Sybil Wilkes ‘What You Need To Know’: Police Shootings, Allergies, and More!

1. Jacksonville Mourns Racist Mass Murders

Jacksonville Mourns Racist Mass Murders

What You Need to Know:

As investigations continue following the mass murders that took place Saturday afternoon in Jacksonville, Florida, the community mourns. A vigil was held Sunday evening, a block away from the Dollar General store where three Black people were killed by a 21-year-old White man. 

 The shooter, armed with an AR-15 style rifle and a handgun began his attack in the parking lot, killing 52-year-old Angela Carr as she sat in her car. He then went into the store where he killed Dollar General employee, 19-year-old Anolt Joseph “AJ” Laguerre, Jr. A customer, identified as 29-year-old Jarrald De’Shawn Gallion, was the last of the three Black people killed in the racist attack.

2. Daniel Jackson: What Inspires an Educator?

Daniel Jackson: What Inspires an Educator?

WRITTEN AND CONTRIBUTED BY KHAMERON RILEY

 What You Need to Know:

The first weeks of school are over, and The Washington Post has collated recent statistics regarding the education system’s staffing shortages.

There’s been a 35 percent overall increase in teaching vacancies. 60 percent of schools with over 75 percent of students of color have at least one vacancy. The turnover rate of teachers increased by a record 14 percent from 2021-2022. Many teachers cite the same issues we’ve covered before for their departure: pay, support, supplies, long hours, etc.

Many efforts persist in growing the next generation of educators. Many more speculate why there are so few Black male teachers in the first place. Some believe it’s because you’re recruiting a student to “return to the scene of the crime” and fix the issues ourselves. Others believe Black men require the community support we see in HBCUs to excel.

3. Are There Allergy Treatments Specifically For African Americans?

Are There Allergy Treatments Specifically For African Americans?

 What You Need to Know:

Developing Allergies Through Sensitization

Allergic sensitization is the first step in developing an allergy. This allergy often begins before birth, as you are exposed to things your mother eats or is absorbed from various things within her environment. You become sensitized to other common allergens after birth, such as dust mites, foods, medications, and insect stings. When you start to develop symptoms of these allergens primarily depends on when you are first exposed to them and how often. The sensitization process begins when your immune system makes antibodies specific to the allergen you’ve encountered, known as immunoglobulin e (IgE). The previously created antibodies are triggered when exposed to that allergen again, causing symptoms.

4. Indianapolis Police Fatally Shot Black Man in the Back

Indianapolis Police Fatally Shot Black Man in the Back

WRITTEN AND CONTRIBUTED BY COY MALONE

What You Need to Know:

The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department posted an edited video narrating and depicting the August 3 shooting of 49-year-old Gary Harrell, a Black man, after officials said he was fleeing a traffic stop with a gun in his hand. Harrell was fatally shot in the back. 

 The Black Church Coalition expressed outrage over the footage and is now calling for the officer responsible to be fired. “It is clear from the bodycam footage that the officer broke the training policy,” said Pastor Peris Lester of Phillips Temple CME Church. “Why is he still being paid? Why is the taking of a human life not a concern of the chief of police in Indianapolis?”

 The Marion County Coroner’s Office ruled Harrell’s cause of death as a “gunshot wound of chest” and declared it a homicide. “Injury and damage to organs in Harrell’s chest/chest cavity,” the coroner’s office later clarified.

5. Desperate For a Loan? Rejections Are Rising!

Desperate For a Loan? Rejections Are Rising!

WRITTEN AND CONTRIBUTED BY CATRINA M. CRAFT, CPA

 What You Need to Know:

 The rejection rate for people applying for credit jumped to 21.8% in June, up from 17.3% in February and the highest level in five years, according to a Federal Reserve survey. The report underscores the caution financial institutions are taking amid one of the most aggressive Fed rate hiking cycles in history and a potential recession.

Major banks like JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America, reported they were setting aside more money to cover bad consumer loans as credit card balances rise. Delinquency rates in credit cards and other retail lines are rising and expected to rise further before leveling off to “normal levels”.