Page 20 - Florida Sentinel 11-26-19

National
14-Year-Old Who Listed Black Classmate On Craigslist As 'Slave For Sale' Charged With Hate Crime
5-Year-Old Drumming Prodigy Receives Scholarship Offer From HBCU Alcorn State University:
'It's Mind-Blowing Every Day'
THE IMAGE SHOWIN “SLAVE FOR SALE”
Musical prodigies showcase their otherworldly abilities at a young age, but Jeremiah Travis is unlike anything we’ve ever seen before. And the historically black Alcorn State University apparently feels the same way, as it has of- fered the 5-year-old wun- derkind a full band scholarship well over a decade before he even graduates high school.
USA Today reports that when he does finally graduate high school in 2032, he’ll have a home in the school’s Sounds of Dyn-O-Mite Band.
“Now, to know that he is 5 and has a full scholarship made me feel so good,” his mother, Nicole Jackson, said. “I am just amazed at his playing level with him being so young.”
Travis’ journey as a drum- mer began with beating on ABC blocks as a baby, and now the snare drummer for St. He- lena College’s high school marching band is a familiar face at performances through- out Louisiana, including half-
to move and learn different things with drums.” Chesteron Frye, band director at St. Helena College and for- mer student band director at Alcorn State University, took an immediate interest in Travis after spotting him drumming in the stands.
“He was sitting in the stands just beating on the stands with some drumsticks and I was like, ‘Who is this lit- tle baby keep beating drum sticks in the stands?’” Frye told WAFB. “So we told him come on over and we held the drum out, someone was holding it, and he just started going, going against the other band across the field and I was like, ‘Wow,’” Frye said.
And despite Travis’ age, Frye asserts that the kinder- gartner is one of the strongest drummers in his band.
“It’s mind-blowing every day,” he said. “Every single day he comes in and every single day he works. His work ethic is through the roof for a 5-year- old.”
A 14-year-old student has been charged with a hate crime after he allegedly listed his black classmate as a "slave for sale" on Craigslist. As BuzzFeed News reports, the Naperville, Illinois student was charged on Wednesday, after taking a photo of his classmate earlier in the month, and using it for the list- ing, which was titled "Slave for sale (Naperville)."
"We hold our students ac- countable for their behavior, which includes appropriate dis- ciplinary consequences," Princi- pal Bill Wiesbrook said in an email to parents of students at the school. He insisted that the listing on Craigslist was "not re- flective" of the school as a whole. The Craigslist ad made
its way to social media, and the description had a racial slur.
The mother of the victim, who wishes to remain anonymous, spoke with WGN News about the situation. "They used to be friends, they are not anymore. The moment he started teasing my son, calling him dumb, mak- ing fun of his skin color, saying ‘shut up slave’ last October," she said. "They are not friends any- more."
Naperville police chief, Robert Marshall, released a statement on the hate crime, which he called a "despicable and ex- tremely offensive post that is not at all reflective of the caring, welcoming community that our department serves and protects every day."
JEREMIAH TRAVIS
time shows for the New Or- leans Pelicans.
Most kids his age are play- ing with toys or spending their afternoons with an Xbox con- troller in their hands, but Travis would much rather spend his time perfecting his craft.
“He’s not a video game per- son,” Jackson said. “He likes
White Teen Accused Of Plotting Deadly Attack On Black Church
Police say a 16-year-old white girl was motivated by racism when she allegedly plotted to attack a historically black church in Gainesville, Georgia.
The plot came to light when Gainesville High School students told admin- istrators the teen had a note- book with detailed plans to kill worshippers at the church, police chief Jay Par- rish said.
"Our investigation indi- cated the church was tar- geted by the juvenile because of the racial demographic of the church members," Par- rish said in a statement.
The teen was taken into custody and her parents were notified. She is charged as a juvenile with criminal at- tempt to commit murder, ac- cording to the Gainesville Police statement. Her name has not been released.
It's not clear how the girl allegedly intended to carry out the attack, but the At- lanta Journal-Constitution reports that Gainesville po-
This Nov. 19, 2019 photo shows the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Gainesville, Ga. A white 16-year-old girl is accused of plotting to attack a mostly black church in Gainesville, where police say she planned to kill worshippers because of their race.
lice said the teen collected knives.
Pastor Michelle Rizer- Pool told the publication the girl visited her church last Wednesday, but no events were scheduled that night. Bible study is usually held on Wednesday nights, Rizer- Pool told the paper.
Parrish said in a state- ment the case is an example that strong relationships be- tween the student body, school administration and law enforcement can "inter-
cept a potentially horrific in- cident."
"It just grieves my spirit on a number of different lev- els, one that the intentions of this young person were so calculated to do great harm against people who just sim- ply had no knowledge of such a plot," The Reverand Rose Johnson Mackey, director of the Newtown Florist Club, a civil rights or- ganization founded in Gainesville 70 years ago, told the Associated Press.
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