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Executive Producer Dream Hampton Talks “Surviving R. Kelly”

NNPA NEWSWIRE — For Dream Hampton, who served as executive producer of the much-talked about “Surviving R. Kelly” documentary, the explosive revelations in the film were just the tip of the iceberg.

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By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

For Dream Hampton, who served as executive producer of the much-talked about “Surviving R. Kelly” documentary, the explosive revelations in the film were just the tip of the iceberg.

Hampton said there were many things she couldn’t talk about and will never discuss because it’s “so dark and sad and traumatic.”

That’s saying quite a bit as the three-part Lifetime Television series not only has social media and the general public aghast but has celebrities like John Legend and Chance the Rapper expressing remorse for ever working with Kelly.

“Maybe he could’ve gotten help when he was 30, or you know, 29 when the Aaliyah stuff broke,” Hampton said in an extensive interview on The Karen Hunter Show on Sirius XM Radio.

Aaliyah was largely left out of the documentary, but Hampton said she didn’t want to devote an entire episode on the late songstress.

“For me, she’s actually his type,” Hampton told Hunter. “You know, what he targets are very regular, and you know, your audience understands this, like brown-skin black girls. You know, like he, we can talk about publicly, oh, that he targets black girls who aren’t famous. No, he has a very specific type, you know.”

Surviving R. Kelly — which aired on Lifetime from Thursday, Jan. 3 to Saturday, Jan. 5 — featured wide-ranging interviews with Kelly’s family members, former friends and colleagues, but most notably, women who claim that for decades, the hit-making singer and producer used his power and influence to sexually and physically abuse women and young girls.

PEOPLE Magazine editors said they reached out to Kelly’s representatives who offered a “no comment” about the series.

In 2002, Kelly, a Chicago native, was indicted after a video surfaced allegedly showing a man engaged in sex acts with a woman who some witnesses testified was 14 at the time of the recording. Both Kelly and the woman denied that the video was of them, and Kelly was never charged with assault. In 2008, Kelly was found not guilty on 21 counts of child pornography.

Several published reports said Kelly intends to counteract the documentary with lawsuits and the creation of a Facebook page to “expose the lies.” However, Hampton said there was plenty of truth attached to the story and much more remains untold.

“When I went into this project, I was clear that he was a predator and that he targeted young and vulnerable girls. I don’t think I knew he was an abuser, and I don’t mean to sound naive, but I just didn’t think physical abuse was a part of his repertoire,” Hampton said.

“I certainly didn’t know I would have to listen to a woman after woman talking about being denied food and movement. I mean, we about to get into a couple of episodes where you’re going to hear testimony of girls talking about having, you know, they couldn’t leave the room unless he told them to and all of them didn’t have bathrooms in the room. So, they used slop buckets. His runners would put slop buckets in the room. So, I don’t think I was prepared for his sadism.”

Alameda County

DA Pamela Price Stands by Mom Who Lost Son to Gun Violence in Oakland

Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018.

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District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones
District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones

Publisher’s note: Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018. The photo was too small for readers to see where the women were and what they were doing.  Here we show Price and Jones as they complete a walk in memory of Scott. For more information and to contribute, please contact Carol Jones at 510-978-5517 at morefoundation.help@gmail.com. Courtesy photo.

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California Black Media

Anti-Theft Bill with Jail-Time Requirement Gets Wide Ranging Support

Fed up with the alarming frequency of retail theft across California, including smash and grabs, a diverse group of business leaders, law enforcement officials, policymakers and public safety advocates joined their efforts in Sacramento on Jan. 24. Their purpose: to increase public support for Assembly Bill (AB) 1772, a bill that would make jail time mandatory for repeat theft offenders.

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San Bernardino Police Chief Darren Goodman speaks as Asm. James Ramos (D-San Bernardino), left, stands beside him at a news conference in Sacramento concerning retail theft across the state.
San Bernardino Police Chief Darren Goodman speaks as Asm. James Ramos (D-San Bernardino), left, stands beside him at a news conference in Sacramento concerning retail theft across the state.

By California Black Media

 Fed up with the alarming frequency of retail theft across California, including smash and grabs, a diverse group of business leaders, law enforcement officials, policymakers and public safety advocates joined their efforts in Sacramento on Jan. 24.

Their purpose: to increase public support for Assembly Bill (AB) 1772, a bill that would make jail time mandatory for repeat theft offenders.

Co-authored by Assemblymembers James C. Ramos (D-San Bernardino), Avelino Valencia (D-Anaheim) and Devon Mathis (R-Tulare), AB 1772 would require jail time “of one to three years for theft crimes depending upon the circumstances.

“Offenses would include grand theft, theft from an elder or dependent adult, theft or unauthorized use of a vehicle, burglary, carjacking, robbery, receiving stolen property, shoplifting or mail theft,” the bill language reads.

Ramos said the need to act is urgent.

“It’s time for us to reverse the spikes in theft crimes since the pandemic. Our law enforcement members and district attorneys need additional tools such as AB 1772. We must reverse the trend before the problem grows worse. Last year I requested a state audit of the impact of Prop 47 on Riverside and San Bernardino counties,” said Ramos.

Prop 47 is the California initiative, approved by voters in 2014, that reclassified some felonies to misdemeanors and raised the minimum amount for most misdemeanor thefts from $400 to $950.

According to a Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) report, the rate of occurrence of petty crimes like shoplifting and commercial burglaries have increased by double digits over the last four years.

In Orange County alone, commercial burglaries have spiked by 54%.

“Our communities are experiencing an increase in retail crime and deserve appropriate action from their legislators,” Valencia said.

San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus thanked Ramos.

“This bill, designed to impose stricter penalties on serial retail theft suspects, responds urgently to the escalating consequences of shoplifting and related crimes on our communities,” he said.

AB 1772 supporters who spoke at the gathering included Sacramento Sheriff Jim Cooper and San Bernardino Chief of Police Darren Goodman. Listed as supporters are the California State Sheriff’s Association, City of Riverside Police Chief Larry Gonzalez and Redlands Chamber of Commerce.

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Activism

Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

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