Page 23 - Florida Sentinel 3-10-17

National
Delta Pilots Make History
Kennedy
Center Names
First Hip-Hop
Culture
Director
SIMONE ECCLESTON
With the Kennedy Center serving as the preeminent home for our nation's arts and culture, the creation of a pro- grammatic platform for hip- hop culture is deeply significant."
So said Simone Eccleston upon receiving the news she'd become the first Director of Hip-Hop Culture at the Kennedy Center, NBC reports.
News broke early last week of the new position and title.
With this first for the Kennedy Center and this huge move for the culture, Eccle- ston is making history. She's been influenced by hip-hop, as most of us have, and looks to highlight hip-hop's hold on so- ciety.
In her new role, Eccleston will be curating programs cen- tered around art, activism and community outreach. She'll be emphasizing the impact of the genre, "leading a center-wide commitment to hip-hop cul- ture and contemporary music, which includes R&B, soul, folk and roots, indie, world music and Latin music."
Additionally, she'll be showcasing just how "collabo- rative" hip-hop music is by seeking partnerships with ex- isting programs at the Kennedy Center.
Eccleston will assume her new role March 13.
32 ‘Blue Lives Matter’ Bills Have Been Proposed
Captain Stephanie Johnson and First Officer Dawn Cook.
In 14 states of the country that we call home, lawmakers have proposed 32 separate bills that include legislation for the hate crime protection of law enforcement.
And that's only in the first two months of 2017. In 2016, all of those states combined proposed 15 bills total.
Most of these bills never make it very far, even though Louisiana successfully passed the first Blue Lives Matter laws last year. Kentucky and Missis-
sippi also have their own ver- sions as well.
A senior fellow at the South- ern Poverty Law Center, Mark Potok said, "In the vast ma- jority of states, you will get life or considerably less in prison for murder; but if you murder a police officer, you are almost certain to get death...So the truth is that including police in hate crime laws is merely a po- litical statement ― and an un- necessary one at that.”
Delta Airlines had some pretty bad publicity at the tail end of 2016.
Between the unruly Trump supporter hurling insults at other passengers, and then YouTube star Adam Saleh al- leging he was kicked off a flight for speaking in Arabic, Delta wasn’t winning.
But thanks to pilots Stephanie Johnson and Dawn Cook, history was made and some feel good vibes have been issued Delta’s way.
The two Black women, At- lanta-based First Officer Cook and Detroit based Capt. Johnson, made history by fly- ing a Delta mainline flight, which was confirmed via a statement on Delta’s website.
The duo flew from Detroit to Las Vegas last week and snapped a picture once they landed. According to reports, Johnson is in the business of making history as she became Delta’s first African-American female captain.
Mobile, Alabama Gets First Black Female Police Major
Bareneise Dixon was pro- moted last Friday.
Woman Found ‘Guilty’ For Murdering Her Granddaughter
A police department in Ala- bama has elected its first-ever African-American female major.
Bareneise Dixon, a 28- year law-enforcement veteran who got her start as a police operator in Saraland, Ala- bama, was promoted from captain to major at Mobile, Al- abama’s police department, this past Friday.
“I look forward to serving in my capacity as commander over special operations, so thank you,” Dixon said in an interview with local news sta- tion WKRG.
“I also have to acknowledge the efforts of those that paved the way in order for me to ob- tain this rank. You don’t get
Helen Ford tortured and starved her granddaughter, 8.
where you are by yourself. I’ve been honored to work with a lot of people in the Mobile Po- lice Department, some that are still here, some that are not here,” Dixon added.
Online Beef Leads To Double Murder
Helen Ford, a 55-year old woman, was found guilty Thursday of killing her grand- daughter, 8-year-old Gizzell “Gizzy” Ford, back in 2013. A tragic end was preceded by child abuse by her grand- mother and father, Andre Ford, who died under jail cus- tody from a heart attack in
2014P. rosecutors played cell- phone videos demonstrating the torture Gizzy endured at the hands of her family. She was tied up to her father’s bed for days with a sock or rag stuffed in her mouth while being denied food and water. Gizzy’s 10-year-old half brother testified that he saw his grandmother hit Gizzy in the mouth with a spatula, forced her to eat hot peppers and made her stand on one foot while holding her arms out. When the girl complained or cried, her grandmother would beat her with a belt.
In one instance Gizzy even tried to kill herself by jumping
off a second floor window, but was stopped by her grand- mother.
The words from Gizzy’s diary commemorates and hauntingly testifies the life she lived. She wrote, “I am going to be a beautiful smart and good young lady. I can do anything I put my ... smart mind to. Peo- ple say I’m smart and coura- geous and beautiful.” At the same time, she penned, “I hope that I don’t mess up today because I really want to be able to just sit down, watch TV, talk and play with every- body. I am going to be great all day.” Then she later adds, “Not true...I failed.” In the weeks leading up to her death, Gizzy wrote in her journal, “I hate this life because now I’m in super big trouble.”
Gizzy was eventually found strangled in her father’s room with a badly beaten body. In- vestigators said it was obvious Gizzy had been dead for some time.
ST. AUGUSTINE, FL —- Two men were killed Saturday morning in a shootout follow- ing an argument outside a St. Augustine, Fla., convenience store.
According to the Florida Times-Union, 25-year-old Canyon Charles Molitor suffered multiple gunshot wounds in the incident and died at the scene around 10 a.m. The other man, Elroi Ishmael Ashley, 20, was shot at least once and initially fled the scene of the shooting.
St. Johns County sheriff’s
detectives located his vehicle in the parking lot of Flagler Hospital, where Ashley was being treated. However, he died after being taken into sur- gery.
Detectives say that the men had been involved in an ongo- ing “digital communication” argument and had agreed to meet at the store.
Once they met up, however, an argument turned physical after each of the men drew a gun and shot each other as sev- eral uninvolved people entered and exited the store.
Canyon Molitor anD Elroi Ashley shot each other, and both died.
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