Newspaper Page Text
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June 14, 2007
National World
Cornel West Raps on Rap, Snoop, Obama
By BANKOLE THOMPSON
Sgccial to the NNPA
DETROIT (NNPA) - To
some, Princeton Universi
ty's professor of religion Dr.
Cornel West may be giving
up scholarship in releasing
his new music CD “Never
Forget: A Journey of Reve
lations,” comprised of posi
tive rap themes.
But the activist Black aca
demic sees rap music as an
integral part of social
change and one that can
bring back the essence of
hl.ui music.
That 1s why West released
Civil rights leader James
Bevel charged with incest
LEESBURG, Va. (AP) - A
avil rights leader who worked
closely with the Rev. Martin
Luther King Jr. has been
charged with incest in
Loudoun County. *
The Rev. James L. Bevel, 70,
was arrested late last month in
Alabama after being indicted
by a Loudoun grand jury on
one count of unlawfully com
mitting fornication. The indict
ment E)llowed a complaint to
the Leesburg Police Depart
ment in September 2005, said
Lt. Jeff Dube, a police
spokesman.
According to the indictment,
the crime occurred between
Oct. 14, 1992, and Oct. 14,
1994, when the accuser was 13
to 17 years old. Virginia has no
statute of limitations for
felonies.
Defense attorney Buta Biber
aj said Saturday that no plea has
been entered in the case yet and
that it would be premature for
her to comment. A bond hear
ing is set for June 14.
in Loudoun County Circuit
Court but did not speak.
playing a key role in some
drcyggimn-y’s major civil rights
protests.
He organized the 1963 Chil
dren’s Crusade in Birmingham,
Ala., and was a leader of the
Jefterson vows to
By SUSAN CRABTREE
Special © the NNIA from The Hll
WASHINGTON
(NNPA) - Rep. William Jef
ferson (D-La.) passionately
proclaimed his innocence
Friday after pleading not
uilty to soliciting
%500.000 in bribes from
businessmen with interests
in Africa, as well as to rack
eteering, obstruction of jus
tice and money-laundering
chargcs.
With his wife, Andrea
Green Jefferson, at his side,
Jefferson told a scrum of
reporters gathered outside
the U.S. [%isxrict Court in
Alexandria, Va., that he
would “fight his heart out”
to clear his name.
“My family and 1 have
determined that 1 will not
sacrifice my honor or cave
to political pressure, and
that we will sell every stick
of furniture in our home
and anything else we may
own to pursue justice and
clear our name,” he said.
“Sketches” in 2001 and
“Street Knowledge” in 2003
both spoken world CD’s.
This time around, West is
working to release his latest
album.
“You can't really respect
young people in a substan
tive way without really
looking at what influences
thcm.%‘lip—hop is an inte
gral part of the life of young
gcof;])lc," West said in a June
phone interview from Las
Vegas where he was attend
infg the One 100 Black Men
of America conference.
West said Hip-hop can be
used as a potent weapon to
-
Al
Rev. James L. Bevel,
Freedom Rides to desegrecate
public accomm(fi)ns
throughout the South in the
early 19605. And he was an
architect of the March on
Washington in 1963 and the
Selma-to-Montgomery march
in Alabama in 1965. He also
hel organize the Million
M::\l:'nCd Ma.rzfi?n Washington in
1995.
Bevel was trained as a Baptist
minister and later became pas
tor of the Hebraic-Christian-
Islamic Assembly in Chicago.
At the time of his arrest, he was
living in Eutaw, Ala., according
to court documents.
If convicted of the incest
charge, Bevel could face up to
20 years in prison.
Jefferson acknowledged,
however, that he made mis
takes “along the way that I
now dcchy regret,” but
insisted that he gid not sell
or trade official acts for
money and did not bribe a
foreign official.
“Tfiis case involved pri
vate business activities and
not official acts by me,” he
said. “After 17 years in the
Congress and service on the
House Ways and Means
Committee, 1 know what
congressmen can do to help
someone: passing legislation
that woul{)i help a certain
industry, securing earmarks,
and amending tax and trade
bills. I did none of that.”
Jefferson also said the now
notorious $90,000 the FBI
found in his freezer during a
raid of his home did not
amount to evidence of a
bribe because he never gave
it to the Nigerian vice pres
ident, for whom the FBI
alleges it was intended.
“The $90,000 was the FBl's
money,” he said. “The FBI
AUGUSTA FOCUS
create change in our com
munities, “but I don't think
enough people in the black
community recognize that.”
“There are those prophetic
Hip-hp artists,” &/cst said
ciung KRS-1, Talib Kwelli
among others.
If lglip-hop puts young
people to sleep, it reinforces
a certain kind of political
weapon that can be urilized
for the good of the black
community, West said.
“I have been blessed to have
K-R-S 1, Chuck D, Jay Z
come speak to my class,”
West said. “I have great
respect for these artists.”
Youth Sex Offenders - Enterprise: Sex
offenders getting younger, more violent
By KIM CURTIS
Associated Press Writer
STOCKTON, Calif.
(AP) — Courts have seen
the number of sex offense
cases involving juvenile
offenders rise framatical
ly in recent years, an
Associated Press review of
national statistics found,
and treatment profession
als say the of&ndcrs are
getting younger and the
crimes more violent.
Some psychologists
blame the increase in
numbers — 40 percent
over two decades - on a
society saturated with sex
and violence and the fact
that many of the accused
were themselves victims
of adult sexual predators.
Others say there aren't
more children commit
ting such crimes, simply
more awareness, better
reporting and a general
hysteria about sex offend
ers.
“I don’t think it’s appro
priate to suggest we Eavc
whole schoo%s full of sexu
al predators ... but we're
seeing more of it and
more sexually aggressive
acts,” said Scott Poland,
past president of the
National Association of
School Psychologists.
“How do these kids even
‘fight his heart out’ to clear name
p :J y i
Rep. William Jefferson
gave it (0 me as rart of their
plan that I would give it to
the Nigerian vice president.
But I did not do that.
When all the facts are
understood, I trust | will be
vindicated.”
He vigorously defended
his famiF — his wife and
five daugKtcrs. who range in
age from 23 to 35, their
families and their reputa
tions.
He noted that his wife has
a doctorate degree in higher
education and that three of
his daughters have degrees
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Dr. Cornell West
On the Don Imus controversy, which also triggered
know about this? It’s per
meated throughout our
society.”
Robert Prentky, a psy
chologist and nationally
renowned expert on sex
offenders in Bridgewater,
Mass., thinks the statistics
are mixlmding.
“There aren’t more kids,
there are more laws,” he
said. “We now have fairly
draconian laws with very
harsh sanctions that apply
to juveniles.”
The number of children
under 18 accused of
forcible rape,'violent and
nonviolent sex offenses
rose from 24,100 in 1985
to 33,800 in 2004, the
AP’s analysis found. Vio
lent offenses include
attempted rape and sexual
assault, while nonviolent
offenses including
fondling, statutory rape
and prostitution.
By comparison, rape
and scxuafi assaults Ey
adults decreased more
than 56 percent from
1993 to 2004. Compara
ble statistics were unavail
able before 1993,
The AP analyzed state
and federal crime stats
tics, as well as independ
ent research on juvenile
sex offenders. Sources
included the U.S. Depart
ment of Justice’s Bureau
from Harvard College and
Harvard Law School, one
from Boston University and
Emerson and one, who is in
medical school at Tulane
University, from Brown
University and Georgetown
University.
Several times during his
remarks, Jefferson spoEc of
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of Justice Statistics; the
National Center for Juve
nile Justice, a Pennsylva
nia-based nonprofit that
specializes in statistical
and policy research; and
The Safer Society Foun
dation Inc., a Vermont
nonprofit that works to
prevent sexual abuse.
Sharon Araji, an Alaska
psychologist who took
one of the first broad
looks at the problem in
her book Sexually Aggres
sive Children, thinks the
number of child-on-child
sex crimes is actually even
higher than the statistics
ingica'tc.
Only 28 percent of all
violent sexual assaults are
seportéd -to police,
according to a 1999
National Crime Victim
ization Survey. And cases
of incest between siblings
are widely thought to be
underreported and may
drive the numbers even
hishcr. Araji says.
“The whole society is
not yet up on this prob
lem,” Araji said. “These
kids, on the extreme end,
if nothing is done to catch
them, lfiey'rc joing to
become our aduh officnd—
ers of tomorrow.””
Studies show that one in
two sex offenders began
their sexually abusive
his family’s fervent belief in
God, noting his member
ship and service at Greater
St. Stephen Full Gospel
Baptist Church in New
()r?eans and their belief that
God will see them through
this trial because “we have
the advantage ... of having
right and truth on our
calls for an end to misogy
nist lyrics by some rappers,
West said artists like gnoop
Dog must also be held
accountable.
“Snoop is part of the
Black community, he'’s got
to be held accountabl%."
West said. “There are exem
plary folks in Hip-ho
doing magnificent worfl
who themselves have been
the major critics of Snoop.”
However, West said wEar
Imus did in calling the Rut
gers female baskct%all team,
nappy headed hoes,” is
Sce West, page 8A
behavior as juveniles.
The rise in juvenile sex
offenders has spawned
hundreds of new treat
ment facilities for chil
dren as young as 5.
In 2002, there were 937
programs in the U.S.
treating adolescent
offenders —generally ages
12-17 - up from 346 in
1986.
During the same period,
the list of programs
specifically aimed at chil-
Lficn under 12 grew from
zero to 410, according to
The Safer Society Foun
dation.
However, Franklin Zim
ring, a juvenile justice
expert at the University of
California, Berkeley,
thinks many children are
unnecessarily treated as
sex offenders. True
pedophiles are extremely
rare among young people,
he says.
“As long as the public
temperature .is up, you're
oing to get more referrals
%rom the courts for treat
ment,” he said. “If you
don’t want to lock a kid
up, treatment is a politi
cally safe outcome.”
Many experts agree that
some amount of sexual
exploration by young
See Youtth, page 8A
side.”
“Incredibly, we are the
same family that the
Department of Justice and
FBI would have you believe
is a family made up of
bribers, raczctccrs and con
spirators against the laws of
our country,” he said. “Fur-
Sec Fight, page 10A