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When you see a photo or ad with the Observer lum alaGet nistby app for free downloading Harthe N ris an ic have all ca1. h o las Kristof, al ind reality T Interactive logo scan over the whole photo with your for Google U itlled from orV The App .S starApple re-testingPlay forensic tech . using curren Kim Kardashian SUL n o tablet or smartphone. lo g y. t, more sen The AStore gorilla suitPHUR, La. (AP) – P CLU and o sitive groups hav th er m attress befboroke into a Louisiaonlice h a deeper in e also urged Califuoman rights and soci ho News ouretl officers arrested haim ves gation rnia state o al et into Cooper . fficials to lajustice s Gov. Newtiso sp q u o k o es te m Mel E unch ’s convictio m’s order F tion issued stes in ThSuulphur officers saan n . ri d b ay y e w fo rs x d rmer Gov. pan test four costume. ThJeremie Moran wal ay re rry Brownds previous direcking th ey had rece lowed analpyieces of crime scenJe in so D n looking in ec e em st ev an orange s to perform DN idence. Brown’s ber to to homes.ived calls abou E to A stes prosecutors wel; and the han re-testing on a tanorder al- bo proached bsays Moran ran in dle dies in the say Cooper T-shirt; a hom R In this new used in theand sheath of a hat y ch en arges incluut was discovered to chet Joshua Ryen, the ’s home with a tota murders. investigatio hiding. ding resistin of hair from tr y, l v n w m o ic , f o ti et an 1 g u th m h 4 n al s will lo an 3 e victims’ h s’ d on his th poss sion button Co ands, bloyost and wearinofficer, roat. He w8-year-old son, suffsterab wounds. ing in the San B k at strand tack. In Louisiaes oper’s atto d samplesoan g as the only tigators pla er s ed n n rn a, th ar a ey a e d in sl in p al as N er p le o h o ublic can b son convicatemas gations Co County are survivor of Angeles Co nted at the scene rman Hile mainta d a green le After Coopers’s o e D do p n th se er .A o m e t n ’s .’s o su tenced to atst. Exceptio atto rprised abo o ce. Man three ye vestigation unty Superior Couof the crime. A reins inves- al gally stayed in a h jail break, investig ns are allow ut racial biaffi y of themrneys are making ab h o li d . ay ators found so say they tired Los ouse next rt judge wil se ed s s o like Hallow for religiou do fo , e il- complaints and discriminatio frequently compla ut their l oversee th Coo er, 61 een and M It’s unclea in about are handled n in the w e in- family’s station uwnd evidence in theoRr to the victims. hTh , has main ar years. Hispla r if g an M m g ay . o ag en y ta ey Ju p ra en o th ro t. in n has a ladwi Gras st last mon n that tied ’s home and eir cases or secutor Mic For some, G by Gov. N wyers hope the resu ed his innocence th u C yer w n , in o h d a o ae er o p th S v. Bernardino help prove ewsom, which cou lts of the re-testin over the oinf g in the case is beinNewsom’s order toerbto the murders. e on socipalressure for makinlgSelyem, who is Wan h g cr ld it g ro th th m e, o u m ad ta rd ei d e ed resigned et e an k r client’s in er Observer en NA te m rders Jo Newspapers . His insult him. 28 Volume 34 Number Thursday, May 23, 2019 ismSouthern st- chelle Obama,iaU shua Ryenwith dof nocence eanseveral months, wed ay. The lonDCalifornia porters ofuGroup s targeteddforacist and commen ill th an e ,S d finally ex th su ts B . d e rm R la In 1985, a rv fa R ep ck er iv y m en . o F sh il M r ir s y, ooting victi ey are disap st axine Water and Hughes onerate friends an San Diego on four co pointed w s and an uLnady Mi“Unfortun ith the gov all across the statdesup- Los Thomas R. Parkmer. named 26 and an unts of murder. 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What has k per’s guilw e cops lied e him have t, agreed to t.” months onldear Pittsburgh, PenRichard Goodman, ep t a th fe all confirm e case goin deral appel and nsylvania. was born Y et ed g la p During his , he was adopted an te er M an su W ec co r. d C operEarl as e argum ution and re hen he was urt CooalivHeath LAKE ents based six monies and allegiv e - is iew the ca’ssedecision in 2004 toBy and he spenchildhood, his par d renamed Kevin ations of ev Gov. Newvso Contributing o re o n as en is Writer w st C t co o it ay o recoveringFOREST, Calif. (AP a ts n h n o ab g fl p his ex-Sports p m o er ic le h id o juvenile det o ysically abu ti . gat d part of ad q en m re n u D ’s g ce es sc N d te ti ie ) – Official ta ec A o n st ter beinJames m n out th tific evThe isio will #16afranked Madison testing com enTexas yon host “The ACLU for an o scen tion centecalls idenBruins g struck road in s a mentalof e methodspering, keep raisiniceof. Harrisonburg, ce living insed him attaors used to nail Csoab es early inn to allow anothUniversity California S rs. In 198le b o y a police ca u th g Virginia and the Colonial h ea er er an o n ck lt p d G se ro th er h C 2, Cooper , and in sw st o v . u e L faciinto al er v o Th n er ag if ri te al d independent Cinvestigation tragedy n o es re lity inthe u rm alifornia. rn o o n e h in r f a ia.while ave high ex weapo vestiBea(51-8) es ped fro orn Penn lvan ch liwent three attack Association. 4-1 the OThe progress p tationws.hose supporters onofththeAthletic ce Offi rangDukes m co ia before ca iv ers who wertestimony, JoshuanRs were used in the e CountyinPRothe e Ten ceHarbor r Thomas M urinimmediate in Baytown gand Dthe releasesyof the “DNA teec e pdefeating Big host Michigan Ann m g u so o o ld h v li y e m in is ti en eg W h ca eo g m av is st h sa l to n te u in e it Leftwo e’s pet when earn a rtrip id he saw solve the rder trial, p e. He later been Hispan g should im ed that Coo he in t ofFeb itLos ially thougc Regional’s the three games to to te R ro th officer’s bodyRuycamera footage,” The ACLU of F p st ic m y se u . e er en ifi . ed rt 1 cu ca ed killed husb 9 h ia t ca . to er te d th se rs en, their 10 ar C co ly at h te su an m ia ta th d plicating th d fin ng sa ke Angeles ey in front of the right to go to the WCWS. lace to form -year-old and w McG e prosecuti Texas Legal nDirector Segura,andsaid inif a ccessfully ar- an named D eighbor ChAndre reare uire saCAA that DNA id during the campally ensure justicepis - led ys whPlayer They byanTwo-time of the Year ons’ claims, th ristopher Hdaughter Jessica ane dDoug and Peggy belonging toiahna Roper came forw ev ai e en se g id n rv en h im . e ed “N ce al g ,” ot outwins a w m- but testing ot only is was big er former b ar ughes. Poli an n help statement. to check, h Odicci In circle she gerinth24-2 it proAlexander. in this caca oyfriend wd with bloody clothoin Anthe ce found th11-year-old inal. She turned th an a hwith imalTennessee. ven se wouldlacow enforcement soover o1.73 Control oShe use caera E h o d g e e v Michigan, Duke and has a es w en ev b t. to tr as lo lv id o th an e o a y ffi en m d cr o ed v ie ce u an io ce over to e imes, By Stacy M. Brown d it. rs im the police,lent crim- is bold, he is treagdh Newsom’s decisioat no cost toand strikeouts. trauma. al hospital, where itrushed the bleedin the 167 African Am st NNPA Newswire Correspondent at e. n b in is ” u in su g t w they ericans, His carefu e that as dand the C operAt the plate she’s iagnosed w with 14 homers Dr.batting panics and The hashtag #JusticeForPamelaShantayTurner is case Kristi K.342 watching. California voters acllroy on a potentially o56 rause, a vet other mino RBI’s. sh p H e o ss e ex la th is ri p trending. ec zi e k er n p rities liv- C ts e 11-p eeping his inarian, tell o ontinued focus on ofalitical spectrum areg back into thth Unfortunately, the reason behind the popularity of the on page A e wild afteurnd (5-kilogram) castthe ne irness and 2 McGuire v to it regains st justice latest social media slogan is all-too familiar. isited rength. be that if he se Turner, 44, was fatally shot by a Bayton, Texas, police es it again, the bobcat on Fri day he’ll issue a officer at an apartment complex. Her family said she has a ticket for ja. H history of mental illness. yw In a video of the incident, Turner, an African-American woman, yells out that she’s pregnant but that didn’t stop a white police officer from firing five shots into her body and killing her. “The ACLU of Texas calls for an independent investigation into the tragedy in Baytown and the immediate release of the officer’s body camera footage,” The ACLU of Texas Legal Director Andre Segura, said in By KEVIN FREKING a statement. Associated Press “The escalation seen on bystander video from a simple WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump stop to the use of brutal deadly force is shocking and raises has granted a full pardon to Conrad Black, a former serious concerns. There are too many questions about this newspaper publisher who has written a flattering polititragic loss of life, and the public deserves transparency,” Turner, 44, was fatally shot by a Bayton, Texas, police officer at an apartment complex. Her family said she cal biography of Trump. has a history of mental illness. (Photo: YouTube) Segura said. Black’s media empire once included the Chicago Baytown Police said the shooting occurred during a Baytown, according to police. in our communities, especially when they kill someone. Sun-Times and The Daily Telegraph of London. He was struggle over the unnamed officer’s Taser. The city of about 76,000 is located in Harris County, Community members have the right to monitor, discuss, convicted of fraud in 2007 and spent three and a half Lt. Steve Dorris said in a Facebook post, “It appears Texas, near Houston. and ultimately control the way we are policed,” he said. years in prison. that as the officer was then attempting to handcuff the Segura and others expressed outraged that authorities James Edison, a neighbor of Turner’s said police should White House press secretary Sarah Sanders says female she was able to gain control of his Taser and turned called the release of the video of the incident on social have used more discretion. Black “has made tremendous contributions to business, it on the officer, Tasing the officer, which forced the officer media “disrespectful.” “If you know she has mental illness, why not ask for and to political and historical thought.” to draw his duty weapon and fire multiple rounds at the “The Baytown Police Department has stated that it backup first before you try and detain her?” Edison told In 2018 he published “Donald J. Trump: A Presifemale, striking her at least once.” was ‘disrespectful’ for bystander video of the shooting to be KPRC, via the Heavy. dent Like No Other.” Turner was pronounced dead at the scene. posted online – that is wrong,” Segura said. “He got up and she was barely getting up off the Trump has also pardoned Patrick Nolan, a former The shooting happened about 10:40 p.m. Monday, “There is nothing disrespectful or inappropriate about ground and he shot her like a dog. That’s wrong. And he Republican leader of the California State Assembly. NoMay 13, at The Brixton Apartments on Garth Road in documenting or sharing video of the way the police act Continued on page A3 lan has been a vocal advocate for criminal justice reform since he spent more than two years in federal prison during the 1990s.
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Billionaire Pledges to Pay Student Debt By ERRIN HAINES WHACK AP National Writer A billionaire technology investor and philanthropist says he will provide grants to wipe out the student debt of the entire graduating class at Morehouse College - an estimated $40 million. Robert F. Smith, this year's commencement speaker, made the announcement Sunday morning while addressing nearly 400 graduating seniors of the all-male historically black college in Atlanta. Smith is the Founder and CEO of Vista Equity Partners, a private equity firm that invests in software, data, and technology-driven companies. “On behalf of the eight generations of my family that have been in this country, we're gonna put a little fuel in your bus,” Smith told the graduates. “This is my class, 2019. And my family is making a grant to eliminate their student loans.” The announcement elicited stunned looks from faculty and students alike, before the graduates broke into the biggest cheers of the morning. Morehouse said it is the sin-
gle largest gift to the college. Smith, who received an honorary doctorate from Morehouse during the ceremony, had already announced a $1.5 million gift to the school. The pledge to eliminate student debt for the class of 2019 is estimated to be $40 million. Smith said he expected the recipients to “pay it forward” and said he hoped that “every class has the same opportunity going forward.” In the weeks before graduating from Morehouse on Sunday, 22-year-old finance major Aaron Mitchom drew up a spreadsheet to calculate how long it would take him to pay back his $200,000 in student loans _ 25 years at half his monthly salary, per his calculations. In an instant, that number vanished. Mitchom, sitting in the crowd, wept. “I can delete that spreadsheet,” he said in an interview after the commencement. “I don't have to live off of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I was shocked. My heart
dropped. We all cried. In the moment it was like a burden had been taken off.” His mother, Tina Mitchom, was also shocked. Eight family members, including Mitchom's 76-year-old grandmother, took turns over four years co-signing on the loans that got him across the finish line. “It takes a village,” she said. “It now means he can start paying it forward and start closing this gap a lot sooner, giving back to the college and thinking about a succession plan” for his younger siblings. Morehouse College president David A. Thomas said the gift would have a profound effect on the students' futures. “Many of my students are interested in going into teaching, for example, but leave with an amount of student debt that makes that untenable,” Thomas said in an interview. “In some ways, it was a liberation gift for these young men that just opened up their choices.”
Despite Dreams of Prosperity, Many African Americans
Not Financially Ready to Retire
By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Correspondent The nation’s leading public interest group providing seniors and others with information that empowers them to choose how they live, AARP, regularly publishes a retirement calculator that individuals and families can use to provide a personalized snapshot of what their financial future might look like. One simply has to answer a few questions about household status, salary and retirement savings (such as an
Unfortunately for most African Americans, even the most sophisticated planning tools lead to the same result: retirement has fast become a pie-inthe-sky dream.
IRA or 401(k)), include information about supplemental retirement income (such as a pension or Social Security), and consider how long they intend to work to generate information that will inform their expected lifestyle as a retiree. The tool is designed to help potential retirees determine the amount of money they’ll need to retire “when – and how – they want.” Unfortunately for most African Americans, even the most sophisticated planning tools lead to the same result: retirement has fast become a pie-in-the-sky dream. “As a whole, Americans are bad savers. But, I believe it’s worse for African American communities because they don’t have access to the right educational opportunities,” said Cory Chapman, the Managing Partner and CEO of EFC Wealth Management. “Being raised by a single mom with three kids, I understand the struggle of just trying to pay the bills and get food on the table. Growing up, saving money was an afterthought and never discussed,” Chapman said. A report published earlier this month demonstrated how African Americans, Latinos and other minorities will have a more difficult time calling it quits than white Americans. The report, published on the financial website The Motley Fool, revealed that the troubling disparity in retirement readiness between white Americans and minorities can be explained largely by income and wealth disparities that persist throughout our lives. “Caucasians didn’t lose as much wealth during the Great Recession and have recovered more of it, so white households now hold close to six times the wealth of African American or Hispanic households,” the report’s authors said. Median earnings for white households recovered from the recession by 2016, but earning levels for both black and Hispanic households remained below 2007 levels. Caucasians now earn close to twice as much as minority households do, according to The Motley Fool. “The African American community is skeptical when it comes to saving,” Chapman said. “Growing up, we were taught by our grandparents that we couldn’t trust banks and we were better off burying money in the backyard,” he said. Understanding how money works is actually getting worse with each new generation – black children aren’t learning basic life skills in school, Chapman continued. “We need to be teaching children about planning
strategies to generate wealth. Retired African American clients that come into my office are still just trying to make ends meet,” Chapman said. “They don’t feel like they can save money when they are trying to put their kids through college and help them buy a home or car. They are forgetting about themselves and their own retirement,” he said. The most recent MassMutual State of the American Family Study found that there are differences in retirement planning among different cultural groups. African Americans fall short on executing life-changing measures such as accumulating wealth, being better prepared for retirement and building up savings. According to the American Family Study, 84 percent of African Americans believe the American Dream means financial security; 78 percent in not living paycheck-to-paycheck; and 77 percent in owning a home. However, based on the study, many African Americans don’t have tangible assets needed to make those goals happen now. The study revealed a disconnect between African Americans’ financial situations and their hope toward the future. Some key findings from the survey: • Outside of retirement accounts, only 37 percent of African Americans own wealth-building products such as stocks and mutual funds. • Only 35 percent believe they are doing a good job of preparing for retirement. • 33 percent have less than one month of funds saved for a crisis and less than 25 percent have amassed more than six months’ of emergency savings. • 58 percent are actively involved in educating their children on finances versus 48 percent of Caucasians. Forty-percent rely on family members for information “The study shows African Americans want to improve their financial situations and are hopeful about the future,” Evan Taylor, African American market director for MassMutual, told Black Enterprise Magazine. “At the same time, it sheds light on the financial struggles and inequities that the African American community continues to battle,” Taylor said. “Those contradictions indicate a need for greater financial education and discipline for the whole family to achieve economic success. In fact, the biggest financial regret expressed by respondents was that they wished they had started saving and investing sooner,” he said.
Racial Slur in Prom Proposal Draws Principal’s Ire PALOS VERDES ESTATES, Calif. (AP) – A social media photo showing two Southern California high school students laughing while displaying a prom proposal poster containing a racial slur against black people drew a stern reaction from their principal Wednesday. “Racist words and racist acts have no place in our school community,” Palos Verdes High School Principal Allan Tyner said in a statement on the school’s website. The photo shows a teenage boy and girl holding a poster that says she’s a racist but he would give anything if she would go to the prom with him. Highlighted letters in the text spell out the slur. Tyner wrote that he would meet Wednesday with all students, class by class. “We will review appropriate behavior and how the use of hurtful racial slurs like the one used on this recent picture posted on social media is unacceptable,” he said. “I know that this one unfortunate event does not represent us as a school community.” The Los Angeles Times reported that the principal said the teens pictured are from Palos Verdes High and their families have been contacted “to inform them that we are forming a response and anticipate severe consequences.” Tyner did not specify the consequences. The school was also attempting to find out who took the photo and who else may have been present. “At this time, I am asking all teachers and parents in our school community to join me in reminding our students that we live in a society that must respect diversity and tolerance. Indeed, this life lesson is critical and is one that school and home must partner to teach,” the principal wrote. He added that the response by other students and families on social media made clear that the community does not support the behavior. Palos Verdes Estates is among a cluster of upscale communities overlooking the Pacific Ocean from the Palos Verdes Peninsula at the south end of Los Angeles County. Its population of about 13,500 is more than 73% white and less than 1% black.
Episcopal Church Elects Black Woman as Bishop Raises first African-American woman into lead BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) _ Vermont’s Episcopal church has for the first time chosen an African-American woman as its bishop.\ The Rev. Shannon MacVean-Brown was elected Saturday by representatives of Vermont’s 45 Episcopal congregations. MacVean-Brown will become the first black woman to hold the post in Vermont. She replaces Bishop Thomas Ely, who will be retiring after 18 years as Vermont’s Episcopal bishop. MacVean-Brown currently serves as the interim rector of St. Thomas Episcopal Church, of Franklin, Indiana. She is planning to move to Vermont with her family in August. Current plans call for her ordination as Vermont bishop on Sept. 28.