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Macy’s Settles Racial Profiling Probe With New York State for $650,000

By goodblacknews on August 22, 2014
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(SCOTT OLSON/GETTY IMAGES)

Macy’s is coughing up $650,000 to settle accusations of racial profiling against its store in New York City’s Herald Square, the Associated Press reports.

The retail giant signed on to an agreement on Tuesday with the attorney general of New York. Macy’s agrees to adopt new policies against profiling, train its employees, treat customer complaints seriously and better record any detentions made, the newswire reports.
Macy’s is also required to post a “customer’s bill of rights” in English and Spanish in all of its stores in the state as well as on its website.
“It is absolutely unacceptable—and it’s illegal—for anyone in New York to be treated like a criminal simply because of the color of their skin,” New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said in light of the settlement.
According to AP, the investigation into the store’s treatments of its customers of color began in February 2013, following several complaints from black and Latino customers, among others. Some of the complaints dated back as far as 2007, detailing customers’ claims they were detained at the stores even though they had not stolen or tried to steal anything.
Some customers who were not fluent in English were not allowed to make phone calls, were denied an interpreter and were made to sign trespass notices that they did not understand, AP notes.
“To be clear, our company’s policies strictly prohibit any form of discrimination or racial profiling, and any occurrence of such behavior will not be tolerated in our organization,” Macy’s reiterated in its own statement. “Moving forward, our company will be initiating a series of measures including enhanced training and education for our loss prevention and sales associates. We also will be adopting an expanded role for our security monitor to help ensure that we have the right policies and procedures in place, and that we are constantly reviewing our compliance with them.”
This news comes shortly after luxury retailer Barneys New York agreed to a settlement, this time for $525,000, to deal with its own accusations of racial profiling.
Read more at ABC News.
article by Breanna Edwards via theroot.com

Center for Disease Control Reports Black Teen Birth Rate at an All-Time Low

By goodblacknews on August 22, 2014


New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention dismantles some long held myths about teen sexuality. The birthrate for teens in the United States hit an all-time low in 2013.
The government agency reports 277,749 babies were born in 2013 to mothers who were under the age of 20. That is the lowest number recorded since the CDC began collecting birthrate data in 1940.  Between 1991 and 2012, the rate for Non-hispanic Black teens saw the largest decline of 63%, and birthrates were down in all 50 states.
According to the CDC, this is the result of “a number of behavioral changes, including decreased sexual activity, increases in the use of contraception at first sex and at most recent sex, and the adoption and increased use of hormonal contraception, injectables, and intrauterine devices.”
 

Among Black teenagers, birth rates fell less than 20% from 2007 to 2012 in the District of Columbia and Michigan, while rates in 13 states fell at least 35%.
In 2012, non-Hispanic black and Hispanic teen birth rates were still more than two times higher than the rate for non-Hispanic white teens, but despite widely held beliefs about black women’s reproduction, Black teens do not, in fact, have the highest birth rate in the country. So the next time anyone tries to point the finger at Black women celebrities for encouraging teen sex, like Bill O’Reilly did in April, their handwringing can be easily refuted with CDC data.
Photo Credit: Shutterstock, CDC
Source: CDC
article via forharriet.com

Parents of Michael Brown to Attend Eric Garner Rally

By goodblacknews on August 22, 2014
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Michael Brown Sr. and Lesley McSpadden, the parents of slain teenager Michael Brown, attend a rally at Greater Grace Church in Ferguson, Mo., on Aug. 17, 2014.  (SCOTT OLSON/GETTY IMAGES) 
The parents of Michael Brown will be attending the rally for Eric Garner in Staten Island, N.Y., this Saturday.
According to the Huffington Post, Brown’s father, Michael Brown Sr., and mother, Lesley McSpadden, will attend the rally, which is expected to draw more than 15,000 people.
Attendees will march from the location of Garner’s death to the Staten Island district attorney’s office.  Supporters of the march hope that it will “symbolically link” the deaths of Brown and Garner and energize the advocacy against police brutality.
Brown’s parents were not sure of their attendance at first because they had not yet set a date for Brown’s funeral. Their legal representation, Benjamin Crump, announced Wednesday that Brown’s funeral will be held Monday.
Read more at the Huffington Post.
article by Diamond Sharp via theroot.com

Officer Who Pointed Rifle at Ferguson Protester Suspended Indefinitely

By goodblacknews on August 20, 2014
A police officer who pointed his assault rifle at a demonstrator in Ferguson, Missouri, has been suspended indefinitely, authorities said Wednesday.
The unidentified officer from the St. Ann Police Department pointed his weapon after he became involved in an argument Tuesday night with the protester, according to Officer Brian Schellman, a spokesman for the St. Louis County Police Department.
Schellman said a supervising officer intervened, ordered the officer to lower his weapon and took him away from the area.
“The unified command strongly feel these actions are inappropriate, and not indicative of the officers who have worked daily, to keep the peace,” according to a statement from the County Police department.

Calls to St. Ann police officials seeking comment were not immediately returned.
article by James Queally via latimes.com

Michael Brown Scholarship Fund Will Honor Late Teen's Legacy, Help Siblings Attend College

By goodblacknews on August 20, 2014

Protestors autograph a sketch of Michael Brown during a protest, Monday, Aug. 18, 2014, in Atlanta. Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in downtown Atlanta to protest the shooting death of Brown, an unarmed man who was fatally shot by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. (AP Photo/David Goldman) | ASSOCIATED PRESS
Protestors autograph a sketch of Michael Brown during a protest, Monday, Aug. 18, 2014, in Atlanta. Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in downtown Atlanta to protest the shooting death of Brown, an unarmed man who was fatally shot by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. (AP Photo/David Goldman) | ASSOCIATED PRESS

One organization is working to not only honor the achievements and legacy of the late Michael Brown, but to also help his younger siblings achieve what he didn’t have the chance to.
Brown, the unarmed black teen who was shot and killed by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, earlier this month, was a recent high school graduate. He was scheduled to start classes at Vatterott College on Aug. 11, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, but was killed two days prior. The Wisconsin Hope Lab — a program that researches ways to minimize barriers for students of all backgrounds to attain a post-secondary education — is working in conjunction with the Boys and Girls Club of Dane County to create the “Mike Brown College Scholarship,” which will help Brown’s three siblings attend college.
“Mike’s mom deserves to see her other children cross the finish line and receive their diplomas — I want to support her doing that,” Sara Goldrick-Rab, Wisconsin Hope Lab director, told WISC-TV.
Though one university president, who has chosen to remain anonymous, has offered a debt-free education at his institution for Brown’s siblings, the scholarship fund, which has been raising money through a crowd funded campaign, will offer support for Brown’s two sisters and brother, regardless of where they choose to pursue their higher education.
While the fund will provide the late teen’s family with financial support, the founders of the scholarship say they also aim to honor and remember Brown, a young man who family and friends say was excited to start his new life as a college student.
“He looked forward to it so much. You didn’t have to tell him, ‘Make sure you get to school.’ He was ready,” Lesley McSpadden, Brown’s mom, told CNN.
The fund was created five days ago, and, as of Wednesday afternoon, donors have raised almost half of the fund’s goal of $50,000.
To donate to the scholarship fund or to learn more about it, visit the GoFundMe page here.
article by Kimberly Yam via huffingtonpost.com

All-Black Team from Chicago Heads To Little League World Series

By goodblacknews on August 20, 2014
The Jackie Robinson West Little League Team. (Facebook/Little League Central Region)
The Jackie Robinson West Little League Team. (Facebook/Little League Central Region)

According to thegrio.com, an all-black little league team from Chicago has been invited to represent the Great Lakes region in the Little League World Series.
The Jackie Robinson West League, founded in 1971, and named after the iconic ball player, has helped to keep baseball accessible to underprivileged kids. The Jackie Robinson West All-Stars bring much-needed good vibes and a great deal of hope to the people of Chicago.  Even Mayor Emanuel noticed, saying, “The Jackie Robinson West All-Stars have excited an entire city with their dedication and athleticism, and everyone should have the chance to see a Chicago team play in the Little League World Series for the first time since 1983.”
“This is stuff of legends,” said renowned Cincinnati Reds player Barry Larkin on ESPN. Major League Baseball’s David James, a senior director of the Reviving Baseball In Inner Cities (RBI) program, knows all about the team’s story, and it delights him to see them return to the biggest stage in Little League. “All of us at MLB are talking about that team,” said James, a native of Williamsport and a former head of the Little League Urban Initiative. “It’s really good for the game.”
This year’s Jackie Robinson West team has come to the attention of Curtis Granderson, a Mets right fielder, who knows all about the hardship that the boys on this team face every single day, having grown up in Chicago’s south suburbs. Granderson began playing baseball in the Lynwood Little League.
“The cool thing is the way people talk about it,” Granderson reflected. “Like, ‘Wow, there is an all-black team out there; I didn’t know there was an all-black team playing.’ The fact that people don’t realize that there is a black team means that people are under the assumption that black kids aren’t playing baseball. Hopefully, this could be something that sheds light both in the African-American community and the non-African-American community.”
While diversity is often talked about and praised in baseball, the game’s costs have not stopped increasing and as a result have been beyond the wallets of a large and growing number of future players after Little League. The expense of playing, since teams who travel have become standard even prior to reaching high school, might extend to thousands of dollars each year. That is why there are programs to help inner-city areas maintain a team.
article edited by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (follow @lakinhutcherson)

Exonerated Man Jabbar Collins Reaches $10 Million Deal With New York City

By goodblacknews on August 20, 2014
Jabbar Collins, shown at his lawyer’s office in Midtown Manhattan on Tuesday. (RUTH FREMSON / THE NEW YORK TIMES)

After three years of litigation, Jabbar Collins, a man who spent 16 years in prison for a murder he did not commit, has reached a $10 million settlement with New York City.

Mr. Collins had been convicted of the 1994 killing of an Orthodox rabbi. He was released from prison in 2010, when a federal judge vacated his conviction and criticized the district attorney’s office for its handling of Mr. Collins’s trial.
The case is notable because it exposed questionable policies under the former Brooklyn district attorney, Charles J. Hynes. Along the way, Mr. Collins’s lawyer, Joel B. Rudin, deposed Mr. Hynes and his top assistants, providing a rare look at how a powerful district attorney ran his office.
Mr. Rudin accused the office of detaining reluctant witnesses in hotel rooms until they agreed to testify, and of advising its lawyers not to take notes when prosecution witnesses gave inconsistent statements to avoid potentially exculpatory evidence. The city’s lawyers have challenged these claims.
The settlement is also notable for its size: Mr. Collins will receive a little more than $600,000 per year served, about a third less than the five men exonerated in the Central Park jogger case, who settled with the city this summer for about $1 million for each year in prison.  The lawsuit was scheduled to go to trial in October.

EDITORIAL: Ferguson, Michael Brown and the Renewed Mission of Good Black News

By goodblacknews on August 20, 2014

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Carissa McGraw and other protesters raised their hands and turned their backs to law enforcement officials after a vigil for Michael Brown (Whitney Curtis/New York Times)

As everyone knows, the shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and the unrest, protests and investigations that continue to unfold in the wake of this tragedy are mightily affecting (and hopefully redefining) the national conversation on racism, abuses of power and overbearing, militarized police action against citizens.
As the editor of a website dedicated solely to providing and promoting Good Black News, it has been admittedly hard in the past week to bring myself to post what were starting to seem like frivolous accomplishments and events in the wake of a soul-stirring grass roots movement against tyranny and injustice.  This unrest in particular feels like it has the makings of a sea change from the status quo into a new era of human rights, where systemic and commonplace brutality is voted down and rooted out of any and all policing bodies that are meant to Protect and Serve, not Terrify and Dehumanize.
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Michael Brown Sr., second from left, the Rev. Al Sharpton, center, and Lesley McSpadden, mother of Michael Brown, at a news conference at the Old Courthouse in St. Louis. (Whitney Curtis / New York Times)

But, even though the eventual outcome could lead to something positive, how can any of what is happening day-to-day (tear gassing, unprovoked arrests, pockets of protester violence, autopsy results) qualify as Good Black News?  But not posting anything about Ferguson did not feel right, either.  Thus, aside from a few tweets, GBN has been silent for days.
Upon serious thought and reflection, I’ve come to believe that publishing Good Black News is more important and necessary than ever.  The achievements of people of color are still woefully under-publicized and reported, and the only way to change minds or inspire pride in those who internalize the “less than” narrative, is to keep putting as much GBN out there as possible.
Thus, going forward, in addition to our regular mix of GBN, we will also post items, tweets, stories and pictures that cover the Ferguson story — the GBN philosophy will still be in place and nothing will be incendiary or negative — in fact, non-violent protest, speaking out, photos, tweets and the like that continue to highlight the injustices still prevalent in this country ARE, in my opinion, Good Black News.  Granted, nothing will bring back Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, Jordan Davis, Oscar Grant or countless others who have suffered the same unjust fate, but positive, insistent protests and actions do have the power to prevent the next young man or woman of color from being victimized, and that we uncategorically and unreservedly support.
Onward and upward —
Lori Lakin Hutcherson, GBN Founder and Editor-In-Chief

Pentagon Reverses Course: Black Soldiers won't be Punished for Popular Hairstyles

By goodblacknews on August 16, 2014

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Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel released a statement that “conservative” hairstyles popular among black female soldiers will be acceptable according to military grooming standards, Army Times reports.
Last March, the Department of Defense issued new regulations that many African-American servicemen and women claimed were racially biased, especially against black women, who would be forced to use heat or chemical straighteners to achieve an acceptable hairstyle. A number of black women wrote to the Congressional Black Caucus urging them to put pressure on the Department of Defense to change the regulations — and three months later, that is what Chuck Hagel has done.
In a letter to the Congressional Black Caucus notifying them of the changes, Hagel wrote that “[e]ach service reviewed its hairstyle policies to ensure standards are fair and respectful while also meeting military requirements. These reviews were informed by a panel of military personnel of mixed demographics reflective of our diverse force. Additionally, each Service reviewed its hairstyle policies to ensure standards are fair and respectful while also meeting our military requirements.”
The review concluded that the terms “matted and unkempt” when used in reference to African-American hair were “offensive” and eliminated them from the guidelines. The Air Force also determined that the word “dreadlocks” was offensive, and changed the prohibited hairstyle to “locs” in official grooming literature.
Congressional Black Caucus chair Representative Marcia Fudge (D-OH) responded to Hagel’s decision to expand the range of acceptable hairstyles for black female soldiers by saying that “[t]hese changes recognize that traditional hairstyles worn by women of color are often necessary to meet our unique needs, and acknowledges that these hairstyles do not result in or reflect less professionalism or commitment to the high standards required to serve within our Armed Forces.”
“Secretary Hagel and the Department of Defense not only show they are responsive to the individuals who serve within our military, but that he and his leadership respect them as well,” she continued. “The Congressional Black Caucus commends Secretary Hagel for his leadership in addressing this issue.”
article by Scott Kaufman via rawstory.com

Barneys Agrees to Pay $525,000 to Settle Racial Profiling Allegations after Civil Rights Review

By goodblacknews on August 12, 2014

NYC PAPERS OUT. Social media use restricted to low res file max 184 x 128 pixels and 72 dpi
(Photo Credit: CHRISTIE M FARRIELLA/FOR NEW YORK DAILY NEWS)

Barneys New York has agreed to pay $525,000 to settle allegations that the upscale retailer deliberately targeted minorities entering its Madison Ave. flagship store.
State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s investigators heard from customers and former employees that a pattern of racial profiling began last year when the high-end store tried to crack down on a dramatic spike in shoplifting and credit card fraud.
Complainants told Schneiderman’s civil rights division that the store’s security team — known as the “loss prevention unit” — made a habit of keeping watch over black and Hispanic shoppers in disproportionate numbers.
“This agreement will correct a number of wrongs,” said Schneiderman, “both by fixing past policies and by monitoring the actions of Barneys and its employees to make sure that past mistakes are not repeated.”


Trayon Christian, 19, says he was accused of fraud after buying a $349 Ferragano belt at Barneys in April 2013.
Trayon Christian, 19, says he was accused of fraud after buying a $349 Ferragano belt at Barneys in April 2013. (Aaron Showalter/New York Daily News)

Kayla Phillips, 21, was accused  of credit card fraud after buying a $2,500 Celine bag February 2013.
Kayla Phillips, 21, was accused  of credit card fraud after buying a $2,500 Celine bag February 2013.

In a 27-page settlement document signed by both parties Friday, Schneiderman released a series of findings from a nine-month review based on interviews with nearly a dozen complainants in the so-called shop-and-frisk case, including shoppers and former employees.
They alleged that black and Hispanic customers were unfairly targeted when they entered the pricey store at 660 Madison Ave.
The store’s own data showed that from October 2012 through October 2013, black and Hispanic shoppers were detained “at rates far greater than their percentage of the store’s customer base.”
The review began this past October in response to a series of Daily News articles exposing numerous complaints about racial profiling at Barneys and Macy’s.
Schneiderman’s review of Macy’s continues, but Barneys executives last week agreed to the settlement.
As part of the deal, Barneys agreed to pay the $525,000 in fines and legal expenses, to hire an “anti-profiling consultant” for two years, to update its detention policy and to improve training of security and sales personnel.
article by Greg A. Smith via nydailynews.com