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Posts tagged as “San Antonio”

San Antonio Elects Ivy Taylor Its 1st Black Mayor

San Antonio Mayor Ivy Taylor (Photo via hellobeautiful.com) Ivy Taylor.

Today, Ivy Taylor began her first official day as the elected mayor of San Antonio, Texas. Taylor is the first African-American to fulfill the role.
This development comes almost a year after Taylor was selected to serve as the interim mayor of the city to finish the term of the previous mayor, Julian Castro. Castro stepped down from his position as mayor of San Antonio when the White House nominated him as the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
Taylor won in the race against her opponent, former state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, with 52 percent of the vote. Taylor was born and bred in Queens, NY. She got her start in city planning, then made her way to city council.  Taylor got her undergraduate degree from Yale University and her master’s from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
article by Monique John via hellobeautiful.com

Black Lawyers to Challenge Police Brutality in 25 Cities

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.

BlackLawyerPamela
National Bar Association President Pamela J. Meanes

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.

Ricky Williams Lands a College Football Coaching Job

Bob Donnan, USA TODAY Sports
(Photo Credit: Bob Donnan, USA TODAY Sports)

Former Pro Bowler and Heisman Trophy winner Ricky Williams has landed a college coaching job at the University of the Incarnate Word. He will work with the running backs at UIW, which is located in San Antonio.  UIW Football is a Division I program that will compete in the Southland Conference this year.  Williams retired from the Baltimore Ravens last year, after an 11-year career that was marked by extreme highs and lows.
In 2002, Williams was the league’s leading rusher and was named Pro Bowl MVP, and many considered him the best running back in the game. This success was quickly derailed, however, after a suspension and  an early retirement in 2004, a retirement that Williams later admitted in a 60 Minutes interview came about as a result of several violations of the NFL’s substance abuse policy.
Williams will continue to live in Austin but will commute to UIW to work with the running backs in the fall.
article by Nate Scott via usatoday.com

Three Black Former Workers Win $200,000 From AA Foundries Inc. In Racial Harassment Judgment

A San Antonio company has been ordered to pay $200,000 to three black ex-workers who say they were racially harassed by derogatory comments and a noose at the office.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Thursday announced a federal jury’s punitive damages against AA Foundries Inc. The company makes components for water wells.
The EEOC says a company superintendent called adult African-American males “boys.” A noose was found at the workplace after several employees filed harassment charges. Authorities say the superintendent said the noose was “no big deal” and the workers were “too sensitive.”  The three men later left the company. The EEOC sued last year.
AA Foundries lawyer Stephen White says the company will appeal.