Yvonne Coleman

Jun 22 2012

Slaying of the late Mayor Tom Bradley’s niece, Brenda Bradley

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—A man who is already serving a life prison term without the possibility of parole for four murders was sentenced today to death for suffocating a 15-year-old girl and strangling two women between 1986 and 1993.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Curtis B. Rappe said he was “satisfied beyond all doubt that Michael Hughes is guilty” and that the case “warrants the imposition of death.”

Gregg Reese  |   OW Staff Writer
Nov 3 2011

Alleged predators Franklin and Hughes linked to additional slayings

In the latest developments involving accused “Grim Sleeper” suspect Lonnie David Franklin Jr., six additional murders have been attributed to the defendant, bringing the total number of alleged killings committed between 1985 and 2007 to 16.

These additional victims were linked via a combination of forensic research, specifically DNA, and circumstantial evidence.

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.

California
San Diego college students and volunteers will carry out their sixth home restoration project on Wednesday, July 10 through Sunday, July 14. as part of the “Healing our Heroes’ Homes” (H3) program created by the nonprofit Embrace. The five-day effort will take place at the home of medically retired Marine Corps Capt. Sarah Bettencourt. Bettencourt served with many different units across the country during the Global War on Terrorism and developed a rare neurological disorder in 2008. With a focus to restore the homes of disabled veteran homeowners, H3 falls in line with Embrace’s mission to mobilize college-student volunteers and community members to serve less fortunate members of civilian and veteran communities. The project for the Bettencourts’ home includes kitchen and bathroom remodeling, building ADA-compliant disability ramps, widening their driveway to ADA standards, widening doorways and landscaping.
 
District of Columbia
The 2013 Smithsonian Folklife Festival will showcase its five-year community research project on African American identity with the program “The Will to Adorn: African American Diversity, Style, and Identity.” This multicity collaboration examines the history and culture of the aesthetics of African Americans. The festival will be held June 26-30 and July 3-7, outdoors on the National Mall between Seventh and 14th streets. “Whether we realize it or not, we are all dress artists. The way we compose our look is a creative expression of our ideas about who we are and who we aspire to be,” said Diana N’Diaye, program curator. “This program explores the diversity of African American traditions of style, but also teaches young people the importance of documenting their own culture and saving that information for themselves and future generations.”