Florida

Sep 24 2012

George Zimmerman awaiting trial for second-degree murder

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Robert Zimmerman, whose brother, George, is awaiting trial on a charge of second-degree murder in the shooting death of African American teenager Trayvon Martin in Florida, told a Southland television station today that his family is not racist.

“I’m trying to re-introduce our family in the right light,” Zimmerman said in an interview on Fox 11.

George Zimmerman, 28, is free on bail and awaiting trial in the Feb. 26 shooting death. He has acknowledged shooting Martin but maintains he acted in self defense.

Stanley O. Williford  |   OW Editor
May 3 2012

Seeks to build a permanent movement

Trayvon Martin is no longer only a person. He is now a movement.

And a recent gathering at the West Angeles Church of God in Christ’s north campus sanctuary in Martin’s name was not just a rally. It was a national call to action.

Juliana D. Norwood  |   OW Staff Writer
Apr 12 2012

More than six weeks after the fatal encounter

George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer who says he was acting in self-defense when he fatally shot an unarmed teenager in Sanford, Fla., was charged with second-degree murder Wednesday, April 11, more than six weeks after the fatal encounter.

Zimmerman has been arrested and was in the custody of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement as of Wednesday night.

Stanley O. Williford  |   OW Editor
Apr 5 2012

Congressional Black Caucus members issue resolution

 The nation’s outrage over the shooting death of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman, the 28-year-old Sanford, Fla., neighborhood watchman, rolls on, showing little signs of abating.

In Miami, Martin’s parents were expected to attend a candlelight memorial service Wednesday night commemorating the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who was shot and killed at a Memphis, Tenn., hotel 44 years ago. The “Reclaim the Dream” service, which included a unity march, candlelight prayer and gospel concert, was dedicated to Trayvon Martin.

Cynthia E. Griffin-  |   OW Managing Editor
Jan 5 2012

Now it’s on to New Hampshire, South Carolina

Although the Iowa caucuses are the first in the nation, and do not necessarily predict who will win the presidential nomination, they do tend to act as a sieve, sifting the field, and that is exactly what is happening in the wake of Tuesday’s balloting.

Top vote-getter Mitt Romney squeezed past the second-place finisher Rick Santorum by a mere eight votes while Ron Paul collected 21 percent of ballots cast.

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.
 

Alabama
Freeman A. Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, will address the annual African American Business Council luncheon on June 28. Hrabowski, who is chairman of President Barack Obama’s Advisory Commission on Education Excellence for African Americans, has a national reputation for his work studying the performance of minority students in math and science. Hrabowski, named one of the 10 best college presidents in the country by Time magazine, was a child leader in the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham in the 1960s.
 

Arkansas
The Liberty Counsel filed a motion and a brief in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas seeking to intervene on behalf of a Concepts of Life crisis pregnancy center to defend against a suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Reproductive Rights. The groups seek to impose a permanent injunction before the Human Heartbeat Protection Act goes into effect July 18. Liberty Counsel also filed a brief opposing the ACLU’s request for an injunction. The “Heartbeat” bill states that when a woman seeks an abortion at or after the 12th week, doctors must test for a fetal heartbeat before an abortion is performed and inform the pregnant mother that the child in her womb has a heartbeat. If a heartbeat is detected, a woman cannot have an abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, and if a mother’s life is in danger. “As we promised when the legislation was introduced, Liberty Counsel will defend this law without reservation for the people of Arkansas, born and pre-born,” said Matt Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel. “No right is more foundational than the right to life. Without life, all other rights are irrelevant,” concluded Staver.