Florida Sentinel Bulletin

REP. LOIS DEBERRY

NASHVILLE, Tenn.  — TennesseeRep. Lois DeBerry, one of the longest-serving women lawmakers in the nation and a powerful influence in state politics, died Sunday after a nearly five-year bout with pancreatic cancer. She was 68.

The Memphis Democrat was surrounded by family and friends when she died at a Memphis hospital, her nephew, Gary DeBerry.

First elected in 1972, DeBerry was the longest-serving member of the state House of Representatives. Nationwide, only two other female lawmakers elected in 1972 are still serving, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

ROY MIDDLETON

WARRINGTON, FL – Roy Middleton, a 60-year-old African-American man in Western Florida, is recovering from wounds, after police shot him in front of his home last Saturday.

Middleton was reportedly looking for a cigarette inside his mother’s parked car — which sat in his driveway — when county officers opened fired on him even though he reportedly did not provoke them.

The shooting occurred in the town of Warrington, a small predominantly White town just six miles from Pensacola and the Alabama state line, The shooting reportedly happened early Saturday morning, after Escambia County sheriff deputies were responding to a 911 call of a neighbor who saw Middleton looking around in the car.

DEMONTE REILLEY

DETROIT — A five-year-old Michigan boy called 911 and saved his mother’s life after she suffered a seizure.
When he noticed something was wrong with his mom, Demonte Reilley asked where the phone was and dialed 911 for help.
“I was scared when she had a seizure,” Demonte said.
Demonte’s mother, Akua McClain has epilepsy and said this isn’t the first time her son has helped her.
“He’s my protector,” McClain said. “He’s my guardian angel.”

JAZZMINE WASH

LONG BEACH – A 23-year-old mother was shot and killed in Long Beach Thursday morning on her son’s third birthday, police said.
Jazzmine Wash, of Long Beach, had stepped outside of her apartment to grab her 3-year-old’s diaper bag when she was shot multiple times in the torso, police said. She died at the scene.
Neighbors said Wash had been planning a birthday party for her son when she was killed.
Wash’s landlord described the victim as a polite young woman who had no enemies. She had just started a new job.
Wash’s son was inside the home at the time of the shooting and did not witness his mother’s killing, police said.

VINCENT M. RICHARDSON

Chicago’s so-called “kid cop” has been released on bond, but he’s not completely free.
Vincent M. Richardson, 19, must wear an electronic ankle bracelet while out of jail on bond, police said.
Richardson was arrested Tuesday after he posed as an Englewood District officer wanting to buy a police uniform. He was charged the next day with one count of felony false personation of a peace officer.
Richardson faced the same charge three years ago at age 14 when he sauntered into the Grand Crossing District Station dressed from head to toe in a regulation uniform, fooling officers into assigning him to traffic patrol — his true identity only discovered toward the end of the shift.

PRES. BARACK OBAMA

In an interview with the New York Times, President Obama warned that racial tensions in America might “get worse” if the divide in income between the wealthiest Americans and the rest of the country comes to grow.
“People are frustrated. That’s what they talk to me about and that’s what they write to me about. (They say) ‘I’m doing okay right now, but what I’ve seen over the last 20 years and what I learned profoundly during this crisis is that the ground under my feet just isn’t as secure, and that the work I’m doing may not be rewarded.’ . . . And if that’s not what Washington’s talking about, then we will be missing the boat,” Pres. Obama said in a 40-minute with the paper.
He added, “And racial tensions won’t get better; they may get worse, because people will feel as if they’ve got to compete with some other group to get scraps from a shrinking pot.”

ERIC HOLDER

In seeking to get federal courts to impose a pre-clearance requirement on Texas and other states through Section 3 of the Voting Rights Act, U. S. Attorney Eric Holder is taking a strong stand not only against the conservative justices on the Supreme Court who struck down Section 4 of the historic voting law last month, but also Republican legislatures and governors who are now seeking to pass controversial voting laws in the wake of that decision.
He could later target states such as North Carolina, which is on the verge of enacting legislation that could reduce the number of days of early voting from 17 to 10, end same-day voting registration and disallow the use of cards issued by universities as proof of identity, all moves civil rights groups say are designed to limit Blacks’ ability to vote.
Holder’s decision has been strongly attacked by Republicans in Texas and across the country.

GALESBURG, Ill.  — President Barack Obama said Wednesday that Washington has “taken its eye off the ball” as he pledged a stronger second-term commitment to tackling the economic woes that strain many in the middle class nearly five years after the country plunged into a recession.

Pres. Obama returned to the college campus where he gave his first major economic address as a U. S. senator, and he chided Congress for being less concerned about the economy and more about “an endless parade of distractions, political posturing and phony scandals.”

“I am here to say this needs to stop,” Pres. Obama said in a speech at Knox College. “This moment does not require short term thinking. It does not require having the same old stale debates.”

The president’s attempt to refocus on the economy comes amid some hopeful signs of improvement, with the unemployment rate falling and consumer confidence on the rise. But looming spending and budget deadlines this fall could upend that progress if Washington spirals into contentious fiscal fights like those that plagued Pres. Obama’s first term.

ATLANTA – Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice has made history. The natural born leader has been appointed the new president of Morehouse School of Medicine – the nation’s first African-American woman to lead a free-standing medical school.

And when you consider the under-representation of Black women in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields, Montgomery’s selection is a remarkable accomplishment.

But for those who have followed her impressive career it does not come as a surprise. The Macon, Georgia, native has an outstanding resume.

When asked about the secret of her success the Harvard-educated obstetrician and gynecologist says in no uncertain terms that it is her “passion.” She adds, “The one thing I have always been fortunate to have is passion.”