McKenzie Adams’ suicide caused by school’s failure to stop racist, gender-based bullying, lawsuit claims
Multiple Demopolis City Schools officials failed to protect a black Alabama 9-year-old girl from racially and gender-based bullying which led to her death by suicide, according to a federal lawsuit filed against the school system by the girl’s family on Thursday morning.
McKenzie Adams died by suicide in Linden in December 2018. She was a fourth-grader at U.S. Jones Elementary School who had dreams of being a scientist.
A lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama in Selma by Birmingham-based law firm Grant & Eisenhofer states McKenzie faced relentless bullying based on her race and gender by classmates. But the school system officials were indifferent to McKenzie and her family members’ complaints about the bullying, the lawsuit said. Grant & Eisenhofer filed the lawsuit on behalf of McKenzie’s mother, Jasmine Adams, and grandmother, Janice Adams.
The lawsuit seeks a jury trial and compensatory and punitive damages.
Demopolis City Schools, which is located in Marengo County, and U.S. Jones Elementary School are listed as defendants along with Demopolis City Schools Superintendent Kyle Kallhoff and former U.S Jones Elementary School principal and assistant principal Tori Infinger and Tracy Stewart. McKenzie’s fourth grade teacher, identified as Gloria Mims, is also mentioned in the lawsuit.
As of Thursday morning, Kallhoff said he has not seen a copy of the lawsuit and referred all questions to the school board’s attorney Alex Brasswell. At the time this article was published, Brasswell has not responded to phone calls from Al.com seeking comment about the lawsuit.
The 40-page complaint details the following timeline concerning the bullying McKenzie endured from the time she was enrolled at U.S. Jones Elementary for the 2018-19 school year until she passed away on Dec. 3, 2018. For four months, McKenzie was targeted by a 9-year-old white male classmate who repeatedly called McKenzie “ni**er” and an “ugly a** bit**.”:
- August 2018: Janice Adams called Mims and requested a meeting with the teacher to discuss the white student’s behavior and McKenzie’s state of mind. Adams didn’t receive a phone call from Mims, according to the lawsuit.
- September 2018: Janice Adams contacts Mims again to request a meeting.
- Oct. 1, 2018: Janice Adams received a generic notice saying that there was no need for a teacher-parent meeting. That same month, Janice Adams received McKenzie’s progress report, which showed that McKenzie was failing math, which is the subject that Mims taught. Janice Adams believes McKenzie was struggling in the course because of the emotional toll of being bullied and harassed by her classmate.
- October 12, 2018: Janice Adams went to Mims’ classroom to request a meeting. She also identified the white classmate student, told Mims McKenzie was being bullied by the student and asked the school to address it. Adams left her number for a follow up meeting. The lawsuit states Mims failed to call Adams back. The lawsuit said McKenzie told Mims multiple times about the student who was bullying her. The lawsuit states the teacher told McKenzie multiple times to, “Tell it to the wall because I do not want to hear it.”
- October 24, 2018: The white student passed a note to McKenzie calling her a “bit**” and a “pus** sucker.” According to the lawsuit, Mims contacted Adams after possessing the note and informed Adams that instead of disciplining the white student who passed the note, McKenzie would be disciplined for responding to the harassment.
- October 25: Stewart contacted Adams about the note and told Adams that McKenzie would be disciplined for responding to the bullying. Adams told Stewart that McKenzie was being bullied and had been a target of bullying since the beginning of the school year. In a three-way phone call with Adam’s and Jasmine Adams, McKenzie’s mother, Jasmine Adams expressed concerns about the bullying and the fact that McKenzie was going to be disciplined by the school. Jasmine Adams then told Stewart she was going to contact the Alabama State Department of Education about the persistent bullying. Stewart asked Jasmine Adams not to contact the state department and that the matter will be handled.
- November 5, 2018: McKenzie writes about two boys who were bullying her at school in her diary.
- Dec. 3, 2018: Attorneys representing the McKenzie’s grandmother and mother believe the white student told her that she was better off dead and instructed her on how to taker her own life. McKenzie died the same day in her grandmother’s home in Linden.
The lawsuit states the school system didn’t adhere to both state and federal laws regarding anti-bullying measures. The Jamari Terrell Williams Bullying Prevention Act, which expanded on Alabama’s 2009 anti-harassment law, requires schools to define, control, report and take other measures against bullying. The complaint states officials in both the Demopolis City school system and U.S. Jones Elementary failed to comply.
The complaint also said the school district violated Title IX of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits harassment based on gender, and Title VI, which prohibits discrimination based on race. The lawsuit also accuses the school system of denying Adams equal protection under the 14th Amendment.
McKenzie was one of three Alabama students whose deaths captured headlines and hearts nationwide during the 2018-19 school year. McKenzie passed away about a month after another 9-year-old from Birmingham, Madison “Maddie” Whittset, died by suicide in November 2018. Nigel Shelby was 15 when he died by suicide in Huntsville in April 2019. Bullying was cited by family members in all three deaths.
Diandra Debrosse Zimmerman, Grant & Eisenhofer director and lead attorney on the case, said school officials’ failure to respond to both McKenzie and her family’s complaints led to McKenzie’s death.
“The behavior of school and district officials was not only morally appalling but also a direct contravention of federal and state law, which require schools to enact and enforce policies against harassment and bullying,” Zimmermann said. “U.S. Jones Elementary, which says its mission ‘is to ensure that students are safe, loved, and provided opportunities to develop,’ tragically failed at all three in McKenzie’s case.”
Photo Credit: From Facebook page of Eddwina Harris
‘White Only’ signs for sale at antiques store spark confrontation
(CNN) — Nicola Shanks was browsing the aisles of an antique store in Cortez, Colorado, last week when she noticed several signs that took her aback.
“Public Swimming Pool — White Only,” one read.
“Colored Seated In Rear,” another read.
“We Serve Colored Carry Out Only,” read a third.
Shanks, a stay-at-home mom with an African-American daughter, was angered by the Jim Crow-era racist signs, she told CNN.
“I think it was disbelief at first, that I was actually seeing these signs in a store. It’s something I would expect to see at the Jim Crow museum, not in a local antique store,” she said.
That anger pushed Shanks to confront a store employee about the signs, and days later, she returned to the store to speak directly to the owner about removing them.
But the store’s owner, Cheryl Dean, refused to back down over the course of a 15-minute conversation, Shanks said. Dean, who did not respond to CNN’s request for comment, said the signs were not racist in nature, according to CNN affiliate KDVR.
“I’ve lived in a small town my whole life. I don’t even know what the word means. There’s been black people in the store and we laugh about it. There’s people that collect that stuff. It has nothing to do with racism. It’s part of history, like, ‘Look how far we’ve come,'” Dean said.
But Shanks said that she believes the historical argument does not hold up.
“The thing that was even more upsetting to me is the fact that they’re not antiques, they’re replicas,” Shanks said.
In the past few days, Dean has faced a torrent of criticism and threats online, she told KDVR. She also said that the signs had sold out, and she did not plan to replace them.
Shanks said she did not condone threats to Dean and that she wanted to find common ground on the issue with the owner.
“My hope confronting her is that she would have a change of heart and hear what people of color have to say and how this affects them, not from me but from information I would share with her,” she said.
Photo Credit: Nicola Shanks
Family’s cat accidentally euthanized during routine vet visit
(CNN) — A Texas family is mourning after their cat was accidentally euthanized during a routine visit to an animal hospital.
Michelle Olson and her husband had taken 8-year-old Sophie to Suburbia North Animal Hospital in Houston, Texas, for her regular checkup and rabies vaccination.
Everything seemed fine, until they received a frightening call on their drive home.
“It was the doctor herself calling saying, ‘Please get Sophie back here immediately, we gave her euthanasia instead of a rabies vaccine,'” Olson told CNN affiliate KTRK.
The couple rushed back to the hospital to try and save their beloved cat.
“I immediately took her out of her cat carrier and I held her, talked to her, because I knew that was going to be the last thing she would remember,” Olson said. “I knew she wasn’t going to come back at that point. I just knew it. She pretty much was dying in my arms.”
Hospital staff gave Sophie oxygen and fluids to try and flush out the deadly drugs, Olson told CNN affiliate KPRC-TV. She died two days later.
Suburbia North Animal Hospital did not return CNN’s request for comment.
Olson said while the hospital staff was extremely sorrowful and apologetic, it was simply an “accident that should have never happened.”
“My main concern is not to bash them at all, just want to make public aware to be vigilant, ask questions that you didn’t think you had to ask of your veterinarian so this doesn’t happen to anyone else,” Olson said.
Photo Credit: Olson family
Kanye West Says He’s Running for President in 2024, Along With an Unlikely Competitor
Kanye West, the husband of Kim Kardashian West and a highly-successful rapper, has a knack for grabbing headlines whether that’s from his outlandish behavior or his decision to wear a MAGA hat, a nod to support for President Donald Trump. Just recently, the musical artist considered changing his name to Christian Genius Billionaire Kanye West, citing a religious awakening that has been reflected in the newest music he’s released, if that’s any indication of the volatility he’s capable of. So, given his seemingly impulsive behavior, many are wondering if he still plans on running for president in 2024 after be claimed he would several years ago. If so, he might have some unlikely competition.
West first announced that he would be running for president in 2024 during an interview he had with Vanity Fair. And for the rapper, he was being completely serious. “I didn’t approach that because I thought it would be fun… No, the exact opposite,” he said. “I sit in clubs and I’m like, wow, I’ve got five years before I go and run for office and I’ve got a lot of research to do, I’ve got a lot of growing up to do.”
The jury is still out on if West was able to do a ‘lot of growing up’ but the rapper did double down in an interview in November of 2019 stating, “When I run for president in 2024, we’re gonna definitely…” For West, though, no one in attendance took him seriously and laughter erupted throughout the room. He would go on to set the record straight for those who were doubting him, though.
West Double Downs on Statement to Run
After the laughter had subsided over Kanye’s comments about running for president in 2024, he became very solemn and serious, asking the crowd, “No, what y’all laughing at? Again, the audience burst out in laughter, as if West was filming a standup special and was simply going along with one of his jokes.
But remaining serious, the rapper looked the audience dead in the face and stated, “When I run for president in 2024, we would’ve created so many jobs that I’m not gonna run I’m gonna walk.” So, from the look for things, West is seriously going to run for president, come the 2024 election, at least as of now.
Akon Considering a 2024 Presidental Run Amid Philanthropy Efforts
If Kanye does, in fact, plan to run, which is very possible, he may have an unlikely competitor in fellow rapper, Akon, who has also said he is considering a run for the highest office in the country. This would likely be bad news for West as Akon has many of the experiences and qualities that seem to be absent from Kanye’s resume.
Specifically, Akon, who doesn’t do much rapping these days, has been heavily involved in multiple philanthropies over the years in Africa. He’s even developed his own cryptocurrency, called the AKoin, which can be used in various countries throughout Africa as a stable currency in the midst of the ever-changing regimes and governmental entities. Some people have stated that Akon has done more for Africa in one year’s time than charities have done in many years, altogether.
Akon’s Experience with Philanthropy and Business Development
Akon also got a chance to speak with Vanity Fair, and appropriately, was asked about running for president in 2024, given his past experiences with philanthropy, building businesses, and ultimately, living the American Dream.
The Soul Survivor artist responded in a way that is sure to attract some voters, should he pursue the presidential election in 2024. “I think if you’re going to run for office, you are serving. And I think that’s a little bit different from a job,” he said. “I’ve kind of experienced everything that a U.S citizen can experience – being an entrepreneur, understanding growth and building companies.”
“I can also say the same thing from a business level and then from a political standpoint. I’ve been, literally, advising presidents from everywhere. I mean, like over 15, you know, countries in Africa – all throughout the world.”
Article via Yahoo News
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Fans Are Calling Out Beyoncé and Her New Ivy Park Collection for Not Being Size-Inclusive
Fans have been anticipating the release of Beyoncé’s Ivy Park x Adidas collection for months. When the pre-sale kicked off on Jan. 17, they rushed online to stock up on their favorite items. But some weren’t able to get their hands on anything, as much of the merchandise did not come in sizes beyond XL. Many of them took to social media with their concerns, calling out Beyoncé and Adidas for failing to include a broader range of sizes.
What is the Ivy Park x Adidas collection?
Beyoncé announced the collection with a series of Instagram posts shared in December 2019. The line features sneakers, jumpsuits, cargo pants, tops, hoodies, dresses, biker shorts, coats, backpacks, and leggings. The items follow a maroon, solar orange, and cream color palette.
“My team has worked hard with the Adidas team in bringing my vision to life for this first collection and I am grateful and proud,” Beyoncé said in a news release. “From the accessories to the clothes and footwear, I wanted to design and re-imagine pieces that serve as favorite armor for anyone who acknowledges the strength in their individual style and lives freely and boldly.”
In ELLE‘s January 2020 issue, Beyoncé described the collaboration as gender-neutral and noted that she designs Ivy Park items with “everyone in mind.”
The launch of the Ivy Park x Adidas collection
A day before the official launch, fans got the chance on Jan. 17 to buy some items early. After logging online, some people were disappointed to see that the items were not available in their sizes. According to reports, the pieces only come in XS to XL.
So, they took to websites such as Twitter to express their disappointment.
One woman tweeted that while she loves the singer and is a “noted member of the Beyhive,” it is “incredibly disappointing that a woman who has made inclusion a part of her brand willfully excluded plus-size people from her athleisure line.”
Another said, “I stan Beyoncé, but it’s disappointing to see that this collection only goes up to an XL, especially because Adidas recently started selling size-inclusive activewear as well.” (Adidas launched a size-inclusive collection with the plus-size brand, Universal Standard in late 2019.)
Someone else tweeted to Beyoncé: “[It’s] sad you left your millions of plus size fans out. WE LIKE TO LOOK [GOOD] TO!!”
Even those whose sizes are available spoke out against the line, with one woman saying that while she can fit the XL, she’s still “very surprised Beyoncé herself didn’t make sure plus sizes were included… hurt actually.”
Others, however, took different stances.
“Love Beyoncé but I had no plans on purchasing Ivy Park so I’m not even mad at the lack of plus size pieces,” one person said.
Another tweeted: “We all love beyoncé. it’s okay for her plus sized fans to be upset about the ivy park size range. accountability is how people improve.”
As of writing, neither Beyoncé or Adidas has commented on the criticism. It’s unclear whether Beyoncé intends to expand the Ivy Park sizing in the future.
It’s not the first time Beyoncé has faced this kind of backlash
The Lemonade singer also faced criticism after a 2016 Ivy Park launch. The items also only came in sizes XS to XL.
“Funny thing about this Beyoncé #IvyPark collection is she wants people to be FIT but the only size she offers is FIT sizes already, so….” one person tweeted at the time.
Another called it “Absolutely disgusting.”
Beyoncé’s fans come in all shapes, so it’s understandable why people were hoping that the line would have had a broader range of sizes. Hopefully, Bey will take these concerns into consideration and will release something more inclusive next time.
Article via CheatSheet
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US Bank employee fired for giving $20 out of her own pocket to struggling customer
An Oregon banker gave $20 out of her own pocket to a struggling customer on Christmas Eve — but her good deed backfired when her employer sacked her days later, according to a new report.
Emily James, a senior banker at a US Bank call center in Portland, got a call on Dec. 23 from customer Marc Eugenio, whose $1,000 paycheck from a new job had been placed on hold — leaving him essentially broke, The Oregonian reported.
The glitch left him unable to buy his kids Christmas presents, and he couldn’t afford living expenses either, KOIN 6 reported.
After some back and forth with a local US Bank branch, Eugenio called James back at the 800 number on Christmas Eve.
“I said, ‘I wish I had just $20 bucks to get home,’” Eugenio told the paper. “And she said ‘Wait, hold on.’”
James — who handled calls from customers across the country and said she rarely spoke to anyone local — decided to personally deliver $20 to Eugenio, who was only about 14 miles away, according to the report.
“I handed him $20 in cash, said ‘Merry Christmas’ and went right back to work,” James said.
But when James returned to work on New Year’s Eve, the bank’s regional service manager fired her for having “an unauthorized interaction with a customer.”
“She said, ‘We’re sorry, we cannot keep your employment,’” James told the paper.
“They were worried about my safety,” the banker said. “He could have kidnapped me or shot me. But I wouldn’t have left or even tried to ask if that was OK if I thought that this person would hurt me.”
Eugenio called the decision “ridiculous.”
“It was one of the saddest Christmases,” he said. “Promissory notes for Christmas gifts. And I can’t believe [James] lost her job over it. The only one who seemed to care was Emily, and she got fired for that.”
At this point, James said she’s not sure she even wants her job back.
“I can’t change the world but I can change the world for that one person,” she told KOIN 6. “I would rather my morals align with someone who’s more willing to support someone like that than someone who’s willing to throw away two-and-a-half years and a lot of dedication.”
In a statement, a US Bank spokesperson explained the company’s decision to fire James.
“At US Bank, we have policies and procedures in place to protect our customers and employees,” the spokesperson said. “Ms. James was terminated following an internal investigation into her interactions with a customer. During this review it was determined Ms. James did not use the available solutions to remedy the customer’s situation and instead put herself and the bank at risk with her actions.”
via: https://nypost.com/2020/01/17/us-bank-employee-fired-for-giving-20-to-struggling-customer/
Photo Credit nypost.com
Hoverboarding dentist found guilty after bizarre tooth extraction caught on tape
No, it isn’t the nitrous oxide — that dentist is really riding a hoverboard.
An Alaska dentist has been found guilty on dozens of charges for pulling a patient’s tooth as he rode on the two-wheeled gadget and other unsavory acts.
Seth Lookhart, 34, was convicted Friday in Anchorage on 46 counts that included reckless endangerment, illegally practicing dentistry and medical assistance fraud.
Witnesses in the case included Veronica Wilhelm, who was sedated when the dentist pulled her tooth in July 2016 as he rode on a hoverboard, news station KTUU reported.
Lookhart allegedly texted a video of the procedure to at least eight people, joking that it was a “new standard of care,” NBC News reported.
The video shows the dentist triumphantly throwing his hands in the air while scooting off from the wheel-y stupid stunt, then spinning around to grin at the camera.
During the trial, Lookhart’s attorney apologized for his client’s “idiotic” behavior.
“I want you to know that as his lawyer, I apologize for what he did on that hoverboard,” defense attorney Paul Stockler said, according to the Anchorage Daily News.
“It’s unacceptable and you can be assured that when I agreed to represent him, I got in his face and told him what I thought about him for doing this, which I think needed to be done.”
But that was hardly the only thing he did wrong.
Prosecutors say Lookhart also defrauded the Alaska Medicaid program by offering more-costly intravenous sedation to Medicare patients instead of anesthesia.
Anchorage Superior Court Judge Michael Wolverton issued the guilty verdict after a five-week trial, calling the state’s evidence “simply overwhelming.”
The judge noted that Lookhart’s own text conversations were incriminating. One message included the dentist explaining to a pal how he pulled off some of his crimes.
“Dr. Lookhart responded, in effect, that unless someone was standing right next to him at the time, no one would ever know,” Wolverton wrote.
Lookhart is scheduled to be sentenced April 30.
Photo Credit: nypost.com
Woman injures 2 after allegedly driving into traffic as a test of faith
A woman in Pennsylvania allegedly drove her car into oncoming traffic as a test of her faith in God and showed no remorse for her actions, according to authorities.
The incident occurred on Jan. 7 near Weatherly, Pennsylvania when 31-year-old Nadejda Reilly drove into oncoming traffic on Route 93, according to ABC News’ Pittsburgh affiliate station WTAE.
An investigator who spoke to Reilly said that she told him she had been driving around for several hours waiting for a calling from God when she decided to take action into her own hands and drive into an oncoming vehicle.
“Reilly related God took care of her by not having her injured,” wrote Trooper Bruce Balliet in an arrest affidavit. “Reilly expressed no concerns or remorse for the victims. Reilly also stated she did not care if the other people were injured because God would have taken care of them.”
Reilly, from Drums, Pennsylvania, had her $50,000 bail revoked and was charged with aggravated assault and other offenses over allegations that she purposely caused the accident that injured two people in the vehicle that she collided with.
The two people in the car that Reilly collided with were taken to hospital and treated for their injuries.
Reilly’s lawyer, Andrew Theyken Bench, filed a notice with the Carbon County court saying that Reilly planned to waive her formal arraignment but declined to offer further comment on Friday.
Photo Credit: currently.att.yahoo.com
Mo’Nique’s New Film “Mother Trucker” & Showtime Comedy Special 2020
Mo’Nique is set to star in a new action-adventure film titled “Mother Trucker” a period piece set during the impeachment hearings of Nixon. In an effort to provide for her daughter, “Mother Trucker” discovers the real reason her husband died, which sets her on a path of revenge to find his racist killers.
“Mother Trucker” is an independent film (and directorial debut) written by J. Oyer Tomas. Mo’Nique and Tomas met in 2014 on set of “Bessie”, the HBO film that earned Mo’Nique a Primetime Emmy Award Nomination for her amazing performance as Ma Rainey in 2014.
Mo’Nique to Variety”
‘Never in my 30 years of being in entertainment have I seen a film with a badass black woman that has the balance of funny, drama, and action while addressing the challenges women of color face everyday, like ‘Mother Trucker”
Variety also reports that Mo’Nique is currently working on a comedy special for Showtime to air this 2020. Mo’Nique’s last comedy special “Something Different” was released on Amazon produced by Mo’Nique and her husband Sidney Hicks.
In 2019 Mo’Nique became the first Black Woman to headline her own comedy residency in Vegas called; “Mo’Nique Does Vegas” at the SLS Las Vegas Hotel. Amidst the controversy around her suing NETFLIX, being black balled in Hollywood for not playing “the game”, and being one of the only Women in Hollywood history to call out powerhouse companies, and people for racism, gender bias, and bad business. It looks like 2020 is piping up to be Mo’Nique’s come back year!
Article via theblackmedia
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Los Angeles teachers sue Delta after jet fuel dump over schools, playgrounds
“Students began screaming and crying because their eyes and skin were burning. Fear, dread, panic, and helplessness ensued,” according to a teacher.
Four Los Angeles teachers sued Delta Airlines less than a week after a China-bound plane dumped fuel over playgrounds and schools, citing emotional anguish and distress and accusing the pilot of failing to follow protocol.
The teachers, who have not been identified, say the airline was negligent by allowing the plane to depart in the first place.
In their suit, the teachers from Park Avenue Elementary School in south Los Angeles County, some 17 miles from Los Angeles International Airport, said they could feel fuel on their clothing, skin and eyes. The exposure caused the women to feel dizzy, nauseated and sick, attorney Gloria Allred said. Young students screamed and cried, she said.
“They also suffered severe emotional distress from the knowledge that they had involuntarily ingested toxins,” Allred said in a statement Friday. “Their severe emotional distress includes the reasonable fear that the exposure to and ingestion of jet fuel might produce serious health consequences in the future.”
The teachers are seeking compensatory damages.
Delta Airlines did not respond to a request for comment Friday, but has previously said the fuel dump was “required as part of normal procedure to reach a safe landing weight.”
On Tuesday, Delta Flight 89, which was headed to Shanghai, experienced engine trouble shortly after takeoff. The pilot declared an in-flight emergency and notified air traffic control personnel that the plane needed to return to LAX. The pilot did not inform the control tower that the plane would need to dump fuel to lighten its load, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The teachers’ lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleged that the Delta pilot “was specifically asked” by air traffic control personnel if he needed to dump fuel and the pilot allegedly replied “negative.”
“We’ve got it under control,” the pilot said, according to the lawsuit.
Allred said that if the pilot had properly alerted air traffic personnel on the ground, the flight would have been directed to a safe location and altitude from which it could dump fuel without posing a risk to the general public.
The pilot dropped fuel at around 2,000 feet, hitting several schools in its path.
One of the teachers in the suit said her fifth-grade students initially thought the jet fuel was rain. The children looked up “only to have noxious liquid then overwhelm [their] eyes, mouths, noses, lungs and skin,” the teacher said in a statement.
“I immediately began to rush my students indoors, as the fumes were stifling,” she said. “Students began screaming and crying because their eyes and skin were burning. Fear, dread, panic, and helplessness ensued.”
Article via NBCNews