Editorials

The Dirty Politics of Race

The Los Angeles Sentinel newspaper has seen its fair share of negative campaigning in our 80 plus years of publishing. While typically we don’t condone it, the paper recognizes that candidates and campaigns alike often view such tactics as a necessary evil in the process of presenting a contrast between themselves and their competitors. Problems arise, however, when candidates go beyond telling the truth, when they attempt to deceive voters, prey on their worst fears, incite hatred and division, or when they make their own facts up for personal gain. Unfortunately, that’s precisely what’s happening in the race to represent California’s 44th

Letter from the Co-Editors

 (Left to Right: Nicole Williams, Brian Carter and Amen Oyiboke) Dear Sentinel Readers, We would like to thank you for all the years of support, dedication and the readership that has made this publication the proud paper it is today. As we enter 2015, we look forward to a year of continuing the tradition of being a voice speaking for the community. Now more than ever is it imperative for the Black voice to be heard because it is more than a voice for African and Black Americans—it’s a voice for justice. This country, in all of its star-spangled glory,

This Has to Stop!

That sickening, sinking feeling has crawled into our guts yet again. We in the Black community wonder when it will ever stop. We thought we were beyond this when 15-year-old teenage Latasha Harlins was murdered over a bottle of orange juice by a Korean merchant in 1991. The case of Trayvon Martin is eerily too familiar to that of Harlins,’ and universal calls for peace and calm are certainly in proper order here. Trayvon Martin was 17 years old and went to the store and bought a pack of Skittles and a soft drink before he encountered the over zealous

SB 405 & AB 158: Bills that kill jobs and harm the environment

Civil rights, religious and local community groups are being forced once again to the front lines to protect low income and poor families as another attempt has been launched to tax and ban plastic grocery bags in California.   The African American community should oppose Senate Bill 405 (Padilla) and Assembly Bill 158 (Levine), bills that would ban plastic bags statewide causing a negative impact on the economy, the residents of California and the environment. This is an hour of crisis for our country and particularly for the members of our community.  In particular, California residents and businesses have experienced hard

“I’ve Been Looking for Senator Obama All My Life”

There is a fresh and exciting phenomenon swirling throughout America today. It is a phenomenon called Barack Obama, an African American whose action, oratory and vision is showing Americans everywhere that intelligence, vision and courage has no race or gender. Senator Obama is inspiring all Americans to believe that the best in America is yet to come. You can see, the excitement in the eyes of the millions of people involved in his campaign—young and old, Black and White, Latino, Asian and Indian that believe in him and are committed to being part of a new generation; a generation who

COMMENTARY – Jan Perry, L.A. Councilmember

Since being elected in 2001 the matter of serious, violent crime has been the greatest challenge. As the Councilwoman for the Ninth District, I have used every tool available to me to seek a far better outcome for our community. Legislatively, I have introduced motions to take immediate action, to enhance safety and to examine LAPD work schedules and deployment. This summer we locked down one of our parks for the protection of the families and Recreation and Parks staff. This action was taken because of a rising threat of crime at the park that tragically ended with the death

COMMENTARY: Senator Barack Obama

Recently, the Georgia Supreme Court intervened in the case of Genarlow Wilson, a twenty-one year old Georgia honor student who was sentenced to eleven years in prison—even though he didn’t even commit a felony. The court recognized that the case was outrageous, deemed Wilson’s punishment unconstitutional, and released him. As we celebrate this young man’s freedom, we must also to rededicate ourselves to the task of correcting the inequities in our criminal justice system that led to his ordeal. Like Hurricane Katrina did with poverty, the case of Genarlow Wilson — much like that of the Jena 6 — exposed