THE SAN BERNARDINO
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AMERICAN
“A Man In Debt is So Far A Slave” -R.W. Emerson
NEWSPAPER A Community Newspaper Serving San Bernardino, Riverside & Los Angeles Counties
September 16, 2021 Thursday Edition
Volume 52 No. 22 Mailing: P.O. Box 837, Victorville, CA 92393
Office: (909) 889-7677
Email: Mary @Sb-American.com
Website: www.SB-American.com
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 with both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance those of whom they suppress. —Fredrick Douglass (1849)
Hiding in Plain Sight, a 30-Year-Old Hijacking Mystery Solved on 9/11 By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
A terror mastermind named Osama bin Laden, who lived a cloak and dagger life more than 6,700 miles away in Afghanistan. (Photo: Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir interviewing Osama bin Laden, circa March 1997 – May 1998. Behind them on the wall is an AKS-74U carbine. / http:// www.canadafreepress.com/ — Wikimedia Commons) A breezy and seasonally satisfying Tuesday, September 11, 2001, began with the promise that beat reporters crave – the knowledge that my story would appear on the front page. Riding high from the previous night attending Michael Jackson’s 30th-anniversary concerts at Madison Square Garden, my editor implored that I go straight to a school in Mount Vernon, NY. She knew how to spoil a great evening watching the greatest pop music entertainer ever reunite with his brothers for a spectacular night at the World’s Most Famous Arena. In Mount Vernon, my editor told me that I’d find the compelling story of Patrick Dolan Critton, a 54-year-old teacher who for 30 years hid as a fugitive in plain sight. Critton belonged to a Black liberation group that, in 1971, allegedly robbed a bank and engaged in a shootout with cops. The group then hijacked an airplane to escape arrest. But there he was, teaching high school in New York as if he had never been on the FBI’s Most Wanted List and oblivious to the desperate desires the NYPD maintained for his capture. Yes, this had A-1, above the fold,
written all over it with my byline. Early that mor ning, I gathered the pertinent details and headed back to my bureau located in nearby New Rochelle. Indeed, I possessed all the goods, and if we were a tabloid, I’d have “The Wood.” Entering the office shortly after 9 a.m. I discovered that my colleagues were standing around the bureau’s wall-mou nted television. T he f i rst ter ror istcontrolled airplane had just struck the Twin Towers. “Wow, what an accident,” a c ol le a g u e r e m a r ke d . Mome nt s lat e r, a f t e r the second airplane struck the towers, one colleague shirked, “That’s no accident!” It certainly was not. I had been to the World Trade Center, been in those towers many times, and right before our eyes, they were reduced to rubble. Shocking and completely unnerving, my colleagues and I realized that thousands of lives probably were vanquished. They were. More than 3,000 eventually died. The ter ror ists weren’t
f i n ishe d. Fa r f rom it. Another airplane would rock the western side of the Pentagon in D.C., and still, one more crashed in southwestern Pennsylvania. We began to wonder how many more airplanes the terrorists had hijacked. Suddenly, my hijacking story fell off the radar – ticketed for the middle of the newspaper. Someone had declared war on America, and for the first time since Pearl Harbor, an enemy attacked the United States on U.S. soil. Phones in the office rang wildly. Reporters who had loved ones in lower Manhattan ignored the incoming calls, choosing, of course, to check in on their loved ones. Jermaine Jackson, the king of pop’s brother, called me. “How do we get out of New York? Can you help us get out of the city,” Jackson asked? The Jackson family had arrived in New York as part of Michael’s shows to celebrate his anniversary in show business. At that time, we were longtime acquaintances and collaborators. “This is scary. People are panicking,” exclaimed Jackson, who, along with several family
members, stayed at the W Hotel in downtown Manhattan not far from the terrorist attacks. Ultimately, the Jacksons rented two RVs and escaped from New York by taking the 3,000-mile drive back to Los Angeles. Still, for me, the irony cou ld n’t be over st ated. I sat there. In hand was my notebook containing facts about a man named Critton who hijacked an airplane 30 years prior. A mer ican Justice had finally caught up with him. His story was as big as any, but now a footnote. A terror mastermind named Osama bin Laden, who lived a cloak and dagger life more than 6,700 miles away in Afghanistan and escaping U.S. forces by living from cave to cave and underground bunker to underground bunker, stole Critton’s frontpage. Bin Laden stole my front page. But, more importantly, his wicked and cowardly act cost thousands of precious lives and caused countless heartbreak. Twenty years later, I’m confident that many would have preferred if my story remained the biggest headline of September 11, 2001.
Jobs, Mental Health, Gun Violence: Cal Leaders Discuss Helping Black Men and Boys Aldon Thomas Stiles | California Black Media The California Assembly's Select Committee on the Status of Boys and Men of Color held a meeting last month that brought legislators face-to-face with community organizers to discuss investing in African American and other youth of color in a "post-pandemic California." Introducing the various panelists, Committee Chair Assemblymember Reggie Jones-
Sawyer (D-Los Angeles), who is a member of the California Legislative Black Caucus, spoke about the bipartisan nature of the committee's goals. He said people from different backgrounds and political perspectives reach agreement when talking about the plight of youth of color because their conversations are based on hard numbers. In California, per capita, Black
Jobs, Mental Health, Gun Violence: Cal Leaders Discuss Helping Black Men and Boys...continued above children with disabilities. “One of the things that brings both sides of the aisle together is data. What we would like to see is either internal audits or accountability measures to show that your numbers are not only successful but you’re keeping data over a period of time showing your success rate,” Jones-Sawyer said. C om m it t e e v ic e - ch a i r Assemblymember Tom Lackey (R-Palmdale), a Republican, agreed with this assertion. “I am looking forward to the instruction that we’re going to get today," Lackey said. "This is a part of our population that deserves the attention and a much stronger effort than has been displayed in the past.” The first topic discussed during this meeting was gun violence, as panelists towed the line
between cracking down on gun violence and preventing the overpolicing of communities of color. "How can we do this without returning to a punitive approach that grows the prisons, the jails and the criminalization of our community without achieving the public safety we so desire," asked the Rev. Michael McBride who is known in the Bay Area as “Pastor Mike.” McBride is a social justice advocate and the National Director for Urban Strategies/LIVE FREE Campaign with the Faith in Action Network. T he meet i ng was a n opportunity for participants representing community-based organizations to share ideas with legislators with the hope of influencing their decision-making. continued on page 3
Detectives conducting investigation into in-custody death State County News On Tuesday, September 7, 2021, at approximately 12:00 p.m., deputies assigned to West Valley Detention Center were escorting a facility nurse to check on inmates. During this time, they found inmate Brian Alberts deceased in his cell. Deputies, on-site medical staff and responding paramedics attempted life-saving efforts, however they were unsuccessful. Alberts was pronounced deceased. Investigators from the Sheriff’s Specialized Investigations Division responded to the facility and assumed the investigation. Alberts had been in Sheriff’s custody since August 30, 2021. Alberts was housed alone in his cell at the time of his death. The Riverside County Coroner will conduct the autopsy to
determine the cause of death. The investigation is ongoing and anyone with information regarding this investigation is asked to contact Detective Gerania Navarro, Specialized Investigations Division at (909) 387-3589. Callers can remain anonymous and contact We-Tip at 800-78CRIME or wetip.com. Refer: Detective Gerania Navarro or Sergeant Justin Giles Station: Specialized Investigations Division Phone No. (909) 387-3589 Case No. DR#602100174 H#2021-110 SHANNON D. DICUS, SheriffCoroner San Bernardino County SheriffCoroner Department
MISSION STATEMENT Clifton Harris /Editor in Chief Investigative Reporter sbamericannews@gmail.com Mary Martin-Harris / Editor Legal /Display Advertising (909) 889-7677 Clifton B. Harris / Audio Engineering Editor Digital Online Banner Advertising (909) 889-7677 The San Bernardino American News was established May 6, 1969. A legally adjudicated newspaper of general circulation on September 30, 1971, case number 15313 by the Superior Court of San Bernardino County. The San Bernardino AMERICAN News subscription rate is $59.00 per year. The San Bernardino AMERICAN News is committed to serving its readers by presenting news unbiased and objective, trusting in the mature judgment of the readers and, in so doing, strive to achieve a united community.
men and boys are incarcerated more than any other group; are unhoused more than any other group; are affected by gun violence
more than any other group; and in public schools, Black children’s standardized test scores fall only continued in next 2 columns
News releases appearing in the San Bernardino AMERICAN News do not necessarily express the policy nor the opinion of the publishers. The San Bernardino AMERICAN News reserves the right to edit or rewrite all news releases.