Month: June 2021

President Joe Biden traveled to Oklahoma on Tuesday for the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre. On May 31 and June 1, 1921, an armed White mob ravaged the wealthy Black neighborhood of Greenwood, a hub of Black-owned businesses known as “Black Wall Street,” in Tulsa. The mob destroyed 35 city blocks.

During his visit to the Greenwood Cultural Center, Biden spoke about the diminished impact of the 1921 Tulsa massacre in which a White mob killed hundreds of Black Americans. Biden pledged to expand access to two key wealth creators — home ownership and small business ownership — in communities of color and disadvantaged communities.  Said Biden: “My fellow Americans, this was not a riot. This was a massacre. Among the worst in our history. But not the only one — and for too long, forgotten by our history. We do ourselves no favors by pretending none of this ever happened,” Biden said. “We should know the good, the bad, everything. That’s what great nations do. They come to terms with their dark sides.” 

Biden announced efforts to block racial discrimination in the U.S. housing market, including an inter-agency effort to address inequity in home appraisals. The White House said the government will use purchasing power to grow federal contracting with small disadvantaged businesses by 50%, which it said would result in an additional $100 billion over five years. To end housing discrimination, the White House said the Department of Housing and Urban Development will move toward “traditional interpretations of the Fair Housing Act” and “more vigorously enforce the Fair Housing Act.”

A Los Angeles County Fire Department firefighter died and another was injured after an off-duty colleague opened fire at a station in Agua Ducle on Tuesday. Agua Ducle is located about 30 miles north of Los Angeles in the Santa Clarita Valley.

Speaking during a news conference, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Lt. Brandon Dean said the suspected gunman returned to his home, where he barricaded himself in and set the structure ablaze. Authorities found the suspect, whose name wasn’t released, dead from a possible self-inflicted gunshot wound in the backyard.

Several hundred volunteers joined law enforcement officials in searching for a missing Iowa boy.  11-year-old Xavior Harrelson was last seen around 11 a.m. Thursday on his bike near his home on the north end of Montezuma. About 375 volunteers joined 125 law enforcement officers and first responders in the search.

Mitch Mortvedt with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation said areas around the family’s home were being searched Sunday. Harrelson was wearing a red shirt and blue pajama pants with black high-top shoes when he disappeared, authorities said. Police and family of the boy said it is out of the ordinary for him to be gone from home overnight with no contact.

Anyone with information or tips is urged to call the Poweshiek County Sheriff’s Office at 641-623-5679.