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White football players who allegedly wrote slurs Black teenager’s car kicked off high school team where parents say racism is ‘normal’

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A Michigan high school that has been tormented by racist hate speech for the past 4 years is in one other episode after white students allegedly drew Ku Klux Klan and Nazi symbols on minority students’ vehicles.

The most up-to-date incident occurred Sept. 13 at the tip of school at Saline High School, in line with Saline Area Schools Superintendent Stephen Laatsch, who issued a press release to district families the following day saying he was “deeply saddened and outraged” by “incidents related to with hate speech at school. “Racism in any form has no place in our community and we are committed to addressing this issue with the seriousness it deserves,” he said.

Laatsch said the investigation is still ongoing, but administrators “have contacted the victims’ families and have been able to identify students suspected of being involved.”

A parent talks about racism at Saline High School during a community meeting in Saline, Michigan. (Photo: YouTube screenshot/WXYZ-TV)

He said the implications of acts of hate speech, as defined in the scholar handbook, include a “tripartite approach to intervention” that features “discipline, education and restorative practices.” Discipline may include detention, suspension or expulsion.

Acknowledging that “events like these often reverberate throughout our school and broader community,” Laatsch said the district is putting together a team to offer support to students and staff and pointing families to resources, including guides on stopping and responding to bias and tips on how to seek advice from children about racial prejudice.

The Instagram account of Saline High School’s Black Student Union (BSU), formed in 2022 after previous hate speech incidents on the school, posted photos reportedly from the day that included racist slurs, Nazi symbols and references to the KKK dirt on vehicles two minority students, MLive reported.

BSU President Aliyah Carrao, who runs the account, said group members knew the scholars answerable for the situation and added that they were “people that many of the group members called friends, so honestly, we’re all stuck.” But what we do as a bunch when people comment on it is, at the start, educate.”

For several years, black students at Saline High have been burdened with educating their peers and other community members about racism, including for greater than controversial exchange of racist messages on the Snapchat account of a bunch of mixed-race students in January 2020, resulting in the suspension of 4 students.

Students who used racist memes and phrases comparable to “We ni-er,” “WHITE POWER” and “THE SOUTH RISE AGAIN” of their posts later sued the school system, arguing that the chats took place off campus and that they were being violated. the fitting to freedom of speech. The case was settled at the tip of 2020.

Black and Latino students and their parents then attended school board meetings to protest racism and xenophobia in district schools and lobby for diversity, equity and inclusion practices, prompting one parent to ask one other why he “wasn’t in Mexico.” “

In 2021, a bunch of parents of Saline High students sued U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland over a memo he issued to the FBI and U.S. prosecutors regarding threats of violence and intimidation made to teachers, staff and school board members across the country on the time.

In their criticism, the parents argued that it was their constitutional right to get up at school board meetings and criticize the school district for its “harmful, immoral and racist progressive agenda,” as evidenced by the district allowing the school to fly a Black Lives Matter flag and a culturally responsive curriculum , which parents considered “disguised CRT,” was suppressed within the Merrick Memo and other federal policies.

A federal appeals court dismissed the case in December 2023, finding that the parents had not demonstrated any injury and that their right to complain and protest was fully intact.

The N-word was twice scrawled on the wall of a Saline High School boys’ bathroom last fall, prompting the Black Student Union, which now has 28 members, to call for tougher penalties for discriminatory behavior during a November school board meeting.

Earlier this yr, Black and minority students met on multiple occasions with district officials, including Laatsch, to deal with systemic concerns about racism and promote a more welcoming school environment, in line with MLive. At the school board meeting, Corrao advocated for a zero-tolerance policy on hate speech and advised officials that Saline’s “actions – more than words – will have the greatest impact on students.”

According to the 2020 U.S. Census, Saline, situated south of Ann Arbor, has a population of 8,948. Its residents are 93.6% white, 1.4% African American, 2.5% Hispanic or Latino, and a couple of.5% Asian.

Although the Saline High football coach declined to comment, Solankowa Post Office reported that several people on the school confirmed that “white football players” who “allegedly wrote the N-word on a black football player’s vehicle … were not on the team during Friday’s game,” during which individuals from the opposing team and a part of the scholar body chanted, “Saline is racist “.

Parent Kandace Jones, a former Saline school board member who has two sons within the district and whose oldest Tenth-grade student is a member of BSU, told MLive that racism against Black and minority students has been occurring for therefore long that it has turn into normalized.

“There are many incidents every year, many of which are not shared, and my son feels desensitized to it,” she said. “It’s incredibly disappointing and heartbreaking to see that it’s so normal for them that they just shrug and say, ‘Yes, that’s what it is.'”

“I feel like the school is taking this process more seriously this time than they did last year,” Corrao said of the district’s response to the most recent racial slurs and symbols. “It’s not something we can give up,” she said. “We want change.”

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

Texas mother who let boyfriend beat 8-year-old son to death and left the children with decomposing bodies faces up to 55 years in prison

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‘Disgusting’: Texas Mother Who Let Boyfriend Beat 8-Year-Old Son to Death and Left Children to Live with Decomposing Body Faces Up to 55 Years In Prison

A Texas mother has pleaded guilty to charges related to the gruesome death of her youngest son before she and her boyfriend left his decomposing body in a Houston apartment with his brothers for a whole 12 months.

Gloria Yvette Williams pleaded guilty last week to negligently causing serious bodily injury in the death of her son, 8-year-old Kendrick Lee, Law&Crime reported.

Her boyfriend, Brian Ward (*55*), was found guilty of capital murder in the boy’s death and sentenced in April to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

'Disgusting': Texas mother who allowed boyfriend to beat 8-year-old son to death and left children with decaying faces, up to 55 years in prison
Gloria Yvette Williams pleaded guilty to negligently causing serious bodily injury in the death of her son, 8-year-old Kendrick Lee, who was allegedly beaten to death by her boyfriend, Brian Ward (*55*). (Photos: Screenshots from YouTube/KHOU)

Prosecutors set the date of Kendrick’s death between October and November 2020. His skeletal stays weren’t found until October 2021.

Kendrick’s oldest brother called 911 about the body. He told dispatchers that his brother had been “dead for some time” and that he and his three younger siblings were left alone in the apartment.

According to prosecutors, Williams and (*55*) moved out of the apartment about five months after Kendrick’s death and left the remaining boys in filth, without electricity or beds to sleep in. The boys testified that the couple returned every few weeks to bring food. During these visits, (*55*) beat the younger boys.

One of his brothers testified that he was in the room when (*55*) beat Kendrick to death.

“I saw (Coulter) beating (Kendrick). (Coulter) used his fists.” the boy said adding that he saw Kendrick stop moving and blink at one point during the beating before (*55*) covered his body with a blue blanket.

After deputies were called on October 24, 2021, they found Kendrick’s body inside the home. Investigators described the scene inside the apartment as terrifying. One person stated that the apartment was filled with cockroaches and there was a definite odor.

(*55*) and Williams were arrested at a neighborhood library two weeks after authorities found Kendrick’s body.

Prosecutors accused Williams of failing to provide Kendrick with adequate food, shelter and medical care. The 38-year-old shall be sentenced in November. She faces up to 55 years in prison.

“No matter who you are, if you are human, the facts of this case will shock you to your core. This is a terrible act,” said prosecutor Edward A. Appelbaum.

Williams’ actions drew public scorn, with some calling for her to receive the maximum sentence.

“Heartless, give her 55 years in prison,” one person wrote in response to a news article about Williams’ guilty plea. “Disgusting,” wrote one other.

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

Kamala Harris’s winning message was there throughout

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Kamala Harris, Vice President Kamal Harris, presidential election 2024, theGrio.com

The event venue, the Javits Convention Center, was rigorously and strategically chosen for each its large glass ceiling and capability. It can be beautifully symbolic, because the campaign posited, if Hillary Clinton, our newly elected first female president, gave an acceptance speech under a glass dome, celebrating that now we have finally broken the best and hardest glass ceiling for ladies in America.

Of course it didn’t look that way. This is one in every of the the reason why Kamala Harris deliberately avoids advocating for her own “historic” candidacy. Some People I do not like being reminded that a vote for Harris can be a vote for the primary black and Indian woman president; perhaps they would like to say that they’re pulling the lever due to its economic policy or something less related to it. But as we enter the ultimate days of the campaign, Harris must lean on her identity to extend support and turnout from her base.

She, Peoplein cooperation with 2040 Strategy Groupconducted questionnaire – one in every of the few polls focused on women of color this election cycle – that provided a deep understanding of how women of color view Harris and where they vote on the last minute. The trend line is positive, with Black women over the age of 40 achieving historically high levels of support. But many ladies of color — especially Asian Americans and Latinas — still do not know Harris well enough to examine her name on the ballot.

To shore up their support, the poll found, Harris must explicitly discuss her identity, a transparent shift in strategy. Telling respondents that she was a black woman increased support by greater than 10 net percentage points. Even reminding voters that Harris will turn out to be the primary female president of the United States makes a splash. Lesson? Identity work news — and you may really want it with Election Day just a number of weeks away.

Harris can expand her voter base even further by talking to women of color about their key issues. Latina women (11% undecided) prefer to speak in regards to the economy, gun violence and immigration. Asian American women, the group almost definitely to stay undecided (23%), also want Harris to debate gun violence and immigration, but in addition abortion. The poll showed a 20% increase in support from undecided voters with a transparent message supporting abortion rights.

Beginning to reveal her identity can be a key change for Harris, and may very well be seen as a dangerous strategy for some Democrats who fear a repeat of 2016. Clinton’s loss caused the course correction we at the moment are seeing within the Harris campaign. But perhaps we overdid our lesson. Applying 2016 logic to the 2024 race means Harris, satirically, is probably not maximizing the bottom base he must win.

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Women of color have never let fear rule their pursuit of progress. That’s why Harris and Democrats cannot let fear rule now.

For years, women of color have been the unacknowledged base of the Democratic Party, its most reliable supporters who influenced their families and communities to vote blue. But in 2020, the party and media finally acknowledged the critical role women of color have long played in Democratic politics, acknowledging that we delivered White House for Biden. And now, in 2024, now we have brought that very same energy to deliver it to Kamala Harris. We have the facility to multiply strength; this was shown in our survey, which found that constructing connections amongst women—that’s, what’s good for me is nice for everybody—can increase support for ladies in color-led politics overall and for Harris as a candidate. That’s why women of color cannot only offer us support, but in addition urge our grandmothers, children, sisters and friends to get out and vote too.

Victory is close by; we feel it at our fingertips; this broken glass ceiling is even closer to breaking. But support for ladies of color will not be a given; you might have to work for it. To win that support, Harris must revert to her identity in the ultimate stretch before Election Day.

There remains to be time for Harris to cross the finish line, but time is running out. By highlighting what can have been feared up to now, we are going to ensure progress in the longer term.


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

Pennsylvania teenager expelled from school after racist classmates mercilessly called her a monkey and sang “Baa Baa Black Sheep” until she suffered a mental breakdown

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The parents of a Pennsylvania teenager have just been awarded a settlement to resolve a lawsuit alleging that their child suffered extreme racist abuse in her school district.

A judge recently approved a $50,000 reward for the family of a now 17-year-old biracial teenager.

The teenager’s parents, Jenna Swisher and Reginald Gallman, filed a lawsuit in 2022 against the Jersey Shore Area School District, alleging that their daughter experienced repeated racist harassment while she was a student at The Express district’s middle school. reported.

Jersey Shore Area Middle School in Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania (Photo: Facebook/Jersey Shore Area School District)

The grievance says the discrimination began in 2018. The lawsuit details specific instances where the kid was called a Black girl’s name and a monkey, was sung “Baa Baa Black Sheep” to her and heard the N-word used. Other black students also reportedly experienced similar treatment.

The lawsuit also states that Swisher reported hostility to district administrators, but her complaints were met with inaction. None of the perpetrators were ever punished.

According to reports within the lawsuit, the kid suffered “sustained racial abuse” that was so intense that she suffered a mental breakdown in 2022, forcing her to completely withdraw from the district.

Middle U.S. District Judge William I. Arbuckle approved the settlement on Monday, agreeing with the parents that it was of their daughter’s best interest. However, the school didn’t need to admit responsibility when settling accounts with the family.

Last summer, 4 school principals who were accused within the case were removed from the grievance.

Of the $50,000 amount, $13,349 in attorney fees and other legal fees will likely be deducted, leaving $36,651 that will likely be placed in a deposit receipt that the girl can have access to when she turns 18.

The Jersey Shore Area School District, positioned in rural Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania, enrolled over 2,165 students in three elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school through the 2023–2024 school yr.

According to the report report the Pennsylvania Department of Education shows that 94 percent of those students were white, 0.01 percent black, 0.01 percent Hispanic, and 0.03 percent multiracial.

The news concerning the settlement caused a stir in the area people.

“I have no words. It saddens me greatly to hear about the school district I graduated from!” he said Michele Welshans Ticewho used to work at a dis schoolTrit as a teacher’s assistant. “I’m absolutely appalled at this behavior by adults in school systems!! These adults should protect the scholars!! In my opinion, in the event that they don’t do that, their hearts will likely be hardened and stuffed with hatred.”

District teacher Raye Bierly said she has “witnessed all kinds of bigotry throughout my career.”

“There is nothing recent here. I did my best to suppress any of this kind of behavior that I encountered in my classroom. But bullies are smart. Well, cunning and sneaky are higher words. They do most of their cowardly, dirty work outside the reach of teachers and staff,” she said. “I’m glad that so many individuals condemn this behavior of scholars. … But we have now to ask ourselves, how do children learn this disgusting behavior? They are usually not born racist. So much starts at home, whether we would like to confess it or not.

This article was originally published on : atlantablackstar.com
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