Politics
Jesse Jackson Jr. Leaves Federal Prison for Halfway House
CARYN ROUSSEAU, Associated Press
CHICAGO (AP) — Former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. was released from an Alabama federal prison early Thursday, two years after pleading guilty to spending $750,000 in campaign money on personal items, his father said.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson described his son’s release from the minimum security federal prison camp at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama, as a “joyous reunion” and said the younger Jackson was doing “very well.”
Jackson, a 50-year-old Illinois Democrat, began his sentence on Nov. 1, 2013. The U.S. Bureau of Prisons lists his release date as Sept. 20, 2015. Former U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy, who visited Jackson on Monday, said Jackson would serve out the remainder of his 2 1/2-year term in a Washington, D.C., halfway house. Jackson must also spend three years on supervised release and complete 500 hours of community service.
Jackson served in Congress from 1995 until he resigned in November 2012. In June of 2012 he took medical leave for treatment of bipolar disorder and other issues.
Jackson’s wife, Sandra Jackson, a former Chicago alderman, was sentenced to a year in prison for filing false joint federal income tax returns that knowingly understated the income the couple received. She must serve her term after her husband completes his sentence. The couple has two children.
According to court documents, the Jacksons spent campaign money on televisions, restaurant dinners and other costly personal items, including $43,350 on a gold-plated men’s Rolex watch and $9,587.64 on children’s furniture.
During sentencing, the judge scolded Jackson for using campaign funds as a “piggy bank.”
Jackson’s resignation ended a once-promising political career that was tarnished by unproven allegations that he was involved in discussions to raise campaign funds for imprisoned former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich in exchange for an appointment to President Barack Obama’s vacated U.S. Senate seat. Jackson has denied the allegations.
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
California Black Media
California Senators Alex Padilla and Laphonza Butler Back Local News Resolution
Last week, California U.S. Senators Alex Padilla and Laphonza Butler, both Democrats, announced their support for a resolution that recognizes the significance of local news. In the resolution dated April 23, Padilla and Butler joined Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai’i) and 10 other colleagues in designating April as “Preserving and Protecting Local News Month.”
By California Black Media
Last week, California U.S. Senators Alex Padilla and Laphonza Butler, both Democrats, announced their support for a resolution that recognizes the significance of local news.
In the resolution dated April 23, Padilla and Butler joined Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai’i) and 10 other colleagues in designating April as “Preserving and Protecting Local News Month.”
The resolution acknowledges that local news outlets are a public good essential to preserving America’s democracy.
“Millions of Americans count on the local news to help them understand what is happening in their neighborhoods and around the country. Yet local newsrooms have suffered from some of the harshest layoffs and budget cuts in recent years,” Butler said in a statement.
“It is critical that we recognize the role our local press plays in keeping people informed on the world around them,” she said.
The resolution comes at a crucial time in the media industry when employment decreased by 26% nationwide between 2008 and 2020, according to supporters of the bill. Employment in the newsroom came with great uncertainty as more than 30,000 jobs were lost in the last two decades.
Sen. Schatz said that local news helps increase civic engagement and strengthens democratic norms and practices. This resolution will help local journalists maintain healthy and vibrant communities through valuable storytelling.
Activism
Calif. Anti-Sex Trafficking Advocates Discuss Competing Bills, Strategies
Advocates from across California are challenging state officials and community leaders to support legislation that provides resources and services for survivors and victims of human trafficking, as well as assistance as they transition back into civil society. Some of those advocates are also calling for more effective state policy to curtail trafficking, a crime that has an outsized impact on Black children, particularly girls.
By Bo Tefu, California Black Media
Advocates from across California are challenging state officials and community leaders to support legislation that provides resources and services for survivors and victims of human trafficking, as well as assistance as they transition back into civil society.
Some of those advocates are also calling for more effective state policy to curtail trafficking, a crime that has an outsized impact on Black children, particularly girls.
According to the FBI, a report covering a two-year period found Black children accounted for 57% of all juvenile arrests for prostitution. In addition, 40% of sex trafficking victims were Black and 60% of those victims had been enrolled in the foster care system.
“It is time to hold the perpetrators who take advantage of our children accountable,” said the Rev. Shane Harris, a San Diego-based activist, former foster youth and founder of the Peoples Association of Justice Advocates, (PAJA), a national civil rights organization and policy think tank.
“It is time to send a thorough message that if you seek to buy a child for sex, you will pay the highest criminal penalties in this state,” added Harris who was speaking at a rally at the State Capitol earlier this month. Harris was speaking in support of Senate Bill 1414, authored by Sen. Shannon Grove (D-Bakersfield), which calls for people who buy sex from minors to be punished with a felony. The punishment includes a two-year prison sentence and a $25,000 fine.
Harris said the PAJA is the only civil rights organization in the state that supports SB 1414.
Harris urged other Black-led groups who favor anti-trafficking legislation more focused on criminal justice reforms (as opposed to stiffer penalties), to “join the movement.”
Many of those civil rights groups fear that SB 1414 could lead to the incarceration of more Black youth.
Those sentiments were echoed in a panel discussion organized by Black women advocates on April 26 to examine the cause and effects of human trafficking in California’s Black communities. The virtual event was hosted by the Forgotten Children, Inc, a faith-based nonprofit that advocates for survivors and victims of human trafficking through anti-trafficking campaigns and initiatives.
Panelists shared the psychological impact of sexual exploitation on youth and children in the long term.
Author and educator Dr. Stephany Powell shared statistics and information revealing that African American women and girls are the most trafficked nationwide.
Powell, who serves as the senior advisor on law enforcement and policy at the National Center on Sexual Exploitation said that national data indicates that sex trade survivors are disproportionately women of color. She stated that male survivors often go unnoticed because boys rarely report trafficked crimes.
Powell said that decriminalizing prostitution in California could increase human trafficking. She argued that Senate Bill 357, authored by Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), which was signed into law in 2022 and legalized loitering for prostitution, caused a surge in street-level prostitution.
Panelist and psychologist Dr. Gloria Morrow shared opposing views on decriminalizing prostitution. She said that decriminalizing prostitution could help survivors gain access to state resources and support.
Despite opposing views, Powell and Morrow agree that the Black community needs resources and educational programs to address human trafficking.
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of May 1 – 7, 2024
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of May 1 – 7, 2024
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