t a^Bwe Farrakhan underwent 12-hour operation CHICAGO (AP) - Minister Louis Farrakhan. who recently ceded leadership of the Nation of Islam to an executive board due to ailing health , has undergone a 1 2-hour operation, the organization said Saturday. Physicians have told Farrakhan's family they were pleased with the operation's out come and will monitor him closely for the next 24 to 48 hours, the Chicago-based group said in a statement. No other details were released, and a man who answeffcJ tfie telephone at the office of Farrakhan's chief of staff declined to reveal the nature of the surgery or where it was per formed. harrakhan The 73-year-old Farrakhan wrote in a Sept . 1 1 letter to followers that he was anemic and 20 pounds lighter because of complications from an ulcer in the anal area. He had surgery in 2000 for prostate cancer. He turned leadership of the Nation of Islam over to an executive board while he recovered, saying the movement must prove that it "is more than th? charisma, eloquence and personality" of one person. The Nation of Islam and the movement newspaper the'Final Call posted the statement on their Web sites, but did not give additional details. Second gangster held in LA hate crime LOS ANGELES ( AP) - A second reputed Hispanic gang mem ber was arrested in connection with the shooting death of a 14-year old black girl that police have described as a hate crime. Jonathan Fajardo. I S. was believed to be the gunman who opened fire on a group of black youngsters on Dec. 1 5 as they stood on a nar row street in the Harbor Gateway area, police said. Cheryl Green was killed and two other girls and a boy were wounded. Green was not a gang member. Family members said she wanted to be a doctor. Fajardo was arrested Thursday at his home in neighboring Carson, and police found a gun that will be tested to determine if it was the murder weapon, police Deputy Chief Charlie Beck said. "Over the course of the last two weeks, we committed every resource to solving this crime." Beck said Friday. "I hope the commu nity will feel safer now." Another reputed gangster. Ernesto Alcarez. 20, was arrested on Dec. 2 1 . He was scheduled to be arraigned on murder, attempted mur der and hate crime charges. Both could face the death penalty if convicted. "By no means is this case over," Beck said. "The family will never recover, and the neighborhood has some serious wounds because of this." NAACP says Congress is "Unacceptable" ^Unacceptable" is how the NAACP describes tfie performance of members of the U.S. Congress in addressing fundamental civil rights agenda items in the last two years. In its final Legislative Report Card on the 109th Congress (which adjourned Dec. 9, 2006) the NAACP found only slight improvement in the voting record among members of both chambers. The majority of U.S. Senators (54 out of 100) and Representatives (225 out ot 435) voted in sup port of the NAACP's position less than 59 percent of the time, receiving a grade of "F* from the NAACP. "This report confirms that there is a lack of alignment between the priorities of the communities the NAACP was founded to serve and the majority of the members of Congress." said NAACP Presideny?& CEO Bruce S. Gordon. "While we'celebruted some hard-earned victories, more often than not policy makers failed to address issues that continue to burden our communities. While we are disappointed, we are also determined. We will continue to hold our Association accountable for engaging our senators and represen tatives, advocating on behalf of our people and relentlessly pursuing our mission until we succeed." Since 1914 the NAACP Legislative Report Card has presented a summation of key civil rights votes taken in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, tt is designed to provide NAACP members with insight into the voting patterns of their congressional representa tives. "The lattst legislative report card shows how members voted on 28 key votes in the Senate lout of a total of 645 recorded votes in the entire 109th Congress] and 36 priority votes in the House of Representatives [out of a total of 1,214 cast in the entire 109th Congressl," said NAACP Washington Bureau Director HilarygO. Shelton. Supreme Court agrees to hear Coke's appeal in a race discrimination case WASHINGTON (AP) - Th^U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to consider a discrimination case in which a Coca-Cola bot tling company, fired a black employee. Coca-Cola asked the Supreme Court to hear the lawsuit, which involves allegations that a supervisor of employee Stephen Peters was motivated by racial bias and influenced a manager to fire the worker. Such circumstances are sometimes referred to(dubisi Egemonye in 1974 and is published every Thursday By Winston-Salem Chronicle Publishing Co. Inc.. 617 N. Liberty Street. Winston-Salem. N.C. 27101. Periodicals postage paid at Winston-SalemrN.C. Annual subscription price is $30.72. * POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: The Chronicle. P.O. Box 1636 Winston-Salem. NC' 27102-1636 i si Mrs. King also remembered this year BY ERR1N HAINES THE ASSOCIATED PRESS o ATLANTA - On a recent afternoon, Jeffrey and Liza Dunn brought their daughter and niece to the center dedicat ed to the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.. where the family took a moment to sit by the crypt of the civil rights icon and his wife. Coretta. There, at the reflecting * pool, the Plainfield. N.J., cou ple told the girls about King's dreams of racial harmony, eco nomic - equality and world peace. They also spoke of a dedicated widow, devoted mother and matriarch of the civil rights movement, who gracefully struggled against war, poverty and racism for years e^en after her fyisband was killed. "Their partnership is the foundation of everything we've benefited frorTi." Jeffrey Dunn. 4-9, said. "And even in her absence, she leaves a legacy, a commitment to his dream." This year's Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, first observed more than two decades ago, will be the first without Coretta Scott King, who died nearly a year ago. The absence of her ^ NNPA Pholo The King children watch as their mother's casket arrives. stately presence at the holiday activities held each year in King's hometown of Atlanta will be a visible reminder that the standard bearer of King's vision is now gone - and that the holiday has evolved to reflect the accomplishments and mission of bolh the dream er and the dream keeper. "Her commitment and her accomplishments*were equal to his," Spelman College history professor William Jelani Cobb said. "To view her as an equal in helping to establish racial democracy in America would be fitting." Coretta Scott King, who lived twice as long as Martin Luther King Jr.. fought to [pre serve his legacy - building a center of nonviolence bearing Sec Kings on A9 Accused police officers can return to work BY STACEY PLA1SANCF. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW ORLEANS - All seven policemen charged in the deadly bridge shootings afjer Hurricane Katrina were free on bail last week, and a judge said the six still on the New Orleans Police force can return to limited duty. One former officer, now a truck driver in Texas, can also return to work. Judge Raymond Bigelow said. Four of the officers face first-degree murder charges that carry a possible death sentence, in addition to attempted murder charges. Three others face only attempted murder charges. All seven pleaded not guilty Friday. They were indicted last week and turned themselves in. Bigelow said five of the seven will be required to wear monitoring devices and will be confined to home. work, attor ney visits or court appearances as a condition of bail . Two who face the least number of charges had already bailed out earlier in the u/n>l and were allowed to remain free on hail after Friday's hearing. They wilt not pt required to wear monitors** The arhount of hail varied based on the number of counts each officer faces but in no case was it less than $100,000. Although Bigelow said the officers can> work. Assistant Police Superintendent Steven Nicholas said no decision had been made on when, or whether, they would be returned to duty. They were put on a 120-day unpaid suspension after the indictments, he said. Sgts. Kenneth Bowen and Jordan Robert Gisevius Jr., officer Anthony Villavaso II and former officer Robert Faulcon Jr., face first-degree murder charges and ' attemnted murder charges. Officers Robert Barrios and Mike Hunter Jr. were charged with attempt ed first-degree mur der, and Officer Ignatius Hills was charged with attempt ed second-degree murder. Hunter and. Hills made bail earlier this week. Fraternal Order of Police lavyyer Donovan Livaccari said he will urge Police Superintendent Warren Riley to let the officers return to work, but he would expect it to be on a limited basis. "It won't be on the street. It won't be in uniform." Livaccari said. Tracie Washington, spokes woman for the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Qolored People, expressed disappoint ment that officers accused of murder would be allowed out and to return to work. She and other NAACP representatives hoped to meet with Riley to ask that the officers not be alfowed to return to duty. "There should be accounta bility on both sides. We want a fair trial, but we want the com munity to feel safe," she said. As one of the officers left the courthouse, surrounded by attor neys and police officers, a small group of activists shouted "mur derer." 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