December 29, 2022
By Kimberly Shelby
Contributing Writer
The following is a list of the L.A. Watts Times’ top 10 national stories affecting the African American community.
1) Ketanji Brown Jackson sworn in as first Black woman on the Supreme Court
After a months-long process beginning in February, Ketanji Brown Jackson, 51, was sworn in as the 116th Supreme Court justice and the first Black woman to serve on the high court.
2) Federal Jury Finds Three Men Who Pursued and Killed Ahmaud Arbery Guilty of Hate Crimes
After a two-week trial, three Georgia men were convicted by a federal jury in the Southern District of Georgia for committing hate crimes and attempting to kidnap Ahmaud Arbery, a young Black man who was jogging on the public streets of Brunswick.
3) WNBA Star Brittney Griner Detained in Russia
Griner, who plays with the WNBA team Phoenix Mercury, was arrested on smuggling charges in Russia.
She was detained at Sheremetyevo International Airport after the Federal Customs Service found she was carrying vaporizer cartridges containing less than a gram of hash oil.
She had been prescribed medicinal cannabis in Arizona, where it is legal. In Russia, medicinal cannabis is illegal.
4) Actor Will Smith Slaps Host Chris Rock at the Oscars
Incensed by a joke that Rock made, which poked fun at his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s bald head,
Will Smith slapped the comedian on the same evening he received an award for Best Actor at the 94th Academy Awards.
5) Mass Shooting in Buffalo
A mass shooting at a Tops Friendly Markets supermarket in an East Side neighborhood of Buffalo, New York left ten people were murdered, each of them Black. Additionally, three were injured.
6) Roe v Wade Overturned
Disassembling 50 years of legal protection, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, legislation that made abortion access in the United States a federal right. The decision begs the question: what fallen rights will follow in this wake?
7) Leaked Tape Reveals Racist Remarks By Los Angeles City Council Member Nury Martinez
Los Angeles City Council member Nury Martinez resigned from her seat on Council District 6, two days after stepping down from her post as president for making racist remarks.
The remarks, which were made while talking with fellow Councilmembers Kevin de León and Gil Cedillo and labor leader Ron Herrera, were about councilman Mike Bonin’s Black son.
8) Hakeem Jeffries Elected Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York was elected unopposed to succeed Nancy Pelosi as leader of the U.S. House of Representatives.
As House minority leader, Jeffries, 52, will become the first Black person to lead a major political party in Congress.
9) Elon Musk Buys Twitter, Grants Amnesty to Suspended Accounts, Alienates Black Influencers
An uptick in hate speech since Elon Musk took over the social media platform that has long thrived due to the engagement of Black influencers.
10) Tests Scores Show Online Schooling During the Pandemic Put Kids Behind
Preliminary test scores across the country indicate that online schooling in 2020 and 2021 resulted in significant learning loss for children. Minority and lower income populations were most vulnerable.