Va. police won’t release video of Redskins player stop
RICHMOND, Va.—Virginia State Police won’t release video of a traffic stop involving a Washington Redskins wide receiver who said a state trooper asked if he was a gang member or drug dealer.
Paul Richardson Jr.’s tweets about the questions he was asked during a Tuesday traffic stop prompted an internal review by state police.
Richardson just signed a $40 million five-year contract with the Redskins and was driving a new Mercedes when pulled over. He is African-American.
The department said Friday that it was declining a public records request by The Associated Press for video taken from the trooper’s in-car camera. Spokeswoman Corinne Geller said the department has the discretion to release the video under state law but has chosen not to.
Tenn. Legislature OKs bill tightening loophole
NASHVILLE, Tenn. In a parting shot to Memphis or any other city that would use a legal loophole to remove Confederate statues, the Tennessee General Assembly passed a bill that makes it harder to get around the law.
On Wednesday, the last day of the legislative session, state lawmakers approved a measure that would bar cities from selling or transferring property that has historic memorials without permission from the Tennessee Historical Society—or a court.
The Tennessee Heritage Protection Act limits the removal or changing of historical memorials on public property. In December, leaders in the majority-Black city used a legal loophole by selling the city parks to a nonprofit, which swiftly removed the monuments of Confederate President Jefferson Davis and Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest. Bedford Forrest was a slave trader and early leader in the Ku Klux Klan.
The bill heads to Republican Gov. Bill Haslam, who said he still needs to see the final version before deciding how to act. But he said his view of how the Memphis situation unfolded comes down to the city’s property rights.
“I think the unique thing there was Memphis owned that park,” Haslam told reporters Friday. “I kind of come back to, whoever owns property should be able to decide what happens on it.”
Lawmakers in Tennessee’s Republican-dominated Legislature had vowed to punish Memphis afterward, and the House did so last week by stripping $250,000 from the budget that was to go to Memphis for its bicentennial celebration next year. Lawmakers from Memphis were outraged, calling the move racist and vile.
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland said the celebration of the city’s 200th anniversary would still go as planned.
Cities around the U.S. have sought to bring down Confederate monuments following the racially motivated massacre of nine people at a Black church in South Carolina and a violent White supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va. Some proponents of keeping such monuments have said they are part of history and a reminder of Southern heritage.
New Seton Hill dean to lead diversity effort
PITTSBURGH—Seton Hill University tapped a South Carolina college administrator to fill its newly created position as dean of students and chief diversity officer.
Adriel A. Hilton, who was director of extended campus at Webster University’s Myrtle Beach Metropolitan campus, was appointed to the post at the Greensburg school after a national search, Seton Hill officials said. Hilton will start his new post on June. 1.
“Adriel Hilton’s experience in higher education as both an administrator and faculty member makes him well-suited for the newly-created position of dean of students and diversity officer at Seton Hill,” said Rosalie Carpenter, vice president for student affairs at Seton Hill. “Adriel’s outstanding and strategic leadership will help Seton Hill advance student success and engagement and support the university’s commitment to diversity, inclusion and cultural awareness.”
Prior to his work at Webster, Hilton served as chief of staff and executive assistant to the president at Grambling State University; assistant professor and director of the higher education graduate program at Western Carolina University; assistant vice president for inclusion initiatives at Grand Valley State University; executive assistant to the president and assistant secretary to the board of trustees and chief diversity officer at Upper Iowa University; and public policy fellow for the Greater Baltimore Committee.
Hilton earned a doctorate in higher education administration from Morgan State University, a master’s degree in public administration from Florida A&M University, and a bachelor’s degree in business administration—finance from Morehouse College.
Aurora settles firefighters’ discrimination lawsuit
AURORA, Colo.—The city of Aurora will pay $480,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by four minority firefighters who say they were discriminated against.
The Sentinel reported Thursday that the city has also agreed to implement diversity training, develop a mentorship program and work closely with a Black firefighters association.
David Lane, the lawyer who represented the four firefighters, said the payout shows the city knew a jury would side with the firefighters. One of his clients still works for the department.
The city denies any wrongdoing in the settlement. City Attorney Mike Hyman said a trial would have been costly.
Department statistics say the Aurora Fire Department was made up of 80 percent white men last year.
Groups partner to increase lagging U.S. orchestra diversity
NEW YORK—Hoping to increase diversity in American orchestras, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation is making a $1.8 million grant over four years to three organizations joining together for a new initiative.
The League of American Orchestras, the New World Symphony and The Sphinx Organization, a Detroit-based group trying to diversify the arts, said Wednesday they are partnering to create the National Alliance for Audition Support.
The league says the percentage of African-Americans in American orchestras has remained at about 1.8 percent from 2002-14 and the percentage of Latinos increased from 1.8 percent to 2.5 percent.The NAAS plans to offer mentoring, audition preparation, financial support for audition travel and development, and showcases. It will start with an auditioning program in Miami hosted by the New World Symphony from June 6-8.
(Compiled by The Associated Press)
Like us at https://www.facebook.com/pages/New-Pittsburgh-Courier/143866755628836?ref=hl
Follow @NewPghCourier on Twitter https://twitter.com/NewPghCourier
About Post Author
