GWU plans to replace Jessica Krug, the professor who admitted to falsely claiming Black identity
George Washington University’s history department plans to replace Jessica A. Krug, the associate professor who said she lied about being a Black woman, the department chair has confirmed.
“We certainly want the classes to continue, and we’re going to see if it’s possible,” said Daniel Schwartz. “We’re looking to see if we can find a replacement.”
Krug was teaching courses on African and Latin American history in the fall semester, Schwartz said, and the department is looking to bring in a professor with experience teaching those subjects. A replacement has not been chosen, but Schwartz mentioned the possibility of recruiting someone from the GWU community.
There are people who are not full-time faculty at GW, but have taught part-time before,” he said. Schwartz said Krug is still working for the department. A spokeswoman for the university did not confirm Krug’s employment.
Krug did not respond to a request for comment.
The university, in a tweet, confirmed Krug wrote the Medium blog post in which she confessed to lying about her identity.
The White professor said she had been “audaciously deceptive” about her identity. Krug, who grew up in suburban Kansas City, Kan., has claimed multiple identities throughout her life, including North African, Black American and Black Caribbean. In an essay published on Essence.com about the Puerto Rican uprising against its governor in 2019, she called herself a “boricua.”
There is no ignorance, no innocence, nothing to claim, nothing to defend,” Krug wrote in the blog post. “I have moved wrong in every way for years.”
Krug built her scholarship on African and Latin American history. She has written about subjects including hip-hop, colonialism in Africa and Latin America, the trade of enslaved people and African American history.
The professor wrote she should be canceled and believes in “cancel culture as a necessary and righteous tool for those with less structural power to wield against those with more power.”
Academics of color reacted to Krug’s announcement on social media. Krug, through her scholarship and falsely claimed identity as a Black woman, became part of a network of Black and Hispanic scholars.
“Nothing says white privilege like trying to orchestrate your own cancellation,” tweeted Sofia Quintero, a writer and activist from the Bronx.
Krug said she had eschewed her experiences growing up in suburban Kansas City. She wrote in the blog post that she had been alienated from her family.
Quinton Lucas, the mayor of Kansas City, Mo., retweeted a yearbook photo from 1999 that showed Krug and himself as part of a student political organization called StuPac. Lucas and Krug were classmates at the Barstow School in Kansas City, Mo., according to the tweet.
“One of the stranger person-in-your-yearbook-photo-did-this stories I’ve stumbled upon. Yes, Jessica graduated a few years ahead of me,” Quinton tweeted. “She was interesting back then, but it is really surprising she’s tried to pass as Black for 20 years. Her apology in reflection is warranted.”
Original article here ?????? ??????????????????????????????????????https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/gwu-plans-to-replace-jessica-krug-the-professor-who-admitted-to-falsely-claiming-black-identity/2020/09/04/699fc2be-eedb-11ea-ab4e-581edb849379_story.html
Snow predicted for Colorado following 100-degree weekend
A snowstorm could blanket Colorado in white Tuesday following steamy temperatures that reached 101 degrees over the weekend.
Assistant state climatologist Becky Bolinger said the wild weather swing is “truly something that I’ve never seen,” according to a report by Colorado Public Radio.
“Prepare now, for this sharp change from summer to winter!” Boulder’s National Weather Service tweeted Monday morning.
The cold front will begin Monday evening with strong winds and rain changing to snow by Tuesday. The precipitation could cause tree limbs to break and power outages, the NWS warned in the tweet.
The upcoming snowstorm follows a hot Labor Day weekend with temperatures in the 90s on Sunday and Denver reaching a high of 101 degrees on Saturday, CPR reported.
Meanwhile, most of the state’s Front Range region hasn’t seen a September snowfall in 20 years with Denver’s earliest record of the wintry precipitation on Sept. 3, 1961, the outlet reported.
“It’s an incredibly notable event, and one I’ve been watching with incredible fascination over the last week as it’s unfolded,” Bolinger said, adding that it remains to be seen whether the snow will stick given how warm the ground will be, according to the report.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/09/07/snow-storm-predicted-in-colorado-following-hot-weekend/
Photo Credit: AP
California’s El Dorado wildfire sparked by pyrotechnic device at gender reveal party
A California wildfire that flared up Saturday was sparked by a smoke generating pyrotechnic device at a gender reveal gathering, officials said Sunday.
The El Dorado Fire ignited near El Dorado Ranch Park just outside the city of Yucaipa at about 10:20 a.m., according to Cal Fire. The blaze has torched over 7,000 acres as of late Sunday.
The department revealed the fire’s cause in a Sunday night tweet, along with a warning to California residents of the state’s dangerous fire conditions.
“Cal fire reminds the public that with the dry conditions and critical fire weather, it doesn’t take much to start a wildfire,” Cal Fire wrote.
“Those responsible for starting fires due to negligence or illegal activity can be held financially and criminally responsible.”
It’s unclear if anyone will be charged over the incident.
Authorities did not reveal what the gender of the baby ultimately was.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/09/07/californias-el-dorado-wildfire-sparked-by-gender-reveal-pyrotechnics/
Photo Credit: National Parks Service via Twitter
Black jogger detained for fitting burglary description is offered job by Florida sheriff
A black jogger was detained by Florida deputies because he fit the description of a burglary suspect — but he was soon cleared and the sheriff even offered the former military policeman a job, according to reports.
Joseph Griffin was stopped last week by Volusia County deputies who told him they were looking for a bearded black male wearing a white tank top and dark shorts — matching his description, WSAV reported.
The shocked registered nurse pulled out his cellphone and began shooting a Facebook Live video of the interaction after handing over his identification.
“You’re not in any in trouble or anything, there’s, uh, a burglary that happened — you kind of fit the description,” a deputy says, according to WTSP.
“Really?” Griffin responds.
“Just let me make sure you’re not him … Literally, they said, ‘White tank top, black shorts.’ And they said that you had a beard. I’m not saying it’s you, but it was a black male, again, not saying it’s you, buddy,” the deputy adds.
The deputy then handcuffs Griffin, who tells his viewers, “If something happens to me, y’all better raise hell.”
After a chopper flies overhead, Griffin adds, “It’s just a lot going on today,” likely referring to the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and the death of George Floyd while in custody of Minneapolis police.
“We’re the same, you know me, I’mm take care of you,” the deputy says as his bodycam records the incident, which ends when police arrest the real suspect.
Sheriff Mike Chitwood later said Griffin would join the office during an implicit bias training session, adding that the former military policeman could have a new job if he wanted.
“I told him we’d train and hire him as a deputy in a second if he ever wants a new job,” Chitwood wrote on Facebook.
“I also just want to say again how proud I am of the deputies who handled this call. Granted, nothing like Facebook Live existed when I was starting out, but I don’t know if a young Mike Chitwood would have kept a live video running for somebody I was detaining,” he wrote.
“These guys did it because in that moment, they understood what it meant to Mr. Griffin, who was going out of his way to be cooperative and respectful,” Chitwood added.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/09/07/jogger-detained-for-fitting-burglary-description-offered-job/
Photo Credit: nypost.com
Professor collapses and dies in front of virtual class amid COVID-19 symptoms
A college professor in Argentina who had been suffering from persistent coronavirus symptoms collapsed and died at her home during a lecture in front of her virtual class, according to reports.
Paola De Simone, 46, who taught 20th-century world history at Universidad Argentina de la Empresa in Buenos Aries, complained she was having trouble breathing during the Zoom session last week, the Sun reported, citing Diari Mes.
Her alarmed students asked her to give them her home address so they could summon help, but she gasped “I can’t” before collapsing, according to the news outlet.
De Simone’s husband, a doctor, discovered her lifeless body when he came home.
The professor, who also is survived by a daughter, had mentioned her health struggle — and her husband’s work amid the pandemic — on Twitter.
“It is very complicated. I have been here [with the virus] for more than four weeks and the symptoms do not go away,” De Simone wrote, according to the Sun. “My husband is exhausted from working so much at the moment.”
One of her students, Ana Breccia, 23, described the professor’s last moments.
“She began by saying that she had pneumonia, we saw it was worse than in previous classes,” she said. “At one point she could not continue passing slides, nor speak and she became unbalanced.”
Another student called De Simone an “unforgettable teacher, one of those who give you a hand in everything, who make you love what you study, who go out of their way for their students. We are going to miss you a lot,” the Sun reported.
Silvina Sterin Pensel, an Argentine journalist in New York, said she was not surprised her friend and former classmate at Universidad del Salvador had still been teaching.
“I totally portray Paola deciding, ‘I can totally do this, my students need me,’” she told the Washington Post, adding that the professor’s death is a “sad reminder that the virus is real.”
Sterin Pensel, who met De Simone in 1992, described her friend as a “brainy, brilliant” person who displayed the traits of a successful educator even back then.
“You could tell already she had a bright future ahead in teaching or in any endeavor she set her mind to,” she told the Washington Post. “She was already displaying this critical thinking you find more in a professor than in a student.”
Michelle Denise Bolo — who said said she took De Simone’s economics class at the Universidad de Buenos Aires in 2017 — told the paper that the energetic professor always got her full attention.
“Her classes were at 7 a.m., it was very difficult sometimes, we were sleepy, but it was crazy because everybody listened to her,” the 21-year-old told the Washington Post. “By the end of the class, nobody wanted to leave, everybody wanted to keep talking about what she was explaining.”
Bolo said that when a friend informed her about De Simone’s death, she spent several hours messaging friends and former classmates to share their recollections about the beloved professor.
“It was like we kind of needed that sharing of memories, it was very heartbreaking when we found out,” she told the paper.
“She managed to show herself and talk about her life and her passions and her other jobs. She was very personal but also super professional,” Bolo added. “There are teachers that are sometimes unapproachable — she was nothing like that.”
More than 450,000 COVID-19 cases and over 9,000 fatalities have been reported in Argentina, according to Johns Hopkins University.
“The virus is still making rounds in Buenos Aires,” Sterin Pensel told the newspaper. “In Argentina, the confinement has been very strict, so people are showing signs of fatigue in complying. But these kinds of reminders, these awful reminders, they shake your core.”
The Universidad Argentina de la Empresa said in a statement that De Simone’s death had left the institution with “deep pain.”
Paola was a passionate and dedicated teacher, and a great person, with more [than] fifteen years of experience,” it said.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/09/07/professor-dies-in-front-of-virtual-class-amid-covid-19-symptoms/
Photo Credit: twitter
Woman falsely calls police on Black man using phone in Ravenna, said he was carrying a gun
On Aug. 13, Darren Cooper was in Ravenna for the first time. A Hudson resident who works for Summit County, he was at the Portage County Job and Family Services building parking lot off South Chestnut Street for a 9 a.m. training meeting.
Cooper got to the building early, signed in and went to sit in his car at about 8:47 a.m., drinking tea and talking on his cellphone.
When the Ravenna cops pulled into the parking lot, he said he initially didn’t think anything of it. Summit County has police officers at the building where he works, he said, so he didn’t think anything was wrong until the fourth officer rolled in.
That’s also when the police came up to his car, yelling, “Put your hands up!”
A woman had called the Ravenna Police Department from a dentist’s office across the street and said a man was sitting in a black Mustang with a gun.
The Record-Courier could not locate the woman, who did not give a phone number on the 911 call.
Cooper does have a concealed-carry weapons permit, but he wasn’t carrying a gun at the time. All he had in his hand was his cellphone, which he was using to talk on speaker.
Cooper was the only Black man in the parking lot in a Mustang. He says he doesn’t understand how the caller would have seen a gun in his hand, especially if she was across the street. The caller identified his car as black when it is dark grey, he said. She did not identify him as a Black man, but she did identify his car.
“But if you don’t know the exact color of my vehicle, how do you know I had a gun?” Cooper questioned.
Officers came and investigated the scene, but did not find any weapons. Officers quickly cleared the scene and apologized to Cooper.
Cooper, though, was angry after the incident, and felt angry still after watching the videos of the incident released to him by the Ravenna Police Department.
“I am happy to be able to share this story because my wife almost lost a husband, and my kids almost lost their father, over someone who thought I had a gun, but it was my iPhone, and the person did not have the correct color of my car,” Cooper said. “When someone’s life is on the line, as mine clearly was, attention to detail is of the utmost importance.”
In the 911 call, the woman does not seem certain that what Cooper is holding is a pistol.
“I really believe he was holding a pistol,” she said at one point in the call, and later said, “I’m pretty darn sure it’s a pistol.”
The police officers who responded to the call had at least two guns unholstered, according to police videos of the incident.
Capt. Jake Smallfield, a spokesman for the Ravenna Police Department, said he reviewed all the videos from the incident and thought everyone was professional during the incident. He said police have to check out tips on guns.
“We want people to tell us if they see, or in this case, if they feel that they see somebody with a gun. We will, of course, investigate all those complaints,” Smallfield said.
Cooper said he wanted to pursue charges, but Smallfield initially said he did not plan on filing charges against the woman.
“We would not in any way try to discourage people from calling us with tips such as that,” Smallfield said. “You know, we teach it in school, if you see something, say something. We rely heavily on tips.”
Cooper said Friday that he had spoken to Smallfield again after Smallfield spoke to the Record-Courier and Ravenna police had sent a detective to speak with the caller.
Generally, he said, when the police department does file charges for making a false report, the person has called between 15 and 20 times in a single night, which disrupts police services, Smallfield said.
Smallfield said Ravenna police have a new standardized policy for bias in policing and are working with the Ohio Collaborative, a standard for police departments in Ohio to improve community relations, to gain certification. The policy prohibits officers from using biased-based profiling in enforcement efforts.
Eight Portage County departments are certified by the Ohio Collaborative: Aurora, Brimfield, Hiram, Kent, Kent State, Mogadore, NEOMED and Streetsboro. The process does not cost anything for certification, according to China Dodley, public information officer with the Ohio Department of Public Safety, and the agency will work with local police departments who want to be certified.
Smallfield said both Cooper and the officers handled the situation professionally.
“I think a lot of times we get into situations where one or more people could have overreacted. I think everyone acted professionally and civilly,” he said.
Cooper said he wants to talk about the Black lives almost lost at the hands of police so people can come forward and file their own reports. He said he was amazed he didn’t die.
“They didn’t come at me with excessive force, but the person who filed the false police report should be charged,” Cooper said.
He added, “It just wasn’t my time, it just didn’t happen.”
Photo Credit: beaconjournal.com
Donald Trump ‘hired an Obama look-alike so he could fire him on camera’
Donald Trump so hated Barack Obama that he hired a look-alike to sit in his office so he could “fire” him, according to claims in a new book from the president’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen.
In Disloyal, out on Tuesday, Mr Cohen alleges that his old boss was “a cheat, a liar, a fraud, a bully, a racist, a predator, a con man.”
The lawyer, 54, is currently under house arrest, having been freed from prison early during the coronavirus pandemic. He was sentenced to three years in December 2018 after pleading guilty to tax evasion and campaign finance violations – crimes he alleged were a result of covering up for Mr Trump’s “dirty deeds”.
In a photo included in the book, Mr Trump is seen seated at his desk across from the alleged “Faux-Bama”, wearing a suit with an American flag pin.
Mr Cohen writes that Mr Trump “ritualistically belittled the first black president and then fired him.”
He claims the New York billionaire was obsessed with Mr Obama, who he claimed was only accepted into Columbia University and Harvard Law School because of affirmative action.
He also claims Mr Trump made racist comments about black leaders.
“Tell me one country run by a black person that isn’t a ****hole. They are all complete ******* toilets,” he allegedly said, during one rant about the former president.
In response to the claims, the White House called Mr Cohen’s memoir “fan fiction”.
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany attacked Mr Cohen’s credibility in a statement on Saturday, saying that “Michael Cohen is a disgraced felon and disbarred lawyer, who lied to Congress. He has lost all credibility, and it’s unsurprising to see his latest attempt to profit off lies.”
The one world leader Mr Trump did admire was Vladimir Putin, according to Mr Cohen’s account.
“Locking up your political enemies, criminalizing dissent, terrifying or bankrupting the free press through libel lawsuits – Trump’s all-encompassing vision wasn’t evident to me before he began to run for president,” Mr Cohen writes.
Separately on Sunday it emerged that while in Paris in 2018, Mr Trump spotted artworks inside the US ambassador’s residence that he liked, and ordered them loaded onto Air Force One for the return trip to Washington.
State Department lawyers were stunned and scurried to ensure the move was legal – ultimately ruling that it was, because the artwork was US government property, according to a Bloomberg report.
The White House confirmed the president took artwork from Paris.
“The president brought these beautiful, historical pieces, which belong to the American people, back to the United States to be prominently displayed in the People’s House,” said White House spokesperson Judd Deere, in response to questions from Bloomberg News.
via: https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/donald-trump-hired-obama-look-193343349.html
Photo Credit: currently.att.yahoo.com
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