Page 18 - Florida Sentinel 1-5-16 Edition

National
Virginia Church Pledges $1 Million To Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture
Alfred Street Pastor Howard-John Wesley with James McNeil, Board of Trustees, Chair and Pat Johnson, Deacon Chair.
Gov. Of Mississippi Wants Black Councilman
Philadelphia Parade Participants Wear Blackface
ALEXANDRIA, VA — In the final days of 2015, Alfred Street Baptist Church (ASBC), one of the nation’s oldest his- torically African American churches located in Alexan- dria, Virginia announced that it is pledging to donate $1 mil- lion to the Smithsonian’s new National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC). As such, the $1 million donation to the mu- seum is the largest from a faith-based organization to date, thus allowing the church to be designated as a founding donor of the museum. Sched- uled to open in the fall of 2016
on the National Mall in Wash- ington, DC adjacent to the Washington Monument, the museum will be a place where visitors can learn about the richness and diversity of the African American experience, what it means to the lives of the American people, and how it helped shape this nation.
Rev. Dr. Howard-John Wesley, the esteemed pastor of Alfred Street Baptist Church said, “We are very proud and honored to make this contri- bution to a museum that promises to contribute im- mensely to the knowledge base of African American history and culture.
Jackson, Mississippi Ward 3 Councilman, Kenneth Stokes.
JACKSON, MS --- Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant said Friday that he’s calling on the state’s attorney general to investigate comments made by a local councilman.
Jackson Ward 3 Councilman Kenneth Stokes said, “When you have these police officers coming from other jurisdic- tions and they will not respect human life, then I said we should use rocks, bricks or bot- tles to try to get the message over: Stop endangering our children.”
City officials have long com- plained about neighboring po- lice departments crossing into Jackson in high-speed chases to pursue petty criminals.
For Bryant, the councilman’s comments crossed a line.
“Mr. Stokes’ remarks are reprehensible, particularly with the attacks we have seen against our men and women in law enforcement,” the governor said.
Mummers in Philadelphia pa- rade.
mar Strutters’ “Siesta Fiesta” revelers dressed as tacos with brown face paint, including children. About 50 activists from the Black Lives Matter movement held a protest along the parade route with signs shouting for justice for Tamir Rice. The movement itself was mocked by parade goers with signs saying, “Shark Lives Mat- ter,” “Mummers Lives Matter,” “Wench Lives Matter” and “Pi- rate Lives Matter.” There were also reports of boos and the “n- word” being hurled at protest- ers by spectators.
Investigated
PHILDELPHIA, PA --- Philadelphia's annual Mum- mers Parade hit the scene once again on Friday, and was yet again mired in a series of racist and homophobic acts along the parade route, including the as- sault of a gay man, according to reports.
The 116-year-old folk festival, considered the oldest in the United States, was created by Scandanavian, European, and yes, African immigrants in the mid-17th century based on the tradition of “mummers,” a Ger- man word meaning “to cos- tume or masquerade.” The parade now boasts more than 10,000 participants on New Year's Day and is continually dogged by controversy.
Minstrelsy has always been a part of the Mummer DNA, in- cluding blackface. But in 1964, under pressure from the NAACP, blackface was offi- cially banned, yet it seems to find its way into the parade each year.
This year, brownface” was the insult du jour, with Sam-
Recruitment Video
Armed Militia In Oregon Take Over Federal Building..Really?
The armed miltia group marched to the closed federal building and took it over to protest the pending incarceration of ranchers Dwight and Steven Hammond.
By Terrorist Group Targets
Blacks And Muslims
The Somali Islamist group al-Shabab released a recruit- ment video Friday targeting African Americans and Mus- lims, which features Donald Trump, the Associated Press reports.
It appeared on Twitter and reportedly recounts the stories of several Somali-Americans from Minnesota who jour- neyed to East Africa to fight alongside al-Shabab.
The nearly hour-long video points to Ferguson, Mo., and Baltimore to make the case that racism is widespread in the United States. It also in- cludes a clip of Trump calling for a ban on Muslims entering the country, following the ter- rorist shooting in San Bernardino, Calif.
The video quotes Malcolm X during the civil rights move- ment, as well as Anwar al- Awlaki, a Yemeni-American cleric killed by a U.S. drone strike, who predicted that America would turn against its Muslim population. It urges
.
Blacks and Muslims in Amer- ica to fight back by joining the jihad.
Al-Shabab is the group re- sponsible for storming the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya and killing 67 people in that attack.
Trump’s campaign has not responded so far to media re- quests for comments. Follow- ing the Democratic debate in December, Trump called Hillary Clinton a “liar” for saying ISIS is using his anti- Muslim rhetoric as a recruit- ment tool.
An armed militia took over a building at a national wildlife refuge in Oregon late Saturday and vows to occupy the outpost for years to protest the federal govern- ment’s treatment of a pair of ranchers facing prison time.
The occupation of a portion of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge 30 miles southeast of Burns, Ore., fol- lowed a peaceful march for ranchers Dwight Ham- mond, 73, and Steven Ham- mond, 46, who are scheduled to report to federal prison in San Pedro, Calif., on Monday after being convicted of arson,
according to the Oregonian. Prosecutors said the father and son set the fire, which burned about 130 acres in 2001 on leased federal land, to conceal poaching. The Ham- monds argued that they were attempting to reduce the growth of invasive plant species and ward off potential wildfires. The pair was sen-
tenced to five years in prison. Among the occupiers are sev- eral members of the Bundy family, whose patriarch — Ne- vada rancher Cliven Bundy — was involved in an armed standoff with government agents over grazing rights in 2014.
PAGE 18 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, JANUARY 5, 2016