Music Festival DeathsHeadliner at Deadly Show, Chaos Part of Formula
California Begins Rollout of COVID Shots for Children 5 to 11
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Bakersfield
Volume 48 Number 10
Serving Kern County for Over 48 Years
Observer Group Newspapers of Southern California
Finding Spiritual Shelter from Mental Health Struggles
As one of the some 8 million in the United States who struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Gloria Acosta knew she needed comfort even if there is no cure. (Courtesy Jehovah’s Witnesses)
Special to NNPA Newswire Keith Thompson was alone again with his thoughts, and, as usual, it wasn’t good. Recently divorced, drowning in debt and facing a fourth back surgery for chronic pain, the 48-year-old trucker no longer cared whether he lived or died. Such mental and emotional distress haunts millions. A recent government survey showed a doubling since 2019 in the proportion of Americans reporting anxiety or depressive disorder symptoms. The pandemic increased the number turning to unhealthy coping mechanisms, such as alcohol and substance abuse. That’s what Thompson had tried since his teenage years as he battled depression and self-hatred. Then an unexpected phone call changed everything for the Hebron, Ohio, resident. Just days before his surgery, Thompson spoke to one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, a group known for their public preaching but now pivoting to phone calling and letter writing to share their Bible message during the pandemic. It was a wake-up call for Thompson. “I tried it my way for some 40 years, and look where it got me,” he said. “I thought I’d try God’s way for a change.” After his surgery, Thompson started studying the Bible in earnest. His instructor became his confidant and mentor, helping him use Bible principles to work through his intense negative feelings. Thompson then began to help others by sharing in the ministry alongside the Witnesses. “I got to the point where I felt, ‘I want to be alive,’” he said, “like I had done something worthwhile.” Amid the pandemic, he became one of Jehovah’s Continued on page A6
Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill Will Revitalize Black Communities
DNC Chair Jaime Harrison says, “Because of Democrats, neighborhoods across the country will be safer, healthier, better connected, and Black Americans will experience an enhanced quality of life for generations to come.” (Photo: Edward Kimmel via wikimedia commons)
By NNPA Newswire The House sent the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to President Biden’s desk, legislation that will address economic disparities and the consequences of decades of disinvestment in America’s infrastructure that have fallen most heavily on communities of color. In response, DNC Chair Jaime Harrison released the following statement: “For years, Black Americans heard talk but didn’t see any action from Trump and Republicans who were unable to address critical community problems like lead leaching pipes, crumbling roads and bridges, and flooding streets. “But now, thanks to President Biden, the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will address these monumental concerns while also advancing racial justice and equity through investments in communities of color. “Because of Democrats, neighborhoods across the country will be safer, healthier, better connected, and Black Americans will experience an enhanced quality of life for generations to come.” The bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will deliver for Black communities by: • Ensuring every American household has access to reliable high-speed internet, helping lower costs and improving internet access for Black Americans who are 9% less likely than their white peers to have high-speed internet • Eliminating lead pipes and providing the largest
investment in clean drinking water in American history. Families of color, especially in communities like Chicago, Milwaukee, and Newark are at the highest risk for lead exposure at home and in schools. • Investing in public transit, reducing commute times, and addressing the backlog of repairs. In New York City, Black residents on average spend an additional 110 minutes per week commuting to work compared to white residents. • Reconnecting communities divided by inequitable transportation infrastructure. The bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will create the first-ever program aimed at reconnecting communities divided by transportation infrastructure that was built through Black neighborhoods, destroying homes, schools, churches and parks. • The bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will invest roughly $65 billion — the single largest investment in clean energy transmission in American history — to upgrade our power infrastructure and reduce pollution. Black people are almost 3 times more likely to die from asthma-related causes than our white counterparts. Remediating brownfields and Superfund sites. 26% of Black Americans live within 3 miles of Superfund sites that can lead to elevated lead levels in our children’s blood. By providing $21 billion to cleanup efforts, the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will help protect our children while providing good-paying union jobs to our communities.
Senate Republicans Again Shoot Down John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act Named after the late Congressman John Lewis, the Georgia Democrat who spent his life fighting for civil and equal rights, the bill has overwhelming public support. Because of the Jim Crow-inspired filibuster rule, Democrats need the party’s 50 Senators and at least 10 Republicans to pass the measure. By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent Pouring salt on wounded Democrats, Senate Republicans on Wednesday, November 3, again blocked the latest efforts to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. The bill aims to quash voter suppression and the repression laws enacted in GOP-led states like Texas and Georgia. Named after the late Congressman John Lewis, the Georgia Democrat who spent his life fighting for civil and equal rights, the bill has overwhelming public support. Because of the Jim Crow-inspired filibuster rule, Democrats need the party’s 50 Senators and at least 10 Republicans to pass the measure. Continued on page A7
The measure’s defeat came as Democrats attempted to regroup after the party’s catastrophic loss in the Virginia gubernatorial race. (Photo: Rep. John Lewis, Supreme Court news conference to call for the reversal of President Trump’s travel ban on refugees and immigrants from several Middle East countries. (Photo: Laurie Shaull / Wikimedia Commons)
Take! One
Wednesday, November 10, 2021
Shooting Leaves Three Wounded
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (AP) – Three people were wounded early Friday morning in a shooting in east Bakersfield, the Kern County Sheriff’s Office said. Deputies responding to 1:15 a.m. reports of numerous shots fired saw numerous people leaving the area and found multiple shell casings from at least two guns, the office said in a press release. A sheriff’s air unit spotted four people running and directed deputies to them. All four were detained, including one person with a leg wound. At the same time, two other victims arrived at a local hospital. They were described only as a female who was in critical but stable condition and a male who was in stable condition. A search of a residence near the shooting scene located numerous handguns and an AK-style rifle. Occupants of the residence were arrested for investigation of weapons-related crimes. “At this time, deputies are still investigating why the shooting occurred and the identity of the suspects,” the statement said.
Memorial Services Held for Olympic Gymnast
GARY, Ind. (AP) – Olympic gymnast Dianne Durham, who died earlier this year, was remembered Saturday at memorial services in northwest Indiana as a pioneer. Durham was the first Black woman to win a USA Gymnastics national championship. Her victory in the all-around at the 1983 national championships as a teenager was the first by a Black woman in the organization’s history. She died in February in Chicago following a short illness. She was 52. Several gymnasts spoke in person, virtually and through written messages at the memorial in Gary, Indiana, including Simone Biles. Mourners remembered Durham not only for athleticism but also her style, kindness and compassion, according to The (Northwest Indiana) Times. Olympic gold medalist Mary Lou Retton called her the “best competition.” “You are truly missed. Dianne was about living life to the fullest. That’s what she always did,” Retton wrote, according to the newspaper. Durham was born in Gary in 1968 and started gymnastics at age 4. She attended schools in Gary and later moved to Texas for training. After her win, she retired from gymnastics in 1985 and became a coach, including at the University of Illinois Chicago.
University to Dedicate Marker 1st Black Student
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) – Auburn University will honor Harold A. Franklin, the university’s first African American student, with a desegregation marker dedication ceremony. The ceremony will be held on Thursday at the Ralph Brown Draughon Library where a plaza was recently created to accompany the marker, WSFA-TV reported. Scheduled to speak at the event are Franklin’s son, Harold Franklin Jr., Auburn University President Jay Gogue, Auburn Board of Trustees member Elizabeth Huntley and Kenneth Kelly, a 1990 Auburn graduate and chairman and CEO of First Independence Bank of Detroit. The honor comes two months after Franklin’s death. He was 88. Franklin integrated Auburn as the university’s first Black student on Jan. 4, 1964. He was a Graduate School enrollee who went on to a successful 27year career as an educator in higher education after leaving Auburn in 1965. He earned a master’s degree in international studies from the University of Denver and taught history at Alabama State University, North Carolina A&T State University, Tuskegee Institute and Talladega College before retiring in 1992. Franklin initially was not allowed to defend his thesis at Auburn, a wrong that was righted last February and he participated in fall 2020 commencement exercises. In 2001, Auburn awarded Franklin with an honorary Doctor of Arts and in 2015 erected the historic marker near the library where he first registered for classes.
Rev. Jesse Jackson Hospitalized
CHICAGO (AP) – The Rev. Jesse Jackson was hospitalized Monday in Washington, D.C. after falling and hitting his head while helping Howard University students who are protesting living conditions on campus, according to a spokesman. The 80-year-old Chicago civil rights leader was entering a campus building when he fell and hit his head, according to Jackson spokesman Frank Watkins. Jackson’s staff took him to Howard University Hospital for various tests including a CT scan which came back normal. Watkins said Jackson would be kept at the hospital overnight for observation. “Family, he’s resting comfortably and doing well,” Santita Jackson, one of Jackson’s daughters, posted on Twitter along with a story from The Grio about his fall. Jackson was attending a meeting with Howard President Wayne A.I. Frederick and the students, who were discussing their complaints about living conditions, according to Watkins. Jackson, who has Parkinson’s disease, has already been hospitalized twice this year. He checked into a Chicago hospital for a breakthrough COVID-19 infection in August and required weeks of physical therapy as COVID affected his Parkinson’s and his ability to walk and talk. He also underwent gallbladder surgery earlier in the year. Since being released from the hospital for COVID-19 treatment and physical therapy, Jackson has resumed an active travel and public speaking schedule.