This morning the MacArthur Foundation named the recipients of the 2014 MacArthur Fellowship, commonly referred to as the “genius grants.” The class includes four visionary members of the African-American community whose work, discoveries, and ideas are advancing their fields and our understanding of our world. The MacArthur Fellowship is a “no strings attached” award that comes with a stipend of $625,000, paid out in equal quarterly installments over five years. This year’s fellows are:
Jennifer Eberhardt, a social psychologist investigating the subtle, unconscious ways people racially code and categorize others, with a particular focus on how race and visual perceptions of people affect policing and criminal sentencing.
Rick Lowe, a public artist using art to reimagine and revitalize struggling communities. His program has transformed derelict properties in Houston’s predominantly African American Third Ward into a visionary arts venue and community center. He has since begun similar work in other cities, including current projects in Dallas and Philadelphia.
Steve Coleman, a jazz composer and saxophonist infusing traditional jazz with an eclectic range of other musical styles, including music from West Africa, South India, Brazil, and Cuba.
Terrance Hayes, a poet crafting musical, almost improvisational verse that delves into issues of race, gender, current events, and family. He often uses humorous wordplay and references to pop culture, including poems that speak in the voices of David Bowie, Jorge Luis Borges, and Strom Thurmond.
To see the list of 2013 African American MacArthur Fellows, click here.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (follow @lakinhutcherson)
Posts published in “U.S.”
WASHINGTON (NNPA) – In an effort to combat police brutality in the Black community, the National Bar Association (NBA) recently announced plans to file open records requests in 25 cities to study allegations of police misconduct.
Pamela Meanes, president of the Black lawyers and judges group, said the NBA had already been making plans for a nationwide campaign to fight police brutality when Michael Brown, an unarmed Black teenager was shot and killed by Darren Wilson, a White police officer following a controversial midday confrontation in a Ferguson, Mo.
Meanes called police brutality the new civil rights issue of this era, an issue that disproportionately impacts the Black community.
“If we don’t see this issue and if we don’t at the National Bar Association do the legal things that are necessary to bring this issue to the forefront, then we are not carrying out our mission, which is to protect the civil and political entities of all,” said Meanes.
The NBA, which describes itself as “the nation’s oldest and largest national network of predominantly African-American attorneys and judges,” selected the 25 cities based on their African-American populations and reported incidents of police brutality.
The lawyers group will file open records requests in Birmingham, Ala.; Little Rock, Ark.; Phoenix; Los Angeles; San Jose, Calif., Washington, D.C.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Miami; Atlanta; Chicago; Louisville, Ky.; Baltimore, Md.; Detroit; Mich.; Kansas City, Mo.; St. Louis, Mo.; Charlotte, N.C.; Las Vegas, Nev.; New York City; Cleveland, Ohio; Memphis, Tenn., Philadelphia; Dallas; Houston; San Antonio, Texas, and Milwaukee, Wis.
In a press release about the open records requests, the group said it will not only seek information about “the number of individuals who have been killed, racially profiled, wrongfully arrested and/or injured while pursued or in police custody, but also comprehensive data from crime scenes, including “video and photographic evidence related to any alleged and/or proven misconduct by current or former employees,” as well as background information on officers involved in the incidents.
Not only will the NBA present their findings to the public, but the group also plans to compile its research and forward the data over to the attorney general’s office.
Meanes said the group’s ultimate goal is to have a conversation with Attorney General Eric Holder and to ask, and in some cases, demand he seize police departments or take over or run concurrent investigations.
Meanes said federal law prohibits the Justice Department from going into a police department unless a pattern or history of abuse has been identified.
“The problem is that the information needed for that action is not readily available in a comprehensive way on a consistent basis with the goal of eradicating that abuse,” said Meanes, adding that the open records request is the best way to get that information.
Meanes said that the NBA was concerned that the trust had already brrn broken between the police force and the residents of Ferguson and that the rebellion and the protests would continue.
“We don’t think St. Louis County should investigate this. We don’t think the prosecutor should investigate this. There should be an independent third-party investigating this and that is the federal government,” said Meanes.
Phillip Agnew, executive director of the Dream Defenders, a civil rights group established by young people of color in the aftermath of the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed Black teenager in Sanford, Fla., said law enforcement officials taunted, antagonized and disrespected peaceful protesters who took to the streets of Ferguson and at times incited the violence they attempted to stamp out in the wake of the shooting death of Michael Brown.
“An occupying force came into the community, they killed someone from the community, and instead of being transparent and doing everything they could do to make sure the community felt whole again, they brought in more police to suppress folks who were exercising their constitutional rights,” said Agnew.“If your protocol results in greater violence, greater anger, and greater disenchantment of the people, you have to chart a different course.”
On the heels of the NBA announcement, Attorney General Holder launched two initiatives designed to calm anxiety and frustration expressed by Ferguson’s Black residents towards the local police department over allegations of misconduct, harassment and discrimination.
The Justice Department also introduced a “Collaborative Reform Initiative” to tackle similar concerns with the St. Louis County Police Department and to improve the relationship between police officers and the communities they serve.
WASHINGTON — A day after committing the nation to a new mission against Islamist terrorism, President Barack Obama honored the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, 13 years after four hijacked planes plunged the United States into a decade of war against distant enemies.
Speaking before a giant American flag draped over the part of the Pentagon wall where one of those planes crashed, Mr. Obama said, “Thirteen years after small and hateful minds conspired to break us, American stands tall, and America stands proud.”
He hailed the “9/11 generation” of soldiers who served in the years after the 2001 attacks, and noted that “three months from now, our combat mission in Afghanistan will come to an end.”
For Mr. Obama, the Sept. 11 anniversary lent historic and emotional resonance to his announcement Wednesday night of a new mission against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. But it also carries a somewhat dissonant message: The president has labored to distinguish the expanded fight against ISIS from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The president on Thursday made no mention of ISIS, speaking only of challenges facing the country. But his description of a nation coping with the threat of terrorism seemed entirely relevant to what is happening now. “We carry on because as Americans, we don’t give in to fear — ever,” he said.
In some ways, this anniversary was no different than its 12 predecessors. It was filled with familiar rituals – a moment of silence, the playing of taps by an Army bugler, the assembled families of the victims, many now with children who have grown into adulthood.
Earlier on Thursday, Mr. Obama and the first lady, Michelle Obama, along with Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and his wife, Jill, took part in a solemn ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House at 8:46 a.m., when the first plane struck the World Trade Center.
Later in the day, as they do every year, Mr. and Mrs. Obama will take part in a volunteer project. The president will otherwise remain at the White House, having lunch with Mr. Biden and meeting in the afternoon with his new secretary of Health and Human Services, Sylvia Mathews Burwell.
But Mr. Obama is also certain to be immersed in the details of the military campaign against ISIS that he outlined Wednesday night in his speech to the nation. His warning about the challenges to come still hung in the air, even as he marked the anniversary of battles past.
Americans born after Sept. 11, 2001, are now teenagers, Mr. Obama noted, and he said this post-9/11 generation gave him hope that the United States would remain resilient in the face of terrorist threats.
“Generations from now, Americans will fill our parks, our stadiums, our cities,” he said. “Generations from now, Americans will still build towers that reach toward the heavens, still serve in embassies that stand for freedom around the world, still wear the uniform
“Generations from now, no matter the trial, no matter the challenge,” he said, “America will always be America.”
article by Mark Landler via nytimes.com
ATLANTA (AP) — Less than one month after the Clippers’ sale ended Donald Sterling’s ugly downfall, another NBA team is on the market following a racially charged disclosure from its owner.
Atlanta Hawks co-owner Bruce Levenson said Sunday he is selling his controlling interest in the team, thanks in part to an inflammatory email he wrote two years ago.
Levenson said he wrote the email in an attempt “to bridge Atlanta’s racial sports divide.” Instead, he offered his divisive comments, including his theory that Hawks black fans kept white fans away.
Levenson said he regrets the email sent to the team’s co-owners and general manager Danny Ferry in 2012 as “inappropriate and offensive.” In a statement released by the team, Levenson said he sent the email due to his concerns about low attendance and a need to attract suburban whites.
He says he later realized the email made it seem white fans were more important. He voluntarily reported the email to the NBA.
“I have said repeatedly that the NBA should have zero tolerance for racism, and I strongly believe that to be true,” Levenson said in the statement. “That is why I voluntarily reported my inappropriate email to the NBA.
“After much long and difficult contemplation, I have decided that it is in the best interests of the team, the Atlanta community, and the NBA to sell my controlling interest in the Hawks franchise.”
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said Sunday the league will work with the Hawks’ ownership group and CEO Steve Koonin, who now will oversee all team operations.
Silver said the league’s independent investigation “regarding the circumstances of Mr. Levenson’s comments” in the email was ongoing when he was told Saturday night of Levenson’s plan to sell his share of the team.
Silver said he supported Levenson’s decision.
“As Mr. Levenson acknowledged, the views he expressed are entirely unacceptable and are in stark contrast to the core principles of the National Basketball Association,” Silver said. “He shared with me how truly remorseful he is for using those hurtful words and how apologetic he is to the entire NBA family — fans, players, team employees, business partners and fellow team owners — for having diverted attention away from our game.
“I commend Mr. Levenson for self-reporting to the league office, for being fully cooperative with the league and its independent investigator, and for putting the best interests of the Hawks, the Atlanta community, and the NBA first.”
Sterling was forced to sell the Los Angeles Clippers after a recording surfaced in April of the owner scolding his girlfriend for bringing black men to Clippers games. Steve Ballmer officially became the team’s new owner on Aug. 12.
They did the cool thing, the classy thing, by bringing Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert out to embellish, or even to authenticate, the occasion of Serena Williams joining their 18 Grand Slam singles victory club Sunday evening after Williams toyed with Caroline Wozniacki in the United States Open final.
The request was made Saturday, Navratilova would say, after standing with Evert in a corner of the court at Arthur Ashe Stadium, waiting for Mary Carillo to cue them to the presentation of the championship trophy and a shiny bracelet.
Once upon an era, the career-long rivals Navratilova and Evert shared bagels in the locker room before fittingly finishing their careers with the same number of slams. Now it was their turn to hug and welcome into the fold a woman they — and Carillo, the former player and esteemed tennis commentator — didn’t always shower with praise, didn’t always think gave the game the respect it deserved.
It may have taken them longer than usual, but Nike knows a good thing when it sees it regarding Kevin Durant.
According to reports, the shoemaker put an end to speculation of the NBA star jumping ship to Under Armour by presenting a deal with an overall value that could rise to $300 million or more if his business continues to rise.
Under Armor’s deal with Durant, which he was on the verge of signing, involved an offer between $265 million and $285 million. Considering a possible transition to the Washington Wizards when he becomes a free agent after the 2015-16 season, Oklahoma City Thunder fans were a bit on edge about the move to Under Armour.
Sources tell ESPN that Nike countered it’s rival’s deal with its high-value offer to Durant and the belief that it will keep the Oklahoma City Thunder star for the next 10 years. Durant’s current seven-year deal with Nike for a guaranteed $60 million is expiring. Initially, the company, offered Durant about $20 million a year in a deal that was far from what he had in mind. Hence, the appeal of Under Armor.
ESPN reports that Nike officials told Durant and his team at Jay Z‘s Roc Nation Sports on Saturday that it would step up enough to allow Nike to keep him in its robust stable of basketball endorsers that includes LeBron James and Kobe Bryant. Although the exact Nike offer for Durant isn’t known, sources revealed to ESPN that Durant should make more — in base and royalties — than the Thunder will pay him over the next two seasons ($41.2 million).
Despite the big payday, sources close to Durant say the decision of which company he would align with weighed on him. A return to Nike, the sources noted, comes with a sense of relief because Durant can still make significant money without being associated with the risks of Under Armour’s fledgling shoe business.
SportsOneSource, a market retail-tracking firm, noted that Durant’s signature “KD” shoes made $175 million at retail this past year. Although Nike had used the “KD” logo since 2008, the company was granted the trademark for the brand in January.
With Durant staying with Nike, Under Armour now finds itself back at square one. The shoe company, which acquired Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry away from Nike last year, missed out on Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin, who returned to the Jordan brand.
Read more at http://www.eurweb.com/2014/09/nike-megadeal-secures-kevin-durants-place-with-shoe-brand/#QiAm4yXxrVsROQP9.99
Michael Sam, who made international headlines last spring as the first openly gay athlete to be drafted to an NFL team, has been signed to the Dallas Cowboys practice squad, having passed his physical exam, team officials said today.
Sam, 23, who was signed to the St. Louis Rams as a seventh-round draft pick, but got cut from that team over the weekend, came out to the public at the end of his NCAA season at Mizzou earlier this year.
After being cut by the Rams, no NFL team stepped forward to pick the defensive lineman up–until yesterday. Sam flew to Dallas on a moment’s notice last night, for today’s physical, and Sam will wear jersey #46 for the team this season.
“Michael Sam is just too good–he was the [SEC Defensive player of the Year] at Mizzou, there’s just no way he can’t play at the NFL level,” said Super Bowl winning, former Baltimore Ravens QB Brandon Ayanbadejo, a longtime advocate of LGBT rights.
After coming out, Sam’s draft ranking plunged, leading many observers to wonder if the NFL was really ready for an openly gay player. “the fact that no team took the opportunity to sign Sam after the Rams cut him, speaks volumes,” OutSports editor Cyd Ziegler observed, but added, “The Cowboys make a great fit for him.”
Although Dallas is in the heart of a state seen by the LGBT community as among the most homophobic in the country, Cowboys officials “welcome [Sam] to our football family, as we do every other player who signs with us.”Head coach Jason Garrett said Sam would be an asset to the club. “We just want to give him a chance to come in and help our football team,” Garrett noted. “That’s where our attention is (football). What people say outside the organization is up to them.”
The Cowboys joined NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s Respect At Work program, developed with the help of Wade Davis, an out former NFL player who now heads the You Can Play project.
The program is designed to create a “safe, welcoming environment” for gay athletes. Sam’s addition to the Cowboys’ practice squad also opens up opportunities for him to make the main team, whose defensive line has performed poorly in recent years.
Sam says the Cowboys were his favorite team while he was growing up in Texas.
article by Nathan James via gbmnews.com
The Cowboys joined NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s Respect At Work program, developed with the help of Wade Davis, an out former NFL player who now heads the You Can Play project.
The program is designed to create a “safe, welcoming environment” for gay athletes. Sam’s addition to the Cowboys’ practice squad also opens up opportunities for him to make the main team, whose defensive line has performed poorly in recent years.
Sam says the Cowboys were his favorite team while he was growing up in Texas.
article by Nathan James via gbmnews.com
Two half-brothers wrongly incarcerated for 30 years have been released and have had their convictions overturned after fresh DNA evidence vindicated them. Henry Lee McCollum, 50, who was on death row, and Leon Brown, 46, serving life, were arrested as teenagers in 1983 for the rape and murder of 11-year-old girl Sabrina Buie.
The innocent North Caroliners, who are diagnosed with mental disabilities, were released after new evidence linked the killing to another man who lived just feet from the soybean field that the girl’s body was found in and who was around the same time imprisoned himself for raping and killing an 18-year-old woman.
As the decision was announced by Superior Court Judge Douglas B Sasser yesterday, the men’s family erupted into applause and tears.
According to the New York Times, the brothers, who were 19 [McCollum] and 15 [Brown] at the time, had no physical evidence linking them to the crime.
Geraldine Brown, sister of Leon Brown, celebrates outside a Robeson County courtroom yesterday. However, Mr McCollum was considered suspicious by some in the town after recently moving there from New Jersey, and after five hours of questioning without a lawyer present he gave a story of how he and three others had killed the girl.
“I had never been under this much pressure, with a person hollering at me and threatening me,” Mr McCollum told The News & Observer in an interview.
“I just made up a story and gave it to them so they would let me go home.”
He wasn’t allowed home, however, and was allegedly coerced into signing a confession – there is no recording of the interrogation.
During his incarceration, Mr. McCollum was held up as an example of someone who ‘deserved to die’.
In 1994, a Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia was arguing for the death penalty in an unrelated case when he referred to that of Mr McCollum’s, and said that a quiet lethal injection would be “enviable” than that inflicted on the murdered young girl, reports Huffington Post.
“Today, truth has prevailed, but it comes 30 years too late for Sabrina Buie and her family, and for Leon, Henry, and their families.
“Their sadness, grief, and loss will remain with them forever.”
Mr McCollum was North Carolina’s longest-serving death row inmate and in later years, changes were made to the justice system to prevent minors and those with mental disabilities from being given the death sentence.
According to the Guardian, the police force in Red Springs is also accused of hiding crucial bits of crime scene evidence from 1984 until last month, that had not even been revealed to the defence teams or prosecutors.
article by Natasha Culzac via independent.co.uk
Shanesha Taylor, the Phoenix mother who left her two young children alone in her car when she attended a job interview in Scottsdale, was granted custody of her children following a hearing Thursday morning in a Maricopa County courtroom. “We had an excellent hearing,” said Benjamin Taylor, Shanesha Taylor’s attorney. “The judge will return the children to Ms. Taylor.”
Child Protective Services asked Judge Bradley Astrowski that the hearing be closed to the public because juveniles were involved. Taylor said Astrowski’s ruling was an enormous relief.
“I finally breathed,” Taylor said after the 20-minute hearing. “I don’t think I breathed for three days before that.”
Taylor was barred from seeing her children after her her March 20 arrest in Scottsdale and was later granted supervised contact with her children.
Benjamin Taylor said the chances improved for Shanesha Taylor to regain custody of her children after the criminal case was resolved. “She’s been doing everything right,” Benjamin Taylor said. “She’s been doing everything the judge told her to do and she’s a veteran of the United States Air Force.”
Prosecutors last month agreed to dismiss the abuse charges against Taylor if she successfully completes a diversion program.
“I think my progress led to me getting them back,” Taylor said.
Taylor said she was allowed to pick up her children Thursday, and that she planned on seeing them as soon as possible. “I’m sure there will be ice cream involved,” Taylor said.
Police say Taylor, 35, left her children in her Dodge Durango for 45 minutes while in a Farmers Insurance office in Scottsdale. Taylor told police she was jobless, without child care that day and had occasionally been homeless.
Taylor said she is still looking for a job and hopes to work in the service industry. “I like working with people and helping them get what they need,” Taylor said.
Taylor was released from jail March 31 on $9,000 bond. Her children were examined at a hospital the day of her arrest and released as uninjured. They were later placed with family, and under the supervision of the Division of Child and Family Services.
article by Andrew Romanov via azcentral.com
Theodore Wafer, the White suburban Detroit man who shot and killed Renisha McBride last fall, was sentenced on Wednesday to serve at least 17 years in prison. Wafer apologized to the family of McBride in attendance just before his sentence was delivered and the family agreed that the decision was fair.
Wafer, 55, shot the 19-year-old McBride on November 2, 2013, through his screen door, after she knocked in the middle of the night for help with an accident. Wafer said he shot McBride out of fear and has admitted he was drinking the night before; however, his claims of self-defense was not enough to convince the jury of his innocence.
“I apologize from the bottom of my heart. I am truly sorry for your loss,” Wafer said to the family. “From my fear, I caused a loss of life who was too young to leave this world. And for that, I carry that guilt and sorrow forever.”
Third Circuit Court Judge Dana Margaret Hathaway heard an impassioned plea from Wafer’s defense attorney, who sought a lower charge of manslaughter versus the second-degree murder charge that ultimately led to his sentence. Judge Hathaway was clear to acknowledge that she didn’t find Wafer to be a murderer but his actions were far too hasty and reckless.
Wafer was also charged and found guilty of manslaughter and a weapons felony charge in August. State prosecutors suggested that Wafer serve 17 years at a minimum, including two years for the unlawful use of a firearm.
The family feels that overall, the decision was just.
“I’m very happy. I believe justice was served and I believe my sister can rest peacefully now,” said McBride’s sister to NBC News.
Hathaway sentenced Wafer to 15 to 30 years on the second-degree murder charge, seven to 15 years on his manslaughter charge conviction, and two years for his felony firearms conviction.
article by D.L. Chandler via newsone.com