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Kamew im es ’ co rn lu al at m Interactive logo scan over the whole photo with your it from Google Play or The Apple App a io n is H n al in t Nic arri have all ca lled for res -tand reality TV starholas Kristof, U.S.tablet or smartphone. forensic Store technology. esting using curr Kim Kardashian SUL ent, more The ACLU gorilla suitPHUR, La. (AP) – P se n si an ti ve groups hav d other hu mattress befbroke into a Louisiaol man rights e also urged o n a deeper in an Serving Kern County News ouretl officers arrested h ves gation California state o d social justice et into Cooper fficials to la s Gov. Newtiso sp q u o k o for Over 40 Years es te m Mel E unch ’s con m’s tion issu st in ThSuulphu officers saan by formerorder Friday expandviction. w Jeremie es rsday test four ed s G p co o Moran wal re v. stume. They vious direc rry Brown lowed analpyieces of crime scenJe h ad in son looking received ca kin D ember lls a into homes to an orange sts to perform DNe evidence. Brownec ’s . 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Nlawyers hope the re in n o ce d a o ae er o n p th S v. l er ce an pressure fo e Selyem, wh sults of the New ewsom, wh Volume 45 Number Newspapers over the ingObserver Bernardino Wednesday, June 5, 2019 in the case Group the murderCalifornia som’s order oftoSouthern hel39 r o re m p pro o ic n -t ak is h is s. so es in W being met co ti cial media. with dismtoaybroaden DNA te st him. ve their client’s innould take several mong ordered poof the murders Josh His insultgscrude and racist anhdite, resigned - chelle Obama, U ua Ryen an nths, will . The lone su cence and ta rters of the rg mments et ed ,S fo B . d rmer Firstco finally exo Rep. Maxin lack shooti In 1 Lady Minerate they are disappoRyens and Hughesfamily, friends andrvivor n e g W v on four co9u85, a San Diego Co ic at ti er m s . su an in al Th l p te d across the o an unnamed “Unfortunat d with the gov 26 and an nts of murder. At unty jury convicte state say Los Angelmas R. Parker, a form ernor’s dec ely, over tim the time of d Cooper for justice in es office, bel er is d io ep cord - incluescaped prison inm n e u . it ty h th is se is case mat head of the ie ems the vic arrest, he w Th ters FBI’s ti s’ desire “The evis guy is innocenvt,es Cooper. as no Distric in Pennsylv ding several burglaate. His lengthy cr ” he told th iminal re- “Prior DNtAAttorney Jason Anless and less,” San m id ries and the ania – did en ce w as B d er o not help his te er e p n n Cooper, form rape of a m st la so N ar th in n ew n d te e g icl sa d st th aimed ou Y , he was fr and.” case. inor erly nam in 19 ld exoneratat Mr. Cooper sougidh in a statement. amed, theork Times. What has k per’s guilw e him have t, agreed to cops lied By Stacy M. Brown month5s8 near Pittsburgh, Ped Richard Goodm t. ep ” t a th fe all confirm e case goin deral appel and an, was born nsylvania. Y et NNPA Newswire Correspondent ed g la p During hoisld, he was adoptedenan te er M an su W ec co r. dC ution and re urt Coochildhoofour-part d renamed hen he was six monies and alleasive arguments bas The morning after DuVernay’s LAKE FOR iew the ca’ssedecision in 2004 toooper alive - is and Ava d, his parNetflix he sp Kevin Coo gations of ev ed on con Gov. Newvso re EST, Calgroups ent aFive, as en is reco–vTwo w stayANGELES o it LOS ts n h ab g miniseries about thejuCentral Park “When They See fl p his ex- (AP) p m o er ic le h id if. (AP)are o o eringconservation ysically abu ting testi- DNA te . gat d part of ad questions ab ence tamper m re venile deten ’s sc d ie after bthat ec – Offic n ti is fi io st c y se n o eingwould o in o ev in o rs suing Los Angeles County over a project d ti n le u to g g id o u t sc h ro , Us,” premiered at Harlem’s legendary Apollo Theater, she n se co th en st im k al ence living ad centers. In a mental h d ee ruckbuild e lo m ce to m p in w es . C ra et n al S an b ea ai is h o if y o in u l rl o o d C th th y rn at g s o in ea er er ta 1 an in ia o 9 n ck lt p d G se 8 19,000 homes in a fire hazard area north of downtown. ro th er h C 2 , sto es inves overnor wh veral . Th und of , Cooper es Laguna Bea facility in P alifornia. a polic and in swo was in a daze. California. ose suppoertterm of theTuesday’s ti- have high expec caped from rn testimonree weapons were ri ch PoliofceSupervisors three attack ennof th p sylv ro e suit contends that the Board O g an re “I don’t drink, and D I don’t do any other kinds subra u ta ss Officer Tho ia er n se iv ti er g y, s b d on e County R e so onignored s who were efore movin Jo uring “but the politienvironmental his mI uthink mconcerns April eg 30iste when they mas White. Heshua Ryen said hein the solve “DNA testing shs.o cal Left eone’s peton g to could have been H stances,” she told Rolling Stone, I have a hanggued th rd r he in er tr sa w la at u itially th ia ld th w h is te l, prosecuto en r testified th e Ryen case immediately approved the Tejon Ranch Feb. 1Centennial the cat dar Further com panic. Project. over.” 9 Ryen, theirCooper killed husban . rs C at h te su an ia ta th d cc p d n k ey li in front g an e es fi ca sa sf n p 1 ti d n al 0 la u id n am -y an ll ly ce The project would be located in the Antelope Valley g y d ear-the dw McGuire sa th ed Diana R ensure just uring the ca She had the headache, but also ofife Doug to rear neighbor C oldhazy that DNA daugmemory oper camee prosecutions’ claim ys wIthen ice is seBakersfield hter Jessic and Peggy- belonging to mpaign. “N hristophnight, th ev e between and Los Angeles. would include an id rv the community she’d felt the previous her en h im a e ed fo er Hugscreening s, ce an al g rw ,” b o a her former ot nly is it can h p law d an was bigger ut testing in t womd with b hes.five Politeenboyfriend ar housing, pbusiness, and space. than a houout to chec Anim enforcemoen ce found th11-year-old inal. She turned th labor of love in the neighborhood that raised the roven industrial is case woel al Copen who was aloody clothing se t. ontrol oand Even thoth t e evidence e bloodied destroyed it u so ld to lv co an e The Center for Biological Diversity the Califorffi m cr v ce u an agers wrongfully convicted of brutally raping jogger Trisha io e im gh Newsom rs rushed ca at no cost to lent crim- is bold, h imal hospit es, tr over to the . the ble ’s al e th au p A , d is o nia Native Plant Society say it would destroy some of w ec fr e m li trea here it was the ican Americ state.” is ce, but they issue th a. Meili on April 19, 1989. It was a whirlwind of fellowship e Coonative diagnose ans, Hispan at Californding carefully on aiopn in thlargest p grasslands left in the state, harm wildlife, inD er that involved “a lot of smiles, hugs, and a lot of tears,” Dur. ca K ia se ics and oth w ri o voters across tentially po atching. H sti Krause, she ex57,000 er minoriti traffic into a veter e is keepin larizinand pects thnew Vernay said. e politicacrease inaraiahigh g bring es liv- Con e 1 residents g his focuth l , tells th sp b ec ac tr k fire hazard area. tinued on u in s m “When They See Us,” debuted on Netflix on Friday, to the wild1-pound (5-kilogranm on fairness are page A2 af an te d r The lawsuit contends supervisors violated the CaliforM it ju May 31. cGuire visit regains stre ) cat to stice ngth. ed at if he se nia EnvironmentalthQuality Act. The true and gripping tale of five boys of color bees it again, the bobcat on Fri An email seeking comment from thehe’county ll issue counsel tween the ages of 14 and 16 who were forced to falsely a ticket fodray. wasn’t immediately returned. j confess to the rape of a white woman in New York’s Central Park, has received critical acclaim with reviewers noting that it’s “impassioned,” and “moving.” One critic said it’s “must-see TV.” We already have a category of movies that we expect to artfully, if painfully edify – think of 12 Years a Slave, or Schindler’s List – but we’re not acculturated to it on television, said Willa Paskin of Slate Magazine. SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – California prosecuOn April 19, 1989, the lives of Antron McCray, Raytors allege a man stole $750,000 in public assistance funds mond Santana, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, and Kothrough an Electronic Benefit Transfer scheme that obrey Wise changed forever. tained personal information from 655 EBT card holders News media described them as “a wolf pack,” and through scam text messages. “animals,” and then-citizen Donald Trump took out a fullAttorney General Xavier Becerra’s office said Friday page ad in four New York City area newspapers attacking that Jawuan Antonio Gibson used the information to crethe youth and calling for the return of the death penalty. (Photo: Atsushi Nishijima/Netflix) ate cloned EBT cards and withdraw funds from ATMs. Decades after they’d been exonerated, Trump still has Gibson was arrested May 2 and booked into Los AnThe police-coerced confessions were the only evidence suggested it to her via tweet, wants to dramatize what the geles County jail. Authorities say agents seized $20,000 in refused to rescind his damning words against the men and he even denounced a multi-million civil settlement reached against them, but racism made the boys convenient scape- criminal justice system and New York City stole from these cash at that time and a later search of his hotel residence goats and metaphors for all that had gone wrong in a strati- innocent teenagers. between New York City and the five men. turned up $950,000 in cash, ATM card readers and other The series begins on the day of the rape. Antron equipment. “Trump was the fire starter,” Salaam said. “Common fied, corrupt, crime-ridden, rape-infested, and fearful New citizens were being manipulated and swayed into believing York City, according to Slate. The case filed in Sacramento County alleges two DuVernay, who took on the project after Santana Continued on page A2 that we were guilty.” counts of grand theft and one count of grand theft of access cards issued to four or more persons. Defense attorney Carmen Butler declined to comment.
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Five State Bills That Could Affect Your Safety
Assemblymember Dr. Shirley Weber speaks at a press conference February 6 standing with family members affected by police use of force. (Photo Caption by CBM Staff)
California Black Media Staff Here’s an update on five pieces of California state legislation that could have impact on the conduct of your local police and the way you live. - from how (and how much) you get paid, to the school you select for your children and where you reside (or invest) in rental property. AB 392 The California Act to Save Lives may soon be law. After police groups dropped their opposition to the bill au-
thored by Assemblymember Shirley Weber (D-San Diego) last week, a majority of lawmakers came out to support it. If passed, the bill will change the standards for police use of force in California and hold officers more accountable if a suspect is shot. It would also be one of the toughest laws in the country intended to discourage the use of lethal force by police. Weber, who is also chair of the legislative Black Caucus, introduced the bill after police officers shot and killed Stephon Alonzo Clark, a 22-year-old African American man, in the backyard of his grandparents home in Sacramento. With the new changes to the language in the law, the bill stands a fair chance of passing the Senate and making it to the governor’s desk for his signature. Black Lives Matter and some family members of victims dropped their support after Weber made the changes to the language. They say the amended legislation isn’t as strong or specific enough, and is open to interpretation by the courts. Other family members of victims have maintained their support, saying they understand negotiation is part of the legislative process. “I kept saying I wanted a bill that would make it safe behind and in front of the badge,” said Weber, thanking her colleagues and supporters after the bill passed in the Assembly. AB 5 – Worker Status: Employees and Freelancers Wednesday last week, the state Assembly voted 59-15 to pass AB 5. If signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, the legislation will make if tougher for companies to enter contracts with freelancers and could affect hundreds of thousands of “gig economy” workers across the state, including nail technicians, Uber drivers, Amazon delivery workers and even exotic dancers. Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) introduced the legislation, also known as the “Dynamex Bill” or the “Employee Misclassification
bill.” By writing into law specific rules and penalties, AB 5 builds on a California Supreme Court 2018 decision that instructed business to apply an “ABC” test to determine whether a worker is a freelancer or employee. For a worker to be classified as a freelancer, employees would have to prove that the worker is (A) not under the contracting company’s control, (B) is doing work that is not central to the company’s business, and (C) has an independent business providing a service. If workers don’t meet those requirements, companies would have to provide all the required pay and benefits under California law like overtime pay, minimum wage, workers compensation, employee insurance, paid parental leave and healthcare subsidies. Leaders from various industries throughout the state are lobbying Lawmakers in Sacramento to retain the ability to hire certain kinds of freelancers that are critical for their particular trade or businesses. The bill has now moved to the Senate for review. SB 756 – Charter School Moratorium Last week, Sen. Maria Elena Durazo (D-Los Angeles) sidelined her own charter school Bill, SB 756. Her proposal called for a 5-year moratorium on charter schools. By temporarily halting the legislation and moving it to an “inactive file,” she has a chance to re-introduce it next year. For the last few months, hundreds of Black parents of charter school students have been campaigning against several charter school laws that were making their way through the state legislature. Together, the proposals sought to slow the growth, take away legal rights and restrict the operations of the independently run, taxpayer funded public schools in the state. Last month, the Assembly passed two of the bills, AB 1505 and AB Continued on page A5
Legendary Queen of Creole Cuisine Dies at 96 By REBECCA SANTANA Associated Press NEW ORLEANS (AP) – New Orleans chef and civil rights icon Leah Chase, who created the city's first white-tablecloth restaurant for black patrons, broke the city's segregation laws by seating white and black customers and introduced countless tourists to Southern Louisiana Creole cooking, died Saturday. She was 96. Chase's family released a statement to news outlets Saturday night saying the “unwavering advocate for civil liberties” and “believer in the Spirit of New Orleans” died surrounded by family. “Her daily joy was not simply cooking, but preparing meals to bring people together,” the statement read. “One of her most prized contributions was advocating for the Civil Rights Movement through feeding those on the front lines of the struggle for human dignity.” Leah Chase transformed the Dooky Chase's restaurant from a sandwich shop where black patrons bought lottery tickets to a refined restaurant where tourists, athletes, musicians and even presidents of all races dined on fare such as jambalaya and shrimp Clemenceau. The restaurant and Chase's husband were both named after her father-in-law. Chase's determination propelled her from a smalltown Louisiana upbringing to a celebrated chef who authored cookbooks, appeared on cooking shows and fed civil rights greats such as Thurgood Marshall and Martin Luther King Jr. Well into her 90s, Chase could be found daily at the restaurant, using a walker while greeting customers and supervising the kitchen. The power of food to transform a day and the desire to better her city drove her. “I love people and I love serving people. It's fun for me to serve people. Because sometimes people will come in and they're tired. And just a little plate of food will make people happy,” she said during a 2015 interview with The Associated Press . At a time when other black Creole women were working in the city's garment industry, Chase worked as a waitress in the French Quarter, which exposed her to the segregated city's pricey restaurants frequented by white people. When she married Dooky Chase in 1946, his family restaurant had been open for five years, largely under the guidance of his mother. But Leah Chase wanted to make it
New Orleans chef and civil rights icon Leah Chase. (Courtesy photo)
a fine dining experience for black patrons along the lines of what she'd seen in the Quarter. Gradually, she introduced silverware on the table, tablecloths and Creole dishes.
“I said well why we can't have that for our people? Why we can't have a nice space?” she said. “So I started trying to do different things.” During the civil rights movement, Dooky Chase's became known as a place where white and black activists could meet and strategize about voter registration drives or legal cases. Although Chase and her husband were breaking the law by allowing blacks and whites to eat together, the police never raided the restaurant. Chase would also send food to civil rights leaders when they were in jail, sniffing her nose at the idea of them eating prison food. Sybil Morial, a longtime friend of Chase, said she's eaten hundreds of meals at Dooky Chase's where she was courted by her late husband, Ernest “Dutch” Morial, the city's first black mayor. On visits to New Orleans, Thurgood Marshall and other lawyers would work with Morial's husband and NAACP lawyer A.P. Tureaud, and then head to Dooky's for a meal. “It was a haven for them to refresh themselves with wonderful gumbo and it was a place where they could strategize after a hard day's work,” Morial said. Chase never boasted about it, saying simply that she did what she thought she had to do. Hurricane Katrina devastated her restaurant in 2005, leaving 5 feet (1.5 meters) of water in the dining room for weeks. When the waters receded, mold was everywhere. Chase was already into her 80s, but there was little question regarding the restaurant's fate. She and her husband evacuated to Birmingham, but returned and lived in a FEMA trailer next to the restaurant for months while they rebuilt. Her husband died in 2016 , at which point the couple had been married for seven decades. Her food always reflected her city, a Creole mixture of Spanish, French, African and other cultures that have influenced New Orleans. She enjoyed the new culinary influences in the city such as the growth of Vietnamese or Jamaican restaurants. But she pushed back against the notion that hers was a “soul food” restaurant. “When people come and ask about soul food, I ask them where is their soul. If your soul is in China, I can't help you,” she said. “If your soul is in New Orleans I know what to give you.”
Man Bitten by Rabid Bat Hiding in iPad
SOUTH HAMPTON, N.H. (AP) – A New Hampshire man got a big surprise as he went to close up his iPad. A bat was wedged between the back of the device and its cover and bit his finger. Roy Syvertson, of South Hampton, tells WMUR-TV it felt like a bee sting at first. When he realized he was dealing with a bat, he pressed down on the cover to keep it from flying away. The 86-year-old managed to get the bat outside but later found him dead. It turned out that the bat was rabid. Syvertson went to the hospital for rabies treatments. When asked how the bat got into his house and iPad case last week, Syvertson had a ready-made response. He quipped: “My joke of, ‘He probably knew my password,’ won’t last forever.”
Blacks Got More Timely Cancer Care After ‘Obamacare’
CHICAGO (AP) – New research suggests that states that expanded Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act eliminated racial differences in being able to quickly start on treatment after a diagnosis of advanced cancer. The law that is often called “Obamacare” let states expand Medicaid eligibility and offer subsidies to help people buy health insurance. Yale University researchers used electronic health records on 36,000 patients across the United States to gauge its impact. Before the law, 5% fewer blacks were starting treatment within a month of their cancer diagnoses. In states that expanded Medicaid, that difference went away. Results were featured Sunday at a cancer conference in Chicago.
Tracy Morgan to Host The ESPYs
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Comedian Tracy Morgan will host The ESPYs honoring the year’s top sports performances and achievements. The star of “The Last O.G.” will preside over the annual show airing live July 10 on ABC from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. Previous hosts include Danica Patrick, Samuel L. Jackson, Jon Hamm and Lance Armstrong.
Man Who Helped Desegregate School in 50s Gets Diploma
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) – An 84-year-old man who was among the first five black students to enroll at a Delaware high school finally has his diploma. The Delaware News Journal reports Salesianum High School in Wilmington gave a diploma to Fred Smith on Friday. Smith and four other black students enrolled at Salesianum in 1950, four years before the Brown v. Board of Education case that dismantled school segregation. The Army drafted Smith while the four other men graduated. After two years in the Army, Smith went straight to a job so he could support his mother and two younger siblings. He never graduated. After he received his degree from the Catholic school on Friday, Smith returned to Citibank, where he still works the overnight shift, 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.