An excerpt from the Sacramento Bee -
Here's another result of the Stephon Clark autopsy – cops can't investigate cops
BY MARCOS BRETÓN
An independent autopsy commissioned by a lawyer may seem like a publicity stunt to those who seemingly have no problem with an unarmed man being gunned down by Sacramento Police. The autopsy, revealed Friday, found that Stephon Clark was shot repeatedly in the back on March 18. Beyond that is this undeniable truth:
The Coroner of Sacramento County, the District Attorney of Sacramento County, Sacramento Police, Sacramento Sheriffs – the entire local law enforcement community – had it coming. Here was a lawyer for one family who refused to wait six months, eight months, a year, 14 months or longer until they, the local authorities, released "official" findings after a fatal police shooting.
Putting aside technical debates over the methodology of Clark's autopsy, performed by Bennet Omalu, the former chief medical examiner for San Joaquin County, the explosive findings made public at a Friday news conference conveyed a clear statement to local law enforcement authorities: We don't trust you.
If Sacramento is a microcosm of a national dispute over whether law enforcement officials essentially can investigate their own, then officials here give weight to the conclusion, no, they can't. They have truly earned the heat they are catching right now.
For years, fatal shootings committed by local law enforcement followed a familiar pattern: An African American man is killed, there is public outrage, the official investigations drag on for months if not longer, everybody waits for everybody else's report to be completed, and the findings become public long after the original incident.
Some people think, not unreasonably, that this is deliberate. They speculate: The length of time in releasing official reports is so all the players can get their stories straight. At least, that's how it looks to a skeptical public.
Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/marcos-breton/article207513614.html#emlnl=Afternoon_Newsletter#storylink=cpy
Saturday, March 31, 2018
Too Good to Cherry Pick
From VerySmartBrothas -
Is It a Coincidence That Today’s Most Outspoken Black Male Athletes Are Married to Black Women? (Hint: Nah)
By Damon Young
https://verysmartbrothas.theroot.com/is-it-a-coincidence-that-todays-most-outspoken-black-ma-1824084782
Is It a Coincidence That Today’s Most Outspoken Black Male Athletes Are Married to Black Women? (Hint: Nah)
By Damon Young
https://verysmartbrothas.theroot.com/is-it-a-coincidence-that-todays-most-outspoken-black-ma-1824084782
UnFair Housing
An excerpt from the Atlantic -
The Unfulfilled Promise of Fair Housing
Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream of an integrated America was about creating a more equal society, but to many white homeowners, it was a threat.
By ABDALLAH FAYYAD
“Kill him,” a white mob chanted as Martin Luther King Jr. marched across Marquette Park in the late summer of 1966. King had recently moved to Chicago, and on that August afternoon, he joined a Chicago Freedom Movement march to demand that realtors not discriminate against black residents seeking to live in white neighborhoods. But a group of white counter-protesters grew violent and started hurling rocks, bottles, and bricks at the demonstrators, eventually striking King in the head. “I’ve been in many demonstrations all across the South, but I can say that I have never seen—even in Mississippi and Alabama—mobs as hostile and as hate-filled as I’ve seen here in Chicago,” he said, shining light on a problem that white Northern liberals had ignored and let fester for far too long: de facto segregation.
Up until the civil-rights era, segregation was largely reinforced, if not promoted, by federal and local governments. In the 1930s, for example, the Federal Housing Administration incentivized developers to build suburbs for whites only, and the Public Works Administration built separate and unequal housing projects. After a series of Supreme Court cases deemed segregation unconstitutional in the 1940s and ‘50s, American neighborhoods continued to segregate without legal recognition, in a system known as “de facto.” And like de jure segregation—when the government legally engineered ghettos into existence—de facto segregation continues to exacerbate wealth and racial inequality today.
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/03/the-unfulfilled-promise-of-fair-housing/557009/
The Unfulfilled Promise of Fair Housing
Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream of an integrated America was about creating a more equal society, but to many white homeowners, it was a threat.
By ABDALLAH FAYYAD
“Kill him,” a white mob chanted as Martin Luther King Jr. marched across Marquette Park in the late summer of 1966. King had recently moved to Chicago, and on that August afternoon, he joined a Chicago Freedom Movement march to demand that realtors not discriminate against black residents seeking to live in white neighborhoods. But a group of white counter-protesters grew violent and started hurling rocks, bottles, and bricks at the demonstrators, eventually striking King in the head. “I’ve been in many demonstrations all across the South, but I can say that I have never seen—even in Mississippi and Alabama—mobs as hostile and as hate-filled as I’ve seen here in Chicago,” he said, shining light on a problem that white Northern liberals had ignored and let fester for far too long: de facto segregation.
Up until the civil-rights era, segregation was largely reinforced, if not promoted, by federal and local governments. In the 1930s, for example, the Federal Housing Administration incentivized developers to build suburbs for whites only, and the Public Works Administration built separate and unequal housing projects. After a series of Supreme Court cases deemed segregation unconstitutional in the 1940s and ‘50s, American neighborhoods continued to segregate without legal recognition, in a system known as “de facto.” And like de jure segregation—when the government legally engineered ghettos into existence—de facto segregation continues to exacerbate wealth and racial inequality today.
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/03/the-unfulfilled-promise-of-fair-housing/557009/
20 of 20 Said Yes
An excerpt from CNN -
He applied to 20 of the best colleges and got a full ride to all of them
By Isabella Gomez and Christina Zdanowicz
Micheal Brown stared at the acceptance letter in front of him: It said yes.
So did the next one. And the one after that.
The 17-year-old from Houston applied to 20 of the best universities in the US. He was admitted to every single one with a full ride and $260,000 in additional scholarship offers.
"It's something I'm proud of because I see my hard work paying off, determination paying off, sacrifices paying off," the student told CNN.
Of those 20, he listed his top eight choices as: Harvard, Princeton, Northwestern, Yale, University of Pennsylvania, Stanford, Georgetown and Vanderbilt.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/30/health/teen-college-20-acceptances-trnd/index.html
He applied to 20 of the best colleges and got a full ride to all of them
By Isabella Gomez and Christina Zdanowicz
Micheal Brown stared at the acceptance letter in front of him: It said yes.
So did the next one. And the one after that.
The 17-year-old from Houston applied to 20 of the best universities in the US. He was admitted to every single one with a full ride and $260,000 in additional scholarship offers.
"It's something I'm proud of because I see my hard work paying off, determination paying off, sacrifices paying off," the student told CNN.
Of those 20, he listed his top eight choices as: Harvard, Princeton, Northwestern, Yale, University of Pennsylvania, Stanford, Georgetown and Vanderbilt.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/30/health/teen-college-20-acceptances-trnd/index.html
Friday, March 30, 2018
Words Matter
An excerpt form the Sacramento Bee -
Stephon Clark 'deserved it,' nurse wrote on Facebook. Now she's no longer working for Kaiser.
BY CATHIE ANDERSON
Kaiser Permanente has parted ways with a nurse whose Facebook comments about Stephon Clark, the unarmed black man killed by Sacramento police on March 18, incited a social media firestorm after an activist put them in the spotlight.
The comment: “Yeah but he was running from the police jumping over fences and breaking in peoples houses… why run??!!! He deserved it for being stupid.”
Activist Christina Arechiga told The Sacramento Bee earlier this week that she was so disgusted by the statement from a woman named Faith Linthicum that she went to her Facebook profile to learn more about her. Many such comments come from people outside the region, Arechiga said, and she wanted to know whether this one did as well.
She said she was shocked to discover that not only did Linthicum live in the Sacramento region but she also worked as a nurse in labor and delivery at Kaiser Permanente’s Roseville Medical Center. People of color were unwittingly entrusting their infants to this woman, Arechiga said, and their insurance dollars were paying her salary.
Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/health-and-medicine/article207364464.html#emlnl=Breaking_Newsletter#storylink=cpy
Stephon Clark 'deserved it,' nurse wrote on Facebook. Now she's no longer working for Kaiser.
BY CATHIE ANDERSON
Kaiser Permanente has parted ways with a nurse whose Facebook comments about Stephon Clark, the unarmed black man killed by Sacramento police on March 18, incited a social media firestorm after an activist put them in the spotlight.
The comment: “Yeah but he was running from the police jumping over fences and breaking in peoples houses… why run??!!! He deserved it for being stupid.”
Activist Christina Arechiga told The Sacramento Bee earlier this week that she was so disgusted by the statement from a woman named Faith Linthicum that she went to her Facebook profile to learn more about her. Many such comments come from people outside the region, Arechiga said, and she wanted to know whether this one did as well.
She said she was shocked to discover that not only did Linthicum live in the Sacramento region but she also worked as a nurse in labor and delivery at Kaiser Permanente’s Roseville Medical Center. People of color were unwittingly entrusting their infants to this woman, Arechiga said, and their insurance dollars were paying her salary.
Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/health-and-medicine/article207364464.html#emlnl=Breaking_Newsletter#storylink=cpy
Police Killed 264 in 2018
From the Washington Post -
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/national/police-shootings-2018/?stream=top-stories&utm_campaign=newsletter_axiospm&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_term=.680c5b490545
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/national/police-shootings-2018/?stream=top-stories&utm_campaign=newsletter_axiospm&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_term=.680c5b490545
Catholic Colleges Excel at Basketball
From the NY Times -
Why Catholic Colleges Excel at Basketball
By MARC TRACYMARCH 30, 2018
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/30/sports/catholic-basketball-final-four.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=second-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news
Why Catholic Colleges Excel at Basketball
By MARC TRACYMARCH 30, 2018
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/30/sports/catholic-basketball-final-four.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=second-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news
The History of Tattoos
From OZY -
https://www.ozy.com/good-sht/this-museum-gives-you-the-long-curious-history-of-tattoos/83002?utm_source=dd&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=03292018&variable=e3bf1057d4e3c0988a79ae4bce515610
https://www.ozy.com/good-sht/this-museum-gives-you-the-long-curious-history-of-tattoos/83002?utm_source=dd&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=03292018&variable=e3bf1057d4e3c0988a79ae4bce515610
Ask Siri to Take a Picture
From CNET -
How to take iPhone photos with just your voice
Siri can be a helpful camera assistant.
By MATT ELLIOTT
https://www.cnet.com/how-to/how-to-take-iphone-photos-with-your-voice/#ftag=CAD-09-10aai5b
Good luck. This didn't work for me. Faye
How to take iPhone photos with just your voice
Siri can be a helpful camera assistant.
By MATT ELLIOTT
https://www.cnet.com/how-to/how-to-take-iphone-photos-with-your-voice/#ftag=CAD-09-10aai5b
Good luck. This didn't work for me. Faye
When Pigs Help Others Fly
From Now I Know -
The Therapeutic Value of a Not-Quite-Flying Pig
Pigs can’t fly. That’s why the saying “when pigs fly” exists — some things will never happen. The image above isn’t an exception, either, but it’s close. That’s a picture of LiLou, a pig. She’s wearing an airplane captain’s hat because she’s at work, and the hat is part of her uniform. In the picture above, she’s at San Francisco International Airport (SFO), her principal place of business.
Her job? To make anxious flyers feel a bit better about boarding that plane.
http://nowiknow.com/the-therapeutic-value-of-a-not-quite-flying-pig/
The Therapeutic Value of a Not-Quite-Flying Pig
Pigs can’t fly. That’s why the saying “when pigs fly” exists — some things will never happen. The image above isn’t an exception, either, but it’s close. That’s a picture of LiLou, a pig. She’s wearing an airplane captain’s hat because she’s at work, and the hat is part of her uniform. In the picture above, she’s at San Francisco International Airport (SFO), her principal place of business.
Her job? To make anxious flyers feel a bit better about boarding that plane.
http://nowiknow.com/the-therapeutic-value-of-a-not-quite-flying-pig/
Zadie at the March for Our Lives
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| Zadie Faye marching at 7 years old! (My oldest granddaughter) |
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| Zadie Faye making us all so proud! |
This is Why Parents Love Target
An excerpt from the Huffington Post -
There Are Psychological Reasons Parents Are So Obsessed With Target
Marketing experts, therapists and parents weigh in.
By Caroline Bologna
In the face of the chaos and confusion that come with raising a family today, parents across America turn to a very specific place for sanctuary and relief. While it may not be fancy or private, it’s got an air of sophistication and serenity.
What is this magical place? Well... Target, apparently.
It’s no secret that parents, particularly moms, love to love Target. They write rhapsodizing blog posts, create fan Instagram accounts, draw comics and tweet endlessly about their Target obsessions. At least one mom chose to take her maternity photos at a Target store, and another even gave birth to her child in one (albeit unintentionally).
But what exactly is it that makes Target so appealing to moms and dads?
We spoke to marketing experts, therapists and parents themselves to find out.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/parents-target-psychology_us_5aa7fba3e4b0e872b4bf5244
There Are Psychological Reasons Parents Are So Obsessed With Target
Marketing experts, therapists and parents weigh in.
By Caroline Bologna
In the face of the chaos and confusion that come with raising a family today, parents across America turn to a very specific place for sanctuary and relief. While it may not be fancy or private, it’s got an air of sophistication and serenity.
What is this magical place? Well... Target, apparently.
It’s no secret that parents, particularly moms, love to love Target. They write rhapsodizing blog posts, create fan Instagram accounts, draw comics and tweet endlessly about their Target obsessions. At least one mom chose to take her maternity photos at a Target store, and another even gave birth to her child in one (albeit unintentionally).
But what exactly is it that makes Target so appealing to moms and dads?
We spoke to marketing experts, therapists and parents themselves to find out.
Parenting Tips
From Buzzfeed -
https://www.buzzfeed.com/mikespohr/21-hilarious-tweets-that-are-also-genius-parenting-ideas?utm_term=.pboqPEzMa#.rsQxy4BWg
https://www.buzzfeed.com/mikespohr/21-hilarious-tweets-that-are-also-genius-parenting-ideas?utm_term=.pboqPEzMa#.rsQxy4BWg
A Night With Girlfriends & Michelle
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| Michelle Obama at the Oracle, Oakland, CA - March 28, 2018 |
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| Faye and friends at the Oracle |
Thursday, March 29, 2018
Wednesday, March 28, 2018
Will They Come?
An excerpt from the Washington Post -
Why a white town paid for a class called ‘Hispanics 101’
By Danielle Paquette
BRANSON, Mo. — In a ballroom with antlers on the wall and hoof prints on the carpet, diversity coach Miguel Joey Aviles asked whether anyone knew how to merengue.
“Lord have mercy,” he said, counting hands. “Only two?”
This is “Hispanics 101,” a class meant to teach employers in the Ozarks resort town of 11,400 how to lure workers from Puerto Rico and persuade them to stay.
The economy depends on it. As tourism season kicks off this month, the remote getaway known for dinner theaters, country music concerts and a museum of dinosaur replicas has 2,050 vacancies — and a lack of locals applying.
So, like other areas with tight labor markets, Branson finds itself getting creative to fill jobs — in this case by recruiting people from a part of the United States with much higher unemployment.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/why-a-white-town-paid-for-a-class-called-hispanics-101/2018/03/07/ca37a44a-1cd1-11e8-ae5a-16e60e4605f3_story.html?utm_term=.fcce5345500a&wpisrc=nl_rainbow&wpmm=1
Why a white town paid for a class called ‘Hispanics 101’
By Danielle Paquette
BRANSON, Mo. — In a ballroom with antlers on the wall and hoof prints on the carpet, diversity coach Miguel Joey Aviles asked whether anyone knew how to merengue.
“Lord have mercy,” he said, counting hands. “Only two?”
This is “Hispanics 101,” a class meant to teach employers in the Ozarks resort town of 11,400 how to lure workers from Puerto Rico and persuade them to stay.
The economy depends on it. As tourism season kicks off this month, the remote getaway known for dinner theaters, country music concerts and a museum of dinosaur replicas has 2,050 vacancies — and a lack of locals applying.
So, like other areas with tight labor markets, Branson finds itself getting creative to fill jobs — in this case by recruiting people from a part of the United States with much higher unemployment.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/why-a-white-town-paid-for-a-class-called-hispanics-101/2018/03/07/ca37a44a-1cd1-11e8-ae5a-16e60e4605f3_story.html?utm_term=.fcce5345500a&wpisrc=nl_rainbow&wpmm=1
US Brain Drain
An excerpt from Axios -
Canada's "reverse brain drain" in the age of Trump
By Shane Savitsky
Numerous startups in the tech hub of Toronto say they have had steady, double-digit increases in job applications from the United States since last year's presidential election. This is among the first concrete evidence that President Trump's hard line on immigration may be impacting the global race to attract the best minds.
What they're saying: "I've been in tech for over 20 years in Canada and in Silicon Valley, too. I've never seen candidates from the U.S. apply for Canadian positions from places like Silicon Valley," Roy Pereira, the CEO of Zoom.ai, told Axios. "That's never happened."
Why it matters: Since Trump's election, with his attacks on immigration and threats to cut back on visas, France, China and Canada, among other countries, have openly sought to poach American technologists and scientists (as we have written). The reports from Toronto suggest a threat to the United States' long edge as the preeminent magnet for the world's brightest scientific talent.
https://www.axios.com/canadas-reverse-brain-drain-in-the-age-of-trump-1513305608-a54c55f2-dcc1-4a27-8416-3e5e0bf701db.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_axiosam&stream=top-stories
Canada's "reverse brain drain" in the age of Trump
By Shane Savitsky
Numerous startups in the tech hub of Toronto say they have had steady, double-digit increases in job applications from the United States since last year's presidential election. This is among the first concrete evidence that President Trump's hard line on immigration may be impacting the global race to attract the best minds.
What they're saying: "I've been in tech for over 20 years in Canada and in Silicon Valley, too. I've never seen candidates from the U.S. apply for Canadian positions from places like Silicon Valley," Roy Pereira, the CEO of Zoom.ai, told Axios. "That's never happened."
Why it matters: Since Trump's election, with his attacks on immigration and threats to cut back on visas, France, China and Canada, among other countries, have openly sought to poach American technologists and scientists (as we have written). The reports from Toronto suggest a threat to the United States' long edge as the preeminent magnet for the world's brightest scientific talent.
https://www.axios.com/canadas-reverse-brain-drain-in-the-age-of-trump-1513305608-a54c55f2-dcc1-4a27-8416-3e5e0bf701db.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_axiosam&stream=top-stories
Well-Read Black Girl
An excerpt from Essence -
Black Girl Brilliance Project: Glory Edim On How Well-Read Black Girl Is More Than A Book Club
By BRITNI DANIELLE
It all started with a t-shirt. Three years ago, Glory Edim’s boyfriend gave her a gift that perfectly spoke to her love of books, a shirt with “well-read Black girl” emblazoned on the front. Edim loved the thoughtful present and began wearing the one-of-a-kind item all over town. Soon, people wanted one too.
“It was our inside joke, but it triggered a lot of conversations with folks when I was out in the world,” Edim tells ESSENCE. “I kept having conversations with strangers, other Black women, in public spaces about books.”
The experience inspired Edim to form a book club, and three years later Well-Read Black Girl is a bona fide movement that hosts reading with authors, a thriving online community and an annual festival.
https://www.essence.com/culture/black-girl-brilliance-glory-edim
Black Girl Brilliance Project: Glory Edim On How Well-Read Black Girl Is More Than A Book Club
By BRITNI DANIELLE
It all started with a t-shirt. Three years ago, Glory Edim’s boyfriend gave her a gift that perfectly spoke to her love of books, a shirt with “well-read Black girl” emblazoned on the front. Edim loved the thoughtful present and began wearing the one-of-a-kind item all over town. Soon, people wanted one too.
“It was our inside joke, but it triggered a lot of conversations with folks when I was out in the world,” Edim tells ESSENCE. “I kept having conversations with strangers, other Black women, in public spaces about books.”
The experience inspired Edim to form a book club, and three years later Well-Read Black Girl is a bona fide movement that hosts reading with authors, a thriving online community and an annual festival.
https://www.essence.com/culture/black-girl-brilliance-glory-edim
A Welcoming Space
An excerpt from the NY Times: California Today -
A Space for Students Who Need Something to Eat
By JENNIFER MEDINA
As you walk into the room at University of California, Irvine the first thing you notice are the fruit and vegetable baskets: apples, onions, broccoli. There’s a table of students chatting and eating, while one thumbs through a cookbook.
It’s called the Basic Needs Hub — a space for anyone on campus who needs something to eat. It looks like a miniature gourmet grocery, but it is, effectively, a food pantry.
For the last six months, the doors to the hub have been wide open, and the pantry has doled out produce, meat and granola bars, among other goods. Students are not required to show any proof of income to receive the food, though they do receive a document stating that it is meant for those who cannot afford it on their own.
“We are making it O.K. for students to say that they do need help,” said Edgar Dormitorio, the assistant vice chancellor of students affairs. “We know there are students who do without meals rather ask for assistance. We want this to be as low barrier as possible.”
https://static.nytimes.com/email-content/CA_477.html?nlid=38867499
A Space for Students Who Need Something to Eat
By JENNIFER MEDINA
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| The grand opening of the University of California, Irvine food pantry in September. Steve Zylius/University of California, Irvine |
It’s called the Basic Needs Hub — a space for anyone on campus who needs something to eat. It looks like a miniature gourmet grocery, but it is, effectively, a food pantry.
For the last six months, the doors to the hub have been wide open, and the pantry has doled out produce, meat and granola bars, among other goods. Students are not required to show any proof of income to receive the food, though they do receive a document stating that it is meant for those who cannot afford it on their own.
“We are making it O.K. for students to say that they do need help,” said Edgar Dormitorio, the assistant vice chancellor of students affairs. “We know there are students who do without meals rather ask for assistance. We want this to be as low barrier as possible.”
https://static.nytimes.com/email-content/CA_477.html?nlid=38867499
Lives Didn't Matter?
An excerpt from the Huffington Post -
21 Times Cops Weren’t Held Accountable For The Death Of Black Victims
These are egregious reminders of repeated injustice.
By Lilly Workneh and Taryn Finley
Sandra Bland. Freddie Gray. Sean Bell. Tamir Rice. Alton Sterling. Aiyana Stanley-Jones.
The list goes on and on of black men, women and children who died as a result of encounters with law enforcement and receive no justice while those responsible for their deaths ― the same ones who pledge to “protect and serve” ― face little to no repercussions.
The St. Anthony, Minnesota, cop who shot Philando Castile, a 32-year-old elementary school cafeteria worker, seven times was acquitted in June 2017. Castile was in the car with his girlfriend and her 4-year-old daughter at the time of his death.
Castile’s mother, Valerie, expressed her outrage during a press conference after the trial.
“The system in this country continues to fail black people and will continue to fail us,” she said. “My son loved this city, and this city killed my son. And a murderer gets away.”
Sadly, the anger Castile conveyed is a familiar feeling for those who have witnessed the repeated acquittal of cops who have been involved in unjust killings of black men and women, often over prosecutors’ claims of “lack of evidence.”
Time and again, the nation has mourned the loss of black lives and taken to the streets and social media to demand both an end to these killings and accountability for those involved. Here are 20 other cases where officers have escaped prosecution and walked free.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/14-times-cops-werent-held-accountable-for-the-death-of-black-victims_us_5798d249e4b01180b53114ec
21 Times Cops Weren’t Held Accountable For The Death Of Black Victims
These are egregious reminders of repeated injustice.
By Lilly Workneh and Taryn Finley
Sandra Bland. Freddie Gray. Sean Bell. Tamir Rice. Alton Sterling. Aiyana Stanley-Jones.
The list goes on and on of black men, women and children who died as a result of encounters with law enforcement and receive no justice while those responsible for their deaths ― the same ones who pledge to “protect and serve” ― face little to no repercussions.
The St. Anthony, Minnesota, cop who shot Philando Castile, a 32-year-old elementary school cafeteria worker, seven times was acquitted in June 2017. Castile was in the car with his girlfriend and her 4-year-old daughter at the time of his death.
Castile’s mother, Valerie, expressed her outrage during a press conference after the trial.
“The system in this country continues to fail black people and will continue to fail us,” she said. “My son loved this city, and this city killed my son. And a murderer gets away.”
Sadly, the anger Castile conveyed is a familiar feeling for those who have witnessed the repeated acquittal of cops who have been involved in unjust killings of black men and women, often over prosecutors’ claims of “lack of evidence.”
Time and again, the nation has mourned the loss of black lives and taken to the streets and social media to demand both an end to these killings and accountability for those involved. Here are 20 other cases where officers have escaped prosecution and walked free.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/14-times-cops-werent-held-accountable-for-the-death-of-black-victims_us_5798d249e4b01180b53114ec
Teen Inventor
An excerpt from CNN -
Teen serial inventor returns with pollution filter to clear city skies
By Zeena Saifi, Daryl Brown and Tom Page
Angad Daryani. Remember the name.
The 19-year-old from Mumbai has already gained a reputation. He left school in the ninth grade and then self-educated while working with MIT Media Lab until the age of 17. Daryani has launched multiple startups and social initiatives, and collaborated on a string of inventions that fall squarely into the "Why hasn't someone thought of that before?" category.
There was the "eye-pad," designed to instantly convert written English and French into Braille. The Sharkbot, a $350 3-D printer. A low-cost ECG heart monitor and a vehicle controlled by hand gestures.
Now, Daryani is pushing forward with an industrial-scale air filter to rid skies of pollutants and carcinogens that plague modern cities.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/28/health/angad-daryani-tomorrows-hero/index.html
Teen serial inventor returns with pollution filter to clear city skies
By Zeena Saifi, Daryl Brown and Tom Page
Angad Daryani. Remember the name.
The 19-year-old from Mumbai has already gained a reputation. He left school in the ninth grade and then self-educated while working with MIT Media Lab until the age of 17. Daryani has launched multiple startups and social initiatives, and collaborated on a string of inventions that fall squarely into the "Why hasn't someone thought of that before?" category.
There was the "eye-pad," designed to instantly convert written English and French into Braille. The Sharkbot, a $350 3-D printer. A low-cost ECG heart monitor and a vehicle controlled by hand gestures.
Now, Daryani is pushing forward with an industrial-scale air filter to rid skies of pollutants and carcinogens that plague modern cities.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/28/health/angad-daryani-tomorrows-hero/index.html
Tuesday, March 27, 2018
The 2nd Amendment - A Relic From the 18th Century
An excerpt from the NY Times Opinion -
Repeal the Second Amendment
By John Paul Stevens (Retired Supreme Court Justice)
Rarely in my lifetime have I seen the type of civic engagement schoolchildren and their supporters demonstrated in Washington and other major cities throughout the country this past Saturday. These demonstrations demand our respect. They reveal the broad public support for legislation to minimize the risk of mass killings of schoolchildren and others in our society.
That support is a clear sign to lawmakers to enact legislation prohibiting civilian ownership of semiautomatic weapons, increasing the minimum age to buy a gun from 18 to 21 years old, and establishing more comprehensive background checks on all purchasers of firearms. But the demonstrators should seek more effective and more lasting reform. They should demand a repeal of the Second Amendment.
Concern that a national standing army might pose a threat to the security of the separate states led to the adoption of that amendment, which provides that “a well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” Today that concern is a relic of the 18th century.
https://mobile.nytimes.com/2018/03/27/opinion/john-paul-stevens-repeal-second-amendment.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage
Repeal the Second Amendment
By John Paul Stevens (Retired Supreme Court Justice)
Rarely in my lifetime have I seen the type of civic engagement schoolchildren and their supporters demonstrated in Washington and other major cities throughout the country this past Saturday. These demonstrations demand our respect. They reveal the broad public support for legislation to minimize the risk of mass killings of schoolchildren and others in our society.
That support is a clear sign to lawmakers to enact legislation prohibiting civilian ownership of semiautomatic weapons, increasing the minimum age to buy a gun from 18 to 21 years old, and establishing more comprehensive background checks on all purchasers of firearms. But the demonstrators should seek more effective and more lasting reform. They should demand a repeal of the Second Amendment.
Concern that a national standing army might pose a threat to the security of the separate states led to the adoption of that amendment, which provides that “a well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” Today that concern is a relic of the 18th century.
https://mobile.nytimes.com/2018/03/27/opinion/john-paul-stevens-repeal-second-amendment.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage
Not Even Close
An excerpt from the Washington Post -
The strange, unexpected public contribution of Stormy Daniels
By Michael Gerson
Americans who find this unremarkable have missed an extraordinary cultural moment. Daniels’s allegations are denied by the White House and an attorney for President Trump’s lawyer. Yet who in their right mind would trust Trump’s word over hers? In this case, the porn star has more credibility than the president of the United States. It is not even close.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-strange-unexpected-public-contribution-of-stormy-daniels/2018/03/26/2c2bce4e-312a-11e8-8abc-22a366b72f2d_story.html?utm_term=.b0fdc1b48a8c
The strange, unexpected public contribution of Stormy Daniels
By Michael Gerson
Americans who find this unremarkable have missed an extraordinary cultural moment. Daniels’s allegations are denied by the White House and an attorney for President Trump’s lawyer. Yet who in their right mind would trust Trump’s word over hers? In this case, the porn star has more credibility than the president of the United States. It is not even close.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-strange-unexpected-public-contribution-of-stormy-daniels/2018/03/26/2c2bce4e-312a-11e8-8abc-22a366b72f2d_story.html?utm_term=.b0fdc1b48a8c
Monday, March 26, 2018
This brilliant 11-year-old girl is doing more to address gun violence and systemic racism than most adults pic.twitter.com/oRqCFMBAqz— NowThis (@nowthisnews) March 22, 2018
Sunday, March 25, 2018
Fault Lines
An excerpt from the NY Times -
A Rampage Exposes Racial Fault Lines
By Manny Fernandez and Richard Fausset
Ora Houston, an African-American councilwoman here, stood as a proclamation was read inside City Hall on Thursday.
It had nothing to do with the Austin serial bomber, Mark Conditt. It had to do with a deeper, older and far more invisible hurt — the 90th anniversary of a 1928 city plan that created a “Negro district” on the east side of town.
“The Negro district was intentionally created by the Austin City Council to force Negros and Mexicans who lived in other parts of Austin to move to the Negro district,” Mayor Steve Adler said as Ms. Houston, a longtime East Austin resident, looked on at his side. “And the effects are apparent in the racial and economic disparities found in East Austin today.”
Three of the five bombs that terrorized Central Texas this month went off in East Austin, where the majority of the city’s black and Hispanic residents live, prompting the police to investigate them as possible hate crimes. When the fourth bomb was planted in an upscale gated and largely white community west of Interstate 35, the issue of race disappeared from most official statements — a fact that has stirred deep resentment among many black residents. The only two people killed, many have been quick to point out, came from two of the city’s most prominent black families.
The debate over how to characterize the bomber’s nearly three-week campaign of violence has been a reminder, for many, of the ways in which race, geography and class continue to play out in a city that prides itself on tolerance and diversity.
Though Austin is widely seen as a liberal island in a deeply conservative state, the attacks have stoked the raw racial, economic, political and geographical divisions that continue to shape life here, 90 years after the city was segregated by decree. Austin and its suburbs remain sharply divided by class, race and even religion. Like Houston, it is an urban, diverse and Democratic hub surrounded by largely white, Republican suburbs, including Pflugerville, Mr. Conditt’s hometown.
https://static.nytimes.com/email-content/RR_427.html?nlid=38867499
A Rampage Exposes Racial Fault Lines
By Manny Fernandez and Richard Fausset
Ora Houston, an African-American councilwoman here, stood as a proclamation was read inside City Hall on Thursday.
It had nothing to do with the Austin serial bomber, Mark Conditt. It had to do with a deeper, older and far more invisible hurt — the 90th anniversary of a 1928 city plan that created a “Negro district” on the east side of town.
“The Negro district was intentionally created by the Austin City Council to force Negros and Mexicans who lived in other parts of Austin to move to the Negro district,” Mayor Steve Adler said as Ms. Houston, a longtime East Austin resident, looked on at his side. “And the effects are apparent in the racial and economic disparities found in East Austin today.”
Three of the five bombs that terrorized Central Texas this month went off in East Austin, where the majority of the city’s black and Hispanic residents live, prompting the police to investigate them as possible hate crimes. When the fourth bomb was planted in an upscale gated and largely white community west of Interstate 35, the issue of race disappeared from most official statements — a fact that has stirred deep resentment among many black residents. The only two people killed, many have been quick to point out, came from two of the city’s most prominent black families.
The debate over how to characterize the bomber’s nearly three-week campaign of violence has been a reminder, for many, of the ways in which race, geography and class continue to play out in a city that prides itself on tolerance and diversity.
Though Austin is widely seen as a liberal island in a deeply conservative state, the attacks have stoked the raw racial, economic, political and geographical divisions that continue to shape life here, 90 years after the city was segregated by decree. Austin and its suburbs remain sharply divided by class, race and even religion. Like Houston, it is an urban, diverse and Democratic hub surrounded by largely white, Republican suburbs, including Pflugerville, Mr. Conditt’s hometown.
https://static.nytimes.com/email-content/RR_427.html?nlid=38867499
The Top 25 HBCU Athletes of All Time
From the Undefeated -
We rank ’em: The Top 25 HBCU athletes of all time
Althea Gibson, Jerry Rice and Earl the Pearl, Sweetness represent the best of HBCU athleticism
BY DONALD HUNT
https://theundefeated.com/features/best-hbcu-athletes-top-25/?ex_cid=ForTheCulture
We rank ’em: The Top 25 HBCU athletes of all time
Althea Gibson, Jerry Rice and Earl the Pearl, Sweetness represent the best of HBCU athleticism
BY DONALD HUNT
https://theundefeated.com/features/best-hbcu-athletes-top-25/?ex_cid=ForTheCulture
A Ballin' Bowler
From the Undefeated -
He’s the only active black bowler to have won a major pro tournament
But Gary Faulkner Jr. is struggling to repeat that success
BY PAUL WACH
https://theundefeated.com/features/gary-faulkner-only-active-black-pba-bowler-to-have-won-a-major-pro-tournament/
He’s the only active black bowler to have won a major pro tournament
But Gary Faulkner Jr. is struggling to repeat that success
BY PAUL WACH
https://theundefeated.com/features/gary-faulkner-only-active-black-pba-bowler-to-have-won-a-major-pro-tournament/
Grandmas Protest in Boise
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/3/24/1751791/-This-red-state-says-enough-is-enough?detail=emaildkre
Up, Up & Away!
From the Associated Press -
Self-taught rocket scientist blasts off into California sky
By PAT GRAHAM and MICHAEL BALSAMO
https://apnews.com/870b745abdfe41dfa3bb79b49d60f117
Self-taught rocket scientist blasts off into California sky
By PAT GRAHAM and MICHAEL BALSAMO
https://apnews.com/870b745abdfe41dfa3bb79b49d60f117
Number 4 is CRAZY!
From Buzzfeed -
26 People Who Have WAAAAAY More $$$ Than You Ever Even Thought
Celine deserves it, though.
By Matt Stopera
https://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/26-people-who-have-waaaaay-more-than-you-ever-even-thought?utm_term=.ro90gBXeJ#.xe5L20wbz
26 People Who Have WAAAAAY More $$$ Than You Ever Even Thought
Celine deserves it, though.
By Matt Stopera
https://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/26-people-who-have-waaaaay-more-than-you-ever-even-thought?utm_term=.ro90gBXeJ#.xe5L20wbz
Saturday, March 24, 2018
Between a Rock & a Hard Place
An excerpt from the Associated Press -
District arms teachers with rocks in case of school shooter
By KRISTEN DE GROOT
A rural school district in Pennsylvania is arming teachers and students with buckets of rocks as a last resort should an armed intruder burst in, the superintendent said Friday.
Every classroom in the district about 90 miles (145 kilometers) northwest of Philadelphia has a 5-gallon bucket of river stones, said Blue Mountain School District Superintendent David Helsel.
“We always strive to find new ways to keep our students safe,” Helsel told The Associated Press in a telephone interview, adding that the rocks are one small part of the district’s overall security plan.
Throwing rocks is more effective than just crawling under desks and waiting, and it gives students and teachers a chance to defend themselves, he said. The district has about 2,700 students at three elementary schools, a middle school and a high school.
Staff and students in the Blue Mountain district have been trained in a program called “ALICE” which stands for alert, lockdown, inform, counter and evacuate. Helsel said the rocks are part of the “counter” portion of training, fighting back if the intruder makes his way into the classroom.
The buckets are kept in classroom closets.
https://apnews.com/1bc6a265cddf4ec19001a00cfb92fd7e
District arms teachers with rocks in case of school shooter
By KRISTEN DE GROOT
A rural school district in Pennsylvania is arming teachers and students with buckets of rocks as a last resort should an armed intruder burst in, the superintendent said Friday.
Every classroom in the district about 90 miles (145 kilometers) northwest of Philadelphia has a 5-gallon bucket of river stones, said Blue Mountain School District Superintendent David Helsel.
“We always strive to find new ways to keep our students safe,” Helsel told The Associated Press in a telephone interview, adding that the rocks are one small part of the district’s overall security plan.
Throwing rocks is more effective than just crawling under desks and waiting, and it gives students and teachers a chance to defend themselves, he said. The district has about 2,700 students at three elementary schools, a middle school and a high school.
Staff and students in the Blue Mountain district have been trained in a program called “ALICE” which stands for alert, lockdown, inform, counter and evacuate. Helsel said the rocks are part of the “counter” portion of training, fighting back if the intruder makes his way into the classroom.
The buckets are kept in classroom closets.
https://apnews.com/1bc6a265cddf4ec19001a00cfb92fd7e
Filed Under: How to Survive in America
An excerpt form the Root -
An Incomplete List of Things Black People Should Avoid Doing so They Won’t Be Killed by Police
By Michael Harriot
On Sunday, March 18, police in Sacramento, Calif., fired 20 shots at Stephon Clark, killing him. Clark was unarmed and in his own backyard, leading many to ask what black people must do to escape the indiscriminate killing of black people.
A 2015 study by researchers at the University of California, Davis, showed that there is no relationship between criminality and race in police killings. A study by the Center for Policing Equity concluded (pdf) that police use more force against black suspects even when the data was adjusted for whether the person was a violent criminal.
To combat this deadly epidemic, we put together a handy guide to help black people end this trend that disproportionately affects black people. Here are the things you should avoid doing when police are around:
Running: Stephon Clark was unarmed, but he ran. We learned from the deaths of Walter Scott and Freddie Gray that running away from police is both a criminal offense and an act of aggression.
Walking: Amadou Diallo was simply walking to his apartment. When Chicago Police Detective Dante Servin shot Rekia Boyd, she was not involved in any crime or altercation. She just happened to be walking by. Terence Crutcher was shot in the back when he was killed by Tulsa, Okla., Police Officer Betty Shelby.
All three victims were unarmed.
https://www.theroot.com/an-incomplete-list-of-things-black-people-should-avoid-1824032408
An Incomplete List of Things Black People Should Avoid Doing so They Won’t Be Killed by Police
By Michael Harriot
On Sunday, March 18, police in Sacramento, Calif., fired 20 shots at Stephon Clark, killing him. Clark was unarmed and in his own backyard, leading many to ask what black people must do to escape the indiscriminate killing of black people.
A 2015 study by researchers at the University of California, Davis, showed that there is no relationship between criminality and race in police killings. A study by the Center for Policing Equity concluded (pdf) that police use more force against black suspects even when the data was adjusted for whether the person was a violent criminal.
To combat this deadly epidemic, we put together a handy guide to help black people end this trend that disproportionately affects black people. Here are the things you should avoid doing when police are around:
Running: Stephon Clark was unarmed, but he ran. We learned from the deaths of Walter Scott and Freddie Gray that running away from police is both a criminal offense and an act of aggression.
Walking: Amadou Diallo was simply walking to his apartment. When Chicago Police Detective Dante Servin shot Rekia Boyd, she was not involved in any crime or altercation. She just happened to be walking by. Terence Crutcher was shot in the back when he was killed by Tulsa, Okla., Police Officer Betty Shelby.
All three victims were unarmed.
https://www.theroot.com/an-incomplete-list-of-things-black-people-should-avoid-1824032408
"A Cabal of Cronies"
An excerpt from the Huffington Post -
Trump Wants His Cabinet To Serve His Ego, Not The Nation
By Neil J. Young, Columnist
All of these moves undercut Trump’s businessman boasts that he would bring only the “best people” to Washington, of course. But they also make plain that the real business of this administration is to serve Trump’s ego rather than the nation. In cutting out dissenters or even strong counterweights in his administration for the steady stream of sycophants and, let’s not forget, fawning family members he has gathered around him, Trump has ensured his White House will never be mistaken for Abraham Lincoln’s “team of rivals.” Instead, Trump is assembling a cabal of cronies.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/opinion-young-trump-cabinet_us_5ab51bbbe4b0decad0497fca?ncid=APPLENEWS00001
Trump Wants His Cabinet To Serve His Ego, Not The Nation
By Neil J. Young, Columnist
All of these moves undercut Trump’s businessman boasts that he would bring only the “best people” to Washington, of course. But they also make plain that the real business of this administration is to serve Trump’s ego rather than the nation. In cutting out dissenters or even strong counterweights in his administration for the steady stream of sycophants and, let’s not forget, fawning family members he has gathered around him, Trump has ensured his White House will never be mistaken for Abraham Lincoln’s “team of rivals.” Instead, Trump is assembling a cabal of cronies.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/opinion-young-trump-cabinet_us_5ab51bbbe4b0decad0497fca?ncid=APPLENEWS00001
Suffering or Inconvenienced?
An excerpt from the Sacramento Bee -
Mad about Stephon Clark protesters shutting down the Kings and I-5? Check your privilege
BY ERIKA D. SMITH
Dear well-meaning progressives of Sacramento:
So I hear you’re a little upset about the way, on Thursday, some people — OK, people with Black Lives Matter — were peacefully protesting the police shooting of Stephon Clark.
I know, I know. You’re as troubled as any other "woke" progressive about his death on Sunday night. The 22-year-old father of two shouldn’t have died the way he did, standing in his grandmother’s backyard in Meadowview after being chased down by two cops and a helicopter.
You think it’s unacceptable that the officers didn’t identify themselves before shouting “gun” and sending 20 bullets flying through the dark toward his body. And you’re suspicious about why, after the shooting, cops at the scene turned off the microphones on their body cameras and had a conversation amongst themselves for a couple of minutes.
~~~~~~~~~~
First of all, let's get one thing straight: Being inconvenienced for one day or even two is not “suffering,” a word I’ve heard far too many times since Thursday. “Suffering” is what Clark’s family is doing right now. "Suffering" is what young black men do all over this country, living with the fear of their lives being taken by gun violence.
Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/erika-d-smith/article206567754.html#storylink=cpy
Mad about Stephon Clark protesters shutting down the Kings and I-5? Check your privilege
BY ERIKA D. SMITH
Dear well-meaning progressives of Sacramento:
So I hear you’re a little upset about the way, on Thursday, some people — OK, people with Black Lives Matter — were peacefully protesting the police shooting of Stephon Clark.
I know, I know. You’re as troubled as any other "woke" progressive about his death on Sunday night. The 22-year-old father of two shouldn’t have died the way he did, standing in his grandmother’s backyard in Meadowview after being chased down by two cops and a helicopter.
You think it’s unacceptable that the officers didn’t identify themselves before shouting “gun” and sending 20 bullets flying through the dark toward his body. And you’re suspicious about why, after the shooting, cops at the scene turned off the microphones on their body cameras and had a conversation amongst themselves for a couple of minutes.
~~~~~~~~~~
First of all, let's get one thing straight: Being inconvenienced for one day or even two is not “suffering,” a word I’ve heard far too many times since Thursday. “Suffering” is what Clark’s family is doing right now. "Suffering" is what young black men do all over this country, living with the fear of their lives being taken by gun violence.
Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/erika-d-smith/article206567754.html#storylink=cpy
Friday, March 23, 2018
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