Here’s a look at African American issues and people making headlines throughout the country
California
Inglewood police shot and killed an armed-robbery suspect 42-year-old Reginald Andre Linthicum after a chase ended in San Pedro, where he allegedly tried to carjack another driver. Linthicum, suspected of robbing a flower shop, a 7-11 and a Radio Shack store was near a San Pedro hospital parking lot after abandoning his car and attempting to carjack a motorist, said Inglewood Police Lt. B. Mylar. Police had not determined if the suspect was wielding a gun at the time of the shooting. Inglewood police began chasing him, after responding to the robbery at a flower store at Manchester Avenue and 11th Street, where shots were reportedly fired, and a man told officers he was wounded. While there, police got a report that a suspect fitting a similar description had robbed the Radio Shack at Manchester and Hillcrest Boulevard. Mylar said a suspect fitting the description was seen at La Cienega Boulevard and Manchester Avenue moments later and the pursuit began, traveling south on the 405 Freeway to the 110 Freeway and then on surface streets in San Pedro. The chase concluded at Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center, where the suspect abandoned his vehicle and made an effort to carjack another. Mylar said the officer-involved shooting occurred at that point. He said suspect was taken to Harbor UCLA Medical Center, where he died.
District of Columbia
Shootings that took place in the District following a funeral–leaving one person dead and another injured–could have been gang-related. Still, the investigation is ongoing and a motive has not been identified. Offering some insight into the chain of events, the police chief said there had been a funeral in the area for 21-year-old Ashley McRae, who was found shot to death Sept. 18 in Southeast Washington. The funeral concluded around 1:30 p.m. and people were gathering for the burial procession. As participants were lining up to leave, some youth at the funeral and who had walked a couple of blocks to get into their car were approached by suspects who opened fire.
Georgia
A DeKalb County woman will serve three years in prison after being found guilty of elder exploitation, theft by taking, and identity fraud committed. Police said Monique Windley, 28, targeted two patients under her care. One of the victims suffered from dementia and the other was sick with cancer. Reports say Windley stole more than $10,000 from the cancer victim and she even paid her utility bills out of the victim’s checking account. She is prohibited from working in any elder care facility and has to pay $11,350 in restitution. She will be on probation for 12 years after serving the three years.
Illinois
Margaret Matthews, 68, decided she’d had enough of two young boys, ages 12 and 13, who she said had been harassing her in her South Shore home for more than a year. When she returned to her home from grocery shopping that day, she noticed broken windows and the two boys running away. When they returned, the widowed grandmother stood on her porch and confronted them. Allegedly, they replied by hurling bricks and rocks at her. She said one hit her in the chest. She went inside and grabbed her gun and called the police, but worried they might come too late. So she said she went back outside and fired at the boys, wounding the 12-year-old in the shoulder. Police have decided not to charge Matthews. The boys face charges of aggravated assault.
Louisiana
Ouachita Parish sheriff’s deputies arrested a man over the weekend for allegedly burning his girlfriend with a clothes iron during an argument. The News-Star reports 33-year-old Allen Robinson of Monroe was booked into the Ouachita Correctional Center early Sunday morning on a charge of attempted second-degree murder. According to an arrest affidavit, deputies were called to E.A. Conway Medical Center about a woman who was beaten and burned. Deputies say they searched the suspect’s home and found an iron with what they said was human flesh on the surface.
Massachusetts
Cambridge city councilors are set to discuss a review of a case involving Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. and the Cambridge police sergeant who arrested him. The city council will hold a special meeting Monday on the independent review. The review released in June said “misunderstandings and failed communications” and a “certain degree of fear” each man had for the other led to the six-minute dispute that ended with the renowned Black scholar being arrested by the veteran White Cambridge police officer Sgt. James Crowley arrested Gates for disorderly conduct at his Cambridge home while investigating a possible burglary. Gates alleged he was a victim of racial profiling. Charges were later dropped. The conflict sparked a national debate on race relations.
Michigan
With Flint recently suffering its 50th homicide this year, several local officials are reaching out to local youthin an effort to help curb violence in the city. Brothers Battling Bloodshed, an anti-gang and anti-violence program, is gearing up for its second session, said Flint City Councilman Bernard Lawler. Reginald Flynn, pastor of Foss Avenue Baptist Church, said the program will bring in certified instructors, including people specializing in conflict resolution and a professor from the University of Michigan to speak to youth. About 35 African American boys participated in the program last year and organizers are hoping more youth will participate this year. Courtney Hawkins, Beecher High School’s athletic director and football coach, said he is encouraging his athletes to participate in the program this year.
Minnesota
Minnesota Citizens for Reform and Economic Equality recently held a forum that was attended by more than 100 people to discuss the state of the Black community in regards to education, economics, health and public safety. The meeting which was held at North High School, lasted more than four hours and ended with a number of proposed strategies and calls-to-action being held.
New York
The Center for Social Inclusion in New York has named Alfonzo White, executive director of Action Communication and Education Reform (ACER) in Duck Hill, as a 2010 Alston Bannerman Fellow. The fellowship is a national award presented by the center to honor long-time community activists of color, and gives them the opportunity to take sabbaticals. Founded in 1988, the Alston Bannerman Program has awarded 196 Fellowships to activists of color across the United States and its territories. The Program is named in honor of the late Charles Bannerman, a lifelong community organizer and the late Dana Alston, a leader of the environmental justice movement. The fellowship recognizes the importance of the work community activists perform, the long hours they devote for little or no pay, and the need they have to step back for a period of reflection and renewal.
North Carolina
Due to new tax filing requirements, nearly 11,000 small community-based organizations in North Carolina may lose their non-profit status in the coming year, if they do not file by Oct. 15. The Pension Protection Act of 2006 required that the organizations file a new annual electronic notice that they were not required to fill out before. Many of the organizations were unaware of the new requirement and failed to appropriately file in 2007, 2008, and 2009 and the regulation mandated that after three years of failing to file, non-profit status would be automatically revoked. Legislators hope by extending the deadline these organizations will have the opportunity to get their affairs in order.
South Carolina
Columbia’s 16th Annual Blues Festival recently returned to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Park in Five Points last weekend. It was the first year the festival had expanded to two days, doubling the community’s opportunity to enjoy great live music and community mingling in one of Columbia’s most popular parks. Every year the festival is free, and only sales from concession stands served to make the celebration possible each year.
