In this issue Chicago Teen Beaten to Death P.1 Inhumane Acts of A Father P.2
Nationalism Prevent Unity P.3 Chicago Teen Article Continued P.4
October 9 , 2009
Chicago Teen Beaten to Death
ISS UE
20
VOL. 2
On October 10, 1894 Macon
B. Allen, the first Black li-
censed to practice law in the
United States, died in Wash-
ington D.C.
On October 10, 1917 Thelo-
nius Monk, legendary jazz
pianist, was born in Rock Mt.,
NC. Monk, whose improvisa-
tion distinguished him from
other performers in his field,
composed many hits includ-
ing “Epistrophy” and “Round
Midnight”.
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By Patrick A. Sellers for The Populace Now
A proud partner of the Public Broadcasting Service
are being built for a reason
and that African Ameri-
cans make up the majority
of the prison population.
(Continued on pg. 4)
absolutely horrible to say
the least, these children
were totally out of control.
Our children seem to not
understand that prisons
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Nadashia Thomas stands holding a sign at a vigil held for
Derrion Albert on September 28, 2009
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On Septem-
ber 24, 2009
Derrion Al-
bert, a sopho-
more and an
honors stu-
dent at Chicago’s Christian
Fenger Academy High
School, was maliciously
beaten and killed by a
group of students while on
his way home from school.
Witnesses say that Albert
was a bystander and neu-
tral from all activities
when he was knocked un-
conscious. While trying to
regain consciousness; Al-
bert was struck in the
head by a board and then
attacked a second time by
a group of five students.
This entire situation is
The Populace Now Volume 2 Issue 19 Page 2
Inhumane Acts of A Father
taken from Forest City hospital to
Arkansas Children’s Hospital for
better care.
As of Sept
2009 one
year after
the incident
R e g i n a l d
Davis’ her-
ring has
twice been
p o s t po ne d
due to psych
evaluations
r e q u e s t e d
by his defense. In the mean time
we continue to wait for answers
that will help us understand how a
father could commit such a hei-
nous act on his own child or any
child for that matter. If there was
By Buffy Griffin for The Populace Now
On September 1st
2008 in Little Rock,
Arkansas an 8 day
old baby girl was
b o t h
beaten and raped
by her 18 year
old father Reginald
Davis. According to
various news re-
ports Davis was
visiting at the
home of his 15 year
old girlfriend and
daughter when the
unthinkable act occurred, all while
the 15 year old mom was in the
shower and the grandmother was
in another area of the home. The
infant was hurt so severely includ-
ing a cracked skull that she was
a history of mental illness or at
the least, reasons to believe he
had such issues, why would some-
one leave him alone with the
baby? Or could it be his attorneys
attempt to get him a lesser sen-
tence. If Reginald Davis is found
guilty he could face thousands of
dollars in fines and imprisonment
or sent to a state hospital.
A lot can be said about Reginald
Davis’ moral convictions or the
lack thereof, yet it never ceases to
amaze me how individuals will
come forward after the fact with
comments on a person’s question-
able behavior that did little or
nothing to help to remedy the
problem(s) before becoming a
nightmare of ongoing pain and
suffering.
Ronnie Bush
Third Ward Alderman
815-233-1027 (home)
815-238-8530 (cell)
— According to various news
reports Davis was visiting at
the home of his 15 year old
girlfriend and daughter when
the unthinkable act
occurred.—
We are Dedicated
We are Committed
We are Passionate
We are Sellers Media Group
Volume 2 Issue 19 The Populace Now Page 3
By Kamal Walker for The Populace Now
Nigerian, Haitian,
Cuban, Jamaican,
African American.
In the African
American commu-
nity, we can all
identify with a
country or culture. Nationalism
seems harmless and there is noth-
ing wrong with loving the country
that one is from. However, ex-
treme forms of nationalism lead to
racism and prejudice. More impor-
tantly, extreme nationalism pre-
vents unity.
The above mentioned groups all
share one thing in common- their
ancestors are from the continent
Africa. Whether you are from the
West Indies or you are an Ameri-
can with African parents, in this
country you are considered black.
However, when we speak of the
African American community, it is
quite common to exclude individu-
als that fit this description.
How can we solve problems in
our community if we choose to
ignore all of the individuals in-
volved? When BET has their
roundtable discussions and when
CNN has their Black in America
programs, why aren’t Jamaicans,
Haitians and Ghanaians on the
panel? Do they not live in these
communities that are plagued
with crime, gangs and violence?
Black people throughout this
country deal with similar issues
every single day. We need to unite
ourselves instead of isolating each
particular group based on national-
ity.
The dissection amongst black
groups is evident even in major uni-
versities across the nation. On a
single campus, you can find a Black
Students organization, an African
Student Organization, a Nigerian
Student Group and an Ethiopian
Student Group;
this division is
reflected in the
community at
large.
I am not sug-
gesting that peo-
ple abandon
their culture and
denounce ties to a particular coun-
try. Regardless of where you or your
family is from, if you live in the
USA and can trace your roots back
to Africa then you are black. It
pains me to listen to individuals
from Africa claim that they do not
share the experience of racism and
negative black stereotypes. No bet-
ter are the comments by African
Americans that Africans helped sell
them into slavery and that the cur-
rent Africans do not have ancestors
that had to deal with the affects of
slavery. There are even Jamaicans
and Haitians [and others of course]
that refuse to be considered African
American. How productive is that?
Occasionally, my wife [she is from
Senegal] and I have lengthy discus-
sions about the differences, similari-
ties, and struggles amongst different
black ethnic groups. At the end of
each conversation we usually end
with the same conclusion: we are all
black. Therefore, the only way for us
to be united as a people is to focus on
what we have in common [like Afri-
can roots, problems, and concerns
within the community], instead of
drawing attention
to those things
that separate us.
Black people are
not the only ones
with this di-
lemma. Irish, Pol-
ish Swedish and
French do not en-
joy being referred to as white; some
Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans and
Guatemalans do not like to be called
Hispanic; and Koreans, Chinese,
Japanese and Vietnamese hate to be
labeled as Asian. We all in some form
or fashion hold on to our nationality
because it is part of our culture: the
languages we speak, food we eat,
sports we play and even our beliefs.
Nevertheless, it only makes sense for
black people to tackle their problems
in a collective form. Several groups
working on a common solution is
more effective than an isolated ap-
proach. We must remember that in
the African American community,
unity equals power and division
means defeat. Let’s collaborate to
improve our communities.
Does Nationalism Prevent Unity
— I am not suggesting that
people abandon their culture
and denounce ties to a par-
ticular country.—
American Flag Nigerian Flag Haitian Flag Cuban Flag Jamaican Flag
Flags of Different Nations
By Patrick A. Sellers for The Populace Now
children; it could save their lives
in more ways than one.
(Continued from pg. 1)
If you really think about this situation
it is paralyzing, here we have a piece
of the future taken away. A young
man who was an honor student that
could have held the key to curing can-
cer or AIDS; he could have been a fu-
ture President of this country or of his
own company. No one knows what
this child could have contributed to
society and the most saddest part is ,
no one ever will.
This entire tragedy has left a gaping
wound in society, it will heal but the
s c a r s w i l l r e m a i n f o r e v e r .
Right now, a child is gone, a family is
devastated and a community is in
shambles, there is no silver lining to
this cloud, no magic words that can
make things better, but this is a
teachable moment for all. These are
the questions that we need to ask our-
selves.
1. What are we teaching our chil-
dren at home?
2. What have
our children
learned from
us?
3. Does our chil-
dren’s behavior
exemplify our
teachings?
4. Are we good
overseers of our
children?
After you have
asked yourself
these questions
and have an-
swered them truthfully, you should
begin talking to your children about
this incident. This discussion should
be open and honest about the choices
made in life.
Derrion Albert did not have a choice,
but the people who killed him did and
they made the wrong one and will be
punished accordingly. It is imperative
that we take the time to talk to our
Chicago Teen Beaten to Death
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Mourners embrace at the funeral of Derrion Albert on Octo-
ber 5, 2009. Services were held at Greater Mount Hebron
Baptist Church in Chicago, Illinois