National

Ben Crump: NNPA Newsmaker of the Year

Published

10 years ago

March 31, 2015

NNPA President and CEO Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr. (left) and Publisher Natalie Cole present Newsmaker of the Year award to Attorney Ben Crump (NNPA Photo by Freddie Allen)

NNPA President and CEO Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr. (left) and Publisher Natalie Cole present the Newsmaker of the Year award to Attorney Ben Crump (NNPA Photo by Freddie Allen)

By Freddie Allen
NNPA Senior Washington Correspondent

WASHINGTON (NNPA) – Benjamin Crump, the lawyer who skyrocketed to national prominence by representing the family of Trayvon Martin, the unarmed Florida teenager who was followed, confronted and shot to death by George Zimmerman in Sanford, Fla., said that since the 4^th grade, he always knew that he wanted to grow up and fight for the community.

“The measure of a man is defined by the impact that they make on the world,” said Crump. “Everyday we have to get up and ask, ‘What impact are we going to make on the world?’ and we have to do it, because our children are watching us.”

During the 2015 Black Press Week, the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) Foundation honored Crump as the Newsmaker of the Year for his service to the community, especially to the families of young people of color who had been brutalized or killed by law enforcement officials. The NNPA is a trade group that represents more than 200 Black newspapers published in the United States.

“I go on FOX News a lot and I have these intelligent debates with these Bill O’Reillys and these Megyn Kellys and I know that when I leave they’re going to make it look bad and everything, but you gotta go, you gotta keep talking to them and not let them [create] the only narrative,” said Crump. “We’ll come on to talk about Trayvon, and we’ll come on to talk about Michael Brown and Eric Garner, because if I don’t talk about it, it’s swept under the rug.”

Crump added: “So, I don’t care if you criticize me and say that we’re trying to be race baiters, because the greatest fear is to remain silent. Silence is almost like betrayal.”

Crump, 45, said that giving a voice to the voiceless has been the most important part of his career.

“Making people know the name of Trayvon Martin, the name of the Michael Brown, know the name of the Tamir Rice, know the name of Chavis Carter, know the name of Kendrick Johnson in Valdosta, Ga., know the name of Victor White III in New Iberia, La., know the name of Alesia Thomas in Los Angeles, Calif., Jesus Huerta in Durham, N.C., know the name of Leon Ford in Pittsburgh, Pa., know the name of Antonio Zambrano-Montes in Pasco, Wash., the list goes on and on,” said Crump. “If this was happening to White children, it would be a war.”

During his remarks at the Torch Awards dinner, Crump credited Black-owned news media for daring to write and talk about the phenomenon he called the ‘‘Houdini handcuffed suicide killings” of young people of color in the back of police cars.

One of those “Houdini” killings involved Chavis Carter. On July 28, 2012, following a traffic stop in Jonesboro, Ark., police pulled Carter, 21, out of the truck that he was riding in with two White men. After searching Carter twice, police said that they recovered a small amount of marijuana, then put him in the back of their police car and handcuffed him behind his back, where he supposedly shot himself in the head with a hidden handgun.

In 2013, Theresa Rudd, Carter’s mother, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Jonesboro police department. The suit said that no fingerprints were found on the gun that police claimed Carter used to shoot himself in the head and that the police car was washed, destroying potential evidence that could be used in future investigations.

The arresting officers, Ronald Marsh and Keith Baggett, received one month paid administrative and returned to active duty following the shooting.

“Without the Black Press I don’t know where we would be in these campaigns of justice for all these unknown, unnamed people of color who are killed everyday all across the world and swept under the rug,” said Crump.

Jennifer S. Carroll, the former lieutenant governor of Florida, who was honored with a Torch Award for her successful political career, also thanked the Black press for sharing her story. Carroll was the first woman to be elected as lieutenant governor and the first African American of Caribbean descent to be elected statewide since Reconstruction.

“Had it not been for the Black press, my accomplishments would not have been told at all in mainstream media,” Carroll said. “We have an audience that needs to be informed and the Black press fills that vacuum that exists in mainstream press.”

Carroll continued: “For many of you, it’s been a struggle to keep the lights on, but you know the importance of the work that you do, that your commitment is to not let down the journalists and the publishers that have come before you.”

Filmmaker Jeff Friday (Entertainment), B. Doyle Mitchell, Jr., president and CEO of the Industrial Bank (Business), and Grammy-award winning gospel singer Bishop Hezekiah Walker (Religion) were also honored with Torch Awards. Willie Myrick, was presented NNPA’s first “Junior Newsmaker of the Year” Award. Last year, at the age of 9, Myrick was kidnapped while playing near his Atlanta home. He sang Bishop Hezekiah Walker’s hit song, “Every Praise” for three hours until his abductor finally threw him on the street and drove away.

In a separate ceremony, the late Francis Page, Sr., founder and publisher of the Houston NewsPages, and Dr. Ludwaldo O. Perry, co-founder of the Tennessee Tribune with his wife, Rosetta Miller-Perry, were enshrined in the Gallery of Distinguished Black Publishers at Howard University.

At the awards dinner, Friday said that the more that he traveled around the world promoting Black films and culture, the more he realized that the perceptions of African Americans are being poisoned by the mainstream media.

“We’ve been talking about Black lives matter,” said Friday. “But Black images matter, too.”

###

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Up Next

Violence Wanes in Chicago, but Fear Looms Over Mayor’s Race

Don't Miss

Professor Gets Hate Mail Over ‘Problem of Whiteness’

Oakland Post

Click to comment

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of November 20 – 26, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of November 20 – 26, 2024

Published

2 days ago

November 22, 2024

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

#NNPA BlackPress

PRESS ROOM: Clyburn, Pressley, Scanlon, Colleagues Urge Biden to Use Clemency Power to Address Mass Incarceration Before Leaving Office

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Mass incarceration remains a persistent, systemic injustice that erodes the soul of America. Our nation has the highest incarceration rate in the world, with nearly two million people locked in jails and prisons throughout the country.

Published

3 days ago

November 21, 2024

Oakland Post

Read the letter here.

Watch the press conference here.

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman James E. Clyburn (SC-06), Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), and Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05) led 60 of their colleagues in sending a letter to President Biden urging him to use his executive clemency power in the final months of his presidency to reunite families, address longstanding injustices in our legal system, and set our nation on the path toward ending mass incarceration.

The lawmakers hosted a press conference earlier today to discuss the letter. A full video of their press conference is available here and photos are available here.

“Now is the time to use your clemency authority to rectify unjust and unnecessary criminal laws passed by Congress and draconian sentences given by judges,” the lawmakers wrote in their letter. “The grant of pardons and commutations and the restoration of rights will undoubtedly send a powerful message across the country in support of fundamental fairness and furthering meaningful criminal justice reform.”

Mass incarceration remains a persistent, systemic injustice that erodes the soul of America. Our nation has the highest incarceration rate in the world, with nearly two million people locked in jails and prisons throughout the country. The extreme use of incarceration has resulted in one in two adults having had an incarcerated family member. People of color are disproportionately put behind bars, along with individuals from low-income communities, LGBTQIA+ folks, and those with disabilities. The bloated prison system reflects and emboldens biases that undermine the ideals of our nation and diminish trust in the rule of law. Mass incarceration attacks the most vulnerable Americans, thereby destabilizing families and inflicting intergenerational trauma.

In their letter to President Biden, the lawmakers praised the President’s efforts to create a fair and just criminal legal system by pardoning people convicted of simple marijuana possession and LGBTQ+ former servicemembers and urged the President to use his clemency powers to help broad classes of people and cases, including the elderly and chronically ill, those on death row, people with unjustified sentencing disparities, and women who were punished for defending themselves against their abusers. The lawmakers also outlined the fiscal toll of the growing mass incarceration crisis.

“You have the support of millions of people across the country who have felt the harms of mass incarceration: young children longing to hug their grandparents, people who have taken responsibility for their mistakes, and those who simply were never given a fair chance,” the lawmakers wrote. “These are the people seeking help that only you can provide through the use of your presidential clemency power.”

Joining Representatives Clyburn, Pressley, and Scanlon in sending the letter are Representatives Joyce Beatty, Sanford Bishop, Shontel Brown, Cori Bush, André Carson, Troy Carter, Yvette Clarke, Jasmine Crockett, Valerie Foushee, Al Green, Jahana Hayes, Steven Horsford, Jonathan Jackson, Pramila Jayapal, Henry Johnson, Sydney Kamlager-Dove, Robin Kelly, Summer Lee, Jennifer McClellan, Gregory Meeks, Delia Ramirez, Jan Schakowsky, Robert Scott, Terri Sewell, Marilyn Strickland, Bennie Thompson, Rashida Tlaib, and Bonnie Watson Coleman.

The lawmakers’ letter is supported by the American Civil Liberties Union; Center for Popular Democracy; Last Prisoner Project; Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law; Death Penalty Action; The National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls; The Faith Leaders of Color Coalition; Second Chance Justice of MCAN; JustLeadershipUSA; FAMM; The Episcopal Church; The Bambi Fund; Free Billie Allen Campaign; People’s Coalition for Safety and Freedom; Prophetic Resistance Boston; and Families Against Mandatory Minimums.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

#NNPA BlackPress

Tennessee State University Set to Debut the First Division I Hockey Team at An HBCU

THE AFRO — “I am incredibly excited to embark on building this program, supported by God, my family, TSU students, alumni, and all those eagerly awaiting this moment,” said Duanté Abercrombie, the head coach of the Tennessee State Tigers ice hockey team, in a press release courtesy of TSU Athletics. “I firmly believe that one day, TSU will be recognized not only as a powerhouse on the ice but also as a program whose student-athletes leave a profound legacy on the world, enriched by the lessons learned at TSU.”

Published

3 days ago

November 21, 2024

admin

By Mekhi Abbott
Special to the AFRO
mabbott@afro.com

Tennessee State University (TSU) continues to break ground on a historic journey to become the first historically Black college or university (HBCU) to field a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I ice hockey team. Alongside some assistance from the National Hockey League (NHL), the NHL Players’ Association and the Nashville Predators, the TSU Tigers have already named their official head coach, unveiled their jersey and received their first official commitment from a student-athlete.

TSU held an official press conference to announce the plan in June 2023. Their first official season as a sanctioned Division I program is planned to commence in 2025-26. On April 18, TSU named Duanté Abercrombie as the head coach of the Tennessee State Tigers ice hockey team.

“I am incredibly excited to embark on building this program, supported by God, my family, TSU students, alumni, and all those eagerly awaiting this moment,” said Abercrombie in a press release courtesy of TSU Athletics. “I firmly believe that one day, TSU will be recognized not only as a powerhouse on the ice but also as a program whose student-athletes leave a profound legacy on the world, enriched by the lessons learned at TSU.”

Abercrombie was raised in Washington, D.C., and was mentored by hockey legend Neal Henderson, the first Black man to be inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame. Abercrombie attended Gonzaga College High School and graduated from Hampton University, where he was a track and field athlete prior to retiring due to an injury. After college, Abercrombie briefly played professional hockey in both the New Zealand Ice Hockey League as well as the Federal Hockey League.

After his career as a professional hockey player, Abercrombie moved onto coaching, including stints with his alma mater Gonzaga and Georgetown Preparatory School. In 2022-23, Abercrombie was a member of the coaching staff for NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs organization.

“We are no longer doing club play in 2024-25. We are going right into D1 play for 2025-26,” Nick Guerriero told the AFRO. Guerriero is the assistant athletic director of communications and creative content at Tennessee State.

On Jan. 19, TSU got their first official commitment from an ice hockey recruit, Xavier Abel. Abel played at Drury University and scored 12 goals in 34 games, including three game-winning goals. Abel was recruited by Guerriero.

In July, the Tigers got their second commitment from forward Trey Fechko. In October, Trey’s brother Marcus Fechko also committed to Tennessee State. Since, the Tigers have also signed forward Greye Rampton, goaltender Johnny Hicks, Grady Hoffman and four-star forward Bowden Singleton. Singleton flipped his commitment from North Dakota to Tennessee State. Guerriero said that TSU has a “few” other recruits that they are waiting to announce during their November signing period.

“I think it’s important to invest in these unorthodox sports for Black athletes because it allows Black children to have more opportunities to play sports in general,” said Zion Williams, a 2024 Gettysburg College graduate and former collegiate athlete. “The more opportunities that children have, the better. They won’t feel like they are boxed into one thing or sport.”