August 06, 2020

By Jasmyne A. Cannick

Contributing Writer

On Tuesday, Compton Mayor Aja Brown called on state Attorney General Xavier Becerra and the U.S. Justice Department to investigate whether deputies from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Compton station have engaged in misconduct, excessive force, discriminatory policing and improper stops, searches or arrests.  

Standing in front of the Martin Luther King Jr. monument, Mayor Brown’s announcement followed allegations of a violent gang of sheriff's deputies who call themselves “The Executioners” and control the Compton station through force, threats, work slowdowns and acts of revenge against those who speak out. 

“I am calling for attorney general Xavier Becerra to stand up for the Black and Brown people of Compton,” Brown told reporters at a news conference.  “It is unacceptable for us to be terrorized in this community! We have been terrorized for decades. The magnitude is unmeasurable.  This is a public health crisis.  We are suffering from PTSD in magnitudes that are truly unmeasurable. We will not continue to accept this treatment from the sheriff’s and whatever we have to do to get justice we are going to do.” 

The mayor was joined by Compton City Attorney Damon Brown who told reporters, “Celebrating deputy shootings. Setting illegal arrest quotas. Threatening slowdowns and ignoring or responding slowly to calls.  Why some of these allegations were disturbing to me is because these are the same complaints that residents have been making.  That deputies within leadership in the sheriff’s department have openly denied as being false reports of information and now we have a deputy himself within the station making these same claims with allegations of what’s happening in the department.” 

Compton native, Jermelle Henderson, better known as local restaurateur Taco Mell, said he was recently pulled over at gunpoint by a deputy. 

“She said, ‘Oh, this what we do in Compton,’” Henderson said. “And she pulled me out and she put me in handcuffs and then that’s when I told her she was treating me like a criminal, I didn’t do anything.” 

Henderson said that once the deputy realized who he was, she told him that she would be by his restaurant to pick up a care package. 

Mayor pro tem Michelle Chambers added, “This is unacceptable. Our guests, our residents, anyone visiting our city have a right to visit or live in our city without being preyed upon and that is exactly what is happening.  It is sad that we’re still having this conversation and dialogue even within 90 days of George Floyd being murdered.” 

Chambers went on to praise Henderson for his commitment and service to the city the Compton. 

“I want to personally apologize to the Henderson family for the treatment that Mr. Henderson received by the deputies in our city.  Mr. Henderson was a resident of our city.  A great community partner. He’s been giving back to this community since this pandemic and well before with toy giveaways, Christmas giveaways, and back-to-school giveaways at no cost.  He’s been a great service leader in our community.” 

Henderson was joined by two renowned Compton coaches--Chris Francis and Derrick Cooper who also recounted their recent interactions with sheriff’s deputies. 

In a moving testimony that brought tears to the mayor’s eyes, Coach Cooper detailed for reporters how the day before Thanksgiving in 2019, he was arrested and sent to the county jail for fitting the description of a suspect. 

“They handcuffed me in front of my kids.  I told them that I would go with them wherever they wanted but please don’t handcuff me in front of my children.” 

Cooper says that he was taken downtown and put in jail before being released on Thanksgiving morning in the rain with no money, cellphone or way to get back home and that a kind bus driver gave him a courtesy ride. 

“We demand the same treatment that deputies provide to the residents of Malibu, Rancho Palos Verdes, and other affluent communities. And, according to the size of our contract with the Sheriff’s Department, we have $22 million reasons to expect it,” said Mayor Brown. 

Compton taxpayers currently pay $22 million a year to the Sheriff's Department with only Lancaster coming in higher at $24 million for a city of 94 square miles and 150,000 residents.  At 10 square miles and 100,000 residents, Compton is paying the most money per resident and geographic area. 

“The City currently contracts with Sheriff's Department for law enforcement services at a price tag in excess of $22 million but incidents like what occurred with Dalvin Price are unacceptable and we will not tolerate it,” said Compton City Attorney Damon Brown. “The taxpayers of this city will not fund our own destruction and dehumanization. We expect our tax dollars to be used for our protection and for law enforcement to work cooperatively with City leadership to improve safety and quality of life. For this relationship between the Sheriff’s and the city to continue, there must be accountability.” 

Sheriff Alex Villanueva said last week during a Facebook Live event that "there is no gang of any deputies running any station." But, he later issued a statement saying he takes the allegations seriously “and recently published a policy specifically addressing illicit groups, deputy cliques, and subgroups.” 

In 2000, led by then-Mayor Omar Bradley, the five-member city council voted 4-to-1 to disband the Compton Police Department in hopes of getting a handle on the high homicide rate that had gripped the city and kept residents indoors in fear of their lives.  At the time the $12.3-million contract with the city of Compton was the most expensive among the 41 cities patrolled by the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department. 

July 30, 2020

LAWT News Service

LA City Councilmember Curren Price today introduced a motion that would move to establish Juneteenth, the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States dating back to June 19, 1865, as a legal City holiday.

In light of recent protests that demand for racial equity and justice within the country in response to the unarmed killings of Black Americans at the hands of police like those of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and countless other Black Americans, there has been a heightened call to commemorate, celebrate and acknowledge the historical significance of Juneteenth.

During the American Civil War – a battle that centered on the legality of slavery – President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, declaring “that all persons held as slaves within the rebellious states are, and henceforward shall be free.” In the majority of the country, Blacks who were enslaved were alerted of their new found freedom shortly after it was issued.

However, this was not the case in Galveston, Texas where the message was not heard until June 19, 1865, two years following the original proclamation, when Major General Gordon Granger arrived within the city announcing that those who were enslaved were now free.

“For myself and the nearly half a million Black Angelenos that call this City home, we understand its significance, we recognize the value and the cultural impact Juneteenth has on our culture,” Councilman Price said. “This is a moment to honor our ancestors who were subjected to harsh and inhumane treatment as they were forced to perform back breaking labor, deprived of an education, and were subjected to countless acts of violence against them. For many of us today, we are still bound by chains in the form of political, educational, health, social and economic disparities. This is a teaching moment, one to raise awareness and share our values and traditions with the world.”

While Juneteenth is widely known within the Black community in the American South, nationally it is not recognized. The motion that Price introduced on July 29 instructs the Chief Legislative Analyst, with assistance of the City Administrative Officer and the Civil and Human Rights Commission, to report on the historical importance and cultural impact of Juneteenth, and provide options for establishing Juneteenth as a legal holiday in LA.

August 06, 2020

By Stacy M. Brown

NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

Presumptive Democratic Presidential Nominee Joe Biden is ramping up his campaign with a record-setting $280 million advertising buy.

During a telephone call on Wednesday, August 5, with the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), Biden campaign officials said they will spend $280 million for television ads, print and digital advertising, as well as for social media in the run-up to the General Election on November 3, 2020.

The Biden Campaign will also spend on ad buys with African American-owned media, including the NNPA, TV One and others. Campaign officials said they will continue to add other media outlets targeting African Americans as the campaign moves forward.

“We are not taking any chances; the Black vote is very important,” a campaign spokesperson said. “We will engage at a much higher level with NNPA and other outlets than we did for the primary. We are trying to reach all Black American voters, and we must reach all of the outlets.”

The campaign has hired Truxton Creative, owned by Terrance Green, an African American media strategist and creative director who was a key contributor in President Barack Obama’s campaigns.

Green has also enlisted the services of Converging Media, a predominately Black-owned media buyer, to aid his company’s efforts.

“This is just who [Biden] is as a candidate and person,” Congressman Cedric Richmond (D-La.), co-chair of the Biden campaign, told NNPA Newswire. “He got into politics because of civil rights, and he understands the value that African Americans bring to the country, to the campaign and the electorate.”

Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., NNPA President and CEO, responded, “Black Lives Matter. Black Voters Matter. Today’s announced commitment by the Joe Biden for President Campaign is timely and welcomed news for the Black Press of America. Black-owned media is the most effective approach to mobilizing the largest Black voter turnout in history for the November national elections. The NNPA continues to be the trusted voice of Black America.”

Congressman Richmond continued: “Joe Biden understands the value that the Black Press has always brought, and that is the unvarnished truth directly to Black people in a way they understand it. That is very important, it’s crucial to the survival of those outlets, and we want to reach the people they reach, and we want to support them for who they are and what they mean to society. It’s not a secret that we got here with overwhelming African American support, so this is what we do.”

Biden’s live interview with NNPA President and CEO Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., in South Carolina in February and the subsequent endorsement of Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC), help to catapult the campaign.

“I got started in the African American community. I got involved in the Civil Rights Movement when I was a kid. I helped de-segregate a movie theater, that kind of thing,” Biden told Chavis.

Biden opined that the Black vote would likely determine the next president.

“It’s going to be the determining factor in who the nominee is going to be, and I hope that means who the next president will be,” Biden pronounced.

He added that the Black Press serves a vital role in the political process.’

“The Black Press is the way I did my politics. You go where people are,” he stated. “You walk into a Black barbershop or beauty salon, and your newspaper was there. It’s who we are.

The neighborhood we come from. It’s incredibly important; you’re incredibly important.”

Despite a lack of cash during primary season, Richmond said that Biden still spent money with the Black Press.

“We did a buy with the NNPA in the primary when the truth is that everybody reported that we were broke, but we wanted to do it,” Richmond stated.

“We couldn’t do a Bloomberg number at that time, but we did [an ad buy] because it’s who we are,”

During the primary, former Democratic Presidential Candidate Michael Bloomberg spent $3.4 million on an ad buy with the NNPA on behalf of the Black Press of America.

“The way you spend your money shows your value. This is the same person who says he will have the most diverse administration in U.S. history,” Richmond said.

“He’s picking a woman as vice president, and he’s committed to having an African American woman on the Supreme Court. That’s just who Joe Biden is, so as much as people try to paint another picture, you can’t because this is who he is.”

July 30, 2020

By Thandisizwe Chimurenga

Contributing Writer

As 2020 continues its barrage of what can be called “negativity,” the year has also brought many positive milestones. One such milestone is the 10th anniversary of the Dodd Frank Act.

Recognizing this milestone, the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), a non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring a fair and inclusive financial marketplace for marginalized and/or underserved populations, held a webinar last week to mark the occasion.

The Facebook Live event included remarks from Wade Henderson, immediate past president of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights; the Honorable Maxine Waters (D-CA, 43rd District); and the Honorable Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts).

The event was moderated by Nikitra Bailey, executive vice president of CRL.

According to History.com, “The Great Recession, a crisis that left millions of Americans unemployed and sparked worldwide economic decline, began in December 2007 and lasted well into 2009 … The Dodd-Frank Act, officially called the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, is legislation signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2010 in response to the financial crisis that became known as the Great Recession.”

This financial crisis saw hundreds - if not thousands - of African Americans across the country lose their homes due to banks and mortgage lenders’ use of hidden fees and other unscrupulous methods in their attempt to sell their financial products.

Financial institutions unscrupulously sold these products - such as home loans - to individuals and families, critics say, who may not have been financially capable of meeting their obligations.

Normally, this would have been something that should have been determined on the front end; overzealous institutions ignored these red flags, or charged higher interest and fees, which eventually caused turmoil in the financial services industry. That turmoil was what came to be known as cause for the recession.

Many activists charge that the turmoil’s cause was not haphazard, but that Black and Brown families were targeted and steered into costly sub-prime loans and other products by predatory lenders even though they qualified for prime loans.

Dodd-Frank came about as an effort to keep this phenomenon from ever happening again.

Amongst other measures, the Act established the following:

Banks must have a “contingency plan” to shut down in case they approach bankruptcy or run out of money;

Banks must increase the amount of money they keep in reserves for future slumps or other unforeseen phenomenon;

The Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC), which keeps watch on possible risks to the financial industry and serves as a check on large banks; and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). This bureau protects consumers from banks’ corrupt business practices and oversees credit and debit agencies, payday and consumer loans.

“As someone who has spent a lifetime fighting for civil and human rights, I recognize, all too well, this moment in time and the pain we’re all living through. People of color across the country and poor people, regardless of race, are suffering the worst impacts of an unprecedented economic crisis, and are in need of the protections and resources that will allow them to recover,” said Henderson.

“Once again, we find ourselves having to fight for these resources, to which we are entitled as citizens, with all of our strength and energy,” Henderson concluded.

Henderson then turned “the mic” over to Conf. Waters for her remarks on the occasion.

“After the public voted for a new House Democratic majority in 2018, I became the first woman and the first African-American to lead the financial services committee as chair,” said Waters.

“And so, as chairwoman, I have worked every single day to defend Dodd-Frank and the consumer bureau; to advance legislation to reverse the damage that the Trump administration has done to the consumer bureau, and to provide additional consumer protections,” she continued.

Waters stated that the Trump administration appointees to the Consumer Bureau have taken steps to destroy the agency from the inside, and in response, she had put forth HR 1500, known as the Consumers’ First Act, which passed in May of 2019.

According to Waters, this was legislation specifically to block the Trump administration‘s anti-consumer agenda and reverse their efforts to undermine the mission of the Consumer Bureau.

Similar to Henderson’s remarks, Waters stated that we are now facing another crisis - the crisis of Covid-19 - and that she is working to ensure that Congress provides protections and relief to the many families that have been impacted by this pandemic across the U.S.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren also shared remarks on Dodd-Frank’s anniversary. Described by Cong. Waters as being the major force behind its creation, Warren stated, “It’s very important that we never forget what brought us into this fight.

Like so many of our nation’s problems, The financial crisis was a toxic mix of racism, corruption and shameless greed.”

“Predatory mortgage lenders started by targeting Black and Brown communities where they began climbing away at the hard-earned wealth of Black and Brown families.

And too few people in power could be relied on to care: not the investors making money hand over fist, not the regulators who were cozy with the banks; not the pundits who blamed the borrowers; not the lenders who were boosting their products,” she continued.

“They didn’t care because it was only happening in certain communities; communities of color. At its core, the financial crisis was a massive theft of power from millions of Americans. A massive theft of the American dream.”

Warren ended her comments with an exhortation to “fight” for America this November and beat Donald Trump and those aligned with him.

“If we stand together, if we fight together,  if we persist together, we can build in America that works better for all of our families,” said Warren.