Noose images displayed in Long Island classroom as ‘back to school necklaces’
ROOSEVELT, L.I. — A Nassau County school district is investigating reports that a picture of nooses labeled “back to school necklaces” was displayed in a middle school classroom.
Arthur Mackey Jr., a pastor at Mount Sinai Baptist Church Cathedral in Roosevelt, said he received the image — which is part of a larger collage reportedly displayed in a classroom — from a teacher in the school system. He posted it on Facebook and called on the school district to take action.
“When I heard about it I said that this is outrageous,” Mackey told CNN. “The majority of students are minority students, African-American and Hispanic. For the image to be on the wall … is totally unacceptable.”
In a statement, the Roosevelt School District said it is aware of the “inappropriate conduct” and investigating. The school district said it is unable to comment further, calling the incident a “personnel matter.”
“The Board of Education has zero tolerance for the display of racially offensive images,” the district’s statement said.
CNN has not confirmed who sent the photo to Mackey, who created and put up the poster nor how long it had been on display.
Mackey says it is a “hate crime and racial discrimination,” for which those responsible should be punished.
More than half of the middle school’s population is Hispanic or Latino; about 45 percent is black or African American, according to the New York State Education Department.
Many people in the community are employed by schools in the district, Mackey said.
The district “cannot condone racism,” he said. “We have a great school superintendent, school board president and school board and we all believe in our hearts they are going to do the right thing.”
Hempstead Town Supervisor Laura Gillen released a statement saying: “Teachers should be held to a higher standard… A clear message needs to be sent that there is simply no place in our schools and in our society for this type of racist, hateful and insensitive imagery.”
Mackey said as soon as he began spreading the word, he received an overwhelming response from fellow community members who wanted action taken against whomever put up the poster.
Oregon Teacher Pleads Guilty to Rape After Being Caught in Bed With 15-Year-Old Boy by Husband
An Oregon teacher has been sentenced to 20 months in prison for the third-degree rape of a 15-year-old student.
Andrea Baber, 30, pleaded guilty to six counts of contributing to the sexual delinquency of a minor and three counts of third-degree rape, PEOPLE confirms.
As part of the plea deal, she will serve two years of post-prison supervision after her prison sentence. She must also register as a sex offender.
Baber had been an English teacher at Logos Christian Academy in Springfield prior to her December 2017 arrest. At the time of her arrest, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office issued a press statement saying Baber had initiated a sexual relationship with the student in 2016 that continued “on a regular basis” and involved Baber providing the teen with marijuana and alcohol.
Police were made aware of the relationship after the victim’s father called investigators. According to police, the victim’s family members received an anonymous email suggesting that the teen and Baber had been intimate. The email allegedly contained several photo attachments showing the teacher in bed with the teen.
Court documents obtained by PEOPLE at the time stated that on Dec. 5, Baber and the student were caught in bed by Baber’s husband. He made a report to Child Protective Services, according to the affidavit.
Baber was originally charged with rape, sodomy, contributing to the sexual delinquency of a minor, online sexual corruption of a minor and unlawful delivery of marijuana to a person under 18 years of age. Under the plea agreement, many of the charges were dropped.
Baber has been booked into the Douglas County Jail, PEOPLE confirms. She will spend her 20-month prison center in a facility within the Oregon Department of Corrections.
Malcolm X discussion at Berkeley 1963
The very things that Malcolm X is speaking of is so true today. It is important for all Americans including our black people to know where we came from and who we are. You may not agree with Malcolm X. But in his later years just before his death he made a great turnaround .
Mumps outbreak confirmed at ICE detention facility in Houston
Article via ABC
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — The Houston Health Department confirmed seven mumps cases at an U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Houston Saturday afternoon.
Officials said that all seven people were adults who were detained during the time they became sick.
“Since these individuals were isolated inside the facility during the period they were infectious, we do not anticipate these cases posing a threat to the community,” said Dr. David Persse, Houston’s local health authority and EMS medical director.”
The health department says they are working with the facility on infection control methods and will conduct an on-site visit soon.
Mumps is a vaccine-preventable contagious disease caused by a virus. It typically starts with a few days of fever, headache, muscle aches, tiredness, and loss of appetite, followed by swollen salivary glands.
Those experiencing symptoms of mumps or any highly contagious disease should immediately contact their doctor. Most people recover from mumps without serious complications.
Mumps can be prevented with two doses of measles, mumps and rubella vaccine. Children should receive the first dose at 12 to 15 months of age, and the second dose at 4 through 6 years of age. Two doses of the vaccine are 97 percent effective.
“Properly vaccinating your children isn’t just about protecting your child, it’s about protecting your entire family and your community,” Dr. Persse continued.
While rare, mumps outbreaks have previously occurred in Texas and Houston.
Jussie Smollett To Be “Held Accountable” For Potential False Report, Police Claims
Article via HotNewHipHop
The Chicago Police Department is casting doubt on the actor’s story.
An investigation was launched after Jussie Smollett reported an attack. The Chicago Police department initially announced that the case would be treated with care as a potential hate crime. After running into issues with gaps in video footage and other setbacks, legal authorities have decided to specify that Jussie Smollett will be held accountable if his report proved to be false.
Rafer Weigel of Fox News referred to the force’s superintendent to tweet: “#ChicagoPolice Supt Eddie Johnson says #JussieSmollett is still being treated as the victim in this case but if the investigation does reveal he made a false report he will be held accountable.”
The idea of punishment for filing a false report is definitely nothing new. In recent years, the Black community has asked for this concept to apply to scenarios in which apparently racist individuals call the police for absurd “reasons.” In this context, Johnson’s statement is questionable. The investigation is still ongoing, as he specified, so projecting the current victim into the future as a defendant is unusual.
This decision may come to the fact that many factions of the public have expressed skepticism in relation to Jussie’s testimony. Ironically, Johnson has poked holes in the”innocent until proven guilty” motto by adding to the speculations by mentioning the possibility of a false report, a hypothetical scenario that is always at play. Why mention it?
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Watch Tekashi 6ix9ine star in ad for New York sex shop that doubles as PSA against violence towards women
Daniel Hernandez, aka Tekashi 6ix9ine, has been recently seen in a Valentine’s Day ad for a NYC based sex store called Romantic Depot. This ad which has a special, program called ” dignity and respect,” prevents violence against women.
R. Kelly to visit Ghana
Article via GhanaWeb
Information available to BEATWAVES indicates that American superstar Robert Sylvester Kelly, known on the international music scene as R. Kelly, will host a major musical concert Ghana this year.
The American singer, songwriter and record producer will headline and share the stage together with some selected Ghanaian home-grown performing artistes.
The American singer is among many celebrities from the diaspora who will be coming to Ghana for the ‘Year of Return’ celebration this year to connect with their ancestry.
‘The Year of Return’ marks 400 years since some Black Africans and Ghanaians, for that matter, were shipped as slaves to foreign lands.
Kelly’s presence and live performance in Ghana will definitely rock the entire Ghanaian music scene.
The organisers have confirmed that they have “signed and sealed” a deal to have the R. Kelly perform in Ghana this year.
According to them, they will soon hold press launch of the concert to announce the full list of both local and international artistes who will be performing alongside R. Kelly at the concert, as well the venue and date.
Kelly is known for several hit songs including ‘Bump N’ Grind’, ‘Your Body’s Callin’, ‘I Believe I Can Fly’, ‘Gotham City’, ‘Ignition (Remix)’, ‘If I Could Turn Back the Hands of Time’, ‘The World’s Greatest’, ‘I’m a Flirt’ (Remix), among others.
In 1996, he was nominated for a Grammy for writing Michael Jackson’s song ‘You Are Not Alone’.
In 2002 and 2004, Kelly released collaboration albums with rapper Jay-Z and has been a guest vocalist for other hip-hop artistes like Nas, Sean Combs and Notorious B.I.G.
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Southern Baptist Leaders Promise ‘Change’ After Report Uncovers Rampant Sexual Abuse
Article via HuffingtonPost
Almost 400 Southern Baptist church leaders and volunteers have faced allegations of sexual misconduct since 1998, according to a damning report.
Leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention, the second-largest faith group in the U.S., have vowed real “change” in the aftermath of a damning investigative report by the Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News that uncovered decades of sexual abuse by hundreds of church leaders and volunteers.
According to the three-part investigation, the first installment of which was published on Sunday, about 380 Southern Baptist pastors, ministers, youth pastors, Sunday school teachers, deacons and church volunteers have faced allegations of sexual misconduct since 1998. More than 200 of them have been convicted or took plea deals, the newspapers reported, and nearly 100 are currently in prisons across the nation.
The victims of the accused number more than 700, the report said. They include teenagers and children, some as young as 3, who were “molested or raped inside pastors’ studies and Sunday school classrooms.”
Many victims said their stories of abuse were ignored or silenced by church leaders. One victim, who alleged she was raped and impregnated by her pastor when she was a teen, said her church leaders had urged her to get an abortion. When she refused, they threatened her and her child, she said.
Dozens of pastors, employees and volunteers were reportedly allowed to return to work in Southern Baptist churches despite being dogged by sexual abuse allegations.
In the aftermath of the Chronicle’s and Express-News’ report, leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention have promised to crack down on abuses in the church and to provide a safe space for victims to come forward.
In a multipart tweet on Sunday, J.D. Greear, SBC’s president, said he was “broken” by news of the rampant sexual abuse and vowed to “pursue every possible avenue” to “stopping predators in our midst.”
“We — leaders in the SBC — should have listened to the warnings of those who tried to call attention to this,” Greear wrote, though he did not indicate whether he had been approached personally by victims. “I am committed to doing everything possible to ensure we never make these mistakes again.”
“As a denomination, now is a time to mourn and repent,” Greear added. “Changes are coming. They must. We cannot just promise to ‘do better’ and expect that to be enough. But today, change begins with feeling the full weight of the problem.”
Russell Moore, president of SBC’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, said in a blog post on his website that “no church should be frustrated” by the newspapers’ reporting but should instead “thank God for it.”
“The report is alarming and scandalous, the courage and grace of these survivors is contrasted with the horrific depravity of those who would use the name of Jesus to prey on them,” Moore wrote.
Michael Criner, senior pastor of the First Baptist Church of Bellville, Texas, tweeted that he was “grieved” by the report and called for change in the convention. Hance Dilbeck, the executive director-treasurer of the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma, said in a statement that he welcomed the investigation’s findings.
“Jesus teaches us to be more critical of ourselves than we are of others. In as far as this article helps us to deal more honestly and clearly with sexual abuse in our churches, and more redemptively with survivors, I welcome it. We need strong voices from within our fellowship and from the outside pushing us to strive to do better,” Dilbeck said.
The SBC, which was also shaken last year by a series of sexual abuse allegations, is a fellowship of more than 47,500 autonomous Baptist churches. With 15 million members across the United States, it’s the country’s second-largest faith group after the Roman Catholic Church, The Washington Post reported.
In his blog post, Moore insisted that “church autonomy is no excuse for a lack of accountability.”
“Yes, in a Baptist ecclesiology each congregation governs its own affairs, and is not accountable to anyone ‘higher up’ in a church system. And yet, the decisions a church makes autonomously determine whether that church is in good fellowship with others. A church that excuses, say, sexual immorality or that opposes missions is deemed out of fellowship with other churches. The same must be true of churches that cover up rape or sexual abuse,” he wrote.