Page 19 - Florida Sentinel 3-24-20

National
Widespread Discrimination Alleged At Kansas City VA Hospital
Baltimore Mayor Calls For End
KANSAS CITY, Mo.— A U. S. senator from Kansas and the NAACP are demanding action after up to 50 black employees of the Kansas City Veterans Af- fairs Medical Center have com- plained about widespread discrimination at the hospital.
Their complaints include hearing jokes about lynchings and being compared to mon- keys, having white co-workers secretly monitor them for su- pervisors, a lack of promotions and bonuses, and being fired without cause. Some female employees say they have also faced sexual harassment.
The Kansas City chapter of the NAACP said it has met with between 45 and 50 em- ployees, from cooks and jani- tor to doctors, since television station WDAF-TV in Kansas City aired a report March 3 on the conditions.
Hospital spokesman Ver-
Beds During COVID-19 Crisis
non Stewart said in a state- ment that the hospital is proud of its diverse culture, doesn’t tolerate discrimination and thoroughly investigates all complaints.
Employees say that hospital administrators and the Office of Resolution Management and Equal Employment Op- portunity have addressed com- plaints by retaliating against
the workers who filed them. “I felt like I was in jail,” said Shominicia Banks, a nurse assistant who was fired in March after she filed several complaints during her 10 years at the hospital. “They were monitoring my every move. I didn’t know when (her firing) would happen but I knew it was coming because I spoke
up.”
Baltimore Mayor Jack Young has pleaded with resi- dents to cease the violence and practice social distancing amidst the coronavirus pan- demic, after multiple people were shot Tuesday night.
Young said hospital beds are needed to treat positive COVID-19 patients, as the city confirmed its fifth positive coronavirus case Wednesday, CBS reports.
“I want to reiterate how completely unacceptable the level of violence is that we have seen recently,” Young said. “We will not stand for mass shootings and an increase in crime.”
“For those of you who want to continue to shoot and kill people of this city, we’re not
MAYOR JACK YOUNG
going to tolerate it,” Young implored. “We’re going to come after you and we’re going to get you.”
Of Violence To Free Up Hospital
Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx Wins Second Term
Cook County State’s Attor- ney Kim Foxx emerged victo- rious in her bid for a second term in Tuesday’s Democratic primary.
Foxx faced several chal- lengers who had focused on how she handled the contro- versial Jussie Smollett case.
Smollett was recently in- dicted on new charges related to his “hoax” attack in January 2019, when he claimed to have been the victim of a racist, ho- mophobic assault in Chicago. But cops determined he paid
KIM FOXX
two Nigerian brothers to help
him stage the attack in an elab- orate hoax because he was un- happy with his “Empire” salary and wanted sympathy to se- cure a fatter paycheck.
Smollett was indicted on 16 counts for filing a false po- lice report after alleging two masked men hurled anti-gay slurs at him, doused him with bleach and tied a noose around his neck. Foxx abruptly dropped charges last year but a special prosecutor was as- signed to review the case last summer.
Louisiana Inmates Donate $11K To Odell S. Williams African-American Museum
Louisiana Department of Corrections inmates donated more than $11,000 to a mu- seum dedicated to African- American history in Baton Rouge.
The Odell S. Williams African-American Museum was founded by beloved ac- tivist Sadie Roberts-Joseph in 2001, who was found dead in July in the trunk of her car. She was 75.
Sadie’s death rocked the
community, and WAFB re- ported Thursday that the in- mates wanted to honor her legacy by donating $11,350 to
the museum.
Her daughter, Angela
Roberts, called the generous donation a “blessing” and said the funds will be used for ex- panding the museum and community outreach.
“This is such a blessing. This museum meant so much to our mother, and it means so much to us to have these incarcer- ated individuals dig deep and give so much to keep this mu- seum open,” she said.
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