July 21, 2016 

By Danny J. Bakewell, Jr. 

Executive Editor 

Being an A-List celebrity, having fame and fortune does not make you immune to or unaffected by the senseless murders of Alton Sterling in Houston or Philando Castile in Minnesota.  It doesn’t stop you from sympathizing with the senseless killings of the police officers in Dallas and when you are African American you know that with all of your success, fame and notoriety you or your family members are possibly one police stop away from possibly facing the same tragic fate.

 

Cedric “The Entertainer” and his friends (famous or not) found themselves having the same conversation that most of us have found ourselves having over the past week and a half.  They found themselves having the same discussion we’re all having, the one that has been going on in living rooms, Starbucks, and Black barbershops and beauty salons within our community for years.  This is tragic, it has to STOP, but what can we do?

 

Well Cedric along with several of his friends including Omar Epps, Marlon Wayans and Tasha Smith decided to have over 100-150 of their closest friends and colleagues come together in a few days’ notice to discuss these tragedies, educate themselves to the legal issues that face our community and collectively call for an end to these tragedies both at the hands of and against the police.

 

In a Sentinel/LAWT exclusive interview, Cedric explained the idea behind the meeting, the plan going forward and the concerns that each and every one of them have regarding the issues facing our community.

 

When asked why was this meeting called Cedric explained “first and foremost we want people to understand that we all have a concern about the unnecessary violence which is happening at the hands of those people who are supposed to be protecting us and we wanted to discuss what we as celebrities could do with our platform to bring about change.”  “We understand that individually we are but 5 fingers but together we are one strong and powerful fist and most importantly we want our fans to understand that we as a group of Hollywood Stars stand in solidarity with our fans and our community”.

 

All of the celebrities in attendance recognize that these attacks are senseless, that we don’t need our people killed at the hands of the police and we as a people also can’t and shouldn’t be retaliating by killing police officers.

 

“We feel for our brothers in Minnesota, in Baton Rouge, but we also feel for our brothers who are being killed that the media is not discussing.  Our Mexican Brothers who are being killed, the man who was hung from a tree in Atlanta, the police who were gunned down in Dallas and in Baton Rouge.  We feel the rage and we have to bring an end to this rampant violence,” Cedric said.

 

The group had serious concerns about the way Black People in particular are being handled and killed by those who have been sworn to “protect and serve”. 

 

“We have a problem with these egregious killings, when police are able to determine if you live or die.  Right now some police officers get to act as judge, jury and executioner all at the same time.  They are able to determine if you live or die”. 

 

That is why along with several celebrities, attorneys, politicians and community activist including Sentinel Executive Publisher and Board Chairman of the Los Angeles Brotherhood Crusade Danny J. Bake­well, Sr. were invited to the meeting.

 

“It was so good to see all of these Black Men and Women come together to stand up for our community and our people,” said Bakewell Sr.

 

“My hat is off to Cedric and all of his friends for pulling this powerful group together.  Their celebrity status is one of the most powerful things our community has to stand up and speak out for the millions of voiceless African Americans who feel like no one hears our plea.” 

 

The group also understood that the fight was not just with the police.  The fight must be fought on all levels, they said. The police union and the Law Enforcement Bill of Rights must be amended and the strength, money and power that supports that bill is real. This fight will require money, time and effort if there will be any resolution. 

 

“We are going to apply pressure on those politicians in charge to try and affect change, but we also understand that they are going to be subject to attack and we must also agree to stand with them during this attack if we are going to be able to have any lasting effect in making legislative change,” said Cedric.

 

Also on hand were music stars The Game and T.I. who addressed the audience along with television star Jesse Williams.

 

“We see police disarm, deescalate and not kill white people every day” said Williams during his controversial speech at this year’s BET awards. 

 

“So why are we as African Americans not afforded the same opportunity to live through traffic stops and questioning?”

 

Williams sentiments were echoed at the meeting.

 

As of the end of the meeting no clear cut strategy was formed, but the group vowed to continue to work together as a “unified force with a centralized message.  To use the soapbox in which they stand not as individuals but as a collective group looking to stand for change.”  Cedric stated, “we do not have a clear cut answer as of yet, but we all recognize that we want and must do something to end these tragedies and we are and will continue to fight for our people.”  “We want the people in the lower economic communities to understand that we know and understand what is happening and that we care, we Love them and we want for them the same thing we want for our own families, to be safe and to have peace.”

Category: News

July 21, 2016 

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN 

Associated Press 

The man who ambushed and killed three law enforcement officers in Louisiana purportedly described his actions as a “necessary evil” in a self-described, handwritten manifesto that an Ohio man says was emailed to him by the gunman less than an hour before the shootings.

 

Photographs of the three-page letter show it was signed by “Cosmo,” the first name of an alias used by Baton Rouge gunman Gavin Long, and the pictures were attached to an email sent from a Google address that Long used.

 

In the letter, Long said he expected people who knew him wouldn’t believe he would commit “such horrendous acts of violence.” He wrote that he viewed his actions as necessary to “create substantial change within America’s police force.”

 

The Associated Press obtained the photographs of the letter Wednesday from Yarima Karama, a Columbus, Ohio, musician who said he didn’t know Long personally but received several emails from him after Long began commenting on Karama’s YouTube videos in March.

 

The AP was not able to conclusively verify Long sent the photos himself from his Google account. Metadata reviewed from the three photos indicates they were snapped shortly before 8 a.m. on the day of the shooting using a Motorola An­droid cell phone, but both photos and time stamps can be modified. The photographs appear to have been taken from inside a car because a gearshift and a cup holder are visible.

 

Police have said officers first saw the shooter at a convenience store at 8:40 a.m. Sunday. Within two minutes, there were reports of shots fired. Police gunned down Long after he fatally shot three officers and wounded three others. It was 29th birthday.

 

The violence capped two weeks of turmoil for Baton Rouge that began with the killing of a black man, Alton Sterling, by white police officers after a scuffle at a convenience store. That shooting, captured on cellphone video, provoked widespread protests about the police treatment of the black community.

 

Karama said he provided a copy of the letter to FBI agents who interviewed him at his home Wednesday.

 

Todd Lindgren, a spokesman for the FBI office in Cincinnati, said he could not respond to any questions about the case “due to the Baton Rouge matter being an ongoing investigation,” and the FBI’s New Orleans office also declined comment.

 

Louisiana State Police Col. Mike Edmonson said law enforcement officers found an array of hand-written documents in Long’s car and the hotel where he was staying, but that he did not know if the material included the letter Karama shared.

 

“It was all rants and raves,” Edmonson said.

 

In the self-described manifesto, which was started off with the words “Peace Family,” Long wrote about a “concealed war” between “good cops” and “bad cops,” and said he felt obligated to “bring the same destruction that bad cops continue to inflict upon my people.”

 

Long, a black military veteran whose last known address was in Kansas City, Missouri, spent five years in the Marine Corps. He served one tour in Iraq before being honorably discharged.

 

Before the Baton Rouge shootings, Long posted rambling internet videos calling for violent action in response to what he considered oppression.

 

He did not specifically mention Baton Rouge or detail his plans for an attack in the letter.

 

“I know I will be vilified by the media & police,” it read. “I see my actions as a necessary evil that I do not wish to partake in, nor do I enjoy partaking in, but must partake in, in order to create substantial change within America’s police force, and judicial system.”

 

Karama read the letter in a video posted on YouTube. He declined to provide the AP with copies of the other emails he said he received from Long or with additional technical information about Sunday’s email that possibly could help the AP conclusively verify Long wrote the letter.

 

Karama, who described himself as a hip-hop artist and community activist, said he provided other information about Long’s emails to various news outlets.

 

“I’m about building my own brand at this point,” he said. “I’ve given the information to who I need to.”

Category: News

 

July 14, 2016 

City News Service 

 

A group of protesters calling for the ouster of police Chief Charlie Beck and demanding a meeting with Mayor Eric Garcetti gathered again in front of City Hall this week, continuing a sit-in that began after the Police Commission determined an officer’s fatal shooting of a 30-year- old black woman was within department policy.

 

 

Tuesday’s decision sparked shouts of protest from the commission audience, which was packed with activists and some Black Lives Matter members calling for the officer to be disciplined or fired for the Aug. 12, 2015, shooting in the aftermath of a pharmacy robbery in the Crenshaw district.

 

 

The commission, after meeting in closed session for more than an hour, announced that it found fault with some of the tactics used by officers surrounding the shooting of Redel Jones, but found that Officer Brett Ramirez’s shooting of the woman did not violate LAPD policy.

 

 

Jones was shot in the 4100 block of Marlton Avenue after police responded to a call of a pharmacy robbery in the 3700 block of Santa Rosalia Drive. According to an internal report obtained by the Los Angeles Times, money and a robbery demand note were found in Jones’ clothing.

 

 

Following the Police Commis­sion’s ruling, some protesters left the Police Administration Building and gathered a block away on the east steps of City Hall in an impromptu sit-in. The sit-in continued into late afternoon, and a small group of people remained camped there overnight.

 

 

The protesters’ call for a meeting with Garcetti was not likely to meet with immediate success, since the mayor is in Washington, D.C., with Beck, attending a White House meeting on police-community relations.

 

 

Beck told reporters earlier he believes the city has made progress in improving relationships.

 

 

“I think that we have successes to share in Los Angeles,” he said. “We have been through a tremendous amount as a city, a city torn apart not that many decades ago by racial unrest and mistrust of the police. I think we’ve made a lot of progress on that regardless of what you see from a handful of people.”

 

 

The Institute for Nonviolence in Los Angeles hosted a “Days of Dialogue” event in Exposition Park, also this week, aimed at discussing the “future of policing.” The event was aimed at fostering one-on-one discussions between residents and police officers in an effort at sharing viewpoints and building relationships.

 

The organization is planning a series of similar events in the coming weeks, at locations across the city.

 

Category: News

July 14, 2016 

By Lauren Victoria Burke 

NNPA News Wire Contributor 

Only one day after declaring himself "the law and order candidate," the campaign of the presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump announced that he will not address the annual NAACP convention. The no-show will be only the fourth time since 1980 that a candidate running for the White House hasn't spoken to the NAACP. 

 

On July 12, NAACP President Cornell Brooks announced that Trump had declined the NAACP's invitation to speak. Created in 1909 by W.E.B. DuBois, Mary Ovington and Moorfield Storey, the NAACP is the oldest civil rights organization in the U.S.  The NAACP now has over 300,000 members.  

 

This year, the 107th NAACP convention is in Cincinnati, Ohio, from July 16-20.  Trump is scheduled to speak during the Republican National Convention less than 90 minutes away in Cleveland. The GOP convention runs from July 18 to 21.

 

The issue of race in America is in the news after the police shootings caught on video of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, La., on July 5th and Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, Minn. on July 6.  On July 7, a former Army veteran who may have had mental health issues, murdered five Dallas law enforcement officers at the end of a Black Lives Matter march.   

 

The situation presents a perfect time for the presidential candidates to weigh in on issues of race, policing and justice in America. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will address the NAACP on Monday, July 18, the first day of the Republican National Convention. 

 

"In every presidential election, we invite each of the candidates to address our convention, and we are delighted to have Secretary Clinton join us,” said NAACP Chairman Roslyn Brock in a statement on July 11. 

 

"Secretary Clinton will have the opportunity to address a gathering of dedicated activists and advocates from across the nation, and we are proud to offer a chance for the candidates to speak about the major issues affecting civil rights today,” Brock added.  

 

“In these violent and horrifying times, when a new generation is waking to call for police accountability, economic and educational equality and protecting the right to vote for all people, this election marks a significant moral moment for America,” said NAACP President Brooks. “We look forward to hearing Secretary Clinton’s priorities and plan to advance our issues of social justice,” he added. 

 

On July 11 in Virginia Beach Trump declared himself the "law and order candidate" and spoke on the problems of crime in the inner city.  But he offered no policy solutions.  

 

On July 12, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for national standards for police after receiving the endorsement from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in New Hampshire.  Clinton also spoke on the problems of race and inequality in the justice system, a topic she has touched on often. 

 

The snub of the NAACP is yet another setback to the effort of RNC Chairman Reince Priebus to attract minority voters to the Republican Party. Despite the efforts of several Republicans, such as Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.), the GOP nominee for president is yet to display a deep interest in serious policy driven outreach to African American and Hispanic voters. 

 

Lauren Victoria Burke is a political analyst and the CEO of Win Digital Media. She can be contacted at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and on twitter at @LVBurke

Category: News

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