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Volume 121 No. 43
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JUNE 1, 2013 - JUNE 7, 2013
Zimmerman’s Team Will Seek to Discredit Trayvon Martin WASHINGTON (NNPA) – Whether George Zimmerman goes on trial as
Trayvon Martin scheduled June 10 for killing Trayvon Martin or he gets the 6-week delay requested by his
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Washington View
Julian Dawkins: A Local ‘Trayvon Martin Case’
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Local HBCU Commencements INSERT • Walmart
lawyer, it is clear from court filings that part of the defense strategy involves depicting the 17-year-old dead Black youth as a troublemaker and pot head. Martin, unarmed, was shot to death in February 2012 by Zimmerman, a volunteer neighborhood watchman, in Sanford, Fla. Martin, a Miami native, was visiting the area in central Florida with his father at the time and was returning to a residence after walking to a nearby convenience store. Zimmerman, 29, has tried to portray Martin as the aggressor, despite ignoring instructions from a police dispatcher that he not follow the youth in the rain. He has pleaded guilty to secondContinued on A3
S.E. District’s Alleged Kiddie Porn Doc Held Without Bond By Courtney Jacobs Special to the AFRO Robert Paul Dickey, a well-known Washington D.C. pediatrician, was directed to spend Memorial Day weekend in jail following a brief D.C. Superior Court appearance May 23. Dickey faces possession of child pornography charges. As he walked into the courtroom, holding his oversized orange prison uniform up to his chest, he sat down with a slight smile on his face. Due to his impaired
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Tornado-stricken Oklahoma Community Rebounds By Herb Boyd Special to the NNPA
MOORE, Oklahoma (NNPA) – Whenever high winds arise in Tornado Alley, this corridor of the state with a history of disasters, residents pay attention. On Sunday evening beneath overcast skies there were slight gusts of wind but it would have taken another EF5 tornado, like the one last Monday, to postpone the memorial services for the fallen at First Baptist Church. The vast church, where Pastor Kevin Clarkson presides, was prepared to host a crowd of more than 4,500 but the Memorial Day weekend may have lessened the turnout to an estimated 2,000. Many were hoping that President Obama would be among the speakers, but he had come earlier in the day, visiting families of victims and first responders and touring this devastated community, a suburb of Oklahoma City. It should also be noted that the tornado killed two residents in nearby Shawnee. “This is a strong community with strong character,” President Obama said at a press conference with Gov. Mary
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— Gov. Mary Fallin
the church’s podium. “This has certainly been a trying time for our state. The loss of life was traumatic for us. It’s been a sad week.” Some of the sadness is being assuaged by an announcement from the Obama administration that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has earmarked $57 million in rebates and incentives to begin the Continued on A3
Loved Ones of Alexandria Man Killed by Off-Duty Deputy Demand Arrest
One-time patient Shawn Ellerbe attended the Dickey court appearance.
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Fallin by his side. “There’s no doubt they will bounce back… but they need help.” And help was already heavily evident around Moore where a week ago 24 perished, including 10 children; more than 12,000 homes were destroyed. Volunteers from across the nation arrived with “Disaster Relief” emblazoned on their trucks, trailers, and vans. “We have much to do,” Fallin said during her moment at
“This has certainly been a trying time for our state. The loss of life was traumatic for us. It’s been a sad week.”
By Talib Babb Special to the AFRO
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AP Photo
By George E. Curry NNPA Editor-in-Chief
Remembrances at Arlington
hearing, he was handed a headset so that he hear the judge more clearly. At one point, he turned around to peer into the audience. As he noticed his wife and several of his patients their families, he smiled and turned back around. Dickey received a master’s Continued on A3
Loved ones of Julian Dawkins took their message to the streets on May 28. They were ready for someone to be held accountable in his death and they wanted charges filed immediately. “Every 28 hours, a Black person is killed by a police,” read a large, hand-printed sign carried by Dawkins friends, as they staged a rally in front of the courthouse in Alexandria. “Enuff is enuff!” While his parents skipped the rally, friends said they took the action to demand action in the case. For more than a week, family members and friends of Dawkins, 22, have been awaiting answers as they grieve his death. Dawkins is a graduate of T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria. He had been working as a shuttle driver for PBS’s “NewsHour” program since June 2010. On May 25, many of Dawkins’ friends gathered at a relative’s Alexandria home to remember him and comfort each other as police continued to investigate his death. But on May 28, some of Dawkins’ loved ones took a more activist approach. They were seeking “an arrest of Craig Peterson,” friend Patrick Cooper told NBC4News. They gathered at the courthouse to get the attention of Alexandria Commonwealth’s Attorney Randy Sengel, who will decide whether or not Patterson will be charged. Sengel was quoted last week as saying he expected to decide by week’s end if charges would be filed, but no such announcement occurred.
After days of having media camped in front of the home Dawkins shared with his aunt in the 100 block of Lynhaven Drive in Alexandria, the same block where he was fatally shot, his parents and other close relatives had grown weary of talking to reporters, tired of explaining what few details they knew of his death. “We don’t want to make any more statements right now,” Dawkins’ father, Curtis, said after the May 25 family vigil as he stood in the front yard of the Lynhaven Drive home. “We’re just going to wait. There is a lot going on right now and we are just going to wait until we know something before we say anything else.” Dawkins was shot and killed by Patterson about 12:45 a.m. shortly leaving a celebration for his cousin, Tierra RuffinPratt, who was recently signed by the WNBA. The shooting apparently occurred after a confrontation took place between the two men, according to the Alexandria Police Department, which is investigating the case. Patterson, a 17-year veteran with the Arlington County Sheriff’s Department, used his service weapon in the shooting, officials said. After the shooting, Patterson stayed on the scene and called 911. He was taken in for questioning by Alexandria police, but was later released. He was placed on administrative leave with pay by the Arlington County Sheriff’s Department the same day. Alexandria police spokeswoman, Ashley Hildebrandt, said she could not offer any details on the investigation. “All I can say is that it has only been ruled a homicide, our detectives are running the case and the investigation is active Continued on A4
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