hired to do.

That was the only issue I had with her. Not her inability to read cursive (which was not her fault, as many schools don't even teach it these days).

Not her inability to pronounce certain words, or maybe a bit of bad grammar, etc.

None of that mattered. It was her shitty attitude that did absolutely nothing to help her friend's case.

Oh, and lest anyone think I hated her totally, that's not true. There were a few moments when she dropped her guard and I saw the real person underneath the snottiness and sarcasm. I could see her pain.

In the end, I do hope she takes advantage of this opportunity she's been given.

[Spazito]

15. I really like her as well...

I found her refreshingly straight forward, strong in her statements as to what happened that night during her and Trayvon's phone conversation and she gave West, the defense attorney, a run for his money.

[Voice for Peace]

41. I just watched her Piers Morgan interview, it's very good but

when Piers says "we're seeing a very different Rachel"
I am thinking, no, that's the same girl who was on
the stand. She's just being questioned carefully and
respectfully, and her hair is different.

[Spazito]

43. Exactly!

I saw no substantive difference beyond her being relaxed in the interview relative to the stress shown, and rightly so, when she was on the stand being questioned.

The media either just doesn't get it or, more likely, gets it but can't admit it because ratings might go down, ratings that drive advertising dollars.

[Bake]

50. And that's hardly the point.

She could have been much more effective, and if she had been, perhaps -- just perhaps-- Zimmerman would be in prison today.

But you go ahead and celebrate her scholarship. She was still a terrible witness.

Bake

[Spazito]

52. Uh huh...

I know you are terribly distressed by the jury's verdict, I have seen your outrage. She was a REAL witness who told the stark truth with no dressing up to appeal to people like the juror who referred to her and Trayvon Martin as "those people".

I will, indeed, celebrate her scholarship and look forward to your post doing the same.

[Scurrilous]

9. K & R

[malaise]

10. Sweet

Rec

[DinahMoeHum]

13. Well, hell, she speaks Creole, Spanish, AND English. . .

. . .so she already has a leg up, education-wise, even if she can't read handwriting well. Yet.

Hell, the fact she speaks two more languages besides English (which is more than can be said for too many of her detractors) shows that she has smarts, even if it doesn't translate to "formal education" (whatever that means these days.)

Before Joyner stepped in, I had a vision of her working in the future as a translator , probably for a law firm or a legal non-profit. Now, of course, if Joyner does follow through with this full-ride offer, the possibilities are endless.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

For the curious, "HBCU" means "Historically Black Colleges/Universities"

ie. Bethune-Cookman, Morehouse College, Howard University, etc.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_historically_black_colleges_and_universities

[HockeyMom]

22. In 10 years nobody under 30

will be able to read cursive because it is not being taught in the schools. It will not be a handicap in her future.

[Blue_Tires]

29. Morehouse alum here

c/o '99

[NOLALady]

38. My sister just

put her GSon on a plane to Morehouse this AM. His first year.

[dembotoz]

31. i hope she does well--thank you for the def of hbcu--i am old white and pretty ignorant at times

here ability to speak 3 languages is something I will never do
and I took 4 years for german in high school--just never took.....

I was impressed by her
I have a son about that age and I would hope he would be able to hold up on the stand as well as she did

if it were me I would have reached out and bashed the defense lawyers along side the head
but I am just a old white guy with no manners

[protect our future]

40. Thank you for the image of bashing the defense lawyers alongside the head.

[Voice for Peace]

45. ++

[Scurrilous]

46. Florida Memorial is in Miami Gardens, FL, close to where she lives.

http://www.fmuniv.edu/

[AndyA]

20. Good for her!

I hope she is able to do something positive for the world in the future.

[avebury]

21. K&R nt

[HockeyMom]

25. You go, Girl

Good luck in your future.

[Half-Century Man]

30. An education for a life is not a good deal

Not hacking on the offer. Just saying the that even with the free ride, it is still terrible.

[UglyGreed]

32. She lost her good friend

Trayvon, who was one of the few people on her side. Glad to see someone willing to help her now that is he is gone. If there is a heaven, I pray that Trayvon continues to watch over her.

[heaven05]

34. in relation

to this story, since I didn't watch any of the trial, at fucking all, it was a surprise to see that AA 'volunteer" intern on zimpigs defense team at the link provided by this post. Go Rachel. May you soar....

[Skwmom]

35. Excellent news.

After the unfair way in which she's been attacked, she deserves a break.

[ancianita]

44. Wooohooo! Way to stick it to the haters!