CDC says black and latino youth suffer with ‘hood disease’

A report recently issued by the Centers for Disease Control has indicated a startling discovery. Inner city youth suffer from a unique form of “post- traumatic stress disorder” which the CDC researchers refer to as hood disease. The researchers have stated that inner city kids live in a war zone that they can never leave. Because of this, many kids have adopted attitudes and behavior similar to combat veterans and survivors of conflict zones.
San Francisco State University researcher Jeff Duncan-Andrade, Ph.D.,  stated to CBS, “You could take anyone who is experiencing the symptoms of PTSD, and the things we are currently emphasizing in school will fall off their radar. Because frankly, it does not matter in our biology if we don’t survive the walk home.”
The amount of shootings and murders are startling. In East Oakland, California alone there were 59 murders; nearly 2/3 of the city of Oakland’s murder totals are clustered in that in one area.  Teachers at Freemont High School in East Oakland report that kids walk around with laminated funeral cards of those killed around their necks. This behavior is similar to soldiers who often wear the dog tags of fallen comrades.
The CDC study goes on to state that nearly 30 percent of inner city youth suffer from hood disease, which is compounded by inner city poverty and violence.

2 Chronicles 7:
14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Deuteronomy 28:
15 But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:

Isaiah 30:
8 Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever:
9 That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the LORD:

Jeremiah 30:
17 For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the LORD; because they called thee an Outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after.

Ga. Mother Arrested In Beating Death Of 5-Year-Old Daughter

Heaven Woods

Amanda Hendrickson, 33, and boyfriend Roderick Buckner, 34

Amanda Hendrickson, 33, and boyfriend Roderick Buckner, 34, have been arrested in the beating death of her daughter, 5-year-old Heaven Woods, reports WSBTV.

Heaven was discovered unresponsive in her Forsyth County, Georgia home after 911 was called. She later died at a local hospital.

An investigation was immediately opened by the GBI.

“So far what we’ve learned from the autopsy is the death was the result of blunt force trauma to the abdomen and it has been ruled a homicide,” said GBI spokesperson Sherry Lang. 

“Multiple injuries were discovered, but those injuries were fresh and new. Some were old injuries that had healed,” Lang said.

Hendrickson and Buckner were arrested and both charged with felony child cruelty. Hendrickson also faces a count of making false statements.

The GBI said Hendrickson has a history with the Department of Family and Children Services in Floyd County.

Investigators said that’s where she lived until early May when she moved to Monroe County and moved in with Buckner.

“So possible long term abuse? It appears that the abuse was not something that had just started,” Lang said.

“I can’t even imagine what would make anybody want to hit anybody, let alone a child,” said city of Forsyth mayor John Howard. 

Hendrickson is currently pregnant with her fifth child, reports the AJC.

Both she and Buckner are being held without bond.

 

Deuteronomy 28:

56 The tender and delicate woman among you, which would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil toward the husband of her bosom, and toward her son, and toward her daughter,

 

Proverbs 23:

13 Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die.

14 Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell.

Detroit Police Chief Craig Now an NRA Hero for Telling Residents to Arm Themselves

Detroit Police Chief James Craig 

Detroit Police Chief James Craig gained a rather unusual ally when he encouraged homeowners to arm themselves as a way of guarding against crime. The comments earned Craig much esteem by gun rights advocates and even got him on the cover of the National Rifle Association’s magazine.

In the article titled “A Show of Courage in Detroit” Craig explains why he supports homeowners arming themselves and what impact it has had on the city. The Detroit Free Press reports that Craig credited declining crime rates with citizens arming themselves.

“This is not about inciting vigilantism, because in my view when you talk about vigilantism, you’re talking about someone who has made a decision to do law enforcement’s job — go out and enforce the law,” Craig is quoted as saying in the NRA article. “This is not that at all. This is about self-defense, protection, an imminent threat to life, very different response.”

Chief Craig told a crowd last year that he was almost carjacked while driving a police car.

Appearing at an anti-carjacking event, Craig admitted that he’d almost been carjacked while driving a police car with lights.

“There are certain cars each suspect tends to (be attracted) to, and I guess they liked my police car — a police car with lights,” Craig said, according to The Detroit News. “And one suspect jumped out and began running toward the passenger side of my vehicle … As soon as I saw the suspect running to my car, I accelerated out of harm’s way.”

 

Luke 22:

35 And he said unto them, When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any thing? And they said, Nothing.

36 Then said he unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one.

37 For I say unto you, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me, And he was reckoned among the transgressors: for the things concerning me have an end.

38 And they said, Lord, behold, here are two swords. And he said unto them, It is enough.

 

Jeremiah 14:

2 Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish; they are black unto the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up

 

Amos 3:

6 Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?

Two Mississippi Inmates Are Still Awaiting Trial After 7 and 8 Years

The U.S. Constitution guarantees the right to a speedy trial, but two men in Mississippi are still waiting for trials after 7 and 8 years.

The two inmates, Marktain Kilpatrick Simmons, 43 and Lee Vernel Knight, 47, both have mental issues and have been waiting years for a their day in court.  Both Simmons and Knight are being held at the Hinds County Detention Center.

Simmons was arrested for k¡lling Christopher Joiner in 2006 and has yet to stand trial. Witnesses claim Simmons demanded money from Joiner, who was standing with a friend in a complex parking lot,  before stabbing Joiner.

Simmons was denied bond in 2006 after Judge Bill Gowan said he wanted more information about the accused man’s mental issues, reports The Clarion Ledger.

Knight was arrested in 2007 after having been arrested for stabbing his brother on Christmas day. Knight, a paranoid schizophrenic, was ordered in 2013 to be housed in a mental institution, but there have been no beds available.

District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith says defense attorneys have dropped the ball.

“First of all they need adequate representation, and secondly they need someone who can give a mental evaluation that’s final and conclusive, because we can’t prosecute someone if they do not have a final mental evaluation or the results of that evaluation,” Smith said. “So someone who’s just there waiting for their mental evaluation is something that the defense attorney has to bring to the attention of the court and to our attention. We don’t know whether or not the person has that mental illness conclusively until we receive the medical information from the defense attorney.”

In total, 130 inmates have been in the detention center for a year or more without trial.

Leviticus 19:

17 Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him.

18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.

Amos 5:

21 I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies.

Ex-Players Say Teams Gave Pain Pills ‘Like Candy’

Kyle Sports No comments NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell speaks at a press conference at the NFL’s spring meeting, Tuesday, May 20, 2014, in Atlanta. AP Sports Writer Former NFL lineman Jeremy Newberry says he often hobbled into the 49ers locker room using a walking boot and crutches, then lined up behind as many as two dozen teammates for treatment — in his case, a shot of the painkiller Toradol. Ten minutes later, he sprinted onto the field to play. The toughness of pro football players is part of the league’s image, but a lawsuit filed Tuesday on behalf of more than 600 former players contends it was abetted by team physicians and trainers across the NFL who routinely dispensed powerful narcotics and other controlled substances on game days to mask the pain. Although painkillers have been discussed around NFL locker rooms for decades, plaintiffs in this suit give details about which drugs they say teams persuaded them to use and how even severe injuries were covered up temporarily. Painkillers Percodan, Percocet and Vicodin, anti-inflammatories such as Toradol, and sleep aids such as Ambien were “handed out like candy at Halloween,” according to lead attorney Steven Silverman. Sometimes, the lawsuit also charges, the drugs were given in combinations as “cocktails.” “The stuff works,” Newberry, who played seven of his nine seasons in San Francisco before retiring in 2009, told The Associated Press in an interview. “It works like crazy. It really does.” But only for so long. Newberry, now 38 and one of the eight plaintiffs named in the lawsuit, says that because of the drugs he took while playing, he suffers from kidney failure, high blood pressure and violent headaches. Others — including three members of the NFL champion 1985 Chicago Bears: quarterback Jim McMahon, Hall of Fame defensive end Richard Dent and offensive lineman Keith Van Horne — reported a range of debilitating effects, from chronic muscle and bone ailments to permanent nerve and organ damage. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, in Atlanta for the league’s spring meetings, said Tuesday that league attorneys had not yet studied the lawsuit. Six of the named plaintiffs in the suit filed in federal court in San Francisco were also parties to the concussion-related class-action lawsuit less than a year ago. The NFL agreed to pay $765 million to settle that case — without acknowledging it concealed the risks of concussions from former players. A federal judge has yet to approve the settlement, expressing concern the amount is too small. “The difference is that the concussion case claimed the NFL knew or should have known,” Silverman said. “We’re saying this was intentional, putting profits ahead of players’ health — and in violation of federal controlled substance laws, as well as state laws. You don’t order hundreds of narcotic painkillers in their names without telling them.” Some of the players said they knew they were taking powerful drugs, but felt they would lose their jobs if they didn’t take team officials’ advice and use the substances to get back on the field quickly. The lawsuit covers the years 1968-2008. Silverman said a number of clients reported teams had “tightened up” dispensing procedures since then, including one incident in which a player said a trainer waited until the team plane on a flight home was 10,000 feet in the air before handing over a narcotic “to avoid violating any state laws.” McMahon and Van Horne were among several players who said they were never told about broken bones and fed pills to mask the pain. Toradol, which players called a “full-body numb-er” and “the current game-day drug of choice of the NFL” was prevalent enough that Newberry described frequently seeing both teammates and opponents during warm-ups with blood spots on the buttocks of their pants — a telltale sign they’d taken a pre-game injection. “There was a room set up near the locker room and you got in line,” said Kyle Turley, who played for three NFL teams in an eight-year career. “Obviously, we were grown adults and we had a choice. But when a team doctor is saying this will take the pain away, you trust them.’ Newberry said he regrets that decision now, but never considered not taking the drugs during his career because he feared he’d be out of a job if he didn’t play. After his retirement, a specialist who reviewed his medical records concluded the protein levels in his urine had been elevated — a precursor to kidney problems — for years. Newberry said he got blood work during a team-sponsored physical every year but was never told about any problems. “They said, ‘You’re good to go, you passed another one. You’re cleared to play,’” he said. Silverman said he planned to serve the NFL with the lawsuit within the next 120 days, after which the league has 30 days to respond. The case could be significantly delayed if there are similar filings and the lawsuits are eventually consolidated into a single class-action. “We hope this gets to trial,” Silverman said. “I could see a scenario where, if it were to go to discovery, there would be more doctors and trainers taking the Fifth (Amendment) than providing sworn testimony.” 

Judges 16:

25 And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. And they called for Samson out of the prison house; and he made them sport: and they set him between the pillars.

26 And Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house standeth, that I may lean upon them.

27 Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport.

Psalm 137:

3 For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion.

Black Church Being Demolished to Make Way for Soccer Field

For over a year, leaders at a black owned church have negotiated with the city of Orlando over the sale of their church, but now those talks have broken down and the city is suing in order to force the church to sell.

The city needs the land where Faith Deliverance Temple sits so that it can build a $115 million dollar soccer stadium

Orlando Sentinel‘s Mark Schlueb reports that the church’s owners had initially been offered $1 million dollars, double the appraised value of the church, but refused. The city eventually increased its offer to $4 million dollars, but the family that owns the church turned it down. The owners reduced their bid from $35 million dollars to $15 million.

City Attorney Mayanne Downs says the city is willing to pay the church much more than the appraised value, but  the church owner’s asking prices is just too high.

“We’ve got a duty to safeguard the assets of the city,” Downs told the Orlando Sentinel. “While we were certainly willing to pay the Williams family a substantial amount of money — much more than the property is worth by any estimate — there comes a point where we have to go to court.”

Now a judge will decide if the church property can be taken by the city using eminent domain. If the judge finds that building a soccer stadium is a legitimate public use, then the church owners will lose. If that happens, then the next step is to determine the fair market value of the property, which is much less than the $4 million offered by the city.

Isaiah 56:

10 His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.

11 Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter.

Hebrews 13:

5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

CDC Locks Out Black Providers in New AIDS Technical Assistance Announcement

On March 19, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) awarded $115 million over five years to 21 organizations to provide technical assistance (TA) and capacity building to health departments, AIDS service organizations (ASOs) and community-based organizations (CBOs) implementing high-impact prevention and improving outcomes in the care continuum for people living with HIV/AIDS. Not one of the new CDC grantees is a Black organization. The effect of this decision is that Black organizations have been locked out of leading technical assistance and capacity building in this country for the next five years.

It is obvious why this should be an issue of concern for Black people, for the public at large and for anyone who is sincerely interested in ending the AIDS epidemic in America. Let's look at the numbers: There are about 1.2 million Americans living with HIV today. Nearly 50 percent of them are Black. Of women living with HIV in the U.S., nearly 64 percent are Black; among gay and bisexual men, the rate is 32 percent.

At a time when Black Americans are less likely to be linked to care, are less likely to be retained in care, are more likely to be diagnosed later in their disease, have poorer outcomes and die quicker than any other racial or ethnic group in the country, the decision by the CDC not to fund any Black organizations in this program further dismantles what little infrastructure exists in Black communities to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Health departments and organizations that desperately need assistance in building the capacity to respond to a rapidly changing health care environment will be unable to turn to a technical-assistance provider grounded in the experience of Black communities.

To exacerbate this problem, over the last few years, a number of Black AIDS organizations have had to close their doors because of lack of funding. Both CDC and Black AIDS service providers will offer various reasons that this happened. The CDC might maintain that the pool of Black organizations that applied was small, some did not demonstrate sufficient programmatic capacity, some had administrative challenges, while others were eliminated for technical reasons associated with the application. ASOs and capacity-building assistance (CBA) providers might counter by saying that the process completely disregards the value of cultural competency, denies Black organizations opportunities to focus on areas where they are strong, and inherently advantages larger organizations that can farm out their grant writing over smaller organizations that are better equipped to deliver the needed services but less equipped to prepare the grant applications.

The CDC appears to be more obsessed with having a pristine grant-making process than with making sure the outcomes of that process reflect the communities most at risk for HIV. Many Black AIDS organizations have prioritized cultural competency and resisted retooling themselves in order to respond to the changing HIV/AIDS landscape.

Whatever the reasons, it's imperative that communities, ASOs and government agencies like the CDC work together to make sure that we have a geographically and racially diverse HIV service-delivery system -- including Black providers and those with expertise in other heavily impacted communities. And that all HIV service providers -- regardless of race, ethnicity or region of the country where they provide services -- have both the cultural and subject-matter competency and the administrative bandwidth to deliver the services that our communities need and deserve.

There is plenty of blame and finger-pointing to go around, but it all misses the point: No one can argue that, even though we have had some successes, we are failing in our fight to end the AIDS epidemic in Black communities. Indeed, in some areas we are losing ground where we had previously made progress.

Nearly 64 percent of newly diagnosed women, nearly 67 percent of newly diagnosed youths (ages 13-19) and 36 percent of newly diagnosed gay men and other men who have sex with men in America are Black. With nearly 50 percent of Black gay and bisexual men in some U.S. cities already infected, Black men who have sex with men may be the group most affected by HIV on the entire planet.

We have to ask ourselves, "Is it in the interest of ending the AIDS epidemic -- and particularly of ending the epidemic in Black communities -- to have a service delivery network that is void of Black providers?" The CDC's decision perpetuates the notion that "mainstream" TA providers can parachute in to rescue communities, and violates the notion that -- when properly supported -- communities have both the responsibility and the capacity to save themselves. As Calvin Rolark, the founder of the United Black Fund, said, "Nobody can save us ... but us."

Both the message and the messenger matter. Unless we are explicitly included, we are implicitly excluded. In order to end the AIDS epidemic in Black communities, the AIDS service-delivery system must reflect the communities most at risk. Unless Black people see themselves at every level of the care-delivery system and every point of the treatment cascade, we will continue to see the unacceptable HIV/AIDS outcomes that currently exist in Black communities.

In the interest of disclosure, The Black AIDS Institute is a small subcontractor to one of the CDC grantees in this program.

PSALMS 62:

Trust not in oppression, and become not vain in robbery: if riches increase, set not your heart upon them.

LEVITICUS 20:13 

If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.