I awoke this morning to word of another Black man brutally beaten in the Queens neighborhood of Howard Beach. Déjà vu immediately clouded my mind like a shroud of bad karma you just can't seem to shake. If you switched the names around and removed today's date from the blaring cover of the New York Daily News, you'd think a time travel back to the winter of 1986 had taken place. That incident was one of the most infamous cases in the city's history which held a mirror up to the tears in the idealized fabric of race relations when 23-year-old Michael Griffith was killed as he staggered onto the Belt Parkway while trying to flee an angry mob of three White men who had harassed him and his two friends (Cedric Sandiford & Timothy Grimes) after their car broke down near New Park Pizzeria on Cross Bay Blvd. Almost twenty years later, the circumstances are murkier, but the outcome is eerie. Making an impersonal headline to an issue that hits home comes in the form of Jean Griffith, mother of the slain victim. Mrs. Griffith is a family friend and we share a bond of heritage kinship as both she and my mom have reminisced about life "back home" during quick hellos and the occasional run-in on the street.

The story this time centers around 22-year-old Glenn Moore of St. Albans who suffered a skull fracture after he and his friends were suspected of canvassing the area for a car to steal but decided against the idea after the spotted vehicle's motion detectors went off and a neighbor turned an inside porch light on. At this same juncture, a black Escalade driven by the alleged attacker, Nicholas Minucci, 19 and two other White males pulled alongside the bus stop at 159th Ave & 79th St. demanding to know what they were doing in the area. Moore's assault followed soon after with him being struck multiple times with a metal baseball bat, his earring being yanked out, his Air Jordans ripped from his feet and a separate bag containing items for his daughter taken.

Much will be made of Moore's association to two Brooklyn friends (Richard Pope & Richard Walker) readily admitting for prowling around such an area with unsavory intentions coupled with Moore's own 2004 arrest for car theft, however a highlight at an important piece of evidence from the NYPD is a crucial piece to unraveling this complex puzzle:

"...one law enforcement official said that at the time of the attack, the black men had done nothing more than be in Howard Beach around 3 a.m. And another official said that Mr. Minucci told investigators that after the beating, his companion said, "This is what you get if you want to rob white boys," finishing the sentence with a racial epithet." – New York Times.

For those in the know, the "they had it coming" stance is nothing new. A closer look at the underlying sentiments gives a clearer picture to the "us vs. them" mentality which has been bubbling under the surface by longtime residents there for years:

"No one should be beating up anyone, but when a black guy gets beat up, it makes headlines," said a middle-aged resident who gave her name only as Susan. "When a white guy gets beat up, nothing." Of Wednesday's attack, Susan, who lives near one of the suspects, said: "It was provoked. We are provoked constantly." – Newsday.

I'm taking bets to see how long it'll take Rev. Al to swoop down on this quagmire in the making. Stay tuned...