Page 22 - Florida Sentinel 2-15-19

National
Dapper Dan Has Summoned The CEO Of Gucci From Italy To Harlem Following Racist Sweater Controversy
Poll Reveals Nearly Half Of Americans See Nothing Wrong With Blackface
Given all the blackface con- troversies making headlines lately, it might be unsurprising that a new poll has found a large section of the American population secretly doesn’t think there’s anything wrong with the racially charged prac-
tice.According to the Atlanta BlackStar, researchers work- ing with YouGov, an interna- tional Internet-based market research company, took a poll at the beginning of February amid the blackface scandals taking place among politicians and others.
In the survey, 1,500 Ameri- cans of across varying racial, gender, socio-economic and party lines were asked, “Is it acceptable or unacceptable for a white person to wear black- face makeup?”
Only a slight majority of 58 percent said they found it un- acceptable, 16 percent said wearing makeup meant to mock people of color was to- tally acceptable and a surpris- ing 26 percent were undecided. That means a total 42 percent of Americans either condone blackface or aren’t really pas- sionate about their stance on the matter, despite the fact that it has been considered a so- cially unacceptable practice for decades.
The biggest disparity amongst who is against vs who
This image shows Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s page in his 1984 Eastern Virginia Medical School yearbook. The page shows a picture, at right, of a person in blackface and another wearing a Ku Klux Klan hood next to different pictures of the governor. It's unclear who the people in the picture are, but the rest of the page is filled with pictures of Northam and lists his undergradu- ate alma mater and other information about him.
is for (or apathetic) about the issue shows up among political parties. A whopping 29 percent of registered Republicans were for blackface while only 6 per- cent of Democrats said the same.
Eighty-one percent of De- mocrats were staunchly against blackface and found it outright unacceptable com- pared to only 44 percent of Re- publicans willing to say the same. As for the undecided group, twenty-seven percent of Republicans were unsure about their feelings on it while only 14 percent of Democrats
were apathetic.
The poll was specifically in-
spired by the backlash against Democratic Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, who was photographed in a medical school yearbook wearing blackface in 1984. Since then Virginia’s state Attorney Gen- eral Mark Herring has ad- mitted to wearing “brown makeup” for a 1980 costume party in an effort to look like a rapper, and Republican Florida Rep. Anthony Saba- tini faced calls for him to re- sign after a photo surfaced of him wearing Blackface as well.
Dapper Dan in a Gucci ad.
Dapper Dan is now speak- ing out about the controversy surrounding Gucci and Prada after both brands face backlash over blackface imagery they promoted.
Many celebrities have al- ready called for a boycott of the brands, particularly Gucci, however Dan, who works for and has collaborated with Gucci, says he’s taking action to make sure these brands really get the message.
"I am a Black man before I am a brand," Dapper Dan wrote in a post on Instagram. "Another fashion house has gotten it outrageously wrong. There is no excuse nor apology that can erase this kind of in-
sult."
He later announced a very
interesting meeting. "The CEO of Gucci has agreed to come from Italy to Harlem this week to meet with me, along with members of the community and other industry leaders,” he continued in the post. “There cannot be inclusivity without accountability. I will hold everyone accountable."
Dapper Dan rose to prominence during the 1980s and 1990s as a designed in Harlem. He was known for adaptations of high fashion brands and collaborated with Gucci after many believed the brand ripped off one of his clas- sic designs.
The Chicago Sun-Times Endorses Black Woman For Mayor In Upcoming Election
Prosecutors Want New Sentence In Laquan McDonald Case
Prosecutors on Monday asked Illinois’ highest court to review the less than seven year prison sentence for the white Chicago police officer who was convicted in the shooting death of black teenager Laquan McDonald.
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and the spe- cial prosecutor who won a murder conviction against for- mer officer Jason Van Dyke, Kane County State’s Attorney Joseph McMahon, said they believe Cook County Judge Vincent Gaughan improp- erly applied the law last month when he sentenced Van Dyke to six years and nine months in prison. In a rare move, Raoul and McMahon filed a request with the Illinois Supreme Court seeking an order that would send the case back to Gaughan for a new sentence.
“This is the first step in ask- ing the court to declare that the trial court improperly sen- tenced Jason Van Dye for the murder and aggravated battery of Laquan McDon- ald and to order a new sen- tencing hearing,” Attorney
LAQUAN MCDONALD
General Kwame Raoul said at a news conference.
Monday’s court filing was the latest chapter in an ongo- ing saga that has included massive demonstrations, the firing of the police superin- tendent by the mayor and the ouster of the county’s top pros- ecutors by voters a few months later. Dashcam video of the shooting released by the city in 2015 showed Van Dyke con- tinued to fire after the 17-year- old McDonald fell to the ground. The sentence was the first imposed on a Chicago po- lice officer for an on-duty shooting in a half century.
It followed a jury’s decision in October to convict the offi-
cer of second-degree murder and 16 counts of aggravated battery — one count for each bullet fired into McDonald.
Van Dyke’s attorneys did not immediately respond to re- quests for comment Monday but planned to hold a media availability later in the day.
The central issue in the pe- tition is an Illinois law that al- lows a judge to sentence a person for only the most seri- ous crime when he is convicted of multiple crimes for what amounts to a single act. Gaughan determined that second-degree murder was the more serious crime, even though it carries a lighter sen- tence than aggravated battery — between four and 20 years in prison versus six to 30 years in prison.
Both Raoul and McMa- hon steered clear of saying whether they believed the sen- tence handed down by Gaughan was too short, but their filing sets in motion a legal battle that could ulti- mately result in the court forc- ing the judge to impose a longer sentence.
The Chicago Sun-Times
has endorsed for mayor a Black woman who has never served a political office, but who its editorial board be- lieves has been a vigilant public servant. Lori Light- foot would be an effective steward for the city’s resi- dents “from the hedge fund managers to the fast food workers,” the newspaper says.
Lightfoot, 56, has been an outspoken critic when City Hall gets it wrong, even call- ing out her own bosses. She has operated with honesty and integrity, the newspaper wrote.
The Chicago Sun-Times
said Lightfoot shines brighter than the other 13 mayoral candidates because she doesn’t represent a par- ticular constituency and would be an effective leader for the entire city – “from the hedge fund managers to the fast food workers.”
Lightfoot, is the first openly LGBT candidate for
LORI LIGHTFOOT
mayor of Chicago. She has served on the Chicago Police Board; as co-chair of the Chicago Police Accountability Task Force; and as Assistant U. S. attorney for the North- ern District of Illinois earlier in her career.
When she worked as a fed- eral prosecutor, Lightfoot helped convict a former Chicago alderman for taking bribes.
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