Page 13 - Florida Sentinel 8-21-18

National
Kofi Annan, Former UN Chief, Dies At 80
Ex-Con Who Graduated From Yale Law To Practice In Connecticut
The 80-year-old "passed away peacefully on Saturday after a short illness", the foundation named after him said.
His home country, Ghana, has declared a week of national mourning. Annan served two terms as UN chief from 1997 to 2006, and was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize for his humani- tarian work.
He later served as the UN special envoy for Syria, lead- ing efforts to find a solution to the conflict.
In a statement announc- ing his death, the Kofi Annan Foundation de- scribed him as a "global
KOFI ANNAN
statesman and deeply com-
mitted internationalist who fought throughout his life for a fairer and more peace- ful world".
"Wherever there was suf- fering or need, he reached out and touched many peo- ple with his deep compas- sion and empathy."
The career diplomat died in hospital in the Swiss city of Bern. He had been living near Geneva for several years.
He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001 for helping to revitalise the international body, during a period that coincided with the Iraq War and the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
Poet, esquire, and ex-con, are all monikers that Regi- nald Dwayne Betts wears in- terchangeably. Esquire, the most recent title, wasn’t easily obtained. Although two decades have passed since Betts was convicted of a felony at the age of 16, the Connecti- cut Bar Examining Committee flagged the application of the poet and Yale Law School grad- uate for an investigation into his “moral character,” the New Haven Register reports.
Betts passed the state bar exam in February. Most states don’t prevent applicants with prior felony convictions from practicing law, the Register re- ports. However, Betts’ appli- cation was flagged for further investigation of “clear and con- vincing evidence” of his “good moral character and/or fitness to practice law.” Letters attest- ing to the latter flooded the Connecticut Bar Exam Com- mittee, and on September 29th, Betts’ application was approved.
REGINALD BETTS
This is just one of many hills Betts has been made to climb since he was tried as an adult for a carjacking he committed when he was a teenager. Uni- versity Howard rescinded his full scholarship offer when he admitted to his prior convic- tions. Betts, a Suitland, Mary- land native, went on to graduate from the University of Maryland. He then accepted a fellowship at Harvard Univer- sity’s Radcliffe Institute for Ad- vanced Studies before studying law at Yale.
South Carolina Bar Owner Fires Black Staff After The Crowd Became 'Too Dark', Turned Away Patrons
A South Carolina bar is under fire after the bar owner fired the manager and staff be- cause the crowd at the bar be- came 'too dark', attracting a predominately African Ameri- can crowd.
Moosehead Saloon owner Matt Shmanske reportedly sent a text message to his for- mer manager in June saying 'whatever is happening to the crowd shift, I want it to stop now. It's gone too far. I will bring in a entire new staff if needed'.
He complained that the bar was attracting more black customers and had too many black employees working there,' according to The State.
He then fired his staff at the Columbia bar on July 2, de- manded employees play less hip hop music and bouncers al-
colored top was let in.
Other banned dress code
items at the bar have been in- terpreted as racially biased as list items include grills, baggy clothing, and chains.
A screenshot of Shman- ske's text message to former manager Josh Sutton was shared among employees and was later posted online by the bar's social media head Trent Brown.
The text read: 'I need all new employees and bartenders to fill out new hire form tonight.'
'Josh whatever is happen- ing to the crowd shift I want it to stop now. It's gone too far. I will bring in a entire new staff if needed.'
Brown posted a summary of the bar owner's actions on Snapchat, where it was viewed by nearly 400 people.
High School Student Arrested For Refusing To Take Off Bandana
Bar owner Matt Shmanske, pictured in 2007, sent his man- ager a text in June saying: 'whatever is happening to the crowd shift, I want it to stop now... I will bring in a entire [new] staff if needed'
legedly tightened restrictions on who could get in.
A black customer was re- portedly denied entry for wear- ing a solid-colored shirt which was against the dress code, yet a white man wearing a solid-
Four Arizona teenagers were arrested at school because one of them refused to take off a blue bandana.
According to AZ Central, the school says that the bandana violated school dress code, al- though that same code they’re trying to reference doesn’t specifically mention bandanas. Some students are now calling the incident racially moti- vated...because why else would a student of color be arrested over an item of clothing?
Students posted video of the altercation on social media that shows the teen, Valentino Jimenez, walking away from an Apache Junction police offi- cer who demands that he re- move the blue bandana he is wearing.
As a crowd begins to form, the officer addresses students and insists, “It has nothing to do with the color of his skin. It’s not me harassing him. All he’s doing is wearing a bandana, which you’re not allowed to do on campus, OK? Don’t wear a bandana, that’s it.”
Jimenez, a senior at Apache Junction High School, said that he wears a bandana almost every day and has never had a problem.
“The officer came up to me and wanted to have a talk with me, he asked me about the ban- dana and I said, ‘what’s wrong with it?’ He said, ‘the color.’ I said, ‘what do you mean? That kid’s wearing a bandana.’ He
VALENTINO JIMENEZ says, ‘that’s the American flag.’
I said, ‘what’s the difference?’ She told me we can’t wear ban- dannas at all,” Jimenez ex- plained to AZ Family.
Three students were ar- rested on suspicion of disrupt- ing an educational institution, disorderly conduct and drug paraphernalia, reports AZ Family. All four students are expected to be referred to the Pinal County Juvenile Court system.
Jimenez admits that he could have avoided this situa- tion by obeying orders, but de- cided instead to stand up for himself.
“I could’ve took off the ban- dana, I really could’ve. But at the end of the day, they tried to tell me I couldn’t be me, know- ing damn well I wear that ban- dana all the time,” he told AZ Family. “It was kind of humili- ating if you think about it, in front of everybody, me getting arrested and they try to make it look like I did something so bad, you know?”
Georgia Teens Ask For Jobs To Avoid Gang Life; Get Hired On The Spot
Four Georgia teens are going viral after walking into Zsa Zsa Heard‘s office, the CEO of LaGrange Hous- ing Authority, asking for a job to avoid being swept into gang life.
Heard posted their photo on her Facebook page with this inspiring caption:
According to Heard’s post, she hired the young men, ranging in age from 13 to 14, on the spot. Their names are Desmond Woodard, Dylik Smith, Jalen Parham, and Deion Woodard. Since being em- ployed, they’ve been hard at work distributing mail, tend-
Desmond Woodard, Dylik Smith, Jalen Parham, and Deion Woodard.
ing to the community garden, and mining chicken coops.
After completing their tasks, Heard pays the boys on a prepaid card.
“If they feel that they’re valuable, and if we show them how important they are, then we don’t risk losing
them,” Heard told 11Alive News. “I don’t want them to seek the love and attention from the negative. I want them to find their value in other things.”
The boys will continue to work for Heard during school breaks.
TUESDAY, AUGUST 21, 2018 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 13