Desperation and Despair in Haiti as Relief Efforts Stall
Josephine Baker 1st Black Woman to Get Paris Burial Honor
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News Observer Bakersfield
Volume 47 Number 51
Serving Kern County for Over 47 Years
Observer Group Newspapers of Southern California
Rev. Jesse Jackson Speaks About His and Wife’s Covid Diagnosis EXCLUSIVE!
By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent While he and his wife remain hospitalized in a Chicago hospital after positive Covid tests, the Rev. Jesse Jackson told the Black Press that he remains vigilant in fighting for freedom, justice, and equality. In an exclusive telephone conversation from his hospital bed on Sunday, August 22, the renowned civil rights leader expressed his ongoing support for vaccinations while explaining why his wife, Jacqueline, had not received the vaccine. “I have had both my shots,” Rev. Jackson said in the telephone call from Northwestern Memorial Hospital. “My wife did not receive the vaccine because she has preexisting conditions that were of concern.” Jackson maintained the importance of vaccination, noting that there are more stringent variants of the coronavirus. He said he and Jacqueline are receiving the “best of care.” The telephone call came just one day after his organization, the Rainbow Push Coalition, revealed the positive tests and hospitalization. The call included National Newspaper Publishers Association President and CEO Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., a longtime friend and comrade in the fight for civil rights. Both disciples of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Rev. Jackson, and Dr. Chavis expressed concern that some media members would exploit Jackson’s positive tests. Jackson issued a reassurance of his strength. Continued on page A2
Rev. Jesse Jackson speaks to the crowd during a demonstration supporting voting rights on Capitol Hill, in Washington, Monday, Aug. 2, 2021. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Demand Congress Act on Voting Rights
Rally in front of Shelby County courthouse participants holding up signs of states covered by the Voting Rights Act. (Courtesy Photo)
By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent With voter suppression laws taking shape in Texas, Georgia, Arizona, and just about every GOP-led state in the nation, NAACP President Derrick Johnson is pleading for Democrats and the White House to show a sense of urgency. In a scathing op-ed, Johnson said, “we cannot outorganize voter suppression.” “We organized in November to put people in office to address the issue of voter suppression. We did not organize in November to let elected officials off the hook to organize again and overcome a new hurdle. Voters did their job as citizens, and now they’re simply asking elected officials to do their job to protect our right to vote,” Johnson remarked. Nearly six decades after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and civil rights activists led the 1963 March On Washington for Jobs and Freedom, that helped establish voting rights for millions of Black Americans, African
American leaders will again descend on the nation’s capital to demand Congress protect the rights. Martin Luther King III, Yolanda King, Andrea Waters King, and others plan to march with more than 140 organizations and thousands of Americans on Saturday, August 28, to advocate for eliminating the Jim Crow filibuster and passing three critical voting rights bills – the For the People Act, John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, and the Washington D.C. Admission Act. The mobilization comes just months after Black voters overcame significant barriers to the vote and organized their communities to change the course of the country — “and now ask that the White House and Congress do their part to protect our democracy and stand on the right side of history,” the leaders said in a news release. Martin Luther King III plans to appear this week on the National Newspaper Publishers Association live morning news program, “Let It Be Known,” to discuss Continued on page A2
Recall Election Heats Up Gov. Newsom Trades Fire With Larry Elder Aldon Thomas Stiles California Black Media Until recently, Gov. Newsom’s strategy for responding to the litany of attacks he’s received from Larry Elder, the Republican frontrunner in the upcoming Sept. 14 recall election has been to not respond directly to them. Newsom’s responses have focused on his accomplishments, indirectly alluding to Elder’s attacks, and especially warning voters that if Republicans succeed in the recall Trumpism would be in charge of the state. But a little over a week ago, as Newsom spoke before phone bankers at Hecho En Mexico restaurant in San Jose he brought up a number of Elder’s positions that clash with the views of a majority of Californians. Elder, a former lawyer and Los Angeles-based conservative talk radio host, is opposed to a minimum wage. He is skeptical about climate change. He supports school choice and offshore drilling. He is against school mask mandates and would eliminate vaccination validation and mandatory testing for those who are not vaccinated. “He actually wrote an op-ed saying women are not as smart as men on issues of civic affairs, on issues of economics, on issues of politics,” Newson said. Last week, Newsom’s campaign released an ad that features a picture of Elder with Trump. Elder has pushed back on the association with Trump. “The idea that they’re trying to characterize my campaign as some sort of extension of you-know-who is unfair to me,” Elder told ABC’s Eyewitness News. “I am an
Republican frontrunner Larry Elder (shutter stock Gov. Gavin Newsom (shutter stock photo) photo)
insurgent candidacy – 1.7 million Californians signed the recall petition. A quarter of them were Independents and Democrats who voted for the man just two years earlier.” Regarding Trump and the legitimacy of 2020
presidential election, Larry Elder flipflopped after he told the Sacramento Bee’s editorial board on Aug. 2 that he did not believe that Joe Biden stole the election. Later, on his talk radio show “The Morning Answer,” after receiving
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Free!
Wednesday, August 25, 2021
California to Review 2009 Fatal Shooting of Black Man
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) – California’s attorney general said Tuesday that his office will conduct its own review of a transit officer’s involvement in the shooting death of a 22-year-old Black man at a San Francisco Bay Area train station in 2009. The decision by Rob Bonta comes after Nancy O’Malley, Alameda County’s district attorney, announced in January that her office would not file a murder charge against former Bay Area Rapid Transit officer Anthony Pirone in the death of Oscar Grant on News Year’s Day. She said that while his conduct that night was unacceptable, he did not fire the gun that killed Grant. Instead, Pirone hauled Grant out of a train car and pinned a knee to his neck and back in a manner similar to that used in the death of George Floyd last year in Minneapolis. The BART officer who shot Grant in the back while he was on the ground, Johannes Mehserle, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and served 11 months. Grant’s family has sought criminal charges against Pirone for years and petitioned Bonta’s office after O’Malley declined to go forward. The office pledged a “thorough and independent review”of the role played by Pirone. “Transparency is critical to building and maintaining trust between law enforcement and the communities we serve,”Bonta said. The shooting death, which sparked national calls for police reform, was depicted in the 2013 film “Fruitvale Station”directed by Ryan Coogler and starring Michael B. Jordan.
Police Caller Must Pay BLM Protesters $4.5K for False Report SCHENECTADY, N.Y. (AP) – A former ice cream shop owner accused of calling police on peaceful Black Lives Matters protesters was ordered Wednesday to pay them $500 each by a judge hearing a state lawsuit citing a new law targeting false, race-based police reports. Attorney General Letitia James’ complaint against the former owner of Bumpy’s Polar Freeze in Schenectady alleges that David Elmendorf wielded a baton and air rifle and shouted racial epithets at protesters who came to his business to protest after racist text messages he allegedly wrote circulated on social media. Elmendorf also was accused of calling 911 to falsely report that armed protesters were threatening to shoot him, referring to Black protesters as “savages.” Elmendorf ’s attorney, James Mermigis, said that the allegations were “categorically false”and that his client’s name was being smeared. The lawsuit was the first bought by James’ office to rely in part on a civil statute passed last year following the high-profile case against a white woman who called 911 on a Black birdwatcher in New York’s Central Park and falsely claimed he was threatening her. Under the ruling, Elmendorf must pay $500 each to nine protesters, for a total of $4,500. He is permanently barred from making future threats against people because of their race and from brandishing a deadly weapon within 1,000 feet of any peaceful protest. “There is zero tolerance for harassment, intimidation, or violence of any kind against anyone in New York,”James said in a prepared release. Elmendorf, who is now working in another state, was never properly served so no defense was made in court, Mermigas said.
Soccer’s All Whites Face Name Change WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) – New Zealand Football is reported to be considering dropping the “All Whites”nickname of its national men’s soccer team because of its racial connotation. While NZF has not confirmed it may discard the name, it says it is carrying out a variety of measures designed to improve its cultural inclusivity. The national body is reported to have sought feedback from stakeholders on a potential change. The “All Whites”name has a relatively short-lived history. It was first applied to the national team during its qualifying campaign for the 1982 World Cup when it appeared for the first time in an all-white uniform. Previously the New Zealand team had played mostly in black shorts, white shirts and white socks. It subsequently adopted the white strip and with it the nickname which riffed on All Blacks, the name of the New Zealand rugby team which plays in all-black colors. In a statement Monday, chief executive Andrew Pragnell said “New Zealand Football is on a journey around cultural inclusivity and respecting the principles of (the treaty of Waitangi, New Zealand’s founding treaty between indigenous Maori and the British crown). “As part of our Delivery and Sustainability Project, announced last year, we are in the process of working with stakeholders across the game as well as people from outside football, looking at all areas of the organization to make sure they are fit for purpose in 2021 and beyond. “It is too early in the process to speak about any outcomes but this is an important piece of work as we strive to be the most inclusive sport in Aotearoa (New Zealand).” Christchurch-based Super Rugby team the Crusaders last year was forced to discard a logo which showed a knight wielding a sword, because of its reference to the religious crusaders of the middle ages. It chose to retain the Crusaders name because of fan opposition to a change.