When I saw the National Guard line the streets of Downtown LA, it stirred up a lot of emotions for me as a Black Angeleno. Having lived through the 65’ Watts Rebellion, the LA Uprising in 92’ and now the unrest we are witnessing after the public murder of George Floyd – I know that this fight is not new for us; it cuts across generations and is a sustained outcry for Black humanity to be seen, valued, and respected.
Scripture: Revelations 8:1-13 Stephen B. Oates is a former professor of history at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA and an award-winning author. He wrote several biographies of Americans profoundly affected by the moral paradox of slavery and racial oppression in a land based on the ideals of the Declaration of Independence. He is the author of “With Malice Toward None: The Life of Abraham Lincoln,” “To Purge This Land with Blood: A Biography of John Brown,” and “The Fire of Jubilee: Nat Turner’s Fierce Rebellion.” His fourth biography is entitled, “Let The Trumpet Sound: The Life of Martin Luther
As I was watching all of the protests nationwide and around the globe – over the wrongful and tragic death of Minnesotan George Floyd –– I happened to surf to a channel featuring the movie “Black or White.” The movie, with an all-star cast headlined by Kevin Costner (Elliott Anderson), and Octavia Spencer (Rowena), is based on real events about a biracial granddaughter Eloise (Jillian Estell), being the object of a custody battle between her white grandfather, and her black absentee biological father. The story plays out where both Elliott, and Rowena (the dominant black grandmother) are forced to
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and the epidemic of institutional racism and individual bigotry in the United States, we are called to commemorate and participate in Pentecost. How appropriate and timely! The fulfillment of the divine promise: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses” (Acts 1:8) – Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Chicago, Atlanta, and from shining sea to shining sea. Pentecost was the democratization of God’s power for accessibility and inclusivity. No more exclusive access to God’s power by chaplains of empire. Moreover, Pentecost was actualizing people
As our fellow Californians and Americans protest across our country, we must not lose sight of why they are protesting. It’s because of a deep pain that we recognize all too well. The pain of not confronting a dark history that has spanned the life of our country. The pain of recognizing our fathers, uncles, brothers, mothers, sisters, and aunts in the faces of so many Black men and women who were taken from us because of racism and violence.
I felt the shifty eyes of the white residents of Beverly Hills on my back. I get it.
The sound of rubber bullets being deployed a block away were very much evident from the Black Lives Matter protest gone violent Saturday afternoon.
We knew many of our fellow Angelenos worked on the margins of the previously healthy economy, but that reality didn’t hit home until we saw reports that less than half of adults in Los Angeles County had a job post pandemic. We all probably had at least heard that minorities had worse health outcomes than white Americans, but perhaps that didn’t really register until statistics about the shockingly high death rates of black and Latinos from Covid-19 became reality.
The country’s largest cities released numbers showing the novel coronavirus is having a disproportionate impact on racial minorities. Epidemiologists say this is because my Black and Brown brothers and sisters often live close together in multigenerational households, work in jobs in which we interact closely with others, and have higher rates of asthma, hypertension, cardiovascular disease and other conditions. Officials in Los Angeles County said that Black people alone accounted for 17% of COVID-19 deaths where race was known – yet African-Americans make up only about 9% of the county’s population.
On May 16, 2020, Larry Aubry passed away, and left a legacy that few can equal, but to which many should aspire. He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana in the time of southern segregation and came to Los Angeles at an early age, attending Jefferson High School.
Larry Aubry was a consummate journalist and a dedicated activist. His columns were perfect storms of passion and facts. He had an ability to seamlessly merge institutional knowledge with current affairs. When he put pen to paper, it was to expose injustice and systemic racism. Larry took no hostages.
You never wanted to get on Larry’s bad list. It didn’t matter whether you were Black, White, an elected official, or dirty police officer, he’d call you out in hot minute. But Larry would never call you out without speaking to you first.
COVID-19 is shedding a disturbing light on existing health disparities among African Americans in the County of Los Angeles; disparities rooted in a history of limited access to affordable housing, nutritious foods, and primary health care. Living under such conditions can make it harder to prevent and control chronic conditions, like high blood pressure, asthma, heart disease and diabetes, which increases our risk for severe illness and death from COVID-19. And our seniors 65 years and older, especially those who live in nursing homes, are particularly at risk from this virus.
The virus called SARS-COV2, causes a disease known as COVID-19 which is having a historical and unprecedented impact across the globe. Because this transformative pandemic has touched or altered everyone in the world’s life or lifestyle the return to normalcy is but a faded memory.
The behavior of the Rancho Cordova police officer who pinned an unarmed 14-year-old African American boy to the ground and punched him repeatedly for purchasing a tobacco product is disgraceful, distressing and outrageous. Sadly, this is not an isolated incident. It is one of far too many videos of police using physical force on a daily basis against people of color in neighborhoods of color. Most police officers work hard to do the right thing but bad police behavior is enabled and fueled by racist policies such as the proposed ban on the sale of menthol cigarettes preferred by over 80% of African Americans who choose to smoke.
It is our hope, and intention, to help save it for the generations that follow.