{"id":474,"date":"2022-05-19T10:22:31","date_gmt":"2022-05-19T10:22:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arkansasdeltainformer.com\/?p=474"},"modified":"2022-06-06T23:31:54","modified_gmt":"2022-06-06T23:31:54","slug":"delta-informer-editorial-a-voice-fore-justice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arkansasdeltainformer.com\/delta-informer-editorial-a-voice-fore-justice\/","title":{"rendered":"Delta Informer Editorial: A Voice Fore Justice"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Arkansas Delta Informer<\/em> Editorial Staff \u2014 May 19, 2022 \u2014 When Mark Cannon\u2019s Facebook Live rant went viral yesterday, he touched a nerve, several nerves, actually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Jefferson County resident revealed information about the upcoming primary elections, including a letter to bankers and business owners soliciting $10,000 donations to replace city council members who won\u2019t kowtow to Go Forward Pine Bluff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The letter has been the subject of hushed conversations ever since Alderman Ivan Whitfield read it publicly during a city council meeting last month. Garland Trice, a candidate for 1st Ward Alderman, picked up the issue during recent debates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whitfield\u2019s recitation was the subject of polite discussion during the primary debates, however, Cannon\u2019s revelation caught fire (went viral) overnight, reaching over 8k views.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cannon, a self-proclaimed voice for the people, is on a crusade for justice in Pine Bluff and Jefferson County. His rant did not stop with the Go Forward PAC money. He went on to skewer the downtown beautification project as empty facades. In addition, he alluded to potential public corruption in the Sheriff\u2019s Department, Urban Renewal, and possibly the Mayor\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cannon identified four publicly funded projects that could warrant further investigation:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022           $1.2 million<\/strong> acquisition of the convention center hotel (with taxpayer funds) without an inspection<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022           $558,000<\/strong> acquisition of a dilapidated bingo hall (with taxpayer funds) that initially cost $58,000 without an appraisal<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022           $90,000 acquisition<\/strong> of the old Greyhound Bus terminal (with taxpayer funds) that initially cost $15,000 without an appraisal and<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022           The Oak Park Magnet School acquisition by city insiders for just $16 dollars.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMake it make sense!\u201d begged Cannon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who is Mark Cannon?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cannon grew up in a rough environment in West Helena. He experienced a lot of wrongs in his lifetime, which fuels his passion for doing what is right. A man with a generous spirit, Cannon is someone who will give you the shirt off his back or give food to the homeless. He lives in Jefferson County, but he works for himself in North Little Rock as a middle-aged entrepreneur selling assorted snacks and knick-knacks at his business, Popcorn & More. He is an entrepreneur from West Helena who fights for the underdog. \u201cI\u2019m fighting for equality, justice and accountability for my people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why are you doing this\u2014do you want to be a hero?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople have asked me, how did the Popcorn man become TMZ? In 2019-20, I saw a Facebook Live post where a woman held a small child in her arms. Standing directly behind her, an older man stood with his arms draped over the pair,\u201d Cannon explained. \u201cI was visibly shocked and disturbed by the post. My wife asked, what in the world is wrong with me? I told her\u2014that is the man who molested me when I was ten years old.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was so consumed with anger, hurt, and pain that I decided to go live on Facebook and share my story. My wife asked me if I was sure that I wanted to share this portion of my life with the world. I told her that it was vital for me to provide a voice for the voiceless. However, I was overwhelmed by the reaction I received when I shared my soul on Facebook. I received over 15,000 views. My pain built my following.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy did I choose to do this? It chose me to be a voice for the voiceless and seek justice for the underdog,\u201d said Cannon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is Voice Fore Justice?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m not clout chasing or anything like that. I want accountability and recompense\u2014for my people, Black people. I am a voice for the voiceless. Unfortunately, that name was already taken,\u201d continued Cannon. \u201cTherefore, I created a Voice Fore Justice as the name for the page\/platform. And no, the \u2018fore\u2019 is not misspelled. I\u2019m like a golfer at the tee box. I yell \u2018fore\u2019 to let everybody know that justice is coming to you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You seem to be calling for criminal indictments of public officials\u2014is that really what you want, and do you believe that it will actually happen?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m appalled that anything like this is happening to my people. But I\u2019m even more upset that the people who are victimizing my people\u2014are also Black. When you look at most of the shenanigans that are going on around Go Forward, Black people is doing them. From the Sheriff\u2019s Office, the Mayor\u2019s Office, Urban Renewal, and even the Chief of Police.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cStay tuned\u2014a little bird told me that federal indictments are on the way,\u201d said Cannon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Added Alderman Whitfield: \u201cMark Cannon did more to expose public corruption overnight than our local media has done in three years,\u201d said Whitfield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#30#<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Arkansas Delta Informer Editorial Staff \u2014 May 19, 2022 \u2014 When Mark Cannon\u2019s Facebook Live<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":476,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,21,1],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arkansasdeltainformer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/474"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arkansasdeltainformer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arkansasdeltainformer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arkansasdeltainformer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arkansasdeltainformer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=474"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/arkansasdeltainformer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/474\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":695,"href":"https:\/\/arkansasdeltainformer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/474\/revisions\/695"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arkansasdeltainformer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/476"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arkansasdeltainformer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=474"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arkansasdeltainformer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=474"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arkansasdeltainformer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=474"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}