#Detroit Summer Youth Employment

[xtruss]

'We Are In The Worst Crisis We Have Known Since The Civil War'

When the city of Detroit went up in flames in 1967, it was the most deadly civil uprising of the century

— May 15, 2024 | Kirstin Butler | American Experience

Troops on Detroit’s Linwood Avenue in 1967. © Tony Spina/Detroit Free Press via ZUMA Press.

The frame brims with human emotion: fear, dismay, resignation. Defiance. A Black man stares down three white armed National guards, his arms crossed and hip cocked. Smoke clouds the sky above them. This particular street scene in July 1967 was captured in Detroit, but it might have been taken in so many of the 150 cities where racial strife consumed the country that same year. Urban uprisings across the United States resulted in scores of deaths and millions of dollars of damage; entire city blocks were reduced to rubble. “The simple fact is this: We are in the worst crisis we have known since the Civil War,” said a television journalist in September of that year.

The roots of Detroit’s discontent went back decades. Blacks came to the city en masse during the Great Migration, growing from a population of around 5,000 in 1910 to 480,000 in 1960. That nearly 100-fold increase, however, wasn’t accompanied by expanding opportunity. Restrictive redlining practices consigned them to only a few neighborhoods, meaning a third of the city’s population lived in overcrowded, substandard housing. Black Detroiters also had fewer economic opportunities. They struggled to get work that paid as well as their white counterparts, and as the city began to lose jobs with the collapse of the automotive industry, Blacks were often the first fired. And the community’s relationship with the Detroit police had long been fraught, with Black residents on the brunt end of disproportionately harsh treatment.

In these conditions—de facto segregated housing, schooling, employment, and a history of police brutality—Detroit resembled other inner cities that had already erupted in protest in the years leading up to 1967. In 1964, the Harlem and Bedford Stuyvesant sections of New York broke out in violence after a white police officer shot and killed a Black 15-year-old. The next year, 1965, civil unrest consumed the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles for nearly a week after a run-in between residents and police; 1966, more uprisings in Chicago and Cleveland followed the same pattern. And before Detroit combusted in mid-summer 1967, already 33 cities were in turmoil, with Newark, New Jersey suffering worst so far. In that city, white police officers beat a Black cab driver in full view of a public housing project. Twenty-six people died in the six days of public uproar and official crackdown that followed.

All of these urban rebellions made one thing clear: racism wasn’t just a southern problem. “We think of the civil rights movement and Jim Crow, the heart of it being in the South,” notes UC Berkeley professor john a. powell [sic]. “But you had cities all across the country up in flames. And those reactions to the continued oppression of blacks, it was never just spontaneous. It was always responding to some state-formed oppression.”

“Those Reactions To The Continued Oppression of Blacks, It Was Never Just Spontaneous. It Was Always Responding To Some State-Formed Oppression." — John A. Powell

These currents were all swirling in Detroit. In June, a Black Vietnam veteran had been killed by a gang of white youths after he took his pregnant wife to a public park bordering a white neighborhood. Then, in the early hours of July 23rd, the police broke up a party taking place at an illegal social club in a predominantly Black neighborhood on the city’s west side; the building doubled as headquarters for the United Community and Civic League, a local activist group. The club’s patrons had gathered to celebrate the return of two veterans from Vietnam, but instead found themselves being shoved roughly into paddy wagons. As the arrests continued, a large crowd gathered, protesting the officers’ treatment of the arrestees; someone eventually threw a brick at a police cruiser. Others joined in with bottles and sticks. Someone smashed the window of a nearby store, and looting began. Fires spread. By the next day, flames had devastated entire blocks.

Law enforcement responded harshly. “You cannot fight violent criminals with non-violent methods,” said a spokesperson for the Detroit Police Officers Association. “We had a war and I think you have to attack a war with warlike weapons and under warlike conditions.” Michigan governor George Romney called in the National Guard. Its young, untrained guardsmen, however, fomented more chaos. Five days later, 43 people had died, with hundreds more injured—at the time the most deadly civil uprising of the century.

Even as Detroit still burned, Johnson announced the formation of a presidential commission to study the chaos engulfing the country. He posed three questions to its 11 members: ‘What happened? Why did it happen? What can be done to prevent it from happening again?’ Led by Gov. Otto Kerner Jr. of Illinois, the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders—known colloquially as the Kerner or Riot Commission—conducted an on-the-ground assessment in 23 cities where disturbances had taken place, including Detroit. It interviewed 1,200 witnesses and officials, including residents, mayors, police chiefs and Black Power representatives.

The commission was a nearly all-male, all-white panel, and yet when it issued its final analysis, it offered a sweeping statement about the origins of the tinder stoking each urban conflagration. “Segregation and poverty have created in the racial ghetto a destructive environment totally unknown to most white Americans,” read the report’s introduction. “What white Americans have never fully understood—but what the Negro can never forget—is that white society is deeply implicated in the ghetto. White institutions created it, white institutions maintain it, and white society condones it.”

Ultimately, however, few of its recommendations for addressing these structural forces were implemented. “The Kerner Commission comes down and concedes that the country is broken,” professor powell told American Experience, “and that we should make rapid and radical change.” Yet, as is often the case with presidential commissions, political exigencies—in this case, the ire of white voters who ultimately elected law-and-order candidate Richard Nixon to the presidency—consigned its findings to history, rather than to the future.

“We’ve had many lost opportunities,” powell observes, while still noting the report’s ongoing relevance. “Kerner Commission—at best—is an opportunity postponed. I think if we do move forward, we will have to come back to that commission.”

[detroitphoenixcenter]

Detroit Phoenix Center’s Blair Memorial Scholarship helps college students continue higher education.

A recent study by the Wisconsin Hope Lab showed that more than a third of college students in the United States lack enough to eat and keep stable housing. The study of 43,000 students at 31 community colleges and 35 four-year universities in 20 states and Washington, D.C. found that 36% of college students are food insecure, and 36% are in precarious housing situations.

In the 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 application cycles, over 41,000 youth applied for homelessness consideration to FAFSA. This is up sharply from 36,500 youth in the 2017-2018 and other application cycles over the years. These numbers only represent the youth that FAFSA has determined. Undetermined numbers for youth applying for homelessness consideration are over a staggering 31,000.

There were only 11 states in the US where the number of youth applying for homelessness consideration with FAFSA surpassed 1,000 and Michigan is one of them. Deep state cuts in funding for higher education over the last decade have contributed to rapid, significant tuition increases and pushed more of the costs of college to students, making it harder for them to enroll and graduate. These cuts also have worsened racial and class inequality, since rising tuition can deter low-income students and students of color from college.

The ever-growing need for financial assistance for college students led to the creation of the Blair Memorial Scholarship, a yearly scholarship awarded to two students who are service recipients who demonstrate academic fortitude and desire to pursue higher education 

The scholarship is named after Blair M. Smith, the late brother of Detroit Phoenix Center Founder & CEO, Courtney Smith. Blair was a compassionate, free spirited young man who loved learning.  He served as the founding president of our Youth Development Leadership Council; providing youth focused and centered insight on the development of our Asset Based Resource Center.  He transitioned in 2017 leaving behind a powerful legacy and a charge to us all to dispel myths around mental challenges and remove barriers to success.

One of those youth is Armani Arnold, a junior at Michigan State University. A scholarship counselor recommended Detroit Phoenix Center to her when she couldn’t afford to enroll in classes one semester due to financial struggles. The Blair Memorial Scholarship allowed her to re-enroll the next semester and continue her classes since. 

Armani is a criminal justice major and this summer she is interning with the Washtenaw County Public Defender’s Office where she is shadowing for an attorney for the Juvenile Defense Office. Looking forward, she wants to go to law school to become a defense attorney, and further down the line hopes to run for office and become a judge.

Detroit Phoenix Center didn’t just help Armani by providing a financial scholarship, she said, “DPC helped me with my class schedule, my employment, sent me care packages of school supplies, food and other necessities, and they call and talk to me regularly to check on me and are active in my life.”

Beyond her educational experience with DPC, Armani is an active member of the Youth Action Board and is a part of the Life Skills Program, a 12-week learning initiative geared toward youth ages 17-24 who are experiencing housing instability or have recently found stable housing.

Youth enrolled in this program are partnered with a mentor for one-on-one support as well as participate in group support activities. Through this program Armani is learning about renter's rights, financial literacy, and more, and will receive a $1000 stipend when she completes the program to put toward technology she needs and education.

Armani says she does have plans to give back to DPC and the Detroit community saying, “I want to create an organization for Detroit youth who are interested in law. Growing up, I didn’t have my parents around. My mother died when I was young and my father has been incarcerated since I was 11 years old, so I want to help youth who are affected by hardships like mine and provide them with scholarships and assistance to get their education like I have been able to because of Detroit Phoenix Center.” 

One thing that Armani wanted to say to youth who are struggling right now is, “Don’t let your setbacks hold you back, let it push you ten steps forward.” 

She says that Detroit Phoenix Center has been there for her in ways that she wasn’t able to find before and said, “It feels like a weight off of my shoulders to know that I have a support system now.” 

A final thought from our conversation with Armani was a shout-out to her college, Michigan State University, “Go Green!”, she said.

If you or someone you know would like to apply for the Blair Memorial Scholarship, you can do so by selecting the link below.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdlXH6PvSdTDtXxEaZrjghIyz1-bUMm_0vgqojuRBUSUPJX3Q/viewform?vc=0&c=0&w=1&flr=0

[junker-town]

A comprehensive timeline of the Larry Nassar case

Key dates show former USA Gymnastics and Michigan State trainer’s lengthy campaign of sexual abuse, resulting in trial and MSU’s $500M settlement to survivors

For decades, Larry Nassar was entrusted with the care of young athletes, notably as a trainer with USA Gymnastics (USAG) and Michigan State University (MSU). In 2019 a list of women have came forward with graphic accounts alleging he violated that trust by sexually abusing them under the guise of medical treatment. Nassar, who attended the Summer Olympics with USA Gymnastics from 1996 through 2008, was found guilty of possession of child pornography and criminal sexual assault, with a civil suit still pending. In its wake, Michigan State agreed to pay $500 million to survivors of Nassar’s abuse.

The facade of decency surrounding Nassar, one maintained in part by institutions like USAG and MSU, which missed or outright disregarded multiple opportunities to investigate claims of misconduct, began to fall apart in late 2016 when the Indianapolis Star published a piece on USAG’s mishandling of allegations of sexual abuse by coaches.

In the months that followed, more than 140 women, including prominent Olympic medal-winning gymnasts such as Aly Raisman, McKayla Maroney and Simone Biles, would share harrowing accounts describing abuse, or file lawsuits against Nassar and the institutions that they say enabled him for so many years.

Below is a timeline of key dates from Nassar’s career with USAG and MSU, the allegations against him, the accounts of alleged abuse shared by prominent athletes, and the ongoing court cases. We’ve used the real names of victims who have identified themselves.

This timeline will be updated with new developments and as more information becomes available.

1986

Larry Nassar joins the medical staff of USA Gymnastics as an athletic trainer.

1988

Nassar begins working as a volunteer trainer with youth gymnastics coach John Geddert in Michigan.

1992

While still a medical student at Michigan State, Nassar assaults a 12-year-old girl under the guise of medical research, according to a lawsuit joined by the woman in 2017. The alleged assaults took place at a gymnastics facility near Lansing as well as Nassar’s apartment.

1993

Nassar receives osteopathic medical degree from Michigan State University.

1994

As part of a 2016 lawsuit, Olympic medalist Jamie Dantzscher says that she was abused by Nassar beginning when she was 12 years old after she was sent for treatment for lower back pain. Dantzscher says that the abuse occurred over a six-year period.

1996

Nassar is named national medical coordinator for USA Gymnastics ahead of the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. In the same year, youth gymnastics coaches John and Kathryn Geddert open Twistars USA Gymnastics Club. John Geddert and Twistars will later be named in a civil lawsuit for allegedly failing to protect children who trained at the gym.

IOP/AFP/Getty Images

1997

Nassar is named gymnastics team physician and assistant professor at Michigan State University.

A parent complains to Geddert about Nassar’s medical treatments, according to a lawsuit filed in 2017. The lawsuit states that Geddert failed to investigate the allegations and continued to recommend Nassar as a doctor to athletes.

Larissa Boyce, a 16-year-old high school student in Williamston, Mich., sees Nassar for treatment after injuring her back at an MSU youth gymnastics program. According to her account shared with the Detroit News in January 2018, she was abused by Nassar during treatment. She recalls telling a coach, who then instructed her to tell Michigan State gymnastics coach Kathie Klages.

“She just couldn’t believe that was happening,” said Boyce, now 37. “She said I must be misunderstanding what was going on.”

1998

Nassar abuses Kyle Stephens, the 6-year-old daughter of a friend, according to court documents. In a 2018 Victim Impact Statement, Stephens details abuse that went on for years and says that Nassar convinced her parents to disregard her earlier accounts.

1999

A Michigan State cross country athlete tells athletic program staff she was sexually assaulted by Nassar while receiving treatment for an injured hamstring, according to her lawsuit filed in 2017. According to the athlete, her concerns were dismissed by a coach who said Nassar was “an Olympic doctor” and “knew what he was doing.”

2000

Michigan State softball player Tiffany Thomas Lopez tells three university athletic trainers and one staff member that Nassar was sexually inappropriate during medical treatments, according to her statements to MLive. According to her 2016 lawsuit, Lopez says she was told that “she was fortunate to receive the best medical care possible from a world-renowned doctor.”

USA Gymnastics member Rachael Denhollander alleges being sexually assaulted by Nassar while receiving treatment for lower back pain. She was 15 years old at the time.

Nassar attends the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney as the U.S. women’s artistic gymnastics team physician.

2004

Nassar solicited and received child pornography, according to an unsealed 2016 federal indictment.

A 17-year-old visits Nassar for treatment for scoliosis. After Nassar abuses the young woman during the visit, she and her mother report the incident to the Meridian Township Police Department. Nassar defends his actions to police as valid medical treatment, using a PowerPoint presentation as supporting evidence. No charges are made. A redacted police report related to the incident was released on Jan. 30, 2017.

2008

Nassar attends the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, once again as the U.S. women’s artistic gymnastics team physician.

2014

Michigan State graduate Amanda Thomashow reports to Dr. Jeff Kovan of the MSU Sports Medicine Clinic that she was sexually assaulted by Nassar during a medical examination to treat a hip injury she sustained in high school. University president Lou Anna K. Simon is made aware of a Title IX complaint, and that a police report had been filed against an unnamed physician.

Nassar continues to treat patients for 16 months during the MSU Police Department investigation. The university investigation did not pass any information to prosecutors until July 2015. In December 2015, a prosecutor tells police that Nassar would not be charged.

Aug. 4, 2016

The Indianapolis Star publishes an ongoing investigation into sexual abuse inside USA Gymnastics, which is the first time the story is learned about by the wider public.

Aug. 5, 2016

The United States Senate writes a letter to USAG president and CEO Steve Penny expressing its concern over the Indianapolis Star report and urging USAG to take immediate steps to report the complaints received and install future safeguards.

“The report details failures by USA Gymnastics to alert authorities of sex abuse allegations against several coaches, despite being notified of serious allegations on numerous occasions. Some allegations were allowed to linger for years before any action was taken, leaving young victims in the supervision of sexual predators.”

Aug. 29, 2016

Denhollander files police complaint against Nassar with Michigan State University police. She alleges that she was sexually assaulted by Nassar in 2000 when she was 15 years old.

Aug. 30, 2016

Nassar is reassigned from all clinical duties at Michigan State University.

Sept. 8, 2016

The first-known accuser files a civil suit against Nassar, alleging abuse from 1994-2000.

Sept. 12, 2016

Denhollander and an unnamed Olympic medal-winning gymnast speak with the Indianapolis Star to tell their stories and allegations of abuse by Nassar while competing.

In response to the Indy Star story, USAG issues a statement indicating that Nassar was “relieved of his duties” in 2015:

Immediately after learning of athlete concerns about Dr. Nassar in the summer of 2015, Steve Penny, president and CEO of USA Gymnastics, notified law enforcement. We also relieved Dr. Nassar of his duties, and he ceased to be affiliated with USA Gymnastics. USA Gymnastics has cooperated fully with the law enforcement agency since we first notified them of the matter, including – at their request – refraining from making further statements or taking any other action that might interfere with the agency’s investigation. We are grateful to the athletes for coming forward to share their concerns when they did.

Shortly after the USAG statement, Nassar’s lawyer issued a response to the Indy Star indicating that his client was never “relieved of his duties,” but that he retired.

Sept. 20, 2016

Michigan State fires Nassar. In a statement to the Lansing State Journal the school says:

“Over the past week, the university received additional information that raised serious concerns about Nassar’s compliance with certain employment requirements.”

Nov. 22, 2016

Nassar is charged with three counts of first degree criminal sexual abuse. Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette reveals during a press conference that roughly 50 complaints have been received during his office’s investigation into Nassar.

“This is just the tip of the iceberg,” Schuette said, via the Lansing State Journal.

Dec. 16, 2016

In a separate case, Nassar is indicted on federal child pornography charges.

Jan. 10, 2017

Eighteen women file a lawsuit in federal court against Nassar, Michigan State, USA Gymnastics, and Twistars Gymnastics Club. The suit includes sexual assault allegations against Nassar ranging from 1996 through 2016, and it claims that more women were exposed to his predation due to the inaction of the institutions named during those years.

Jan. 24, 2017

The state of Michigan suspends Nassar’s medical license.

Feb. 3, 2017

In a “Letter to the Spartan Community,” Michigan State University President Lou Anna K. Simon outlines the school’s version of events, saying, “MSU has taken a proactive approach to responding to this situation.”

Feb. 13, 2017

Michigan State gymnastics coach Kathie Klages is suspended after court records show two women say she discouraged them from filing sexual assault complaints against Nassar in the late 1990s. Klages retires from Michigan State the following day.

Feb. 22, 2017

Nassar faces an additional 22 charges of sexual assault. The first-degree criminal sexual conduct charges relate to Nassar’s work at Michigan State University’s Sports Medicine clinic and Twistars Gymnastics Club. The total number of complaints is now more than 80.

“This guy is a monster,” says Michigan AG Bill Schuette during a press conference, via the Lansing State Journal.

April 13, 2017

Simon updates Michigan State’s board of trustees on the investigation, saying:

“I have been told it is virtually impossible to stop a determined sexual predator and pedophile, that they will go to incomprehensible lengths to keep what they do in the shadows. That may be true, but we at MSU must do all we can not only to ensure the safety of our patients but to protect youth who come to our campus in all capacities. As part of a broader programmatic effort that began in 2013, we recently held a workshop for all MSU youth program directors that focused on promoting the safety of minors at MSU, and we will roll out an enhanced youth protection policy and additional education within the next 30 days.”

June 30, 2017

Twenty-three more women and girls join a federal lawsuit against Nassar. There are now over 100 complaints against him.

July 11, 2017

Nassar pleads guilty to child pornography charges in a Michigan federal court.

Oct. 18, 2017

2012 Olympic medalist McKayla Maroney alleges she was abused by Nassar and explains what happened as part of a #MeToo post on Twitter.

Fall, 2017

Michigan State University asks federal officials to stop monitoring the school, saying they acted in “good faith” and went “above and beyond” in meeting standards set by federal officials.

Nov. 10, 2017

2012 and 2016 Olympic gold medalist Aly Raisman alleges she was abused by Nassar as well.

Three-time Olympic gold medalist, Aly Raisman, tells @DrLaPook she was sexually abused by a U.S. national team doctor. #60Minutes, Sunday. https://t.co/UEWiWTPIwZ pic.twitter.com/ADRUMNYDJT

— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) November 10, 2017

Nov. 20, 2017

Nassar pleads guilty to seven counts of first-degree criminal sexual misconduct in Ingham County Circuit Court as part of a plea agreement.

Nov. 21, 2017

2012 and 2016 Olympic gold medalist Gabby Douglas alleges she too was abused by Nassar.

please hear my heart

A post shared by Gabby Douglas (@gabbycvdouglas) on Nov 21, 2017 at 12:16pm PST

Nov. 29, 2017

Nassar pleads guilty to three counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct in Eaton County Circuit Court as part of plea agreement.

Dec. 7, 2017

Nassar is sentenced to 60 years in prison on federal child pornography charges.

Dec. 20, 2017

A lawsuit filed on McKayla Maroney’s behalf says that USA Gymnastics paid her to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) in late 2016 so she wouldn’t talk about abuse by Nassar. “They were willing to engage in a systematic cover-up of the entire matter,” Maroney’s attorney, John Manly, told ESPN.

Jan. 10, 2018

Raisman says USAG is “100 percent responsible” for the abuse by Nassar.

Jan. 15, 2018

2016 Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles alleges she is also a survivor of Nassar’s abuse.

Jan. 16-24, 2018

156 women read Victim Impact Statements during a eight-day sentencing hearing for Nassar in Ingham County Circuit Court in Michigan. Kyle Stephens opened the testimony with a powerful account of abuse by Nassar beginning in 1998 when she was 6 years old:

“You used my body for six years, for your own sexual gratification. That is unforgivable. I’ve been coming for you for a long time. I told counselors your name in the hopes they would report you. I have reported you to child protective services twice. I gave a testament to get your medical license revoked. You were first arrested on my charges, and now, as the only non-medical victim to come forward, I testify to let the world know that you are a repulsive liar. And that those “treatments” were pathetically veiled sexual abuse. Perhaps you have figured it out by now, but little girls don’t stay little forever. They grow into strong women that return to destroy your world.”

Jan. 19, 2018

Michigan State’s Board of Trustees sends a letter to AG Bill Schuette requesting an investigation of the university’s handling of the allegations against Nassar.

“After watching many of these heartbreaking statements and reading accounts about them, we have concluded that only a review by your office can resolve the questions in a way that the victims, their families, and the public will deem satisfactory and that will help all those affected by Nassar’s horrible crimes to heal.”

Amid calls for the resignation of MSU president Lou Anna K. Simon, the university’s Board of Trustees chairman Brian Breslin issues a statement of support for the embattled administrator:

“Through this terrible situation, the university has been perceived as tone deaf, unresponsive and insensitive to the victims. We understand the public’s faith has been shaken. The Board has listened and heard the victims. Today, the Board acted and has asked the Attorney General’s Office to review the facts in this matter, and as information is presented, the Board will act. This can never happen again. As part of the Board’s oversight authority, we will retain independent external assistance to support our responsibilities to the university community and the public at large. We continue to believe President Simon is the right leader for the university and she has our support.”

Jan. 22, 2018

USA Gymnastics announces that its board of directors executive leadership -- Chairman Paul Parilla, Vice Chairman Jay Binder & Treasurer Bitsy Kelley -- all tendered their resignation, effective Jan. 21, 2018. In a statement, USAG president and CEO Kerry Perry said the following:

“USA Gymnastics thanks Paul Parilla, Jay Binder and Bitsy Kelley for their many years of service to this organization. We support their decisions to resign at this time. We believe this step will allow us to more effectively move forward in implementing change within our organization.

As the board identifies its next chair and fills the vacant board positions, we remain focused on working every day to ensure that our culture, policies and actions reflect our commitment to those we serve.”

A 15-year-old survivor of Nassar testifies in court that she was assaulted by him one week before he was fired by MSU. There are report the MSU Sports Clinic is still attempting to bill the girl’s family for the appointment. The university later says it will not bill patients of Nassar.

USA Gymnastics suspends former U.S. women’s gymnastics national team coach John Geddert on Monday, according to the Lansing State Journal and ESPN. Geddert operated two gyms that worked with trainer Larry Nassar, who has been accused of sexual assaulting more than 150 women over decades associated with USAG and Michigan State University.

USA Gymnastics said in a statement obtained by ESPN:

”John Geddert has been suspended under the interim measures provisions of Section 10.5 of USA Gymnastics’ Bylaws. USA Gymnastics is unable to comment further as this is a pending matter.”

The bylaw under which Geddert is being suspended gives USAG the right to suspend members to “ensure the safety and well-being of the gymnastics community or where an allegation is sufficiently serious that an Adverse Party’s continued participation could be detrimental to the sport or its reputation.”

Jan. 24, 2018

Judge Rosemarie Aquilina sentences Larry Nassar to 40-to-175 years in prison on seven counts of criminal sexual assault. During sentencing Judge Aquilina states that her sentence will begin after Nassar completed his 60-year federal sentence for child pornography, saying:

“I find that you don’t get it. That you are a danger. You remain a danger. I am a judge who believes in life and rehabilitation, when rehabilitation is possible. I have many defendants come back and show me the great things they’ve done in their lives after probation, after parole. I don’t find that’s possible with you.”

The U.S. Olympic Committee publishes an open letter to its athletes outlining four next steps — including a turnover of leadership in USA Gymnastics — to be taken in the aftermath of the Nassar case.

We Must Change the Culture of the Sport

We Must Change the Governance Structure of the NGB

We Must Know Who Knew What and When

We Must Support Safe Sport Victims and Survivors

Read the full USOC letter HERE.

MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon resigns from her position hours after the Nassar sentencing hearing is completed. The resignation comes amid growing calls for her to step down.

As tragedies are politicized, blame is inevitable. As president, it is only natural that I am the focus of this anger. I understand, and that is why I have limited my personal statements. Throughout my career, I have worked very hard to put Team MSU first. Throughout my career, I have consistently and persistently spoken and worked on behalf of Team MSU. I have tried to make it not about me. I urge those who have supported my work to understand that I cannot make it about me now. Therefore, I am tendering my resignation as president according to the terms of my employment agreement.

Read her full resignation letter HERE.

Jan. 25, 2018

U.S. Olympic Committee CEO Scot Blackmun writes a letter to USAG indicating that it will be decertified as the sport’s national governing body if it fails to meet six conditions by specified dates. Prominent among the conditions is the resignation by the USAG board of directors by Jan. 31.

“We do not base these requirements on any knowledge that any individual USAG staff or board members had a role in fostering or obscuring Nassar’s actions,” Blackmun write. “Our position comes from a clear sense that USAG culture needs fundamental rebuilding.”

Read the full USOC letter HERE.

In a statement posted to its website along with a copy of the USOC letter, USAG indicates that it “completely embraces the requirements.”

Jan. 26, 2018

Michigan State Athletic Director Mark Hollis announces his retirement. He had been MSU’s AD since January 2008. In a statement, he expresses his willingness to cooperate with ongoing investigations.

“Our campus, and beyond, has been attacked by evil, an individual who broke trust and so much more. As a campus community, we must do everything we can to ensure this never happens again; to make sure any sexual assault never occurs. But to do so, we must listen and learn lessons. Only then can we truly begin the process of healing. I have tried to do this since first learning about the abuse in September 2016.”

Read the complete statement HERE.

Jan. 31, 2018

A sentencing hearing for Nassar begins in Eaton County Circuit Court in Michigan, where he pleaded guilty to three counts of criminal sexual conduct in November. At least 65 women are expected to testify in court or submit statements, according to The Detroit News.

USA Gymnastics announces the resignations of all members of its Board of Directors. The official statement comes on the deadline previously set by the United States Olympic Committee to avoid decertification as the sports national governing body.

We are in the process of moving forward with forming an interim Board of Directors during the month of February, in accordance with the USOC’s requirements. USA Gymnastics will provide information about this process within the next few days.

USA Gymnastics embraces not only the changes necessary as called for by the USOC and the Deborah Daniels report, but we also will hold the organization to the highest standards of care and safety in further developing a culture of empowerment for our athletes and members.

Read the complete statement HERE.

Michigan State University’s Board of Trustees unanimously votes to appoint former Michigan Governor John Engler as interim president of the university. Engler, an MSU graduate, will assume his duties Feb. 5.

“As the father of three daughters who just completed their undergraduate degrees, I put myself in the place of every parent who has sent their loved one to this great institution,” Engler said in a statement releaed by MSU. “I understand the concern and uncertainty as well as the frustration and anger. To those parents, be assured that I will move forward as if my own daughters were on this campus and will treat every student as I would my own daughters.”

Read MSU’s complete announcement HERE.

Feb. 5, 2018

Judge Janice Cunningham sentences Larry Nassar to 40 to 125 years in prison on three charges of criminal sexual misconduct in Eaton County Court. The Eaton County case involves sexual assaults at Twistars Gymnastics Club.

Feb. 28, 2018

Scott Blackmun announces his resignation as CEO of the U.S. Olympic Committee. The 60-year-old, who did not attend the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea with Team USA, cited health problems as the reason for his departure. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in January.

The USOC announces new reforms and initiatives in response to abuses of Larry Nassar, including providing funding and resources for support and counseling for gymnasts impacted.

Read complete USOC announcement HERE.

Mar. 27, 2018

William Strampel, Nassar’s former boss and former dean of the College of Osteopathic Medicine at Michigan State is arrested for felony misconduct in office and fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct, along with two counts of willful neglect of duty. Court affidavits outline how he groped and harrassed students, possessed pornography containing images of students and reported details to Nassar during the school’s Title IX investigation into him in 2014.

Apr. 13, 2018

A Nassar survivor spoke at a Michigan State University board meeting and outlined how interim president, former governor John Engler, attempted to coerce her to take a settlement and drop he civil case against the school. In addition, the survivor alleges that Engler lied to her about Rachel Denhollander accepting a buyout.

Gasps and outrage in the board room today when a Nassar survivor describes in great detail how she says MSU Interim President John Engler attempted to coerce her into settling her case against the university. @FOX2News Listen: pic.twitter.com/GiAbpR1S8f

— Kellie Rowe (@kellierowe) April 13, 2018

May 1, 2018

Former USA Gymnastics coaches Bela and Martha Karolyi file a lawsuit against USA Gymnastics asking over $1 million in damages for failing to honor a lease agreement, and for not living up to a promise that USA Gymnastics would “wrap their arms” around the Karolyis to prevent fallout from the Larry Nassar trial.

May 16, 2018

Michigan State agrees to a $500M settlement with survivors who filed a class action lawsuit against the university for failing to protect them from Larry Nassar.

June 29, 2018

Former USA Gymnastics director of sports medicine services Debbie Van Horn was indicted along with Nassar in Texas for what Walker County assistant attorney Stephanie Stroud called, “a total failure by USAG to protect the athletes that were part of their program and to take appropriate action once they were made aware of Dr. Nassar’s actions.”

No charges were brought for any other USAG officials, and no evidence of criminal wrongdoing was found against former team directors Bela and Martha Karolyi. “It’s good that they’re holding more people accountable but they’re not holding accountable the people who are really responsible for what Larry did to us and that’s the Karolyis,” said former USA gymnast Jeanette Antolin, one of Nassar’s victims.

August 23, 2018

Former Michigan State University gymnastics coach Kathy Clages is charged with two counts of lying to police after an ongoing investigation uncovered that Clages was aware of abuse by Nassar, but told police she had no knowledge of being told by survivors.

October 18, 2018

Former President and CEO of USA Gymnastics Steve Penny is arrested in Tennessee following an indictment for tampering with evidence. Prosecutors claim that Penny ordered the removal of key documents from Karolyi Ranch, a training facility in Texas, after he learned that Nassar was being investigated for sexual abuse.

November 20, 2018

Former Michigan State University President Lou Anna Simon is charged with lying to state police during a probe into Larry Nassar. Simon was asked in May is she was aware Nassar was being investigated in 2016, to which charges claim she responded saying she knew a sports physician was being investigated — but not who. New documents purport to show that Simon was aware is was Nassar who was under investigation.

December 5, 2018

USA Gymnastics files for bankruptcy in the wake of USOC deciding to vote for decertifying the group, as well as outstanding civil lawsuits that have yet to be resolves. A lawyer representing 180 survivors issued a statement saying:

“The leadership of USA Gymnastics has proven itself to be both morally and financially bankrupt,” Manly added. “They have inflicted and continue to inflict unimaginable pain on survivors and their families.”

December 21, 2018

A Michigan attorney general’s report reveals Michigan State staffers may have been aware of complaints about Nassar, but failed to report concerns to administrative staff or USA Gymnastics.

BREAKING: new Michigan AG report on MSU investigation reveals many more MSU staff, athletic trainers, and doctors were told of concerns surrounding Nassar, failed to report

— Kate Wells (@KateLouiseWells) December 21, 2018

January 16, 2019

The Michigan State University Board of Trustees announces it will hold a debate into the future of interim president John Engler after Engler is quoted by the Detroit Free Press insinuating that some of Nassar’s victims are “enjoying” the “spotlight” caused by their abuse.

July 31, 2019

A report indicates that former MSU president Lou Anna Simon will still be paid her $2.45 million retirement package, which includes having her university presidential portait painted. The school reserves the right not to display the portrait, should Simon be convicted of lying to investigators.

February 25, 2021

John Geddert face a vast array of charges stemming from his involvement in the numerous crimes over the years. He was charged with 20 counts of human trafficking and forced labor, one count of first-degree sexual assault, one count of second-degree sexual assault, racketeering, and lying to police. Geddert died of suicide on Thursday, with his death being investigated. The court and lawyers did not believe he was a threat at the time.

[ppdoddy]

Michael Moore

AN OPEN LETTER TO JOE BIDEN Dear President-Elect Biden:

First of all, congratulations! YOU did it. WE did it! You stopped the madness. A grateful nation - and myself - are in a state of joy, hope and relief. Thank you for that! We are all eager to join with you to repair the damage done to our country — and to eliminate that about our society and our politics which gave us Donald Trump in the first place.

Mr. President-Elect, I first met you at the Democratic National Convention in Boston in 2004. It was clear to me from our talk that day that you were not the politician I remembered from the 1990s. On that day in Boston, we were by then over a year into the Iraq War, a war you voted for. My “Fahrenheit 9/11“ had just come out and you wanted to let me know that you were aware of the folly you had been sucked into. It seemed to me that you were doing a lot of soul searching and you wanted to hear my thoughts. To be honest, I was distracted by how perfect your teeth were, and I wondered, could you really be from the working class? By the end of our talk I was convinced there was something that was quite real and very good about you, though perhaps somewhat buried inside. Would it ever come out so the public could see it? As I reflect today on it - and you - I am sincerely hoping that you will indeed govern as a president who’s from the working class. You - one of us - in the White House. That’s how it should feel. Your actions, if bold, and brave, will make that true.

You are also our second Catholic president. I believe you are a person of faith. You and I were taught the same lessons in Catholic school: to love our neighbor, even our enemy; to create a world where everyone regardless of status or station has a seat at the table, and everyone gets a slice of the pie; a world where “the rich man will have a harder time getting into heaven than a camel will have getting through the eye of the needle.” We were taught that we will be judged by how we treat the least amongst us. Do I have that right? Are these not the moral, foundational principles of the coming Biden presidency?

I was so moved by your victory speech Saturday night when you told the immigrants and the children of immigrants that the Dreamers no longer had to live in fear. That Muslims were once again welcomed into our country. That the world could breathe a sigh of relief because we were going to let the planet Earth itself breathe and have some relief. And you told the teachers of America that starting January 20th, “one of your own will be living in the White House.” That just felt instantly good.

So if I may, I’d like to suggest a few things that might make your presidency one of the best this country has ever had. You and I may have our political differences (you like Amtrak trains, I’d like to ride a bullet train from New York to LA in 10 hours!😎), but I know that you and I - and tens of millions of others - all want and believe in the same basic things: • Health Care is a human right and every American must be covered; • Everyone must be paid a living wage and all of us must work to eliminate poverty and rebuild our broken middle class; • The massive and growing gulf between the ultra rich and everyone else must be narrowed — and the wealthy must go back to paying the taxes they should pay; • Women must be paid the same as men, and no man or government has the right to tell them what they can do or not do with their bodies.

So here’s my two cents:

1. You are right to make containing Covid-19 Job #1. Had Trump won, I’m guessing up to a million people in the next year or so would have died from him ignoring this virus. Yesterday you named your Covid task force of doctors and scientists and you are putting them to work. We don’t have a second to lose. Thank you for this.

2. As soon as you can, please provide much more unemployment relief for the jobless, stimulus checks for all, help for small businesses, and the creation of jobs we desperately need.

3. Millions have lost their health insurance because our system ties one’s health coverage to their employer. What happens when the employer, like now, is suddenly gone, or the boss wakes up one morning and decides these employees’ health benefits are too costly and must be cut? BOOM! Millions of families suddenly have no health insurance. This is nuts.

You MUST create a health system like every other industrial democracy — one backed by the government, not by the whims of the boss where you work or the pandemic that has shut him or her down. This is just plain common sense.

4. I see various people trying to take credit for your victory — and using their personal agendas to push you away from the progressive Left and toward the cowardly center which believes that the best way to beat Republicans is to just be a more easily-digestible version of Republicans. They think because Trump got 70 million votes the Democrats should reject Black Lives Matter, AOC, and anything that vaguely sounds like socialism — at a time when the majority of our citizens under the age of 35, according to most polls, prefer the idea of democratic socialism over the greed of modern-day capitalism. Why risk losing them? We need to listen to and understand why they feel this way. They’ve been saddled with crushing student debt and we’ve handed them a planet In the middle of its 6th extinction event as their future. You and Barack introduced them to the benefits of democratic socialism by letting them stay on their parents health insurance until they’re 26! The result: They just set a record by coming out and voting for you in the largest youth numbers ever.

But you know all this. And you also know how you won these razor-thin victories in the final five states as we nervously watched the final ballots come in from Black Philly, Black Detroit, Black Atlanta, Black Flint. Out west, it was Latinx and Navajo voters who delivered Nevada and Arizona to you. In your speech on Saturday you acknowledged it. And never in our history have I heard a President-elect single out the Black community and thank them “for having my back. And I promise you, I will have your back!” Black and brown and indigenous peoples, plus a landslide of women and young adult voters made this happen. Wow. I absolutely know you’ll keep that promise.

5. Please do not make the same mistake an otherwise well-meaning President Obama made in his first two years. He wanted everyone to get along. He was willing to compromise on anything. Kumbaya. The Republicans had already decided they were going to block EVERYTHING Obama proposed and that’s exactly what they did for eight long years with a discipline and a ruthlessness we should probably envy.

Don’t let this happen to you. Charge in on January 20th like FDR on steroids. You have no choice. People are dying! You need to sign executive orders and cajole, demand and shame Congress into action. And GO BIG! Eliminate the Electoral College through the National Popular Vote Act! DONE! Ratify the Equal Rights Amendment for women! Just one more state needed! DONE! Send in the Army Corps of Engineers to Flint to replace the poisoned water pipes! DONE!!

And none of the above needs a single vote of the United States Senate! In fact, this past summer, your “Biden-Bernie” unity joint task force identified a whopping 277 policies and decisions of Trump’s that you have the legal authority to immediately reverse by executive order or presidential policy decision https://prospect.org/…/277-policies-biden-need-not-ask-per…/. Find that big fat black marker of his and do it!

But, yes, we also desperately need those two Georgia Senate seats to get the Biden/Harris years off to a blazing start. So let’s make that happen! All hands on deck between now and January 5th!! We will all do whatever is needed.

Friends of mine on the Left who are more cynical than I am are probably wondering why I’m sending you this letter. Haha! Well, because I saw you kiss the head of that young grieving man at the Parkland, Florida memorial for the shooting victims of Stoneman Douglas High School. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyMa96yOel0

And because I saw you in New Hampshire this year while we were there working for Bernie, and you were doing a campaign stop and there was a restless five-year boy in the front row. His parents were trying to get him to settle down. You stopped and spoke to the boy. “Hey buddy,” you said in a kind but parental way, “if you can hang on and be a good boy for just a little bit, I’ll buy ya an ice cream!” The boy quieted down, you wrapped up and afterward you went over to the boy and his parents and you gave the kid five bucks so his mom and dad could go get him an ice cream cone. And I thought to myself, this is the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen — and then I started to cry because I wanted so much for that piece of America to come back — goofy, kind, and focusing on what’s truly important: a goddamned ice cream cone!

I think that’s why you won. People saw what I saw with you there in New Hampshire and back in Boston on that day 16 years ago — they knew that maybe, just maybe, their lives might just get a bit better - hopefully a LOT better - with you in the White House. Maybe less of them will die from the virus, this preventable horror. Trump, of whom we knew many despicable things and thought we’d already seen how low the bar could possibly go for one human being — but we never considered him under the moniker of mass killer, terrorist or superspreader. Then you, Joe, came along and offered us a respite, a break from the insanity — “Mr. Biden, we’ll be happy if you just give us four years of ‘Not Trump!’”

But I think you can give us much more than that. What could our lives be like in four years or eight years (with a Democratic Senate to boot)? How ‘bout no one ever goes bankrupt again because they got sick? How ‘bout no one is sitting in a prison cell for possessing marijuana or actual drugs? How ‘bout every child gets to go to a great school and every neighborhood has an expanded free library open seven days a week? How ‘bout paid family medical leave so you can take care of your elderly parents and not lose your job? How ‘bout my bullet train! You and we can make all this happen. It’s not rocket science. 30+ other countries already do it. (https://www.amazon.com/Where-Invade-Next-Micha…/…/B01EGW9EOU) They’re happier. Why not us? Our founders promised it to us in their second sentence: “the pursuit of Happiness.“ They said that’s what America would be — and it’s been a rare day when we’ve actually had a glimpse of it.

Joe, you’re the guy to fulfill the promise. I’ll help. So will my neighbors on the floor where I live. As will the woman who delivers my mail, the workers who stock the shelves of my neighborhood market, the nurse who just wrote me in tears because yesterday she watched her 22nd patient die, alone, no family allowed, from Covid. Not to mention the millions upon millions of Americans who are ready to be foot soldiers in your army of justice, equality and love. We’re all in! We don’t want to go back to the old “normal.” We want a new normal!

We want ice cream.

All my best, Michael Moore

P.S. You know why I think you can and will do this? You picked Kamala Harris to run with you! Ranked as the most liberal senator in the U.S. Senate. A woman. A Black woman! I saw the first debate, the one where she challenged you and threw shade on your younger self. Most people (including me), if that had happened to us, we probably wouldn’t have gotten over it. You did. I’m guessing your conscience whispered to you, “well, dang, maybe she has a point.” You hold no grudges. You are a forgiving soul. But then you didn’t just forgive her — you put her on the Big Ticket! Who would do that? You did! That’s why my cautious, hopeful bet is on the good hands we’re now in — both your hands, Kamala’s hands, and the hands of the mass millions who voted for you and will continue to rise up and fight for this new, better, post-Trump, post-pandemic America.

[ghanathinktank]

@oaacdetroit Summer Youth Employment Program #AmericanRiad #NorthEnd #Detroit @creative_capital @knightfdn @patronicity @purchasecollege @purchaseartdesign https://ift.tt/2Sw9X9s

[phynxrizng]

HISTORY OF US CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT

Timeline Milestones in the modern civil rights movement by BorgnaBrunner and ElissaHaney 1948 1954 1948 July 26 President Truman signs Executive Order 9981, which states, "It is hereby declared to be the policy of the President that there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion, or national origin." 1954 May 17 The Supreme Court rules on the landmark case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kans., unanimously agreeing that segregation in public schools is unconstitutional. The ruling paves the way for large-scale desegregation. The decision overturns the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson ruling that sanctioned "separate but equal" segregation of the races, ruling that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." It is a victory for NAACP attorney Thurgood Marshall, who will later return to the Supreme Court as the nation's first black justice. 1955 Aug. Fourteen-year-old Chicagoan Emmett Till is visiting family in Mississippi when he is kidnapped, brutally beaten, shot, and dumped in the Tallahatchie River for allegedly whistling at a white woman. Two white men, J. W. Milam and Roy Bryant, are arrested for the murder and acquitted by an all-white jury. They later boast about committing the murder in a Look magazine interview. The case becomes a cause célèbre of the civil rights movement. Dec. 1 (Montgomery, Ala.) NAACP member Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat at the front of the "colored section" of a bus to a white passenger, defying a southern custom of the time. In response to her arrest the Montgomery black community launches a bus boycott, which will last for more than a year, until the buses are desegregated Dec. 21, 1956. As newly elected president of the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA), Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., is instrumental in leading the boycott. 1957 Jan.–Feb. Martin Luther King, Charles K. Steele, and Fred L. Shuttlesworth establish the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, of which King is made the first president. The SCLC becomes a major force in organizing the civil rights movement and bases its principles on nonviolence and civil disobedience. According to King, it is essential that the civil rights movement not sink to the level of the racists and hatemongers who oppose them: "We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline," he urges. Sept. (Little Rock, Ark.) Formerly all-white Central High School learns that integration is easier said than done. Nine black students are blocked from entering the school on the orders of Governor Orval Faubus. President Eisenhower sends federal troops and the National Guard to intervene on behalf of the students, who become known as the "Little Rock Nine." 1960 Feb. 1 (Greensboro, N.C.) Four black students from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College begin a sit-in at a segregated Woolworth's lunch counter. Although they are refused service, they are allowed to stay at the counter. The event triggers many similar nonviolent protests throughout the South. Six months later the original four protesters are served lunch at the same Woolworth's counter. Student sit-ins would be effective throughout the Deep South in integrating parks, swimming pools, theaters, libraries, and other public facilities. April (Raleigh, N.C.) The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) is founded at Shaw University, providing young blacks with a place in the civil rights movement. The SNCC later grows into a more radical organization, especially under the leadership of Stokely Carmichael (1966–1967). 1961 May 4 Over the spring and summer, student volunteers begin taking bus trips through the South to test out new laws that prohibit segregation in interstate travel facilities, which includes bus and railway stations. Several of the groups of "freedom riders," as they are called, are attacked by angry mobs along the way. The program, sponsored by The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), involves more than 1,000 volunteers, black and white. 1962 Oct. 1 James Meredith becomes the first black student to enroll at the University of Mississippi. Violence and riots surrounding the incident cause President Kennedy to send 5,000 federal troops. 1963 April 16 Martin Luther King is arrested and jailed during anti-segregation protests in Birmingham, Ala.; he writes his seminal "Letter from Birmingham Jail," arguing that individuals have the moral duty to disobey unjust laws. May During civil rights protests in Birmingham, Ala., Commissioner of Public Safety Eugene "Bull" Connor uses fire hoses and police dogs on black demonstrators. These images of brutality, which are televised and published widely, are instrumental in gaining sympathy for the civil rights movement around the world. June 12 (Jackson, Miss.) Mississippi's NAACP field secretary, 37-year-old Medgar Evers, is murdered outside his home. Byron De La Beckwith is tried twice in 1964, both trials resulting in hung juries. Thirty years later he is convicted for murdering Evers. Aug. 28 (Washington, D.C.) About 200,000 people join the March on Washington. Congregating at the Lincoln Memorial, participants listen as Martin Luther King delivers his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. Sept. 15 (Birmingham, Ala.) Four young girls (Denise McNair, Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson, and Addie Mae Collins) attending Sunday school are killed when a bomb explodes at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, a popular location for civil rights meetings. Riots erupt in Birmingham, leading to the deaths of two more black youths. 1964 Jan. 23 The 24th Amendment abolishes the poll tax, which originally had been instituted in 11 southern states after Reconstruction to make it difficult for poor blacks to vote. Summer The Council of Federated Organizations (COFO), a network of civil rights groups that includes CORE and SNCC, launches a massive effort to register black voters during what becomes known as the Freedom Summer. It also sends delegates to the Democratic National Convention to protest—and attempt to unseat—the official all-white Mississippi contingent. July 2 President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The most sweeping civil rights legislation since Reconstruction, the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination of all kinds based on race, color, religion, or national origin. The law also provides the federal government with the powers to enforce desegregation. Aug. 4 (Neshoba Country, Miss.) The bodies of three civil-rights workers—two white, one black—are found in an earthen dam, six weeks into a federal investigation backed by President Johnson. James E. Chaney, 21; Andrew Goodman, 21; and Michael Schwerner, 24, had been working to register black voters in Mississippi, and, on June 21, had gone to investigate the burning of a black church. They were arrested by the police on speeding charges, incarcerated for several hours, and then released after dark into the hands of the Ku Klux Klan, who murdered them. 1965 Feb. 21 (Harlem, N.Y.) Malcolm X, black nationalist and founder of the Organization of Afro-American Unity, is shot to death. It is believed the assailants are members of the Black Muslim faith, which Malcolm had recently abandoned in favor of orthodox Islam. March 7 (Selma, Ala.) Blacks begin a march to Montgomery in support of voting rights but are stopped at the Pettus Bridge by a police blockade. Fifty marchers are hospitalized after police use tear gas, whips, and clubs against them. The incident is dubbed "Bloody Sunday" by the media. The march is considered the catalyst for pushing through the voting rights act five months later. Aug. 10 Congress passes the Voting Rights Act of 1965, making it easier for Southern blacks to register to vote. Literacy tests, poll taxes, and other such requirements that were used to restrict black voting are made illegal. Aug. 11–17, 1965 (Watts, Calif.) Race riots erupt in a black section of Los Angeles. Sept. 24, 1965 Asserting that civil rights laws alone are not enough to remedy discrimination, President Johnson issues Executive Order 11246, which enforces affirmative action for the first time. It requires government contractors to "take affirmative action" toward prospective minority employees in all aspects of hiring and employment. 1966 Oct. (Oakland, Calif.) The militant Black Panthers are founded by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale. 1967 April 19 Stokely Carmichael, a leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), coins the phrase "black power" in a speech in Seattle. He defines it as an assertion of black pride and "the coming together of black people to fight for their liberation by any means necessary." The term's radicalism alarms many who believe the civil rights movement's effectiveness and moral authority crucially depend on nonviolent civil disobedience. June 12 In Loving v. Virginia, the Supreme Court rules that prohibiting interracial marriage is unconstitutional. Sixteen states that still banned interracial marriage at the time are forced to revise their laws. July Major race riots take place in Newark (July 12–16) and Detroit (July 23–30). 1968 April 4 (Memphis, Tenn.) Martin Luther King, at age 39, is shot as he stands on the balcony outside his hotel room. Escaped convict and committed racist James Earl Ray is convicted of the crime. April 11 President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1968, prohibiting discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing. 1971 April 20 The Supreme Court, in Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education, upholds busing as a legitimate means for achieving integration of public schools. Although largely unwelcome (and sometimes violently opposed) in local school districts, court-ordered busing plans in cities such as Charlotte, Boston, and Denver continue until the late 1990s. 1988 March 22 Overriding President Reagan's veto, Congress passes the Civil Rights Restoration Act, which expands the reach of non-discrimination laws within private institutions receiving federal funds. 1991 Nov. 22 After two years of debates, vetoes, and threatened vetoes, President Bush reverses himself and signs the Civil Rights Act of 1991, strengthening existing civil rights laws and providing for damages in cases of intentional employment discrimination. 1992 April 29 (Los Angeles, Calif.) The first race riots in decades erupt in south-central Los Angeles after a jury acquits four white police officers for the videotaped beating of African American Rodney King. 2003 June 23 In the most important affirmative action decision since the 1978 Bakke case, the Supreme Court (5–4) upholds the University of Michigan Law School's policy, ruling that race can be one of many factors considered by colleges when selecting their students because it furthers "a compelling interest in obtaining the educational benefits that flow from a diverse student body." (See also: Affirmative Action Timeline.) 2005 June 21 The ringleader of the Mississippi civil rights murders (see Aug. 4, 1964), Edgar Ray Killen, is convicted of manslaughter on the 41st anniversary of the crimes. October 24 Rosa Parks dies at age 92. 2006 January 30 Coretta Scott King dies of a stroke at age 78. 2007 February Emmett Till's 1955 murder case, reopened by the Department of Justice in 2004, is officially closed. The two confessed murderers, J. W. Milam and Roy Bryant, were dead of cancer by 1994, and prosecutors lacked sufficient evidence to pursue further convictions. May 10 James Bonard Fowler, a former state trooper, is indicted for the murder of Jimmie Lee Jackson 40 years after Jackson's death. The 1965 killing lead to a series of historic civil rights protests in Selma, Ala. 2008 January Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) introduces the Civil Rights Act of 2008. Some of the proposed provisions include ensuring that federal funds are not used to subsidize discrimination, holding employers accountable for age discrimination, and improving accountability for other violations of civil rights and workers' rights. 2009 January In the Supreme Court case Ricci v. DeStefano, a lawsuit brought against the city of New Haven, 18 plaintiffs—17 white people and one Hispanic—argued that results of the 2003 lieutenant and captain exams were thrown out when it was determined that few minority firefighters qualified for advancement. The city claimed they threw out the results because they feared liability under a disparate-impact statute for issuing tests that discriminated against minority firefighters. The plaintiffs claimed that they were victims of reverse discrimination under the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Supreme Court ruled (5–4) in favor of the firefighters, saying New Haven's "action in discarding the tests was a violation of Title VII." 2013 June In Shelby County v. Holder, the Supreme Court struck down Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act, which established a formula for Congress to use when determining if a state or voting jurisdiction requires prior approval before changing its voting laws. Currently under Section 5 of the act nine—mostly Southern—states with a history of discrimination must get clearance from Congress before changing voting rules to make sure racial minorities are not negatively affected. While the 5–4 decision did not invalidate Section 5, it made it toothless. Chief Justice John Roberts said the formula Congress now uses, which was written in 1965, has become outdated. "While any racial discrimination in voting is too much, Congress must ensure that the legislation it passes to remedy that problem speaks to current conditions," he said in the majority opinion. In a strongly worded dissent, Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg said, "Hubris is a fit word for today’s demolition of the V.R.A." (Voting Rights Act). 2014 June A new museum, the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, opens in Atlanta. September The Justice Department opens a civil rights investigation into police practices in Ferguson, Mo., where a Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager, was shot and killed by a white police officer on Aug. 9. The Justice Department investigation is in addition to the FBI's civil rights inquiry. 2015 December After the release of a Justice Department report in March documenting civil rights violations by the Ferguson Police Department, Ferguson officials reach a deal with the Justice Department, avoiding a civil rights lawsuit. The agreement will necessitate the levying of new taxes to pay for the planned improvements and require local vote. SOURCE, infoplease.COM POSTED by, Phynxrizng

[benrleeusa]

[John K. Ross] Short Circuit: A Roundup of Recent Federal Court Decisions

Hypnosis, fungal spores, and a Bernie independent.

Please enjoy the latest edition of Short Circuit, a weekly feature from the Institute for Justice.

Federal inmate files lawsuit challenging his treatment in solitary confinement. Bureau of Prisons: He's been transferred to a new prison, so the case is moot. D.C. Circuit: [Looking up from rap sheet] Yeah, we're pretty sure this guy is going to end up in solitary again, so the case can go forward.

Delaware attorney longs to be a judge, but there's one problem: He's a "Bernie independent," and the Delaware Constitution limits service on the state's courts to members of the Democratic and Republican parties, who must be appointed in equal numbers. Unconstitutional limit on the freedom to associate or legitimate attempt at ideological balance? Third Circuit: Dear Delaware, we get what you're trying to do, but the First Amendment won't let you do it this way.

Did the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office err when it concluded that Booking.com was generic and therefore could not be trademarked? Fourth Circuit: Booking Yeah! Dissent: Booking Nah!

The Natural Gas Act allows private companies to use eminent domain to build pipelines but does not give them the power to take immediate possession of the land they want prior to final judgment in the condemnation action. District court: No problem, they can just take immediate possession by means of a preliminary injunction. Fourth Circuit: We said this was OK 15 years ago, which makes it OK today, too.

Allegation: Church seeks zoning variance so it can operate out of Baltimore County, Md. house (situated on 1.2 acres of land). Planning officials don't object. Yikes! The neighbors object and are super racist about it. The county denies the variance. Fourth Circuit: Given the irregularities in the county's decision-making process, it is at least possible officials were swayed by the neighbors' animus. The case should not have been dismissed. And the church's First and 14th Amendment claims deserve strict scrutiny.

Federal law makes it a crime for any agency charged with the administration of juvenile justice or incarceration to deprive people of their constitutional rights. Allegation: That's exactly what the juvenile courts in Lauderdale County, Miss. are doing—running a "school-to-prison pipeline." Fifth Circuit: No dice. The Youth Court is not a "governmental agency" within the meaning of the statute.

Transgender woman applies for job and is extended an offer. But then soon-to-be employers discover woman had concealed from them that she'd been fired from her previous job. Offer rescinded. Woman files Title VII lawsuit asserting discrimination on the basis of transgender status. Fifth Circuit panel (Judge Ho): Even setting aside whether Title VII protects against transgender discrimination, the woman can't possibly make out a Title VII claim—not least because the employers rescinded her offer before they learned of her transgender status. Concurrence (also Judge Ho): But just to be clear, Title VII absolutely does not protect against transgender discrimination. Concurrence (Judge Higginbotham): And of course, "elegant asides" about Title VII's scope are absolutely beside the point in this case.

Bank robber is sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment and ordered to pay $189k (plus interest) in restitution, in quarterly installments of the greater of $25 or 50 percent of his prison wages. The robber sticks to the installment plan while also accumulating $3,400 in prison wages. Gov't: We want that money, too. District court: Cool. Fifth Circuit: Not cool. The restitution order specifies an installment plan and the inmate has stuck to the plan, so gov't can't demand more.

After a jury convicts Detroit man of gang-related murder, Juror #4 reveals that other jurors had Facebook-stalked the defendant, researched information about gangs, and discussed their findings during deliberations. State courts: No big deal; the Facebookery and Googling largely duplicated evidence presented at trial. Federal district court: Actually, this is a very big deal; the state needs to either retry the guy or set him free. Sixth Circuit: Agreed that it's a potentially big deal, but rather than a second trial, the guy is entitled to an initial hearing on whether the jurors' "extracurricular fact-finding" actually affected the verdict. Dissent: The district court was well within its rights to say that a new trial is the appropriate remedy.

Elkhart, Ind. man is shot in the face, lives to testify. Defendant is convicted based on the man's identification. But wait! Did the identification materialize because of hypnosis—which the prosecutor suggested and arranged for but, aware "there might be a problem in court," never disclosed to the defense? Seventh Circuit (over a dissent): Well, the lack of disclosure was a problem. The defendant gets a new trial.

Woman doesn't pay her $60 co-pays for physical therapy. A debt collector sends her letters for three years; she doesn't pay, so the debt collector informs credit reporting agency that she owes nine debts of $60. Yikes! The woman sues the debt collector because the debt should have been reported in aggregate ($540)—not as nine separate debts of $60. District court: Yup, the debt collector must pay her $1,000. Seventh Circuit: Reversed. No law or regulation actually says that.

Little Rock, Ark. police dept. hires officer who attended a KKK meeting in high school. His five-year career is "horror show" of misconduct, culminating in unjustified fatal shooting of a black 15-year-old. (Click here for longform journalism.) Eighth Circuit: The teen's mother can't sue the police chief or the city. (And while she did win a civil trial against the now-ex cop, he lacks the money to pay the $415k he owes her.)

In this easy-affirm from the Eighth Circuit, a man solicited more than a million dollars to establish a nation for the Hmong ethnic group, the details of which were "top secret." (The secret was fraud.)

Valley fever, caused by inhaling fungal spores, is particularly prevalent in certain California prisons. (It's unclear why.) Dozens of prisoners sue, claiming their increased exposure risk violates the Eighth Amendment. And black prisoners—who are more likely to get the fever (it's unclear why)—claim they weren't kept out of those prisons soon enough. Ninth Circuit: Qualified immunity. Prison officials tried to mitigate exposure risk, and besides, people do voluntarily live in places with increased risk of valley fever. As for the black prisoners' claim—prison officials couldn't know the Constitution required them to discriminate. (A further detail: Because of other problems, California's prison medical system has been under federal control since 2006.)

Troubled California man, arrested for slashing his girlfriend's tire, is left alone in a police cell. On the phone in another room, arresting officer is allegedly told the man is suicidal. Which he is: Back in the cell, the man is hanging himself with his belt. By the time the officer returns, about 15 minutes later, the man has severe brain damage. The man sues. Ninth Circuit (over a partial dissent): It's just not clear the officer knew enough to have had to rush back to the cell. So he gets qualified immunity on the federal claim against him. But claims against him under California law and against the city will proceed to trial.

Alabama corrections officials refuse Muslim inmate's request to have his imam present at his execution. Rather, only a Christian chaplain will be able to be present in the chamber. Eleventh Circuit: We are "exceedingly loath" to second guess corrections officials, but this looks an awful lot like favoring one religion over another and thus a violation of "the heart of the Establishment Clause." Delay the execution. Supreme Court (over a dissent): The inmate waited far too long to seek relief. He can be executed. (Ed. note: And he was.)

Man who's high on drugs exposes himself, wields knife menacingly on streetcar. The streetcar empties. The man declines repeated orders to drop knife, advances toward police officer. The officer shoots him (three times), including a fatal shot to the heart. Officer: And then the man tried to get up, so I shot him again (six times). Video: The man did not start to get up. Jury: The officer is not guilty of murder (for the first volley of shots), but he is guilty of attempted murder (the second volley). Court of Appeal for Ontario: No need to reconsider the verdict or the officer's six-year sentence.

Tracy McGlothian, an experienced seamstress who also has an MBA, wants to teach students how to sew for a living (rather than as a hobby). But Virginia forbids Tracy from doing that without first obtaining a vocational school license, which is no easy task. The application process is byzantine and expensive. And officials have repeatedly rejected Tracy for no defensible reason. So last summer, Tracy and her husband, Jon, sued the state under the First Amendment. And in January, a federal magistrate judge ruled the case should go forward. Click here to read more.

[cathrynstreich]

Quicken Loans and Urban Alliance Bring Flagship Youth Employment Program to Detroit

The Quicken Loans Family of Companies and Urban Alliance (UA), a national youth development nonprofit organization, are bringing UA’s flagship youth employment program to Detroit, with financial support from the Quicken Loans Community Fund (QLCF). The Quicken Loans Family of Companies will be the program’s anchor employer in the city, where the company is headquartered, hosting 30 interns annually over the next two years.

UA’s High School Internship Program (HSIP) will help expand opportunity for students from underserved communities through professional development and meaningful work experience in students’ senior year of high school. Beginning with a pilot group of 40 students from Breithaupt Career and Technical Center, Osborn High School and Randolph Career and Technical Center during the 2018-19 school year, UA will provide Detroit students with:

A 10-month paid, professional internship (part-time during the school year and full-time during the summer)

Intensive job and life skills training (seven weeks of pre-employment training followed by 10 months of weekly skill-building workshops)

One-on-one mentoring from an adult professional

Post-high school planning assistance

Lifelong college and career support

Urban Alliance is expected to expand to additional schools, serving more than 250 students over the next four years. The program’s goal is to open the door to new possibilities for Detroit students, and ensure that every intern is on a pathway to self-sufficiency—whether that be college, living-wage employment or vocational training—after graduating high school.

“Investing in our future workforce—and Detroit students—is important from both a business and philanthropic standpoint at the Quicken Loans Family of Companies,” says Bill Emerson, vice chairman of the QLCF. “Youth employment strategies strengthen our business and city. At Quicken Loans and our family of companies, we are committed to introducing young people to multiple opportunities and experiences which will ultimately shape their life goals, grow their options and help prepare them to become Detroit’s future leaders.”

“At Urban Alliance, we believe that it truly takes a village to build brighter futures for our youth, so we are honored to be joining the Detroit community and helping to expand economic opportunities for young people in the city,” says Eshauna Smith, CEO of UA. “Our primary goal is always to provide meaningful youth employment opportunities for as many young people who need them as possible, and the local support we’ve received—particularly from our anchor employer Quicken Loans Family of Companies—helps us reach that goal. We look forward to working with the entire community to open more doors for the talented young people of this city.”

UA’s longtime partner Bank of America will also host an additional five interns per year, with another five interns per year placed at local nonprofits.

Through its ‘for-more-than-profit model’, QLCF brings together for-profit and non-profit investments in order to maximize its impact on Detroit. The Quicken Loans Family of Companies is the largest employer in Detroit, and QLCF is dedicated to creating robust job training and education opportunities that will lead to real jobs in IT, construction and customer service. QLCF is also deeply invested alongside Detroit Public Schools Community District and numerous community partners in order to build meaningful mentorship experiences, career technical education opportunities and on-the-job-training.

QLCF has previously engaged two of the three schools that Urban Alliance is partnering with. Earlier this year, QLCF committed $1 million to Detroit high school Breithaupt Career and Technical Center to improve infrastructure, expand programming and boost enrollment. In addition, last year, QLCF joined the Mayor’s office to also revitalize Randolph Career and Technical Center.

For more information, please visit www.quickenloans.org.

For the latest real estate news and trends, bookmark RISMedia.com.

The post Quicken Loans and Urban Alliance Bring Flagship Youth Employment Program to Detroit appeared first on RISMedia.

Quicken Loans and Urban Alliance Bring Flagship Youth Employment Program to Detroit published first on https://thegardenresidences.tumblr.com/

[ztafraternity]

Creating positive change through leadership

This article was originally published in the Spring 2018 issue of Themis magazine

By Ellen Crawford, Editor

Women in leadership positions have the power to spark change. Whether they are taking on big or small challenges, leaders have the opportunity to look at the way something has always been done and dare to imagine the way it could be done.

For years, Zeta Tau Alpha has been committed to developing its members through innovative programming and by creating leadership opportunities that allow women to learn and grow. As they become leaders and take on new tasks, Zetas know they have the support of their sisters to fall back on, making it easier for them to confidently push forward. The skills learned on college campuses and in alumnae chapters translate to the professional and personal lives of ZTA members and the amazing things they are doing in their communities.

As a nurse practitioner and staff coordinator, Priscilla Simms-Roberson (Zeta Chapter, University of Tennessee-Knoxville) is an active leader at Partnership Rape Crisis Center in Chattanooga, Tennessee. When she got her master’s degree from Vanderbilt University, she chose to specialize in forensic nursing, which trains nurses to provide medical exams to patients who have been sexually assaulted and to collect samples that may be used as evidence in police investigations.

Although Priscilla (pictured above) has provided sexual assault exams to both men and women for many years, in the last year she has been instrumental in bringing a new program to the center. Thanks to a federal grant, she was able to help start a Domestic Assault Response Team, which provides forensic medical exams to victims of domestic assault at no cost to the patients. Along with two other nurses, Priscilla took a 24-hour course on conducting these specific exams, developed a program that worked for the center and started offering the service in September 2017. This was the first program of its kind in Tennessee.

In addition to providing medical care, Priscilla is committed to doing everything she can to support her patients. “There’s a lot of research about things that can be done with victims of trauma to help improve long-term psychological outcomes,” she said. “I try to improve the experience that victims are going through.”

Priscilla would not have been able to bring this program to her community had she not developed leadership skills that helped her get where she is today. “In high school, I didn’t feel like a leader in anything,” she said. “I participated, but I wasn’t responsible for anything important.” That all changed, however, when she joined ZTA. Priscilla took on a variety of officer positions, including Vice President II/New Member Coordinator, and eventually became the chapter President.

In ZTA, Priscilla learned how to motivate others. Whether it was encouraging her sisters to attend chapter meetings or getting the community excited about philanthropic events, the tactics she learned for increasing involvement help her manage other nurses. From working with new members, Priscilla also discovered her interest in teaching, which led her to become a nursing instructor as well.

“That leadership experience changed the rest of my life,” she said. “It gave me the feeling that I could be a leader in an organization and impact other people’s lives.” With that confidence, she has been able to make a positive change in her community.

Similarly, being part of ZTA inspired Sarah McKenzie Seitz (Zeta Phi Chapter, University of South Alabama) to make a change in her community because, even as a collegian, she was encouraged to get involved with activities in the area surrounding her campus. Now, Sarah (pictured with her students) is a member of the Mobile, AL Alumnae Chapter, and she continues to benefit from connections with ZTA sisters. “Seeing what others are doing is inspiring,” she said. “Everybody has different skills. I learn from them and they learn a little bit from me.”

Her alumnae sisters have also been great cheerleaders for Sarah as she has worked to make a difference in her community. After teaching kindergarten in public schools for 30 years and being named her county’s 2010 Teacher of the Year, Sarah got the opportunity of a lifetime when she heard the local Rotary Youth Club, which she had work with during her summer breaks, wanted to open a new pre-K program. Sarah has always been passionate about the importance of children having access to pre-K, but there weren’t enough spots to serve all the students in the county.

“I believe if you don’t catch children before they begin kindergarten, you’ve already lost some of the skills they’re going to need in order to be successful in school and in life,” she said. In her classrooms over the years, Sarah saw firsthand the disadvantage some children had if they didn’t already know how to write their names, identify letters of the alphabet or get along with others. “They had this huge gap that was more difficult to close because once they got to kindergarten and first grade, the academics were pushed on them so quickly and the structured environment put a lot of pressure on them.”

Attending a pre-K program, however, helps to bridge that gap. “Pre-K programs are more relaxed and more developmentally appropriate for the age,” Sarah explained. “They allow children to figure out how things work while the teachers are still instructing them without the children even realizing they’re learning. If they don’t get those basic things before they go to a school setting, they’re lost.”

Sarah knew she had to follow her dream, so she retired from public schools. She spent about six months working as a consultant to prepare the pre-K program and helped open it last year with just a handful of children. “The community we’re serving is a low socioeconomic community,” she said. “We charge families a little bit, based on their income, but we decided we wouldn’t turn anyone away.”

At the end of the school year, the director of the program applied for a grant from the state of Alabama, which allowed them to expand the program and buy new equipment for the children. “It’s been a great fit,” Sarah said. “I’ve been able to do something I always hoped to do, and the community, the families and the board are all behind me.” With such great support coming from every side, Sarah has been able to make the most of her leadership opportunity.

Luckily for Zetas, it’s easy to find support in ZTA through Big Sisters and alumnae chapters made up of women of all ages from different backgrounds and across all levels of professional experience. For Rachel Zuckerman (Alpha Omicron Chapter, The University of Iowa), support from mentors was a key element in developing her leadership strengths. “Young women looking to make a difference should identify a mentor who will help them achieve their goals,” she said. For Rachel (pictured on the right), those goals included becoming her university’s student body president her senior year.

“I decided to take on that role because, through my experiences with ZTA, as a Resident Assistant for two years and just from interacting with students, I saw the real issues our student body was facing,” she said. While she had been involved with student government since her freshman year, Rachel thought the group could be doing more, so she stepped up.

From serving as her chapter’s Service Chairman and Ritual Chairman, which were among her first leadership positions on campus, Rachel developed the skills that later helped her lead the student body. She learned how important it is for good leaders to be good listeners, how to empower others to speak up for themselves, how to lead in a values-driven way and how to inspire others with her vision.

During her term, she worked to address issues like getting students access to mental health services in a timely manner and supporting those who were facing financial challenges that forced them to choose between buying a textbook and buying food. In just a year, Rachel and the other student leaders made great progress. “I learned a committed group of people who are willing to listen to the stories of others and drive those lessons into actionable change can lead their community in really profound ways,” she said. “I also learned inclusive communities are the strongest communities.”

Now, Rachel is using those lessons as she works in local politics and at the Detroit Employment Solutions Corporation, a workforce development nonprofit. She is also gearing up for a master’s program that will begin in August 2018. She was chosen to be a Schwarzman Scholar, which was modeled after the Rhodes Scholarship program and is designed to give future leaders an understanding of the role China plays as a global power. During her program, Rachel will study global affairs and public policy in Beijing.

“It’s not always easy to be a young woman who is outspoken about political issues. It challenges the narrative of what is expected from young women,” she said. “But I think it’s important that we stand strong, have steadfast opinions and fight for the issues we care about.” She first found that confidence in ZTA, and she believes other women can pave the way for the next generation. “Sororities are a place where young women can discuss issues they care about and find a community of people who believe in the same things they do. Together, they realize they have the collective power to effect change.”

Part of Rachel’s ZTA experience has also been about sisters empowering one another to realize their full potential. “Change doesn’t have to be monumental or require a title,” she said. “If every one of our sisters tried to do one little thing to address an issue that they see affecting their community, we would move mountains. It requires a little bit of time, a lot of passion and a desire to improve the lives of the people around you.” 

[yooperwolf]

Celebrating Michigan’s forest conservation roots

Celebrating Michigan’s forest conservation roots

DNR makes plans to commemorate 115th anniversary of state’s first tree nursery, 85th anniversary of the Civilian Conservation Corps

By TOBI VOIGT Michigan Department of Natural Resources

In 1903, a team of workers under the direction of newly appointed State Forest Warden Filibert Roth pondered the stump-ridden, sandy terrain on the north shore of Higgins Lake, south of Grayling in Michigan’s northern Lower Peninsula.

Once a thriving old-growth forest, the nearly barren landscape had suffered from aggressive lumbering and a series of fires in the late 19th century. The workers’ job was to replant the forest.

The Michigan Legislature had just established the Michigan Forestry Commission and given it authority to create the state’s first tree nursery and forest reserve.

Within a year, Roth and his workers had planted 43 pounds of seed, representing 12 different pine species.

It was an experimental venture.

“Considerable damage was done (to the seed beds) by birds but far more by the ordinary striped gopher which proved quite a pest, and in spite of a shot gun, completely destroyed all seeds of nut and sugar pine and much of white pine,” Roth wrote in his first official report.

Nonetheless, more than 600,000 seedlings were thriving in 1904 and, by 1906, Roth’s team had successfully cultivated 27 species of trees.

Twenty years later, the nursery was shipping 22 million seedlings across the state and nation every year, and the new forest was growing.

Local residents collected pine cones and sold them to the nursery. In the cone barn, the cones were heat-dried to release their seeds. The seeds were planted in irrigated beds and tended for three years before they were ready for shipment to new barren areas.

The seedlings were planted in straight rows that remain visible on the landscape today.

As the seedlings grew, scientists, such as Michigan State University Professor W. J. Beal, worked to learn more about what kinds of trees grew best in Michigan soils and how to best cultivate them. In a nearby experimental stand, Beal thinned the trees to see if those left standing would grow larger faster – they did.

Roosevelt’s Tree Army

Reforestation was hard, manual labor in those days, and in 1933, a new labor force arrived on the scene – the Civilian Conservation Corps.

A New Deal program created during the Great Depression by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the CCC employed young men in many public-works projects, including “the prevention of forest fires, floods, soil erosion, plant, pest and disease control.”

Soon after taking office, Roosevelt wanted to move quickly to try to restore the nation’s economy and the spirit of the country, both of which had been crushed by the Great Depression. He also sought to rejuvenate America’s natural resources.

The legislation creating the Civilian Conservation Corps was approved by Congress in just four days. Roosevelt signed the bill March 31; the first camp – Camp Roosevelt – opened in Virginia April 3.

By July 1, the CCC initiative had put 274,375 young men, aged 17 to 25, to work in more than 1,300 camps across the nation, improving state and national forests. Eventually, there would be 2,650 camps scattered all over the country.

In Michigan, thousands of recruits planted trees and fought forest fires across the northern Lower Peninsula and Upper Peninsula. In 1933, those stationed at the Higgins Lake CCC Camp began working at the tree nursery, which was not far from the camp.

From firefighting to tree planting to building roads, bridges and parks, “Roosevelt’s Tree Army” was a dynamic force upon the countryside. By December 1933, the corps was involved in 60 different lines of activity.

“This readily available and properly distributed volume of labor, made possible by the existence of Emergency Conservation Work camps, has proven to be of inestimable value,” a Michigan Conservation Department report said. “Particularly during the bad fire season in 1933 at which time hundreds of fires threatened to destroy millions of acres of valuable second growth timber and game cover on both state and privately-owned lands.”

During 1933, about 10 million trees, chiefly pine and spruce, were planted on 17,656 acres of cutover state land in Michigan, with that figure expected to double the following year.

State officials said enough miles of truck trails were built during the initial year or so of the CCC program in Michigan to reach from Lansing to Jacksonville, Florida, and back.

In 2013, the 80th anniversary of the CCC, Marquette author and CCC researcher Larry Chabot told The Mining Journal the boys enrolled learned self-discipline, and how to work and live in groups and gained confidence with increasing skills and training.

“Parents were often stunned when the boys came home. One woman told me that when her brother came home from camp, they didn't recognize him,” Chabot said. “Over and over, the CCC boys were heard to say, ‘This was the best time of my life’ or ‘This was the best thing that ever happened to me.’”

Chabot said crews developed pride in their work and their camp and made life-long friends as they grew in self-confidence and work habits. They also earned vital income for their families.

By 1942, when the CCC program ended, Michigan workers had planted 484 million trees, more than twice the amount of any other state.

In the early 1960s, with initial reforestation largely completed and because of changing forestry methods, the Higgins Lake Nursery ceased operation.

Today, the land on which the original Higgins Lake Nursery stood is within North Higgins Lake State Park.

For many years alumni of the CCC in Michigan held an annual reunion there, and in 1985, they led efforts to create the Civilian Conservation Corps Museum at the tree nursery site.

The museum, built in the style of a CCC barracks, opened in 1986. The importance of the CCC experience in the lives of the alumni was evident in their photographs and mementoes, saved for decades and donated to the Michigan History Museum and the Archives of Michigan.

DNR Parks and Recreation Division Chief Ron Olson said remnants of Michigan Civilian Conservation Corps continue to work on state park stewardship projects.

“We also have urban-focused summer youth employment programs that employ 16- to 19-year-olds from Detroit, Flint, Pontiac and Saginaw to provide mentored work in the out of doors that enhances their communities and state parks,” Olson said.

Commemoration

To mark the 115th anniversary of the tree nursery and the 85th anniversary of the CCC, the Michigan History Center and other divisions within the Michigan Department of Natural Resources are working together to better tell the story of natural resources conservation in this part of the state.

These efforts began last summer, when the DNR completed work on a 2-mile segment of Michigan’s Iron Belle Trail at North Higgins Lake State Park.

Plans are in place to connect the trail to an existing fitness trail on the CCC Museum grounds this summer, and eventually to extend it north. Named the “Cradle of Forestry,” the trail will feature new and enhanced interpretive signs that share the area’s forest history with visitors.

Hillary Pine, northern Lower Peninsula historian with the Michigan History Center, has been researching the area’s history for the development of the new trail signs.

“Sharing the successes of Michigan’s early forest conservation movement along a trail that benefited directly from those efforts is quite powerful,” Pine said. “We’ve been working with the DNR’s Forest Resources Division to bring the story up to the present day. It is really inspiring to see the connection of this place to Michigan’s more than 4 million acres of forest land (managed by the DNR) today.”

Pine also oversees the Civilian Conservation Corps Museum, where improvement efforts began last fall.

In September, nearly 125 volunteers from Grand Valley State University’s Michigan Cares for Tourism program worked with DNR staff to repaint the historic nursery buildings and replace the tarpaper on the barracks building.

Michigan History Center staff is currently developing new signage for the museum’s nursery buildings, with the goal of sharing more of the site’s 115-year history. The new signs will be installed in time for the museum’s seasonal opening on May 5.

Long-range plans for the museum and nursery site include converting the 1923 Packing House, which is now empty, into an interpretive center.

This summer, a museum guide will be on site to present programming and historical information to visitors.

For CCC Museum visitor information, go to www.michigan.gov/cccmuseum. A programming schedule will be available in late spring.

From the ashes of devastating fires and the cutover pine days, Michigan’s seeds of a sustained regenerative forestry campaign were sown in the northern Lower Peninsula at North Higgins Lake, first with the early efforts of the Michigan Forestry Commission and a generation later with the help of Roosevelt’s Tree Army.

Today, Michigan has 20 million acres of forest lands, with the state ranking first in the nation in pine acreage, third in hardwood. Almost 6 million acres of Michigan forests are certified as sustainably managed.

The DNR continues to plant over 5 million pine seedlings each year.

“Michigan’s forests, the diverse forest products industry, and the natural resources that sustain it are among the best in the nation,” said DNR Forest Resources Division Chief Debbie Begalle. “In addition to supplying the wood for the products people rely on, Michigan’s forest land provides important wildlife habitat, recreational opportunities, and plays a critical role in supporting the state’s regional and rural economic health for thousands of residents.”

Check out previous Showcasing the DNR stories and subscribe to upcoming articles at www.michigan.gov/dnrstories.

/Note to editors: Contact: Tobi Voigt, 517-241-1442 or John Pepin, 906-226-1352. Accompanying photos are available below for download. Suggested captions follow.

AuTrain: Hilly terrain and foundation blocks are remnants from Civilian Conservation Corps Camp AuTrain in Alger County. (John Pepin photo)

Barracks: Exhibits at the Civilian Conservation Corps Museum, like this interior view of a barracks building, give visitors a glimpse of how workers lived at a CCC camp.

Crew: Civilian Conservation Corps crews worked on countless projects across Michigan and the nation during the 1930s. (Archives of Michigan photo)

Life: A display showcases some souvenirs from Civilian Conservation Corps camp life.

Museum: The North Higgins Lake State Park history area includes the Civilian Conservation Corps Museum and several original buildings that were used by workers at the Higgins Lake Nursery.

Nursery: The former site of the Higgins Lake Nursery.

Raco: A view of Camp Raco in Chippewa County, the first Civilian Conservation Corps camp established in the Upper Peninsula.

Statue: A statue pays tribute to the work of the Civilian Conservation Corps at North Higgins Lake State Park in Crawford County.

Trail: In summer 2017, a 2-mile segment of Michigan’s Iron Belle Trail at North Higgins Lake State Park in Crawford County was completed. Efforts are now underway to expand the trail through the historic Civilian Conservation Corps Museum site./

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[miheadlines]

8,000 summer jobs for Detroit youth

DETROIT, MI – The road to meaningful summer employment for more than 8000 Detroit youth begins today with the opening of the application period for Mayor Mike Duggan’s Grow Detroit’s Young Talent (GDYT) program.

Launched in 2015, GDYT is the premier coordinator, fundraiser and marketer for all local businesses that want to provide summer youth employment opportunities for youth ages 14-24.  Last…

[junker-town]

A comprehensive timeline of the Larry Nassar case

Key dates show former USA Gymnastics and Michigan State trainer’s lengthy campaign of sexual abuse, resulting in trial and MSU’s $500M settlement to survivors

For decades, Larry Nassar was entrusted with the care of young athletes, notably as a trainer with USA Gymnastics (USAG) and Michigan State University (MSU). Now, a growing list of women have come forward with graphic accounts alleging he violated that trust by sexually abusing them under the guise of medical treatment. Nassar, who attended the Summer Olympics with USA Gymnastics from 1996 through 2008, has already been found guilty of possession of child pornography and criminal sexual assault, with a civil suit still pending. On Wednesday, Michigan State agreed to pay $500 million to survivors of Nassar’s abuse.

The facade of decency surrounding Nassar, one maintained in part by institutions like USAG and MSU, which missed or outright disregarded multiple opportunities to investigate claims of misconduct, began to fall apart in late 2016 when the Indianapolis Star published a piece on USAG’s mishandling of allegations of sexual abuse by coaches.

In the months that followed, more than 140 women, including prominent Olympic medal-winning gymnasts such as Aly Raisman, McKayla Maroney and Simone Biles, would share harrowing accounts describing abuse, or file lawsuits against Nassar and the institutions that they say enabled him for so many years.

Below is a timeline of key dates from Nassar’s career with USAG and MSU, the allegations against him, the accounts of alleged abuse shared by prominent athletes, and the ongoing court cases. We’ve used the real names of victims who have identified themselves.

This timeline will be updated with new developments and as more information becomes available.

1986

Larry Nassar joins the medical staff of USA Gymnastics as an athletic trainer.

1988

Nassar begins working as a volunteer trainer with youth gymnastics coach John Geddert in Michigan.

1992

While still a medical student at Michigan State, Nassar assaults a 12-year-old girl under the guise of medical research, according to a lawsuit joined by the woman in 2017. The alleged assaults took place at a gymnastics facility near Lansing as well as Nassar’s apartment.

1993

Nassar receives osteopathic medical degree from Michigan State University.

1994

As part of a 2016 lawsuit, Olympic medalist Jamie Dantzscher says that she was abused by Nassar beginning when she was 12 years old after she was sent for treatment for lower back pain. Dantzscher says that the abuse occurred over a six-year period.

1996

Nassar is named national medical coordinator for USA Gymnastics ahead of the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. In the same year, youth gymnastics coaches John and Kathryn Geddert open Twistars USA Gymnastics Club. John Geddert and Twistars will later be named in a civil lawsuit for allegedly failing to protect children who trained at the gym.

IOP/AFP/Getty Images

1997

Nassar is named gymnastics team physician and assistant professor at Michigan State University.

A parent complains to Geddert about Nassar’s medical treatments, according to a lawsuit filed in 2017. The lawsuit states that Geddert failed to investigate the allegations and continued to recommend Nassar as a doctor to athletes.

Larissa Boyce, a 16-year-old high school student in Williamston, Mich., sees Nassar for treatment after injuring her back at an MSU youth gymnastics program. According to her account shared with the Detroit News in January 2018, she was abused by Nassar during treatment. She recalls telling a coach, who then instructed her to tell Michigan State gymnastics coach Kathie Klages.

“She just couldn’t believe that was happening,” said Boyce, now 37. “She said I must be misunderstanding what was going on.”

1998

Nassar abuses Kyle Stephens, the 6-year-old daughter of a friend, according to court documents. In a 2018 Victim Impact Statement, Stephens details abuse that went on for years and says that Nassar convinced her parents to disregard her earlier accounts.

1999

A Michigan State cross country athlete tells athletic program staff she was sexually assaulted by Nassar while receiving treatment for an injured hamstring, according to her lawsuit filed in 2017. According to the athlete, her concerns were dismissed by a coach who said Nassar was “an Olympic doctor” and “knew what he was doing.”

2000

Michigan State softball player Tiffany Thomas Lopez tells three university athletic trainers and one staff member that Nassar was sexually inappropriate during medical treatments, according to her statements to MLive. According to her 2016 lawsuit, Lopez says she was told that “she was fortunate to receive the best medical care possible from a world-renowned doctor.”

USA Gymnastics member Rachael Denhollander alleges being sexually assaulted by Nassar while receiving treatment for lower back pain. She was 15 years old at the time.

Nassar attends the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney as the U.S. women’s artistic gymnastics team physician.

2004

Nassar solicited and received child pornography, according to an unsealed 2016 federal indictment.

A 17-year-old visits Nassar for treatment for scoliosis. After Nassar abuses the young woman during the visit, she and her mother report the incident to the Meridian Township Police Department. Nassar defends his actions to police as valid medical treatment, using a PowerPoint presentation as supporting evidence. No charges are made. A redacted police report related to the incident was released on Jan. 30, 2017.

2008

Nassar attends the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, once again as the U.S. women’s artistic gymnastics team physician.

2014

Michigan State graduate Amanda Thomashow reports to Dr. Jeff Kovan of the MSU Sports Medicine Clinic that she was sexually assaulted by Nassar during a medical examination to treat a hip injury she sustained in high school. University president Lou Anna K. Simon is made aware of a Title IX complaint, and that a police report had been filed against an unnamed physician.

Nassar continues to treat patients for 16 months during the MSU Police Department investigation. The university investigation did not pass any information to prosecutors until July 2015. In December 2015, a prosecutor tells police that Nassar would not be charged.

Aug. 4, 2016

The Indianapolis Star publishes an ongoing investigation into sexual abuse inside USA Gymnastics, which is the first time the story is learned about by the wider public.

Aug. 5, 2016

The United States Senate writes a letter to USAG president and CEO Steve Penny expressing its concern over the Indianapolis Star report and urging USAG to take immediate steps to report the complaints received and install future safeguards.

“The report details failures by USA Gymnastics to alert authorities of sex abuse allegations against several coaches, despite being notified of serious allegations on numerous occasions. Some allegations were allowed to linger for years before any action was taken, leaving young victims in the supervision of sexual predators.”

Aug. 29, 2016

Denhollander files police complaint against Nassar with Michigan State University police. She alleges that she was sexually assaulted by Nassar in 2000 when she was 15 years old.

Aug. 30, 2016

Nassar is reassigned from all clinical duties at Michigan State University.

Sept. 8, 2016

The first-known accuser files a civil suit against Nassar, alleging abuse from 1994-2000.

Sept. 12, 2016

Denhollander and an unnamed Olympic medal-winning gymnast speak with the Indianapolis Star to tell their stories and allegations of abuse by Nassar while competing.

In response to the Indy Star story, USAG issues a statement indicating that Nassar was “relieved of his duties” in 2015:

Immediately after learning of athlete concerns about Dr. Nassar in the summer of 2015, Steve Penny, president and CEO of USA Gymnastics, notified law enforcement. We also relieved Dr. Nassar of his duties, and he ceased to be affiliated with USA Gymnastics. USA Gymnastics has cooperated fully with the law enforcement agency since we first notified them of the matter, including – at their request – refraining from making further statements or taking any other action that might interfere with the agency’s investigation. We are grateful to the athletes for coming forward to share their concerns when they did.

Shortly after the USAG statement, Nassar’s lawyer issued a response to the Indy Star indicating that his client was never “relieved of his duties,” but that he retired.

Sept. 20, 2016

Michigan State fires Nassar. In a statement to the Lansing State Journal the school says:

“Over the past week, the university received additional information that raised serious concerns about Nassar’s compliance with certain employment requirements.”

Nov. 22, 2016

Nassar is charged with three counts of first degree criminal sexual abuse. Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette reveals during a press conference that roughly 50 complaints have been received during his office’s investigation into Nassar.

“This is just the tip of the iceberg,” Schuette said, via the Lansing State Journal.

Dec. 16, 2016

In a separate case, Nassar is indicted on federal child pornography charges.

Jan. 10, 2017

Eighteen women file a lawsuit in federal court against Nassar, Michigan State, USA Gymnastics, and Twistars Gymnastics Club. The suit includes sexual assault allegations against Nassar ranging from 1996 through 2016, and it claims that more women were exposed to his predation due to the inaction of the institutions named during those years.

Jan. 24, 2017

The state of Michigan suspends Nassar’s medical license.

Feb. 3, 2017

In a “Letter to the Spartan Community,” Michigan State University President Lou Anna K. Simon outlines the school’s version of events, saying, “MSU has taken a proactive approach to responding to this situation.”

Feb. 13, 2017

Michigan State gymnastics coach Kathie Klages is suspended after court records show two women say she discouraged them from filing sexual assault complaints against Nassar in the late 1990s. Klages retires from Michigan State the following day.

Feb. 22, 2017

Nassar faces an additional 22 charges of sexual assault. The first-degree criminal sexual conduct charges relate to Nassar’s work at Michigan State University’s Sports Medicine clinic and Twistars Gymnastics Club. The total number of complaints is now more than 80.

“This guy is a monster,” says Michigan AG Bill Schuette during a press conference, via the Lansing State Journal.

April 13, 2017

Simon updates Michigan State’s board of trustees on the investigation, saying:

“I have been told it is virtually impossible to stop a determined sexual predator and pedophile, that they will go to incomprehensible lengths to keep what they do in the shadows. That may be true, but we at MSU must do all we can not only to ensure the safety of our patients but to protect youth who come to our campus in all capacities. As part of a broader programmatic effort that began in 2013, we recently held a workshop for all MSU youth program directors that focused on promoting the safety of minors at MSU, and we will roll out an enhanced youth protection policy and additional education within the next 30 days.”

June 30, 2017

Twenty-three more women and girls join a federal lawsuit against Nassar. There are now over 100 complaints against him.

July 11, 2017

Nassar pleads guilty to child pornography charges in a Michigan federal court.

Oct. 18, 2017

2012 Olympic medalist McKayla Maroney alleges she was abused by Nassar and explains what happened as part of a #MeToo post on Twitter.

Fall, 2017

Michigan State University asks federal officials to stop monitoring the school, saying they acted in “good faith” and went “above and beyond” in meeting standards set by federal officials.

Nov. 10, 2017

2012 and 2016 Olympic gold medalist Aly Raisman alleges she was abused by Nassar as well.

Three-time Olympic gold medalist, Aly Raisman, tells @DrLaPook she was sexually abused by a U.S. national team doctor. #60Minutes, Sunday. https://t.co/UEWiWTPIwZ pic.twitter.com/ADRUMNYDJT

— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) November 10, 2017

Nov. 20, 2017

Nassar pleads guilty to seven counts of first-degree criminal sexual misconduct in Ingham County Circuit Court as part of a plea agreement.

Nov. 21, 2017

2012 and 2016 Olympic gold medalist Gabby Douglas alleges she too was abused by Nassar.

please hear my heart

A post shared by Gabby Douglas (@gabbycvdouglas) on Nov 21, 2017 at 12:16pm PST

Nov. 29, 2017

Nassar pleads guilty to three counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct in Eaton County Circuit Court as part of plea agreement.

Dec. 7, 2017

Nassar is sentenced to 60 years in prison on federal child pornography charges.

Dec. 20, 2017

A lawsuit filed on McKayla Maroney’s behalf says that USA Gymnastics paid her to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) in late 2016 so she wouldn’t talk about abuse by Nassar. “They were willing to engage in a systematic cover-up of the entire matter,” Maroney’s attorney, John Manly, told ESPN.

Jan. 10, 2018

Raisman says USAG is “100 percent responsible” for the abuse by Nassar.

Jan. 15, 2018

2016 Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles alleges she is also a survivor of Nassar’s abuse.

Jan. 16-24, 2018

156 women read Victim Impact Statements during a eight-day sentencing hearing for Nassar in Ingham County Circuit Court in Michigan. Kyle Stephens opened the testimony with a powerful account of abuse by Nassar beginning in 1998 when she was 6 years old:

“You used my body for six years, for your own sexual gratification. That is unforgivable. I’ve been coming for you for a long time. I told counselors your name in the hopes they would report you. I have reported you to child protective services twice. I gave a testament to get your medical license revoked. You were first arrested on my charges, and now, as the only non-medical victim to come forward, I testify to let the world know that you are a repulsive liar. And that those “treatments” were pathetically veiled sexual abuse. Perhaps you have figured it out by now, but little girls don’t stay little forever. They grow into strong women that return to destroy your world.”

Jan. 19, 2018

Michigan State’s Board of Trustees sends a letter to AG Bill Schuette requesting an investigation of the university’s handling of the allegations against Nassar.

“After watching many of these heartbreaking statements and reading accounts about them, we have concluded that only a review by your office can resolve the questions in a way that the victims, their families, and the public will deem satisfactory and that will help all those affected by Nassar’s horrible crimes to heal.”

Amid calls for the resignation of MSU president Lou Anna K. Simon, the university’s Board of Trustees chairman Brian Breslin issues a statement of support for the embattled administrator:

“Through this terrible situation, the university has been perceived as tone deaf, unresponsive and insensitive to the victims. We understand the public’s faith has been shaken. The Board has listened and heard the victims. Today, the Board acted and has asked the Attorney General’s Office to review the facts in this matter, and as information is presented, the Board will act. This can never happen again. As part of the Board’s oversight authority, we will retain independent external assistance to support our responsibilities to the university community and the public at large. We continue to believe President Simon is the right leader for the university and she has our support.”

Jan. 22, 2018

USA Gymnastics announces that its board of directors executive leadership -- Chairman Paul Parilla, Vice Chairman Jay Binder & Treasurer Bitsy Kelley -- all tendered their resignation, effective Jan. 21, 2018. In a statement, USAG president and CEO Kerry Perry said the following:

“USA Gymnastics thanks Paul Parilla, Jay Binder and Bitsy Kelley for their many years of service to this organization. We support their decisions to resign at this time. We believe this step will allow us to more effectively move forward in implementing change within our organization.

As the board identifies its next chair and fills the vacant board positions, we remain focused on working every day to ensure that our culture, policies and actions reflect our commitment to those we serve.”

A 15-year-old survivor of Nassar testifies in court that she was assaulted by him one week before he was fired by MSU. There are report the MSU Sports Clinic is still attempting to bill the girl’s family for the appointment. The university later says it will not bill patients of Nassar.

USA Gymnastics suspends former U.S. women’s gymnastics national team coach John Geddert on Monday, according to the Lansing State Journal and ESPN. Geddert operated two gyms that worked with trainer Larry Nassar, who has been accused of sexual assaulting more than 150 women over decades associated with USAG and Michigan State University.

USA Gymnastics said in a statement obtained by ESPN:

”John Geddert has been suspended under the interim measures provisions of Section 10.5 of USA Gymnastics’ Bylaws. USA Gymnastics is unable to comment further as this is a pending matter.”

The bylaw under which Geddert is being suspended gives USAG the right to suspend members to “ensure the safety and well-being of the gymnastics community or where an allegation is sufficiently serious that an Adverse Party’s continued participation could be detrimental to the sport or its reputation.”

Jan. 24, 2018

Judge Rosemarie Aquilina sentences Larry Nassar to 40-to-175 years in prison on seven counts of criminal sexual assault. During sentencing Judge Aquilina states that her sentence will begin after Nassar completed his 60-year federal sentence for child pornography, saying:

“I find that you don’t get it. That you are a danger. You remain a danger. I am a judge who believes in life and rehabilitation, when rehabilitation is possible. I have many defendants come back and show me the great things they’ve done in their lives after probation, after parole. I don’t find that’s possible with you.”

The U.S. Olympic Committee publishes an open letter to its athletes outlining four next steps — including a turnover of leadership in USA Gymnastics — to be taken in the aftermath of the Nassar case.

We Must Change the Culture of the Sport

We Must Change the Governance Structure of the NGB

We Must Know Who Knew What and When

We Must Support Safe Sport Victims and Survivors

Read the full USOC letter HERE.

MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon resigns from her position hours after the Nassar sentencing hearing is completed. The resignation comes amid growing calls for her to step down.

As tragedies are politicized, blame is inevitable. As president, it is only natural that I am the focus of this anger. I understand, and that is why I have limited my personal statements. Throughout my career, I have worked very hard to put Team MSU first. Throughout my career, I have consistently and persistently spoken and worked on behalf of Team MSU. I have tried to make it not about me. I urge those who have supported my work to understand that I cannot make it about me now. Therefore, I am tendering my resignation as president according to the terms of my employment agreement.

Read her full resignation letter HERE.

Jan. 25, 2018

U.S. Olympic Committee CEO Scot Blackmun writes a letter to USAG indicating that it will be decertified as the sport’s national governing body if it fails to meet six conditions by specified dates. Prominent among the conditions is the resignation by the USAG board of directors by Jan. 31.

“We do not base these requirements on any knowledge that any individual USAG staff or board members had a role in fostering or obscuring Nassar’s actions,” Blackmun write. “Our position comes from a clear sense that USAG culture needs fundamental rebuilding.”

Read the full USOC letter HERE.

In a statement posted to its website along with a copy of the USOC letter, USAG indicates that it “completely embraces the requirements.”

Jan. 26, 2018

Michigan State Athletic Director Mark Hollis announces his retirement. He had been MSU’s AD since January 2008. In a statement, he expresses his willingness to cooperate with ongoing investigations.

“Our campus, and beyond, has been attacked by evil, an individual who broke trust and so much more. As a campus community, we must do everything we can to ensure this never happens again; to make sure any sexual assault never occurs. But to do so, we must listen and learn lessons. Only then can we truly begin the process of healing. I have tried to do this since first learning about the abuse in September 2016.”

Read the complete statement HERE.

Jan. 31, 2018

A sentencing hearing for Nassar begins in Eaton County Circuit Court in Michigan, where he pleaded guilty to three counts of criminal sexual conduct in November. At least 65 women are expected to testify in court or submit statements, according to The Detroit News.

USA Gymnastics announces the resignations of all members of its Board of Directors. The official statement comes on the deadline previously set by the United States Olympic Committee to avoid decertification as the sports national governing body.

We are in the process of moving forward with forming an interim Board of Directors during the month of February, in accordance with the USOC’s requirements. USA Gymnastics will provide information about this process within the next few days.

USA Gymnastics embraces not only the changes necessary as called for by the USOC and the Deborah Daniels report, but we also will hold the organization to the highest standards of care and safety in further developing a culture of empowerment for our athletes and members.

Read the complete statement HERE.

Michigan State University’s Board of Trustees unanimously votes to appoint former Michigan Governor John Engler as interim president of the university. Engler, an MSU graduate, will assume his duties Feb. 5.

“As the father of three daughters who just completed their undergraduate degrees, I put myself in the place of every parent who has sent their loved one to this great institution,” Engler said in a statement releaed by MSU. “I understand the concern and uncertainty as well as the frustration and anger. To those parents, be assured that I will move forward as if my own daughters were on this campus and will treat every student as I would my own daughters.”

Read MSU’s complete announcement HERE.

Feb. 5, 2018

Judge Janice Cunningham sentences Larry Nassar to 40 to 125 years in prison on three charges of criminal sexual misconduct in Eaton County Court. The Eaton County case involves sexual assaults at Twistars Gymnastics Club.

Feb. 28, 2018

Scott Blackmun announces his resignation as CEO of the U.S. Olympic Committee. The 60-year-old, who did not attend the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea with Team USA, cited health problems as the reason for his departure. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in January.

The USOC announces new reforms and initiatives in response to abuses of Larry Nassar, including providing funding and resources for support and counseling for gymnasts impacted.

Read complete USOC announcement HERE.

Mar. 27, 2018

William Strampel, Nassar’s former boss and former dean of the College of Osteopathic Medicine at Michigan State is arrested for felony misconduct in office and fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct, along with two counts of willful neglect of duty. Court affidavits outline how he groped and harrassed students, possessed pornography containing images of students and reported details to Nassar during the school’s Title IX investigation into him in 2014.

Apr. 13, 2018

A Nassar survivor spoke at a Michigan State University board meeting and outlined how interim president, former governor John Engler, attempted to coerce her to take a settlement and drop he civil case against the school. In addition, the survivor alleges that Engler lied to her about Rachel Denhollander accepting a buyout.

Gasps and outrage in the board room today when a Nassar survivor describes in great detail how she says MSU Interim President John Engler attempted to coerce her into settling her case against the university. @FOX2News Listen: pic.twitter.com/GiAbpR1S8f

— Kellie Rowe (@kellierowe) April 13, 2018

May 1, 2018

Former USA Gymnastics coaches Bela and Martha Karolyi file a lawsuit against USA Gymnastics asking over $1 million in damages for failing to honor a lease agreement, and for not living up to a promise that USA Gymnastics would “wrap their arms” around the Karolyis to prevent fallout from the Larry Nassar trial.

May 16, 2018

Michigan State agrees to a $500M settlement with survivors who filed a class action lawsuit against the university for failing to protect them from Larry Nassar.

June 29, 2018

Former USA Gymnastics director of sports medicine services Debbie Van Horn was indicted along with Nassar in Texas for what Walker County assistant attorney Stephanie Stroud called, “a total failure by USAG to protect the athletes that were part of their program and to take appropriate action once they were made aware of Dr. Nassar’s actions.”

No charges were brought for any other USAG officials, and no evidence of criminal wrongdoing was found against former team directors Bela and Martha Karolyi. “It’s good that they’re holding more people accountable but they’re not holding accountable the people who are really responsible for what Larry did to us and that’s the Karolyis,” said former USA gymnast Jeanette Antolin, one of Nassar’s victims.

August 23, 2018

Former Michigan State University gymnastics coach Kathy Clages is charged with two counts of lying to police after an ongoing investigation uncovered that Clages was aware of abuse by Nassar, but told police she had no knowledge of being told by survivors.

October 18, 2018

Former President and CEO of USA Gymnastics Steve Penny is arrested in Tennessee following an indictment for tampering with evidence. Prosecutors claim that Penny ordered the removal of key documents from Karolyi Ranch, a training facility in Texas, after he learned that Nassar was being investigated for sexual abuse.

November 20, 2018

Former Michigan State University President Lou Anna Simon is charged with lying to state police during a probe into Larry Nassar. Simon was asked in May is she was aware Nassar was being investigated in 2016, to which charges claim she responded saying she knew a sports physician was being investigated — but not who. New documents purport to show that Simon was aware is was Nassar who was under investigation.

December 5, 2018

USA Gymnastics files for bankruptcy in the wake of USOC deciding to vote for decertifying the group, as well as outstanding civil lawsuits that have yet to be resolves. A lawyer representing 180 survivors issued a statement saying:

“The leadership of USA Gymnastics has proven itself to be both morally and financially bankrupt,” Manly added. “They have inflicted and continue to inflict unimaginable pain on survivors and their families.”

December 21, 2018

A Michigan attorney general’s report reveals Michigan State staffers may have been aware of complaints about Nassar, but failed to report concerns to administrative staff or USA Gymnastics.

BREAKING: new Michigan AG report on MSU investigation reveals many more MSU staff, athletic trainers, and doctors were told of concerns surrounding Nassar, failed to report

— Kate Wells (@KateLouiseWells) December 21, 2018

January 16, 2019

The Michigan State University Board of Trustees announces it will hold a debate into the future of interim president John Engler after Engler is quoted by the Detroit Free Press insinuating that some of Nassar’s victims are “enjoying” the “spotlight” caused by their abuse.

July 31, 2019

A report indicates that former MSU president Lou Anna Simon will still be paid her $2.45 million retirement package, which includes having her university presidential portait painted. The school reserves the right not to display the portrait, should Simon be convicted of lying to investigators.

[bestautochicago]

Catching Up With: Alfonso Albaisa, Head of Nissan/Infiniti design

Alfonso Albaisa, head of Nissan/Infiniti design since spring 2017, has had a surprisingly simple and straightforward career in car design. Nissan was his first automotive employer 35 years ago, and he has been with the firm since. He’s been there through the ups and downs, including a dark period when catastrophically bad management drove it into the purchase/merger fusion with Renault that resulted in the Alliance. Carlos Ghosn, who masterminded Nissan’s revival, says it’s the only “merger of equals” that has actually worked.

Albaisa had run Nissan design outposts in La Jolla, California, and London, England, before moving to headquarters in Japan fairly recently. His succession to Shiro Nakamura, which was carefully orchestrated behind the scenes by Nakamura and Ghosn, came as a bit of a surprise to him. A lot of things in his life have been a surprise to Florida-born Albaisa, 52, whose parents fled Castro’s Cuba early in his regime. “It’s hard for me to realize that a poor Cuban kid could come so far,” he told us at Pebble Beach last summer.

Especially, one might think, for a boy whose youthful behavior might be considered a bit eccentric. “I dressed only in Napoleonic-era costumes when I was a boy,” he says. “Until I was 19, my mother made all my clothes. Then I was impressed by my brother’s grunge style, so I changed to be like him.” Eccentricities aside, Albaisa was always serious about his education and adding to his knowledge. One of his instructors at the Center for Creative Studies in Detroit, which he attended—he graduated from Pratt Institute in New York—eventually talked him into a more conventional presentation, which seems to have stuck. But he has managed to keep the cheerful, fun-loving attitude that has been his hallmark.

The underlying idea for the Prototype 9, the first Infiniti concept car to appear during his period in charge, is that—in the alternate universe supposed for the purpose—there were some really advanced Japanese aircraft designers who made a race car and mothballed it somewhere safe during the war years. Then, as a “barn find,” it could be refurbished and presented at Pebble Beach. How it managed to have acquired a grille shape that hadn’t existed in 1933 for a nameplate that came to market in 1989 with no grille at all is an open question. Albaisa says it made good sense to use the shape that has evolved from a quarter century of production. It certainly doesn’t look anachronistic or out of place on the Prototype 9. He also notes that there was a serious racing history at Prince Motor Company, acquired by Nissan long ago. We talked with Albaisa recently about how the concept came about, especially the most striking aspect of the design: a huge rise in the middle of the hood’s length. “It was inspired by the way the Howard Hughes’ H-1 world air-speed-record airplane looked when it was sitting on the ground, the rounded cowling standing up and everything falling away behind it,” he said.

That silvery record-holder was a huge achievement in the ’30s, exactly the period of the Infiniti 9. Albaisa said: “I wanted the shapes to look like lofted curves, between parabolic curves and some with more tension … between a tango and a Mexican wrestling match.”

Automobile Magazine: Where was the concept car made?

Alfonso Albaisa: It was actually made at our Oppama factory, the oldest one in the company. Once we got started on the project, the engineers got into it and wanted to make the “fake brake” you liked. Then the factory workers wanted in on the project. They learned to work the sheet steel by hand.

AM: The car is made of steel, not aluminum?

AA: Yes, we borrowed a bit of the steel used to stamp production parts right there in the factory. But we promised to give it back.

AM: So all of this was done by people who ordinarily don’t make prototypes?

AA: Yes, the whole thing was like a drink of water for the team. For the designers, it was a way to take us out of decoration. … The whole project, carried out in very little time, was a labor of love, done with a tongue-in-cheek attitude.”

AM: But with absolute seriousness, we’d say.

Source: http://chicagoautohaus.com/catching-up-with-alfonso-albaisa-head-of-nissan-infiniti-design/

from Chicago Today https://chicagocarspot.wordpress.com/2017/12/14/catching-up-with-alfonso-albaisa-head-of-nissan-infiniti-design/

[jonathanbelloblog]

Catching Up With: Alfonso Albaisa, Head of Nissan/Infiniti design

Alfonso Albaisa, head of Nissan/Infiniti design since spring 2017, has had a surprisingly simple and straightforward career in car design. Nissan was his first automotive employer 35 years ago, and he has been with the firm since. He’s been there through the ups and downs, including a dark period when catastrophically bad management drove it into the purchase/merger fusion with Renault that resulted in the Alliance. Carlos Ghosn, who masterminded Nissan’s revival, says it’s the only “merger of equals” that has actually worked.

Albaisa had run Nissan design outposts in La Jolla, California, and London, England, before moving to headquarters in Japan fairly recently. His succession to Shiro Nakamura, which was carefully orchestrated behind the scenes by Nakamura and Ghosn, came as a bit of a surprise to him. A lot of things in his life have been a surprise to Florida-born Albaisa, 52, whose parents fled Castro’s Cuba early in his regime. “It’s hard for me to realize that a poor Cuban kid could come so far,” he told us at Pebble Beach last summer.

Especially, one might think, for a boy whose youthful behavior might be considered a bit eccentric. “I dressed only in Napoleonic-era costumes when I was a boy,” he says. “Until I was 19, my mother made all my clothes. Then I was impressed by my brother’s grunge style, so I changed to be like him.” Eccentricities aside, Albaisa was always serious about his education and adding to his knowledge. One of his instructors at the Center for Creative Studies in Detroit, which he attended—he graduated from Pratt Institute in New York—eventually talked him into a more conventional presentation, which seems to have stuck. But he has managed to keep the cheerful, fun-loving attitude that has been his hallmark.

The underlying idea for the Prototype 9, the first Infiniti concept car to appear during his period in charge, is that—in the alternate universe supposed for the purpose—there were some really advanced Japanese aircraft designers who made a race car and mothballed it somewhere safe during the war years. Then, as a “barn find,” it could be refurbished and presented at Pebble Beach. How it managed to have acquired a grille shape that hadn’t existed in 1933 for a nameplate that came to market in 1989 with no grille at all is an open question. Albaisa says it made good sense to use the shape that has evolved from a quarter century of production. It certainly doesn’t look anachronistic or out of place on the Prototype 9. He also notes that there was a serious racing history at Prince Motor Company, acquired by Nissan long ago. We talked with Albaisa recently about how the concept came about, especially the most striking aspect of the design: a huge rise in the middle of the hood’s length. “It was inspired by the way the Howard Hughes’ H-1 world air-speed-record airplane looked when it was sitting on the ground, the rounded cowling standing up and everything falling away behind it,” he said.

That silvery record-holder was a huge achievement in the ’30s, exactly the period of the Infiniti 9. Albaisa said: “I wanted the shapes to look like lofted curves, between parabolic curves and some with more tension … between a tango and a Mexican wrestling match.”

Automobile Magazine: Where was the concept car made?

Alfonso Albaisa: It was actually made at our Oppama factory, the oldest one in the company. Once we got started on the project, the engineers got into it and wanted to make the “fake brake” you liked. Then the factory workers wanted in on the project. They learned to work the sheet steel by hand.

AM: The car is made of steel, not aluminum?

AA: Yes, we borrowed a bit of the steel used to stamp production parts right there in the factory. But we promised to give it back.

AM: So all of this was done by people who ordinarily don’t make prototypes?

AA: Yes, the whole thing was like a drink of water for the team. For the designers, it was a way to take us out of decoration. … The whole project, carried out in very little time, was a labor of love, done with a tongue-in-cheek attitude.”

AM: But with absolute seriousness, we’d say.

The post Catching Up With: Alfonso Albaisa, Head of Nissan/Infiniti design appeared first on Automobile Magazine.

from Performance Junk Blogger Feed 4 http://ift.tt/2AGzYgt via IFTTT

[jesusvasser]

Catching Up With: Alfonso Albaisa, Head of Nissan/Infiniti design

Alfonso Albaisa, head of Nissan/Infiniti design since spring 2017, has had a surprisingly simple and straightforward career in car design. Nissan was his first automotive employer 35 years ago, and he has been with the firm since. He’s been there through the ups and downs, including a dark period when catastrophically bad management drove it into the purchase/merger fusion with Renault that resulted in the Alliance. Carlos Ghosn, who masterminded Nissan’s revival, says it’s the only “merger of equals” that has actually worked.

Albaisa had run Nissan design outposts in La Jolla, California, and London, England, before moving to headquarters in Japan fairly recently. His succession to Shiro Nakamura, which was carefully orchestrated behind the scenes by Nakamura and Ghosn, came as a bit of a surprise to him. A lot of things in his life have been a surprise to Florida-born Albaisa, 52, whose parents fled Castro’s Cuba early in his regime. “It’s hard for me to realize that a poor Cuban kid could come so far,” he told us at Pebble Beach last summer.

Especially, one might think, for a boy whose youthful behavior might be considered a bit eccentric. “I dressed only in Napoleonic-era costumes when I was a boy,” he says. “Until I was 19, my mother made all my clothes. Then I was impressed by my brother’s grunge style, so I changed to be like him.” Eccentricities aside, Albaisa was always serious about his education and adding to his knowledge. One of his instructors at the Center for Creative Studies in Detroit, which he attended—he graduated from Pratt Institute in New York—eventually talked him into a more conventional presentation, which seems to have stuck. But he has managed to keep the cheerful, fun-loving attitude that has been his hallmark.

The underlying idea for the Prototype 9, the first Infiniti concept car to appear during his period in charge, is that—in the alternate universe supposed for the purpose—there were some really advanced Japanese aircraft designers who made a race car and mothballed it somewhere safe during the war years. Then, as a “barn find,” it could be refurbished and presented at Pebble Beach. How it managed to have acquired a grille shape that hadn’t existed in 1933 for a nameplate that came to market in 1989 with no grille at all is an open question. Albaisa says it made good sense to use the shape that has evolved from a quarter century of production. It certainly doesn’t look anachronistic or out of place on the Prototype 9. He also notes that there was a serious racing history at Prince Motor Company, acquired by Nissan long ago. We talked with Albaisa recently about how the concept came about, especially the most striking aspect of the design: a huge rise in the middle of the hood’s length. “It was inspired by the way the Howard Hughes’ H-1 world air-speed-record airplane looked when it was sitting on the ground, the rounded cowling standing up and everything falling away behind it,” he said.

That silvery record-holder was a huge achievement in the ’30s, exactly the period of the Infiniti 9. Albaisa said: “I wanted the shapes to look like lofted curves, between parabolic curves and some with more tension … between a tango and a Mexican wrestling match.”

Automobile Magazine: Where was the concept car made?

Alfonso Albaisa: It was actually made at our Oppama factory, the oldest one in the company. Once we got started on the project, the engineers got into it and wanted to make the “fake brake” you liked. Then the factory workers wanted in on the project. They learned to work the sheet steel by hand.

AM: The car is made of steel, not aluminum?

AA: Yes, we borrowed a bit of the steel used to stamp production parts right there in the factory. But we promised to give it back.

AM: So all of this was done by people who ordinarily don’t make prototypes?

AA: Yes, the whole thing was like a drink of water for the team. For the designers, it was a way to take us out of decoration. … The whole project, carried out in very little time, was a labor of love, done with a tongue-in-cheek attitude.”

AM: But with absolute seriousness, we’d say.

The post Catching Up With: Alfonso Albaisa, Head of Nissan/Infiniti design appeared first on Automobile Magazine.

from Performance Junk WP Feed 4 http://ift.tt/2AGzYgt via IFTTT

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Catching Up With: Alfonso Albaisa, Head of Nissan/Infiniti design

Alfonso Albaisa, head of Nissan/Infiniti design since spring 2017, has had a surprisingly simple and straightforward career in car design. Nissan was his first automotive employer 35 years ago, and he has been with the firm since. He’s been there through the ups and downs, including a dark period when catastrophically bad management drove it into the purchase/merger fusion with Renault that resulted in the Alliance. Carlos Ghosn, who masterminded Nissan’s revival, says it’s the only “merger of equals” that has actually worked.

Albaisa had run Nissan design outposts in La Jolla, California, and London, England, before moving to headquarters in Japan fairly recently. His succession to Shiro Nakamura, which was carefully orchestrated behind the scenes by Nakamura and Ghosn, came as a bit of a surprise to him. A lot of things in his life have been a surprise to Florida-born Albaisa, 52, whose parents fled Castro’s Cuba early in his regime. “It’s hard for me to realize that a poor Cuban kid could come so far,” he told us at Pebble Beach last summer.

Especially, one might think, for a boy whose youthful behavior might be considered a bit eccentric. “I dressed only in Napoleonic-era costumes when I was a boy,” he says. “Until I was 19, my mother made all my clothes. Then I was impressed by my brother’s grunge style, so I changed to be like him.” Eccentricities aside, Albaisa was always serious about his education and adding to his knowledge. One of his instructors at the Center for Creative Studies in Detroit, which he attended—he graduated from Pratt Institute in New York—eventually talked him into a more conventional presentation, which seems to have stuck. But he has managed to keep the cheerful, fun-loving attitude that has been his hallmark.

The underlying idea for the Prototype 9, the first Infiniti concept car to appear during his period in charge, is that—in the alternate universe supposed for the purpose—there were some really advanced Japanese aircraft designers who made a race car and mothballed it somewhere safe during the war years. Then, as a “barn find,” it could be refurbished and presented at Pebble Beach. How it managed to have acquired a grille shape that hadn’t existed in 1933 for a nameplate that came to market in 1989 with no grille at all is an open question. Albaisa says it made good sense to use the shape that has evolved from a quarter century of production. It certainly doesn’t look anachronistic or out of place on the Prototype 9. He also notes that there was a serious racing history at Prince Motor Company, acquired by Nissan long ago. We talked with Albaisa recently about how the concept came about, especially the most striking aspect of the design: a huge rise in the middle of the hood’s length. “It was inspired by the way the Howard Hughes’ H-1 world air-speed-record airplane looked when it was sitting on the ground, the rounded cowling standing up and everything falling away behind it,” he said.

That silvery record-holder was a huge achievement in the ’30s, exactly the period of the Infiniti 9. Albaisa said: “I wanted the shapes to look like lofted curves, between parabolic curves and some with more tension … between a tango and a Mexican wrestling match.”

Automobile Magazine: Where was the concept car made?

Alfonso Albaisa: It was actually made at our Oppama factory, the oldest one in the company. Once we got started on the project, the engineers got into it and wanted to make the “fake brake” you liked. Then the factory workers wanted in on the project. They learned to work the sheet steel by hand.

AM: The car is made of steel, not aluminum?

AA: Yes, we borrowed a bit of the steel used to stamp production parts right there in the factory. But we promised to give it back.

AM: So all of this was done by people who ordinarily don’t make prototypes?

AA: Yes, the whole thing was like a drink of water for the team. For the designers, it was a way to take us out of decoration. … The whole project, carried out in very little time, was a labor of love, done with a tongue-in-cheek attitude.”

AM: But with absolute seriousness, we’d say.

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