Howard University says 6 were fired for stealing funds

Howard University President Wayne Frederick said Wednesday that six people had been fired in Sept. 2017 for allegedly misappopriating funds, but questions still remain one day after an anonymous whistleblower said the financial aid office stole $1 million. A whistleblower named people accused of getting tuition benefits to cover the cost of taking classes while receiving grant money in a Medium post late Tuesday, which has since been removed.

Howard University won't confirm how much money may have been misappropriated, but did confirm Wednesday that Frederick had been notified in Dec. 2016 that there may be been some misappropriated funds. In the statement, Frederick said he alerted an independent auditor, which found in May 2017 that between 2007 and 2016, several university employees were given grants and also tuition remission that equaled more than the cost of the university.

Six people have been fired for "gross misconduct and neglect of duties." While the now-deleted Medium post named names, Howard said it was against protocol to reveal employee names and the school said "they don't release any student information, as we are governed by FERPA," CBS affiliate WUSA-9 reports. A lawyer for one of a student employees named released a statement through his attorney saying he has "done nothing illegal or wrong."

Howard told WUSA-9 that law enforcement is not involved at this time because they are still wrapping up the investigation. "We intend to report anyone involved for criminal prosecution, as appropriate," the school said.

Frederick also outlined several new policies that have been enacted since then, including that access to the financial aid module has now been limited to a small number of appropriate senior University individuals, with adequate third-party review and appropriate segregation of duties, WUSA-9 reports.

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NAACP sues Trump for failing to prepare to count minorities in 2020 census

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), America’s largest and original legacy civil rights organization, together with Prince George’s County, Maryland, the NAACP Prince George’s County Branch and two county residents, sued the federal government today to combat the imminent threat that the 2020 Census will substantially undercount African Americans and other people of color in communities throughout the United States causing inequalities in political representation and deficiencies in federal funding of those communities.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, seeks to compel the Bureau of the Census, an agency within the Department of Commerce, to prepare for and conduct a full and fair Census in 2020, as the U.S. Constitution expressly requires. “The NAACP is committed to ensuring that the 2020 Census does not systematically undercount communities having large African-American populations, such as inner-city neighborhoods, while substantially overcounting communities that are less racially diverse,” said Derrick Johnson, president and CEO. “The Census must not serve as a mechanism for diluting the political power of African-American communities and depriving them of their fair share of federal resources for an entire decade,” he added. “We are prepared to fight against any plan that effectively turns the census into another form of voter suppression and economic disempowerment in our communities.”

The U.S. Constitution requires the federal government to conduct an “actual enumeration” of the U.S. population every ten years. Census results serve as the basis for apportioning congressional seats to each state, redrawing legislative district lines at both the federal and state level and enforcing voting rights laws. The federal government also uses Census data to distribute billions of dollars to local, state and tribal governments.

The 2020 Census, however, remains inadequately funded. The Census Bureau is understaffed, and is emphasizing processes that will only serve to increase undercounts in communities of color. The Bureau has no permanent leadership in place to direct the count, and to make matters worse, the Bureau has cancelled crucial pre-Census field tests and is rushing to digitize the Census without adequate cybersecurity protections, thus undermining public confidence in the privacy of Census data and threatening to inflate the undercount. Further still, the Bureau plans to devote insufficient resources to community partnerships, door-to-door canvassing and other processes designed to encourage communities of color to participate in the Census.

The issues facing the 2020 Census have already caused the Government Accountability Office to label it a “high risk program.” Prince George’s County has acutely felt the harmful effects of past Census undercounts. The county, which has a majority African-American population, suffered a 2.3 percent net undercount in the 2010 Census—the largest net undercount of any county in Maryland, and one of the largest of any county in the nation.

“An accurate census count is critical to the federal funding, political representation, and operations of Prince George’s County,” said Prince George’s County, MD, Executive Rushern L. Baker, III. “We must not be undercounted again like we have been over the past 30 years. On behalf of the 900,000 residents of Prince George’s County, I am proud that we are standing and fighting alongside the NAACP to make sure our County gets treated fairly and equally under the law. A vast majority of the residents of Prince George’s County are members of this nation’s historically disenfranchised populations. We cannot let this continue in 2018, 2020, or any year moving forward. This lawsuit will help protect future generations of systemic under-resourcing from our federal government.”

Bob Ross, president of the NAACP Prince George’s County Branch and a named plaintiff in the lawsuit, agrees that an ill-prepared Census hurts his community in several ways.“When the Census Bureau undercounts my community, we lose political power, and fewer of our federal tax dollars end up coming home to fix our roads, run our schools, and fund our federal programs,” said Ross. “We felt these effects in the aftermath of the 2010 Census, and all signs indicate that the 2020 Census will be even worse.”

“The priorities embraced by the Bureau for the 2020 Census threaten to worsen substantially the undercount of communities of color that occurred in the 2000 and 2010 censuses,” said Charlotte Schwartz, a Law Student Intern with Yale Law School’s Rule of Law Clinic, which represents the plaintiffs.

This lawsuit is not the first time the NAACP has taken legal action related to the 2020 Census. In October of 2017, the NAACP, NAACP Connecticut Conference and NAACP Boston Branch filed suit under the Freedom of Information of Act to compel the Commerce Department to produce documents about preparations for the 2020 Census. That suit is ongoing. The plaintiffs in the new lawsuit are represented by the Rule of Law Clinic at Yale Law School, Jenner & Block, and the NAACP Office of the General Counsel. The Rule of Law Clinic also represents the plaintiffs in the pending Freedom of Information Act case.

ABOUT THE NAACP:

Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation’s oldest and largest nonpartisan civil rights organization. Its members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities. You can read more about the NAACP’s work and our six “Game Changer” issue areas by visiting NAACP.org. To become a member of the NAACP, and part of the solution, visit: http://www.naacp.org/membership/.

Brother of Stephon Clark shuts down council meeting on police shooting

Stephon Clark’s brother, Stevante, burst into the meeting chanting his brother’s name. pic.twitter.com/8HSYgNtLDa

— Nicole Santa Cruz (@nicolesantacruz) March 28, 2018

Stevante Clark, the brother of Stephon Clarkan unarmed black man who was shot and killed by police temporarily shut down a Sacramento city council meeting about the shooting.

Stevante Clarke walked into the Sacramento City Council meeting Tuesday night chanting his late brother’s name.

He led a group of protestors into the meeting chambers in city hall, all chanting Stephon Clark’s name.

The interruption caused the meeting to temporarily shut down.

Hundreds of protesters also gathered at the meeting, chanting and holding signs.

[SOURCE: THE HILL]

Stephon Clark's grandmother: 'I just want justice for my grandson'

An emotional Sequita Thompson speaks out at a news conference, asking for justice in the police shooting death of her grandson Stephon Clark.

Linda Brown, woman at center of Brown v. Board case, dies

Linda Brown, who as a little girl was at the center of the Brown v. Board of Education US Supreme Court case that ended segregation in schools, has died, a funeral home spokesman said.

Brown died Sunday afternoon in Topeka, Kansas, Peaceful Rest Funeral Chapel spokesman Tyson Williams said. She was 75 years old.

Brown was 9 years old when her father, Oliver Brown, tried to enroll her at Sumner Elementary School, then an all-white school in Topeka, Kansas.

When the school blocked her enrollment her father sued the Topeka Board of Education. Four similar cases were combined with Brown’s complaint and presented to the Supreme Court as Oliver L. Brown et al v. Board of Education of Topeka, Shawnee County, Kansas, et al.

The court’s landmark ruling in May 1954 — that “separate educational facilities are inherently unequal” — led to the desegregation of the US education system. Thurgood Marshall, the NAACP’s special counsel and lead counsel for the plaintiffs, argued the case before the Supreme Court.

Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer acknowledged Brown’s contribution to American history.

“Sixty-four years ago a young girl from Topeka brought a case that ended segregation in public schools in America. Linda Brown’s life reminds us that sometimes the most unlikely people can have an incredible impact and that by serving our community we can truly change the world.” [SOURCE: WTKR]