Desmond Tutu Snubbed: Not Invited to Mandela Funeral

ABCNews

Another snag hit South Africa's long goodbye to anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela on Saturday when his longtime ally Desmond Tutu said he had not been accredited as a clergyman at the funeral by the government so would not attend.

Mac Maharaj, a spokesman for South African president Jacob Zuma, insisted that Tutu is on the guest list and that he hopes a solution will be found so Tutu is present. He said he had verified that Tutu had been invited.

The 82-year-old retired Anglican archbishop of Cape Town indicated he felt he had been snubbed by the current government, with which he has clashed several times in the past.

"Much as I would have loved to attend the service to say a final farewell to someone I loved and treasured, it would have been disrespectful to Tata (Mandela) to gatecrash what was billed as a private family funeral," Tutu said in a statement. "Had I or my office been informed that I would be welcome there is no way on earth that I would have missed it."

It was the latest problem to hit the 10-day mourning period for Mandela, the former president who died on Dec. 5 at age 95. The public memorial ceremony for Mandela on Tuesday at a Soweto stadium started late, had problems with loudspeakers and featured a signing interpreter for the deaf who made incomprehensible gestures, is a self-described schizophrenic and reportedly once faced charges of murder and other serious crimes.

No Way to Integrate White Supremacy (Here, South Africa or anywhere else): Luxury Condo Caught Excluding Blacks

WPTV

Marketed as luxurious, resort-style living, South Tower CityPlace sits in the heart of downtown West Palm Beach.

Now, a federal lawsuit alleged racial discrimination against the operators of the 20-story condo building. 

"It's disturbing, people who believe they have the right to lie to Americans based on the color of their skin," said Vince Larkins.

Larkins runs the Fair Housing Center of the Greater Palm Beaches, which conducts random audit testing at housing providers throughout the area. He says out of numerous tests, South Tower CityPlace was the only location found to be discriminating on the basis of race.

Larkins says in three tests during the last year, African-Americans were not helped when they showed interest in purchasing a property. 

"The black testers were told either no one was available to see them in two tests, or they couldn't be helped at the time, " said Larkins.

Larkins says white testers were helped by sales associates in further tests minutes later. 

The lawsuit also states the third and final time testers went in one hour apart from each other to see units within the $150,000-$350,000 price range. The African American was told only units in the $375,000+ range were available. The white tester was shown two units within the price range.

Tequisha Myles with Legal Aid of Palm Beach County says she isn't surprised. 

"A third of the places we test in a year requires some sort of follow up or a case comes out of it based on disability, familial, race or national origin discrimination," said Myles.

The owners and operators of South Tower CityPlace didn't return any of NewsChannel 5 phone calls.

Larkins hopes the lawsuit will bring a change in policy at the condominium.

off duty Black Orlando officer targeted by white co-worker cops during unlawful traffic stop

Orlandosnetinel 

A black Orlando police officer has filed a complaint against two white Orlando officers who he said racially profiled him during a traffic stop while he was off-duty in October, WFTV-Channel 9 is reporting.

Officer Janir Sims, a seven year veteran, said he was pulled over for no reason on Oct. 5 and two officers — Tyler Olsen and Phil McMican — pulled their guns and "ran towards my vehicle in a reckless manner not prescribed by any formal OPD training that I am aware of," according to the news station.

An internal investigation will likely be conducted to determine if the officers should be disciplined. To read the full story see WFTV.com.

The racism Mandela surmounted is alive and well in modern Ireland [white supremacy is worldwide, 24/7]

Irishexaminer

One Dutch word in the English language is ‘apartheid’. It is one of the most socially evil systems ever devised. Mandela played a great role with countless, often nameless others, in destroying and supplanting apartheid. The greater achievement was not bringing down apartheid — it was in successfully replacing it. 

South Africa of course is deeply flawed. It could hardly be other, so soon. Neither the role played by Mandela or the ANC can or should be free from criticism. History will slowly but surely winnow his lasting legacy from the Princess Diana-like lather of the past days. Mandela will emerge a somewhat chastened but far more credible figure because of it. What is in progress there and here this week is a great rush to take possession politically, and to profit by association, with an embryonic mythical Mandela. 

Given his stature the excavation of any association could see an opportunist through for a generation. Look at Pearse, de Valera or Collins. People here successfully feasted from them reputationally, not for one generation but for two, and the leftovers were served as sandwiches to a third. Mandela the man is gone, now the myth-making is begun. In death he can be used, as he would never allow when alive, by people who if they followed him from a distance never imitated him very closely in life. 

The Irish version of the Mandela myth is particularly cruel and corrosive. Racism is a deeply disturbing spectre. It leaves its victims living lives of fear, degradation and a greater likelihood of poverty. If like Nelson Mandela you are black and African, it is not only prevalent, it is pervasive in Ireland. Racism can also be part of your life if you are either ethnically Asian or indeed, Caucasian but foreign. 

The myth-making around race in Ireland is pervasive and pernicious. It ranges from “they” get “everything” free to they get “more” than “they” are entitled to. Specifically, “they” are given houses by the local authority, “they” are given hand-outs, prams and even cars by the community welfare officer. “They” have it all for nothing. As we have learnt only too well this past week, charity begins at home. 

In our Rainbow nation fully 12% of our people were born abroad. That doesn’t include those born here of non-Caucasian ethnicity and who are likely treated more as “them” than the us who are bathing ourselves in the suds rising off the lather of the Mandela allegory. To be black and Irish is to be a second-class citizen. 

Black Man's Car Vandalized with Racist & Anti-Islamic Messages in Watertown (NY)

watertowndaily

An act of vandalism and a hateful message left on the vehicle of a black Muslim immigrant have left a Watertown man shaken and have prompted what a state agency says may be the Watertown Police Department’s first investigation of a hate crime in five years.

The vehicle of Issa Alzouma, a native of Niger who has lived in the city for about three years, was damaged at his home early Saturday.

The truck, a 2003 Chevrolet Avanlanche, sustained about $3,200 worth of damage, according to Mr. Alzouma. The truck’s windshield was shattered and the front- and back-seat windows on the driver’s side were smashed.

A note containing racial slurs written in marker was tucked under the car’s windshield wipers.

“U (expletive) (racial slur) I know where u work too!!! U better watch your back!!!” the note said, according to a transcript in a police report Mr. Alzouma showed the Times. “(Expletive) Muslim and (racial slur)! Quit your job or else.”

Since the incident, Mr. Alzouma has been on paid leave from his job with Securitas Security Systems at the Dulles State Office Building because of the nature of the threat.

On Tuesday, Watertown Police Detective Sgt. Joseph R. Donoghue said the department’s investigation was in its early stages, and part of its review is determining whether the incident is a hate crime.

[To the extent that you might be dealing with a racist fireman..] White fire chief resigns over racial posts

Indystar

The chief of a southwestern Indiana volunteer fire department has resigned after being confronted about postings on his Facebook page saying he was a racist and had joined the Ku Klux Klan.

Sean Sargent resigned Tuesday after about a year as chief of the Owensburg Fire Department in rural Greene County.

Jackson Township Trustee Paul Trampke oversees the fire department. Trampke says he was shocked by Sargent’s postings and confronted him after hearing of complaints about them to the sheriff’s department.

The Herald Times and WRTV report Sargent’s now-deactivated Facebook page included jokes with racial expletive and post inviting others to support the KKK.

Sargent says his posts were directed at people who take advantage of taxpayers and that he hasn’t discriminated against anyone because of their race.

Johns Hopkins study: Predominantly black neighborhoods have most limited access to supermarkets

The health food disparities of predominantly black neighborhoods have been well-documented. Until recently, these disparities have been seen as the result of limited financial resources.

JHU

However, a recent study published in Preventive Medicine offers a new perspective on the health food discussion. Led by Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing assistant professor Kelly Bower and colleagues from the Bloomberg School of Public Health, the study suggests that when compared with other neighborhoods, without regard to income, predominantly black neighborhoods have the most limited access to supermarkets and to the healthier foods that such markets sell.

The study explored food store availability in over 65,000 rural and urban census tracts across the country, comparing the numbers of supermarkets with more than 50 employees, grocery stores, and convenience stores in communities with varied economic and racial compositions. The researchers found that the more impoverished a neighborhood, the fewer the number of independent or chain supermarkets and the less access to fresh fruits, vegetables, low-fat milk, high-fiber foods, and other healthy meal and snack options. The same finding holds true for all predominantly black neighborhoods—whatever the economic status—when compared with predominantly white or Hispanic communities.

These findings suggest that educating people in these neighborhoods on the importance of health conscious food choices is of limited value. If a person does not have access to such foods, then merely educating her won't solve the problem. The study also suggests that people in predominantly black neighborhoods need to be afforded better access to healthy eating options.

Interpreter for deaf at Mandela memorial service was a fake

WashPost

He made waves with his arms, touched his forehead and reached out with an embracing motion. And as the official interpreter for the deaf watching the Nelson Mandela memorial event Tuesday, he stood right behind the world’s most powerful leaders, including President Obama.

And he was a fake, advocates for the deaf say.

Web sites and radio shows here were flooded with condemnations of the African National Congress-led government and the organizers of the memorial at FNB Stadium in Soweto for failing to figure out whether the man was simply waving his arms around.

“Please get RID of this CLOWN interpreter, please!” Bruno Peter Druchen, head of the Deaf Federation of South Africa, tweeted during the memorial.

“ANC linked interpreter on stage is causing embarrassment amongst deaf ANC supporters. Please get him off,” added Wilma Newhoudt, a deaf member of the South African Parliament and vice president of the World Federation of the Deaf.

But the man remained on stage, and on Wednesday, his performance became the focus of a new storm of criticism. People who phoned an afternoon radio call-in show said the situation showed inept hiring, insensitivity to the deaf and a serious security lapse on the part of event organizers. And, they said, it marred the solemn event by distracting attention from Mandela and the world leaders who came to pay tribute to him.

It was not immediately clear who the man was or how he got on stage.

According to the Associated Press, Collins Chabane, one of South Africa’s two presidency ministers, said the government was investigating and “will report publicly on any information it may establish.”

White House officials directed questions about the interpreter to the South African government but gave no indication that there were concerns about Obama’s security arising from the discovery.

“I think the point is that he apparently was not translating him into anything but was enjoying the opportunity to be on the stage,” Josh Earnest, the principal deputy White House press secretary, said Wednesday at the daily briefing. “It would be a shame if a distraction about an individual who’s on stage in any way detracted from the importance of that event and the importance of President Mandela’s legacy.”

San Jose State faculty condemn racist conduct toward Black Student, criticize administration

MercuryNews

San Jose State faculty leaders formally apologized this week to a black student allegedly bullied for weeks by his white roommates, saying the reported abuse should have been stopped sooner.

" ... This despicable behavior may have been significantly reduced had it been addressed promptly," says a resolution passed by SJSU's Academic Senate.

The senate executive committee also begged the administration to renew its focus on diversity and to follow through on earlier suggestions for change.

Last month, four white SJSU freshmen were charged with misdemeanor crimes, accused of tormenting their black roommate for weeks. The four students -- who reportedly told police that the abuse was just a prank -- have been suspended while their criminal and campus discipline cases proceed.

The resolution also echoes broader concerns raised by faculty and students, including assertions that SJSU President Mo Qayoumi shelved a diversity master plan that was published before his arrival. The 122-page document calls for a more diverse faculty and measures to prevent "intercultural hostilities" and "cultural isolation," among other recommendations.

A former administrator who coordinated the plan said she met with Qayoumi after his appointment in 2011, but he didn't seem interested implementing its ideas.

"... It wasn't continued, and nothing replaced it," said Rona Halualani, an SJSU communications professor who was a special assistant to former SJSU President Don Kassing.

Now, she said, "No one really knows what the plan is."

ACLU: Holyoke police should be investigated regarding allegations of racial targeting of non-whites 'who look illegal'

MassLive

The American Civil Liberties Union has asked the Massachusetts attorney general to investigate Holyoke police regarding allegations of racial profiling in a Nov. 16 traffic stop and arrest.

Police in the stop at 240 Water St. denied people state and federal constitutional guarantees of equal protection, said a letter dated Tuesday from William C. Newman, director of the ACLU's Western Regional Office in Northampton, to the Boston office of Attorney General Martha M. Coakley.

"By this correspondence we seek to bring to the attention of the Massachusetts Attorney General a recent incident in which police officers in the City of Holyoke unjustifiably harassed and accosted several individuals and arrested one based on the officers' supposition that those individuals are immigrants, and request that the Attorney General take appropriate action," Newman's letter said.

According to citizen complaints about the incident filed with the Holyoke Police Department Nov. 23, Officer Patricia Alicea engaged in alleged misconduct in the arrest of Jose Loja Mayancela, 18, of Springfield. Mayancela was arrested and charged with unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle after police responded to a report at 6:35 p.m. of a suspicious vehicle with three people inside at 240 Water St., according to police and court documents.

Myancela pleaded guilty in Holyoke District Court and was fined $100, said Bliss Requa-Trautz, an organizer with Just Communities in Springfield, a group that helps immigrants. She said Myancela lacked proper legal representation.

Holyoke police mistreated more than just Mayancela in the traffic stop, said a press release from Just Communities.

Alicea and another unidentified officer interrogated four people at the scene whom the officers assumed were immigrants, said the press release from Bliss Requa-Trautz, an organizer with Just Communities.

"The interrogations consisted of implications of criminal wrongdoing, demands for proof of immigration status, and then throwing driver's licenses back at these individuals when they produced them, improperly impounding a car and effecting an improper arrest," the Just Communities press release said.

Those at the scene told police officers they had stopped at 240 Water St. because they were lost and waiting for help, said Newman's letter to Coakley's office.

The Just Communities press release said the incident highlights the need to pass the Trust Act, a bill currently in the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security that she said would clarify the role of local law enforcement related to immigrants.

Black Police Chief Resigns Amid Charges Of Racial Profiling by his White Cops

NPR

The police chief of Miami Gardens is resigning, weeks after allegations arose that his officers stopped and searched customers of a convenience store as a matter of routine. Charges of racial profiling and civil rights abuses were bolstered by videos that showed police frisking and arresting people.

Miami Gardens Police Chief Matthew Boyd, who is black, had already planned to resign in January. He stepped down today, according to The Miami Herald, which published an expansive report on the allegations two weeks ago.

Here's some background from NPR's Greg Allen, whose report will air on Thursday's Morning Edition:

"The town just north of Miami has struggled with a string of deadly shootings in recent months.
"In response, the city began what it calls 'Zero Tolerance' operations — increasing police stops and arrests, even for misdemeanors.
"The police chief's resignation comes after a store owner and some residents filed a lawsuit against the city in federal court."

The resignation also comes one day after the NAACP asked the U.S. Justice Department to open a civil rights inquiry into what it said "may be the most pervasive, most invasive, and most unjustified pattern of police harassment in the nation."

Much of the troubling police activity centered on the Quickstop, a store whose owner had worked with police on security efforts — but who came to believe that officers were violating basic rights in searching customers and his store without a warrant, and questioning and arresting people with seemingly little or no cause.

"Some of the store's customers were questioned hundreds of times over the past four years for minor infractions, such as trespassing and violating liquor law ordinances," The Miami Herald reports. It adds that the store's owner, Alex Saleh, "was disturbed by how his customers were being treated."

The Herald highlighted an extreme example when it broke the story two weeks ago — that of Earl Sampson, a man who "has been stopped and questioned 258 times in the past four years," as Eyder reported for The Two-Way last month.

The kicker? Sampson, 28, was arrested for trespassing — but he works at the Quickstop, as a clerk. Some people were cited for minor violations as many as three times in a day, The Herald said.

The store's owner "set up a series of cameras not to protect his business from crime, but instead to capture the actions of police," Eyder wrote. "Now those videos will become the centerpiece of a federal civil rights lawsuit being filed by the store's owner."

According to The Herald's report today, "Miami Gardens is the third-largest city in Miami-Dade County and the largest predominantly black city in the state."

Boyd had been the city's first police chief, taking up the post after Miami Gardens decided to create its own police force instead of relying on Miami-Dade County officers.

The Herald also notes a racial disparity between the town's population and its police force.

"Records obtained by The Herald show that nearly all the commanders — and most of the officers in the squads — are white and Hispanic," the paper says. "The city's population is about 80 percent black. The police force is 30 percent black."

A state investigation into the Miami Gardens police force's practices is ongoing, The Herald says.

Don’t blame the victim [of white supremacy] for the effects of racism

Posted on Inquireronline

Alejandro Ramos
December 11, 2013

When I was young, I had a pair of Nike Cortez sneakers that I loved. They were small, sleek, and just plain looked like they were made to run fast. I wore them everyday cause they made me feel like the coolest guy around.

One day, however, I stopped wearing them. They were still in decent condition and I could’ve gotten plenty of more use out of them. I didn’t want to wear them though, because I didn’t feel safe in them anymore.

Believe it or not, this scenario is common among minorities growing up in America. Society conditions us to believe that if we are attacked, it is through no one’s fault but our own. It is because of this that we have to make conscious decisions of how we walk, talk, and look because our safety and well-being depends on it.

You can argue against this point all you want, but it’s the truth. Minorities in this day and age still have to live according to outdated, oppressive rules just to get by day to day.

You might think that statement is an exaggeration, but it certainly wasn’t for Trayvon Martin. Several factors that were discussed following Trayvon’s death were the conditions by which it occurred, including his skin color, what he was wearing and the time of day.

The media had a field day for months deliberating this case. The discussions would, in some cases, devolve to blaming Trayvon for what happened to him because he looked like a “thug”.

Unfortunately, these type of comments always seem to come up for cases like these. With Trayvon Martin, it was because he looked like a “thug”. When a girl is raped, we hear people defend the assailant by saying she “asked for it”. When a gay man is attacked, it was because the assailant wasn’t comfortable with being flirted with.

We say we’re living in a time of social and racial tolerance, but it certainly doesn’t show in the way we treat the victims of discrimination and violence. Things might not be as bad as they were 50 years ago, but these incidents definitely show that the same negative mentality is still around today. [MORE]

Racism Linked to Infant Mortality and Learning Disabilities

TheRoot

On the long list of health disparities that vex and disproportionately affect the lives of African Americans—diabetes, cancer and obesity among them—one of the earliest and, it turns out, most significant, may be just when a black child is born.

 A pair of Emory University studies released this year have connected the large share of African-American children born before term with the biologically detectable effects of stress created in women’s bodies after decades of dealing with American racism. As shocking as that itself may sound, the studies’ findings don’t end there.

Racism, and its ability to increase the odds that a pregnant mother will deliver her child early, can kill. There is also evidence that racism can alter the capacity for a child to learn and distorts lives in ways that can reproduce inequality, poverty and long-term disadvantage, the studies found.

“Racism is an incredibly powerful force,” said Elizabeth Corwin, dean of research at Emory University’s Woodruff School of Nursing,

Bloomberg to Force Flu Vaccines for All NYC Children.

BlackListedNews

On Wednesday, with just three weeks to go until he leaves office, Mr. Bloomberg’s controversial Board of Health is set to vote on new rules that would force children as young as six months old to be immunized each year before December 31 if they attend licensed day care or pre-school programs.

“Young children have a high risk of developing severe complications from influenza. One-third of children under five in New York City do not receive an annual influenza vaccination, even though the vaccine safely and effectively protects them against influenza illness,” the Health Department said in a statement. “This mandate will help protect the health of young children, while reducing the spread of influenza in New York City.”

The Board is stocked with mayoral appointees and controversial initiatives–from smoking bans to regulations on soda cup sizes–have sailed through with little opposition, angering a small, but passionate group of advocates who claim the vaccinations are potentially dangerous.

The Most Homeless Children In New York City Since The Great Depression

BlackListedNews

Beyond its walls, she belongs to a vast and invisible tribe of more than 22,000 homeless children in New York, the highest number since the Great Depression, in the most unequal metropolis in America.