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Across Black America week of Oct. 1.

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Connecticut

A campaign to shut down the campus newspaper at Wesleyan University in Middleton, known for its liberal culture, is coming from an unlikely source: its students for the liberal arts school is weighing a petition to strip The Wesleyan Argus of funding after some students objected to an opinion piece it published on the Black Lives Matter movement. Executive Editor Gabe Rosenberg said the paper is looking into arranging outside financing. He said the newspaper is committed to doing a better job of representing diversity, but he disagrees with opponents’ tactics.

“I totally agree the newspaper is not a perfect place. We just cannot support their methods,” Rosenberg said. Wesleyan University President Michael Roth has weighed in on the side of the press. In a statement titled “Black Lives Matter and so does free speech,” he and two other administrators objected to what they described as harassment of the newspaper’s editors, and said the campus should not “demand ideological conformity because people are made uncomfortable.” The student opinion piece that ran questioned whether the Black Lives Matter movement is achieving anything positive. The petition argues that The Argus has failed historically to be inclusive of minorities’ voices and lists demands including diversity training for all student publications, disposal of copies of The Argus on campus and withholding of funding until they are met. If The Argus does lose funding, it would have little recourse outside the court of public opinion because, as part of a private institution, the First Amendment does not protect it.

Delaware

The fatal shooting of a Black man in a wheelchair by Wilmington police is being investigated by a new unit within the Delaware attorney general’s office that was established to help instill public trust in government, but the state NAACP is calling for an independent investigation by a special prosecutor. According to the Associated Press, Jeremy McDole, 28, was shot Sept. 23 after police responded to a 911 call about man who had shot himself and was still armed with a handgun. Police Chief Bobby Cummings said that McDole, who was left paralyzed by a shooting 10 years ago, failed to obey officers’ commands to show his hands and put his weapon down, and that he was shot as he began to remove the gun from his waist. Cummings said he did not know if McDole pointed the gun at any of the four officers, “but when he went to remove the weapon, they engaged him.” Video of the shooting posted online, which the chief said appeared to be authentic, shows an officer approaching McDole with a gun drawn, shouting “show me your hands” and “drop the gun.” Other officers then appear in the video with their guns drawn, yelling similar commands. McDole moves around in his wheelchair and reaches into his jeans, but it’s unclear from the video what he is doing. The officers, who are not in the video at this point, fire multiple shots and McDole falls out of his wheelchair. The shooting is being investigated by the police department’s criminal investigation and professional standards units, as well as the Delaware Department of Justice’s Office of Civil Rights and Public Trust, which will determine whether any officers will be charged. The state agency investigates all police shootings that result in injury or death.

District of Columbia

Under a new law, District of Columbia women won’t have to worry about running out of birth control pills. The legislation, which underwent congressional review last month, clears the way for women to be able to access a year’s supply of pills at once. Prescriptions for birth control pills typically have to be renewed every 30 or 90 days, potentially resulting in women missing scheduled pills. The yearlong provision doesn’t begin until 2017. Earlier this year, Oregon became the first state to pass a law allowing women to access a year’s supply of birth control all at once. That law goes into affect next year. Gretchen Borchelt, vice president for health and reproductive rights at the National Women’s Law Center in D.C., says the new move should have an impact. “This law is going to make a difference for D.C. There’s a high teen pregnancy rate, and pharmacies are not well located for low income-income areas.” The law requires most insurers and employers to cover all FDA-approved methods of birth control.

Florida

The Emmett Till archives are being created at Florida State University (FSU) to honor the young man’s memory and the shocking racially-motivated murder of the 14-year-old in 1950s Mississippi. The Chicago teen was visiting relatives in Money, MS, when he was kidnapped, tortured and murdered for allegedly whistling at a White woman. Till’s alleged murderers were acquitted by an all-White jury. They later bragged about what they did in a national magazine interview. David Houck, a faculty member at FSU working on the project, says it’s been in the works for quite some time. “We’re very excited for this project because there is just simply nothing like it. We’ve spent 20 years accumulating this material, most of which involved travel to Mississippi and archives around the South. It’s long past due that we had a ‘one-stop-archive’ for all things Emmett Till, and with this collection, we’ll finally have that.” The collection will include newspaper clippings, court records, interview transcripts and FBI investigation reports from the trial.

Georgia

The Union Grove Baptist Church in Elberton has voted to remove the pastor who kicked out a 100-year old church member. Rev. Tim Mattox had asked Genora Hamm Biggs to leave the church after she allegedly criticized his preaching methods. However, according to news sources, Mattox is ignoring the congregation’s vote, despite the fact that church officials issued a Letter of Termination and ordered him to move away from church grounds. Mattox has, in fact, challenged his firing and even obtained restraining orders against Biggs, her grandson and a church secretary. A court date is set for Oct. 5. Biggs has been a church member since she was 11. She apparently has not liked Mattox’s style since he arrived six years ago. The vote was 50 against Mattox and only 11 for him to stay.

Louisiana

The 2015 National Black Catholic Men’s Conference will be held Oct. 8-11 in Lafayette. The conference is coordinated by the Bowman Francis Ministry, which is comprised of three Society of Divine Word (SVD) priests who minister internationally to evangelize African Americans. As missionary priests, they travel around the world preaching and teaching to a global world community. This year’s event will be co-hosted by Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church (Lafayette), Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Church (Lafayette) and St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church (Breaux Bridge). The conference provides a forum for Black males and young people to discern the critical issues and challenges of their communities. For info, go to www.ihmchurchlafayette.com.


Dillard University is hosting its inaugural Renaissance Bleu: Pop Up Art and Fundraising Dining Experience on Saturday, Oct. 17. The event includes a five-course dinner, live entertainment and an art exhibition with student, local and internationally known artists. The event is celebrating the university’s 80th year anniversary of theater, the oldest degree granting program among HBCUs. The fundraising event will benefit the Dillard University Ray Charles Program in African-American Material Culture and the Theatre Department. Tickets begin at $15. For details, go to www.dillard.edu or www.dillard.universitytickets.com.

Missouri

The Kansas City Major League Baseball Urban Youth Academy, an indoor training facility and four new state-of-the-art diamonds to enhance the 18th and Vine District, is planned for Parade Park at Truman Road and the Paseo in Kansas City. The presentation was presented at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and attended by Kansas City Mayor Sly James, Kansas City Royals General Manager Dayton Moore, Major League Baseball Senior Vice President of Youth Programs Tony Reagins and Major League Baseball Players Association’s special Assistant for Player Program Development Jeffrey Hammonds. The two-phase project would represent an investment of private and public funds and transform the 21-acre park. Other improvements planned as part of the project include a walking trail, a playground, additional athletic facilities and a lawn area that can serve as a site for special events. Phase one of the project is scheduled to be completed by the fall of 2016. Construction of Phase two of the project, including an indoor baseball training facility and the installation of lighting for the baseball fields, will commence following the successful completion of a capital campaign. This project will enhance Parade Park and support the existing efforts of Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association to attract more youth to the game, particularly through the MLB Urban Youth Academy network. The academy will partner with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City to help support the local Reviving Baseball in the Inner Cities (RBI) programs and youth baseball initiatives around the city.

New York

The death of Corey Gabay, an attorney working for the governor, has prompted Gov. Andrew Cuomo to renew calls for national gun control laws. Gabay, an African American man, was shot and killed by a stray bullet in September. Believed to have been an unintended target when he was shot in the head at an early morning celebration on Sept. 7 before the annual West Indian Day parad, Gabay was pronounced dead on Sept. 16 after he was removed from a respirator. “His death was one of the most tragic, pointless examples of the rampant violence that is spreading like a cancer through our society, especially in our poorer communities and especially in our communities of color,” Cuomo said. Gabay, a Harvard-trained lawyer who was reared in public housing in the Bronx by Jamaican immigrant parents, began working for Cuomo in 2011 as an assistant counsel. A police spokeswoman told the Reuters news service last week that no arrests have been made in the case.


Ta-Nehisi Coates has been commissioned by Marvel Comics to write a Black Panther comic series. Coates, whose open letter to his son, “Between the World and Me” is a bestseller and National Book Award nominee, and the author is collaborating with artist Brian Stelfreeze on a storyline about revolution, terrorism and heroism. The 39-year-old Coates says he has long been a fan of comics, often tweeting about them. The new, yearlong series begins next spring, Marvel announced last week. Marvel editor-in-chief Axel Alonso praised Coates as a “powerful and singular literary voice” who will tell a story about “the world we have created, and the world we want to live in.”

South Dakota

The Argus Leader is reporting that a White man has been placed in police custody after he showed up at an emergency room claiming a Black man had shot him in the penis. Donald Anthony Watson said a Black “guy” tried to rob him and that’s how he was shot. After questioning, however, Watson admitted he was in the process of illegally buying a handgun when it accidentally went off and hit him in his genitals. According to the story, this isn’t Watson’s first brush with the law; he is a convicted felon. In this new incident, he was charged with possession of a firearm (which is illegal for a felon), possession of a firearm by a drug offender and two counts of false reports to law enforcement.

Texas

The official investigation into the death of Sandra Bland, a Black woman found dead in her jail cell in Waller County just days after being arrested for a traffic violation, may end up incomplete. According to the Huffington Post, despite the Waller County Sheriff’s assurance it would be thoroughly examined, the head of the panel looking into the situation says it is simply compiling recommendations that Sheriff Glenn Smith could “simply throw into the trash.” Said Cannon Lambert, the Bland family’s attorney, “I am not looking forward to sharing this information with the Reed-Veal and Sandra Bland family at all. I am dreading this conversation. It’s stunning.” Paul Looney, who leads the investigating panel, emphasized that his independent commission would make its report public at the same time the findings went to the sheriff, but the sheriff has sole discretion over what to do with the report. “He can read it or not read it,” Looney said. “If he wants to throw the whole thing in the trash can, he can.”


In a related story, although some residents protested, the Prairie View City Council voted to leave in place a street it renamed to honor Sandra Bland. A portion of University Boulevard near Prairie View A&M University had become Sandra Bland Parkway. The move was made to honor Bland, who had just moved back to Texas to take a job with her alma mater—Prairie View A&M University.

Virginia

The Alfred Street Baptist Church of Alexandria is hosting the One Day Teen Summit for girls 12-18 yars old this Saturday, Oct. 3, at the Renaissance Hotel in Crystal City to encourage and inspire young women. The event will include workshops on resume writing and preparation; goal and vision setting; college readiness; and free food and giveaways. Registration is available at www.alfredstreet.org Free with registration.

National

National Security Adviser Susan Rice headlined the annual Africa BrainTrust last week, using the opportunity to look at a historic year in U.S.-Africa relations. As part of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Annual Legislative Conference, Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.), ranking member of the subcommittee on Africa, welcomed more than 500 attendees to the annual Africa BrainTrust. The event brought together American and African governmental officials as well as prominent private sector and civil society leaders who examined the accomplishments and challenges over the last year for the 54 nations that are part of the African continent. “Over the past year, the world’s eyes have turned to Africa,” said Rep. Bass. “From historic trade agreements to many national elections, our view of Africa is changing from one of support to one of partnership.” Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, assistant secretary of state for African Affairs, who gave the opening address for the event, set the stage for the day by highlighting the 2015 U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, President Obama’s historic trip to Africa in August as the first American president to visit Kenya and to address the African Union.

Thomas-Greenfield also discussed the role of young people on the African continent as well as the importance of addressing serious health issues, including the Ebola outbreak that gripped the African continent. In addition, she highlighted the many African nations that have national elections scheduled this year and what that means to peace and security for the nations of Africa.

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