Statue of Martin Luther King Jr. unveiled in Atlanta

The daughter of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. stood beside her father's newly unveiled statue Monday, just a few blocks from where he grew up, handing out hugs and telling each well-wisher: "It's about time."

The statue paying tribute to King made its public debut Monday on the Georgia Capitol grounds in front of around 800 people including Gov. Nathan Deal, many other state political leaders and several members of the King family. The sculpture's installation comes more than three years after Georgia lawmakers endorsed the project.

"Forty-nine years ago when my father was assassinated, he was the most hated man in America. Today, he is one of the most loved men in the world," the Rev. Bernice King said of her father, who was slain in 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee.

A replica of the nation's Liberty Bell tolled three times before the 8-foot (2.4-meter) bronze statue was unveiled on the 54th anniversary of King's "I have a dream" speech at the 1963 March on Washington. The sculpture depicts King in mid-stride, as his left arm holds an overcoat while grasping a batch of papers.

"Today, we as the sons and daughters of former slaves and former slave owners are here to witness the unveiling of that statue," Bernice King said. "It is a glorious and grand day in the state of Georgia and in the United States of America and all over the world."

Read more: Statue of Martin Luther King Jr. unveiled in his hometown.

'Black Minds Matter' under fire from conservative group

A coalition of conservatives and some civil rights activists is calling on San Diego State University to withdrawal its support of a doctoral class that helps to educate future teachers about how to make black male students more successful, and that is inspired by Black Lives Matter.

“Now we want to give them taxpayer dollars to train educators on how to indoctrinate our children?” organizer Craig DeLuz said in a press release Tuesday. “That’s insane.”

SDSU professor of education J. Luke Wood developed the course, Black Minds Matter, and said its purpose is not indoctrination, but rather to educate future teachers about how to make black male students more successful in school.

“Our goal is to change the paradigm as to how educators view their role,” he said, adding that doctoral students will learn about challenges black male students face and strategies that can help them succeed.

The course will be taught to SDSU students studying to become education professors, or teachers of teachers. Wood said interest in the course has been so high that he’s also creating a free public course that will allow people to watch the first hour of each class online.

DeLuz, a trustee in the Robla School District in Sacramento, said he heard about the course through a Facebook post and plans to send a letter to SDSU demanding its cancellation before its scheduled Oct. 23 start. He’s started a Facebook page, Education Not Indoctrination, and enlisted leaders of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association and the Frederick Douglass Foundation of California in his effort.

Read more: 'Black Minds Matter' under fire from conservative group

Sorry Trump but President Obama did not pardon Chelsea Manning

By George L. Cook III African American Reports

Trump pardoned Sheriff (I'm a racist) Joe Arpaio this past weekend, and it caused a stir among both Democrats and sane Republicans alike. But of course, there were those Trump sycophants that rushed out to defend what their idol had done. They quickly used the "President Obama did it!" defense. Their common refrain and Trump's is that President Obama pardoned that traitor (their words not mine) Chelsea Manning. Problem with that talking point is that it never happened.

Obama commuted Manning's sentence. In Criminal Law, commutation is the substitution of a lesser punishment for a greater one. So instead of doing a thirty-five-year sentence Manning only did seven, which by the way is the longest term anyone has ever served for the type of crimes he committed. Manning's record will not be expunged; she will forever be a convicted felon.

What Trump did for Arpaio is something altogether different. He gave Arpaio a full pardon. So what that means is that not only will Arpaio never serve a minute in prison but that his crimes didn't happen. So after violating the human rights of thousands and violating a judge's direct order the sheriff goes just goes free, no record, no nothing.

Here's the definition of pardon from legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com:

A president or governor may grant a full (unconditional) pardon or a conditional pardon. The granting of an unconditional pardon fully restores an individual's civil rights forfeited upon conviction of a crime and restores the person's innocence as though he or she had never committed a crime.

So you see Manning will carry the stain of what she did for the rest of her life. Arpiao can just pretend he never did anything wrong because there will be no legal record of his wrongdoings.

In short one president, Obama made sure justice was served while the other, Trump performed a miscarriage of justice.

By George L. Cook III African American Reports

WWII veteran awarded long lost medals at age 99

Richard Bell Jr. made the 12-hour, overnight hauls by starlight.

A driver during WWII in the famed Red Ball Express, he was one of a group of primarily African-American servicemen responsible for speeding supplies to the front lines in France after the invasion of Normandy.

“No lights, period,” he said. “You took the fuse out of the truck. That’s the way you did it.”

After the war, Bell was honorably discharged and returned home to Baltimore where he worked 30 years at Bethlehem Steel.

Now 99 and living in Blackstone, his great-nephew was preparing a family history when he discovered that Bell had been awarded a series of medals but never received them.

“When I saw that he had these awards, I asked to see them,” said Benjamin Sessoms Jr., an Ettrick resident. “He looked at me and said he didn’t have them. I said, ‘Did you lose them? What happened?’ He said he just didn’t have them.”

Bell said he’d never been that concerned about it: “To tell you the truth, I wasn’t worried about any medals at the time. I was worried about getting home.”

Undeterred, Sessoms made it his mission to see that his great-uncle receive the honors he had earned.

And on Saturday, it happened. Decades after those long, 12-hour hauls, Bell, surrounded by generations of family members who’d gathered for a family reunion at the Eastern Henrico Recreation Center, received six service medals. They include the American Campaign Medal, American Defense Service Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, Honorable Service Lapel Button WWII, Sharpshooter Badge and Rifle Bar, and the World War II Victory Medal.

In attendance was U.S. Rep. Dave Brat, R-7th, whose office helped facilitate efforts to get Bell his medals; U.S. Army Brigadier Gen. Jeffrey W. Drushal; and a full color guard from Fort Lee.

Read more: WWII veteran awarded long lost medals at age 99

U.S. senators call on FDA to ban sale of menthol cigarettes

A Massachusetts Democrat noted that African-Americans suffer the greatest burden of tobacco-related mortality of any ethnic or racial group in the U.S.

U.S. Sen. Edward Markey is calling for a ban on menthol cigarettes, arguing that tobacco companies disproportionately target African-Americans when they market and promote the cigarettes.

The Massachusetts Democrat is leading a group of fellow senators in calling on the Food and Drug Administration to prohibit the cigarettes, noting that African-Americans suffer the greatest burden of tobacco-related mortality of any ethnic or racial group in the U.S.

The letter to the FDA sent earlier this week was also signed by fellow Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren, of Massachusetts, Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, of Rhode Island, and Richard Blumenthal, of Connecticut.

[SOURCE: DENVER POST]