During a press conference following Michael Dunn‘s murder trial, Florida state special prosecutor Angela Corey said he will be retried for the murder of 17-year-old Jordan Davis.
RELATED: Michael Dunn Convicted on 4 of 5 Charges in Jordan Davis Murder Case
“We intend to fully push for a new trial….Justice for Jordan Davis is as important as it is for any victim,” said Corey.
As previously reported, Dunn, 47, has been found guilty of 3 counts of attempted second degree murder and one count of hurling a deadly missile. A mistrial was declared on the first-degree murder charge in the shooting death of 17-year old Jordan Davis.
The jury deliberated for four days and remained deadlocked on the 1st-degree murder charge and lesser charges, including second degree murder, manslaughter, justifiable homicide, or excusable homicide.
Protesters have begun marching over to the prosecutor’s office and demanding Corey’s resignation for, what they feel, is her failure to get justice for Davis. Corey was also the special prosecutor in the George Zimmerman murder trial. Last year, Zimmerman was found not guilty of murder in the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.
Both Martin and Davis were killed when they were 17-years-old. Tomorrow, February 16, would have been Davis’ 19th birthday. Trayvon Martin would have been 19-years-old on February 5.
article via newsone.com
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If anyone understands the pain that Jordan Davis’ parents are feeling at this moment, it’s Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin. The parents of Trayvon Martin offered their support to Lucia McBath and Ron Davis this weekend, who heard Michael Dunn’s verdict on the eve of what would have been their son’s 19th birthday. In a statement, Sybrina and Tracy said that this case is “yet another reminder that in Florida, racial profiling and stereotypes” may serve as the basis for illegitimate fear “and the shooting and killing of young teenagers.”
Dunn, a 47-year-old software developer, fired 10 rounds at a SUV carrying four teens in a Jacksonville gas station parking lot after an altercation over loud rap music. On Saturday, a jury found him guilty on three counts of attempted second-degree murder and one count of shooting a deadly missile into a vehicle. However, the 12 jurors could not reach a decision on the top count of first-degree murder — meaning he was not convicted for three of the 10 shots that hit 17-year-old Davis and ultimately cost his life.
Although the jury did not convict her son’s killer of premeditated murder, Lucia McBath still expressed gratitude for the verdict. “We are so grateful for the truth,” she said. “We are so grateful that the jurors were able to understand the common sense of it all.” “[Dunn] is going to learn that he must be remorseful for the killing of my son,” father Ron Davis said at the post-trial press conference, “it was not just another day at the office.”
article by Myeisha Essex via hellobeautiful.com
February is Black History month, and it’s never too soon to get prepared. There are many fabulous middle grade books, both fiction and nonfiction, that will help your family or classroom get in the groove. One of my all-time favorite authors is Christopher Paul Curtis. His personal story reads like a novel. His bio states that he grew up in Flint, Michigan. After high school he began working on the assembly line at the Fisher Body Plant No. 1 while attending the Flint branch of the University of Michigan, where he began writing essays and fiction.
My favorite of his books is The Watsons Go To Birmingham. It’s about a family from Michigan who travel to visit their relatives in the South. Life in the South is very different from life in Michigan, as they find out. And while they are there, a church in Birmingham is bombed — while the protagonists’s sister is there. An interesting aside that I learned when talking to Curtis at a convention is that the book was originally going to be about the family visiting Orlando. When his older son came home one day with the poem, Ballad of Birmingham by Dudley Randall, he decided to change the destination and include the bombing as part of the story. It’s a powerful book, filled with humor and typical family strife as well as illuminating the social problems of that time. Fourth, fifth and sixth graders love it. There’s a bit of magic in it (the evil “Wool Pooh”) and lots and lots of laughs but also some important historical events. Classroom teachers take note: Reading the poem after the book will REALLY provoke some emotion and thoughtful discussion from your students. There’s also a reading guide for it.
Another of Curtis’ books that is destined to be a classic is Bud, not Buddy, about a young boy leaving an abusive foster care home during the Depression to try to find his father. He has a few clues given to him by his mother, and he has the book he has written called Bud Caldwell’s Rules and Things for Having a Funner Life and Making a Better Liar Out of Yourself. It’s a story full of adventure and humor, along with emotion and history. It’s a perfect fifth grade book for the whole class to read. Another story arose from “Bud, Not Buddy.” That book is The Mighty Miss Malone and and it also takes place during the Great Depression but with a young girl protagonist.
What Was the Underground Railroad? is one of the “What Was…” series published by Grosset & Dunlap. Like the other books in the series, it’s a well-written nonfiction book with many interesting facts and stories. There are photographs, maps and black and white illustrations, and they add value to the information contained in the book. There are also many nonfiction text features such as “Contents” and a timeline and bibliography at the back. The reading level and interest level cover a wide range. Advanced third graders will enjoy this book as will middle school students who need slightly easier reading material.
Who Was Michelle Obama? is another of the “Who Is…” books by Grosset & Dunlap. Many students know that Michelle Obama is the First Lady and wife of the President of the United States, but many may not know that she came from a family of modest means. She grew up on the South Side of Chicago, and her family lived in a one-bedroom apartment on the second floor of a small house. The book shares information about her childhood, her education, and how she met and married Barack Obama. Interspersed between chapters are pages with information about other noteworthy First Ladies. While this book will probably appeal more to girls than boys, it’s a great nonfiction book which will appeal to a wide range of students.
An all-expenses-paid program for high school student journalists from low-income backgrounds will take place for 10 days next summer on the campus of Princeton University. The program is entering its 13th year; since 2002, approximately 250 students from high schools across the country have participated. The program’s goal is to diversify college and professional newsrooms by encouraging outstanding students from low-income backgrounds to pursue careers in journalism.
Classes at the program are taught by reporters and editors from The New York Times, The Washington Post, The New Yorker, The Daily Beast, Time, Foreign Policy, The New Republic, Sports Illustrated, CNN and NPR, among other media outlets. Students meet with numerous Princeton professors, as well as Princeton’s president and dean of admissions. They report an investigative story, cover a professional sports event, produce a TV segment, and publish their own newspaper. And they receive guidance on the college admissions process not only during the 10 days of the program, but also during the fall of their senior year of high school.
Students selected for the program will have all their costs, including the cost of travel to and from Princeton, paid for by the program, which will run from August 1-11, 2014. The application process will take place in two rounds. The first round of the application should be filled out online here: https://fs4.formsite.com/pusjp/form1/secure_index.html. This part of the application must be completed by 11:59 p.m. EST on Friday, February 21, 2014.
We all know Martin Luther King Jr. was quite the speaker but, apparently, he was also something of a poet. On this Valentine’s Day, take a look back in time at his and Coretta Scott King’s incredible love story through a love letter he wrote her in the summer of 1952, a year before they were married. From Stanford University’s Martin Luther King, Jr., Papers Project:
Dearest,
Fortunately, I am in a better mood today. your letter was sweet and refreshing to my heart, which had well-nigh grown cold toward you. Of course I have become convinced in the last few days that my love for you is based on such a solid foundation that the stormy winds of anger cannot blow it assunder. Love is such a dynamic force isn’t it? It is the most inexplicable and yet the most beautiful force in life. O how joyous it is [to?] be in it.
Darling I miss you so much. In fact, much to much for my own good. I never realized that you were such an intimate part of my life. My life without you is like a year without a spring time which comes to give illumination and heat to the atmosphere which has been saturated by the dark cold breeze of winter. Can you imagine the frustration that a King without a throne would face? Such would be my frustration if I in my little kinghood could not reign at the throne of Coretta. O excuse my darling. I didn’t mean to go off on such a poetical and romantic flight. But how else can we express the deep emotions of life other than in poetry. Isn’t love to ineffable to be grasped by the cold calculating heads of intellect?
Read more.
article via newsone.com
WASHINGTON — President Obama‘s executive order to raise the minimum wage for workers under future federal contracts includes a key provision to address concerns raised by advocates for disabled workers, according to the White House.
The president, who is set to sign the order at a ceremony in the White House East Room on Wednesday afternoon, announced his plan to take unilateral action at last month’s State of the Union Address and hike the minimum wage for low-wage workers to $10.10 from the current rate of $7.25.
Almost immediately after announcing his plan, advocates for the physically and intellectually disabled began pressing the White House to include the group among those getting raises. Under a government program that dates back to 1938, employers could pay certain disabled workers subminimum wages — sometimes for a fraction of the prevailing minimum wage.
But with Obama’s executive order, that practice will be discontinued with disabled workers laboring under federal contracts in the future. “Under current law, workers whose productivity is affected because of their disabilities may be paid less than the wage paid to others doing the same job under certain specialized certificate programs.” The White House says Obama will continue to push Congress to back legislation that would gradually raise the minimum wage for all workers to $10.10 by the end of his presidency, but the effort faces stiff resistance in the GOP-controlled House.
The executive order is intended to cover people who perform janitorial, kitchen work and other low-wage services on behalf of federal contractors. The action is eventually expected to help roughly 250,000 workers, but it is unclear how many of those are disabled workers who receive subminimum wage under section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
When it comes to Africa, the perception of the continent doesn’t quite match up with reality. While many of us know the Motherland boasts a wealth of history, a diverse collection of countries, a beautiful cross-section people, and some of the world’s most valuable resources, the mainstream media rarely shows Africa in a positive light. The result? Stereotypes, misconceptions, and horror stories abound. Many Africans both here in the U.S. and abroad have rebuked the negative portrayals of the continent, and the African Student Association (ASA)group at Ithaca College is lending their voice to the chorus.
Exhausted by having to answer ignorant questions such as “Do you speak African?” or “What is Africa’s flag?” the students of the ASA at Ithaca launched an online campaign to pushback against the negativity and educate their classmates about Africa. In a series of striking images, which depict the students draped in various flags of African countries, the ASA students hope to show “the beauty” of Africa.
“What we wanted to do was embrace the individual flags of the countries of Africa,” Rita Bunatal, head of PR for the organization, told CNN. “We wanted to show the beauty and the power of the flag. We also wanted to break one of the biggest misconceptions about the continent, which is that Africa is a country.” The images include gripping taglines such as, “Africans do not all look alike,” “Africans don’t need to be saved,” “Africa is not a country” and “Africa is not a land filled with diseases.”
A move Bunatal hopes will not only attract attention, but will also help educate her peers and dispel myths about the continent. “The simplest actions can create awareness and we are hoping to do this not only campus-wide, but also world-wide.”
article by Britni Danielle via clutchmagonline.com
Exhausted by having to answer ignorant questions such as “Do you speak African?” or “What is Africa’s flag?” the students of the ASA at Ithaca launched an online campaign to pushback against the negativity and educate their classmates about Africa. In a series of striking images, which depict the students draped in various flags of African countries, the ASA students hope to show “the beauty” of Africa.
“What we wanted to do was embrace the individual flags of the countries of Africa,” Rita Bunatal, head of PR for the organization, told CNN. “We wanted to show the beauty and the power of the flag. We also wanted to break one of the biggest misconceptions about the continent, which is that Africa is a country.” The images include gripping taglines such as, “Africans do not all look alike,” “Africans don’t need to be saved,” “Africa is not a country” and “Africa is not a land filled with diseases.”
A move Bunatal hopes will not only attract attention, but will also help educate her peers and dispel myths about the continent. “The simplest actions can create awareness and we are hoping to do this not only campus-wide, but also world-wide.”
article by Britni Danielle via clutchmagonline.com
Blake Brockington, who was born a girl but identifies as a male, made history at his high school in North Carolina when he became the first transgender teen to be crowned homecoming king. According to WCNC, Brockington was nominated by students at East Meck High School and there were 13 other students in the running. In order to win the honor, Brockington had to participate in a fundraiser for Mothering Across Continents, an international non-profit working to build schools in South Sudan. Brockington raised $2,335.55 with the help from Time Out Youth, a local LGBT youth services agency.
From WCNC:
Brockington is no stranger to adversity. He says he is living with foster parents because his father is unable to accept his gender identity.
His foster parent, Donald Smith, told NBC Charlotte Brockington has the perseverance to overcome the challenges he faces. “He really is hoping that it helps those behind him going through the same challenges and struggles,” he said.
Teacher Bill Allen is the student advisor for the Gay-Straight Alliance on campus. He says East Meck is known as a school of diversity. He says Brockington’s achievement is the first step in representing what many of the students believe.
“Our young people understand we are all different. We have all races, genders and religious backgrounds. We have kids representing 30-40 languages in this school and people learn to accept each other as they are, and I think this is an example of what is going to be happening in North Carolina,” he said.
Brockington plans to attend University of North Carolina-Charlotte in the fall.
article by Yesha Callahan via clutchmagonline.com
Leonard Kwitonda’s life definitely hasn’t been a crystal stair. In 1994, his father was killed in the Rwanda genocide and he was left with just his mother and siblings. At 12-years-old, he traveled with the Rwanda Jr. Basketball Team, but while traveling in California. with the team, his uncle was killed and his family fled to Uganda. He was told to stay in the U.S because of safety issues.
When he was just 15-years-old, not able to speak English, he took a two day ride to Kentucky from California. He’s already lived with two foster families, but that hasn’t deterred him. Leonard excels not only academically, but is also a star athlete on the basketball team and soccer team. This year, he will graduate with honors.
Leornard says, “I think I’ve come a long way. I don’t like to think of myself as a person who has a lot of issues. There is a lot of people who have more than myself, than I have.” Jeffersonville Coach Matt Pait says Leonard’s story is inspirational, a teen who has overcome so many obstacles and adversity and is still successful. Pait says, “He brings a lot of energy, he’s always smiling. Immediately when he’s in the game, it’s constant energy and effort. He’s the kid who gives 100 percent at everything he does.”
Audrey Baines, his current foster mother couldn’t be more proud of Leonard. “Leonard, if you meet him once or you meet him a million times, he’s always going to have a smile on his face, something positive to say. He’s as much a part of Jeff. as anybody who has been here forever and he’s so much a part of my family, I can’t imagine not having him in my life.”
Leonard is planning to go to college and study international business. To see video of this inspirational teen, click here.
article via clutchmagonline.com
On Sunday night, Michael Sam made history. The college football standout and likely top NFL draft pick publicly acknowledged that he is gay, which would make him the first athlete in a major American professional team sport to announce he is gay at the very beginning of his career. Sam’s announcement is already one of the biggest sports stories ever, but the timing of his announcement could make it one of the biggest cultural stories ever as well.
Some of you may be scratching your heads right now trying to figure out why this story matters in an age in which the president of the United States is on the record supporting same-sex marriage, and NBA player Jason Collins came out as gay last year. But Sam’s story will likely have a far more significant impact than either of these milestones. Here’s why:
President Obama certainly has a measure of influence, particularly among black audiences. When he first ran for president, data showed an “Obama effect” among black test-takers whose scores markedly improved when he won. But influencing test scores in a condensed time frame is very different from having a long-term impact on community behavior. For instance, so far there is no data to suggest that the image of the president’s nuclear family, comprised of two married parents raising their children and two dogs together, has significantly altered the landscape within the black community, in which single parenthood has become the norm. That is simply to say that altering social behavior in a meaningful way is a tall order for any one man, but it may be particularly tough for a president.