VALLEY'S 5.2.19 4C

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By Stacy M. Brown meone’s pet White. Heshua Ryen said hein the solve “DNA testing shs.o g to could have been H ister he inAction l Left with c gued that nCg his murder trial, saw w la u itially thoM ld th h is te Network at the famed Sylvia’s Restaurant in Harlem. en p r e o p im F an NNPA NewswireRyCorrespondent te o R ro eb th F p st ic m y se u . e er en ifi . ed rt 1 cu ca u ed k 9 h g ia il t ca . to er le te d th se rs en ar C co d ly at h te h , su an m ia th ta th u d cc plicating sure we convey the d finally only sband anwill ng sa eirChapter ey message in front of Thetolarge group ofMDemocratic presidential candidates The Broward County 10-year-oofldthe NAACP named D need to y ar- an d wlead ensure justke place cGof neito ife Dougesansfull “We ng the cathe ianamake uirwomen that DNA id durithat ghbdemand - thnumber daughteand e says whand or Chrithe Roper camthe prosecutions’ clai icincludes belonging to a march and rally criminal record minorities, and mpaign. “N e is servaedre r d ev Je e stoptermination P en an ss eg id ic en h e g im m h a y e fo er s, ce an al g rw ,” but tethe ot oprivilege a womfrom ot onlywhite can hman, d an 11crime wasracism ard withwas ughes. Powho ut to check committed day not prosecution of two Florida sheriff H deputies were bigger and sting inyoung elp law enthe inal. She tu her foon rmer bthat candidates are discussing white -y is ea b it th lo rli o p A ce th o o y an ro n ,h ld fr d is fo im fo y v iend who w a house cat. en to connect rcement as case would clothing und the blo al C ed the evid caught on video punching a 15-year-old African American ontroof Even th destroyed it rnthat they work voters solv to an anwith l ocolor. come the e crim odied children a violefrom fficers rush ence othere, o u black were deputies and g at im h es . nt crim- the is botwo ver to theasbut n N , al o ew student and repeatedly slamming the child’s head against h co ed ospitwhite ld, he is trea som’s decis st to theButtigieg the bleedin candidate needs trausaid al, wher police, but frican Amer ma. that “any state.” has ding caPresident e it wlike issue that C concrete pavement. they local as dwhite icans, Hisp those kids,” refully on aion in the C way they Amanhandled said NAACP iagnosed w toooshow a level of consciousness around issues al p if D er o r. rn anics and o ca K p ia se The weekend rally – a peaceful demonstration – w ri o voters across tentiallyprivilege.” atching. H sti Krause, th sh er p e o a e ex m la v th is ri in p et ec zi e o k er Marsha Ellison. will include the teen’s attorney, famed civil rights lawyer ng bto focus tsontheblack p rities liv- C eeping his inariana, tevisit during lls the ne ack into th 11-povoters ontinued focus on ofalitical spectruHe und (5-k m arplans Benjamin Crump, National Newspaper Publishers e ilo ram) at on page A e wildthat irness to South Carolina next month includes af an catato be te d r 2 McGuire v it regainasgststop justice Association (NNPA) President and CEO Dr. Benjamin F. historically black university. that Chavis, Jr., Westside Gazette Publisher Bobby Henry and if he sees it isited the bobcat rength. on Friday. again, he’ll Broward County NAACP leaders.

H issue a tick et for jayw “We cannot become desensitized to the brutality visited upon our young black men and women,” said Chavis, who’s also a civil rights activist who worked under Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. “In addition to reporting news, the NNPA, a trade association representing the 215 African American newspapers and media companies around the country, is ST. LOUIS (AP) – The president of the St. Louis also a voice for civil rights,” Chavis said.

County NAACP has been suspended by the national Further, as the trusted source for news and information organization, in part for his support of a bill that would in the African American community, the NNPA should change how Missouri colleges respond to allegations of be at the forefront in informing its readers about all that sexual assault by giving the accused more legal rights. affects them, Henry said.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Saturday that St. “It’s important for us to remember where we came Louis County NAACP President John Gaskin was notified from and this is galvanizing and communicating on a level of his suspension via a letter from national NAACP where we are all involved and this is such an important issue,” said Henry. “We need to realize that this concerns President and CEO Derrick Johnson. us, and we should not wait for the white media to tell us The letter cites Gaskin’s support for legislation about our community and when something happens, they targeting federal Title IX protections for women on should be coming to us for that information,” he said. college campuses. Johnson says Gaskin offered the support Delucca “Lucca” Rolle, a student at J.P. Taravella High without first getting authorization of the branch’s executive School, was accused of aggravated assault against an officer, committee. The letter also alleges a conflict of interest, but the charge made “no sense,” prosecutors said. saying Gaskin sought support for a proposal to merge St. A cell phone video captured Broward County Sheriff’s Louis city and county governments without disclosing deputies pepper-spraying, tackling and punching a group he was a paid consultant for an organization pushing the of teens last week outside a McDonald’s near the school. merger.

The video shows deputies take Rolle down, with one Gaskin told the Post-Dispatch via text the suspension deputy banging Rolle’s forehead into the pavement and punching him in the head, while another deputy helped A cell phone video captured Broward County Sheriff’s deputies pepper-spraying, tackling and punching a was an “internal NAACP matter.” restrain and handcuff him.

Rolle, one of two teens who were arrested, reportedly group of teens last week outside a McDonald’s near the school. (Courtesy photo) suffered a broken nose in the encounter. who in 2012 was killed by George Zimmerman, a white deputies and the way they manhandled those kids,” said Deputy Christopher Krickovich and Sgt. Greg neighborhood watch volunteer in Sanford, Fla. local NAACP President Marsha Ellison.

LaCerra were both suspended by the Sheriff’s office after The encounter between Rolle and the deputies “Police brutality and what we consider child abuse will the video was released, though, originally, they were placed happened outside McDonald’s, a frequent after-school not be tolerated, certainly with our kids who are equally on restricted assignment. hangout spot.At one point, Krickovich and LaCerra went as important as those in other communities,” Ellison said.

The Broward State Attorney’s Office said it has begun to arrest a student — not Rolle — who had been warned She’s also calling for the termination and prosecution BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) – A Louisiana police investigating the deputies’ actions and prosecutors decided not to trespass at the shopping center, according to a of the deputies. not to file charges against Rolle.

Sheriff’s report.

“We want the sheriff to hold them accountable and officer injured during protests over the 2016 killing of a Rolle’s family also has hired Crump, who said he wants Crump said “Starting now, we will seek justice for them to be terminated, meaning they don’t have the black man can sue a Black Lives Matter organizer on the the deputies involved to face criminal charges. through every avenue possible for Lucca and his family. opportunity to do this to anyone else while in a [sheriff’s] grounds he acted negligently by leading people to block a Crump noted that the two arrested teens are black, The actions on the video by the officers against Delucca are uniform,” Ellison said. highway, a federal appeals court has ruled. while all three deputies seen in the cellphone video are unconscionable.”

The Baton Rouge officer, identified only as John Doe “We are wary of the state Attorney’s Office in their white. “Rolle was a teen beaten by deputies after he picked The hashtag #JusticeForLucca has been trending on investigation. It could be one year sometimes two and in court records, had sued DeRay Mckesson and others who up a cellphone that fell out of the pocket of a black boy Twitter. Rolle’s supporters plan a peaceful rally Saturday they’ll try and wait until this dies down and close the case,” gathered as part of the Black Lives Matter movement after who was being arrested,” Crump said. afternoon at Hampton Pines Park in North Lauderdale, she said. police fatally shot Alton Sterling, The Advocate reported.

“In response, the deputies “pepper-sprayed, brutally with attendees encouraged to wear red. Rolle was wearing “That’s not good enough. A suspension is not good A federal judge threw out the lawsuit in 2017, citing First beat, and arrested him,” said Crump, who represented the a red shirt on the day of his arrest. enough. These children are traumatized, emotionally family of Michael Brown, a 17-year-old African-American, “We need to make sure we convey the message that the damaged. The 2020 election is coming where we get to Amendment rights and noting Black Lives Matter was too who was shot and killed by police in Ferguson, Mo. only crime committed on that day was not from the young choose a new sheriff and new states Attorney. We’re tired of loosely organized to sue.

But the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Crump also represented the family of Trayvon Martin, man, the black children that were there, but from the two this. Enough is enough.”

Wednesday that the officer should be able to argue that Mckesson, a prominent Baltimore activist, didn’t exercise reasonable care in leading protesters onto the highway, setting up a police confrontation in which the officer was injured by a thrown concrete block.

Mckesson, reached Thursday for comment, said, “I’m disappointed and troubled by the 5th Circuit’s reversal of the district court decision. I am currently exploring my legal options and will respond formally soon.”

Doe’s lawyer, Donna Grodner, called the ruling “a stand-up victory for the Baton Rouge PD.” Circuit Judge E. Grady Jolly, writing for a unanimous three-judge panel, said, “Mckesson should have known that leading the demonstrators onto a busy highway was most nearly certain to provoke a confrontation between police and the mass of demonstrators, yet he ignored the foreseeable danger to officers, bystanders, and demonstrators, and notwithstanding, did so anyway.”

The court said it wasn’t addressing whether Doe’s

By Stacy M. Brown, arguments were valid.

NNPA Newswire Correspondent “Our ruling at this point is not to say that a finding “WiththeracialdividestokedbyPresidentDonaldTrump’sracial As Joe Biden prepares to enter the crowded of liability will ultimately be appropriate,” Jolly wrote. “We Democratic field for the 2020 presidential election, it are simply required to decide whether Officer Doe’s claim bias, the need for some healing among the races is a progressive wouldn’t be surprising if the former vice president will join for relief is sufficiently plausible.” the other 19 declared candidates in using reparations for U.S. District Judge Brian Jackson had ruled that Black and necessary policy and redress and reparations promote the Transatlantic Slave Trade as a political platform.

Lives Matter was a social movement and that Doe’s lawsuit this healing so that we can move toward a less factionalized, Candidates including New Jersey Sen. Cory had no suitable target in that regard. The 5th Circuit Booker, California Sen. Kamala agreed. less racially divided country,” Minami said.

Harris, Vermont Sen. “The district court took judicial notice that (Black Bernie Sanders, Lives Matter) is a ‘hashtag’ and therefore an ‘expression’ and former HUD that lacks the capacity to be sued,” the judges said.

Secretary Julian A Baton Rouge police officer fatally shot Sterling Just three years ago, a United Nations working Reparations,” told NNPA Newswire that, “as matter of Castro have said group jumped into the fray. justice and no matter how long it takes, there should be during a struggle outside a convenience store in 2016 they intend to Following 14 years and 20 days of speaking with U.S. a full-throated demand for reparations for slavery echoing after being summoned to the store. The 37-year-old had seek reparations for officials, activists, and families of people killed by police in the demand of the thousands of ex-slaves in the 19th been selling homemade CDs and officers later recovered African Americans. a loaded revolver from his pocket. As a convicted felon, major American cities, the U.N. working group issued its century and reasserted time and again since.”

Massachusetts conclusion that the slave trade was a crime against humanity “The odds against success are great but given the Sterling could not legally carry a gun.

Sen. Elizabeth Video of Sterling’s death set off days of protests, and the American government should pay reparations. meager gains to date, it’s just as fruitful to argue for Warren has asked The experts traveled to major cities including reparations as anything else and besides it is a just cause,” including the July 9, 2016, protest on Airline Highway for reparations outside the Baton Rouge Police Department headquarters.

Washington, D.C.; Jackson, Mississippi; Baltimore; Dr. Berry said. for both African Chicago and New York.

“Whatever we do, we should remind ourselves, as Doe was among the officers at the scene to arrest protesters Americans and Native “Contemporary police killings and the Frederick Douglass said, ‘Power concedes nothing without after they failed to clear the roadway.

Americans.

According to the 5th Circuit, Doe was struck in the trauma it creates are reminiscent of the a demand. It never has. It never will,’” she said. racial terror lynching in the past,” a Berry, who once served as chair of the U.S. Commission head and suffered the loss of teeth, a jaw injury, a brain French member of the working group of on Civil Rights and as Assistant Secretary for Education in injury, a head injury, lost wages, “and other compensable U.N. experts Mireille Fanon-Mendes- the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, losses.

France, told CBS News. scoffed at the idea that reparations are “unworkable.”

Dr. Mary Frances Berry, a Precedent has already been set, she said.

Geraldine R. Segal Professor of “The country has lots of experience with reparations.

American Social Thought and The federal government gave compensation to slave owners the author of numerous in the border states who let their slaves enlist in the Union books including “My Army,” Dr. Berry said.

Face is Black Is True: “Also, during the Civil War, compensation was given to CHICAGO (AP) – Chicago’s top prosecutor has been Callie House and slave owners in the District of Columbia when slaves there the Struggle were freed in 1862 and, more recently, compensation for subpoenaed to appear in court by a retired appellate judge for Ex-Slave Holocaust victims and the victims of Japanese Internment who’s pushing for a special prosecutor to investigate the handling of the case against actor Jussie Smollett. are examples of reparations,” she said.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports that Sheila O’Brien Dr. Berry continued: “In the 19th century after the Civil War, Callie House, also subpoenaed Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s a former slave, led a movement to demand pensions for old top deputy and requested that Smollett appear at a hearing ex-slaves as reparations for their poverty and unrequited on her request.

Foxx was harshly criticized when her office announced labor during slavery.

“Her organization collected petitions including the it was dropping charges against Smollett that accused the names of former owners of ex-slaves and succeeded in black, gay actor of staging a racist and anti-gay attack on “The odds against success are great but given the meager gains to date, it’s just as fruitful to argue for having bills introduced in Congress and sued the federal himself in downtown Chicago.

Foxx has defended the decision to drop the charges reparations as anything else and besides it is a just cause,” said Dr. Mary Frances Berry, a Geraldine R. Segal government, losing on technical grounds.” and says she welcomes an independent investigation.

Professor of American Social Thought and the author of numerous books including “My Face is Black Is

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San Francisco-based attorney Dale Minami, who was involved in significant litigation involving the civil rights of Asian Pacific Americans and other minorities, said he believes the African American vote is critical to a successful reparations campaign.

“With the racial divide stoked by President Donald Trump’s racial bias, the need for some healing among the races is a progressive and necessary policy and redress and reparations promote this healing so that we can move toward a less factionalized, less racially divided country,” Minami said.

For those who believe reparations are unworkable, Minami said they’re conflating two separate issues: the deserving claim to reparations and the difficulty in implementation.

“Reparations is a good idea and depending how you define implementation determines the ‘workability,’” he said.

“If reparations means individual payment, yes, there is a huge problem of allocation of money based on percentage of Black ancestry but if you define it as a Trust Fund to support Black institutions, community organizations, education, or other projects to improve the African American community, it’s bit easier to implement,”

Minami said.

As an example, the Civil Liberties Public Education Fund of which Minami served as chairman, received $5 million as part of a Redress bill to give to projects that educate about the injustice of the incarcerations of Japanese Americans.

The original bill called for $50 million but so many were still alive when Redress was granted, the fund dwindled, Minami said.

“So, I think there are creative ways to help make up for the enormous cruelty of slavery and its long-term effects on the Black community,” he said.

Trump Media Assaults on Omar a New Low for American Politics

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Correspondent American politics appears to have hit a new low.

According to reports, Congresswoman Ilhan Omar has beefed up security following the vicious attacks she’s received and even news reports that paint her as unAmerican.

What’s worse, the attacks stem from tweets made against her by President Donald Trump.

“The criticisms of Congresswoman Omar, what Trump has been saying about her, is reprehensible,” said New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, a Democratic presidential candidate.

“It is trafficking in Islamophobia, and should be condemned by everyone,” Booker said.

One of the first Muslim women to serve in Congress, Omar has come under repeated attack from the president and others, including Fox News as a result of her questioning America’s relationship with Israel.

“We will never forget,” Trump tweeted in all-capital letters recently, attaching a video that spliced together comments Omar made with footage of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks.

Some media favorable to the president have also attacked Omar and despite death threats made against her, Trump has continued his assault by calling her –without any supporting evidence and against her denials – “antiSemitic,” and “anti-Israel.”

Booker noted that Trump has also attacked other African American women leaders like California Rep. Maxine Waters.

“The kind of language this president uses, especially about black women in power, is toxic,” Booker said.

That Trump claims he’s not racist isn’t satisfactory, Booker said.

“It’s not enough to say, I’m not a racist. We must all be anti-racist,” he said.

The rhetoric by Trump and his allies against Omar have resulted in the Senator ramping up security, particularly as she’s received death threats.

Recently, a Rhode Island man allegedly threatened to “kill every Democrat in the world,” federal officials said.

Matthew Haviland, 30, of North Kingstown was charged after sending approximately 28 threatening emails on March 10 to a college professor, whose name and affiliation was withheld by federal officials. Haviland is facing federal threat charges and cyberstalking.

In an affidavit, FBI task force officer Richard Laft, Jr. wrote that the professor told authorities Haviland’s “views regarding abortion and politics have become more extreme” within the last year.

The professor, who had been friends with Haviland for about 11 years, believed Haviland’s views changed because “of the way the news media portrays” President Donald Trump, Laft wrote.

Thursday, May 2, 2019

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Authorities said Omar was among the Democrats whom Haviland threatened to kill.

Latagia Copeland-Tyronce, a writer and journalist out of Detroit, said as a black woman and social justice advocate, she knows “all too well what it feels like to be attacked for speaking up and out.”

“And, as such, I believe that there should be a zerotolerance policy in regards to our black representatives in Congress,” Copeland-Tyronce said.

“We, as a people, cannot allow our black leaders to be attacked for their advocacy. I am a proponent of freedom of speech and freedom of the press, however, abuse and racism crosses the line and should be called out when and where it rears its ugly head,” she said.

Dr. Omekongo Dibinga, an American University professor and director of Upstander International, said it’s imperative that all stand up to bigotry.

“We need to fight fire with facts. I know that President Trump has ushered in the era of fake news and alternative facts, but I believe at the end of the day, the reality of his policies of lies and dissension will do him in, even with his followers as the effects of [Former President] Barack Obama’s positive economy begin to dwindle and they realized he never cared about them in the first place,” Dibinga said.

Shiwon Oh of Sogang University in Seoul, South Korea, said Trump’s presidency exposes a racist underbelly of America that has always been there from the beginning.

“He just gave validation to their opinions and beliefs that its influence is now seeping into mainstream media channels like Fox News,” Oh said.

“All people can do is continue countering the lies with facts, voicing their opposition to racial oppression, and urging their communities to be on the right side of history, even if it means being ridiculed by some,” she said.

‘Jury of your Peers’ Rarely Applies to African Americans “Race has a tremendous impact in criminal trials, at least one African American juror can help even the playing field when it comes to verdicts. Race matters in the courtroom and race relates to perception and judgment – especially when a case is about race,” said Waukeshia Jackson, founder of the Atlanta-based Jackson & Lowe Law Group.

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Correspondent If accused of a crime, American justice supposedly guarantees the right to a trial in front of a “jury of your peers.”

However noble the idea might be in theory, many legal experts acknowledge that, due to systemic racism, having a jury of your peers is often just an illusion.

For African Americans, systemic racism in the criminal justice system has greatly contributed to mass incarceration, partly because blacks are more likely to be profiled, pulled over by police, searched, and arrested, according to legal experts.

Once arrested, African Americans also are more likely to be detained prior to their hearing, which could take months.

“Jury selection creates another concern,” said Charlotte, N.C.-based Attorney Darlene Harris.

“When a juror is unable to relate to a person accused of a crime, the defendant is more likely to face stiffer penalties, up to and including life in prison,” said Harris, who after trying a recent murder trial, spoke to a white male juror who shared that a lot of the jurors could not understand the African American defendant.

“The two people who could relate to the defendant happened to be Black women. They were able to shed information that led the group to finding the defendant guilty of second-degree murder as opposed first degree murder, which would have resulted in a life sentence,” Harris said.

That and other experiences led Harris to question how much different the outcome would have been if there were black men – from the same socio-economic background as the defendant – on the jury.

“The scourge of racism manifests in discriminatory policies and practices such as the ‘War on Drugs,’ Stop and Frisk, and Three Strikes You’re Out,” Harris said.

“Consequently, black men are profiled more often, punished more frequently and more harshly than any other group in the United States,” she said.

The Sentencing Project estimates that there are presently 2.2 million people incarcerated in America.

Black men born in 2001 have a 1 in 3 chance of being incarcerated.

Given these distressing numbers, black men appear to have a higher risk of being knocked out of juror pools, Harris said.

“When you couple racist policies and practices with socio-economics, the share of black men available for jury selection is further diminished and since people must take time off work to serve on juries, only people who can afford to miss a paycheck, people with paid time off or flexible work arrangements can afford to serve on a jury,” Harris said.

“Keep in mind that trials for serious crimes are lengthy; a recent murder trial that I was a part of lasted one month. How many of us can afford to skip a month’s pay?” she said.

While a judge is not required to exempt someone from jury duty because the person can’t afford to go without a paycheck, defense attorneys are ill-served by forcing a person to miss pay to be their juror, Harris added.

The right to a jury trial is a hallmark of the American criminal justice system and defendants generally have the right to be tried by a jury of their peers, said Waukeshia Jackson, founder of the Atlanta-based Jackson & Lowe Law Group.

In explaining the meaning of having “a jury of your peers,” Jackson said defendants aren’t entitled to a jury containing members of their own race, gender, age, or sexual orientation.

Most accurately, “jury of your peers” means “jury of fellow citizens,” she said.

“Nonetheless, widespread discrimination remains in the jury selection process,” Jackson said.

While courts don’t have to ensure that a defendant’s race, gender, age, or sexual orientation is represented in a jury pool, the Supreme Court has long held courts may not remove a potential juror solely based on these factors, she said.

“For more than a century, racial minorities have been protected from jury discrimination in theory but in Continued on page A3

Thursday, May 2, 2019

THE VALLEY’S NEWS OBSERVER

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Features

Homeiletics in Service: Retired Pastor Serves a Different Congregation on Easter FEEDING MEMPHIS’ HOMELESS

Heeding a call to feed “the last, the least and the lost,” Gray (third from right) delivered dozens of meals to people with no place to call home. (Courtesy photo)

During Holy Week, I was excited about the choices I had to worship in celebrating the resurrection of our Lord Jesus the Christ. For the first time in my ministry, I did not have a waiting congregation to hear of the victory of Resurrection Morning. I retired from pastoring in 2018 and now I am free to worship wherever the Holy Spirit leads me.

By Dr. L. LaSimba M. Gray Jr. Special to The New Tri-State Defender In the early stages of my development in ministry, I listened intently to the words and advice of the elders.

One nugget of wisdom that stuck with me was: “I would rather see a sermon any day than to hear a sermon.”

I gathered from that statement that a sermon is better thought of as a verb than a noun.

My own beloved father, the Rev. Leo M. Gray Sr., told me as I wrestled with my calling, “Son, every tub has to sit on its own bottom.” I gleaned from that statement that every minister must be accountable for his or her own actions, choices and decisions.

During Holy Week, I was excited about the choices I had to worship in celebrating the resurrection of our Lord Jesus the Christ. For the first time in my ministry, I did not have a waiting congregation to hear of the victory of Resurrection Morning. I retired from pastoring in 2018 and now I am free to worship wherever the Holy Spirit leads me.

All week as I navigated the streets of Memphis, I saw individuals standing on corners, asleep on benches at bus stops and sitting in parks. They had two things in common: they were hungry and homeless. As I contemplated a strategy to help, I heard the words of my pastor, the late Rev. Dr. Benjamin L. Hooks.

“What compelled me to help that man was this reality: but for the grace of God I could be the one begging for bread,” Dr. Hooks had said of his own encounter with a man begging for food on the street.

I thought about how a thankful person should be motivated to take actions to relieve the suffering of another.

In the Greek language, such action is called charity.

I resolved that I would not attend a worship service on Resurrection Morning. Rather, I would go to those

individuals I had seen all week and share with them the “Good News” – that God had not forgotten them.

I would not take a Bible nor hymn book, but food for their hungry bodies as proof God cares for the last, the least and the lost.

I ended up at a well-known fast food restaurant that was running an Easter Special: two pieces of chicken, honey and a biscuit for $3. The restaurant filled my order for 25 boxes.

Exiting with intentions of getting back to Beale Street, I saw four men and a woman sitting on the north corner of the parking lot. Their eyes were fixed on me and I could not pass them by. I offered them a box in honor of Easter and they gladly accepted.

One by one they began to tell of others they knew were hungry. I looked up and saw a stream of men running to us from the Union Mission. Within minutes I had passed out the 25 boxes. But what about those on Beale Street?

I returned to the restaurant and placed a second order for 20 boxes. While my order was being filled, I went to converse with my newfound “congregation.” I thanked them for allowing me to bless them with food. They began to bless me and praise God for the food.

One young man testified that he had awakened with one concern: “Where would I get a meal? And then you showed up. God bless you.”

When my second order was ready, I drove deeper into the downtown area. Along the route, I passed out boxes of food in honor of “Easter.” I made it to Beale Street and in Handy Park my “congregation” was waiting.

I left Beale Street and made my way to the eastern edge of the city to feed my “congregation” that has been devastated by the opioid crisis. These young people, for the most part, are victims of the rogue pharmaceutical manu

‘Jury of your Peers’ Rarely Applies to African Americans The right to a jury trial is a hallmark of the American criminal justice system and defendants generally have the right to be tried by a jury of their peers. (Photo: iStockPhoto / NNPA) Continued from page A2

practice, these laws have little actual protection and one critical factor that impacts African American eligibility to participate in jury pool is the felon jury exclusion rule,” Jackson said.

Throughout the country, African Americans are overrepresented in felony convictions and therefore more likely to be excluded from jury pools because individuals cannot serve as a juror if they’ve been convicted of a felony.

“The felony jury exclusion rule dramatically reduces the number of African Americans eligible for jury selection because roughly, one-third of the adult African-American male population has been convicted of a felony and, in many jurisdictions, these citizens are forever barred from serving on a jury,” Jackson said.

“Race has a tremendous impact in criminal trials, at least one African American juror can help even the playing field when it comes to verdicts. Race matters in the courtroom and race relates to perception and judgment – especially when a case is about race,” she said.

The landmark 1986 case of Batson v. Kentucky established that lawyers aren’t permitted to engage in systematic exercise of peremptory challenges of prospective jurors based solely upon such suspect criteria.

“However, if the attorney – whether it be prosecutor of defense attorney – can establish an age, race, ethnicity, or gender-neutral reason for the use of the peremptory challenge, the court will permit it,” said Western Michigan University Cooley Law School Professor and former Miami-Dade Judge Jeff Swartz.

“The jury pool should be made of such a representative cross-section in the same proportion as found in the community,” Swartz said.

“Does this mean that on many occasions that a black defendant may end up with an all-white jury? Yes, it does,” Swartz said.

Jackson added that those who are not African American haven’t experienced the racial discrimination and verbal abuse that are far too common for members of the black community.

Jurors from all-white jury pools convict African American defendants significantly more often than white defendants and this gap in conviction rate is entirely eliminated when the jury pool includes at least one African American member, she said.

“The makeup of a jury can mean the difference between a conviction and an acquittal,” Jackson said.

Caleb Wilson. (USLC courtesy photo)

UCLA Wilson Final Selection in NFL Draft Earl Heath It was a long time coming for UCLA tight-end Caleb Wilson. After three days of waiting the Bruins leading receiver was the 254 pick in last weekend’s NFL draft- He will carry the label of “Mr. Irrelevant.”

Wilson began his collegiate carrer at USC where his father Chris was an assistant coach, he is now in the NFL with the Eagles as a D-Line coach. Once the senior Wilson left the Trojans Wilson transferred to UCLA and was part of a team that went 3-9 last season.

He was fifth in the nation among tight-ends. He finished the year with 60 catches for 965 yards averaging 16 yards per catch with 4 touchdowns. As “Mr. Irrelevant” he will be the focus of many activities later in the summer

in Newport Beach. They include a roast, a golf tournament, a regatta, and he will receive the Lowsman Trophy (a take of the Heisman Trophy).

Wilson was the only Bruin selected in this years draft. His pick was announced by Ryan Succop of the Titans he was “Mr. Irrelevant” in 2009.

ADD DRAFT; USC had OL Chuma Edoga taken as the 28 pick by the New York Jets. Long Beach Poly DB Iman Marshall was taken by the Baltimore Ravens in the 4th round. DB Marvel Tell III was selected in the 5th round by the Colts. Another Trojan LB Cameron Smith was taken in the 5th round by the Vikings.

Drone Used to Aid 3D Remake of Japanese Internment Camp

By RUSSELL CONTRERAS Associated Press A University of Denver team is using drone images to create a 3D reconstruction of a World War II-era Japanese internment camp in southern Colorado, joining a growing movement to restore U.S. historical site linked to people of color.

Researchers last week dispatched the drone from the Switzerland-based company senseFly as part of a mapping project to help future restoration work at Camp Amache in Granada, Colorado.

The senseFly eBee X drone flew over the 1-square-mile (1.6-square-kilometers) site and took more than 4,000 images as part of a project to document where barracks, schools and other buildings once stood, said Adam Zylka, the senseFly pilot who flew the drone.

Currently, the site only contains concrete foundations, artifacts, a handful of restored buildings and a cemetery of internees who died at the camp.

But Zylka said researchers can use the information gathered by the drone to create virtual reality and augmented reality apps so that visitors can experience what life was like at the internment camp with almost precisely reconstructed images.

“This is a game changer,” Jim Casey, geographic information system specialist with the University of Denver who has been working to create digital maps of Amache. “You could be standing at the site, looking at nothing for sagebrush and weeds. Then, you can point your smartphone at the view and see what was once there.”

Casey said people who cannot go to the isolated location around 230 miles (370 kilometers) southeast of Denver will be able to visit the site virtually after researchers process the new drone data.

From 1942 to 1945, more than 7,000 Japanese-

Americans and Japanese immigrants were forcibly relocated to Camp Amache. They were among the more than 110,000 Japanese-Americans ordered to camps in California, Colorado, Idaho, Arizona, Wyoming, Utah, Arkansas, New Mexico and other sites.

Executive Order 9066, signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, forced Japanese-Americans, regardless of loyalty or citizenship, to leave the West Coast and other areas for the camps surrounded by barbed wire and military police. Half of those detainees were children.

At Amache, internees lived in an area next to poor Mexican-American farm workers. They produced a newspaper, tried farming and formed football and baseball teams.

Casey said the recreation of the camp is important for the U.S. to come to terms with this dark period in history.

“Children and grandchildren of internees also are trying to learn about what their parents went through,” he said. “That's because they rarely talked about it.”

The Amache drone project is the latest example of preservation advocates working to save and restore historical sites connected to black, Latino and Asian American history.

A digital project headed up by Brown University professor Monica Martinez seeks to locate sites connected to racial violence along the Texas border with Mexico. Some of the sites she and other researchers have identified have resulted in historic markers documenting acts of violence against Mexican Americans from 1900 to 1930.

Advocates also are working to restore the birthplace of civil rights leader Dolores Huerta in Dawson, New Mexico.

The old mining community in northern New Mexico is now a ghost town and there is no marker commemorating Huerta's connection to the area.

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THE VALLEY’S NEWS OBSERVER

Thursday, May 2, 2019

Entertainment

Avengers: Endgame It’s been about a year since Avengers: Infinity War premiered, and Marvel comic fanatics have been waiting for this reckoning ever since.

Their anticipation is so strong it would be hard for any well-intentioned film to live up to their expectations. But this new, self-contained episode does. It’s even more riveting than its predecessor as it heaps on the challenges and pushes plotlines forward. If admitting there’s a problem is the first step to recovery, Tony Stark’s (Iron Man) words mean a lot: “We lost.” only vaguely followed other Marvel movies. That same

Film Review:

By Dwight Brown NNPA News Wire Film Critic Let’s get this out of the way first: Avengers: Endgame is fascinating from beginning to end. However, it is not a wall-to-wall action film. The writers (Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely) and directors (Anthony and Joe Russo) take the time to set up and explore the characters’ emotional state, develop their arcs, interlock their backstories, add a touch of cheeky humor and remind the audience how a ghastly incident changed everything.

The loss of billions of people and its emotionally draining aftermath have paralyzed the Marvel heroes. A few try to pick up the pieces: Veterans like Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Captain America (Chris Evans), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), War Machine (Don Cheadle), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Nebula (Karen Gillan) and others.

It’s been about a year since Avengers: Infinity War premiered, and Marvel comic fanatics have been waiting for this reckoning ever since. Their anticipation is so strong it would be hard for any well-intentioned film to live up to their expectations. But this new, self-contained episode does. It’s even more riveting than its predecessor as it heaps on the challenges and pushes plotlines forward.

If admitting there’s a problem is the first step to recovery, Tony Stark’s (Iron Man) words mean a lot: “We lost.”

Taking the time to prep the characters puts the Marvel Studios’ AVENGERS: ENDGAME. (Photo: Film Frame ©Marvel Studios 2019) audience deep into their mindset. When they galvanize, you understand their reluctance to experience more defeat, but want them to get it on.

So far, you’ve been strung along and teased designer Charles Wood), with eerie gray, black and brown Dreamy shots of the vast cosmos (cinematographer unmercifully. Subplots have been tied up, rivalries bared, tones (Ray Chan art direction). They’re fearless. Mighty.

Trent Opaloch, District 9 and Avengers: Infinity War) and vengeance or justice is on everyone’s mind. The payoff No amount of trash talk will stop them. Sit at the edge of mesmerize. An enchanting musical score (Alan Silvestri, has to begin. Inner and outer drama is nice, but you came your seat, keep your eyeballs on the screen and see if that Forest Gump) fills time and space. The costume design here for the fireworks. Right? happens.

(Judianna Makovsky, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s The superheroes wield their magnificent powers (visual It’s either a miracle, creative genius or both that Stone) shines bright on the uniforms. In the words of effects Dan Deleeuw, Avengers: Infinity War) sometimes Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely have written a Captain America, “Let’s go get this son of a bitch.” on a setting that looks like the end of the earth (production complex script that’s easy enough to decipher even if you’ve

John Singleton Dead at 51

In Memorium:

Singleton was a father to seven children including Justice, Maasai, Hadar, Cleopatra, Selenesol, Isis and Seven Singleton. In addition to Boyz N the Hood, which received two Oscar nominations, Singleton also directed classic films and shows like Poetic Justice, Baby Boy, Four Brothers, 2 Fast 2 Furious, Billions and many others.

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Correspondent Famed African American movie producer John Singleton has died.

Singleton, best known for the hit 1991 movie, Boyz N the Hood starring Ice Cube, had been on life support after reportedly suffering a stroke.

He was 51.

Singleton was reportedly traveling back to Los Angeles from Costa Rica when he mentioned experiencing pain in one of his legs, according to Newsweek.

Following transport to a California hospital, Singleton suffered a stroke and was emitted into ICU. Singleton’s health continued to deteriorate and he was put into a medically-induced coma just eight days after the stroke, TMZ reported.

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He had been on life support, but ultimately his family made the “agonizing decision” to remove him from life support on Monday, they said in a statement via Singleton’s reps.

“John Singleton is a prolific, ground-breaking director who changed the game and opened doors in Hollywood, a world that was just a few miles away, yet worlds away, from the neighborhood in which he grew up,” the statement read.

“We are grateful to his fans, friends and colleagues for the outpouring of love and prayers during this incredibly difficult time. We want to thank all the doctors at Cedars Sinai for the impeccable care he received.”

According to Newsweek, Singleton’s family also noted the movie producer’s battle with hypertension, a high blood pressure ailment of which African Americans are particularly at risk for.

“Like many African Americans, Singleton quietly struggled with hypertension. More than 40 percent of African American men and women have high blood pressure, which also develops earlier in life and is usually more severe,” the statement read.

“His family wants to share the message with all to please recognize the symptoms by going to Heart.org.”

Singleton was a father to seven children including Justice, Maasai, Hadar, Cleopatra, Selenesol, Isis and Seven Singleton.

In addition to Boyz N the Hood, which received two Oscar nominations, Singleton also directed classic films and shows like Poetic Justice, Baby Boy, Four Brothers, 2 Fast 2 Furious, Billions and many others.

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Bill Cosby Denied Latest Bid for Bail HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – An appeals court has denied Bill Cosby’s latest effort to be released from prison on bail while he fights his sex-assault conviction.

Lawyers for the 81-year-old comedian had renewed their bail motion in a filing last week with Pennsylvania Superior Court. They say Cosby is likely to have his conviction overturned because of trial errors.

The defense complained that Montgomery County Judge Steven O’Neill hasn’t yet issued a post-trial opinion explaining key trial decisions the defense plans to challenge on appeal. They include O’Neill’s decision to let five other accusers testify.

The appeals court has turned down the bail motion in a one-line order issued Monday. Cosby is serving a three- to 10-year prison term for drugging and molesting a woman at his estate near Philadelphia in 2004.

Streaming Service Hits 100 Million Paid COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) – Music streaming service Spotify said Monday that its paying subscribers have reached 100 million for the first time, up 32% on the year and almost twice the latest figures for Apple Music.

The Stockholm-based company called the figure, which was reached during the first three months of 2019, “an important milestone.”

The growth was driven, among other things, by “a better-than-planned promotion in the U.S. and Canada.”

Spotify said it had reached “the high end of our guidance range of 97-100 million.”

By comparison, archrival Apple Music had about 50 million paying subscribers at the end of 2018, the latest available figures. Apple is expected to release new figures with its earnings report on Tuesday.

The number of Spotify's total monthly users, which includes those who do not pay a monthly subscription fee but use the service with intermittent ads, rose to 217 million in the first quarter.

The strong growth in its user base led to a 33% rise in revenue, to 1.5 billion euros ($1.7 billion). Yet like many tech companies focusing on building market share, the company continued to lose money, reporting an operating loss of 47 million euros.

Spotify says that voice speakers like Google Home and Alexa are a “critical area of growth” and is looking to invest more in podcasts to supplement its offering of music.

Connecticut Tribute to Rapper Nipsey Hussle Marred HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – Fans of Nipsey Hussle are upset that someone painted on a mural of the slain rapper at a Connecticut skate park, but police say they don't plan on pursing charges.

The Hartford Courant reports that an unidentified woman was video recorded by several people while spray painting cherries and other images over the mural. By Sunday morning, it appeared as though someone had made an effort to cover the graffiti with blue paint.

The mural was painted earlier this month by local artist Corey Pane. Pane said at the time he wanted to honor Hussle, shot to death March 31 in Los Angeles.

Police Lt. Paul Cicero says the park is a safe haven for graffiti artists and there's nothing unlawful or illegal about painting over someone else's work.

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high caliber talent is displayed by Anthony and Joe Russo, who are experts at choreographing fights, pulling perfect performances from their cast and maintaining a cohesive feel throughout. What the filmmakers exhibit is beyond the reach of most of their peers on this side of the industry.

The exceptions being Ryan Coogler (Black Panther), Patty Jenkins (Wonder Woman), Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight) and Tim Miller (Deadpool).

There isn’t one standout performance in the entire cast, because the actors work together as a unit. This group accomplishment could win a SAG award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. This big budget action/sci-fi/drama could get nominated for a Best Picture Oscar, now that a wall has been broken down by Black Panther. Also, anyone who was lukewarm about the very tepid but popular Captain Marvel movie, will now understand that the evolution of that character in that film sets up Captain Marvel for every Avengers film that will follow. She (Brie Larson) is a breath of fresh air.

Twenty years ago, these kinds of comic book action films were dominated by white males in all the important roles. This very modern interpretation, where so many characters gather and storylines converge, includes more diversity than the United Nations and a co-ed softball team.

Marvel fans have watched and tracked around 20 movies over ten years that seemed to all lead up to this zenith. They will be dancing in the aisles. This euphoria will be shared equally by young, older, male, female, domestic and international audiences who can see a reflection of themselves in these super heroes. Box office potential? If you stand in front of a door to a movie theater that’s showing this film, you’ll get trampled to death by the crowd surge.

Avengers: Endgame should make a lot of people happy for about three hours and one minute, solid. It’s all that audiences could have possibly hoped for.

Visit NNPA News Wire Film Critic Dwight Brown at DwightBrownInk.com and BlackPressUSA.com.

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Address Dillard NEW ORLEANS (AP) – Veteran actress Regina Hall has been tapped to address graduates of Dillard University next month.

Hall will be the 2019 speaker for commencement ceremonies scheduled at 8 a.m. May 11 on the campus’ historic Avenue of The Oaks.

Hall holds an English degree from Fordham University and a master's degree in journalism from New York University's Arthur L. Cater Journalism Institute.

But after her father died, she decided to pursue goals that “aligned with her spirit” and began landing acting roles for commercials and on primetime television.

Her work includes “The Best Man,” “Girls Trip” and the current comedy out now, “Little,” which also stars Issa Issa Rae (“Insecure”) and Marsai Martin ("Black-ish”).

Dillard President Dr. Walter M. Kimbrough says Hall “definitely has a message for our graduates.”

Thursday, May 2, 2019

Dodgers and Bellinger Continue to Roll

By Earl Heath Contributing Sports Writer The Los Angeles Dodgers went 7-3 last week on the way to leading the N.L.West over the Padres. The men in blue went on the road and took two of three games from the Cubs and swept the Pirates at Dodger Stadium.

Cody Bellinger is on a torrid pace leading the league in many categories (at press time including; batting average (.443), slugging percentage (.910), homeruns (15), runs (29), and RBI’s (33). He also has 89 total bases, the most of any player before May 1.

Rookie Alex Verdogo is second in the league with two triples and fourth in slugging percentage. The Dodgers have timely hitting in that Bellinger is the only Dodger to be hitting over .300.

“I think the whole team approach is predicated on making good at bats, passing the baton getting guys in from third”, said the Dodgers Andrew Friman. “We have a mature group that has bought into our hitting guys.”

Hyn-Jin Ryu (3-1) got the first one against the Pirates going seven innings striking out 10 with no walks. Ryu has only walked two of the 107 batters he’s faced this season. He has been a gem at Dodger Stadium going 7-2 in his last 10 starts and has an era of 2.76.

THE VALLEY’S NEWS OBSERVER A5

Sports

Cory Bellinger (Photo by Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports)

The Los Angeles Clippers Proved to be More Than Expected this Season

By Cameron Buford Whatsgoodinsports.com At the start of the NBA season, the outlook of the Los Angeles Clippers wasn’t terribly exciting. With the league’s best player relocating to the team across town. Many of the minds and attention of basketball fans in Los Angeles, and the NBA for that matter, shifted In that direction.

This was just fine with Head Coach Doc Rivers and his hard-working team, as the lack of attention allowed them to develop into a unit and be ready for prime time when that time came.

Coming into the season the Clippers appeared to loaded at certain positions. Danillo Gallinari and fellow forward Tobias Harris were in consistent competition for shots and playing time. Rookies Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jerome Robinson both were competing for playing time with veterans Patrick Beverley and Lou Williams.

They also started the season with Marcin Gortat, Boban Marjanovic and Montrezl Harrell competing for playing time in the low post.

Just before the trading deadline, the Clippers traded Boban Marjanovic, Tobias Harris and Mike Scott to the Philadelphia 76ers for Wilson Chandler, Mike Muscala and rookie Landry Shamet, who was the 26th overall pick of last years draft. The Clippers then were able to swap Mike Muscala for their new starting Ivica Zubac with their cross-town rivals, in a trade that they didn’t even initiate.

The addition of Zubac rendered Gortat expendable.

Once those deals were complete, the Clippers new lineup of Gilgeous Alexander, Patrick Beverley, Landy Shamet, Danilo Gallinari and Ivica Zubac ranked third in the NBA in Net efficiency, by outscoring their opponents by 9.2 points per 100 possessions. The Clippers also ranked fifth in the NBA and second in the Western Conference in fourth-quarter net rating this season. Some saying this has been Doc Rivers best coaching job of his illustrious Hall of Fame coaching career.

Doc Rivers won the Coach of the Month award in October and November as the Clipper jumped out to a Los Angeles Clippers’ Montrezl Harrell, left, and Danilo Gallinari, celebrate after a 112-107 overtime win over the Memphis Grizzlies earlier in the season, in Los Angeles. (Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press)

Canelo vs Jacobs Saturday Night in Las Vegas

Western Conference best 15-6 record to start their season.

Doc ranks second among active coaches in regular season wins. Additionally, he is ranked the second-winningest coach All Time, among active coaches that have coached over 1000+ games.

Clearly, this team was coached well and the Clippers played with tremendous heart throughout the season.

Evidence in this was their ability to bounce back from large deficits. The Clippers are the only team in the past 20 to win multiple games in a single season, in which they trailed by 25 points or more. This wasn’t limited to the regular season either, if you recall they mounted a 30+ comeback against the back to back champions in round 1 of this year’s playoffs.

Assisting the Clippers in their ability to make these continuous comebacks is their tremendous bench players.

2-time Sixth Man of the Year Award Winner Lou Williams has been assisted by Montrezl Harrell, for which a seventh man of the year award could be named. According to Elias Sports Bureau, these two guys combined for 36.9 points per game, which is the highest scoring average for any reserve duo coming off the bench. Respectively, Williams and Harrell ranked first and fourth in bench scoring in the NBA this season.

By taking to the defending champions to 6 games in the first round of this season’s Playoffs, the Clippers 2 wins in their series are something no other team has been able to do in the defending Champions current championship run. With more growth and continuity, these Los Angeles Clippers are in prime position to capture the hearts and minds of basketball fans in the Los Angeles market moving forward. Please share your thoughts on the Clippers future potential with us by commenting in the comment section of this article on www.whatsgoodinsports.com or reaching out to us on twitter @whatsgoodinsports. Your thoughts and feedback are very much welcomed and appreciated!

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By Cameron Buford Whatsgoodinsports.com Coming up this weekend in Las Vegas Nevada, fans of the sweet science will be treated to another special night of championship boxing as Canelo Alvarez takes on Daniel Jacobs in a 12-round fight for the WBC, WBA, Lineal, Ring Magazine, and IBF Middleweight World Titles presented by Golden Boy in association with Matchroom Boxing.

Canelo vs. Jacobs is a 12-round fight for the WBC, WBA, Lineal, Ring Magazine, and IBF Middleweight World Titles presented by Golden Boy in association with Matchroom Boxing. Ortiz vs. Herrera is a 10-round welterweight fight presented by Golden Boy. The event is sponsored by Tecate, “THE OFFICIAL BEER OF BOXING” and Hennessy “Never Stop. Never Settle.” The event will take place Saturday, May 4, 2019, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and will be streamed live exclusively on DAZN. Tickets for Canelo vs. Jacobs are on sale now and are priced at $2,505, $1,505, $1,205, $805, $605, $405, $305, and not including applicable service charges and taxes. There will be a limit of 10 per person at the $2,505, $1,505, $1,205, $805, $605, $405, and $305 price levels. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call 888-9-AXS-TIX (888-929-7849). Tickets also will be available for purchase at www.t-mobilearena.com or www.

axs.com.

Falcao vs. Pearson is a 10-round fight for the WBC Latino Middleweight Title presented by Golden Boy. The event is sponsored by Tecate “THE OFFICIAL BEER OF BOXING” and Hennessy “Never Stop, Never Settle.” The fight will take place Thursday, May 2 at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas. The fight will be streamed live globally on Facebook Watch via the Golden Boy Fight Night Page.

Tickets for Falcao vs. Pearson are on sale now and are priced at $75, $50, $25, $10, not including applicable service charges and taxes. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets will also be available for purchase at www.goldenboytickets. com *Special Offer: Purchase a ticket for Falcao vs. Pearson and receive VIP seating to the Canelo vs. Jacobs weigh-in at T-Mobile Arena on Friday, May 3. The Canelo vs. Jacobs ticket stub must be presented at the Canelo vs. Jacobs weigh-in for VIP seating.

For more details of the fight and interviews from the combatants in these bouts this weekend, be sure to follow me on twitter at @whatsgoodnsport for live up to date commentary and fighter interviews throughout the week, as we will be live from Las Vegas later this week.

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THE VALLEY’S NEWS OBSERVER

Thursday, May 2, 2019

Local Gov Prioritizes Hate Crimes with $15M Emergency Fund

Photo By CBM: First African Methodist Episcopal Church FAME, the oldest church in Los Angeles founded

by African Americans in 1872 posted signage at their information desk a few years ago because of attacks on houses of worship. Rev. J Edgar Boyd is the pastor of this church.

Heated Charter School Debates Ignore One Key Fact:

Tanu Henry California Black Media African-American churches, mosques and other religious organizations are among vulnerable non-profits in California eligible to apply for security grants after Gov. Gavin Newsom approved $15 million in emergency funds this week to help religious and community based groups protect themselves against hate crimes.

The governor made the announcement two days after a violent mass shooting at a synagogue just north of San Diego shocked Californians and people around the world.

On Saturday, John Earnest, 19, a White supremacist allegedly entered the Chabad of Poway Synagogue carrying an assault-style rifle and opened fire. Police said he killed one woman, Lori Kaye, 60, and injured three others, including a Rabbi and an 8-year-old girl. Authorities are investigating the case as a hate crime and possibly a federal civil rights violation.

“We all must call out hate – against any and all communities – and act to defend those targeted for their religious beliefs, who they love or how they identify,” said Governor Newsom. “An attack against any community is an attack against our entire state – who we are and what we stand for.”

Earnest, the accused gunman and a nursing student at California State University San Marcos, has been arrested and charged with one count of murder and three counts of attempted murder.

“Just weeks ago, African-American churches were burned in the South and these were confirmed as hate crimes,” said Shane Harris, an African-American pastor and President of the People’s Alliance of Justice, a national civil rights organization based in San Diego. “I have worked closely with the Jewish community for many years on interfaith efforts to take on social justice issues surrounding hate in our country against any faith. It hurts my heart to hear that one person has been killed in this shooting and our prayers go out to the others who have been injured.”

For the African-American religious community in California, the synagogue shooting brings with it echoes of a painful past familiar with centuries of fire bombings, arson, shootings and other acts of domestic terrorism perpetrated against predominantly Black church congregations and places of worship. This year, in a 10-day span between late March and early April, arsonists burned down three historic African-American churches in Louisiana. And between 1995 and 1996 alone, more than 30 African-

American churches were burned in the United. States, spurring Congress to pass the Church Arson Prevention Act. Since the 1950s, there have been close to 100 hate crimes committed at African-American places of worship.

The most heinous attack in recent history against a Black church was a hate-fueled mass murder that happened on June 17, 2015 in Charleston, South Carolina. Dylan Roof, a then-20-year-old White supremacist and NeoNazi,stormed into the historic Emmanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church during a Bible study in the sanctuary and killed nine African-American parishioners, including a South Carolina state senator, Clementa Pinckney.

In California, there are more hate groups than in any other state. Hate crimes are also on the rise in the state, increasing by 17.4 percent between 2016 and 2017, according to the California Attorney General’s office. The sharpest upturn in the state has been Anti-Jewish attacks which rose from 82 too 104 between 2016 and 2017, Several lawmakers, community activists and religious leaders have already stepped forward to thank the governor for his timely decision and his willingness to address a pressing safety concern in the state.

“We appreciate Governor Newsom commitment to the faith community. These resources will be helpful to protect our residents and communities that rely on our churches. I look forward to assisting Black churches in taking advantage of these resources,” said K.W. Tulloss, president of The Baptist Ministers Conference of Los Angeles and Southern California.

The funding, which will be administered through the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, will be awarded through a competitive grant process. The grants will help Non-profits that are targets for hate-motivated violence bolster security at their facilities. Criteria identifying those groups may include, religious affiliation, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, immigration status and more.

Since 2015, California has allocated $4.5 million for the State Nonprofit Security Grant Program. Because more non-profits than anticipated have applied for grants, the governor’s office said he made the decision to add an additional $15m to the fund in the wake of the Poway shootings. The governor will also work with the Commission on Peace Officer Standards to ensure training modules are up to date as new applicants become a part of the ongoing state program.

Black Students Are Underperforming In Our Schools

Photo By: Russell Stiger Jr.: Town hall panelist Dr. Margaret Fortune, President/CEO, Fortune School, Larry Lee, Publisher, The Sacramento Observer, Dr.Romel Antoine, Director Regulatory Affairs, California Charter Schools AssociationHazel Mahone, Professor Emeritus, Sacramento State University and, Pastor Tecoy Porter, President of National Action Network, Sacramento Chapter at Is School Choice is the Black Choice?

Hosted by Roland Martin April 23 at the St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church in Sacramento.

By Tanu Henry California Black Media African-American children are California’s lowest performing group of students, only above students with special needs. Only 2 percent of Black kids in the state attend schools that are considered “high performing.” And only 10 majority African-American schools, located mostly in hard-to-count, high-poverty census tracts around the Bay Area and Los Angeles, score, on average, above the state math and language arts requirements.

On top of that, nearly 68 percent of all AfricanAmerican students in California perform below their grade level in English and language arts. In math, about 80 percent of Black students fail to meet the state’s proficiency mark.

Black children are also three times more likely than Whites to be suspended for similar behaviors, according to a report by San Diego State University’s Community College Equity Lab and UCLA’s Black Male Institute.

When it comes to getting admitted to a California State University or University of California school, only 22 percent of Black high school seniors graduate from schools where a majority of their racial group passes the required courses.

“The critical question is not being asked: ‘what is best for our children?,’” said Assemblymember Shirley Weber (D-San Diego), a member of the Assembly Education committee. She was speaking at a hearing held earlier this month on three charter school bills – AB 1505, AB 1506 and AB 1507 – before her colleagues voted to move them out of committee. The package of legislation would place significant restrictions on charter schools, if the full legislature passes them and Gov. Gavin Newsom signs them.

Then, last week, the Senate Education Committee voted in favor of another charter school bill. This one, SB 756, would place a five-year ban on certifying any new charters. The language in the bill, introduced by Sen. María Elena Durazo (D-Los Angeles), states that it is designed to ensure public charter schools do not “replace or undermine” the state’s public school system.

In California, roughly 52,800 Black students attend charter schools. Although the independent taxpayerfunded schools only account for about 10 percent of public schools, they enroll 3 percent more Black students than the traditional district schools.

Because such a high percentage of African Americans attend charters, opponents of the bills see the package of proposals as a direct attack on Black students.

“Charter schools have been a way within the public school system for African-American and all families to have choice,” says Margaret Fortune, an African-American educator who founded and runs Fortune School, a network of seven charter schools in Sacramento and San Bernardino that focuses on closing the African-American achievement gap and preparing students for college beginning in Kindergarten.

She says, under current California law, the number one consideration for a charter school to be approved is the academic performance of students. Under the new proposals, one of the criteria would be money – if the applying charter impacts the finances of the local school district.

The legislators who authored the bills and their supporters say they introduced them to bring about more accountability and that charter school reform is long overdue.

“School board members have a fiduciary duty to ensure the fiscal health of their district. They know the needs of their schools the best and should be able to consider the fiscal impact on their students and district when considering whether to approve a new charter school,” said Assemblymember Rob Bonta (D-Oakland).

Critics of the legislation have said nowhere in the language of the new bills or public statements about them, have the bills’ legislative sponsors taken a critical look at why Black students are underperforming across the state.

Last week, nationally recognized television journalist and commentator Roland Martin moderated a town hall in Sacramento focused on school choice.

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Photo By: Khiry Malik, Roland Martin takes questions from a town hall attendee directed to the panelist.

Martin said charter schools are the only option for African-American families who don’t have the means to move to a better performing school district.

During the town hall, Martin stated reasons he supports charter schools and has launched a national initiative to explore the issue called, “Is School Choice the Black Choice?”

“You control the resources,” he told the audience.

“You control who gets the janitorial contracts, textbook contracts, IT contracts. So you do not only control the education of our children, you control the economics of our neighborhoods.”

Assemblymember Shirley Weber (D-San Diego)| recently proposed making Black students a high-risk group under the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) because of low scores on statewide exams. Assemblymember Patrick O’Donnell (D-Los Angeles), the Chair of the Assembly Education committee, has pulled the bill.

The education chair’s staff said that this was not the only bill O’Donnell has withdrawn and that he is waiting for a state auditors report before hearing legislation that would tinker with LCFF funding.

During the town hall, several of the panelists called out Assemblymember Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento), who is African American and in whose district has three high performing charter schools that are performing above traditional district schools, two of those are Fortune schools.

“To see Black state legislators, Black city council members, Black county commissioners - who are some of the most ardent opponents of charter schools. Yet, they are representing constituents who have some of the worst academic records,” Martin said. “That to me is an abomination.”

In McCarty’s legislative area, which covers two school districts, Natomas Unified and Sacramento City Unified, Black students are performing below the state’s AfricanAmerican averages in both math and English. About 87 percent of students are scoring below their grade level in math and about 78 percent are not meeting the English requirement.

This article is the first in a series of stories on AfricanAmerican students and public education in California.

CENSUS

Los Angeles has the Most to Lose

By Mark Hedin Ethnic Media Services California is welcoming newcomers every day, but some regions are growing fast enough to take political power away from slower-growing ones. In today’s California, the mostpopulous county, Los Angeles, with more than 10 million people, is losing ground to the San Francisco Bay Area and the Inland Empire of San Bernardino and Riverside counties. In its recent report, “Winners and Losers: The 2020 Census and California’s 2021 Redistricting,” Claremont McKenna College’s Rose Institute of State and Local Government looks at population trends up and down the state and explains how changes play out in the political realm.

Overall, the state is projected to show an 8.7% population increase from 2010, while within California, the San Francisco Bay Area is expected to show 11.9% growth overall, with San Francisco County growing 14%, Alameda 14.5% and Contra Costa 13.4%. Santa Clara, Solano and San Mateo counties also are experiencing double-digit population growth.

In Southern California, Riverside County is up 15.2%, San Bernardino and Orange counties 8.6% each and San Diego 11.2%. But most of Los Angeles is growing at a less than 5% rate.

Political districts are intended to include equal numbers of people. So when the Census shows that one region has more people than it used to, and another has fewer, district boundaries are redrawn to balance out their respective populations.

But, just as Los Angeles stands to lose representation in Sacramento, the same principles that apply to state legislatures also come into play when seats in the U.S. Congress are apportioned. California, and the South and Southwest in general, have consistently gained seats. But

in 2020, California could, for the first time, lose a seat in Congress.

Four central Los Angeles Congressional districts – each controlled by a Democrat of either Hispanic or Asian descent – would nonetheless be consolidated into three districts to allow another congressional seat to go to a faster-growing state, such as Texas or Florida. The methodology of how Congressional seats are apportioned is bizarrely byzantine and impossible to explain. But basically, every state gets one seat and then the remaining 385 are distributed according to population.

The four Congressional districts seen as most likely candidates for contraction are Judy Chu’s 27th, in Pasadena; Grace Napolitano’s 32nd, in El Monte; Linda Sanchez’s 38th, in Lakewood; and Lucille Roybal-Allard’s 40th in Downey.

While in the past, redistricting efforts attempted to preserve a district’s ethnic identity, those four districts are all surrounded by others with similar demographics, so if California were to lose a seat in Congress, it seems certain that it would be one belonging to a Democrat of color, Douglas Johnson, one of the report’s authors, told Ethnic Media Services.

However, he said, a difference of as few as 40,000 more Californians being counted in the Census could keep that from happening.

The report’s projections are based on data gathered by the Census Bureau in its annual American Community Surveys up to 2017 and extrapolated forward from there, then compared to 2010 Census data.

Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties have all signed on to form Complete Count Committees to ensure all their residents are enumerated in next year’s census.