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Los Angeles
Volume 35 Number 44
Serving Los Angeles County for Over 35 Years
Observer Group Newspapers of Southern California
Naomi Osaka Wins U.S. Open, Rallying for Racial Justice By Nick Zaccardi NBC Sports As Naomi Osaka lay on the Arthur Ashe Stadium court for 18 seconds after winning her second U.S. Open, staring into the sky, she recalled watching previous tennis greats do the same. “I’ve always wanted to see what they saw,” she said after rallying past Belarus’ Victoria Azarenka 1-6, 6-3, 6-3. So much else of what Osaka did on court the last two weeks was never before seen. She walked into Ashe Stadium two Mondays ago for her first-round match wearing a black face mask. It bore the name Breonna Taylor, a Black woman who was fatally shot by police on March 13. After Osaka’s three-set opener, she felt confident enough to declare this publicly: she brought seven different masks to the tournament, one for each round through the final, with a different name of a Black person killed in recent years. “It’s quite sad that seven masks isn’t enough for the amount of names,” Osaka said on Sept. 1, two days after withdrawing before the Western & Southern Open final with a left hamstring injury. “So, hopefully, I’ll get to the finals, and you can see all of them.” We did. Taylor’s name was followed by Elijah McClain, Ahmaud Arbery, Trayvon Martin, George Floyd, Philando Castile and, on Saturday, Tamir Rice. Osaka, the pre-tournament favorite for the first U.S. Open held without ticketed fans, had an awful start to her third Grand Slam final.
Azarenka, a 31-year-old mom aiming to go a record seven years between major titles, won eight of the first nine games and was a point from going up 3-0 in the second set.
Osaka, developing a knack for clutch play in these settings, found the will that brought her back-to-back Slams at the 2018 U.S. Open and 2019 Australian Open. She won six of the next seven games to take the second set. She then handled a back-andforth decider, breaking Azarenka and serving it out in the last two games. “Two years ago I maybe would have folded,” said Osaka, who was marvelous in a 2018 U.S. Open final otherwise defined by Serena Williams‘ arguments with chair umpire Carlos Ramos. “I’m more of a complete player now.” The 22-year-old with a Japanese mother and Haitian father became the first woman to win a U.S. Open final after losing the first set since Spaniard Arantxa Sanchez Vicario in 1994. She became the sixth woman to win her first three major finals in the Open Era (since 1968). “All the credit to Naomi,” said Azarenka, the 2012 and 2013 Australian Open winner who made it past the fourth round of a Slam for the first time since having son Leo in December 2016 and beat Williams in the semifinals. “She’s a champion.” Osaka has matured through struggle in the public eye as tennis’ first new global star in many years. And the first on the women’s side since Maria Sharapova emerged 16 years ago at the dawn of the social-media age (the Williams sisters already established by then). At last year’s U.S. Open, Kobe Bryant and Colin Kaepernick were in her player box. She then moved to California, reportedly after buying Nick Jonas‘ Beverly Hills mansion for $6.9 million. Continued on page A2
DC Mayor Muriel Bowser to Receive NNPA 2020 National Leadership Award By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent On Nov. 6, 2018, Muriel Bowser became the first woman ever re-elected as the Mayor of Washington, DC, and the first mayor to earn a second term in 16 years. Mayor Bowser has earned credit for taking bold steps to reset DC’s global and national competitiveness. She sped up affordable housing production, diversified the DC economy, increased satisfaction in city services, and invested in programs and policies that allowed more families to live and thrive in DC. A graduate of Chatham University and American University – with honorary degrees from both Chatham University and Trinity University, Mayor Bowser has moved the forefront of racial equality and social justice. She renamed a portion of 16th Street, NW, to Black Lives Matter Plaza, and encouraged her more than 182,000 Twitter followers to oust President Donald Trump in the coming election. “In November, we say ‘next,’” Mayor Bowser proclaimed. On Sept. 17, the Mayor will receive the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) 2020 National Leadership Award. Each year, the NNPA recognizes courageous Americans that have impacted the nation and world in positive ways. This year’s recipients include: elected officials, a business maverick, and an
educator. NNPA Board members noted about this year’s awardees that, while their career paths may be varied, the impact of their shared commitment to creating meaningful and beneficial change in the lives of African Americans cannot be underestimated. Over the past five years, Mayor Bowser has added more than 57,000 jobs in DC, reduced unemployment by 28 percent, and increased DC Government’s annual spending with local businesses by $200 million. She also chaired the National League of Cities Task Force on Housing, doubled the District’s annual investment in affordable housing, and set a bold goal to build 36,000 new homes by 2025. Further, the Mayor is credited with transforming DC’s homeless services system, building small, service-enriched shelters across the city, and bringing chronic homelessness to a 15-year low. Mayor Bowser also deployed the first major city body-worn camera program. Along with DC Democratic Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, she spearheaded the 2016 voter referendum on DC with more than 86 percent of voters approving of statehood. Before becoming Mayor in 2015, she served as the Ward 4 Councilmember on the District of Columbia Council – first elected in a special election in 2007 and re-elected in 2008 and 2012. As a Councilmember, she served as the Chairwoman of the
Over the past five years, Mayor Bowser has added more than 57,000 jobs in DC, reduced unemployment by 28 percent, and increased DC Government’s annual spending with local businesses by $200 million.
Committee on Economic Development, which created more than 5,000 affordable housing units, passed legislation to build the new soccer stadium, and secured from the federal government the best portion of the Walter Reed campus for DC. She also led her colleagues to pass comprehensive ethics reform and increased transparency in government contracting.
Police Violence is Linked to Segregated Housing Black Households Earned 61 Cents for Every Dollar of White Median Incomes By Charlene Crowell Senior Fellow with the Center for Responsible Lending The August 23 police shooting of an unarmed Black man in Kenosha, WI, triggered yet another round of community protests and national news coverage of a Black man. A series of multiple gunshots fired by a local police officer, were not fatal for 29-year old Jacob Blake; but may have permanently paralyzed him from the waist down. Days later on August 28, the National Action Network served as a major organizer for a Commitment March, rededicating the yet unaddressed dreams of the historic 1963 March on Washington. Assembled again at Washington’s Lincoln Memorial, the day’s speakers spanned nationally-known leaders like Rev. Al Sharpton, Martin Luther King III, and Attorney Ben Crump to the family members of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Jacob Blake and others. The irony is that despite the passage of nearly 60 years between the original march and its 2020 recommitment, many of the issues that have plagued Black America remain the same. Black America and other people of color still cry for justice, equality, and freedom. Yet noticeably, what formerly focused national attention on events in Selma, Montgomery, and Birmingham The redlining of Black communities, racial covenants, real estate steering and restrictive zoning laws that together perpetuated segregated housing were never acknowledged. (Photo: iStockphoto / NNPA)
have now emanated from Ferguson, to Kenosha, Minneapolis, Portland and other locales. Why measurable forward strides in policing, or economic progress have remained elusive after decades of calls for reforms may partly be explained by the findings of a new policy analysis by the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank in St. Louis. Using U.S. Census Bureau data, Ana Hernandez Kent, a policy analyst with the St. Louis Fed, found that America’s racial poverty gap continues to suppress social and economic justice. Moreover, Wisconsin, not a southern state, claims the dubious distinction of having the largest poverty gap in the nation. Nationally the St. Louis Fed found that in 2018, Black households earned 61 cents for every $1 of White household median income. Further, the Black/White median household income gaps ranged from 87 cents per dollar in Maine and Hawaii, down to 32 cents per dollar in the District of Columbia. The disparity in median translates into 22% of all Black Americans living in poverty, a gap of 13% compared to Whites who are poor. Wisconsin’s gap is 23%. “In noting the socioeconomic indicators of median income, poverty rates and health insurance rates, I found that White people had more favorable outcomes than Black people in every state,” wrote Hernandez Kent. Poverty’s racial disparity extends to other key measures such as median incomes, homeownership and retirement. Even with the enactment of the Fair Housing Act more than 50 years ago, today’s Black homeownership rate is dwindling. According to Ohio State University professor, Trevon Logan, “The homeownership gap between Blacks and whites is higher today in percentage terms than it was in 1900.” Prof. Logan’s position is bolstered by findings from a 2020 report by the National Association of Realtors, A Snapshot of Race and Homebuying in America that found: • 62% of Black mortgage applicants were rejected because of their debt to income ratio, compared to only 5% of whites; and • 51% of Blacks are first-time homeowners, compared to only 30% of Whites. Continued on page A2
Free!
Thursday, September 17, 2020
PAC-12 Thinking of Returning
Pac-12 is considering a return to play as early as midNovember, but it is far from coming to pass. A league source tells CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd that the Pac-12 is in “a definite holding pattern” because six of it’s 12 members -- located in Oregon and California -- are unable to hold contact practices due to local ordinances. Until those ordinances are lifted, efforts toward an earlier start to the season is fruitless.
Perfume Brand Says Cutting Black Actor in Ad was Misstep
NEW YORK (AP) – British perfume brand Jo Malone has apologized to Black actor John Boyega of “Star Wars” fame after cutting him out of the Chinese version of a cologne commercial he helped create. Jo Malone London said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter that the ad designed for Chinese audiences was a misstep and has been removed. The recreated ad replaced Boyega with Chinese star Liu Haoran. “The concept for the film was based on John’s personal experiences and should not have been replicated,” it said. Jo Malone and its parent company, Estee Lauder, didn’t respond to emailed requests for comment Sunday. Boyega and his representatives also couldn’t be reached for comment. The original ad starring Boyega aired last year and was called “The London Gent.” It features the Londonborn actor walking around the neighborhood where he grew up and riding a horse in a park, and it makes reference to his Nigerian heritage in a scene featuring West African attire. It’s not the first time Boyega has been deleted from a China-based ad. He played a leading role as Finn in 2015’s “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” but he and other nonwhite characters were removed or diminished from a Chinese poster for the movie. Boyega has spoken out about Hollywood racism, recently telling GQ that Black characters have been “pushed to the side” in Disney’s “Star Wars” franchise.
States Face Pressure to Ban Race-Based Hairstyle Prejudice By RUSSELL CONTRERAS Associated Press RIO RANCHO, NM (AP) – A growing number of states are facing pressure to ban race-based discrimination against hair texture and hairstyles in schools and the workplace. Advocates this week presented a draft proposal to New Mexico state lawmakers that would outlaw employers and schools from discriminating against Black and Native American women’s hairstyles. It’s the latest state targeted by a national campaign. Devont’e Kurt Watson, a member of Black Lives Matter in Albuquerque, told New Mexico lawmakers on Monday that the state should amend its Human Rights law to protect people with Afros, cornrows, dreadlocks and headwraps. The state should also provide protections for Native Americans who face hair discrimination, he said. “Passing the (the proposal) in New Mexico will have farreaching implications to protect our diverse community from egregious acts of hatred,’’ Watson said. “Hair discrimination is racial discrimination.’’ New Mexico Black Lawyers Association President Aja Brooks said job offers have been rescinded to Black women in other states because of hairstyles and that students in New Mexico and in other states have been told in class by teachers their hair was a distraction. “Hair discrimination for people of color in New Mexico is real,’’ Brooks said. The draft evaluated by a New Mexico legislative interim committee was the first step for a bill that is expected to be introduced in January. New Mexico’s Legislature is dominated by Democrats and the state has a Democratic governor. Earlier this year, Democratic Washington Gov. Jay Inslee signed a bill that made Washington the latest state to pass a version of the CROWN Act. It stands for “Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair’’ and is part of a national campaign promoted by Dove, the National Urban League, Color Of Change and Western Center on Law and Poverty. California, Colorado, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, and Virginia have already passed similar laws, according to people involved in the campaign. Other states, such as Connecticut, have considered similar proposals but they have not passed. Earlier this year, the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico sued the state’s largest school district and a former teacher over a 2018 episode where the teacher allegedly cut a Native American student’s hair during class on Halloween and asked another student if she was dressed as a “bloody Indian.’’ The ACLU’s complaint against Albuquerque Public Schools and the former teacher, Mary Jane Eastin, claims she created a hostile learning environment and discriminated against McKenzie Johnson, who is Navajo. The school district’s superintendent issued a public apology after the allegations emerged and told parents that Eastin would not return to Cibola High School, where she taught English. School officials declined to comment on the lawsuit. Eastin’s attorney, Barry Berenberg, did not immediately respond to an email Tuesday seeking comment.