Page 20 - Florida Sentinel 10-23-18

National
Colorado Voters Will Get A Second Chance Next Month To Abolish Slavery
Next month, Colorado will vote on changing the lan- guage in its state constitution so that it no longer allows slavery as a form of punish- ment. Slavery is technically - - technically -- still legal in many states.
Wait, slavery is legal? Article II, Section 26 of Colorado's constitution reads that there "shall never be in this state either slavery or in-
voluntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted."
That's what legislators are putting on the ballot this year. Amendment A will change the wording to "There shall never be in this state either slavery or invol- untary servitude."
Voters almost passed the amendment two years ago.
But the wording was so un- clear that it confused many people about whether they were voting for or against slavery, said Jumoke Emery with Abolish Slavery Colorado.
He's hopeful that this time around, Amendment A will pass.
"I hope that this puts forth the message that our past doesn't have to be our
future, that by and large we as Americans are interested in fixing our mistakes and that there's hope for our fu- ture," he said.
Is Colorado alone?
More than 15 other state constitutions allow slavery as punishment for a crime. The US Constitution does too.
The 13th amendment, ratified in 1865, abolished most forms of slavery but
still allowed for the opportu- nity of servitude as legal punishment. That has yet to change.
ACLU's Nathan Woodliff- Stanley says re- moving the wording from the Colorado constitution "closes the door on the pos- sibility of future abuses, and it also sends a positive mes- sage in a time of great divi- sion in our nation."
Florida Police Won’t Launch Investigation Into Cop Caught On Video Punching 14-Year-Old Girl
A disturbing video began to circulate on social media Saturday (Oct. 21) of a white police officer repeatedly punching a 14-year-old black girl in the ribs as he pinned her down.
According to reports, Coral Springs police received a call about a group of unruly teens inside the mall. When law enforcement arrived, the
young girl reportedly “back talked.” The nine-second
clip shows two officers sub- duing the teen face-first into the ground. A female officer has her knee on the teen’s back while the other, a male, barrels his fist into her rib cage.
The video was shared online by a girl who claims to be the victim’s cousin, cap- tioning the savage clip as “My 14-year-old old cousin, which
is a girl, should not have been handled this way.”
However, the Coral Spring Police Department quickly went on the defense saying the officer’s actions were jus- tified and an investigation will not be launched.
“Due to her stature and ag- gressive behavior, officers took her to the ground at- tempting to get her to release
her fists. As seen in the video she resisted arrest and in order to have her comply she was struck in the side in order to have her release her clenched fists-she was then handcuffed. After she was handcuffed and officers at- tempted to place her in the patrol car, she violently kicked one of the officers,” the post reads.
PAGE 20 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2018