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Biden to designate 1908 Springfield race riot site as national monument

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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — President Joe Biden is scheduled to sign a proclamation Friday establishing a national monument in Springfield, Illinois, site of a 1908 race riot that later helped found the NAACP.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Wednesday that the ceremony will happen Friday within the Oval Office and will probably be attended by civil rights and community leaders from Springfield, the hometown of President Abraham Lincoln.

The ceremony comes just 5 1/2 weeks after Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old black woman, was shot and killed by a white sheriff’s deputy in her Springfield home after she called 911 for help. Massey’s relations and supporters gathered for a news conference Wednesday as a part of an ongoing push for justice within the prosecution of Deputy Sean Grayson, who has been charged with first-degree murder in her death.

“People are starting to pay attention because it’s an untold story,” Teresa Haley, former president of the Springfield NAACP, said of the riots. “It’s a deep, dark, dirty secret that Springfield is afraid of.”

“It’s tragic. It’s sad that it’s happening right after Sonya Massey, but let’s say her name — Sonya Massey — and if the president, the vice president and everybody else has to recognize that and make it happen, then it’s high time,” continued Haley, founding father of Visions 1908, a civil rights, social and economic justice, and education group.

Biden’s designation doesn’t create a marker, although a memorial to the centennial stands in Union Square Park downtown. But Haley has promoted a big, reflective, walk-through memorial on the site of the foundations of 5 original homes burned in the course of the riots, which were excavated during rail work in 2014. That project is awaiting funding.

In August 1908, crowds of white residents marched through the Illinois capital on the pretext of executing two black men—one who had been imprisoned on charges of sexually assaulting a white woman, the opposite convicted of a separate murder of a white man.

After authorities secretly moved the prisoners out of the jail and sent them to one other jail many miles away, the mob took its anger out on town’s black population. Over the following few days, two innocent black men were hanged, dozens of homes and businesses in majority-black neighborhoods in Springfield were burned to the bottom, and families were forced to flee.

The National Guard was called in to restore order. White rioters were charged but later acquitted of their role within the lynching and destruction.

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According to newspaper accounts from the time, at the least eight white people were killed and greater than 100 were injured within the violence, mostly by members of the state militia or one another. It shouldn’t be known what number of blacks were injured or killed.

Frustrated civil rights leaders met in New York and selected the centennial of Lincoln’s birth, February 12, 1909, for the formation of the NAACP, whose first board of directors was scholar W. E. B. DuBois.

Sontae Massey, who was very close to his cousin Sonya Massey, said the family descends from William Donegan, an 84-year-old shoemaker who was married to a white woman who was lynched on the primary night of the riots. Now, the present generation is coping with the tragic lack of one other member of the family.

“It’s ironic that we’re now at the very foundation of what this family has stood for for hundreds of years. We’re going to continue to make a difference across America. This is just the beginning,” Massey said. “It’s only right. We’ve been catalysts for change since 1908. We’re carrying on the tradition.”

The Springfield attack occurred greater than a decade before at the least 25 documented attacks by whites on blacks that occurred in the summertime of 1919, an event that later became known as the “Red Summer” for the bloodshed that followed.

Two years later, a white mob ransacked and set fire to Tulsa’s Greenwood neighborhood, killing as many as 300 black residents. Biden traveled to Tulsa in 2021 to mark the a hundredth anniversary of the massacre.

Jean-Pierre called the Springfield riots “a horrific attack by a white mob on a black community” and said civil rights leaders were working to publicize what happened “to spark a nationwide civil rights movement.” She promised the White House would supply more details before an official announcement Friday.

In 2020, the riot site near downtown Springfield was added to the National Park Service’s African American Civil Rights Network, a group of web sites and programs that tell the story of the civil rights movement. The sites can be found through federal grants.

“While the 1908 Springfield race riots illustrate our country’s deep history of racial violence, they also sparked the founding of the NAACP — reflecting the strength and resilience of black Americans in their tireless fight for civil rights,” said U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski, whose office said she urged Biden to designate the monument. “Today’s announcement is a crucial step forward to honor the memory of those killed in the 1908 attack and recognize the impact of that tragedy.”

This article was originally published on : thegrio.com
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Airlines forces 14-year-old girl off plane due to weight and balance issues, leaving her to fend for herself

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The mother of a teen who was banned from a plane in Canada due to a weight imbalance is outraged at how the incident has put her daughter’s safety in danger.

According to the CBC, 14-year-old Camryn Larkan boarded a Porter Airlines flight home from Toronto to Victoria, British Columbia, on August 30 after visiting family and friends. Once she was seated on the plane, a flight attendant approached her and told her she had to get off the plane.

14-year-old stuck at the airport
14-year-old forced to leave plane due to “weight and balance” issues. (Source: Pexels)

“I was a little disoriented… I thought I was going to go back to my seat. I thought they were just going to take my bags.” – Camryn he said CBC. “As soon as I got off the plane and saw the doors close, that’s when I started, you know, getting really concerned.”

Porter Airlines pulled Camryn from the flight due to a “weight and balance issue.” The airline said agents asked for volunteers, but when nobody got here forward, “passengers were selected based on ticket type.”

After Camryn and several other passengers were asked to leave the plane, a Porter Airlines agent arranged for Camryn to fly to Victoria the subsequent day. Camryn immediately called her father, who got here to pick her up on the airport.

Camryn’s mother expressed her frustration, saying the airline completely mishandled her daughter’s exit from the plane.

“They put my child in immediate danger,” Catherine Larkan said. “It was complete neglect and it shouldn’t happen to any other minor.”

The airline’s policy is that unaccompanied minors are exempt from involuntary disembarkation. The company offers a $100 service plan for children traveling alone. The plan is required for children ages 8 to 11 and optional for children ages 12 to 17.

Camryn’s family didn’t know the service existed, so the airline treated the 14-year-old as an adult.

“At the time, our team was unaware that Camryn was a minor,” a Porter Airlines spokesperson said. “Camryn left the airport quickly and our team had limited ability to discuss options with her.”

Children travelling without an unaccompanied minor plan are considered “independent adults” and are subject to “adult passenger considerations such as weight, balance and unloading situations.”

“They provide a service, saying we know these people are at risk, and they say if you don’t pay for the service, you’re going to be treated like any other adult passenger traveling,” Camryn’s mother said. “It’s just absolutely absurd.”

An airline representative told People magazine that its customer support department is in touch with Camryn’s family and that Porter Airlines is working on solutions to minimize the chance of an incident like this happening again.

This article was originally published on : atlantablackstar.com
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Here’s What You Need to Know About Threats in Springfield, Ohio, After False Accusations About Haitian Immigrants

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Haitian immigrants in Springfield Ohio, theGrio.com

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio (AP) — A small Ohio town has been flooded with false bomb threats since last week’s presidential debate, when former President Donald Trump falsely accused Members of Springfield’s Haitian community kidnap and eat cats and dogs.

Trump’s vice presidential candidate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, has amplified debunked web rumors about Haitian migrants because the Republican ticket criticizes President Joe Biden’s administration’s immigration policies, which Trump’s Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, supports. City officials acknowledge that the influx of about 15,000 Haitian migrants is causing problems, but say there is no such thing as a evidence to support the claim that they’re eating people’s pets.

More than 30 bomb threats since last week have targeted schools, government buildings and the homes of city officials, forcing evacuations and closures. Springfield also canceled its annual diversity, arts and culture celebration in response to the threats, and state police on Tuesday distributed in city schools.

Here are some things to know concerning the situation in Springfield:

Who is behind these false threats?

Foreign actors, in particular. That’s according to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican who said many of the threats got here from abroad. The governor’s office said a criminal investigation by multiple law enforcement agencies found the “vast majority” of the threats were international in origin. Officials didn’t provide further details on how investigators determined they got here from a foreign country, and DeWine didn’t name the country.

What’s happening?

DeWine has sent dozens of Ohio State Highway Patrol members to all 18 city schools, where checks might be conducted twice every day to prevent further disruptions and help parents and students ensure that the buildings are secure. But even with the increased police presence, many parents still didn’t let their children go to school Tuesday.

Meanwhile, security cameras have been placed at strategic locations around the town, and an explosives-sniffing dog has been deployed to Springfield and might be on duty 24 hours a day.

DeWine $2.5 million declared greater than two years to increase support for primary health care. State highway patrol also helps local law enforcement implement traffic laws. DeWine said many Haitians are inexperienced drivers who’re unfamiliar with U.S. traffic laws.

How is the town reacting?

Springfield never wanted to be the focus — not like this.

City officials said Tuesday that misinformation and lies about Haitian immigrants have sown fear and division, disrupted science and price taxpayers money. In an announcement, they implored public figures, community members and media to “move beyond divisive rhetoric and instead work to promote unity, understanding and respect.” The statement didn’t mention Trump or Vance by name.

Springfield Mayor Rob Rue said the influx of migrants is straining police, hospitals and schools. He also criticized the federal government, saying the town asked for help months ago. But on Tuesday he urged national leaders to “soften their words and speak the truth.”

Why did so many Haitians move to Springfield?

Work and word of mouth.

Springfield in consequence, industrial jobs were lost and the population dropped significantly late last century. But the town made a concerted effort to attract employers and Haitian immigrants who helped meet the growing demand for employees in its factories and warehouses. Word spread, and Haitians began arriving in larger numbers in the past few years.

Haitians from Springfield and elsewhere have come to the U.S. to escape violence in their home country. Many Haitians are here under a federal program called Temporary Protected Statusallowing them to live and work temporarily in the U.S. because conditions in Haiti are deemed too dangerous for them to return to the island.

What do Haitian immigrants say?

Members of the Haitian community say they were uneasy even before Trump and Vance picked up on the pet-eating lies, as former residents were angered by the brand new arrivals’ impact on jobs, housing and traffic.

“Some of them are talking about living in fear. Some of them are afraid for their lives,” Rose-Thamar Joseph said last week on the Springfield Haitian Community Outreach and Support Center.

On church service on Sunday, Mia Perez said her daughter was evacuated from school twice last week.

“Children at school are asked by other children, ‘What does dog taste like? What does cat taste like?'” Perez said. “She asks, ‘Are we Haitians who eat this stuff? Is it true? What’s going on?'”

“It’s a conversation I wasn’t ready to have with my daughter,” Perez said. “I felt disrespected by our culture.”

This article was originally published on : thegrio.com
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Politics and Current

Video captured of Miami police officer picking up 15-year-old girl and throwing her to the ground because he thought she was going to attack him

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Ikeria Tate, a 15-year-old black girl from Miami, is facing felony charges after she was thrown to the ground by a Miami-Dade Public Schools police officer last week.

The incident occurred at Edison High School in Miami and was captured on video that was posted to Instagram last week, which is why the full, unedited footage appears to not be available online.

However, Local 10 obtained the video and used edited portions in its news story that showed a person identified only as Miami-Dade Public Schools Sergeant Odige throwing Tate to the ground during a fight at the school after a football game.

'I didn't throw a punch': Black girl says she was just trying to avoid another hit, but now faces charges for assaulting police officer
Ikeria Tate, a 15-year-old black girl from Miami, is facing charges after a Miami-Dade Public Schools police officer threw her to the ground last week, claiming he was only defending himself. (Photo: YouTube)

The footage shows that after he threw her body to the ground, the man approached her and grabbed her by the hair. At that time, she waved her right hand twice.

Miami-Dade Public Schools police believed the flapping of her arms was an attack on an officer, so she was charged with assaulting an officer, resisting arrest and disturbing a college.

An arrest report obtained by Local 10 stated that Tate “became aggressive, tensing up and pulling away. The defendant continued to be aggressive and attempted to strike the sergeant with a closed fist.”

However, Tate claims she tried to grab the officer to avoid further attack.

“When he hit me, I tried to hold him so I could get up because he couldn’t hit me,” she said. NBC station in Miami.

“I didn’t mean to hit him, I just told him to leave me alone,” Tate told Local 10.

The arrest report also said police were trying to separate the fighting women when Tate intervened, pushing Sergeant Odige away and punching him, causing him to “redirect” her to the ground, which is police jargon for throwing someone to the ground.

However, the footage released by Local 10 doesn’t show the moments leading up to the impact, which might support the allegation that the woman pushed and swung at the officer.

“When I got up, he pulled me back down, like threw me back down, and one of the cops started stomping on my hair,” she told NBC Miami. “And then they handcuffed me and put me in the back of the police car.”

The incident occurred on September 11 after a football game at Edison High School, a college positioned in the Little Haiti neighborhood of Miami.

Police say a fight broke out between parents and students outside the school’s locker room. They tried to separate the attackers when Tate intervened.

However, Tate claims she was only one of several individuals who saw the fight when the officer grabbed her and began throwing her around.

The Miami-Dade School District and Miami-Dade Public Schools Department said they’re investigating the incident.

For now, nevertheless, Tate faces up to five years in prison for his third offense of assaulting a law enforcement officer.

Local media reported she was charged with resisting arrest, but didn’t specify whether she was charged with resisting arrest with violence or without violence, as those are two separate charges in Florida.

The former is a third-degree felony, also punishable by up to five years in prison, while the latter is just a misdemeanor, punishable by up to one 12 months in prison.

But she likely faces the former, as she also faces an assault charge. The charge can’t be confirmed through online public records because she is a minor.

“I don’t think he should have done that to my child. If anything, you should have tried to stop her in a better way,” Tate’s mother, Monique Warner, told Local 10.

“He shouldn’t touch anyone’s children like that. You should help them. That’s why children are afraid of the law.”

This article was originally published on : atlantablackstar.com
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