National
Highlights of Justice Department Report on Ferguson Police
JEFF DONN, AP National Writer
The Justice Department has released its investigation of the Ferguson Police Department, concluding that city law enforcement practices are discriminatory and unconstitutional and calling for sweeping changes. Here are some of the highlights of the report:
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THE BASIC FINDING: The police and municipal courts in Ferguson have been treating blacks unfairly, violating the law and the U.S. Constitution. Police use force too often.
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HOW THE INVESTIGATION WAS DONE: Representatives of the Justice Department interviewed city and court officials, police officers and citizens. Police records were reviewed, along with court and police data. Justice Department representatives rode along with police officers and observed court sessions.
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AMONG THE EVIDENCE AGAINST POLICE:
— From 2012 to 2014, 93 percent of all arrests and 85 percent of all vehicle stops involved black people, who constitute two-thirds of the population.
— Blacks were more than twice as likely as whites to be searched during vehicle stops, yet contraband was found 26 percent less often on them than on white drivers.
— From 2011 to 2013, blacks were charged with 95 percent of cases involving “manner of walking in roadway” and with 94 percent of “failure to comply.”
— Almost 90 percent of documented force used by officers was used against blacks.
— Police make many arrests for talking back to officers, recording police activities and engaging in lawful protest.
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AMONG THE EVIDENCE AGAINST THE CITY COURTS:
— Blacks are 68 percent less likely than others to win dismissal of their cases.
— Blacks represent 92 percent of cases where an arrest warrant was issued in 2013.
— The court often imposes large bail amounts that do not seem justified by public-safety concerns.
— City officials often fix tickets for themselves and their friends.
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ALLEGATIONS OF BAD POLICING:
— As a result of a single illegal parking violation in 2007, a black woman spent six days in jail, paid $550 in fines and still owed $541 as of December.
— In 2013, police on their way to arrest someone at an apartment building instead arrested without justification a black man parked outside, handcuffed him and kept him in a patrol car while they ran his record. Faced with a complaint later, a police sergeant described the detention as “minimal” and said the car was air conditioned.
— In 2012, an officer stopped to question a 32-year-old black man sitting in his car with windows that may have been more deeply tinted than allowed under the city code. The officer went on without cause to call the man a pedophile, order him out of his car for a pat-down and ask to search the car. When the man refused, the officer reportedly pointed a gun at his head and arrested him.
— Police broke up a lawful protest on the six-month anniversary of Michael Brown’s death by shouting, “Everybody here’s going to jail.” Two people were arrested simply for recording the police action. Four others were arrested. It appears police were upset about insults written in chalk on the department parking lot and on a police vehicle.
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KEY QUOTES:
— “Partly as a consequence of City and FPD (Ferguson Police Department) priorities, many officers appear to see some residents, especially those who live in Ferguson’s predominantly African-American neighborhoods, less as constituents to be protected than as potential offenders and sources of revenue.”
— “Minor offenses can generate crippling debts, result in jail time because of an inability to pay and result in the loss of a driver’s license, employment or housing.”
— “Ferguson’s approach to law enforcement both reflects and reinforces racial bias, including stereotyping.”
— “FDP officers frequently detain people without reasonable suspicion and arrest people without probable cause.”
— “City, police and court officials for years have worked in concert to maximize revenue at every stage of the enforcement process.”
— “Court staff are keenly aware that the City considers revenue generation to be the municipal court’s primary purpose.”
— “Many officers are quick to escalate encounters with subjects they perceive to be disobeying their orders or resisting arrest.”
— “FDP officers’ use of canines to bite people is frequently unreasonable.”
— “Officers often use force in response to behavior that may be annoying or distasteful but does not pose a threat.”
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RACIST JOKES:
— A November 2008 email said President Obama would not be president for long because “what black man holds a steady job for four years?”
— A May 2011 email said: “An African-American woman in New Orleans was admitted into the hospital for a pregnancy termination. Two weeks later she received a check for $5,000. She phoned the hospital to ask who it was from. The hospital said, ‘Crimestoppers.'”
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RECOMMENDED CHANGES:
— Shift away from police practices aimed at raising revenue.
— Focus on public safety, rather than stopping people simply because police have authority to do so. End ticketing and arrest quotas.
— Move officers toward de-escalating confrontations.
— The police department should improve race and gender diversity in recruiting, hiring and promotion practices.
— Municipal code violations should result in jail in only the rarest circumstances. Arrest warrants should not be used to collect court fees.
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Arts and Culture
In ‘Affrilachia: Testimonies,’ Puts Blacks in Appalacia on the Map
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
The Bookworm Sez
An average oak tree is bigger around than two people together can reach.
That mighty tree starts out with an acorn the size of a nickel, ultimately growing to some 80 feet tall, with a canopy of a hundred feet or more across.
And like the new book, “Affrilachia” by Chris Aluka Berry (with Kelly Elaine Navies and Maia A. Surdam), its roots spread wide and wider.
Affriclachia is a term a Kentucky poet coined in the 1990s referring to the Black communities in Appalachia who are similarly referred to as Affrilachians.
In 2016, “on a foggy Sunday morning in March,” Berry visited Affrilachia for the first time by going the Mount Zion AME Zion Church in Cullowhee, North Carolina. The congregation was tiny; just a handful of people were there that day, but a pair of siblings stood out to him.
According to Berry, Ann Rogers and Mae Louise Allen lived on opposite sides of town, and neither had a driver’s license. He surmised that church was the only time the elderly sisters were together then, but their devotion to one another was clear.
As the service ended, he asked Allen if he could visit her. Was she willing to talk about her life in the Appalachians, her parents, her town?
She was, and arrangements were made, but before Barry could get back to Cullowhee, he learned that Allen had died. Saddened, he wondered how many stories are lost each day in mountain communities where African Americans have lived for more than a century.
“I couldn’t make photographs of the past,” he says, “but I could document the people and places living now.”
In doing so he also offers photographs that he collected from people he met in ‘Affrilachia,’ in North Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky, and Tennessee, at a rustic “camp” that was likely created by enslaved people, at churches, and in modest houses along highways.
The people he interviewed recalled family tales and community stories of support, hardship, and home.
Says coauthor Navies, “These images shout without making a sound.”
If it’s true what they say about a picture being worth 1,000 words, then “Affrilachia,” as packed with photos as it is, is worth a million.
With that in mind, there’s not a lot of narrative inside this book, just a few poems, a small number of very brief interviews, a handful of memories passed down, and some background stories from author Berry and his co-authors. The tales are interesting but scant.
For most readers, though, that lack of narrative isn’t going to matter much. The photographs are the reason why you’d have this book.
Here are pictures of life as it was 50 years or a century ago: group photos, pictures taken of proud moments, worn pews, and happy children. Some of the modern pictures may make you wonder why they’re included, but they set a tone and tell a tale.
This is the kind of book you’ll take off the shelf, and notice something different every time you do. “Affrilachia” doesn’t contain a lot of words, but it’s a good choice when it’s time to branch out in your reading.
“Affrilachia: Testimonies,” by Chris Aluka Berry with Kelly Elaine Navies and Maia A. Surdam
c.2024, University of Kentucky Press, $50.00.
Black History
Alice Parker: The Innovator Behind the Modern Gas Furnace
Born in Morristown, New Jersey, in 1895, Alice Parker lived during a time when women, especially African American women, faced significant social and systemic barriers. Despite these challenges, her contributions to home heating technology have had a lasting impact.
By Tamara Shiloh
Alice Parker was a trailblazing African American inventor whose innovative ideas forever changed how we heat our homes.
Born in Morristown, New Jersey, in 1895, Parker lived during a time when women, especially African American women, faced significant social and systemic barriers. Despite these challenges, her contributions to home heating technology have had a lasting impact.
Parker grew up in New Jersey, where winters could be brutally cold. Although little is documented about her personal life, her education played a crucial role in shaping her inventive spirit. She attended Howard University, a historically Black university in Washington, D.C., where she may have developed her interest in practical solutions to everyday challenges.
Before Parker’s invention, most homes were heated using wood or coal-burning stoves. These methods were labor-intensive, inefficient, and posed fire hazards. Furthermore, they failed to provide even heating throughout a home, leaving many rooms cold while others were uncomfortably warm.
Parker recognized the inefficiency of these heating methods and imagined a solution that would make homes more comfortable and energy-efficient during winter.
In 1919, she patented her design for a gas-powered central heating system, a groundbreaking invention. Her design used natural gas as a fuel source to distribute heat throughout a building, replacing the need for wood or coal. The system allowed for thermostatic control, enabling homeowners to regulate the temperature in their homes efficiently.
What made her invention particularly innovative was its use of ductwork, which channeled warm air to different parts of the house. This concept is a precursor to the modern central heating systems we use today.
While Parker’s design was never fully developed or mass-produced during her lifetime, her idea laid the groundwork for modern central heating systems. Her invention was ahead of its time and highlighted the potential of natural gas as a cleaner, more efficient alternative to traditional heating methods.
Parker’s patent is remarkable not only for its technical innovation but also because it was granted at a time when African Americans and women faced severe limitations in accessing patent protections and recognition for their work. Her success as an inventor during this period is a testament to her ingenuity and determination.
Parker’s legacy lives on in numerous awards and grants – most noticeably in the annual Alice H. Parker Women Leaders in Innovation Award. That distinction is given out by the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce to celebrate outstanding women innovators in Parker’s home state.
The details of Parker’s later years are as sketchy as the ones about her early life. The specific date of her death, along with the cause, are also largely unknown.
Activism
U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries Speaks on Democracy at Commonwealth Club
Based on his first speech as House minority leader, “The ABCs of Democracy” by Grand Central Publishing is an illustrated children’s book for people of all ages. Each letter contrasts what democracy is and isn’t, as in: “American Values over Autocracy”, “Benevolence over Bigotry” and “The Constitution over the Cult.”
By Linda Parker Pennington
Special to The Post
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries addressed an enthusiastic overflow audience on Monday at San Francisco’s Commonwealth Club, launching his first book, “The ABCs of Democracy.”
Based on his first speech as House minority leader, “The ABCs of Democracy” by Grand Central Publishing is an illustrated children’s book for people of all ages.
Each letter contrasts what democracy is and isn’t, as in: “American Values over Autocracy”, “Benevolence over Bigotry” and “The Constitution over the Cult.”
Less than a month after the election that will return Donald Trump to the White House, Rep. Jeffries also gave a sobering assessment of what the Democrats learned.
“Our message just wasn’t connecting with the real struggles of the American people,” Jeffries said. “The party in power is the one that will always pay the price.”
On dealing with Trump, Jeffries warned, “We can’t fall into the trap of being outraged every day at what Trump does. That’s just part of his strategy. Remaining calm in the face of turmoil is a choice.”
He pointed out that the razor-thin margin that Republicans now hold in the House is the lowest since the Civil War.
Asked what the public can do, Jeffries spoke about the importance of being “appropriately engaged. Democracy is not on autopilot. It takes a citizenry to hold politicians accountable and a new generation of young people to come forward and serve in public office.”
With a Republican-led White House, Senate, House and Supreme Court, Democrats must “work to find bi-partisan common ground and push back against far-right extremism.”
He also described how he is shaping his own leadership style while his mentor, Speaker-Emeritus Nancy Pelosi, continues to represent San Francisco in Congress. “She says she is not hanging around to be like the mother-in-law in the kitchen, saying ‘my son likes his spaghetti sauce this way, not that way.’”
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