Page 27 - Florida Sentinel 8-19-16 Online Edition

National
Here Is How YOU Can Help The
Somali-American Woman Makes History By Winning Primary In Minnesota
Flood Victims In Louisiana!
MINNEAPOLIS, MN --- On last Tuesday, Aug. 9, Ilhan Omar made history by win- ning the primary election in the Minneapolis House dis- trict 60B. She clenched the victory over Representative Phyllis Kahn.
Kahn served 44 years in of- fice, and is one of the longest- serving state legislators in Minnesota history. If Omar wins the general election in November, she’ll be the first Somali-American State Repre- sentative and the first Somali- American woman in the Minnesota legislature.
Overcoming seemingly in- surmountable odds is nothing new for the 33-year-old Soma- lia-born community activist. She lived for four years in a
Severe storms and historic flooding have continued to affect areas of Louisiana since last week.
The storm has knocked out power and cellphone service at times, making it hard for some to even call for help. Many have had to be rescued by boats. Since the storm, President Obama has de- clared it a major disaster.
This declaration will allow federal dollars to be spent on aid in the declared parishes: Tangipahoa, St. Helena, East Baton Rouge and Livingston. Some of that aid includes grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disas- ter.
Even residents without flood insurance should docu- ment their damage. The gov- ernor encouraged property owners to track their homes in order to seek compensa- tion.
There is much to be done in the wake of the floods. Cars are still stranded on some highways. Shelters are quickly filling up. There are about 10,000 people staying in temporary shelters in the Baton Rouge area and more are expected to seek help.
Here are some ways you can help those affected:
Flood victims in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Ilhan Omar beat a 44- year member of the Min- nesota state legislature.
Kenyan refugee camp after es- caping civil war in Somalia with her family.
For nearly 20 years, Omar has been a resident of the Cedar-Riverside community in Minneapolis. As Director of Policy Initiatives at Women Organizing Women, she’s worked to empower first- and second-generation women im- migrants in her community.
Volunteer
Do NOT self-deploy to flooded areas. To help with cleanup and recovery during the second phase of disaster assistance, go to volunteer- louisiana.gov. State officials are urging people to volun- teer with the Red Cross if possible. If available, call 855-489-4528 or try to sign up here. You can also text “LAFLOODS” to 90999 to make a $10 donation to The American Red Cross in Louisiana. To volunteer or donate to United Way of Southeast Louisiana.
Spread information
Share this info with any- one who might be affected:
FEMA is doing assess- ments to determine the dam- ages from the storm and flooding. They have asked that residents and business owners who sustained losses in the designated parishes
apply for assistance by regis- tering at http://www.Disas- terAssistance.gov or by calling 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or 1-800-462-7585 (TTY) for the hearing and speech impaired. The toll- free telephone numbers will operate from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. (local time) seven days a week until further notice.
United Way of Southeast Louisiana has a 24/7 hotline for citizens who need assis- tance, just dial 211.
Vanderbilt University Will Spend $1.2M To Rename Confederate Hall
New York City Settles With The Family Of Akai Gurley For $4.5M
Family Of Dr. Martin Luther
NEW YORK CITY ---New York City has agreed to pay more than $4 million to settle a wrongful death lawsuit with the family of Akai Gurley. Gurley, who was unarmed was fatally shot by an officer in the stairwell of a Brooklyn housing project in 2014, the New York Post reports.
According to the report, the city will pay $4.1 million, while the New York City Housing Authority will pay out another $400,000. The officer behind the fatal shoot- ing, Peter Liang, who was found guilty of criminally neg- ligent homicide, will pay $25,000. The monies will be placed into a fund for Gur- ley’s now 3-year-old daugh- ter, Akaila.
Liang and partner Shaun Landau — both probationary officers since fired from the force — were on routine patrol at the Louis Pink Houses proj- ect in East New York on the
Akai Gurley with his then baby girl, Akaila.
night of Nov. 20, 2014. Gurley was walking down the stairs, where the light was broken, when he happened on the cops. Liang said he acci- dentally fired his 9mm Glock. The bullet ricocheted off a wall and struck Gurley in the heart. Liang was sentenced to five years’ probation and 800 hours of community service after Brooklyn DA Ken Thompson recommended no prison time. That recom- mendation was hailed by Chi- nese-American community leaders, but blasted by Gur-
ley’s family.
King, Jr. Settle Dispute Over
Confederate Vanderbilt campus.
NASHVILLE, TN -- Vander- bilt University has agreed to dole out $1.2 million to the United Daughters of the Con- federacy, to settle a long-run- ning lawsuit and move forward in its bid to rename the Con- federate Memorial Hall.
According to the report, the $1.2 million is considered the current value of the original $50,000 donation that the United Daughters of the Con- federacy made back in 1933 to help construct the building.
Vanderbilt’s bid to rename the residence hall started in 2002, however the Daughters of the Confederacy sued, de- claring the move a breach of contract. The Tennessee Court of Appeals ruled that the uni- versity could only rename the hall if it paid back the dona- tion. The school, originally de- cided to save their money, “rather than enrich an organi- zation whose value it does not share,” it declared in a 2015 press release.
However now, the school thinks it’s time to go forward.
His Nobel Peace Prize Medal
ATLANTA, GA -- The fam- ily of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. has settled a dis- agreement over what to do with the civil rights icon’s 1964 Nobel Peace Prize medal, al- though the terms of the settle- ment are not exactly known, Reuters reports.
A judge confirmed that the matter was settled in an At- lanta court Monday. The trial to settle the years long dis- pute—one that has long put King’s two sons at odds with their sister—had been sched- uled to start that very same day.
The three siblings, Reuters notes, are directors of a corpo- ration that was formed to manage the estate of King, who had no will at the time of his 1968 assassination.
In 2014, Martin Luther King, III and his brother, Dexter King, voted to sell the medal and the Bible their father had carried with him during the civil rights move-
Mom Arrested After Bodies Of Her Children Found Under Neighbor’s House
hall on
Dr. King with his Nobel Peace Prize medal.
ment. Their sister, the Rev. Dr. Bernice King opposed the sale, saying that the items were “sacred” to the family.
Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney had or- dered the items to be locked in a court-controlled safe-de- posit box pending the out- come of the case. However, on Monday, McBurney an- nounced that the keys to the box would be given to Martin Luther King, III, the chair- man of the estate board, per the request of both parties in the motion to dismiss the law- suit.
HOUSTON, TX --- A Texas mother has been charged with capital murder after the bod- ies of her two children were found under her neighbor’s house.
According to police, Sheb- orah Thomas, 30, confessed Sunday to drowning her 5- year-old daughter, Kayana Thomas, and 7-year-old son, O’Raylan Thomas, on Fri- day.
Authorities recovered the remains of the children un- derneath the neighbor’s home after being called out to the scene just before 11 a.m. Sun- day.
Thomas also has a 12- year-old son, who was report- edly not home at the time.
According to the report, someone who knew Thomas was driving by and saw her
throwing trash into an empty lot across the street. When the person asked
Thomas SHEBORAH what she was THOMAS
doing, the
30-year-old said that she needed to move right away. The individual began to help Thomas pack before asking about the kids. Thomas then reportedly told the person what she had done. The per- son drove to the police station with Thomas and told offi- cers what had happened.
The mother allegedly said that she rolled the children under the neighbor’s house before returning to her own home to start packing.
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