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From The Editor The Story Behind the Story
n Meghan Markle’s latest episode of her podcast
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IArchetypes, “The Duality of the Diva,” Mariah Carey and the Duchess discussed the complex nature of being biracial or mixed. Not only did it set the internet ablaze, but it also left something to be desired.
“I think for us, it’s very different because we’re lightskinned,” Markle said to Carey. “You’re not treated as a Black woman. You’re not treated as a white woman. You sort of fit in-between.” She then goes into further detail about how marrying into the royal family exposed her to a sort of racism she hadn’t experienced before.
“If there’s any time in my life that it’s been more focused on my race, it’s only once I started dating my husband. Then I started to understand what it was like to be treated like a Black woman. Because up until then, I had been treated like a mixed woman. And things really shifted.”
Alongside CNN’s Brianna Keilar and John Berman, Don Lemon discussed Markle’s revelation. “I commend Meghan Markle for going there, even though it is a bit shocking that at 30-some years of age, she is just understanding what it’s like to be a Black woman in America,” Lemon stated Wednesday morning.
In an explosive interview with Oprah last year, Markle and her husband Prince Harry revealed how insidious the racism toward her had been, not only from British tabloids but also the royal family.
She explained to the renowned media personality there were “concerns and conversations about how dark [her and Harry’s son, Archie’s] skin might be when he was born … Those were conversations that family had with Harry.” Her husband was noticeably tight-lipped when asked to name the family member who asked such a ridiculous question.
Markle has handled the vitriol she has received with grace. Not only did her family pack up and leave England when the treatment she received became unbearable, but the couple’s interview with Oprah shed light on the importance of mental health and how harshly discrimination happens on a global level.
In that same interview, Prince Harry shared that he had been financially cut off by his family when he and his wife opted out of their obligations. The fact the pair have been able to secure millions of dollars through undertakings with Spotify and Netflix is commendable. Markle’s interview in The Cut was a raw and honest look at her experience and how far she and Harry have come.
However, that doesn’t negate the fact that Markle gleefully benefited from being racially ambiguous until she couldn’t do so anymore. In past interviews, she described the privilege she has about being a light-skinned biracial woman and how it’s helped her access certain spaces and receive preferential treatment.
However, she never really condemned racism until she experienced it in such a public, overt and unapologetic way. The fact that she finally knows what it’s like to be treated like a Black woman–which is poorly–feels like a slap in the face to every Black woman who doesn’t have any other choice in the matter.
Markle felt not only racism because of marrying a British prince, but it was a combination of that, classism, xenophobia, and misogyny. Of course, she experienced better treatment because she is a light-skinned Black woman. But now that she really knows how badly Black women are treated, what does she plan to do about it?
Candace McDuffie is the Senior Writer at The Root who focuses on the intersection of race, gender and entertainment. McDuffie has appeared as a commentator on HBO, BBC World Service: World Business Report, KCRW and the Smithsonian Channel, For more about McDuffie, visit www.candacemcduffie.com. This commentary first appeared in theroot.com.
From the Editor
Irecently read a column titled “Is Journalism Dead?” “Although”, the columnist wrote, “there are still a significant number of journalists with integrity, we have seen an increase in the number of journalists who have been seduced by the pleasures of fame and led astray by their inability to disassociate their personal views with the critical roles that they hold.” He suggested that with the advent of the internet the barriers of true journalism had eroded in the competitive race for followers, leading to an increase in misleading headlines, false news, inflammatory pieces, reputational assaults and hurriedly compiled reports including substantive evidence from questionable sources. All of which have become more commonplace. Unfortunately, a lot of what he says is correct. There is a lot of sloppy journalism out there as well as those who utilize their outlets to propagate news that suits their interests and suppress news that does not. As a publisher, as hard as we try, we all have biases even in determining what stories we choose to cover or not to cover particularly in local news. In selecting what we cover here at L.A. Focus, we’re telling you one of three things. The first is what news we think you should see as important–those things that impact your life and shape the world we live in and the laws we live by; whether it’s a new COVID19 variant or vaccine; the growing rise of hate crimes, a shooting that calls into question law enforcement procedures, a weather phenomenon that has disrupted lives or the race for who will be the next mayor or president,–all with a decidedly Black focus.
Second, are those stories we believe will cause you to think, reflect, consider a different perspective or just be inspired. It could be an opinion piece that prompts you to question or rethink an issue from a different perspective or a testimonial of how someone got through a difficult health or life challenge. Third is what we know will get your attention as it ties into something you love or are curious about. It could be as salacious or titillating as a scandal or fall from grace, as tried-and-true as a rags-to-riches story, the latest accomplishment from your favorite athlete, sports team or the purely sublime–the things that make you go hmmm. In every editorial meeting in America, that’s what’s on the table and the choices we make can in and of themselves often reflect a bias. No way around it. That’s where intentionality becomes important. Is the intent to inform or sway you? Therein lies the story behind the story. It is a violation of trust to serve our own interests, but sadly the practice has become more commonplace and it is becoming more and more incumbent on readers/followers to read between the lines. Our journalistic job is to lay out the facts: the who, what, when, how and why, and let folks make up their own minds. It’s not always easy when you come to know the people you cover or the issues that just seem to draw you in. Years ago, I remember seeing reporters covering stories where people were starving to death or suffering through a drought in Africa. The reporter would be describing how a child was starving to death and that if they didn’t get some nourishment soon they would perish. All the while I’m thinking to myself, I hope now that you’re there, he or she will eat, even if it’s your food. Simply put, it’s hard to report some stories without becoming part of them and thus playing a role in determining the outcome. Neutrality, however, is what true journalism is all about. It has been reported that in the 15 years leading up
to 2020 more than onefourth of the count r y ’ s newspapers–over 350– disappeared as print circulation declined. Gannett, the largest newspaper chain in the country, is in serious financial trouble, despite the fact that their CEO was reportedly making $7.74 million in cash and stock awards. (Don’t I wish!) Because of the decline, a recent study found that 20% of Americans — mostly in “traditionally underserved communities” – live in a news desert with no local news organizations. And for those of you who think little of local newspapers, consider that the void created in the loss of local news has significant political, social and economic implications for our society and our democracy. There are proven parallels in the lack of local/community newspapers leading to lower voter turnout, more pollution, more corporate crime, less accountabilL.A. Focus/ September 2022 ity in city councils and school boards, less support of local businesses, lower turnout in community activities and events and little or no coverage of high school sports. In fact, the value of local media is incalculable in educating readers and building a sense of community. But for all of its value, the columnist is correct in advising readers to “always dig deeper and seek the truth, rather than allowing the truth to be fed to you.” In some cases, that might mean looking to the story behind the story and what it is being motivated by. 4 Keep the faith. LISA COLLINS Publisher
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L.A. Officials Report Alarming Rise in Hate Crimes for Second Consecutive Year
GERALD BELL
Contributor
In 2019, two men, Ceasar Savoc and Stephen Taubert–both white supremacists– were convicted in federal courts for threatening to kill Congresswoman Maxine Waters.
Taubert was found guilty by a federal grand jury after calling Waters’ Los Angeles office and stating, “I’m gonna be at every event that stupid f*ing ni***r b***h is at and I’m gonna kill that f*****g b***h and all you stupid f*ing n****s that work for her.”
Last March, a senior member of the Big Hazard street gang was sentenced to 192 months in federal prison for orchestrating and executing the nighttime firebombing of African-American families at the Ramona Gardens Housing Development in Boyle Heights in order to force the residents out of their homes.
In December, a federal court sentenced a California man to more than six years in prison for a hate crime for attacking a Black man in Santa Cruz, California. Using a nine-inch knife, the man slashed the victim on his head, chest, and stomach, while yelling racial slurs. It was the man’s fourth known attack against Black men.
This year, police in Palo Alto were investigating as a hate crime an incident where somebody changed the wording on a woman’s yard sign from “Black Lives Matter” to “Asian Lives Matter.”
Whether fueled by toxic and weaponized rhetoric, gentrification, online hate speech, turf wars, or the growing movement of White nationalism or the proliferation of hate in media coverage, it should come as little surprise that hate crimes are on the rise in Los Angeles. Last year, 596 hate crimes were documented in LA—the highest number ever reported. This year, from Jan. 1 to June 30, nearly 350 hate crimes were reported to the Los Angeles Police Department, a 16.7% increase from the first half of 2021, and more than double the equivalent period in 2020.
Brian Levin, Director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at Cal State San Bernardino, warned that a further increase of hate crimes could be coming to L.A., linking the claim to the approaching elections when divisive political rhetoric intensifies.
“If you take the last ten years of FBI data and you rank by quarter, the second half of the year is the one that has more hate crimes,” Levin said.
Blacks in Los Angeles have suffered more hate-motivated attacks than any other group in the first half of 2022 with 91 reported anti-Black or anti-AfricanAmerican hate crimes, up 15.2% from the same period last year.
“We saw a reversal of a decline in antiBlack hate crimes in 2020,” said Levin. “It’s now gone back up.”
The LAPD defines a hate crime as any criminal act or attempted criminal act directed against a person based on actual or perceived race, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, disability, or gender. Hate crimes can include, but are not limited to threats of violence, injury (even if slight), and property damage. Nearly 45% of the reported 349 hate crimes during the first half of 2022 involved an assault.
The Southern Poverty Law Center reported that 65 hate groups were tracked in California in 2021. Among them were American Front, American Freedom Party and the Proud Boys–who have 9 chapters. The SPLC further reported that over 400 verified bias-related incidents occurred within one week following the election of Donald Trump in 2016, and another 1,000 incidents happened one month after election day—a significant increase over previous months nationally.
The LAPD has long recognized the serious nature of crimes motivated by hatred and is one of the first law enforcement agencies in the nation to establish specialized procedures for the handling of hate crimes which can be prosecuted either as misdemeanors or felonies depending on the severity of the acts committed. “All persons within the jurisdiction of this State have the right to be free from any violence, or intimidation by threat of violence, committed against their persons or property,” according to the LAPD website. “Anyone who violates the right is liable for each and every offense for the actual damages suffered by any person determined by a court of law.”
According to The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), there’s an overall increase in attacks involving religious bias that is closely associated with the overall 89.6% increase in California hate crimes over the past decade.
Groups like the ADL and LA vs Hate are stepping up to address the rising rate of hate crimes.
“These heinous acts of harassment, vandalism, and propaganda all cause a ripple effect,” said Jeffrey Abrams, regional director of ADL. “The perpetrators [are] seeking to instill fear among not just the Jewish community, but all minority and marginalized communities. And this we cannot, and will not, tolerate.”
This article is one in a twelve-part series to examine what is driving this rising trend of hate crimes and appropriate solutions to “stop the hate”. "The Stop The Hate campaign is made possible with funding from the California State Library in partnership with the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs (CAPIAA). The views expressed in this series produced by L.A. Focus do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the CSL, CAPIAA or the California government. Learn more at capiaa.ca.gov/stop-the-hate".
New Poll Gives Karen Bass Big Lead Over Rick Caruso
KISHA SMITH
Staff
Congresswoman Karen Bass finished first in the L.A. mayoral primary with an impressive seven point lead over billionaire real estate mogul Rick Caruso, who spent a record $40 million to Bass’ $4 million leading up to the June 7 primary. But if a new poll conducted by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies for the L.A. Times is accurate, Karen Bass has widened her favorability margin to twelve points among voters in the nation’s second largest city.
The survey of 1,746 registered Los Angeles voters earlier this month found that 43% of voters favored Bass compared to 31% of voters for Caruso, with 24% undecided.
Nearly half of those surveyed had a favorable opinion of Bass, compared to 22% unfavorable, while 29% had no opinion.
According to the poll, Bass has even made headway in the San Fernando Valley which has been considered a stronghold for Caruso giving him a 7.5% victory over Bass in the primary. However, the poll shows him leading by just two points.
For all the money Caruso spent, the poll found that just 35% of those surveyed had a favorable opinion of Caruso, while 40% had an unfavorable opinion of him and 24% had no opinion.
Bass’ edge over Caruso was tied, in part, to her experience in elected office. Just 21% said experience in public office was not important.
Ironically, a majority of those surveyed (55%) didn’t think it was important that the candidate was a woman and 58% didn’t believe it was all that important that the candidate was a person of color.
However, 72 percent thought it important that–like Bass–the candidate had a history of defending abortion rights.
Caruso was likely to benefit from respondents desiring a candidate who is tough on crime while 51% thought it was important that the candidate had a business background. And though turnout among Latino voters is lower on average, Caruso led in L.A. precincts with populations that were at least 80% Latino, but tied with Bass overall among Asian and Latino voters.
Additionally, she led Caruso by nearly 2 to 1 among former supporters of Councilmember Kevin de León, who came in third in the primary.
Of course, Bass–as expected–has a sizable lead among registered Democrats as well as liberal and Black voters.
Caruso has, by contrast, led with moderates and conservatives.
The poll mirrors the results of a poll of 1,061 registered voters released by Communities United for Karen Bass which reported an 11-point lead in favor of the Congresswoman on issues relative to crime and homelessness, which have been targeted by Caruso.
There is little doubt among election observers that Caruso will be spending big to see if he can change some minds and increase support among voters by election day on November 8.
Meanwhile a steady stream of highpowered endorsements including President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Senator Alex Padilla, L.A. City Council President Nury Martinez, County Supervisor Holly Mitchell, Hillary Clinton, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the L.A. Democratic Party and an impressive list of local unions along with the L.A. County Federation of Labor have kept Bass in the spotlight over the summer.
Attorneys for Nurse That Caused Windsor Hills Crash Suffered a Mental Collapse Before Accident
Attorneys for Nicole Linton–the nurse charged with on six counts of murder and five counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence in the fiery Windsor Hills last month–say their client suffered a lapse of consciousness leading up to the tragic multi-car collision. Further, the 37-year old ICU nurse was revealed to have struggled with bipolar disorder over the last four years,–a condition for which she had also been prescribed psychiatric medication.
Linton had been clocked at going over 90 mph when she slammed through a red light at the intersection of La Brea and Slauson on August 4. A doctor has stated that she has no recollection of the events preceding the incident.
In a past incident, Linton was involuntarily committed to a psyche ward after running around her apartment complex naked.
Her attorneys maintained that she would be “most appropriately housed in a mental health treatment facility where she could be monitored and treated for her illness.
Heather Hutt Appointed to Represent Tenth District
D.T. CARSON
Staff
Heather Hutt has been officially appointed to fill suspended Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas’ seat. Hutt had been serving as the CD 10 caretaker after being appointed chief of staff to former Councilman Herb Wesson who resigned last month following a ruling by an L.A. Superior Court judge that barred him from service due to ineligibility given that he had already served the maximum three terms on the city council.
The appointment did not come without its share of dramatic and politically heated twists and turns, including numerous public protests, several court decisions to block Wesson who had already served the maximum three terms on the council and a failed previous attempt to appoint Hutt as the motion was blocked by five councilmembers.
In a separate motion, at least three city council members–including Marqueece Harris-Dawson and Mike Bonin–presented a separate motion that would instruct the city attorney to ex As a resident of the 10th district, and a public servant for over 20+ years, I am committed to doing the work. I understand the complexities, diversities and challenges and I promise to work towards doubling down on our investments to house our unhoused neighbors, building parks that are equitable, safe and accessible, and making this a district that you are proud to call home.
plore the eligibility requirements for appointments to a temporary vacancy in the 10th District as well as the steps, costs and legality of holding a special election to fill the vacancy.
A recent L.A. Times editorial board opinion piece cited “shady backroom maneuvering” in February to name termedout former Councilman Herb Wesson” as what first called the legitimacy of Martinez’ moves into question.
“The concern isn’t with Hutt…The concern is with the attempt to bypass meaningful public dialogue about what to do with this seat”, editors wrote.
All have agreed that leaving the district without a voting member was not an option and holding a special election was not the answer in the event RidleyThomas is cleared of charges.
Residents had been split on the matter with some residents desirous of voting representation and a yes vote for Hutt and others concerned about the transparency in the process of selecting who should be appointed, calling instead for townhalls and more input from the citizens who would actually be impacted by the appointment.
Hutt will hold the office through the term or until Ridley-Thomas is acquitted of corruption charges and he could resume the post.
Martinez said that Hutt would be “the first woman to represent the 10th District and the first woman to represent South Los Angeles in a decade.”
“Leadership is stepping up during a challenging time,” Martinez said in a statement. “That is what Heather Hutt has done as caretaker and what I know she will do as the council member for the 10th District.”
Hutt has said she would be a voice the residents of the 10th District–which spans Koreatown and West Adams to Crenshaw and Leimert Park–could depend on.
Hutt, who formerly served as an aide to then Senator Kamala Harris, was defeated last year by Isasc Bryan in a bid for the 54 Assembly seat.
“I am humbled by the outpouring support of my colleagues, peers and the council members who had the faith in me to lead and do what is best for this district” Hutt said. “As a resident of the 10th district, and a public servant for over 20+ years, I am committed to doing the work. I understand the complexities, diversities and challenges and I promise to work towards doubling down on our investments to house our unhoused neighbors, building parks that are equitable, safe and accessible, and making this a district that you are proud to call home.”
FDA Authorizes Updated Boosters to Target the BA.4/BA.5 COVID Variants
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration amended the emergency use authorizations (of the Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccines to authorize bivalent formulations of the vaccines for use as a single booster dose at least two months following primary or booster vaccination. The updated boosters target the BA.4 and BA.5 variants. Considered the most infectious strains of the virus, the variants account for the majority of the cases being reported and are expected to fuel a fall and winter wave of COVID-19. The updated Moderna vaccine is authorized for use as a single booster dose in those 18 and older. The new Pfizer vaccine is authorized for use as a single booster dose in those 12 years of age and older. “The FDA has been planning for the possibility that the composition of the COVID-19 vaccines would need to be modified to address circulating variants. We sought input from our outside experts on the inclusion of an omicron component in COVID-19 boosters to provide better protection against COVID-19. We have worked closely with the vaccine manufacturers to ensure the development of these updated boosters was done safely and efficiently,” said Peter Marks, M.D., Ph.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Eval- 7 uation and Research.
