Bush administration expands secrecy
NEW YORK - The administration of President George W. Bush has steadily expanded government secrecy across a broad array of agencies and actions, according to a coalition of groups that promote greater transparency. Dr. Patrice McDermott, director of Open the Government, a watchdog group, said, “The federal government under the Bush administration has shown its commitment to secrecy by...
A reign of terror in Mississippi White officers plead guilty to federal and state charges after torturing two Black men
Six White former officers await sentencing after pleading guilty to torturing two Black men in Rankin County, Mississippi. On Aug. 3, the former officers—Christian Dedmon, Hunter Elward, Brett McAlpin, Jeffrey Middleton and Daniel Opdyke, deputies with the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department, and Joshua Hartfield, a Richland, Miss., police officer—who called themselves the “Goon Squad,”— pleaded guilty to 14 federal criminal...
Dr. Martin Luther King’s Life and Legacy
CHARLENEM Beyond the Dream: The Other Side of Dr. King Audio: Time to Break Silence (Riverside Church, April 4, 1967) LOS ANGELES (FinalCall.com) - This year marks the 22nd Martin Luther King, Jr. national holiday. It will include federal, state and local celebrations with the vast majority focusing on “King the dreamer,” who envisioned an America free of racism. That reference also...
Kansas college reaches settlement in lawsuit alleging discrimination against Black athletes
HIGHLAND, Kan.—A Kansas community college that was accused of trying to reduce the number of Black student-athletes has agreed to a settlement, the U.S. Justice Department announced on August 28. The department said in a news release that the agreement requires Highland Community College to make its disciplinary proceedings fairer, to provide more training and to improve its procedures for...
‘Best of times, worst of times’
ASKIAMSenior Correspondent Respected report calls for targeted focus on problems of Black America WASHINGTON (FinalCall.com) - As the euphoria over the inauguration of the first Black President of the United States has begun to wear off, the National Urban League released its annual report on the overall Black condition March 25. To achieve Black equality in White America “still needs work,” according...
Danger in Chester, Pennsylvania? A proposed gas-to-liquid processing plant raises concerns, questions for residents in majority Black city
CHESTER, Pa.—The City of Chester, situated near Philadelphia, has a troubling history of environmental injustices inflicted upon its residents. Now, the predominately Black community faces yet another threat: a proposed gas-to-liquid processing plant by Penn American LNG. This potentially hazardous facility poses risks to the environment and jeopardizes the health and safety of Chester’s residents. Nonetheless, the community is uniting...
Will ‘perfect storm’ of problems doom Black radio?
NEW YORK (FinalCall.com) - Activists and advocates recently failed to stop movement on a congressional bill related to the radio industry. With Michigan Democrat John Conyers' success bringing the legislation, “H.R. 848, The Performance Rights Act,” out of committee and a step closer to congressional vote, Black station owners and their defenders say the bill will help push the already...
A grandmother seeks justice for Native Americans after thousands of unsolved deaths, disappearances
HARDIN, Mont.—Yolanda Fraser is back near a ragged chain-link fence, blinking through tears as she tidies up flowers and ribbons and a pinwheel twirls in the breeze at a makeshift roadside memorial in a small Montana town. This is where the badly decomposed body of her granddaughter Kaysera Stops Pretty Places was found a few days after the 18-year-old went...
Failing grade for home loan modification program?
-Staff Writer- WASHINGTON (FinalCall.com) - While the Obama administration's first monthly Servicer Performance Report detailing the progress of the Making Home Affordable loan modification program claims rapid progress in a few short months, others contend the findings show a failing effort. “The report card issued by the Treasury Department Aug. 4, shows that financial companies deserve a failing...
Depopulation Dawns on Vaccine-Truth Activists
Well, during my 2012 Saviours’ Day message, we spoke on a plan by the government of the United States led by Dr. Henry Kissinger to engage in worldwide depopulation of the darker peoples of the world. Mr. Kissinger as Secretary of State under President Nixon signed National Security Study Memorandum 200, titled “Implications of Worldwide Population Growth for U.S....