Pasadena cops seek robbery suspects SEE PAGE 3
Pasadena Press pasadenapress.com
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2015 - MARCH 1, 2015
usc pacific asia muesum SEE PAGE 4 VOLUME 2, NO. 8
Pasadena Bobby Seale, Founder of Black Panthers ,Talks Power, Politics at PCC Police Chief to Address Gang by nick kipley uesday, in PasadeViolence na City College’s
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Bobby Seale at PCC – Courtesy photo
Creveling Lounge, Bobby Seale, founder of the Black Panther Party, gave a lesson to the hundred or so people in the auditorium about the benefit of organized political action. “What is a political power seat?” he asked. All around the room, students could be seen taking notes. Glancing up from their tablets or laptops or notebooks to Seale and back so as not to miss a word. Audience members poured their attention forward. Some older audience members looked through tablets and camera phones and shook their heads in amazement. Some listeners simply gripped their chins with a single hand, the classic, “Thinker’s pose.” “A city council ain’t nothing but a legislative body,” Mr. Seale said, “The county seat? Nothing but legislatures. So [unless you] have any political power seats you’re not going to change anything. And that was my organization. That was my objective. Going out there to patrol and ob-
the Focus Gallery from Mar. 20 – Aug. 2, 2015 and “Ikko Style: The Graphic Art of Ikko Tanaka,” the museum's firsttime exhibition of Ikko Tanaka’s work, one of the leading
Pasadena Police Chief Phillip Sanchez will be the featured panelist at a “Speak Up” Community Peace Forum held on February 24 from 6: 00 – 7:30 p.m. at Hillsides Peer Resource Center located at 456 E. Orange Grove Blvd. in Pasadena. Chief Sanchez will address the recent increase in gang violence in Northwest Pasadena and the relationship between the Pasadena police department and youth in the community. The Peer Resource Center, a one-stop shop of support for youth in need, is part of Hillsides Youth Moving On (YMO) program, which offers youth formerly in foster care or probation affordable housing and other support services. Hillsides, a children’s charity over 100 years old, is headquartered in Pasadena and serves 8,950 families and children throughout Los Angeles County. The Peace Forum will allow community members to learn what actions the police are taking to prevent further violence and what they themselves can do to make their neighborhoods safer. The event will also give youth the chance to voice any concerns they have about the police in order to de-escalate tensions and foster collaboration. “We’re hoping this will encourage healing and empower people to know what steps they can take to make a difference,” said Thomas Lee, Hillsides Division Director of Transition-Aged Youth Services, who will also be a panelist at the forum. Other panelists include Ricky Pickens, Jr., Director of
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USC Pacific Asia Museum Announces New Spring Exhibitions USC Pacific Asia Museum announced today the openings of two new exhibitions drawing from the museum's permanent collection of more than 15,000 objects from Asia and the Pacific Islands spanning more than
five thousand years. Curated by Yeonsoo Chee, USC PAM Assistant Curator, “Visualizing Enlightenment: Decoding Buddhist Iconography,” presenting Amida Buddha, a recent gift to the museum, will be on view in
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PCC Hosts Black Panther Founder Continued from page 1
serve the police …” and here he broke from a nonchalant style of oration into that full preacher’s vibrato that sends a jolt of electricity running through any audience: “And capture the imagination of the people! And how did we capture ‘em!?” He lowered his voice to continue. The story he told was one of the first times the Black Panther Party took to the streets of Oakland, CA, back in January of 1967. The Panthers, he explained, were originally called, “The Black Panther Party For Self Defense,” and their goal was to take to the streets of their community—armed with legal weapons—in order to get the members of their community interested in the democratic process by offering their services as a crack community
watchdog-unit designed to keep police officers accountable for their actions. “My friend Huey [Newton] was probably at his best that one night, the second week of January. We’d been training these brother and sisters and we only had a handful—fourteen fifteen people, that’s all—we didn’t have a whole lot of people. … “And that one night we had got everybody trained: ‘Never point a loaded weapon at a person. If you point a loaded weapon at a person it constitutes assault with a deadly weapon.’ Huey was in law school at the time. Had been two years in law school. And I insisted on Huey that he find every legal framework so that we make sure that we got a legal operation here. And he did that. …
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“All these people that had gathered on the sidewalk when we walked down [the street, approaching a police car arresting a black man for some reason] and [the police officer] didn’t even see us. He was sitting in his passenger seat of his car and he’s got the door open. And he’s talking on the radio and he’s trying to write. His arrestee is at the back with his hand on the back of the trunk. … “And we got there and the cop jumps out [of his car, shouting] ‘You have no right to observe me!’ And Huey’s shining moment, and if I ever give him credit, he says, “No. California State Supreme Court and ruling states that you have a right to stand and observe a police officer carrying out their duty as long as you are standing a reasonable distance away. A reasonable distance in that particular ruling is constituted at eight-toten-feet. I’m standing approximately twenty feet from you and will observe you whether you like it or not,’ and [a bystander on] the sidewalk says, ‘Well go head on and tell him!’ Seale then recounts that the cop requested Huey Newton to surrender his weapon, and again, Mr. Seale remarks, Newton rattled off an article of the California Constitution citing that the police officer could not remove property from his person unless under due process of the law, ‘Step back!’ Newton commanded, ‘You cannot touch my weapon!’ “It had never happened before,” said Mr. Seale to the crowd of students, “We were disciplined. There was fourteen of us. And one sister Geraldine—with them earrings hanging. She had that big afro, and she had a neat bush-jacket, and a big forty-four pistol strapped down to her side.
Half of us had long guns, half of us had short guns. Nobody pointed a weapon at people. ‘Only one person talk!’ Huey had said. One person. Let the police first say something. Because Huey researched the law. If you say something to a cop first you can be charged with interfering with a police officer carrying out their duty. If the police says something to you then you can answer them. He waited for the cop to speak first. … “The cop got his arrestee, [put him in the car] and drove off. Four little kids come running around the corner saying “See? I told you.” And I say [to the people on the sidewalk], ‘Ladies and Gentlemen my name is Bobby Seale, I’m Chairman for the Black Panther Party For Self Defense. This is my friend here, his name is Huey Newton, he’s the minister of defense for the Black Panther Party. It’s a new organization. We’re gonna put this organization together and we’re gonna unite our brothers and sisters and maybe we can unite all the folks. And we’re gonna take over some of those political power seats. City Council Seats, and the Mayor Seats. Because you can’t run around talking about Black Power this Black Power that and you ain’t got no political power seats. If you want to we got a meeting tomorrow at our new headquarters…” Several more stories similar to this one followed throughout the evening, with their themes revolving around the value of discipline, the power that democratic change can have once a community learns to help itself, and (during one the Q&A) a lesson to the students that, “there is no giving up.” If you don’t like the way things are, do something about it: but do it smart.
FEBRUARY 16, 2015 - FEBRUARY 22, 2015 | 3
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Hillsides Forum Continued from page 1
Prevention & Intervention Services at the Flintridge Center, a non-profit organization combating violence and poverty in Northwest Pasadena, and a PRC youth, Kristal Lopez. Since the start of 2015, there have been a series of shootings in Northwest Pasadena, including one man who was shot and killed at Villa Parke, which is less than a half a mile from the Peer Resource Center. The community is invited to attend the forum. Finger foods will be served, prepared by youth who participate in Peer Resource cooking classes. For more information on the forum, please contact Brandon Lamar at blamar@hillsides.org or (626) 765-6010. Hillsides is a premier provider of child welfare services in Los Angeles County dedicated to improving the overall wellbeing and functioning of vulnerable children, youth, and families. YMO is one of Hillsides four core programs, which also include an education center, a residential treatment program, and Family Resource Centers that offer parenting classes, mental health support, and other crucial resources in Baldwin Park, Echo Park, Pomona, Pasadena, and South Pasadena. For more information, please visit www. hillsides.org.
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San Bernardino Press
Brandon Lamar, the organizer of the Community Peace Forum, and Thomas Lee, division director of Transition-Aged Youth Services at Hillsides, go over the final details of a flyer announcing the forum to be held on February 24, from 6 – 7:30 p.m. at the Peer Resource Center in Pasadena – Courtesy photo
Pasadena Cops Seek Robbery Suspects The Pasadena Police Department is seeking the public’s assistance in identifying two suspects who robbed a check cashing store and shot an employee during the robbery. On Nov. 21, 2014 at approximately 7:00 p.m., two armed Black males entered a video and check cashing business in the 300 Block of East Orange Grove Blvd. Pasadena, and demanded money. An employee armed himself with a handgun and attempted to detain one suspect. The second suspect shot the employee and both suspects ran from the business taking loss.
Suspect-1: Black male, 20’s, dark complexion, 5’8, 300 pounds, with short curly hair. See attachment “A” for composite drawing. Suspect-2: Black male, 20’s, dark complexion, 5’5, skinny, clean shaven, short curly hair. See attachment “B” for composite drawing. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Pasadena Police Department at (626) 744-7055 (Detective A. Torres) during business hours, (626) 744-4241 (non-emergency dispatch 24/7 or persons may report anonymously at LACrimeStoppers.com or wetip. com.
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USC Asia Museum Announces New Exhibits Continued from page 1
graphic designers in Japan in the second half of the 20th century, will be on view in the Changing Exhibitions Galleries from Apr. 2 – Aug. 2, 2015. The Members' Reception for both exhibitions will be on Friday, Apr. 3 from 6-7:00 p.m. at USC Pacific Asia Museum at 46 North Los Robles Avenue, Pasadena, CA 91101. Visualizing Enlightenment presents exceptional Amida Buddha in USC Pacific Asia Museum's collection from the Kamakura period (1185-1333) in Japan. At over six-feet tall, Amida Buddha is a rare example of large-scale sculpture from the period, and was executed using the yosegi technique, in which a single image is carved from multiple pieces of wood and then joined together from the inside. The intricately carved mandorla (body halo) and elegant lotus pedestal, where the Buddha gracefully stands, permit a glimpse of the purified Buddha-field of Amida Buddah. The calmness and compassion of the Buddha's facial expression gently affirm that all sentient beings can attain salvation through their faith in him. Every feature of the Buddha, from the ushnisha (the cranial bump of wisdom and spirituality) to his elongated earlobes
and mudra (hand gesture), carefully elucidate the canon that proves him as an enlightened being, thereby encouraging worshippers to follow his teachings. Buddhist art comprises a tremendous range of objects from paintings to sculpture to ritual objects. Amida Buddha served as a powerful pedagogical tool to help devotees visualize the teachings and philosophical ideas of the religion. Amida Buddha, meaning "Limitless Light" in Sanskrit, is the Buddha of the western Pure Land sect in East Asia. It is one of the most widely worshipped Buddhas in the Mahayana tradition due to a doctrine that assured salvation to commoners. With this prime example of Amida Buddha from the 13th century, this intimate exhibition in the Focus Gallery aims to explain some of the most common iconography of Buddhist art. Focusing on the core of his artistic practice, poster design, Ikko Style will provide a colorful look into how Ikko Tanaka’s ideas were visualized and transmitted to a broad audience. Over 30 posters will be on view, all of which are part of the museum's permanent collection and will be exhibited for the first time.
Tanaka's style is provocative yet timeless, drawing visual idioms from his cultural background and redefining them with the collective imagination of the present time. Born in Nara, the cradle of Japanese civilization, educated in Kyoto, the imperial capital and the cultural hub of Japan, and starting his career in Osaka, the city of commerce and art patronage, Tanaka was well situated to be a successful graphic master in Tokyo, an international metropolis. As a relentless promoter of visual expression, Tanaka strove to achieve universal aesthetic value beyond regional or cultural barriers, which can be seen in his countless designs of posters, logos, trademarks, books and packages. Through his vision, forms drawn from traditional ukiyo-e (pictures of the floating world) were reduced into striking abstract designs to promote cultural events. Using his aptitude for understanding visual elements from any form, Japanese written characters were transformed into effective and innovative graphic tools. Through Tanaka's celebrated work with fashion designers and corporations including Hanae Mori and Issey Miyake and Mazda Corporation, Tanaka was able to bridge the gap between fine art and the commercial sector. The presentation of Visualizing Enlightenment is made possible by Stephen O. Lesser. Major support of Visualizing Enlightenment and Ikko Style:The Graphic Art of Ikko Tanaka came from East West Bank, Peter Pan, Eva & Ming Hsieh and Joan Payden of Payden & Rygel. Generous support of the exhibitions came from Margaret Leong Checca with Gayle & Ed Roski of Majestic Realty Co. Additional support is pro-
vided by Joan Travis, Singpoli Capital, David Kamansky, Sun Yin USA, Jipan Yan, Arrow Recovery Group and Esence Beauty. In-kind media support is provided by KPCC.
(Bottom) Ikko TANAKA (1930-2002), Close-up of Japan, London 1985 (Detail), Japan, 1985, Offset. Gift of Tanaka Ikko Design Room, 1990.9.5. (Top) Amida Buddha (Detail), Japan, Kamakura Period (1185-1333): First half of the 13th century, Wood, lacquer, gilt and pigments, Gift of Sharon Pierce in loving memory of her son, J. Christopher Johnson. Conservation funds provided by Sharon Pierce and the Collectors' Circle, 2013.6.1.