LAWT-6-10-10

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June 10, 2010

SERVING LOS ANGELES COUNTY WITH NEWS YOU CAN USE

Vol. XXX, No. 1183 FIRST COLUMN

1940 Prize, Howard U. Play Roles in Mystery BY J. FREEDOM DU LAC THE WASHINGTON POST

WASHINGTON (AP) — After winning the 2010 Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, Mo’Nique noted that she was wearing a royal blue dress, along with a gardenia in her hair, because that’s what Hattie McDaniel wore 70 years earlier when she became the first African American to receive an Academy Award. “Ms. Hattie McDaniel, I feel you all over me, and it’s about time that the world feels you all over them,” said Mo’Nique, the actress and comedienne who is producing a film biography about McDaniel. The tribute renewed an old mystery: Where is McDaniel’s own, historic Oscar? It belongs to Howard University’s theater department, which has spent years trying to figure out

what happened to the Oscar that disappeared decades ago — though nobody knows exactly when. “It’s a never-ending mystery,” says Tom Gregory, a Hollywood memorabilia collector. “Where is it? It’s really an unbelievable story.” McDaniel was named Best Supporting Actress in 1940 for playing the servant Mammy in “Gone With the Wind,” a performance that earned praise even as McDaniel was criticized for perpetuating negative stereotypes. When she died of breast cancer in 1952, McDaniel bequeathed her Oscar to Howard’s drama department, which had honored the pioneering actress with a luncheon after her win. (McDaniel had no academic affiliation with the school.) Howard archivists say there’s no official record that the university ever received the award, which was a plaque, not one of the iconic Oscar statuettes. (Supporting actor and actress winners didn’t get statuettes until 1943.) But former students vividly recall seeing it in the school’s finearts building, Childers Hall. Charles “Buddy” Butler, a theater major who graduated from Howard in 1968, says he saw the plaque displayed in a glass-enclosed case in the Childers greenroom. The university’s drama chairman at the time, Owen Dodson, “was so proud of having it at Howard,” says Butler, who now teaches theater at San Jose See MYSTERY, page 8

Hattie McDaniel

Bakewell Family to Buy ‘Watts Times’ Publishers of two of Los Angeles’ most historic black newspapers — Danny Bakewell Sr., publisher of the Los Angeles Sentinel, and Melanie Polk, publisher of the L.A. Watts Times — announced they are in the final stage of an exclusive negotiation for Bakewell Media to purchase the L.A. Watts Times. Bakewell, publisher and chairman of Bakewell Media, said, “I am proud and honored that Melanie chose me and my family to continue the great legacy of the Watts Times, its founders and her parents. We thank and applaud her for the great work she has done in making this newspaper one of black L.A.’s finest.” Polk said, “The L.A. Watts Times has been a part of my life since I was very young, and while it is bittersweet for me to move on, it has been my commitment to see

San Francisco prosecutor Kamala Harris and Holly J. Mitchell were big winners on the Democratic ticket in the June 8 primary election. Harris has just one more hurdle in her bid to become California’s first African American attorney general. She captured 33.1 percent of votes statewide and 29.9 percent of the Los Angeles County vote to outdistance former L.A. City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo for the Democratic nomination. She will face L.A. District Attorney Steve Cooley in November, who won the Republican nomination. Crystal Stairs CEO Holly J. Mitchell, hand picked by former California Assembly Speaker Karen Bass to replace her in the assembly for the 47th District Assembly seat, overcame competition from California Democratic Party secretary Reggie JonesSawyer to win the 47th District seat nomination. Mitchell, who

received nearly 44 percent of votes, will take on Republican winner Lady Cage Barille. In the state race for governor, Attorney General Jerry Brown easily won as the top Democrat with 84.1 percent of votes statewide, while former eBay CEO Meg Whitman won on the Republican side with roughly 64 percent of votes. L.A. City Councilwoman Janice Hahn lost her bid to become lieutenant governor to San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom. Despite winning 53 percent of the vote in L.A. County, Hahn could only manage 34.2 percent of the statewide vote. Newsom, who garnered 54.7 percent of votes, will face Republican Abel Maldonado, who captured 43.3 percent on the Republican side. In Congress, incumbent Laura Richardson handily defeated Peter Mathews, Lee Davis and Terrance Ponchak to capture the Democratic nod for the 37th congressional district. She received nearly 68 percent of votes.

that the L.A. Watts Times lives on. Long before Danny Bakewell purchased the Los Angeles Sentinel, he demonstrated his love and commitment for the black press.

“Having witnessed and benefited from his work on our behalf, I am confident he will carry the L.A. Watts Times to new heights for our community and advertisers alike.”

Bass to Contend for 33rd District Seat in November BY INDIA ALLEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Former Assembly Speaker Karen Bass enjoyed a sweeping victory June 8 in her primary run for the 33rd District House of Representatives seat. In an overwhelming sweep, Bass led the poles by more than 85 percent against opponents Felton Newell, Nick Juan Mostert and Morris F. Griffin, aka “Big Money Griff.” The district includes the neighborhoods of Baldwin Hills, Ladera Heights, Mid-Wilshire, View Park and Windsor Hills, and is largely Democratic. If Bass beats Republican opponent James L. Andion in November, See 33RD DISTRICT, page 9

Harris, Mitchell Capture Democratic Nods BY CHICO C. NORWOOD STAFF WRITER

Photo by BRITTANI TILFORD

THE LEGACY CONTINUES — Publishers celebrate historic change. Melanie Polk and Danny J. Bakewell Sr.

Residents in the city of Inglewood will have to wait until August before they will see a new mayor. First District Councilman Danny Tabor and former Police Chief James Butts were neck-andneck when the county clerk finished counting in the wee hours of June 9. Only 243 votes separated Tabor and Butts. Tabor had roughly 26.4 percent of votes, while Butts had about 23.7 percent. The two must battle it out in an August runoff. Running unopposed for Democratic nominations in the June 8 primary election were Maxine Waters (35th District-U.S. Congress); Jerome Horton (4th DistrictState Board of Equalization); Curren Price (26th District-California State Senate); Mike Davis (48th DistrictCalifornia Assembly); Steve Bradford (51st District-California Assembly); Isadore Hall (52nd District-California Assembly); and Warren Furutani (55th DistrictCalifornia Assembly). See VOTERS, page 2

Photo by INDIA ALLEN

BIG WINNER — Assembly Speaker Karen Bass (pictured with Diane Watson and supporters) celebrates winning much of the vote in the primary election June 8 for the 33rd District House of Representatives seat. She led the polls by more than 85 percent against her opponents.

NEWS IN BRIEF THE SOUTHLAND Jury Selected in Train Station Shooting Trial (AP) — The upcoming trial of a white ex-transit officer charged with killing an unarmed black man in Oakland has already sparked racial tensions in the city, one of the reasons the trial was moved to Los Angeles. On June 8, a jury of seven whites, four Hispanics, one East Indian — and no blacks — was selected to hear the case against former Bay Area Rapid Transit police officer Johannes Mehserle, according to KTVU-TV. Mehserle is accused of murdering Oscar Grant on New Year’s Day 2009 in a shooting that was captured on video by several bystanders. He has pleaded not guilty and his attorneys have said he mistakenly pulled his gun rather than a Taser in an attempt to subdue Grant. Prosecutors contend he intended to shoot Grant and he used his weapon because officers were losing control of the situation. The trial could be the most racially polarizing of its kind in California since four Los Angeles

police officers were acquitted of beating Rodney King in 1992.

Crime-Plagued Compton to Revive City Police Force (AP) — The city of Compton is taking a step toward reclaiming its ability to police itself. The City Council voted June 2 to re-establish a police department that shuttered a decade ago under a cloud of corruption and politics. Mayor Eric Perrodin, a former Compton police officer, cast the deciding vote in the 3-2 decision to end the city’s contractual relationship with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. The vote also authorizes the city manager to begin forming a new police department. Compton was once a notorious hub of gang activity. A high murder rate once propelled the city to No. 1 on a list of the nation’s 20 most dangerous cities. Since the sheriff’s department took over in 2000, the number of violent crimes, though still high, has dropped. The city recorded 55 homicides in 1999 and 37 last year. City officials said the process to form a new department would take about a year.

www.lawattstimes.com

See BRIEFS, page 4


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