Vol. 49 No. 43
February 14, 2019 - February 20, 2019
This publication is a Certified DBE/ SBE / MBE in the State of California CUCP #43264 Metro File #7074 & State of Texas File #802505971 Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what people will submit to and you have found out the exact amount of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them and these will continue till they have resisted either with words or blows or words or with both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they suppress. —Fredrick Douglass (1849)
**BLACK HISTORY MONTH SPOTLIGHT**
IN MEMORIAM: Baseball Trailblazer, Civil Rights Icon Frank Robinson Dead at 83
Publisher’s Corner Email: sbamericannews@gmail.com Clifton Harris Editor in Chief Publisher of The San Bernardino AMERICAN News
Let’s Talk About Police Brutality Against Hispanic and Latin Americans Written by Arturo Tha Cuban
By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Correspondent @StacyBrownMedia
Baseball legend Frank Robinson (Photo: Wkimedia Commons)
Frank Robinson, a trailblazing figure who was Major League Baseball’s first African American manager and one of its greatest players during a career that spanned 21 seasons, died Thursday after a prolonged illness, according to pro baseball’s premiere website, MLB.com. Robinson was 83. The Hall of Famer hit 586 home runs and appeared in 14 All-Star games over the course of his illustrious career, starring with the Cincinnati Reds and the Baltimore Orioles. Robinson is the only player to win MVP honors in both the National and American league – in 1961 with the Reds and five years later with the Orioles. When he earned those honors in 1966 with the Orioles, Robinson won the Triple Crown when he hit 49 home runs, drove in 122 runs and had a .316 batting average. Despite the so-called Steroidera of the late 1990s and 2000s where statistics were greatly inflated, Robinson’s 1966 campaign remains widely viewed as one of the greatest in the history of the sport. Even as a star in a sport that was still struggling with integration years after Jackie Robinson (no relation) broke the color line, Robinson often spoke out for civil rights even publicly aligning him-
President George W. Bush presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom to baseball legend Frank Robinson in the East Room Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2005. Winning the Most Valuable Player awards in the National and American Leagues, he achieved the American League Triple Crown in 1966. Mr. Robinson became baseball’s first African-American manager. (Source: White House News & Policies / Wikimedia Commons) The citation reads: “Frank Robinson played the game of baseball with total integrity and steadfast determination. He won Most Valuable Player awards in both the National and American Leagues. He achieved the American League Triple Crown in 1966. His teams won five League titles and two World Series championships. In 1975, Frank Robinson broke the color barrier as baseball’s first African-American manager, and he later won Manager of the Year awards in both the National and American Leagues. The United States honors Frank Robinson for his extraordinary achievements as a baseball player and manager and for setting a lasting example of character in athletics.”
self with leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. President George W. Bush presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom to baseball legend Frank Robinson in the East Room Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2005. Winning the Most Valuable Player
awards in the National and American Leagues, he achieved the American League Triple Crown in 1966. Mr. Robinson became baseball's first African-American manager. (Source: White House News & Policies / Wikimedia Commons) The citation reads: “Frank
Robinson played the game of baseball with total integrity and steadfast determination. He won Most Valuable Player awards in both the National and American Leagues. He achieved the American League Triple Crown in 1966. His teams won five League titles and two World Series championships. In 1975, Frank Robinson broke the color barrier as baseball's first African-American manager, and he later won Manager of the Year awards in both the National and American Leagues. The United States honors Frank Robinson for his extraordinary achievements as a baseball player and manager and for setting a lasting example of character in athletics.” In 1975, Robinson made history before nearly 57,000 fans at Cleveland’s Municipal Stadium when he began managing the Indians making him baseball’s first ever Black manager. MLB.com noted that, just as Jackie Robinson’s breaking of baseball’s color barrier in 1947 had opened doors for Frank Robinson, Hank Aaron and Willie Mays and many others to play in the Major Leagues, it was Frank Robinson who paved the way for every minority manager who has followed. “He changed the game, no doubt about it,” Orioles great Jim Palmer said in a statement about Robinson’s death. “Very sad day here in Baltimore with the passing of Frank Robinson, the greatest Oriole of all time in my estimation and a true baseball legend who dedicated his life to the game,” said Jason La Canfora, who hosts a podcast in Charm City. “He overcame the segregation of the 1950s to spend seven decades in the game as a player, coach, and executive,” La Canfora said. Robinson is survived by his wife of nearly 60 years, Barbara Ann Cole.
Pastor Johnny Lewis Spreads The Love Through His Ministry In The High Desert Communities High Desert Community News
Pastor Johnny Lewis Pastor Johnny Lewis was born in White Plains, Georgia. Shortly after graduating high school he moved to New York City. He enlisted in the United States Air Force attaining his AA degree in Aerospace Ground Equipment Technology and serving for 30
years. Stationed at Edwards Air Force base as Aerospace Ground Equipment Superintendent and 1st Sergeant of 412 Flight Test Squadron. One of is duties included his squadron flying the Chairman of Joint Chief of Staff; Pentagon Washington , D.C. Pas-
tor Lewis was promoted to the highest enlisted rank of Chief Master Sergeant. Highlighting his military career was his service in tours; Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm. Chief Lewis was decorated with the distinguished Bronze Star Medal Award for his dedication in duty. During Desert Storm he was First Sergeant for over 2,700 men and women of combined forces. Today, Chief Lewis continues in his military commitment, volunteering and inspiring the local high school Cadet Corps groups. Chief Lewis accepted Christ at the early age of 15. Throughout his military career his experiences nurtured his call to ministry. In 1992, he became a member of Friendly Temple Church of God in Christ. He served as Deacon until he was called to ministry by God in 2007. In 2009, he was installed by Bishop Raymond E. Watts and successfully moved forward to Pastoring New Creations
Lutheran Church in 2010. In 2012, New Creations renounced their name to Grace Christian Community Church of God in Christ, where Pastor Lewis serves as Senior Pastor, for the past 7 years. In 2017, he was elevated tot he office of Superintendent of United in Love District, Victorville, California. In addition to his office, he now serves as the Administrative Assistant to Bishop Roger Thomas, Jurisdiction 3 Prelate. Pastor Lewis has obtained as Honorary Doctorate Degree in Theology. Pastor Lewis has been happily married to Lugenia SmithLewis for 45 years. He is the proud father os six children; and 18 grand children, and two great grandchildren. Pastor Lewis continued to make an indelible mark in the ministry in the High Desert communities; and with the help of the Lord, he can do all things through Christ Jesus. Embracing the Grace and Sharing the Love.
Photo by Joe Brusky (CC BY-NC 2.0) Monday, 04 February 2019 14:10 Originally published on Medium Recently as I was speaking with members of our community and was asked several times about why we rarely see reports of police brutality cases against Hispanics and Latin Americans in the United States. It was a difficult question to answer because there are plenty of studies that have been done on the topic, they just haven't been reported on by media outlets on a large scale. An intriguing anomaly that sparked my interest when discussing police misconduct towards people of color. I’ve been a supporter of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement since it began. I know why it exists. I understand the pain of the families. I’ve been there. I’ve seen first-hand how police treat people of color. BLM has supported us and they’ve supported white families who were victimized by police brutality as well. To think otherwise means your not paying attention. But we, as Hispanic and Latin American people, need to dig deeper than just looking at who supports us and who doesn’t in such trying times. One study that caught my attention is the ongoing Fatal Interactions with Police (FIPS) research project. The project includes contributions from public health and biostatistics experts at hospitals and universities, including Saint Louis University, New York University, and Harvard University. One of the most alarming statistics that stood out to me in the first study was that nearly 60 percent of black women killed by police were unarmed at the time of the interaction. A statistic that increases the odds for unarmed black Americans to be killed by police to an astounding 7 to 1 (more than double the odds found in research to date). The study was conducted using hierarchical linear models after identifying 1,762 fatal interactions with police that occurred over a 20-month time period and merged them with the nationally
representative Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey, Uniform Crime Reports data, and census characteristics. The FIPS database includes details of the fatal interactions from May 2013 to January 2015 occurring in jurisdictions across the United States. The study then estimates the demographic odds of a fatality occurring during an interaction with police based on the location of the interaction and the characteristics of the likely responding law enforcement agency. “When it comes to police shootings, the color of your neighborhood may matter as much as the color of your skin,” said lead researcher Odis Johnson, associate professor of education and of sociology, both in Arts & Sciences at Washington University. “Our database analysis shows that the racial and economic demographics of the neighborhood you’re in can be a powerful factor in your odds of being killed during an interaction with law enforcement.” Key findings from the first report include: In neighborhoods with high levels of income inequality, such as poor areas undergoing gentrification, all males of color face a higher risk of being killed during interactions with police. Hispanic men face an even higher risk than black men in these settings. Ethnically diverse neighborhoods with low levels of segregation pose a dramatically lower risk of fatal police interaction for black males. Highly-segregated neighborhoods with little diversity pose a higher risk of police-related fatalities for Hispanic men. Hispanic males were over 2.6 times as likely as others to be killed by officers from agencies with relatively higher percentages of Hispanic officers. The odds of a civil suit being filed in response to a fatal interaction with police is 2.6 times higher in cases where the person killed was a man of color, and (continued on page 6)
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