Washington D.C. police chief calls on officer who shot Terrence Sterling to resign

Although Prosecutors won't file criminal charges against the Metropolitan Police officer, Brian Trainer who shot and killed an unarmed black man, Terrence Sterling, the Washington D.C. police chief has is asking for the officer to resign.

Navy honors 102-year-old vet, black pioneer

The Navy recognized a 102-year-old World War II veteran Thursday by inaugurating a new barracks in his name, a rare honor for a living recipient.

From his wheelchair, retired Chief Steward Andy Mills waved to the sailors attending the ceremony Thursday at the naval base, in Coronado, California, near San Diego. Mills told reporters softly before the ceremony that he was overjoyed by the honor.

"Oh beautiful," he told reporters when asked to describe how he felt seeing the barracks in his name, shaking his head side to side. "That's one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen so far." He added moments later: "I think I have a lot of friends."

One of the maritime branch's first black chiefs, Mills risked his life for the service despite facing discrimination in a then-segregated Navy.

In 1942, Mills volunteered to board the USS Yorktown after it was attacked by the Japanese during the Battle of Midway. He cracked open a safe containing documents and bills on the heavily damaged ship. He and a paymaster stuffed them in a suitcase, got a rope and lowered it down off the ship before the Japanese attacked again, destroying the Yorktown and the USS Hammann next to it.

Capt. Stephen Barnett met Mills two years ago at an event in San Diego and said he was so moved by the man and what he had done that he wanted to honor him and have young sailors learn about the inspiring chief.

"He wasn't treated like his shipmates but it never stopped him from his duty — a duty he carried out with courage, honor and commitment — and that remains a cornerstone of his character now," Barnett told the crowd at the ceremony.

Mills vividly recalled to reporters one of the officers saying "but I need one of those black boys over there" to go back on board the ship after it had been attacked by the Japanese. Mills, one of two African American sailors on the ship, agreed to go.

When the paymaster accompanying him could not open the safe on the USS Yorktown, Mills asked if he could have a go at it.

"Click. I went up there and turned it. Click," he said, grinning. "Money fell all out of it."

Family friend Deborah Thompson, of San Diego, said it meant so much to his family to see him finally honored for his bravery.

"It brought tears to our eyes," she said as she held on to the back of Mills' wheelchair.

The barracks will house 934 sailors. Carrying their seabags on their backs, some of the sailors gathered around Mills for a photo in front of Andrew Mills Hall.

[SOURCE: NEWSTIMES]

Al Sharpton: 'Progressives' are shortchanging African Americans — again.

Food for thought! While African Americans are not monolithic and Al Sharpton does not speak for all of us, he is on target with this opinion piece that he wrote for USA Today about progressives failure to speak to African Americans. George L. Cook III African American Reports.

By Al Sharpton

Democrats might care about issues that are important to us. But are they fueling African-American participation or interest? Not even close.

When Jesse Jackson ran for president during the 1980s, as when I ran in 2004, there were progressives in America just like there are today. Those progressives were well meaning individuals and politicians who shared our views and strongly believed in what we believed in. Despite this progressive political presence, our presidential campaigns were so important and necessary because the voices of black, brown and poorer white voters were not heard by the elites in American politics and government. Our agendas were not getting carried out. There was a great deal of talk back then, but no real action. That same dynamic holds true today.

The press speaks a great deal about the supposed fact that the “Democratic base” is riled up and activated by the state of play in America. This assessment ignores the most important segment of that base: the African-American voter. We are not motivated by anyone right now. While Sen. Bernie Sanders did a remarkable job in the 2016 presidential primaries and went further than anyone thought possible, he did so without the African-American vote, losing among African-American voters by more than 50 percentage points.

While that progressive coalition purported to speak FOR the African-American voter, it did not talk TO African Americans. The so-called Hillary Clinton base of the party, while crushing Sanders, attracted substantially fewer black voters to turn out than in recent presidential primaries, and in the general election, running against a novice, the black voter turnout rate declined for the first time in 20 years in a presidential election, falling 7 percentage points compared to 2012. Arguably, that disinterested black vote cost Clinton the presidency.

Read more: Al Sharpton: 'Progressives' are shortchanging African Americans — again.

Spike Lee holding rally for Colin Kaepernick at NFL headquarters

Spike Lee doesn’t like the way unemployed former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick continues to be shunned by the NFL and he’s doing something about it.

The noted film director and writer announced with a tweet Tuesday he is staging a rally to support his fellow social activist Kaepernick at NFL headquarters in New York on Aug. 23.

pic.twitter.com/AejLPaaWHD

— Spike Lee (@SpikeLee) August 8, 2017

A question to those against a $15 minimum wage.

Detractors of a $15 minimum wage always say that it will cost jobs, but they never look at the flip side of their own argument. George Cook of African American Reports has a question for those with that particular argument.