News Observer Los Angeles
Volume 35 Number 32
Serving Los Angeles County for Over 35 Years
Observer Group Newspapers of Southern California
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Thursday, June 25, 2020
Sheriff’s Worker Arrested for Vandalism of ‘Black Lives Matter’ Signs
LaKesha Alston Forbes, ECU associate provost for equity and diversity, signs the memorandum of understanding between ECU and Howard University on Oct. 26, while Howard Provost Anthony Wutoh, center, and ECU Provost Ron Mitchelson watch. (Photos by Rhett Butler/ecu.edu)
American Athletic Conference Forms Racial Equality Action Group By Earl Heath Contributing Sports Writer In our ever-changing world of race and human rights the American Athletic Conference has formed the Racial Equality Action Group which consist of student-athletes, coaches, and administrators all from the institutions within the Conference. “We are at a pivotal moment in our nation’s history in
University of Tulsa athletic director Dr. Derrick Gragg was recently selected as Chairman of the American’s Racial Equality Racial group. (StephenPingryTulsaWorld)
terms of racial justice and equality underscored by the tragic and heartbreaking events in recent in recent weeks, and we have an obligation to our university and students to enact change,” said American Athletic Conference commissioner Mike Aresco. “Words are important but words are not enough. Action is required.” The group is chaired by Dr. Derrick Gregg Vice President and Director of Athletics at the university of Tulsa. The groups goal is to translate words into conference wide actions to assist in eliminating racial in equality and in justice. “This is a monumental time in American History for higher education, intercollegiate athletics and the entire world. I am honored to serve as Chair of this important action group that has engaged in meaningful impactful work,” said Gregg. “We will focus on meaningful initiatives that will focus on eliminating racism, hate and bias while fostering unity solidarity and equality. We will continue to engage our student athletes, coaches and campus staff members tom identify ways to unite and make an everlasting difference now and in the future. We certainly welcome input from our conference membership and others as we move forward TOGETHER.” Another member of the group is LaKesha Alston-Forbes, Associate Provost for Equity and Diversity at East Carolina University. She is also the schools Title IX coordinator. Alston Forbes and the group will assist in developing messaging through public service announcements, help in putting together hashtags that will enable relative experiences, stories and uplifting relationships to be shared through utilization of platforms. She will also assist in group in sponsoring workshops that will seek to create dialogue with campus police and local police departments in communities of the American Athletic Conference communities. This move is a great move by the conference to come up with solutions that will not only uplift the college communities but will have an international effect as many students come from other countries. Just as Black Lives Matters had a global effect so will the efforts of these brilliant minds. Other Group members include: Donna DeMarco, COO, American Athletic Conference (ex officio member), Kelvin
Sampson, Head Men’s Basketball Coach, University of Houston and Michelle Adams, Associate Professor of Sociology and Faculty Athletics Representative, Tulane University.
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) – Three men including employees of a sheriff’s office and district attorney’s office in California have been arrested for investigation of the vandalism of a Black Lives Matter sign. The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office said late Saturday that a large tarp painted with the letters “BLM” has been repeatedly damaged while on display for three week on a fence in the city of Thousand Oaks. The owner placed a surveillance camera nearby to capture any damage, and posted one of the incidents on social media, the office said in a statement. Detectives recognized one of the suspects as a sheriff’s office employee, prompting an investigation, the statement said. “I’m deeply disappointed that one of our employees involved himself in this type of illegal activity, especially when this is an infringement on someone’s First Amendment right to freedom of speech,” Sheriff Bill Ayub said in a statement. “We hold our employees to the highest standards, and there will be consequences for this.” Darrin Stone, a service technician at a pre-trial detention facility, is accused of slashing the sign on June 13 and June 19. He was issued a misdemeanor vandalism citation and placed on paid administrative leave, the office said. Craig Anderson, a 59-year-old investigative assistant at the Ventura County district attorney’s office, is being investigated for vandalism to the sign on May 31, the statement said. The district attorney’s office said the case has been referred to the Attorney General’s office for investigation and that Anderson has resigned. A third man, 58-year-old Jeffrey Moore, is being investigated for graffiti to the sign on June 11, the office said. Working phones for the men could not immediately be found. Email messages were sent to addresses linked to Stone and Moore. It was not immediately possible to reach Anderson.
White Man Yelled Slurs, Mooned Black Parishioners
In this Aug. 4, 2015 file photo, American Athletic Conference Commissioner Mike Aresco addresses the media during an NCAA football media day in Newport, R.I. with Big 12 expansion talks looming. (AP Photo/Stew Milne)(AP)
SHARON, S.C. (AP) – Church officials in South Carolina said a white man shouted racist slurs at black parishioners and pulled down his pants to show them his butt while they were holding services outdoors due to the coronavirus pandemic. The man was “being loud and boisterous” in an attempt to disrupt the service at St. John Missionary Baptist Church in Sharon on Sunday before he yelled the slurs and mooned the worshippers, according to an incident report filed with the York County Sheriff’s Office. He also shouted “white power” as he spewed the slurs at people, including children, Pastor John Brown told The Herald. “I spoke during the sermon to our people and told them that we have been called that before, but God created us this color and that as black people we are just as important and part of God’s world as anyone,” Brown said. York County Sheriff Kevin Tolson told the newspaper that he learned about the alleged incident on Tuesday and called church officials, urging them to file an official report, which they did the next day. He said the church leaders told him that no one had confronted the person. “The people there at the church that day handled the incident extremely well,” he said. Authorities have not yet identified a suspect, Tolson added.
2 Arrested after ‘Black Lives Matter’ Painted in Street
San Diego County Administration Building (Photo by Chida Rebecca editor and chief, Black & Magazine)
California State Capitol Goes Black, Red and Green to Mark Juneteenth Aldon Thomas Stiles California Black Media As California goes, so does the nation. You’ve probably heard that cliché many times before. It certainly rings true for Juneteenth. The state of California started recognizing Juneteenth or Black “Freedom Day,” marking the emancipation of enslaved African Americans, back in 2003 as an official state observance. That was 17 years before Juneteenth became a household word across the United States this year. On June 19, 1865, Union General Gordon Granger led troops into Galveston, Texas, to announce the end of the Civil War and to let enslaved people in that town know that nearly 250 years of slavery was finally
over. They were now recognized as free people. Thousands of African Americans in that former Confederate Gulf Coast town had not yet heard that more than two years before on January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation. That document officially granted them their freedom. “Four hundred years, African Americans have fought through struggle and oppression only to rise to the occasion and be the creators, inventors and leaders of society,” said the Rev. Shane Harris, a San Diego based civil rights leader, reflecting on the history behind the holiday. In the wake of the brutal murder of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man who Minnesota police killed last month — and amid the global protests his death has sparked — there were
more Juneteenth celebrations across California than ever before in history. The commemorations took on especial significance as Californians up and down the state paid homage to the suffering and triumphs of African American history in the United States. “Juneteenth is Freedom Day and a cause for celebration,” said Assembly member Shirley N. Weber (D-San Diego, chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus. On Friday night in Sacramento, Weber, other members of the California legislature, and people from all walks of life, watched from the lawn of the California Capitol as the building’s famous dome lighted up in Red, Green and Black. African Americans use those colors to symbolize the pain and the richness of the African American experience and the African heritage of
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FLORISSANT, Mo. (AP) – Two women are facing charges after protesters began to paint “Black Lives Matter” in the street near a suburban St. Louis police department that has has been the site of protests since a white detective’s SUV struck a Black suspect earlier this month. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that the arrests came Sunday night after multiple warnings during a protest in Florissant, Missouri. The department in the north St. Louis County town has been the site of several protests since the Black suspect was injured June 2. The detective, Joshua Smith, was fired and was charged last week with assault and armed criminal action. Smith’s attorney said the man was struck accidentally. Video was captured from two home security systems. On Sunday, 50 to 70 protesters gathered outside police headquarters and some sought to paint “Black Lives Matter” similar to what was painted near the White House in Washington. The slogan was first painted on Friday, but it was painted over the next day at the direction of the city’s street department, police spokesman Steve Michael said, Protesters repainted “Black Lives Matter” in 12-foot-high(3.7-meterhigh) letters on Saturday, but it was again painted over. Protesters who gathered Sunday night were warned that anyone painting in the street would risk getting pepper sprayed or arrested. Police moved in when the painting started. Michael said the words were were causing confusion for drivers and attracting onlookers to the busy stretch of road. “It’s not the message we are painting over, it’s the fact they are painting over the highway,” he said. Protesters and police had a brief but violent encounter late Friday and early Saturday. Police used pepper spray to disperse a crowd after demonstrators threw objects that damaged the police building. Michael said up to four officers were struck by thrown objects. Three people were arrested Friday, one each for assault, property damage and peace disturbance.