Now, if you still have those shoes on, take this same concept to a state and local level and ask yourself where would you be placed based on the placement of Martin Luther King his assignation.....

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Please keep them on, after you have thought about yourself, think of the people you looked up to, and what happened to them? One of the biggest laughs I get is seeing the expression of a white person in Florida's face after telling them why I, to this day, look at Congressman Alcee Hastings as a role model. Well if you still have those shoes on you will agree with me too. 

He's a black man, who hasn't sold his soul, who's been legally and politically launched by the very people who impeached him for 28 years. 

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And to be honest not just that, it's his journey. In order to survive as a black man you have to look at other black men "who man it". It's important to know that making it as a black man looks different. It's not about getting to the top, it's about how to deal with others who see you as a symbol of hope, and before it appears as if I'm kissing up I will prove it.

Any time you have a person who is the first of there family to go to college, or even move to a "better area" they are change-makers. Changing a racial stereotype of blacks, and paving the way. Being the first comes with pressure and an automatic appointment to the Jim Crow's Most Wanted list. 

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Because if one person can do it, so can it.

On August 28, 1979, President Jimmy Carter appointed then, Alcee Hastings, to the Florida federal bench, making him Florida's "first" African-American federal judge. 

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Feb 4, 1983, Judge Hastings was acquitted in the criminal trial for perjury and bribery.

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Mar 1983, a month after Hastings' acquittal, two U.S. District Court judges filed a complaint against Hastings under the 1980 Judicial Councils Reform and Judicial Conduct and Disability Act (PL 96-458), accusing the judge of fabricating his defense.

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Aug 25, 1986Hastings tried but failed to block federal judiciary from making a formal recommendation to Congress.

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Sep 2, 1986The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta voted to recommend impeachment to the House, despite the fact that Hastings was acquitted in his criminal trial.

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Sep 3, 1986Recommendation of Circuit Court forwarded to U.S. Judicial Conference.

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Jan 16, 1987Hastings petitioned Congress to terminate the judicial investigation and to repeal PL 96-458, which provided the legal basis for the investigation. The Senate referred the petition to the Judiciary Committee.

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Mar 17, 1987 Subsequent investigation of Hastings' actions led the panel of 11th Circuit Court judges to conclude that Hastings had lied during the trial and was guilty of perjury and bribery, and that he had fabricated his defense.  The 27-judge panel certified that Hastings had "engaged in conduct which might constitute grounds for impeachment," and recommended impeachment to the House of Representatives.

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Apr 18, 1988, U.S. Supreme Court rejected Hastings attempt to invalidate the Judicial Councils Reform and Judicial Conduct and Disability Act.

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May 18, 1988 House Judiciary Subcommittee on Criminal Justice began investigating charges against Hastings.

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Jul 7, 1988 House Judiciary Subcommittee on Criminal Justice voted 7 to 0 in favor of impeachment.

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Jul 26, 1988 House Judiciary Committee voted 32 to 1 to approve 15 articles of impeachment, and approved 2 other articles by voice vote.

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Aug 3, 1988 House of Representatives voted 413 to 3 to approve 17 articles of impeachment.

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Aug 9, 1988 House of Representatives formally presented impeachment resolution to the Senate.

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Jan 26, 1989 Senate Rules Committee heard arguments from House Managers and Hastings' attorneys on how to conduct impeachment trial. Defense attorneys also asked that Hastings be allowed use of Senate funds in his defense.

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Mar 15, 1989 Senate began impeachment proceedings. Hastings appeared before the Senate, asking that the articles be dismissed, claiming a second trial would amount to "double jeopardy."

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Mar 16, 1989 After a two-hour closed session, the Senate rejected Hastings' motion for dismissal by 92 to 1 vote. (Senator Howard Metzenbaum later stated that he believed Hastings had already been tried and a further trial was not warranted and violated protections against "double jeopardy.")

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Mar 16, 1989 Senate passed S. Res. 38, creating a 12-member Senate Impeachment Trial Committee.

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Apr 12-13, 1989 Senate Trial Committee deliberated in closed session.

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May 18, 1989 Senate Trial Committee rejected Hastings' request for Senate funding of his defense.

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Jul 5, 1989 Judge Gerhard A. Gessell dismissed Hastings' complaint that he would not receive fair trial unless the full Senate heard all evidence and testimony.

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Jul 10, 1989 Senate Trial Committee began hearing evidence, a process that continued until August 3, 1989.

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Oct 2, 1989Senate Trial Committee presented its report to the Senate.

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Oct 2, 1989 Senate Trial Committee presented its report to the Senate.

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Oct 18, 1989 Case came before the full Senate. Hastings, on the Senate floor, spoke in his own defense.

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Oct 19, 1989 Senate deliberated in closed session.

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Oct 20, 1989 Senate voted on 11 articles of impeachment, convicting Hastings on 8 articles, with 2 articles falling short of the necessary two-thirds majority for conviction, and a third article receiving a 95 to 0 vote for not guilty. The president pro tempore of the Senate ordered Hastings removed from office.

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My point, he was my first Barack Obama. Trust me, every black community has a first Barack, the world just met him in 2009. But I don't have to tell you what happened. If you review the chronology, as a Federal Judge, he never got his feet wet.

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What did he do after that, he got back up and "served" his community then became our current Congressional Representative. To lighten this up a little he's someone to find out what brand of cereal did he eat. If I had a child he'd be one of the people on display to view just like the Blue Angels. You see one day I know my child will meet turbulence and I'd want him to know how to get through it. Oh, and by the way, if I were of a white man I'd be 10x likely of doing the same thing because he needs to know an example of a good black man because it is inevitable for him to meet a black person.    

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There must be a proportionate justice system for all.