Omar Thornton Victim of Racism and Union Management Corruption

Omar Thornton Victim of Racism and Union/Management Corruption

(With Permission from Broadway Stagehands Democracy)

The editorial staff held a meeting yesterday regarding the murders in Connecticut. We concluded that when Omar complained to union and management about racism that the Teamsters and Management built a phony case of stealing against him to cover their Racism and Lack of Union Democracy. We have seen the same story repeated over and over again in Local One IATSE. Complain and they set you up. Omar was not correct in his shooting spree but he too was a victim.

Kristi Hannah, girlfriend of Omar Thornton, recalls gunman's goodbye, racism concerns

BY Matthew Lysiak In Enfield, Conn., and Corky Siemaszko
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

Originally Published:Wednesday, August 4th 2010, 11:37 AM
Updated: Wednesday, August 4th 2010, 12:06 PM

CT shooting suspect Omar Thornton with his girlfriend at left Kristi Hannah.

Hill/AP

Authorities converge on Hartford Distributorsin Manchester, Conn., Tuesday.

The girlfriend of the Connecticut truck driver who killed eight of his co-workers said Wednesday that on the morning of the massacre "he was in a daze."

Speaking exclusively to the Daily News for the first time since Omar Thornton ended his deadly rampage by shooting himself, Kristi Hannah said she did not he was planning to unleash hell - but she knew something was not right when he left her apartment.

"That morning he seemed like he was in a daze," she said, speaking at her mom's house. "His eyes weren't right. They were empty. I kept asking him what was wrong but he wouldn't tell me."

Thornton, she said, "was quiet."

"He gave me a weird hug," said Hannah. "It was really long. And a kiss and said goodbye. He looked at me hard and told me he loved me."

Then he was gone.

A short time later, Hannah said, the cops showed up.

"Two detectives showed up asking for Omar," she said. "I texted Omar and asked, 'Why are two detectives at my door? You've never done anything wrong in your life.' He didn't answer. I texted him again, 'Are you okay?'"

Still, there was no answer from Thornton.

Then, Hannah said, she saw the reports flashing across the screen of her TV and a horrible realization set in.

"I saw the news and I collapsed on the ground," she said. "I couldn't even move. I felt so sick."

Hannah said that all their plans for the future crumbled in an instant.

"We were engaged, we were talking about having a family," she said. "I fell in love with him because he was the most gentle man I had ever met. His eyes were so kind. He would never hurt another creature."

Hannah said she can't reconcile her memories of Thornton with the cold-blooded killer who turned the beer and wine wholesaling business where he worked into a slaughterhouse.

"Omar was very kind," she said. "His sister had a drug problem and Omar spent a lot of time caring for his nephew."

Hannah also backed up claims by Thornton's kin that the 34-year-old gunman finally snapped after years of being subjected to racist taunts by co-workers.

"Everyone of \[the victims\] was a person I heard Omar mention," she said. "He didn't go around randomly shooting people. He knew these were the people who harassed him."

Thornton, a black man, "was very sensitive about his race," said Hannah.

"If you called him a n----r he would go off," she said. "But he kept it inside. He kept it all bottled up."

Thornton was reportedly about to be fired for stealing cases of suds, but his girlfriend denied he was a thief and claimed he was a good worker who was recently promoted to driver.

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Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Atlanta Judge Orders King Children to Discuss His Estate

ATLANTA (AP) — A judge on Monday ordered the surviving children of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King to hold a shareholders meeting to discuss their father’s estate.

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Pool photo by Ric Feld

Siblings sued Dexter King.

Two of the children, the Rev. Bernice King and Martin Luther King III, sued their brother, Dexter King, last year to force him to open the books of their father’s estate. The lawsuit claimed that Dexter King, the estate’s administrator, had refused to provide documents concerning the estate’s operations.

Dozens of supporters and observers packed a hearing on Monday before Judge Ural D. Glanville in Fulton County Superior Court. They included former Mayor Andrew Young of Atlanta and the Rev. Joseph Lowery, both of whom worked with Dr. King during the civil rights movement and remain close to the King family. Mr. Lowery said that the siblings had been in mediation trying to work things out, but that he was unsure of the outcome.

“Dexter’s the unknown factor,” Mr. Lowery said outside the hearing. “We just don’t know what he’s going to do. It’s hard to tell.”

Coretta Scott King died in 2006, and Yolanda King, the Kings’ eldest child, died in 2007, leaving the three remaining siblings as the sole shareholders and directors of their father’s estate. It is set up as a corporation, but there has not been a shareholders meeting since 2004.

Dexter King has also sued his sister, who administers their mother’s estate. He has asked a judge to force his sister to turn over Coretta Scott King’s personal papers, including love letters central to a $1.4 million book deal once being considered.

The siblings’ relationship has deteriorated in the tense climate created by their legal battle.

At least part of the legal battle could be headed to a jury trial next month. At issue would be whether Dexter King acted financially inappropriately in his role as president and chief executive of his father’s estate.

But relations among the siblings could be thawing. Martin Luther King III recently visited his brother in California after Dexter King shattered his right femur in a car accident in July, and observers say the siblings have been in talks to resolve their legal disputes.

Dexter King, who lives in California, did not attend the hearing on Monday. Lawyers said he was hospitalized for several weeks after the car accident, has had to use a walker and is not allowed to travel because he cannot sit in one position for long periods.

His brother and sister, who live in Atlanta, were in court for the hearing.

Sign in to Recommend Next Article in US (10 of 28) » A version of this article appeared in print on September 15, 2009, on page A15 of the New York edition.