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C^ E93-NUMBER39 DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - SATURDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2014 TELEPHONE (919) 682-2913 Interview: Browns unmoved by chief’s apology By Jesse J. Holland WASHINGTON (AP) - The parents of Michael Brown id The Associated Press on Sept. 20 they were unmoved /the apology given by the Ferguson, Missouri, police lief weeks after their unarmed 18-year-old son was lied by a police officer. Brownis mother, Lesley McSpadden, said, “yes,” when iked if Chief Tom Jackson should be fired, and his fa- . er, Michael Brown Sr., said rather than an apology, they ould rather see the officer who shot their son arrested irhis Aug. 9 death. “An apology would be when Darren Wilson has hand iffs, processed and charged with murder,” Brown Sr. id. Wilson is white; the young man, black. The shooting larked days of violent protests and racial unrest in the ■edominantly black community. Some residents and vil rights activists have said responding police officers ere overly aggressive, noting their use of tear gas and irplus military vehicles and gear. Brown Sr. called the loting that has been interspersed with the protests “dis- spectful,” but the “First Amendment protesting? They ive that right.” “There’s going to continue to be unrest until they do hat should be done,” McSpadden added, referring to erguson officials. There was even more violence Saturday night in Fer- ison when, the authorities say, a police officer was shot ithe arm. Circumstances surrounding the incident were ot immediately clear. Jackson released a video apology to Brown’s fam- y and the community, in which he acknowledged that rown’s body should have been removed from the street luch sooner than it was. The young man’s remains lay ncovered for more than four hours while police collect- 1 evidence. “I don’t want words, I want action,” McSpadden said ithe AP interview. The parents, both wearing T-shirts with messages about leir son, talked hesitantly about their emotions foliow ig their son’s death. McSpadden said she feels lost and elpless, and her life will never be normal again. “I have ifind a new normal,” she said haltingly. “I’m empty,” Brown said quietly. “There’s nothing icre anymore. It’s hard to fill that spot with other hap- iness.” Brown’s parents came to Washington to meet lawmak- rs and lobby Congress to pass a law requiring police fficers to wear cameras during their interactions with le public. They also called on the Justice Department t take over the criminal investigation,into the shooting, he Justice Department is already investigating whether Town’s civil rights were violated, and a county grand ury is weighing whether to indict Wilson. “All of our eyes see the same thing, that it was wrong, n injustice,” McSpadden said. “Why wouldn’t they :ome back with an indictment?” The parents also were invited to the annual awards linner of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, there President Barack Obama spoke of the “corrosive” nistrust between local residents and law enforcement in nany communities, brought on, in part, by episodes such is Brown’s death. “Too many young men of color feel argeted by law enforcement - guilty of. walking while ilack, driving while black, judged by stereotypes that uel fear and resentment and hopelessness,” he said. Attorney General Eric Holder has met Brown’s par- :nts, and they hope his coming departure won’t affect the ase. Holder announced his resignation Thursday. “I’ve rat confidence in him in that he will make sure that what iceds to be done is done before he exits,” McSpadden aid. The parents also expressed anger at Ferguson police who we bracelets in support of Wilson. In a letter released Fri- lay, the Justice Department asks Jackson, the police chief, to ‘confirm our understanding” that officers in the suburban St. .ouis County department won’t wear “I am Darren Wilson” iracelets while on duty. Ferguson residents complained about the black bracelets with white lettering at a meeting with federal officials. The Down’s family lawyer, Benjamin Crump, said the bracelets live an impression that the police lack impartiality in this case. “It lets me know how they really feel about the situation, ind the wrongness that they do,” McSpadden said. Brown Sr. called their efforts a fight for human rights. ‘They say that this is America, but we’re not being treated like we’re Americans. Our fight here is to just open other eyes and understand how we’re feeling and try to get something done about it.” A little girl looks up at President Barack Obama as he talks with wounded warriors and their families in the East Room during their tour of the White House. (White House Photo) African-American Caucus Says Conservative Republican AFP Trying to Entice Voter Fraud RALEIGH - The African-American Caucus of the North Carolina Democratic Party strongly supports the formal complaint against Americans For Prosperity by the North Carolina Democratic Party. AAC-NCDP President Willie Fleming said AFP’s actions this week - encouraging non-documented workers, the deceased and even pets to register to vote in this year’s elections - is an attack on North Carolinians’ voting rights and attempt to produce the voter fraud the GOP has fought so hard to create. “This is something that needs to be investigated. Why would Americans For Prosperity do this,” Fleming asked. “Obviously, they are trying to set the stage for fake voter fraud allegations because they know the GOP cannot win on its platform or ideals. They have to convince Republicans that Democrats cheat. What they cannot do is convince most Republicans to vote for the GOP based on their own platform, because the GOP platform hurts most Republicans. We support NCDP and will do anything in our power to stop GOP-encouraged voter fraud. Democrats win with our votes. Not their lies.” After speaking with NCDP’s Executive Director, Casey Mann, Fleming continued, “The African-American Cau cus of the North Carolina Democratic Party is appalled by the actions of North Carolina’s GOP, but is committed to making sure the hoax of voter fraud never actually occurs. The GOP is determined to make Democratic victories look tainted, when it is AFP lying to citizens trying to create voter fraud,” Fleming said. “The AAC-NCDP stands with NCDP in asking the GOP to not only play by the rules, but stop misleading North Carolinia’s voters. AFP’s decision to induce voter fraud shows the GOP’s chief benefactor is willing to lie to Repub licans to keep wealth and privilege in the hands of a few while making-up falsehoods to produce said results. It’s disgusting and dramatic, but AFP has truly crossed a line in all North Carolina communities with the intention of somehow blaming others.” Obama: Mistrust of police corrodes America By Darlene Superville WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama said the widespread mistrust of law enforcement that was exposed by the fatal police shooting of an unarmed black man in Ferguson, Missouri, is corroding America, not just its black communities, and that the wari ness flows from significant racial disparities in the administration ofjustice. Speaking Saturday at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s annual awards dinner, Obama said these suspicions only harm communities that need law enforcement the most. “It makes folks who are victimized by crime and need strong policing reluctant to go to the police because they may not trust them,” he said. “And the worst part of it is it scars the hearts of our children,” leading some youngsters to unnecessarily fear people who do not look like them while leading others to constantly feel under suspicion no matter what they do. “That is not the society we want,” Obama said. “It’s not the society that our children deserve.” The fatal shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown in August sparked days of violent protests and racial unrest in predominantly black Ferguson. The police officer who shot Brown was white. There was even more violence Saturday night in Ferguson when, the authorities say, a police officer was shot in the arm. Circum stances surrounding the latest incident were not immediately clear. Obama addressed the Michael Brown shooting carefully but firmly, saying the young man’s death and the raw emotion that sprang from it had reawakened the country to the fact that “a gulf of mistrust” exists between local residents and law enforcement in too many communities. “Too many young men of color feel targeted by law enforcement - guilty of walking while black or driving while black, judged by stereotypes that fuel fear and resentment and hopelessness,” he said. He said significant racial disparities remain in the enforcement of law, from drug sentencing to applying the death penalty, and that a majority of Americans think the justice system treats people of different races unequally. Obama opened his remarks by singling out Attorney General Eric Holder for praise. Obama announced Holder’s resignation days earlier after nearly six years as the nation’s chief law enforcement officer. Holder, who attended the dinner and received a standing ova tion, will stay on the job until the Senate confirms a successor. Holder visited Ferguson after the shooting to help ease tensions, and the Justice Department is investigating whether Brown’s civil rights were violated. Obama also announced that he is expanding My Brother’s Keeper, a public-private partnership he launched earlier this year to help make young minority men’s lives better. He said a new “community challenge” will task every community to put in place strategies to ensure that young people can succeed from the cradle through college and career. Businesses, foundations and community groups help coordinate investments to develop or support programs geared toward young men of color. Educators and professional athletes also participate. Obama said government cannot play the primary role in the lives of children but it “can bring folks together” to make a difference for the young. Helping girls of color deal with inequality is also important, he said, and part of the continuing mission of the White House Council on Women and Girls, an effort that has involved his wife, Michelle, mother of their two teenage daughters. “African American girls are more likely than their white peers also to be suspended, incarcerated, physically harassed,” Obama said. “Black women struggle every day with biases that perpetuate oppressive standards for how they’re supposed to look and how they’re supposed to act. Too often, they’re either left under the hard light of scrutiny, or cloaked in a kind of invisibility. “
The Carolina Times (Durham, N.C.)
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