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14 The Hampton Roads Messenger Your Opinion Matters


Q&A: A Clippers Season Ticket Holder Weighs in on Sterling


BY REYNA OLAGUEZ Ed. Note: National Basketball


Association Commissioner Adam Silver announced that Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling would be banned for life from the association and fined $2.5 million for racist comments he made toward African Americans. Silver also told media that the NBA would do everything in its power to force Sterling to sell the Clippers franchise. A ¾ majority vote by NBA owners would be needed to force Sterling to sell.


New America Media’s Reyna


Olaguez spoke to Antonio Gallo, a Chicano Studies Professor at Cal State, Northridge about the scandal. In addition to teaching, Gallo is also an immigration attorney and a Los Angeles Clippers season ticket holder.


What’s your reaction to the news


that Sterling will be banned for life from the NBA and fined $2.5 million?


I think it’s great. I’m actually


shocked they went that far, though I would have liked the fine to be higher than $2.5 million dollars. But clearly the NBA sent a very strong message that it does not tolerate racism of any kind.


As a Clippers season ticket


holder, what was your immediate reaction when you first heard about Sterling’s remarks?


Well my first reaction was shock [but] afterward I wasn’t surprised,


based on his past. I know the money that I pay for my tickets goes into his pockets, [so] it kind of made me think that I was part of the problem. I was very upset.


The Clippers are in the midst of


a playoff run. Did Sterling’s words change the way you feel about supporting the team?


I’m still upset, still conflicted. I


haven’t decided if I am going to go to the game today. But by not attending the game what purpose is that going to serve? I don’t root for the Clippers because of the owner -- I support the players. I like the drive that they have.


What is the buzz you’ve been hearing from other Clippers fans?


We have a few friends with seats in the same section – teachers, lawyers, police officers – and we are all very upset. I have not met one Clippers fan that is happy with the situation.


As a fan, do you see Sterling’s views as an aberration? Or does he represent something more deeply ingrained culture?


Sporting events create a slave


owner mentality because most of the owners [in the NBA] are white owners. You have some that are black, but they are minority owners. It puts the issue of race in the forefront [and] now there will be less apathy. Now fans have heard it, the players have heard it, and consciousness around it is rising.


Volume 8 Number 9 Legacy of Volunteers FROM PAGE 7


help when needed. Harris also is a strong youth mentor who has opened her doors and sheltered many young people who are homeless or abused.


4. Vincent “Duke” Leaks,


Virginia Beach - 2014 Volunteer of the Year


In Virginia Beach events, Vincent “Duke” Leaks


fundraising has


become as much of a trademark of Dominion involvement as bucket trucks and hundreds of employee volunteers wearing their familiar blue T-shirts. Duke, a line truck driver auger, annually drives his Dominion bucket truck to provide the starting line for signature fundraising events such as the March of Dimes March for Babies charity walk and the Susan G. Komen breast cancer charity walk. Duke also exits his truck and participates in the events as a walker and donor, proudly wearing his blue Dominion volunteer shirt. Duke, a veteran himself, also participates at events involving the military


and


those who have proudly served their country. A long-time volunteer, Duke


in professional sporting Prison Terms FROM PAGE 10


You don’t need powder; all you need is the witness to say, ‘I saw a kilo.’” Perhaps, one case that


underscores the call for reform is that of Southeast resident Antwuan Ball, whom prosecutors in 2005 indicted for his role in a massive drug conspiracy and murder.


Ball was acquitted on all but one Our Faith What Is that in Your Hand?


By Rev. Dr. Gregory Headen The


we do time


has come to stop complaining what have,


what the Lord has placed in hands.


Granted, not perfect.


your childhood was Granted, your family


was dysfunctional in many ways, but what’s in your hand?


Granted,


you have faced some discrimination and the world has not been fair, but what’s in your hand? Yes, you were not born with a silver spoon in your mouth, but what’s in your hand? Having plenty of money has not been your testimony, but what’s in your hand now? It may have been easier for Moses to answer this question that for us. When he stood in the presence of God who told him to go to Egypt to free the Children of Israel, he was holding a rod in his hand. After Moses made some excuses for not going, the LORD asked him, “What is that in your hand?” The first thing Moses saw was a rod. God told him to cast in on the ground, and it turned into a serpent. God told him to grab it by the tail, and it turn back into a rod (Exodus 4). But if God would


about not


and use our


ask us what is in our hand, we might not be able to answer so easily because we may not be holding anything tangible at the time.


Our answer


might be, “LORD, there is nothing in my hand”. We would be so wrong. A better answer might be “LORD, I don’t know what is in my hand.” You and I have more in our hands, figurative speaking, than we realize. This is why exposure is so important for young people. They need to try things they have not done, and go places they have not been. School is important because it exposes the young mind to many subjects and activities.


This is


one way that we discover our talents and gifts.


The church too, needs to


expose its members to new aspects of worship and ministry so that members can discover what is in their hands. God may be asking each of us, “What is that in your hand?” Would it not be sad to live a life time and die, and never discover the gift(s) that is in your hand? A surgeon has healing in his hands. A mother has love in her hands. A quarterback has throwing in his hands. A barber has styling in his hands. A pastor has vision and caring in his/her hands. A teacher has learning in her hands. What is that in your hand?


count of distribution of crack cocaine, but still received an 18-year prison sentence which law experts called excessive.


Ball, now 43, recently lost an appeal of his sentence.


His lawyer, Steven Tabackman,


told ABC News that Ball should have been sentenced to no more than six years, but mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines were still used even for the charges which the jury voted not guilty.


“It’s a sentencing scheme straight from the mind of Lewis Carroll,” said Tabackman, referring to the author of “Alice in Wonderland.”


Attorney General Eric Holder has


now declined to pursue charges that could


lead to mandatory minimum sentences for low-level,


nonviolent


drug offenders. Holder cited the case of Stephanie


Nodd, an Alabama woman who served 21 years in federal prison for her first and only conviction: conspiracy to sell crack cocaine.


Although the indictment never


cited any violent crimes, prosecutors named her as a trusted lieutenant in a drug ring that dealt crack.


Sentenced at 23, Nodd emerged from prison a year go without having seen her five children grow up, and without any knowledge of today’s technology.


The Justice Department issued


new guidelines on April 23, allowing certain prisoners who already have served at least 10 years to apply for clemency.


May 2014


encourages new employees to get involved as Dominion volunteers.


5. Alsendia Wells,


Dominion Energy, Surry Power Station - 2014 Volunteer of the Year


to make a meaningful Many Dominion employees


Alsendia Wells uses her creativity difference. are


volunteers, but few can serve their local communities in as many creative ways as Alsendia Wells. Whether baking cakes, pies and brownies for church fundraisers, crafting


unique


gift baskets for a band booster auction or dressing Christmas dolls and teddy bears in specially designed outfits for the Salvation Army Christmas drive, Alsendia generously shares her talents with many worthy causes. For example, Alsendia, process assistant IV in Nuclear Document Management at Surry Power Station,also has served as a United Way ambassador for her work area. As a fundraiser, Alsendia set up snack tables offering a combination of store-bought items and homemade treats in two locations during Surry refueling outages. Hundreds of hungry customers took advantage of the snack tables which generated thousands of dollars for the United Way.


Cole said


Deputy Attorney General James the


changes include six


separate criterion inmates must meet in order to be eligible, including not having a significant criminal history and having no strong ties to major gangs.


The process will also be open to those who would have received a lesser sentence if convicted of the same offense today.


“Older, stringent punishments


that are out of line with sentences imposed under today’s laws erode people’s confidence in our criminal justice system,” Cole told the Associated Press. “I am confident that this initiative will go far to promote the most fundamental of American ideals, specifically equal justice under the law.”


Mandatory Minimums (FAMM) in Northwest


nonviolent drug-related offenses.


“It seems the Justice Department is doing what it can to help stem the tide of people going to prison in record numbers for absurd lengths of time,” said Julie Stewart, president of FAMM. “It’s really up to Congress to take the next step and change the number of mandatory sentencing laws.”


Meanwhile, the timing of the Justice


Department’s announcement proved remarkable, James said.


“We had no idea that we’d have this wind beneath our wings right before our rally because we’d been organizing this rally for about two years,” she said.


“Seventy percent for their


who are incarcerated are the primary caregivers


children


of women and


when you recognize that, you start to understand the direct correlation of how many black children are in the criminal justice system. We understand that the black and brown communities are targeted, but we’re not the majority who use or sell drugs. The majority is white, but our prisons are made up of blacks.”


Activists from Families Against said


the new clemency


criterion could help focus the attention of Congress on expanding legislation to cut mandatory


sentences for


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