Vol. 48 No. 40
January 25, 2018 - January 31, 2018
This publication is a Certified DBE/ SBE / MBE in the State of California CUCP #43264 Metro File #7074 & State of Texas File #802505971 “If you can convince the lowest white man he’s better than the best colored man, he won’t notice you’re picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he’ll empty his pockets for you -President Lyndon B. Johnson
Black Women Advocate for Change at Women’s March By Alexa Spencer Howard University News Service
Baltimore-based organization Not Without Black Women, was one of several female entertainers, organizers, and politicians, who addressed the crowd in front of the Lincoln Memorial. With her organization surrounding her in a horseshoe formation, Oliver delivered a call for awareness and support. “Black women’s issues need to be at the forefront in order for this country to move forward. Issues where black women are defaced include sex trafficking, police brutality, rape culture, wage equality, street harassment, workplace discrimination, immigration discrimination, all of them,” Oliver said. “Black women are the face of these issues and we need you.” At the end of her speech, Oliver engaged the audience in a calland-response. She called out the names of black women that have died due to police brutality. “Aiyana Stanley,” Oliver shouted. “Say her name,” the crowd responded.
“Kendra James,” Oliver said. “Say her name,” the crowd answered.” “Rekia Boyd.” “Say her name,” the crowd replied. “Sandra Bland.” “Say her name,” the crowd yelled. Bryan James, originally from Chicago, is currently an engineer at NASA. He was one of few men, many of them accompanying women, advocating for the rights of women. “Leadership positions should be open to men and women,” James said. “Men have things to offer. Women have things to offer. If we don’t take from both genders, we’re not going to be a great nation.” James noted that women are responsible for some of the nation’s greatest success and played a pivotal role in the history of his organization. As depicted in the movie “Hidden Figures,” three black women mathematicians and engineers were integral in the early stages of the U.S. space program.
Marcher Yevette Jordan, a 57year-old college professor from Maryland, talked about her experience as a victim of sexism and racism. “There are some experiences that I experience, because of my race, that women that are not black don’t understand and don’t get.” Jordan said. “For instance, the issue of black women talking back. You speak up, you’re considered an angry black woman. You voice your opinion, you’re considered uppity, out-of-yourplace. I’ve experienced a confluence of those things.” Despite the steady drumbeat of news reports of sexual assault and gender discrimination, Jordan remains optimistic. “I’m just ready to get rid of these barriers that black women face,” Jordan said. “I am for coalitions of people of color and also with whites who are conscious to break down barriers for opportunity and to fight back against some of the accesses of corporate America, as well.”
Miss Black Awareness Pageant Community News
Shannon Fox, current reigning Ms. US America Fontana, CA The Miss US America Pageant took place Saturday, January 20, 2018 , 5pm-10pm at Cypress Neighborhood Center 8380 Cypress Ave. Fontana 92335 Thank you to ALL My Contestant Sponsors who believed in Our Girls to provide this opportunity for them to experience how to work and do things
Email: sbamericannews@gmail.com Clifton Harris Publisher of The San Bernardino AMERICAN News
Trump Administration’s Watchlist Data Overstates Terror Threat Harsha Panduranga offers a critique of the DOJ-DHS report on terrorist-related activity for its use of data referencing the terrorist watchlist. Harsha Panduranga
Photo credit: Alexa Spencer, Howard University WASHINGTON — With trademark pink “pussy” hats bobbing through the crowd and signs scattered through the participants urging women to vote and to fight off sexual assault, as well as placards denouncing President Donald Trump’s administration, thousands of women and men paraded through the streets of Washington. This year’s theme was Power to the Polls. Similar marches were organized in numerous other U.S. cities, including Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia. Last year, nearly 500,000 women jammed the streets of Washington on the exact same day in protest of Donald Trump’s election and inauguration. The 2017 Women’s March on Washington took place the day of the inauguration of President Trump—a historic protest his transition into office. This year, once again, black women were disproportionately outnumbered—yet their voices did not go unheard. Brittany Oliver, 29, director of
Editor in Chief’s Corner
together as a team and build a sisterhood with one another. I'm looking forward to next years 2018 - 2019 Pageant !! The following are the names of the young ladies that were escorted: Mykayla Reyes - Sarah Vernon Photography For The Love of It
Serenity Tims - Atty Cathy McGriff Schwartz Jira Knox - Fontana City Treasurer Janet Koehler-Brooks Alexys D. Love - Fontana Former Council Member Lydia Wilbert Olivia M. Forde - Perris 5th St. SDA Church, Operation Secret Smile & Simpli Service (1 rep from each sponsor) Teara Carson-Wedlow - Inland Empire Phenomenal Women's Group (1 rep from each sponsor) Rahnia Turner - Fontana Council Member Jesse Armendarez Caitlynn Thomas - Fontana Council Member Michael Tahan Erin Spinks - Fontana Council Member Jesus "Jesse" Sandoval. The crowning was by Shannon Fox the current reigning Ms. US America International 2018 and resides in Southern California. She has been actively involved in pageantry for over ten years and her platform includes being an advocate against bullying. As the Ambassador of The Anti-Bullying Institute located in Riverside, CA and partnered with the Riverside Medical Clinic Charitable Foundation, she shared her story of being bullied at a young age in hopes of spreading a
message on the importance of being kind to others, building a support system, and bringing awareness and educating on how to stop bullying around the world. Shannon also works to spread a message of self-love, healthy living, and promoting positivity in the media. She is currently the Creative Director of her media outlet, Foxy TV Media and has covered numerous celebrity events promoting young talent, various charitable causes, and a message of women’s empowerment. Shannon has also worked with the Alzheimer’s Association, the American Cancer Society, The American Heart Association, The Stop Bullying Now Foundation, the Make A Wish Foundation, and the AIDS/HIV Awareness Foundation. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management & a Master’s Degree in Strategic Communications and encourages young people to pursue their education, goals, and dreams with drive and passion. Shannon is an advocate of education, community service, and uses her crown, voice, and media outlet to inspire others to pursue a life with purpose, with passion, and with a positive mindset. #CrownWithAPurpose
Many have already pointed out the serious methodological flaws contained in last week’s report from the Departments of Justice (DOJ) and Homeland Security (DHS). To buttress the president’s xenophobic and costly anti-immigration proposals, like the travel ban, the report rests on a bedrock of questionable statistics manipulated to frame foreign-born people – including American citizens – as “serious and persistent terror threat[s].” I want to focus on its use of data referencing the terrorist watchlist – officially the Terrorist Screening Database, or “TSDB.” The report offers that “in fiscal year 2017, DHS had 2,554 encounters with individuals on the terrorist watchlist,” which allegedly “reflect the challenges faced by the United States and demonstrate the necessity to remain vigilant and proactive in our counterterrorism posture.” If there is evidence reflecting those challenges, it’s certainly not going to be found in those 2,554 encounters. That number is at best ambiguous and unreliable, and may very well prove the opposite of what the Trump administration is alleging. First, it’s important to consider the number in context. In fiscal year 2016 – the last year for which data has been released – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) processed more than 390 million travelers at ports of entry. Assuming a roughly 4 percent drop in travel over the past year, a liberal estimate of the impact of the president’s immigration policies, this would mean about 374 million travelers were processed in 2017. That means 0.000683 percent, or about 1/146,000 travelers would have been on the terrorist watchlist (a fraction close to what the Cato Institute found in a similar analysis). But the number of encounters that truly presented a security threat was likely much lower. Even ardent proponents of the travel ban have publicly said the watchlist captures far too many people without affording them due process. Referring to the watchlist during debate over bills that would have prevented people
on it from buying guns, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) declared, “In this country we do not take away people’s constitutional rights without due process.” Also as part of the gun control debate, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) called the list “notoriously inaccurate.” They weren’t the only ones: When he was running for president in 2016, Donald Trump said that “A lot of people are on the list that really maybe shouldn’t be on the list,” a sentiment then echoed almost verbatim by nowAttorney General Jeff Sessions. The president and his allies are right on that point. As an Intercept analysis of government watchlist guidance documents shows, the list has broad criteria for inclusion and doesn’t require “concrete facts” to support nominations to it. Real life examples of false positives are risible. The watchlist has caused traveling difficulties for people ranging from the late Sen. Edward Kennedy, to civil rights icon John Lewis, to an eight-year old (American) child. Court filings have shown that about 99 percent of nominations to the watchlist – which now contains more than 1 million people – have been accepted in recent years. Nonetheless, it’s very difficult to be removed from the list, even though DHS has recognized over-listing is enough of a problem to have started a (procedurally flawed) program meant largely to provide redress for it. Further, the report says that known or suspected terrorists were only denied entry “[w]here consistent with the law,” hinting at legal protections applicable to Americans, since CBP officers typically have broad discretion to refuse admission to the country to non-U.S. persons. Though Americans make up a small percentage of the watchlist, counting them inflates the number of relevant encounters. Cases concerning Americans clearly don’t involve people that can be barred from entering the U.S., based on security assessments or otherwise, so their apparent inclusion in numbers used to justify the need for tighter immigration controls isn’t appropriate. And it’s (continued on page 5 )
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