Page 8 The Skanner July 13, 2016
News
National Newspaper Publishers Association Calls
for Appointment of a Special Federal Prosecutor
on Racially Motivated Police Killings in the US
Local groups and the ACLU of Louisiana Sue Baton
Rouge Police for First Amendment Violations
WASHINGTON--The nation’s larg-
est trade association of African Amer-
ican owned newspapers and media
companies, the National Newspaper
Publishers Association (NNPA), to-
day issued an urgent call and demand
that President Barack H. Obama and
U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch
appoint a Special Federal Prosecutor
in the wake of the police killings of
Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Loui-
siana, and Philando Castile in Falcon
Heights, Minnesota.
Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr. President
& CEO of the NNPA stated, “The kill-
BATON ROUGE, La. — Local orga-
nizing groups and the American Civil
Liberties Union of Louisiana filed a
lawsuit today against the Baton Rouge
Police Department for violating the
First Amendment rights of demon-
strators who were protesting peace-
fully against the killing of Alton Ster-
ling. The case is co-counseled by Sima
Atri, staff attorney at the New Orleans
Workers’ Center for Racial Justice and
cooperating counsel Ron Wilson on be-
half of on behalf of Black Youth Project
100 and the Louisiana chapter of the
National Lawyers Guild.
The lawsuit alleges that the police
used excessive force, physical and
verbal abuse, and wrongful arrests to
disperse protestors who were gathered
peacefully to speak out against the po-
lice killing of Alton Sterling. Eyewit-
ness accounts recorded by plaintiffs
in the suit show police in full riot gear
with assault rifles, lunging and grab-
bing at peacefully assembled people
and throwing them to the ground.
“[The police response] made me
afraid to protest. Seeing the way the po-
lice were manhandling folks caused me
to hide, scream out of fear, and finally
flee for my safety. I had to run. A peace-
ful demonstration should never be like
that,” expressed Crystal Williams, local
resident and organizer with North Ba-
ton Rouge Matters, “I feel like speech
is my most powerful tool to ensure my
community and my family are safe. But
now I feel totally silenced.”
“
federal interven-
tion to both in-
vestigate and to
prosecute police
officers who con-
tinue to commit
these wanton ra-
cially motivated
Benjamin Chavis, Jr. killings.”
“We, therefore,
NNPA President
demand that a Spe-
and CEO
cial Federal Pros-
ecutor be immediately appointed
by the United States Department of
Justice. To date, unfortunately, local
These incidents are not isolated local trage-
dies, but are the terrible growing manifesta-
tions of a deadly national system of racism
ings of African Americans in Louisi-
ana and Minnesota during the past 72
hours represent an escalating nation-
al pattern of fatal police killings that
appear to be racially motivated. These
incidents are not isolated local trag-
edies, but are the terrible growing
manifestations of a deadly national
system of racism in the criminal jus-
tice system that needs to be effectively
challenged and changed. There are to-
day too many African American fami-
lies and communities that continue to
endure police brutality and violence
across the United States. This is a na-
tional crisis that demands immediate
investigations and prosecutions have
been ineffective and have not insured
equal justice. We have heard from
many of our NNPA member publish-
ers throughout the nation who all ex-
pressed profound disgust and moral
outrage about these brutalities. We
will not be silent in the face of these
injustices. We demand action by the
federal government now.”
The NNPA represents 209 African
American owned newspapers based
in 32 states and known as the “Voice of
Black America” that reaches 20.1 mil-
lion readers per week with national of-
fices located in Washington, DC.
By the ACLU of Louisiana
“I witnessed firsthand as peaceful
protestors were violently attacked
and arrested, assault weapons pointed
at them with fingers on the triggers,
some dragged across the cement, their
clothes ripped off of them,” said Loui-
siana Chapter of the National Lawyers
Guild President and a Catholic nun Al-
ison Renee McCrary “What I saw hap-
pening was an immediate threat to life.
My and other demonstrators’ speech
was chilled because of this event.”
Counsel also filed for a temporary re-
straining order against the defendants
to prevent them from interfering with
people’s constitutionally protected
right to gather peacefully moving for-
ward.
“The police didn’t do their job in
Baton Rouge, again. They are bound
to protect us from harm, to keep us
safe, to do everything possible before
throwing someone to the ground or
pulling the trigger. Yet Alton Sterling
is on the long list of Black people killed
needlessly by our nation’s police, and
protests in his honor have turned into
circuses of violence where the First
Amendment is tossed aside,” said ACLU
of Louisiana Executive Director Marjo-
rie Esman. “We can’t bring Alton Ster-
ling back but at minimum, the police
can stop blocking our right to protest
in his name.”
A copy of the lawsuit can be found
at: https://www.aclu.org/sites/default/
files/field_document/160713_filed_com-
plaint_-_doc._1.pdf
Law Enforcement, Activists to Meet with Obama
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WASHINGTON (AP) — President
Barack Obama will quickly return to
the delicate balancing act of support-
ing law enforcement while addressing
concerns of bias from some of the com-
munities they serve.
Obama is meeting Wednesday with
police officers at the White House —
the second such session this week. This
time it will be expanded to include
mayors, academics and civil rights ac-
tivists.
“We’ll share solutions from commu-
nities that have already found ways
to build trust and reduce disparities,”
Obama said on Facebook.
Obama and Vice President Joe Biden
met with representatives from eight
police organizations Monday before
flying the next day to Dallas to lead a
memorial for five police officers killed
by a suspect who said he wanted to kill
whites, particularly white officers. The
officers were working at rally in which
protesters gathered to voice com-
plaints about the shooting deaths of
two black men by police officers, one in
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and the other
in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
“Going forward, I want to hear ideas
from even more Americans about how
we can address these challenges to-
gether as one nation. That means you,”
Obama said.
RECIPE: Quick Peach Cobbler
A tasty dessert that can be enjoyed on its own or with added fruit.
INGREDIENTS
1 can sliced peaches, packed in juice
(16 ounce)
1 egg
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon margarine (softened)
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Open the can of peaches. Pour the
peaches and their juice into the
casserole dish. Heat them on the
stove-top until they bubble.
3. Slightly beat 1 egg.
4. In a mixing bowl, mix the egg, sug-
ar, flour, baking powder, salt, and
margarine.
5. Drop spoonfuls of this mixture on
top of the hot, bubbling peaches.
6. Use pot holders to carefully re-
move the casserole dish from the
stove.
7. Put the casserole dish in the oven.
Bake for about 30-40 minutes.
Pennsylvania Nutrition Education
Program