Rina Risper, President & Publisher of The New Citizens Press
(Pandemic photo 2022)
Dear Readers,
I just returned back to Lansing from a trip to Tulsa, OK. The New Citizens Press was invited to Black-Owned Media Weekend. I just could not contain my excitement when I saw the email stating that we were chosen to attend.
I was going despite the mass shooting that surprised and angered the Tulsa community along with the nation. Francis Medical Center was the site of one of the nation’s mass shootings. A man pushed his way into the building and shot and killed four people.
The shooter had a note that indicated that he had back surgery and he was going to kill the surgeon and anyone who got in his way. The shooting victims Dr. Preston Phillips, Dr. Stephanie Husen, William Love, and Amanda Glen were all loved by their community.
Dr. Phillips, a Black orthopedic surgeon with a stellar career was the target of the attack. Willam Love was retired from the military. He was an Army First Sergeant and Vietnam veteran with over 25 years of service. Dr. Husen was a sport and internal medicine specialist. Ms. Glenn was a mother and wife. Love, Husen, and Glenn were in the wrong place at the wrong time according to Wendell Franklin, who is the police chief of Tulsa, Oklahoma.
I always read the news before visiting any city. I would recommend that also for students who go to another city or state for higher education or employment. I would get both the minority newspaper and the mainstream newspaper. The tone is usually different in
In the next edition, I will write about John, my interesting airplane seat mate during the last leg to my destination.
TNCP Photo
each newspaper. They will tell you more about what is going on than a university or job site.
Mental Health
It is confusing to understand why someone who is experiencing physical pain would want to cause harm to the doctor instead of talking about it or finding another doctor to address his concerns. I am wondering if the killer had other unresolved issues.
Earlier in May, an 18-year-old killed ten innocent people and wounded three, motivated by racial rage that he had towards Black people. How is this type of radicalization infiltrate our lives in today’s society.
Going to a store wearing a tactical helmet along with plated armor does not like a person who is sane. The killer was live streaming during the rampage and was heavily armed. What was his mental state? Who drives 200 miles to kill someone? Why Buffalo, New York? Why stake out a supermarket in a Black neighborhood? Mass shootings are on the minds of those who believe that they are provoked.
Soon after in Uvalde, Texas, a shooting happened and an 18-year-old killed nineteen students and two teachers.
Are the gun laws too lax? Is it too easy to enter schools? Guns, guns and more guns are in the hands of people who should not have access.
Black Owned Media Week was during Juneteenth weekend and the commemoration of the 101st anniversary of the 1921 Race Massacre. This first generation American went to Oklahoma.
This story will be continued in the next edition. I will write about my trip from the time I left Lansing.
Love people!
