Afro Music Festival by Amplify in Leimert Park Village Page A3
Charlie Sifford Broke Golf’s Color Lines
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News Observer Los Angeles
Volume 37 Number 29
Serving Los Angeles County for Over 37 Years
Observer Group Newspapers of Southern California
Uvalde Tells Biden To ‘Do Something’; He Pledges ‘We Will’ By Zeke Miller and Elliot Spagat Associated Press UVALDE, Texas (AP) — President Joe Biden grieved with the shattered community of Uvalde on Sunday, mourning privately for three hours with anguished families of the 19 schoolchildren and two teachers killed by a gunman. Faced with chants of “do something” as he departed a church service, Biden pledged: “We will.” At Robb Elementary School, Biden visited a memorial of 21 white crosses — one for each of those killed — and first lady Jill Biden added a bouquet of white flowers to those already placed in front of the school sign. The couple then viewed individual altars erected in memory of each student, the first lady touching the children’s photos as they moved along the row. After visiting the memorial, Biden attended Mass at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, where several victims’ families are members, and one of the families was in attendance. Speaking directly to the children in the congregation, Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller tried to assuage the fears of the youngsters, some appearing about the same age as the victims. “You have seen the news, you have witnessed the tears of your parents, friends,” he said, encouraging them not to be afraid of life. “You are the best reminders to us that the lives of the little ones are important.” As Biden departed church to meet privately with family members, a crowd of about 100 people began chanting “do something.” Biden answered, “We will,” as he got into his car. It was his only public comment during roughly seven hours in Uvalde. Biden later tweeted that he grieves, prays and stands with the people of Uvalde. “And we are committed to turning this pain into action,” he said. The visit to Uvalde was Biden’s second trip in as many weeks to console a community in loss after a mass shooting. He traveled to Buffalo, New York, on May 17 to meet with victims’ families and condemn white supremacy after a shooter espousing the racist “replacement theory” killed 10 Black people at a supermarket. Both shootings and their aftermath put a fresh spotlight
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden visit a memorial at Robb Elementary School to pay their respects to the victims of the mass shooting, Sunday, May 29, 2022, in Uvalde, Texas. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
on the nation’s entrenched divisions and its inability to forge consensus on actions to reduce gun violence. “Evil came to that elementary school classroom in Texas, to that grocery store in New York, to far too many places where
innocents have died,” Biden said Saturday in a commencement address at the University of Delaware. “We have to stand stronger. We must stand stronger. We cannot outlaw tragedy, I know, but Continued on page A2
Homeownership for Black Californians Antonio Ray Harvey California Black Media Last week, the Bay Area Black Housing Advisory Task Force (BABHATF) –a coalition of more than 40 groups with housing and community expertise – unveiled a $500 million plan to make housing more accessible and affordable for Black families. BABHATF is asking the region’s leaders and residents to support the “Bay Area Regional Black Housing Fund” initiative. The organization is also calling on the Legislature to include funding for the effort in this year’s state budget. The task force is supported by Assemblymember Lori Wilson (D-Suisun) who was sworn into office April 6 after winning a special election in the 11th Assembly District. The investment “will help repair the injustices that have shaped the housing experiences of Black people in the Bay Area and in California,” BABHATF leaders said in a letter drafted to bring awareness to a problem that the group says is statewide. “It will also create new opportunities to expand housing for Black people in places where they have largely been --
and are still -- excluded. Increasing Black homeownership will benefit our entire region,” said task force members Fred Blackwell and Melissa Jones in the letter. “The work we do to reduce the rent burden for Black people will provide a way forward for the Bay Area overall,” the letter continued. Blackwell is CEO of the San Francisco Foundation, a community nonprofit committed to advancing racial equity and economic inclusion. Jones is executive director of the Bay Area Regional Health Inequities Initiative. Her work focuses on health, social inequity, and well-being. The task force points out that there has been no regional response to California’s housing crisis’ welldocumented impact on Black communities. It believes “a targeted solution” is necessary for an “issue rooted in racial injustice,” Blackwell and Jones wrote. The California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) reports that Black homeownership rates are the lowest among California’s ethnic groups. The Black homeownership rate was 50.98% at its peak in 2004. Since then, the homeownership rates for
Black Californians have fallen at a steeper curve than those of all other racial and ethnic groups in the state. During the early 2000s, several mortgage lenders specifically targeted Black homebuyers offering them subprime loans. High default rates on those loans contributed to the Great Recession, which began in 2007 and lasted through 2009. As a result, the Black homeownership has dropped by more than 10% since 2004 and has yet to recover, according to CalHFA. BABHATF illustrates how affordable housing impacts Black communities throughout the state, pointing out that there is no major ethnic group over-represented in the state’s homeless population than Black people. Various reports state that 150,000 Californians experience homelessness on any given night and nearly 40% are Black. “We envision a Bay Area with thriving, healthy and resilient Black communities, where all Black residents have a home. We want a region that rebuilds Black commercial districts destroyed by highway development, regains the
Take One!
Thursday, June 2, 2022
Weekend Event for HBCU Graduates Slated in Alabama
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) – An event to bring together graduates of historically black colleges and universities is being held in Alabama this weekend. HBCU SpringComing opened on Friday in Birmingham and continues through Sunday. The event has been in New York the past seven years and moved to the Deep South for the first time this year. On Saturday, organizers said 25 Birmingham-area students will receive scholarships of $1,000 each to help with their education. “Our foremost opportunity is to really bring the collective HBCU community in Alabama and surrounding areas together,’’ co-founder Lauren Grove told WVTM-TV. “That was one of the reasons Birmingham was attractive to us.’’ Founded in 2015, HBCU SpringComing aims to preserve the Black college experience and promote alumni support. While Alabama has a large concentration of historically Black schools including Tuskegee Institute, Alabama A&M University and Alabama State University, some are struggling financially, and Selma’s Concordia College closed about four years ago. The city said planned events include an innovation lab, a tour of Birmingham’s civil rights district and a comedy show. The event coincides with the SWAC baseball tournament, which is being held at Regions Field through Sunday.
Cops Investigate Swastika Painted on Black MO Church SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) – A black swastika was painted on the outside wall of an historically Black church in southwestern Missouri and police are investigating the vandalism as a hate crime. Pitts Chapel United Methodist Church in Springfield reported that the swastika was spray painted on the building on May 18 or 19. The NAACP and the Missouri chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations condemned the vandalism. A county parks crew removed the swastika. During a news conference with the NAACP at the church Friday, the pastor, the Rev. Tracy Wolff, said her congregation was particularly disturbed that their church was targeted given recent violent hate crimes nationwide, including the deadly mass shooting at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York, that investigators have said was racially motivated. “I want to be clear that this is not simply tagging. This is not graffiti. This is not vandalism,” Wolff said. “This was a hate crime, and it is unacceptable.’’ Pitts Chapel is Springfield’s oldest historically Black church, Wolff said. It was founded in 1847 by a group of enslaved Africans. “Though we are historically Black, on Sunday mornings at 11 a.m., we’re becoming one of the most diverse places in town. I don’t think a lot of people know that,” she said. Police have not identified a suspect and are asking witnesses or anyone with information to contact police. In the meantime, Wolff said, the church is beefing up security.
Continued on page A2
‘It’s Easier to Get a Gun than Baby Formula.’ Athletes, Celebs Boil Over Latest Mass Shooting By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent Nineteen children lost their lives at what was supposed to be one of the safest places in the world: school. The May 24 massacre at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, marked the second-deadliest shooting incident on a K-12 campus in America since 2012 when 26 students and teachers were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut. The latest breach of America’s once safe and sacred institutions, where two teachers were also killed, has numerous politicians from both sides of the aisle sending their “heartfelt” condolences to victims’ families. But it has struck a nerve with entertainers, athletes, and concerned citizens, all of whom expressed grief and outrage on social media and in interviews. “It’s been enough. We’ve been at ‘enough’ for centuries,” actress Gabrielle Union tweeted following the May 24 massacre. “It’s sad the world that we live in,” Golden State Warriors Guard Damion Lee told reporters after Game 4 of the NBA’s Western Conference Finals. “Guns shouldn’t be as easily accessible,” Lee continued. “Like, it’s easier to get a gun than baby formula right now. That’s unbelievable in this country that we live in.” An angry Warriors head coach Steve Kerr railed at reporters that “basketball questions don’t matter.” “The 50 senators who refuse to vote on HR-8 [matter],” Kerr said, referring to a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives
that would strengthen background checks for those seeking to purchase a weapon. “They won’t vote on it because they want to hold onto their own power. Fifty senators in Washington are going to hold us
hostage. It’s pathetic,” Kerr demurred. Authorities have yet to release the victims’ names, but family members have identified some. Ten-year-old Xavier Lopez counted among the dead. His mother told the Washington Post that Xavier “was funny, never serious.” “That smile, I will never forget. It would always cheer anyone up,” Felicha Martinez said. She said her son, an honor student, couldn’t wait to go to middle school. On Facebook, Angel Garza, whose 10-year-old daughter Amerie Jo Garza lost her life in the massacre, frantically asked for help locating his daughter before the grim reality hit. “I don’t ask for much or hardly even post on here, but please, it’s been 7 hours, and I still haven’t heard anything on my love,” Garza posted. “Please help me find my daughter.” Later, after confirming that Amerie Jo had died, Garza thanked everyone for their assistance in trying to locate her. “My little love is now flying high with the angels above,” Garza wrote. “Please don’t take a second for granted. Hug your family. Tell them you love them. I love you, Amerie Jo. Watch People gather at a memorial site in the town square over your baby brother for me.” of Uvalde set up for those killed in the mass shooting Lydia Martinez Delgado told a local television station that at Robb Elementary School, Sunday, May 29, 2022, her niece, fourth-grade teacher Eva Mireles, was among the dead. in Uvalde, Texas. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E) “I’m furious that these shootings continue, these children Continued on page A2
Grandmaster Jay
Jury Convicts Militia Leader of Pointing Rifle at Police LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) – The leader of a pro-gun group that has staged armed protests has been convicted of pointing a rifle at law enforcement while in Kentucky for a demonstration, officials said. A federal jury found John F. Johnson, who goes by “Grandmaster Jay,’’ guilty on Friday on charges of assaulting, resisting or impeding law enforcement and brandishing a firearm during racial justice protests two years ago, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said Sunday in a statement. Court documents and evidence presented during the weeklong trial said Johnson pointed an AR-15 platform rifle and tactical flashlight at two federally deputized officers on a roof in downtown Louisville, the statement said. The alleged incident occurred the day before the Kentucky Derby, when hundreds of protesters peacefully marched to demand justice in the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor by Louisville police. Johnson’s group, known as the NFAC, has an all-Black membership and often demonstrates against white supremacy and police violence. Johnson, 59, of Ohio faces at least seven years in prison when he is sentenced on Aug. 22, the statement said.