Page 19 - Florida Sentinel 10-27-15 Edition

National
Memphis Man Killed In Shooting At Tennessee State University
Forth Worth, Texas Gets First Black Police Chief
CHIEF JOEL FITZGERALD
FORTH WORTH, TX -- Fort Worth, Texas, swore in its first Black police chief Tuesday at a ceremony packed with the city’s top leaders.
Chief Joel Fitzgerald
takes over at a challenging time. Fitzgerald replaces Jeff Halstead, who retired in January amid federal dis- crimination lawsuits filed by several Black police officers.
Black Lives Matter called for a rally in the city in August after a white police officer fa- tally shot an unarmed Black college football player in Ar- lington, Texas. Weeks later, hundreds of mostly white peo- ple held a counter protest to support the police. Some held signs that read, “All Lives Matter.”
Many see Fitzgerald as the right person for the job. The new police chief is known for his ability to work well with the community.
“The impetus is upon me to make sure that each and every person in this organiza- tion understands that when we speak of community, we’re part of the community,” he said at the ceremony. “The po- lice department [is] an active member in the community and we’re to make sure that each contact that we have with each and every individ- ual that we see is positive.”
With reference to Black Lives Matter, Fitzgerald said that he wants honest, “open discussions.”
Fitzgerald underscored his track record of bringing together the police depart- ment and community. “I feel it won’t be any different in Fort Worth, the community has really opened their arms up and embraced me so far,” he stated.
Fort Worth’s new police chief, who holds degrees from Harvard and Northwestern, previously was the first Black chief of police departments in Missouri City, Texas, and Al- lentown, Pa.
Fitzgerald was a police officer in Philadelphia before climbing the ranks. He beat five other finalists to become Fort Worth’s police chief.
Author Pens Book To Help Black Males Win
CAMERON SELMON ...shot and killed
A 19-year-old Memphian was shot and killed on the campus of Tennessee State University, last Thursday night. This is the second shooting at TSU in the last month.
Investigators with the Nashville Police Department say Cameron Selmon, who was not a TSU student, lost his life in the shooting. It hap- pened in the courtyard after a dispute over a dice game.
“Students have seen it be- fore. We had another tragic in- cident happen, it's not the first one and probably not the last one unfortunate to say,” soph- omore Tariq Muhammed said. “Instead of focusing on
DR. GLOVER TSU PRESIDENT
college priorities like passing a test, students today are forced to deal with death.”
Two female students who were simply walking by at the wrong time were hit with bul- lets during the shooting.
Two girls walking to class on Friday said security is not tight enough. “We need to buckle down,” the student, who didn’t want to be identi- fied, said. “I think we need more police from metro here circling.”
Nashville police said both students admitted to the hos- pital will make a full recovery.
Detectives recovered a pis- tol and are still looking for the shooter.
Dr. Velva Burley Flow- ers, founder and chief em- powerment officer of The Flowers Institute in South- field, Michigan, strongly be- lieves that the game of chess mirrors the game of life.
She feels that in both chess and life, one has to make pre- cise decisions about his or her current position, while strate- gically thinking several moves ahead about how to best win.
As in chess and life, oppo- nents stand in the way of one’s goals, and continuously make counter decisions and moves in an attempt to evoke detri- mental results on his or her adversary. In essence, each move that a person makes car- ries either a positive or nega- tive consequence related to the overall chance of winning or losing the chess game of life.
With the strategic dynamics of chess in mind, Flowers re- cently authored a book enti- tled, “Choices: Making Moves to Win!” Published by Profes- sional Woman Publishing Company, the book, according to Flowers, is written to teach young teens, especially Black male teens, about mak- ing the right choices and moves in a complex society that often presents barriers and roadblocks based on gen- der, age and color.
Flowers described how her husband made a poor
choice with
a childhood
friend. The
choice, said
Flowers,
resulted in
her spouse
being found
guilty of
felony de-
gree mur-
der. He was sentenced to life in prison, but was eventually freed based on overwhelming evidence of his total inno- cence.
Thus, Flowers assembled 15 young Black males in metro Detroit, between ages of 14- 18, to contribute to the book. Their writing touched on re- spective problem-solving skills, decision-making skills, peer pressure, and societal is- sues that often place African American male teens at high risk. Flowers arranged for the youth to interview other African American adult males for the purpose of learning more about the adults’ life ex- periences, choices, thoughts, and ideas as Black men in America. As a result, the 15 young men made some astute observations that are shared in the book.
For information about The Flowers Inst. visit www.choic- esmakingmovestowin.com, or call 1.866.680.3030. Dr. Flowers can be reached at velvaflowers@yahoo.com.
DR. VELVA FLOWERS
Seven Black Churches Burned In St. Louis
Church in St. Louis set afire.
Top Cops Meet To Talk About Reform
ST. LOUIS, MO - Several St. Louis, Missouri religious leaders believe that racism is the motive for seven church burnings throughout the area since the beginning of October.
According to the Chris- tian Post, police believe that a person or group of people have targeted the churches, which, vary in denomina- tion. Authorities have yet to declare the burnings a hate crime.
"Holy God ... if we ever needed a wake-up call to be- lieve that racism is alive in St.Louis—ifthisisnotit,I don't know what it could be," Rev. Mike Kinman, an Episcopal priest at St. Louis' Christ Church Cathe- dral, told the Post.
Since Oct. 8, seven churches have been torched, the latest of which, occurred Oct. 17 and have noticed
"It could be someone who has a beef against the Church, somebody who might have some mental is- sues," St. Louis Fire Chief Dennis Jenkerson told the Post. "It runs a gamut until we capture the person or persons."
St. Louis Metropolitan
Police Chief Sam Dotson
told the Christian Post that the fires are being investi- gated and there are cur- rently no suspects.
"It's impossible to ignore that this kind of crime ag- gravates old wounds, old wounds that were never properly or fully healed," Dotson told the Post. "Whoever this person is, they've picked a fight they can't win. Whoever is out there trying to scare us, whatever they think they're trying to accomplish, they will not succeed."
"Police departments can- not be at war with the com- munities they serve," said Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck in Washing- ton, D.C., Wednesday.
"The criminal-justice sys- tem is not really broken. It's producing the results it was designed to produce, and those are the wrong results. We have to change the way we think about crime," said Chicago Police Chief Garry McCarthy.
Beck and McCarthy are part of a new group of more than 130 top law-enforce- ment officials and prosecu- tors called Law Enforcement Leaders to Reduce Crime and Incarceration, which launched last Wednesday. The group's members trav- eled to Washington to call for fundamental change in crime and punishment in the U. S.—particularly around drug-related enforcement. They will participate in a roundtable discussion on justice reform and meet with President Barack Obama at the White House Thursday.
Many law-enforcement officers and prosecutors in attendance spoke about the need to help people re-enter society after incarceration;
alternatives to arrest; pre- vention and mentoring pro- grams; new ways to handle the mentally ill; and job pro- grams and training. Many of the policies they plan to push would reduce mass incarcer- ation.
"We're looking for com- monsense criminal-justice reform. We're arresting the wrong people and we're measuring the wrong things," said McCarthy when asked what the group would push for during their White House visit.
"We are at 50-year lows in crime in America today. And I would predict that if we free up that time we are spending on things that are an alternative to arrest, if we free up the bed space with changes in mandatory mini- mums ... and work through the community, I would pre- dict we could drive violent crime down even lower," said Ronal Serpas, a for- mer superintendent of the New Orleans Police Dept.
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