Vol. 50 No. 24
October 3, 2019 - October 9, 2019
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)
Impeaching a President By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Correspondent @StacyBrownMedia
Publisher’s Corner Email: sbamericannews@gmail.com Clifton Harris Editor in Chief Publisher of The San Bernardino AMERICAN News
Stephon Clark’s Brother, Sacramento Police Chief Sit Side-By-Side on Panel in D.C. By Tanu Henry | California Black Media
Larry Lee, publisher Sacramento Observer, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, former mayor of Baltimore, Stevante Clark, a Sacramento-based rapperturned-activist, Azizza Davis Goines, president, Sacramento Black Chamber, Jamilia B. Land, a human rights activist and children’s mental health advocate and Daniel Hahn, the city’s first African-American police chief Photo By Tanu Henry Special Counsel Robert Mueller identified at least ten instances of obstruction of justice by the president during the 2016 presidential campaign and through the course of the Russia investigation. (Photo: iStockphoto / NNPA) House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s decision to move for an impeachment inquiry into President Trump has rocked Washington. The news of the resulting investigation has also unified Democrats, particularly those like Rep. Maxine Waters of California, who has argued for some time that Trump should face impeachment. “Donald Trump has admitted to abusing the power of the presidency by asking Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to launch an investigation into his political opponent in order to get dirt that the Trump campaign could exploit in the 2020 U.S. presidential election,” Waters stated. Trump allegedly asked Zelensky to dig up dirt on former Vice President Joe Biden, the current frontrunner to be the Democratic candidate in the 2020 election. “This action within itself – where the president is seeking the cooperation and assistance of a foreign government in uncovering dirt on his opponent – is unlawful, unconstitutional, and unpatriotic. I am elated that the Congress of the United States will move forward in an expedited manner to investigate and
impeach this president,” Waters said. Still, experts and historians told NNPA Newswire that the probability of impeaching Trump remains extremely low. The idea of impeachment as drafted into the Constitution by its framers, is designed to establish the process whereby we can remove a President from office that was engaged in unlawful activity, said David Reischer, an attorney and CEO of LegalAdvice.com. “Technically, the House and Senate can impeach President Trump purely for political reasons but the standard by which to get sufficient votes in the House and Senate is whether ‘High Crimes and Misdemeanors’ have been committed,” Reischer added. Section 4 of Article Two of the United States Constitution reads: “The President, Vice President and all Civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.” The Constitution requires a two-thirds super-majority among Senators voting for conviction because the framers wanted to establish that removal from high office via any process that,
thereby, overturns the vote (the will) of the electorate, justifies and requires a high burden of proof, according to experts. “Like the Mueller report, while the allegations against the president are serious, the allegations stop just short of actually concluding that a crime had been committed,” stated Reischer. Removal is not the only reason to launch a formal impeachment inquiry, according to Sam Nelson, an associate professor and chair of the Political Science Department at the University of Toledo. “Many observers have focused on the futility of impeachment given that a Republicancontrolled Senate will almost certainly not vote to remove the President,” Nelson noted. He added that the impeachment investigation into President Richard Nixon proved that the proceedings could move public opinion when there is evidence presented in an open forum. Additionally, an official inquiry strengthens the hand of the six committees already investigating the president and his administration, Nelson told NNPA Newswire, adding, “These committees are locked in legal battles with the White House
over subpoenas, witness testimony, and executive privilege.” “Courts are more likely to side with Congress in the exercise of its Article I power to investigate an impeachment than when they are engaged in regular oversight. “And, perhaps most importantly, impeachment exists in the Constitution to be a deterrent to unconstitutional, criminal or illicit behavior by presidents, judges and other government officials,” he said. Impeachment is the ultimate backstop for the constitutional separation of powers and Congress’s co-equal role in the constitutional design, according to Nelson. Impeachment, even if the Senate does not vote for removal, should act as a deterrent not just to Trump but also to future presidents of both parties, he said. “To not open an impeachment inquiry given the gravity of the most recent allegations against the president is to give him, and all future presidents, vast, unchecked power to ignore the Constitution, the other branches of government, and the public interest,” stated Nelson. So, what’s the process to (continued on page 3)
High Desert Christian Community Mourns Bishop Bonner By Dr. Eliz Dowdy, guest writer
Bishop Eldoris Bonner It is with sadness that we report the transition of Bishop Eldoris Bonner, the founding pastor of Faith Ministries in Apple Valley. She moved the church she had founded in Hollywood, Pentecostal Christian Church of Hollywood, to the high desert after the unrest in Los Angeles in 1992. Bishop Bonner was born in Canton, Ohio, May 30 1936, to Eugene and Susannah Bonner with her identical twin sister Deloris (pre-deceased). She
attended local schools in Canton, and graduated from McKinley High School. She enrolled in Kent University, where she studied health and physical education. In 1956 she came to California, and enrolled at Los Angeles City College, she returned to Canton two years later. The Canton Police Department was hiring, and Eldoris was in the right place at the right time, she applied and was hired, one of two females to join the force, and the first female of African American descent to become a member of the Canton Police Department. She remained on the force for six years, but believed that promotions would be easier in the golden state, so it was back to southern California she moved. Completing her education at Redlands University, a second career change took effect as she was hired to teach in the Head Start program, she remained with the Los Angeles Unified School District for sixteen years, then another career change beckoned to her. This time she answered the call to the ministry, and became
founding pastor of Pentecostal Christian Church of Hollywood. She also worked with and performed with the Gospel Music Association as director, songstress and keyboardist. When she moved to the High Desert, she became involved in community activities, she served as Chaplain for the San Bernardino County Sheriff Department, Apple Valley station, joined the startup organization of Wuz Fuz; and served on the executive board of the Victor Valley Black Chamber of Commerce. During this period of time, she was growing the church in a strange land, and had become caretaker for her twin sister. She awakened one morning and discovered she was blind in one eye, it was determined she had suffered a mini stroke during sleep. Determined to keep the church alive, she started the search for a partner to take over the day to day operation of the church. Her prayer was answered when Dr. Rebecca Washington Berry came to town, and they
were able to merge and form Elbon Solutions School of Ministry. Working together the team expanded Faith Ministries to become: Faith Ministries International Network of Churches. Bishop Bonner served as First Administrative Assistant of the Network. For the last two years, she battled health issues, but “Kept the faith”; her name was called Saturday morning, September 21, at approximately 0950 hrs. She heard The Voice, and left all the cares, concerns, and pains behind as she wafted homeward. Homegoing services for Bishop Eldoris Bonner were held, Tuesday, October 1, at Assembly of God church in Victorville. She has one daughter, four grandchildren, and has witnessed the start of the fourth generation. Additionally the Faith Ministries International Network of Churches family, and many other religious and community organizations she has enhanced during her lifetime are experiencing the vacancy her transition has left in our hearts.
“I jumped on the mayor’s desk, I had a few bizarre interviews on CNN, I did a lot of cussing out of our officers,” said Stevante Clark, a Sacramento-based rapperturned-activist. He was talking about experiencing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after police officers shot his brother, Stephon Clark, eight times, killing him in the backyard of their grandparents’ home in March 2018. “I did a lot, but that’s not who I am,” Clark continued. “Those are situations that happened because of the death of my brother who I was close to, and I didn’t know how to respond. I didn’t have the resources. My mental health was affected by my brothers death.” Clark was speaking during a panel discussion titled “Bridging the Gap: Creating Policy for Sustainability in Underrepresented Communities,” held September 12, during the 2019 Congressional Black Caucus Legislative Conference. The Black caucus held its annual conference at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC, from September 11-15. Organized by the Sacramento Black Chamber of Commerce (SBCC), the panel discussion drew guests from all over the country. They came to see officials, leaders and activists from California participate in a lively and thoughtful discussion about African-American life and well-being in Sacramento. The panelists dove into various ways public safety, mental health and public policy all rub against each other and impact the lives of Blacks in California’s capital city. Even though Sacramento is fairly diverse and there are African Americans residing in different areas of the city, the majority of Blacks live in neighborhoods on the city’s south side. “I’m Proud to have been a part of the early discussions about how we can share what’s going on in Sacramento – the challenges and successes we’ve had over the years – with our
congressional leadership,” said Larry Lee, president and publisher of the Sacramento Observer, the capital city’s largest AfricanAmerican newspaper. The 50year-old publication is also the oldest Black newspaper in Sacramento. The SBCC put on the event, says its president, Azizza Davis Goines, to effect change in the city’s most under-served communities. “We know what we need. And we are discovering that we know how to convene the resources committed to working with us,” she said. Lee, who is also the former board chair of the SBCC, joined other Sacramento leaders for the discussion, including Daniel Hahn, the city’s first AfricanAmerican police chief who is a native and grew up in one of the city’s toughest neighborhoods. Hahn took over the police department in August 2017, only seven months before officers on his squad killed Clark. “There’s a reason we sat them next to each other,” Lee said, halfjoking but explaining that the SBCC deliberately put Clark and Hahn side-by-side on the panel. Their seating easily symbolized the steps Sacramento is taking to build trust and break down the barriers that exist between police officers and residents of the city, particularly in neighborhoods that are predominantly poor and minority. William Jahmal Miller, director, Corporate Reputation and Thought Leadership at Blue Shield of California and Jamilia B. Land, a human rights activist and children’s mental health advocate, were the two other panelists. Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, former mayor of Baltimore, moderated the panel discussion. She stressed the importance of leaders and investors finding out what people need instead of imposing solutions on them, even when they mean well. “It frustrated me when I was in public office. It seemed the people (continued on page 2)
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