Inglewood’s Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony was Lit! with Major, Sy Smith, Mariachi Divas and J Boykin Page A9
Malcolm X Daughter Found Dead in New York
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News Observer Los Angeles
Volume 37 Number 3
Serving Los Angeles County for Over 36 Years
Observer Group Newspapers of Southern California
After Guilty Verdicts, Civil Rights Leaders Exhort Black America to ‘Never Stop Running for Ahmaud’
A Glynn County, Georgia, convicted Travis McMichael, Gregory McMichael, and William Bryan of felony murder. “Guilty. Guilty. Guilty,” civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump exclaimed. “Nothing will bring back Ahmaud, but his family will have some peace knowing the men who killed him will remain behind bars and can never inflict their brand of evil on another innocent soul,” Crump continued. By Stacy M. Brown NNPA After nearly two years of pain, suffering, and wondering if the men who killed Ahmaud Arbery would pay for their heinous crime, the 25-year-old’s family finally received justice. A Glynn County, Georgia, convicted Travis McMichael, Gregory McMichael, and William Bryan of felony murder. “Guilty. Guilty. Guilty,” civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump exclaimed. “Nothing will bring back Ahmaud, but his family will have some peace knowing the men who killed him will remain behind bars and can never inflict their brand of evil on another innocent soul,” Crump continued. NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson called the verdicts long overdue. “Ahmaud Arbery’s death was unnecessary and fueled by racist ideologies deeply engrained into the fabric of this nation,” Johnson insisted. “Generations of Black people have seen this time and time again, with the murder of Emmett Till, Trayvon Martin, and many others,” he continued. “The actions and events perpetrated by the McMichaels and William Bryan leading up to Ahmaud’s death reflect a growing and deepening rift in America that will be its undoing if not addressed on a systemic level. “We must fix what is genuinely harming our nation: white supremacy.” The jury found Travis McMichael, who shot Arbery in Continued on page A2
“The violent stalking and lynching of Ahmaud Arbery was documented on video for the world to witness. Yet, because of the deep cracks, flaws, and biases in our systems, we were left to wonder if we would ever see justice,” said Attorney Ben Crump.
Court Blocks COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate for California Prisons By DON THOMPSON Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) _ A federal appeals court on Friday temporarily blocked an order that all California prison workers must be vaccinated against the coronavirus or have a religious or medical exemption. A panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted a request for a stay of September's lower court order pending an appeal. It also sped up the hearing process by setting a Dec. 13 deadline for opening briefs. The vaccination mandate was supposed to have taken effect by Jan. 12 but the appellate court stay blocks enforcement until sometime in March, when the appeal hearing will be scheduled. The judge who issued the vaccination mandate followed the recommendation of a court-appointed receiver who was chosen to manage the state prison health care
system after a federal judge in 2005 found that California failed to provide adequate medical care to prisoners. In addition to requiring COVID-19 shots for prison workers, U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar required vaccinations or exemptions for inmates who want in-person visits or who work outside prisons, including inmate firefighters. The stay “puts both the prison staff and the incarcerated population at greater risk of infection,'' said Don Specter, director of the nonprofit Prison Law Office, which represents inmates in a long-running lawsuit over medical conditions in state prisons. The mandate was opposed by the state's prison agency and Gov. Gavin Newsom, even though his administration previously had ordered vaccinations or testing for all state employees, including correctional employees. The politically powerful California Correctional Peace Officers Association had argued that the mandate could
create staff shortages if employees refuse to comply. Messages to the governor's office and corrections officials seeking comment on Friday's stay weren't immediately returned. The original vaccination order was designed to head off another COVID-19 outbreak like the one that killed 28 inmates and a correctional officer at San Quentin State Prison last year. “Once the virus enters a facility, it is very difficult to contain, and the dominant route by which it enters a prison is through infected staff,'' Tigar reasoned. More than 50,000 state prisoners _ more than half of California's state inmate population _ have had a confirmed case of COVID-19, and at least 242 have died from the disease, according to California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) statistics.
Fashion Designer Virgil Abloh Dies of Cancer at 41
FILE -Fashion designer Virgil Abloh gives a thumbs up after the presentation of Off-White Men’s Spring-Summer 2019 collection presented in Paris, Wednesday June 20, 2018. Abloh, a leading fashion executive hailed as the Karl Lagerfeld of his generation, has died after a private battle with cancer. He was 41. Abloh’s death was announced Sunday, Nov. 28, 2021 by LVMH Louis Vuitton and the Off White label, the brand he founded. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)
By Jake Coyle Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Virgil Abloh, a leading designer whose groundbreaking fusions of streetwear and high couture made him one of the most celebrated tastemakers in fashion and beyond, has died of cancer. He was 41. Abloh’s death was announced Sunday by the luxury group LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy) and Abloh’s own Off-White label, which he founded in 2013. Abloh was the artistic director for Louis Vuitton’s menswear, but his ubiquitous, consumer-friendly presence in culture was wide-ranging and dynamic. Some compared him to Jeff Koons. Others hailed him as his generation’s Karl Lagerfeld. “We are all shocked after this terrible news. Virgil was not only a genius designer, a visionary, he was also a man with a beautiful soul and great wisdom,” Bernard Arnault, chairman and chief executive of LVMH, said in a statement. A statement from Abloh’s family on the designer’s Instagram account said Abloh was diagnosed two years ago with cardiac angiosarcoma, a rare form of cancer in which a tumor occurs in the heart. “He chose to endure his battle privately since his diagnosis in 2019, undergoing numerous challenging treatments, all while helming several significant institutions that span fashion, art, and culture,” the statement read. In 2018, Abloh became the first Black artistic director of men’s wear at Louis Vuitton in the French design house’s storied history. A first generation Ghanaian American whose seamstress mother taught him to sew, Abloh had no formal fashion training but had a degree in engineering and a master’s in architecture. Abloh, who grew up in Rockford, Illinois, outside of Chicago, was often referred to as a Renaissance man in the fashion world. He moonlighted as a DJ. But in a short time, he emerged as one of fashion’s most heralded designers. Abloh called himself “a maker.” He was named one of Time magazine’s most influential people in 2018. In 2009, Abloh met Kanye West — now called Ye — while he was working at a screen-printing store. After Continued on page A2
Take One!
Thursday, December 2, 2021
California City Sorry for Bulldozing Blues Community HAYWARD, Calif. (AP) – A California city has apologized to Black and Latino residents and descendants of a tight-knit community that was torn down more than half a century ago. The East Bay Times reports Sunday that the apology was welcomed by many from the 12-block area known as Russell City in Hayward, which was a vibrant hub for blues musicians until it was torn down to make way for an industrial hub. “For me, as an African American woman, it’s really, really meaningful,” said Artavia Berry, a Hayward resident who chairs a city commission that drafted the apology. “It’s been a very tearful week for me.” The Hayward City Council issued the apology on Nov. 16. It’s among a number of U.S. cities that have been reckoning with past racial injustices, including the nearby city of San Jose. San Jose apologized in September for its treatment of Chinese residents in the 19th century. The city’s thriving Chinatown was burned to the ground in 1887 by arsonists. Russell City was named in the mid-19th century for a teacher who came to California during the Gold Rush. Initially, Danish immigrants lived there. By World War II, people had migrated to the community from the southern United States and Mexico. The unincorporated area near Hayward had 1,400 mostly Black and Latino residents, lacked fresh water and had mostly unpaved roads. But it had a thriving music scene, said Ronnie Stewart, the head of the West Coast Blues Society. “It wasn’t just a little unincorporated town with Blacks and Mexicans and a few others. It had a real function as far as being a contributor to West Coast Blues,” Stewart said, recalling how musicians such as Ray Charles played at venues there. “They took the whole damn city. They changed every street name. They tried to erase it.” In the 1950s, Alameda County and Hayward city officials declared Russell City a blighted area and relocated residents despite their protests. Some questioned whether the apology was enough. Tony Wynn, 67, said she used to visit her great grandfather on weekends on his farm in Russell City and her mother sang at blues clubs there . “Yeah, that looks good on paper, but what about money?” Wynn said. “Give us more money than the little bit that you gave my family when we were there. It’s not like we could not have said, `No we don’t want to move or sell.’ You guys took it over.” City Councilmember Sara Lamnin said she understood the skepticism and added the city is committed to undoing decades of racist policies. The city is planning public art installations recognizing the eviction of Russell City residents. It may also work with Russell City descendants on plans such as a first-time homebuyer assistance program, according to a city report.
Black Infant Deaths Push Up Newborn Death Rate
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – An increased infant mortality rate among Black newborn children contributed to what Indiana health officials found was a slightly higher overall infant mortality rate in the state during 2020. The state health department reported this month that after Indiana recorded its lowest infant death rate during 2019, those deaths increased from 6.5 per 1,000 live births to 6.6 last year. The 2020 death rate is the second lowest that Indiana officials have recorded. Indiana’s mortality rate among white and Hispanic newborns improved last year, but deaths among Black infants jumped from 11.0 deaths per 1,000 live births during 2019 to 13.2 deaths in 2020, The Indianapolis Star reported. In recent years, Indiana has taken several steps to improve its infant mortality rate, among the highest in the nation. In 2019 Indiana had the 14th highest infant mortality rate, with 525 deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. State Health Commissioner Dr. Kristina Box said efforts to reduce Indiana’s infant deaths would focus on eliminating disparities between Black and white infants. Early prenatal care and encouraging parents to put their children to sleep alone in their cribs would also help decrease the number of children in this state who die before their first birthday, Box said.
VA County Votes to Move Confederate Monument
KING GEORGE, Va. (AP) – The Board of Supervisors in Virginia’s King George County has voted to move a monument that honors Confederate soldiers. The Free Lance-Star reported Wednesday that the monument currently sits on the lawn of the county courthouse. The supervisors are yet to decide where they monument will be moved. This week’s 3 to 2 vote by the board was applauded by the local chapter of the NAACP. Its members have been been asking the county to move the obelisk from public property for more than 18 months. “The Confederacy was a racial institution,” Robert Ashton, NAACP vice president, told the supervisors on Tuesday. “Therefore any statue or monument honoring the Confederacy endorses racism.” But other King George residents were opposed to moving the monument. “It saddens me to see the history of this country erased,” resident Steve Davis said. Davis added that modern-day residents won’t be able to teach about injustices to the Black community if removes such historical objects. “How can we find our way in the future if we don’t know where we’ve come from?” Davis said. The 3 to 2 vote reflected the divisive nature of an issue that’s been debated in communities across the nation following the death of George Floyd, a Black man who died in Minneapolis police custody last year.