A genomic study of Bronze Age mummies of the Uyghur region in western China revealed a genetically isolated but culturally cosmopolitan indigenous people linked to modern indigenous peoples of the Americas and Siberia.
Since the 1990s, hundreds of mummies naturally preserved in the dry climate of western China’s Tarim Basin have been discovered, with their somewhat Western appearance attracting international attention and conjecture.
The mummies, dating from 2000 B.C. to A.D. 200, were buried in boat-like coffins though they were in the desert. They wore felted and woven woolen clothing, herded cattle, sheep and goats and ate wheat, barley and millet, researchers say.
A boat burial is seen in profile at Xiaohe cemetery in Tarim Basin of Uyghur Autonomous Region of China. (Wenying Li, Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology)
While some scholars speculated that they descend from migrating Yamnaya herders from Russia’s Black Sea region, others said they came from the oasis cultures of the Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex (BMAC), which has a strong genetic relationship to early farmers of the Iranian Plateau. BMAC refers to an early civilization (2000–1500 B.C.) that was centered in modern Turkmenistan and Tajikstan.
Researchers analyzed genomic data from 13 of the earliest Tarim Basin mummies, dated 2100 to 1700 B.C., and five mummies of the nearby Dzungarian Basin, dating 3000 to 2800 B.C., to better understand the populations that settled at the Xiaohe and Gumugou sites around 2000 B.C.
The analysis revealed that the Tarim Basin mummies were not newcomers but direct descendants of people of the preceding Pleistocene age who had mostly disappeared by the end of the last glacial era, about 11,700 years ago, when the current Holocene period began.
Archeologists uncover burials for genetic sampling at Xiaohe cemetery in Tarim Basin of Uyghur Autonomous Region of China. (Wenying Li, Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology)
Dubbed Ancient North Eurasians (ANE), some of their genome survives among indigenous peoples of Siberia and the Americas. The mummies show no interbreeding with any other groups. The researchers determined that the mummies show evidence of being a previously unknown people who were genetically isolated long before settling in the Tarim Basin.
“Archeogeneticists have long searched for Holocene ANE populations in order to better understand the genetic history of Inner Eurasia. We have found one in the most unexpected place,” says Choongwon Jeong, a senior author of the study and a professor of Biological Sciences at Seoul National University.
Mummy of a woman wearing a wool cap, found at Xiaohe cemetery in Tarim Basin of Uyghur Autonomous Region of China. (Wenying Li, Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology)
The earliest people of Dzungarian Basin, however, descended from local populations and also from the Afanasievo herders who had strong genetic links to the Early Bronze Age Yamanya people. The ancestry of other pastoralists such as the Chemurchek, who spread northward to the Altai Mountains and Mongolia, was made clearer in the genome study.
The authors of the study, published in the journal Nature, believe their findings will transform the understanding of ancient Eurasians and their migration.
“These findings add to our understanding of the eastward dispersal of Yamnaya ancestry and the scenarios under which admixture occurred when they first met the populations of Inner Asia,” said study co-author Chao Ning of Peking University.
“Despite being genetically isolated, the Bronze Age peoples of the Tarim Basin were remarkably culturally cosmopolitan — they built their cuisine around wheat and dairy from the West Asia, millet from East Asia and medicinal plants like Ephedra from Central Asia,” said co-author Christina Warinner of Harvard University.
Edna Rashid’s story is typical of an aspiring entrepreneur achieving success with the help of Rising Tide Capital.
Rashid found herself a grandmother with 10 children in her care eight years ago, after her oldest daughter Naimah died suddenly of congestive heart failure at age 33. Beyond the heartbreak and sorrow was the realization, Rashid, age 54 at the time, had a family to take care of, including a grandson with special needs.
So, she took early retirement from her long-time job as a management specialist with the city of Newark, New Jersey, and began to brainstorm ideas to support her family. Eventually, Rashid was encouraged to attend a presentation by Rising Tide Capital, a non-profit agency in Jersey City, New Jersey, whose mission is to transform lives and communities through entrepreneurship.
“It’s the best thing I’ve ever done,” Rashid told Zenger. “They don’t just teach you about economic capital, but the value of human capital.”
In 2013, Rashid and her son, Qasim, founded NF Insulation, a full-service insulation company based in Newark, N.J., that handles residential, commercial and industrial contractors. A family business headed by a woman of color is the sweet spot for Rising Tide Capital, which for 17 years has helped hundreds of minority-based businesses launch in urban communities.
Founded by Alfa Demmellash and Alex Forrester in 2004 on Martin Luther King Drive in Jersey City, Rising Tide Capital has trained more than 3,200 entrepreneurs mainly in the northeast, and is duplicating its model in 10 different states.
“We decided to focus on entrepreneurship because of the ways in which it represents pathways for folks who have had a hard time trying to access traditional job opportunities or who have been unable to access higher education opportunities and certainly access financing,” Demmellash told Zenger. “Those were all in play in our mind when we started shaping the mission of Rising Tide Capital.”
Demmellash was born during Ethiopia’s civil war and immigrated to the United States at age 12. Forrester, her husband, is the son of Doug Forrester, a businessman who ran unsuccessfully for governor of New Jersey in 2005. A like-minded friendship turned into marriage, fueling a common interest in multi-generational economics and what can be done to address the root causes of poverty. They looked at ways communities of color have been marginalized and impacted by America’s history of racial discrimination. Eventually, their focus narrowed to expanding entrepreneurship in underserved communities.
“We’ve gone through different situations over the years,” Demmellash said. “But the mission has remained very much the same in its focus, and that’s working with entrepreneurs.”
Alex Forrester (left) and Alfa Demmellash formed Rising Tide Capital in 2004 to help entrepreneurs achieve their dreams. (Rising Tide Capital)
RTC offers two one-semester curriculums called the Community Business Academy (CBA), an intensive 12-week course on business management skills needed to start, fund and operate a business. The CBA is accredited by Saint Peter’s University in Jersey City, and 90 percent of those who have attended are people of color and 70 percent are women, Demmellash said.
“We believe there’s local talent that has been overlooked and underrepresented,” she said. “Supporting those leaders with the know-how to access community, social, and financial capital is the way we’re going to rebuild our communities from within and address some of the root causes for economic disparities.”
Only 200 seats are available each semester at the academy and those accepted receive a full-tuition scholarship and pay for only their materials and a registration fee based on income level. Graduates of the program enter Rising Tide’s Business Acceleration Services program which assists entrepreneurs for up to three years after graduation. To date, 3,220 have graduated from the CBA, and 80 percent of the businesses the graduates established survived the five-year mark.
Hilda Mera, an immigrant from Ecuador, graduated from Rising Tide Capital’s CBA in 2015 after opening an auto repair shop in Newark two years earlier with her husband, Jose Masache. “I always say Rising Tide Capital is the door that opened the rest of the doors for me,” Mera told Zenger. “They don’t just give you the classes and say ‘bye. Whatever you need from counseling to coaching they’re there. All you have to do is make a phone call, and they’ll help you. They don’t really leave you.”
Mera now teaches at Rising Tide Capital with an emphasis on empowering women to become business leaders in their communities. “It’s something I love to do,” she said, “because I love to help entrepreneurs and tell them if I did it, they can do it.”
Hilda Mera, a graduate of Rising Tide Capital’s Community Business Academy, opened S&A Auto Repair Shop in Newark, New Jersey. (S&A Auto Repair)
CBA applicants must have a firm idea for a business or be actively involved in their own business for consideration. “We want to encourage people,” Forrester said. “People are already out there pushing in this direction and our job is to get behind their efforts and support them and surround them with a community of others who are doing the same.”
Students come from all levels of educational, professional and economic backgrounds. “We’re not looking for the highest potential entrepreneurs and getting behind them,” Forrester said. “It’s really a much larger embrace for what entrepreneurship means in the community as a form of people hearing the needs of others around them and finding ways to respond to that.”
COVID-19 forced a transition to online learning, something that will be maintained as an option when the pandemic eases. Technology is helping with duplicating the CBA in cities like Chicago, Illinois; Charleston, South Carolina; Charlotte, North Carolina; Wichita, Kansas; Dallas, Texas; Los Angeles, California; Richmond, Virginia; and Brooklyn, New York. “This isn’t about people having a certain level of education,” Demmellash said. “What’s required is people bring a heart and a commitment.”
Rising Tide Capital, funded primarily by corporate, foundation, and government grants, is looking to expand its headquarters in Jersey City to make a bigger impact on urban cities around the nation. A $1.5 million capital campaign is underway to build a permanent hub, complete with workspace, classroom space, training space and affordable housing. It’s a broad vision that could have an everlasting impact.
“What warms my heart is when we see the children of entrepreneurs at events or their parents’ business, and you see the look in their eyes,” said Demmellash, a daughter of an entrepreneur. “Children of entrepreneurs have a high rate of graduation and a better chance of becoming entrepreneurs. It’s long-term transformative thinking that we’re trying to create.”
With many small businesses struggling through the pandemic and unemployed workers looking to start their own business, RTC is seeing a need and meeting it. “It’s so critically important, particularly for people of color, to know there’s a space for them to start and grow their business over the long-term,” Demmellash said. “They are agents of change in the kind of long-term economic transformation we’re seeking.”
Canelo Alvarez rose two weight classes in November 2019 to challenge then-WBO 175-pound titleholder Sergey Kovalev, vowing to become a four-division champion.
The Mexican superstar did so sensationally, knocking the “Crusher” literally to his knees, senseless, out cold and sagging against ring ropes that held him up. It was a bitter end to a match for a highly unpopular fighter.
“It was nice to see Canelo do us all a favor and hit Kovalev so hard that he banished him from the stratosphere of being a world-class fighter at the elite level,” said boxing analyst Ray Flores of Premier Boxing Champions, TGB Promotions and Triller.
“That was a vicious and apropos clock cleaning of Kovalev, who, in my opinion, is a bad guy based on his track record. At some point, someone may test Canelo, but on that night, it was like, ‘This guy is done being an elite fighter’ because Canelo’s blowing everybody out of the water.”
It has been nearly two years since Kovalev was pummeled by Alvarez, who is predicting an early knockout of undefeated Caleb Plant during their unification bout on Nov. 6 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Alvarez, 31, is determined to become the first undisputed 168-pound champion from Mexico by adding Plant’s IBF crown to his WBA/WBC/WBO versions.
“I’m sticking with my prediction of a knockout before round eight,” said Alvarez, also a winner of titles at 154, 160 and 175 pounds. “The first couple of rounds will be difficult, but as the fight progresses, I am going to be able to get him out of there.”
Alvarez (56-1-2, 38 KOs), whose bout against Plant (21-0, 12 KOs) will be his fourth fight in 11 months, is hoping to vanquish an undefeated rival for the eighth time in his career at the MGM Grand. Plant, 29, will battle Alvarez, 31, on Showtime Pay Per View (9 p.m. ET).
“This is the most important fight in Canelo’s career. As a prizefighter there is nothing bigger than unifying a division,” said Alvarez’s manager and trainer, Eddy Reynoso.
“That’s why we’re training so hard. Our focus is to make sure we show everyone that Mexican boxing is No. 1. If we’re able to get this victory and unify the division, we will really be making a big mark in the sport.”
Alvarez is 14-0-1 (8 KOs) since a majority decision loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in September 2013, a bout that dethroned the then-23-year-old as WBA/WBC junior middleweight champion.
“Canelo” (Cinnamon for his red hair) is rocketing toward the legendary status of countrymen such as three-division champions Julio Cesar Chavez and Marco Antonio Barrera, four-division title winners Juan Manuel Marquez and Erik Morales and long-reigning Salvador Sanchez and Ruben Olivares.
“Canelo’s speed and power against Kovalev was impressive, further showing his progression since the fight with Mayweather. I rank him top five behind Chavez, Olivares and Salvador Sanchez, maybe right there with Marquez, Barrera, Morales and Carlos Zarate,” said Showtime boxing commentator Raul Marquez, a former junior middleweight champion.
“Canelo has matured, developing into a much better fighter. He’s stocky, strong, has a big back, legs, and that’s where his natural power comes from. His balance allows him to leverage his punches, maximize his power, particularly on his body shots, by transferring his weight back and forth from one side to the other.”
That cerebral prowess and two-fisted punching power teams with an impressive resume, which makes Alvarez the sport’s best pound-for-pound boxer, according to Flores.
“Canelo is precise, economical and we’re starting to see more wrinkles in his game as he grows exponentially in the footwork, head movement, feints and the way he parries shots,” Flores said. “Oh, and by the way, he hits like a Mack truck, which makes him the most complete fighter we’ve seen in a long time. Canelo’s the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world, and it’s not even close.”
At a pre-bout press conference last month, Alvarez and Plant wound up trading blows during their staredown. Goaded by a push from Alvarez, Plant swung and missed. Alvarez landed on Plant. A brief scuffle ensued before the men were separated, with Plant being cut over one of his eyes.
“I’ve never been involved in anything like what happened at the first press conference between me and Caleb,” Alvarez said. “I delivered the message I had to at our press conference. I don’t have to say anything else to Plant. I’m just going to prepare to face him in the ring on Nov. 6.”
Alvarez earned his first crown in March 2011 by unanimous decision over Matthew Hatton, dominating nearly every minute for the WBC’s vacant 154-pound title and improving to 36-0-1 (26 KOs).
Alvarez made six title defenses before falling to Mayweather, capped by a unanimous decision unification victory over southpaw Austin Trout in April 2013. The victory added Trout’s WBA crown to Alvarez’s WBC title. Alvarez earned his second crown in as many divisions via unanimous decision that dethroned Puerto Rican four-division title winner Miguel Cotto (November 2015) as WBC middleweight champion.
“I don’t want to compare myself to great Mexican champions of the past, but this [Caleb Plant] fight is very important for my country of Mexico,” said WBA/WBC/WBO 168-pound champion Canelo Alvarez. (Esther Lin/Showtime)
Alvarez earned his third crown in as many divisions in December 2018, his four-knockdown, third-round TKO of WBA “regular” 168-pound champion Rocky Fielding coming against a fighter who entered at 27-1, 15 KOs).
“I don’t want to compare myself to great Mexican champions of the past, but this [Caleb Plant] fight is very important for my country of Mexico. This is one of the most important fights of my life,” Alvarez said. “I’m taking it very seriously, and a win means a lot to me. I just want to go out and make my own history. In the end, I want to be considered one of the best along with the legends who came before me.”
Another major triumph was Alvarez’s majority decision unification victory over then-undefeated WBA/WBC titleholder Gennady Golovkin (September 2018) in a rematch of their draw in September 2017.
“Canelo” also owns unanimous decisions over three-division champion and two-time Oscar De La Hoya-conqueror “Sugar” Shane Mosley (May 2012), former champion Chavez (May 2017), ex-titleholders Daniel Jacobs (May 2019) and Callum Smith (December 2020), and a split-decision over left-handed Cuban two-division champion Erislandy Lara (July 2014).
Alvarez’s knockouts of former champions include a sixth-round stoppage of Carlos Baldomir (September 2010), a one-knockdown, fifth-round TKO of Kermit Cintron (November 2011), a 10th-round TKO of Alfredo Angulo (March 2014), a sixth-round knockout of Amir Khan (May 2016) and a three-knockdown, ninth-round KO of Liam Smith (September 2016).
The Smith siblings were unbeaten before falling to Alvarez, Liam, 33, at 23-0-1 (13 KOs), and Callum, 31, at 27-0 (19 KOs).
Alvarez last fought in May, winning by eighth-round stoppage of southpaw Billy Joe Saunders, who entered at 30-0 (14 KOs). Alvarez added Saunders’ WBO title to the WBA and WBC belts he already owned.
“It’s unreal when you look at his resume and consider the guys that he’s beaten, which is unreal,” said Flores, also mentioning a third-round TKO of left-handed title challenger James Kirkland in May 2015.
“I never thought that anyone could mean what Chavez has meant to Mexican fight fans, but Canelo is so young and has a desire to really claim his legacy, being so adamant about being undisputed.”
INLAND EMPIRE—As part of the statewide tours, Assembly Majority Leader Eloise Gómez Reyes (D-San Bernardino) and Assemblymember Sabrina Cervantes (D-Riverside) hosted the Assembly Housing Working Group in the Inland Empire this week. The group — comprised of legislators from throughout California— spent the day meeting with local elected officials, housing experts and other stakeholders to tour affordable housing in the Inland Empire and to discuss the unique challenges and solutions being used by local governments, not-for-profit organizations and developers.
“The Inland Empire is one of the largest metropolitan regions in the United States and it is important that my colleagues in the State Legislature hear from our community on their housing needs and their challenges and see how unique our region is. I wanted them to see the solutions being deployed to tackle the issue of homelessness and affordable housing,” said Assembly Majority Leader Eloise Reyes. “This housing tour and discussion is just the beginning in what I hope will be a series of discussions to identify solutions and fund the models we know are working and being deployed by our community.”
The day included a panel and roundtable discussion hosted by Assembly Majority Leader Eloise Gómez Reyes (D-San Bernardino) and Assemblymember Sabrina Cervantes (D-Riverside) and moderated by Maria Razo, Executive Director of the Housing Authority of San Bernardino County. Participants in the panel included Lorraine Kindred, Vice President of Public Affairs, National CORE; Kim Carter, Founder, Time for Change Foundation; David Kersh, Executive Director, Carpenters/Contractors Cooperation Committee and Tim Johnson, Chief Operating Officer, Quality Management Group/LaBarge Industries. Sites toured in San Bernardino County: Phoenix Square, Pacific Village, Arrowhead Grove, Bloomington Grove & Lillian Court.
The State Assemblymembers completed their day touring Las Coronas Affordable Communities in Riverside County, followed by a panel discussion. The participants included Michael Walsh, Deputy Director, Riverside County Affordable Housing and Community Services; Michelle Davis, Housing Authority Manager, City of Riverside; Karen Roper, Manager of Homeless Solutions, City of Corona and Vice Chair, Riverside County Continuum of Care; Gabriel Maldonado, Executive Director and CEO, TruEvolution Inc. and Damien O’Farrell, Chief Executive Officer, Parkview Legacy Foundation and Steering Committee Member, Inland SoCal Housing Collective.
“The greater Riverside metropolitan area has the highest percentage of cost-burdened renters in the entire State, 30% of whom must spend at least half of their income on rent. Riverside County is currently at a deficit of 51,000 affordable homes for low-income renters, and the gap keeps growing every year, ” said Assemblymember Sabrina Cervantes (D-Corona). “I was proud to join Assembly Majority Leader Gomez Reyes in welcoming our legislative colleagues on the Assembly Housing Working Group to the 60th District for the Inland Empire Regional Roundtable, highlighting the needs of our region. Coming together is the only way that we will find solutions to our housing crisis.”
“I was thankful to have been invited to this Assembly housing forum. It was refreshing to see private and public partnerships working together showing successful outcomes here in the Inland Empire. We have monumental challenges ahead as we address our housing crisis. This kind of engagement reminds us we must focus on fixes that are honest and real,” Assembly Member Tom Lackey, 36th Assembly District.
The Assembly Housing Working Group Inland Empire tour was attended by Assembly Members from across the state, including , Eloise Gómez Reyes (San Bernardino), Sabrina Cervantes (Riverside), Freddie Rodriguez (D-Ontario), Tom Lackey (R-Palmdale), Robert Rivas (D-Salinas), Tim Grayson (D-Concord), Mia Bonta (D-Alameda), Marc Levine (D-Marin County), Chris Ward (D-San Diego), Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland), Laura Friedman (Glendale) as well as staff from the offices of Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood), Assembly Housing Committee Chair David Chiu (D-San Francisco), The Assembly Working Group, led by Assembly Members Grayson and Rivas, have conducted a statewide series of regional roundtables and site visits—including the Bay Area, Central Coast, Central Valley, and Southern California—to inform policy ideas that the working group may want to pursue in 2022.
Assemblymember Eloise Gómez Reyes represents Assembly District 47 which includes the cities of Fontana, Rialto, Colton, Grand Terrace, San Bernardino and the unincorporated areas of Muscoy and Bloomington.
RIALTO, CA—- On the evening of October 12, 2021, Mayor Deborah Robertson, City of Rialto made a presentation during the City of Rialto public meeting a proclamation to Eta Nu Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. in celebration of their 60th anniversary. Mayor Robertson along with the City Council declared October 28, 2021 “Eta Nu Omega Chapter Day!”
Members of Eta Nu Omega Chapter Birthday Committee where present to receive the proclamation, including co-chairs Erika Bennett and Linda Gaines-Brooks. Ruth Rembert, vice president accepted the proclamation on behalf of the chapter along with a beautiful birthday cake for the chapter and a gift to give to Rialto resident, Gwendolyn Heard Nelson who was among members responsible for the chartering of Eta Nu Omega chapter in the City of Rialto.
SAN BERNARDINO, CA— Last week, the First District staff had the pleasure of touring Victor Valley College’s state-of-the-art Public Safety Training Center in Apple Valley.
Led by Program Director Dave Oleson and Dean Dr. McKenzie Tarango, the 9-acre campus is described as a “village under a roof,” offering hands-on disaster training for its Criminal Justice, Fire Technology and Emergency Medical Services students.
In addition to having a cutting-edge indoor tactical shooting range with a 3-D projection scenario program, the campus boasts a four-acre prop yard with a myriad of live simulation training opportunities.
Underground tunnels, a collapsed “freeway bridge,” a five-story fire tower with burn rooms, and a derailed train car are among the props available to students. The unique setup allows students from each program to collaborate on training exercises, just like first responders do every day.
High Desert high school teachers are invited to bring their students to the center’s upcoming Multi-Discipline Day on November 18. Students will learn more about the fire, criminal justice and EMS academies and get hands-only CPR training. For more information, call Sgt. Rand Padgett at (559) 908-1498.
Are you a community member interested in learning more about a career in public safety? There is a huge demand for public safety professionals in our region, and most of VVC’s graduates are offered jobs prior to graduation!
Click the link below for more information about their program!
LOS ANGELES, CA— A special event was held on the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science (CDU) campus yesterday to commemorate the recent $50 million allocation from the State of California to the University. The event was highlighted by a check presentation from Watts native Assemblymember Mike Gipson, representative of California’s 64th Assembly District which includes the CDU campus. Dr. David Carlisle, president and CEO of CDU, along with other representatives and students from the university were on hand for the presentation.
“It gives me great pleasure to demonstrate our commitment to this great institution of higher learning with this check of $50 million,” said Assemblymember Gipson. “Let’s celebrate the future of Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, an institution that matters to the people.”
The funding, which was approved by the California State Legislature will be used to support the university’s latest initiative offering a new four-year medical degree program which includes the construction of a new building to accommodate it. The overall impact of the proposed new medical education program that is pending review and approval by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education will benefit the state by increasing the number of Black and Latino medical graduates joining the healthcare workforce, with the first class slated to begin in Fall 2023.
“CDU believes in the ability of education advocacy and empowerment to change lives and create opportunities,” said Dr. Carlisle. “I stand a little bit prouder as we gather to acknowledge and celebrate one of this university’s most significant funding awards to date, a one-time $50 million allocation from the state of California to support our new four-year medical degree program.”
CDU was originally founded in 1966 to better serve underprivileged residents in the area and the funding signifies a new chapter for the university, which 55 years ago graduated nurses who went on to serve the Watts community. Today, as a Historically Black Graduate Institution (HBGI), the university’s graduates go on to serve communities across the nation. The new program is expected to educate 60 students annually.
The event began with an opening prayer led by Pastor Marcus Murchinson from the Tree of Life Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles. A speech from Dr. Deborah Prothrow-Stith, dean of the College of Medicine, thanked Assemblymember Gipson, the Governor of California and all other supporting government officials for contributing to this initiative. “When the dreams of a people get matched with competent and effective elected officials, you get to celebrate because reality becomes that dream,” Dr. Deborah Prothrow-Stith noted. “I thank you and all of those who helped put this together for us.”
The funding signifies the next phase for CDU’s growth as an independent, four-year medical institution. Currently, CDU shares a longstanding relationship with the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA through the Charles R. Drew/UCLA Medical Education Program, which has successfully trained 28 medical students annually since 1979. The incoming program at CDU pending review and approval by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education will be the next phase in evolving that partnership.
The facility that will house this program on the CDU campus is expected to be 100,000 GSF and will have classrooms, virtual and standard anatomy laboratories, staff and faculty offices, as well as common spaces for all students in the university’s three schools and colleges. Construction is scheduled to begin Summer/Fall 2022.
As a testament to how this type of program enriches lives, Felisha Eugenio gave a first-hand look at how the current curriculum impacted her career. Now a CDU Doctor of Medicine resident, she emphasized how CDU played a vital role in changing her life.
“My roots here at CDU began long before residency, I am a product of its pipelines. I first began attending and then volunteering at what was once the Martin Luther King, Jr. Medical Center across the street. After college, I was a student in the post-baccalaureate program here before matriculating into the Charles R. Drew/UCLA Medical Education Program. So I would not be the physician I am today without the unwavering support of Dr. Daphne Calmes and the amazing team at our medical school,” said Eugenio. “CDU’s commitment to diversity is not only evident in its educational programs but by the makeup of its student body and educators.”
The event concluded with Pastor Robert L. Taylor of the Beulah Baptist Church who delivered the closing prayer. Attendees remained afterward for an informal lunch and photo opportunities.
CDU has contributed significantly to the diversity of the nation’s healthcare workforce over the last five decades. More than 70% of the university’s graduates since 2000 are people of color and the California Wellness Foundation report estimated that one-third of all minority physicians practicing in Los Angeles County are graduates of the CDU medical school and/or residency training programs.
To learn more about Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, please visit www.cdrewu.edu.
SAN BERNARDINO, CA—- Last week, the First District Youth Advisory Council met. They are a group of 10 bright and enthusiastic students who will meet monthly to identify and discuss issues impacting young people in our county, while serving as a direct link between First District teens and our office.
The students were chosen from Sultana, Apple Valley, Granite Hills, and University Prep high schools. Youth Council members will participate in a volunteer/community service project while learning about local government and civic engagement.
Congratulations to all of the students who were chosen to serve on the panel!
On Saturday, November 21, at the Adelanto Stadium, Fathers in Hip Hop will be honoring the Westside Story Newspaper publisher, Wallace Allen IV, during the Blessed in the Mess Giveaway and Concert. Allen will be given the Acknowledgment award for his commitment to the community. Those that want to attend the show, please RSVP to fathersinhiphop@gmail.com.
LOS ANGELES, CA—Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assemblymember Chris Holden’s police reform legislation, AB 26 that establishes clear guidelines for police responsibility and accountability when witnessing excessive force by another member of law enforcement.
“Derek Chauvin was charged for killing George Floyd, but justice for George Floyd doesn’t rest in Chauvin’s conviction alone – there were three additional officers who simply stood by and watched him die,” said Assemblymember Chris Holden. “I thank Governor Newsom and everyone who supported AB 26 that will make it crystal clear in our state law what a peace officer’s duty is to intervene when witnessing excessive force.”
California law requires police officers to intercede when observing another officer using force that is beyond that which is necessary, but there are no universal measures used to determine that an officer has in fact interceded. In the case of George Floyd, a lawyer for one of the accused junior officers argued that there was intervention because the junior officer asked the supervising officer if they should turn Floyd on his side.
If AB 26 becomes law, police officers would be required to intercede when witnessing excessive force under the updated guidelines and report the incident in real time to dispatch or the watch commander. The officer’s due process will be protected as the employing agency would review evidence and determine if the offending officer met the standard for intervention. Retaliation against officers that report violations of law or regulation of another officer to a supervisor would be prohibited.
Last year, Governor Newsom’s Policing Advisors released their recommendations which included legislation to “Require officers to intervene to prevent or stop other officers from engaging in excessive force, false arrest, or other inappropriate conduct.”
“Today’s signing is a big step forward for police responsibility and accountability. Instituting these core values are paramount to building public trust that has eroded between law enforcement and communities across California,” said Holden.
AB 26 clarifies and establishes intervention to include, but not limited to:
The use of de-escalation techniques
Confronting the officer applying excessive use of force
Physically stopping the excessive use of force, when in a position to do so
Recording and documenting the incident in real time with body cameras
Reporting the incident to dispatch or the watch commander in real time stating the offending officer’s name, unit, location, time and situation in order to establish that an attempt to intervene has been made
AB 26 also makes the following the changes to state law:
Requires the peace officer to report the incident immediately to his/her supervisor
Prohibits retaliation on a peace officer for reporting the incident
Prohibits an officer from training other officers for a period of at least three years from the date that an excessive use of force complaint is substantiated
Requires an officer who fails to intervene be disciplined up to and including in the same manner as the officer who used excessive force
The full text of the legislation can be found here, and full remarks from today’s bill signing here.
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