Former ‘Empire Star’ Jussie Smollett Found Guilty of Staging Attack Page A3
Holiday Travel Season: Cal Black Churches Offering COVID Testing, Vaccination Page A5
News Observer The Valley’s
Volume 37 Number 5
Serving the San Fernando Valley for Over 37 Years
Observer Group Newspapers of Southern California
Parents Raise the Alarm About Violence in Schools Their Votes Depends on Improvement
Alarmingly, the poll released by the National Parents Union found that 59 percent of parents are very or extremely concerned about how schools are teaching race and diversity.
By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent A new poll revealed that parents continue to express “legitimate concerns” about violence in schools, increased bullying, and a lack of mental health resources. Alarmingly, the poll released by the National Parents Union found that 59 percent of parents are very or extremely concerned about how schools are teaching race and diversity. “Many Black parents are worried that schools are being harsher on students of color compared to white students,” researchers noted in the poll. The National Parents Union counts as a network of parent organizations and grassroots activists committed to improving the quality of life for children and families in the United States. Conducted from November 19 to November 23, the survey included 1,233 parents who also count as registered voters. Researchers found that 84 percent of parents are concerned about how schools address the threat of violence, and 59 percent identified increased bullying or violence in school as a significant issue. About 52 percent said student mental health after coping Continued on page A2
Weekly Unemployment Claims Hits More than 50-year Low By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent Weekly claims for unemployment benefits dropped to a new multi-decade low last week, the Labor Department reported Thursday. At 184,000 claims, adjusted for seasonal swings, it was the lowest level of initial claims since September 1969, when the figure stood at 182,000. “In the week ending December 4, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 184,000, a decrease of 43,000 from the previous week’s revised level,” the labor department reported. The previous week’s level was revised up by 5,000 from 222,000 to 227,000, the report stated. The 4-week moving average was 218,750, a decrease of 21,250 from the previous week’s revised average. This is the lowest level for this average since March 7, 2020, when it was 215,250. The previous week’s average was revised up by 1,250 from 238,750 to 240,000. The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.5 percent for the week ending November 27, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the previous week’s unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending November 27 was 1,992,000, an increase of 38,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised down by 2,000 from 1,956,000 to 1,954,000. The 4-week moving average was 2,027,500, a decrease of 54,250 from the previous week’s revised average. This is the lowest level for this average since March 14, 2020, when it was 1,730,750. The previous week’s average was revised down by 2,500 from 2,084,250 to 2,081,750. The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending November 20 were in Alaska (2.9), District of Columbia (2.8), New Jersey (2.3), Puerto Rico (2.3), California (2.1), Hawaii (1.8), Minnesota (1.8), Nevada (1.8), Illinois (1.7), and Massachusetts (1.7).
The 4-week moving average was 218,750, a decrease of 21,250 from the previous week’s revised average.
California Reparations Task Force Votes to Replace Economic Advisor Antonio Ray Harvey California Black Media One day after Darrick Hamilton testified before California’s Task Force to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans, the panel decided that it would not enter into a contractual agreement with the noted economist. Seven members of the nine-member panel voted to move forward without Hamilton. Two appointees, Loyola-Marymount psychology professor Dr. Cheryl Grills and UCLA law professor Lisa Holder, abstained. The group’s chair Kamilah Moore said Hamilton informed the task force that he would have to narrow the responsibilities of his role, from advising on both calculations and methodology, to a “renewed or narrower scope of work.” “I feel that the work is inseparable,” Moore said before the vote. Hamilton was expected to bring an economic perspective to the work the group is doing, helping to quantify past economic injustices African Americans faced in the state and elsewhere, and determining what or how much compensation should be for Black people living in California.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the state’s historic reparations bill into law, Assembly Bill (AB) 3121, in 2020. Former Assemblymember Dr. Shirley Weber (D-San Diego) authored the bill before she was appointed and sworn in as the state’s first African American Secretary of State in January 2021. AB 3121, titled “The Task Force to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans,” created a ninemember commission to investigate the history of slavery in the United States, the extent of California’s involvement in slavery, segregation, and the denial of Black citizens their constitutional rights. In October, the task force approved the appointment of Hamilton, who is an economics and urban policy professor at The New School in New York City. According to Section F of Article 2, 8301.1, of the legislation, Hamilton would have been charged with affixing “what form of compensation should be awarded, through what instrumentalities, and who should be eligible for such compensation.” The contract would have paid Hamilton $90,000 for the scope and term of his work, Moore said. But the reduced assignment the economist requested decreases his compensation
to $45,000. “Fast forward to (Dec. 7), Dr. Hamilton essentially communicated to the task force that while he’s still able to deliver on Section F, he will no longer be able to deliver on Section E,” Moore said. “That would be doing the actual calculations for what any compensation should be. He meant that there weren’t enough resources present in the given contract, he felt that he didn’t have enough time, and he also pointed out issues of clarity on how to tackle that part of the bill.” Hamilton told the task force that there was some misunderstanding about the work he could provide. “I don’t think we had complete clarity at the time the (Department of Justice) made its presentation in October or September,” Hamilton said. “With F, I have great clarity given the time constraints as well as the potential budgets that are available.” Michael Newman, the Senior Assistant Attorney General of the California Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Enforcement Section, said the DOJ was still in negotiation with Hamilton Continued on page A2
Take One!
Thursday, December 16, 2021
Inmate Death Suit Alleges Racism and Negligence
MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) – The estate of a Black man who died in custody at a Vermont prison is suing, alleging racism and negligence. The lawsuit, reported by VTDigger, was filed this week in Washington County Superior Court, alleging that the Vermont Department of Corrections and its agents negligently failed to diagnose and treat a tumor that led to Kenneth Johnson’s December 2019 death by asphyxiation at the Northern State Correctional Facility in Newport. The wrongful death and medical malpractice lawsuit further alleges that the department and its thenmedical contractor, Virginia-based Centurion Health, discriminated against Johnson, 60, due to his race. Rachel Feldman, a spokesperson for the corrections department, said in a statement to VTDigger that the department is “committed to the humane and equal treatment of all individuals in our care.” The department had no comment on the specifics of the suit, she said. Centurion officials did not reply to an email message seeking comment. A report released by a law firm in November found that DOC staff should have done more to help Johnson, who complained repeatedly that he could not breathe, and their response was insufficient to keep him from dying from a breathing obstruction caused by a tumor. It also said the department should train staff in implicit bias, while noting that it was impossible to determine if racial bias played a role in Johnson’s death. The department had asked the firm Downs Rachlin Martin to investigate the death of Johnson. A separate personnel review is being done by the state. In July, the Vermont defender general’s office released a report that said staff at the Newport prison ignored Johnson’s pleas that he could not breathe and threatened him instead of providing lifesaving care.
Smollett’s Noose Reaction Makes No Sense
CHICAGO (AP) – The only Black juror on the panel that convicted Jussie Smollett of lying to Chicago police said he couldn’t get past what the actor did not do after he claimed attackers looped a noose around his neck: Rip it off and keep it off. If others saw the noose as Smollett’s clumsy effort to portray his attackers as racist, Andre Hope saw much more. “As an African American person, I’m not putting that noose back on at all, “ Andre Hope told WLS-TV. At trial, Smollett testified that after the attack in downtown Chicago in January 2019, he returned home and put the rope back around his neck so police who came to his apartment soon after could see it. Hope was not the only Black person who struggled with Smollett’s use of such a potent symbol of racism in the U.S. to convince authorities he was the victim of a hate crime. In an interview with NewsNation Now after Smollett was found guilty last Thursday, Eddie Johnson – who was Chicago police superintendent in January 2019 when Smollett said he was attacked – said virtually the same thing. “I was concerned because I don’t think there’s many Black people in America with a noose around their neck and wouldn’t immediately take it off,” Johnson said. Hope said the evidence against Smollett was overwhelming. At trial, two brothers testified that Smollett recruited them to carry out the fake attack. Hope said the counter narrative put forth by Smollett’s attorneys that the pair had actually planned the attack on Smollett did not make sense. “When you just use your common sense as what’s there, yeah it just, it didn’t add up,” said Hope a 63-year-old father of two who lives in suburban Bellwood, west of Chicago. Hope listened to prosecutors argue Smollett staged the hoax because he was angry that the studio where he filmed the television program “Empire” did not take hate mail he received seriously. But after all the evidence was presented, after all the witnesses testified, Hope still has one big question. “I still have not figured out a motive for why he did, why this had to even happen,” Hope said. “He was a star.” Smollett faces up to three years in prison when he returns to court next year for sentencing. But experts have said it is far more likely that he will be placed on probation and ordered to perform community service. That would be fine with Hope, who thinks Smollett does not deserve to go to prison. And, he said, he hopes the actor –who testified that he has lost his livelihood – would be given a chance to resume his career.
Man Gets 14 Years Investment Scam
LOS ANGELES (AP) – A former financial advisor who conned elderly people out of their retirement savings in a real estate investment scam was sentenced Monday to 14 years in federal prison and ordered to pay nearly $12.6 million in restitution to the victims, prosecutors said. Paul Ricky Mata, 58, of Oceanside was sentenced in Los Angeles after pleading guilty in July to 17 felonies, including mail and wire fraud and concealing assets in bankruptcy, the U.S. attorney’s office said in a statement. Between 2008 and 2015, Mata convinced people to invest in several businesses that falsely promised annual returns of 5% to 10% on “government-backed tax liens,” distressed homes and commercial properties and “asset-backed deed certificates,” the U.S. attorney’s office said. Mata used the money for personal expenses and loans to himself, prosecutors said. In a sentencing memorandum, prosecutors said many victims were retirees that Mata met through church. “He prayed with them, professed to share values and beliefs with them, and he acted like they were his friends,” prosecutors said. Mata had a history of disciplinary actions for misconduct from federal and state regulators in Nevada and California, including fines and suspensions, authorities said. Mata previously was ordered to pay more than $11.7 million in a 2015 lawsuit filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and $20.3 million in fines and restitution in a case brought by the California Department of Business Oversight, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.