Community
Prince George’s Community Welcomes Home Returning Citizen
WASHINGTON INFORMER — Raynan Pearson will help his older brother Curtis Brooks drive a car, send email and utilize various features on an iPhone. Brooks had been away from society since 1995, having been sent to a Colorado prison at the age of 15 to serve a life sentence without the possibility of parole for a murder conviction.
Raynan Pearson will help his older brother Curtis Brooks drive a car, send email and utilize various features on an iPhone.
Brooks had been away from society since 1995, having been sent to a Colorado prison at the age of 15 to serve a life sentence without the possibility of parole for a murder conviction.
But on Monday, the two brothers were all smiles as Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland), state Sen. Joanne C. Benson (D-District 24) of Landover and other community leaders held a welcome-home ceremony for Brooks at St. Margaret’s Catholic Church in Capitol Heights.
Brooks, now 39, was officially released from prison July 1 after receiving clemency in December from then-Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, currently a 2020 Democratic presidential hopeful.
“I would say it’s kind of different showing my older brother how to be in the world versus the other way around,” said Pearson, 34. “He’s smart as a whip. Him getting acclimated back to the world has been an easy transition for him. All you got to do is show him something once or twice [and] he got it.”
Van Hollen said Brooks’ ordeal is “a story about triumph and hope over despair.”
“It’s an example of the power of love and the power of persistence to make sure that justice is done,” he said.
Brooks moved from Maryland to Colorado in 1994 to live with his mother, who had entered a drug treatment program. As she dealt with her personal issues, she kicked Brooks out the house within a year after he moved in.
In 1995, Brooks was with other teenagers who robbed a vehicle and fatally shot the owner, Christopher Ramos, 24, in Aurora, Colorado. Though Brooks was not the gunman, Colorado law allowed for those present during a murder to receive the same charge as the person responsible.
Seventeen years later, the Supreme Court ruled the sentencing guidelines of life without parole for juveniles as “unconstitutional” and “cruel and unusual punishment.”
Benson, who worked as a principal at John Bayne Elementary in Capitol Heights when Brooks attended the school, joined community leaders in January 2013 to help get him released.
After six years, various hearings and thousands of traveled miles, Benson and others’ “labor of love” enabled Brooks to return home in Prince George’s County.
Specifically, the Greater 202 Coalition, a group of residents who reside in central Prince George’s led by Benson, collected more than 2,000 signatures pushing Hickenlooper and a Colorado judge for Brooks’ release. Benson even testified before the Colorado legislature.
Meanwhile, Brooks learned to read, write, or verbally communicate in some form of Spanish, Japanese, Vietnamese and the Native American language of Lakota, as his family and community members sent money for him to obtain college credit. He only needs 12 more hours to receive a college degree.
“Everybody came to the table,” said Abdul-Raheem Abdullah, a political consultant for Benson who also traveled to Colorado and visited Brooks. “There are things we needed to do for Curtis from time to time and I thank you all for standing up.”
Benson, who often showcases motherly affection and humor, held up a blue and white T-shirt she said Brooks wore as a youth that read, “Inside this shirt is a John Bayne Bear.”
“That looks like a sock [he could wear],” Brooks said with a smile.
Although a free man, Brooks still feels some guilt of being with teenagers who killed a man.
“I don’t know if forgiveness will be in the cards in my lifetime,” he said.
In the meantime, he plans to advocate and help change sentencing laws for youth in Colorado and work alongside Benson to improve legislation in Maryland.
“The system doesn’t put in place a mechanism for judges to truly understand and know the individual that they are making a ruling on,” he said. “You have guys going in as kids [who], as in my case, don’t know how to adapt to a prison environment. I’d like to see some kind of tweaks [and] explore some ideas for the justice system to be able to truly take into account who these kids are, [not] just looking at them as names and numbers or as inmate IDs, [but] as people.”
This article originally appeared in the Washington Informer.
Bay Area
Poll Shows Strong Support for California’s Controversial Prop 36 Crime Initiative
A recent poll showed that a majority of California voters back Proposition 36, which aims to increase penalties for certain theft and drug-related crimes, according to a survey by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC). The poll came out last week as opponents of the proposition began a last-ditch push against the initiative in major metropolitan areas across California.
By Bo Tefu, California Black Media
A recent poll showed that a majority of California voters back Proposition 36, which aims to increase penalties for certain theft and drug-related crimes, according to a survey by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC).
The poll came out last week as opponents of the proposition began a last-ditch push against the initiative in major metropolitan areas across California.
“As the 2024 campaign heads into its final days, The No on 36 Campaign is targeting voters in Los Angeles and the Bay Area with a series of new billboards urging voters to reject the cynical, misleading measure on the November ballot,” read a press release from a coalition of opponents to the measure.
The PPIC survey showed that 73% of likely voters support the measure, up from 71% in September, with only 25% opposing the ballot measure.
This makes Prop 36 the most popular of the ten statewide issues on the ballot this fall, with 28% of voters indicating it is their top priority.
The emphasis on crime as a key campaign issue is partially driven by the pandemic-related rise in certain offenses. However, prominent Democrats, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, have expressed concerns about reverting to harsher crime policies.
Other ballot measures are also performing well according to the PPIC poll. Proposition 3, which seeks to remove outdated language banning same-sex marriage from the state constitution, has garnered 67% support. Proposition 35, aimed at making a tax on specific healthcare plans permanent to fund Medi-Cal, has over 60% approval.
Among the two $10 billion bond measures, Proposition 4, focused on climate and water projects, has strong backing at 60%, while Proposition 2, for school construction, has a narrower margin of support at 52%.
Several other measures, including Proposition 33 on rent control, are trailing, with only 42% supporting the initiative. Proposition 6, which seeks to ban forced prison labor, is currently the least favored, with just 41 percent in favor.
In the presidential race, more than half of survey participants stated that they plan to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris in comparison to Donald Trump.
The PPIC poll surveyed 1,137 likely voters from October 7 to 15, with a margin of error of less than 4%.
Bay Area
NorCal Election Preview: Black Candidates on Your Gen Election Ballot
As the Nov. 5, 2024 General Election approaches, a number of Black candidates from Northern California are running for positions in the United States Congress, the State Senate, and the State Assembly. If elected, they would collectively represent a larger proportion of elected officials at the state level than California’s Black population of about 6.5%.
By Joe W. Bowers Jr, California Black Media
As the Nov. 5, 2024 General Election approaches, a number of Black candidates from Northern California are running for positions in the United States Congress, the State Senate, and the State Assembly. If elected, they would collectively represent a larger proportion of elected officials at the state level than California’s Black population of about 6.5%.
Of the state’s 52 U.S. House of Representatives seats, three are currently held by Black representatives. In the State Senate, which comprises 40 seats and elects half of its members every two years, there are currently two Black Senators. In the Assembly, which has 80 seats up for election every two years, 10 Black Assembly members currently serve.
In this election, five Black candidates are running for Congress, four for State Senate, and 13 for Assembly.
Below are the Black candidates (in bold letters) running for Congress and the State Legislature in the Bay Area and other parts of Northern California.
Congressional Races
In Congressional District 9 (Stockton), Kevin Lincoln (R), Mayor of Stockton, is challenging incumbent Josh Harder (D). Lincoln, a former Marine, is running on a platform focused on economic development, public safety, and government accountability. Harder, meanwhile, has focused on issues like healthcare access and immigration reform.
In Congressional District 12 (Oakland), Lateefah Simon (D), a nonprofit foundation president and civil rights advocate, is running to succeed Rep. Barbara Lee. Simon’s platform emphasizes civil rights, affordable housing, and economic reform. Her opponent, Jennifer Tran (D), a professor and chamber president, is focused on economic development, public safety and leveraging technology for government transparency.
California State Senate Races
In State Senate District 7 (Oakland and Berkeley), Jovanka Beckles (D), an Alameda-Contra Costa (AC) Transit Director, is running on a platform centered on environmental justice, affordable housing, and public transportation reform. Her opponent, Jesse Arreguín (D), the Mayor of Berkeley, is focused on housing and economic development.
California State Assembly Races
In Assembly District 7 (Citrus Heights), Porsche Middleton (D), a city councilmember, is challenging incumbent Josh Hoover (R) on housing reform and local governance.
In Assembly District 11 (Suisun City), incumbent Lori Wilson (D) is focused on healthcare access, economic development, and education. She is facing Dave Ennis (R), a civil engineer who emphasizes infrastructure improvement and reduced government regulation.
In Assembly District 13 (Stockton), business owner Rhodesia Ransom (D) is campaigning on small business growth, educational reform, and economic justice. She faces Denise Aguilar Mendez (R), a non-profit director focused on conservative family values and reducing the size of government. Aguilar Mendez has faced controversy including a guilty plea for welfare fraud.
In Assembly District 18 (Oakland), incumbent Mia Bonta (D) is running on housing reform and education. Her opponent, Andre Sandford, American Independent Party (AIP), advocates for fiscal responsibility and housing cost management.
These Black candidates are running to address key issues such as housing, healthcare, public safety, reparations, and economic reform. The diversity of their platforms reflects California’s broad political spectrum, with some focusing on progressive reforms, while others advocate for a shift to more conservative policies.
Art
Brown University Professor and Media Artist Tony Cokes Among MacArthur Awardees
When grants were announced earlier this month, it was noted that seven of the 22 fellows were African American. Among them are scholars, visual and media artists a poet/writer, historian, and dancer/choreographer who each receive $800,000 over a five-year period to spend as they see fit. Their names are Ruha Benjamin, Jericho Brown, Tony Cokes, Jennifer L. Morgan, Ebony G. Patterson, Shamel Pitts, Jason Reynolds, and Dorothy Roberts. This is the third in the series highlighting the Black awardees.
Special to The Post
When grants were announced earlier this month, it was noted that seven of the 22 fellows were African American. Among them are scholars, visual and media artists a poet/writer, historian, and dancer/choreographer who each receive $800,000 over a five-year period to spend as they see fit. Their names are Ruha Benjamin, Jericho Brown, Tony Cokes, Jennifer L. Morgan, Ebony G. Patterson, Shamel Pitts, Jason Reynolds, and Dorothy Roberts. This is the third in the series highlighting the Black awardees. The report below is excerpted from the MacArthur Fellows web site.
Tony Cokes
Tony Cokes, 68, is a media artist creating video works that recontextualize historical and cultural moments. Cokes’s signature style is deceptively simple: changing frames of text against backgrounds of solid bright colors or images, accompanied by musical soundtracks.
Cokes was born in Richmond, Va., and received a BA in creative writing and photography from Goddard College in 1979 and an MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1985. He joined the faculty of Brown University in 1993 and is currently a professor in the Department of Modern Culture and Media.
According to Wikipedia, Cokes and Renee Cox, and Fo Wilson, created the Negro Art Collective (NAC) in 1995 to fight cultural misrepresentations about Black Americans.[5]
His work has been exhibited at national and international venues, including Haus Der Kunst and Kunstverein (Munich); Dia Bridgehampton (New York); Memorial Art Gallery University of Rochester; MACRO Contemporary Art Museum (Rome); and the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts (Harvard University), among others.
Like a DJ, he samples and recombines textual, musical, and visual fragments. His source materials include found film footage, pop music, journalism, philosophy texts, and social media. The unexpected juxtapositions in his works highlight the ways in which dominant narratives emerging from our oversaturated media environments reinforce existing power structures.
In his early video piece Black Celebration (A Rebellion Against the Commodity) (1988), Cokes reconsiders the uprisings that took place in Black neighborhoods in Los Angeles, Detroit, Newark, and Boston in the 1960s.
He combines documentary footage of the upheavals with samples of texts by the cultural theorist Guy Debord, the artist Barbara Kruger, and the musicians Morrisey and Martin Gore (of Depeche Mode).
Music from industrial rock band Skinny Puppy accompanies the imagery. In this new context, the scenes of unrest take on new possibilities of meaning: the so-called race riots are recast as the frustrated responses of communities that endure poverty perpetuated by structural racism. In his later and ongoing “Evil” series, Cokes responds to the rhetoric of the Bush administration’s “War on Terror.”
Evil.16 (Torture.Musik) (2009–11) features snippets of text from a 2005 article on advanced torture techniques. The text flashes on screens to the rhythm of songs that were used by U.S. troops as a form of torture.
The soundtrack includes Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” and Britney Spears’s “… Baby One More Time,” songs known to have been played to detainees at deafening decibel levels and on repeated loops. The dissonance between the instantly recognizable, frivolous music and horrifying accounts of torture underscores the ideological tensions within contemporary pop culture.
More recently, in a 2020 work entitled HS LST WRDS, Cokes uses his pared-down aesthetic to examine the current discourse on police violence against Black and Brown individuals. The piece is constructed around the final words of Elijah McClain, who was killed in the custody of Colorado police. Cokes transcribes McClain’s last utterances without vowels and sets them against a monochromatic ground. As in many of Cokes’s works, the text is more than language conveying information and becomes a visualization of terrifying breathlessness. Through his unique melding of artistic practice and media analysis, Cokes shows the discordant ways media color our understanding and demonstrates the artist’s power to bring clarity and nuance to how we see events, people, and histories.
-
Alameda County1 week ago
Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price Announces $7.5 Million Settlement Agreement with Walmart
-
Activism2 weeks ago
OP-ED: Hydrogen’s Promise a Path to Cleaner Air and Jobs for Oakland
-
Activism3 weeks ago
COMMENTARY: DA Price Has Done Nothing Wrong; Oppose Her Recall
-
Community2 weeks ago
Terry T. Backs Oakland Comedy Residency by Oakland’s Luenell at Jimmy Kimmel’s Comedy Club in Las Vegas
-
Activism3 weeks ago
Barbara Lee, Other Leaders, Urge Voters to Say ‘No’ to Recalls of D.A. Pamela Price, Mayor Sheng Thao
-
Activism3 weeks ago
Oakland Post: Week of October 9 – 15, 2024
-
Bay Area3 weeks ago
2024 Local Elections: Q&A for Oakland Unified School Candidates, District 3
-
Business2 weeks ago
Study Confirms California’s $20/Hour Fast Food Wage Raises Pay Without Job Losses