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VOL. 48 NO. 9 50¢
THURSDAY, APRIL 4 - APRIL 10, 2019
A M E S S A GE F ROM OU R PU BL IS H E R
Photo Credit: Gregory F. Reed
Florida labor bill could aid victims of
domestic violence
By Perry Busby The state of Florida has a well-regarded reputation for being in the spotlight when it comes to national elections, and if it is up to Wayne Messam, the 2020 presidential election will not be any different. Taking the stage in front of a crowd of 300-plus boisterous supporters at Florida Memorial University’s Lou Rawls Center for the Performing Arts, the South Florida native and current mayor of Miramar officially
launched his campaign and became the latest candidate to enter the U.S. presidential race. He enters a crowded field of Democratic Party candidates—which now stands at fifteen—with more candidates, including former Vice-President Joe Biden, expecting to announce and other high-profile candidates like Georgia Democrat, Stacy Abrams, still mulling their decisions. Messam kicked off his (Cont’d on page 14)
MIAMI (AP) — Reflecting on her assault 12 years ago, 41-year-old Wanda Gomez said she did not know if she was going to make it out alive. She had been stabbed multiple times by an angry ex-boyfriend, she said. Her attacker, who was also a co-worker, had been kicked out of her home after he was accused of sexually assaulting Gomez’s school-age daughter. With her assailant at large, authorities advised Gomez, a mother of seven who made $13 an hour as a demolition worker, to leave her home and quit her job out of concerns for her safety. “You don’t have many choices,” said Gomez, who was placed in a shelter and later transitional housing roughly 30
miles (about 50 kilometers) away from her home in Miami due to her lack of financial resources. “It’s between your life or your job.” Gomez is one of the many women across the U.S. who are forced to quit jobs due to domestic violence. Survivors of domestic violence qualify for unemployment benefits in 41 states. But in Florida - which averages more than 117,000 reported cases of domestic violence per year - there is no such compensation. That could change soon under a bill being considered by the Florida Legislature that would provide a financial safety net to victims in need. (Cont’d on page 15)
Stop Invisible Lynchings in America Commentary by Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., President and CEO, National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) No form of lynching should be tolerated or permitted in America. A lynching is defined as putting a person or a group of people to death by hanging a person or group with or without legal due process. However, in the no so distant past, the hideous act of racially-motivated lynching African Americans was considered legal,
judicial and moral under state and federal laws. The Congress of the United States finally has a bill pending enactment that makes lynching a federal crime. We support this long overdue anti-lynching federal legislation. However, there are other forms of lynching that are still occurring across the nation, without due process of law and without a national public moral outcry. (Cont’d on page 14)
NNPA continues its series on Two Black Men Finally Released for False missing Black women and girls Murder Charges After 43 Years in Prison
Andreen Nicole McDonald/Courtesy Loop Jamaica (left) and Victoria S. Wright/NCMEC.
Like thousands of other Black By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA females who’ve gone missing, Newswire Correspondent there has been no national media Have you heard of Andreen coverage of her disappearance. Earlier this month, her Nicole McDonald of Texas? She’s young, just 29 years husband, Andre McDonald, was old, pretty, married to a military arrested in connection twith his wife’s disappearance. Andreeen is husband and missing. still missing but presumed dead. Police say that Andre McDonald (Cont’d on page 15)
The Westside Gazette Newspaper
J A C K S O N V I L L E , bed sleeping. Marshall bullet used on the crime FL — Two elderly Black identified them as the came only from one-gun, Marshall’s men, 76-year-old Clifford shooters although she disproving gave rather inconsistent claim that there were two Williams and his nephew shooters. 61-year-old Hubert testimonies. Marshall testified Moreover, Williams “Nathan” Myers, are Myers strongly finally free from prison there were two shooters and 43 years after they were each holding a gun denied the accusations, convicted of a murder inside at the foot of her saying they were at a birthday they never party down committed. the street from Williams the shooting and Myers, who at the time were then at the it happened. age of 33 and Other people 18 respectively, who were at were sentenced the party could to life in have confirmed prison for the they were at 1976 murder Hubert Myers and Clifford Williams the event, but of Jeanette However, there they were not called as Williams and the bed. attempted murder of were bullet holes in the witnesses. The two men’s lawyer her girlfriend, Nina window screen and the curtains, indicating the Marshall. Continue reading According to reports, shooter was from the online at: the two women were outside. Also, the ballistic shot while they were in tests determined the thewestsidegazette.com
@_WestsideGazett
TheWestside-
In order to appreciate the change, you got to be changed Has a nation switched gods, though they aren’t really gods at all? Yet my people have exchanged their glory for what has no value. Jeramiah 2:11 (CEB) By Bobby R. Henry, Sr. In trying to understand and appreciate what is being referred to as “Make America Great Again (MAGA)”, one would have to have lived, witnessed and been a part of what was great. ‘Great’ is the operative word. This new weird and wonderful expression of, “We had a Black President” has and will continue to create a change because it had never been before and there are those who are trying their best to erase all evidence of it ever being and don’t want it to be anymore. To change or to alter, modify; to vary or transform or to revolutionize; to adjust or to amend; it all involves going through something. This ultimately means something has to be put to death or brought to an end. Who will be willing to exterminate a part of them, that they have cultivated over the years, to endure the hardships just to get along? MAGA and what they have become, they have now settled into this transformation for what (Cont’d on page 16)
Thursday April 4th
Mostly Cloudy
Sunrise: 7:08am
79° 73°
Sunset: 7:39pm
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WESTSIDE GAZETTE IS A MEMBER: National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) Southeastern African-American Publishers Association (SAAPA)