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African American news for the week of Sept. 18, 2014.

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Danielle Watts (93385)
Danielle Watts

California

African American kids in elementary school in the state are more apt to be truant and face suspension, according to studies from the U.S. Dept. of Education (DOE) and the state’s attorney general’s office. The findings show that racial disparities in education in the U.S. begin at the earliest grades. Black kids in elementary schools in California, in particular, were chronically late at about four times the rate of all students during the last school session. In fact, the studies show that the rate was even higher than that of homeless children. The U.S. DOE also released information that shows that Black students on a national level are more likely to be suspended from U.S. public schools. Studies show that African American students missed more than twice as many days of school per student due to suspensions than White students, and were suspended up to three times more often than White pupils in first and second grades. The latest report, which was issued by the state’s attorney general’s office, was accompanied by a statement that explained the numbers like this: “African American children experience many of the most common barriers to attendance—including health issues, poverty, transportation problems, homelessness, and trauma—in greater concentration than most other populations.”

Actress Danielle Watts, who has had roles in the cable series “Weeds” and the movie “Django Unchained,” is accusing the Los Angeles Police Department of treating her like a prostitute because she was seen kissing a White man, who was actually her boyfriend. Watts says that she was dressed in running shoes, shorts and a T-shirt and sitting with her boyfriend, Brian Lucas. They were kissing when a woman yelled at them to “stop putting on a show.” A few minutes later, a patrol car pulled up and began questioning them, specifically asking Watts for identification. Watts told the officer that she was doing nothing wrong, and he responded by placing her in handcuffs in the back of his patrol car. Eventually, she did provide ID and she and Lucas were let go. The duo went on social media to talk about the situation. According to TV station KCAL-9, there is no law in California that says that people have to provide identification. However, the station reports, if “the police have reasonable suspicion to stop you, then they may detain you until they know who you are.” Watts and Lucas contend that the police thought that she was a hooker.

Illinois

A man told the Chicago Tribune last week that he intends to file a lawsuit against a Chicago cop, who he says shoved a gun in his mouth and threatened to kill him. The man, Rickey Williams, already has a federal lawsuit pending against police officer Glenn Evans, who was criminally charged for reportedly placing the barrel of his service revolver “deep down” Williams’ throat, holding a Taser against his groin and threatening to kill him. According to the lawsuit, Evans approached Williams as he waited at a bus stop in the Park Manor neighborhood. Evans allegedly parked his car near the bus stop and began watching Williams, who says he got nervous and decided to walk away. Evans reportedly chased him down and also called in other officers. They allegedly took Williams into an abandoned home and that’s where the abuse took place. Williams’ attorney, Antonio Romanucci, said the allegations of brutality further alienate police from the community. “It’s absolutely shocking that this was a commander who sets the example for rank-and-file (officers),” Romanucci told reporters. In April, the Independent Police Review Authority (IPRA), the city agency that investigates allegations of excessive force against Chicago police, recommended to Evans’ supervisors that he be stripped of his police powers after testing found Williams’ DNA on Evans’ service weapon. Instead, Evans was moved to head the West Side’s Harrison District, and that’s where he stayed until he was charged on Aug. 27. He is now on desk duty. Williams had filed a complaint with IPRA the day after the incident in January 2013.

Missouri

Ferguson continues to have racial problems, this time within the city’s transit authority (Metro). According to the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU), Metro CEO John Nations has defended a racially offensive joke that was passed around the Metro office. In a release from ATU, it says that Nations did not find an Oreo cookie recipe that was passed around among Metro staff to be racial and offensive. ATU officials say the recipe was intended to send a message about Metro, that like the cookie, it’s Black on the outside and White in the middle. According to ATU, most of the drivers for Metro are Black, while Nations and most of the internal staff are White. “Apparently, John Nations hasn’t watched the local news lately,” commented ATU International President Larry Handley. “Standing by a comment like this is just throwing fuel on the fire. If he was an NBA owner, public school teacher or police officer, people would be calling for his head. This is about treating all people—Black, White and Brown—with dignity and respect.”

New York

Maya Angelou (93386)

Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Nobel laureate Toni Morrison were among the speakers at a tribute held in New York last Friday for Maya Angelou, the renowned author, poet and stage performer who died earlier this year. “She urged, demanded, inspired millions of Americans to live kinder, braver, more honorable lives,” Clinton said of Angelou. Other guest speakers included former President Bill Clinton, First Lady Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey. The event was held last Friday morning at the Riverside Church in Manhattan, a few blocks west of a Harlem town house that Angelou once owned. Also on hand were poet Nikki Giovanni and Angelou’s longtime editor, Robert Loomis. The event also featured Angelou’s grandson, Colin Ashanti Johnson; performances by R&B quartet Az Yet, as well as singer Alyson Williams, the Brown Sisters and the Riverside Choir; and a recording of Angelou’s voice during Valerie Simpson’s spirited performance of “I’m Every Woman,” which Simpson helped write. One of the members of Az Yet—Shawn Rivera—has completed an album that uses Angelou’s words blended with hip-hop beats. Called “Caged Bird Songs,” the 13-track project also involves RoccStar, who has worked with Chris Brown, and the other members of Az Yet—Kenny Terry, Claude Thomas and Deon Allen.  The CD will be released on Nov. 4 and was one of the last projects Angelou was involved with, according to her grandson Colin. “Grandma loved it from the beginning,” Colin A. Johnson said. “These guys were inspired by grandma’s work, which many people are, and felt like giving it a different medium of delivery to make it more obtainable to a larger group of people,” he told the Washington Post. Best known for the memoir “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” Angelou died May 28 at age 86. In June, a memorial was held at Wake Forest University in North Carolina, where she taught for 30 years.

North Carolina

Sheryl Pagan Todd, the mother of Houston Texans player Jeoffrey Pagan, has been arrested and charged with voluntary manslaughter in the shooting death of her mother’s boyfriend, Walter J. Stevenson, 69, according to USA Today. According to the arrest report, the 56-year-old Todd told a police dispatcher that she had been attacked by a man and had unintentionally shot him. The shooting reportedly occurred at the Asheville residence of Pagan’s mother. Pagan stated to 911 operators that she had put the gun away, but when officers arrived and conducted a protective sweep, they saw the gun through the window of a gold Pontiac G6, lying on the driver’s side in plain view. According to the story, Stevenson had been shot in the chest. Pagan’s son, Jeoffrey, became a Houston Texans player just one day after the fatal shooting. Meanwhile, Pagan is being held on a $100,000 bail and will be arraigned on Sept. 22.

Texas

Adrian Peterson (93387)

The Minnesota Vikings Wednesday placed running back Adrian Peterson on the Exempt/Commissioner’s Permission list following his indictment on  child abuse in Houston last week, said a statement from the team. The action stemmed from an incident where he allegedly “spanked” his child with a “tree switch” last May. According to numerous media reports, the child’s mother took the four-year-old to a doctor after his visit with Peterson. He had cuts and bruises on his legs, buttocks and back. The physician reportedly consulted another physician, and after a nearly four-month investigation, Peterson was charged. He turned himself into authorizes in Houston, was released on bond and has since hired an attorney. When the situation become public last week, the Minnesota Vikings initially suspended Peterson and he was not allowed to play in last Sunday’s game. However after further consulting with the NFL, the team decided to take additional action. The statement said the move will require that Adrian remain away from all team activities while he takes care of his personal/legal situation.

Utah

An investigation into the shooting death of a young Black man is underway in Saratoga Springs. According to the Huffington Post, 22-year-old Darrien Hunt was fatally shot by police after he allegedly brandished a sword and lunged at them. But his mother says that her son was not aggressive and that the sword was actually a “toy” that didn’t even have a blade. According to the Desert News, police were called to Redwood Road on reports of a suspicious man walking along the road carrying a “Samurai-type” sword. Police told the local newspaper that when they confronted Hunt, he lunged at them with the sword and they shot him. “They killed my son because he’s Black. No White boy with a little sword would they shoot while he’s running away,” Susan Hunt, the man’s mother told the Desert News. “Those stupid cops thought they had to murder over a toy. This is my baby. This is my family. And they ruined my family.” The city has responded with a statement that the shooting is under investigation by the county attorney’s office.

Washington, D.C.

Rosa Parks (93388)

The Library of Congress will be the new home of the Rosa Parks Collection, which will be at the library on a 10-year loan from the Howard G. Buffett Foundation. The collection comprises approximately 1,500 items, including personal correspondence and photographs, autobiographical notes, letters from presidents, her Presidential Medal of Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal, additional honors and awards, clothing and furniture, and 200 drawings by schoolchildren and hundreds of greeting cards from individuals thanking her for her inspirational role in the Civil Rights Movement. Items from the collection will be incorporated in the spring of 2015 into the new exhibition “The Civil Rights Act of 1964: A Long Struggle for Freedom,” which opened Sept. 10. In addition, the library will digitize the documents and visual materials and make them widely available through its website. The Rosa Parks Collection joins such important civil rights materials at the Library of Congress as the papers of Thurgood Marshall, A. Philip Randolph, Bayard Rustin, Roy Wilkins and the records of both the NAACP and the National Urban League. Parks’ refusal to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Ala., bus to a White passenger on Dec. 1, 1955 led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a seminal event in the U.S. Civil Rights Movement. The exhibit will remain open until Sept. 12, 2015. The Library of Congress, the nation’s oldest federal cultural institution and the largest library in the world, can be accessed online at www.loc.gov.

National

A movement is underway suggesting that former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice would be a solid replacement for Roger Goodell as commissioner of the NFL. After several incidents that have prompted calls for Goodell’s resignation—most recently regarding the debacle over Baltimore Ravens player Ray Rice’s indefinite suspension—news media, players and the public in general have been calling for Goodell to step down. Meanwhile, New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D) told the Huffington Post that Rice would be an “extraordinary choice.” “She’s a role model and she’s smart. She loves the sport. She performed extremely well as secretary of state,” Gillibrand said. Even renowned news magazine U.S. News & World Report has jumped on the bandwagon, calling Rice “a good candidate.” Reporter Susan Milligan wrote: “It’s time for a new NFL commissioner, and here’s a good candidate: Condoleezza Rice. I have no doubt that Rice would be tough, merciless even, against players and coaches who behaved badly on or off the field. I also believe Rice would give proper attention to the life threatening and mental-health threatening concussions players have suffered.”

Compiled By Carol Ozemhoya.

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