Rice meets with Obama, then defends his administration's approach

Condoleezza Rice

Former secretary of state Condoleezza Rice is on a book tour promoting "Extraordinary, Ordinary People: A Memoir of Family." Here is a look at her on tour as well as at some of her other activities since leaving office.

By Glenn Kessler

Washington Post Staff Writer 

Friday, October 15, 2010; 10:43 PM

Not many authors on a book tour manage to snag a visit with the president of the United States. But Condoleezza Rice is no ordinary book author.

The former secretary of state and onetime national security adviser met one-on-one with President Obama at the White House on Friday afternoon, after a week of television appearances promoting "Extraordinary, Ordinary People," her memoir about her parents. The White House said Obama wanted to discuss a range of foreign policy issues with her.

Later, at an evening appearance at the Aspen Institute, Rice said she and Obama "covered the waterfront." "Despite the fact there are changes and tussles, there is still a foreign policy community that believes that foreign policy ought to be bipartisan," she said. "It was really great that he reached out in that way."

Rice rolled her eyes at the notion that Obama is a closet Muslim, and she defended him from criticism - led by former vice president Richard B. Cheney - that Obama had weakened the country. "Nothing in this president's methods suggests this president is other than a defender of America's interests," Rice told an audience that included presidential adviser Valerie Jarrett.

Rice's book, a deeply personal account of growing up in segregated Alabama, doesn't touch on the foreign policy controversies of her service for PresidentGeorge W. Bush; that material is reserved for a future volume. But all week Rice has deftly maneuvered political minefields, refusing to join in criticism of the current administration while gently defending the decisions of the last one, including Bush's move to topple Saddam Hussein.

"I am not going to chirp at the people inside," Rice said Wednesday on Jon Stewart's "The Daily Show" on Comedy Central. "I know that it's a lot easier out here than it is in there, and these are patriotic people who are trying to do their best every day."

Speaking to Fox News's Bill O'Reilly, she lavished praise on her successor, Hillary Rodham Clinton: "I think she is doing a lot of the right things. . . . She is very tough. . . . I think she has done a fine job, I really do."

Rice even chastised former House speakerNewt Gingrich (R-Ga.) for his assertion that Obama has a "Kenyan, anticolonial" worldview. "That's over the top, and I don't think very helpful," she told Andrea Mitchell on MSNBC.

Before she left Foggy Bottom, Rice repeatedly said that she would not criticize publicly the people who came after her. Indeed, one of her most uncomfortable moments in office came when former secretary of state James A. Baker III was co-leader of a bipartisan panel that issued a tough critique of the Bush administration's policy in Iraq - in particular, the diplomatic efforts that were part of Rice's portfolio.

Since leaving Washington, Rice has returned to her academic career in California, where she is a professor at Stanford University and a fellow at the Hoover Institution. She also set up a consulting firm with Stephen J. Hadley, Bush's second-term national security adviser. A rabid football fan, she has been thrilled with Stanford's strong 5-1 start this season.

Rice maintains ties with foreign leaders, recently meeting in California with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

Twice given Stanford's highest awards for teaching, Rice has taken to the classroom with vigor. On a recent Friday afternoon, she told business school students stories from her time as secretary of state to illustrate how Russia used its oil and gas reserves as an economic weapon against Europe toward the end of the last decade.

Dressed in a smart, two-tone gray blazer and matching slacks, she asked the students to ponder Europe's passivity when confronted with the monopolistic behavior of Gazprom, Russia's state-owned oil and gas company. "I personally always thought the Europeans underestimated their leverage," she noted.

She then shifted to Iran's nuclear program. After a quick review of Iran's uranium enrichment efforts and international sanctions on the country, she opened a mock U.N. Security Council meeting and watched students deliver speeches on Iran much as she had for years as secretary of state. The French "representative" brought a bottle of wine to the podium for effect, triggering a laugh from Rice.

All week, Rice has resolutely refused to entertain speculation about nascent political ambitions - or even an encore stint in Washington. "What is better than having been secretary of state? That's the best job in government," Rice told Fox News's Greta Van Susteren. "I've already done that. So I think I will just stay in California."

Correspondent Janine Zacharia in Palo Alto, Calif., contributed to this report.

Martin Luther King, Jr.'s prayer life revealed

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was dozing off in his bedroom around midnight when the phone rang.

“Listen, n**&**r, we’ve taken all we want from you,” a caller hissed. “Before next week, you’ll be sorry.”

King hung up and walked to his kitchen to heat a pot of coffee. He had been receiving death-threats for weeks - ever since he had accepted a request to lead African-Americans during a bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama.

But King was starting to doubt his decision.

As the threats poured in, his fears increased for his wife, Coretta, and their infant daughter, Yolanda. He now wondered how he could relinquish his role as the boycott leader without appearing a coward.

Then something happened that King would talk about for years afterward. He bowed over his untouched cup of coffee, and prayed aloud in desperation. King said he heard an “inner voice” that addressed him by name, and encouraged him to stand up for justice.

King’s kitchen table prayer is part of what inspired Lewis V. Baldwin to write, “Never to Leave Us Alone: The Prayer Life of Martin Luther King Jr.”

Baldwin, a religious studies professor at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, says most people know King as the great public orator, but few know about his rich prayer life.

King crafted “some of the most strikingly and profoundly moving prayers in all of sacred literature.” Baldwin said. His kitchen table plea may have been his most important prayer.

“It was a conversion experience for Dr. King,” Baldwin said. “King never had what, in the language of the church, is called ‘a crisis conversion.’ "

Baldwin recently talked with CNN about King’s prayer life. His remarks were edited for brevity.

CNN: What inspired you to examine Dr. King's prayer life?

Baldwin: I have been interested in King's spirituality since the early 1980s, because I think we best understand him as a person of faith who translated certain kinds of spiritual and moral values into efforts for social change.   So much has been written about King's preaching and pulpit style… but strangely enough, scholars who have treated these subjects ignore King's prayer life.

CNN: Why was King’s kitchen prayer in Montgomery so pivotal for him?

Baldwin: The experience reminded King that he could not depend on the resources of his talents and intellectual training to make it in the struggle.  He came to see more clearly that religion had to be real to him in a special way as he confronted the pressures of the movement.

After the kitchen experience, King felt a special divine companionship, or what he called cosmic companionship, and this sustained him. Fear left him and he was assured that if he continued to stand up for justice and righteousness, God would be with him.

CNN: Did praying help prepare King for his long stints in jail?

BALDWIN: Most definitely. As I point out in “Never to Leave Us Alone,” King was often in a prayerful mood. This prayerful mood was most evident when he was struggling with some special challenge.  During the civil rights movement, jail cells were often turned into sacred space for what were essentially revival meetings.

King and his aides sang and prayed in jail, calling to mind Paul and Silas.  Great prayer meetings occurred in jail cells.   I am convinced that prayer and meditation preceded the writing of the Birmingham Jail Letter, and that King wrote it in a prayerful mood.  After all, it was a letter from a pastor to pastors.

CNN: Did King ever get so emotional during public prayers that he could not finish?

BALDWIN: This most certainly happened in Montgomery during the bus boycott in 1955.  Surrounded by people who were constantly responding to his preaching and praying with shouts of "Amen," "Hallelujah," "Praise God," it was very difficult for King not to get emotional.

His emotions came out that night because he felt some guilt and responsibility as he thought about the bombing of homes and churches that were occurring.

As a boy, King was ashamed of the shouting and other expressions of emotionalism in southern black churches, but he overcame that in his adult life and came to a deeper appreciation of the rich emotional heritage of black churches.

CNN: Was public prayer just as important as freedom songs were in fortifying King and other civil rights leaders?

BALDWIN:  When people wanted to take control of their sacred space, they sang and prayed.  This happened when sheriffs and constables entered black churches during mass meetings, or when the protesters confronted mobs and symbols of segregation in the streets.

One cannot talk about prayer and songs separately; they were one in the consciousness of those who felt that God was on their side, and who were inspired by the church.

Mogul brothers offer rich advice in tough times

Michael and Steven Roberts

By Brandon Clements, CNN

October 16, 2010 10:01 a.m. EDT

CNN's Soledad O'Brien looks at how some are fighting debt from the pulpit in "Almighty Debt: A Black in America Special," premiering at 9 p.m. ET on October 21.

(CNN) -- Michael and Steven Roberts are business moguls navigating the global recession, but they say the lessons they have learned could be applied to any business owner.

"We've had to do the entrepreneurial shuffle," says Michael, chairman and CEO of the Roberts Cos., based in St. Louis, Missouri.

The two African-American brothers and business leaders estimate their current holdings -- from hotels to TV stations -- are worth $1 billion. Now, in a time of economic uncertainty, their billion-dollar empire is vulnerable.

"As we began to get hit hard [by] the recession, we looked at what are the better assets for us to sell in order to create liquidity, and this year we sold our communications tower company for about $90 million," Michael says. "Your businesses are like your children. As you grow them and mature them, at some point you may feel you have to let them go."

For Michael and Steven (who takes on president and COO duties at the company) doing well in the recession is relative. Michael says, "If you want to say we've survived and done well, yes, but had there not been a recession we probably would have done exceptionally well."

They're immensely successful, but they say for the rest of black America to follow suit people need to be exposed to more examples of black entrepreneurial excellence.

"Black folks need legacy," Michael says. "Our own so-called black history only talks about civil rights and slavery and completely ignores capitalists who happen to be of African-American descent ... the type of history that would generate a level of confidence to our black students to think, 'Maybe I can start a business.'"

The brothers got their business start in a historically black neighborhood in St. Louis. There, they grew their business from a one-room office to an empire of commercial real estate, TV stations, telecommunication companies and more.

The brothers like to share their story as encouragement for people to chase their dreams. (They shared their early days with CNN in 2009).

"We tell folks, learn it, get your hands dirty -- you know, a little sweat equity," Steven told CNN last year. "For that college student, for that future entrepreneur ... we're saying understand what your passion is and understand what your product is, too."

There will be times, Michael says, when you will stumble, but don't let those hiccups get you down -- even in a major economic downturn. "We are in a time like no other time. ... It's the best time to start a business."

Michael says he believes this is especially true for black Americans. "Black folks cannot fall off the bottom. If there is a downfall in the economy... that means it's a leveling of the playing field for us."

CNN's Wayne Drash and Ed Lavandera contributed to this report.

Church expert: African-Americans’ place of worship changing

By Steve Almasy, CNN

CNN's Soledad O'Brien looks at how some are fighting debt from the pulpit in "Almighty Debt: A Black in America Special," premiering at 9 p.m. ET on October 21.

African-Americans go to religious services and pray daily more often than the general American population, studies show. And while those rates seem to be holding steady, the places of worship and the size of the groups are changing, says one expert.

Many people continue to attend mega churches, but the small communal gathering is rebounding in popularity, Teresa L. Fry Brown said.

“There is an increase now in house churches,” said Fry Brown, the director of black church studies at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. “They kind of faded for about 20 years. But now more people are having small gatherings. And they may not even call it church - like Bible studies in homes.”

There are a couple of reasons for the change, she said. Some churchgoers find the bigger houses of worship too restrictive or simply don’t trust the leadership of the church.

She said people are meeting more often in club houses, homes and restaurants. And the gatherings aren’t always sponsored through a church.

In 2009, the Pew Research Center reported that 53 percent of African-Americans attended church regularly, compared with 39 percent of all Americans.

Fry Brown, who is an ordained minister in the African Methodist Episcopal church, said those numbers seem to be “holding,” even as the role of the black church is changing.

The black church has always been a place where a person could go without being judged, she said.

“There’s still that yearning to be with brothers and sisters who can love you no matter who you are,” she said. “I think that’s a consistent piece that has kept things going. That’s not a panacea because there are areas of woundedness in black religiosity.

“But there’s something about walking into the doors of a black church where I am accepted as myself that still rings.”

For many years, the black church was the hub for teaching, training, employment opportunities as well as acting as a community and social justice center.

“It was those kinds of things, but as more options opened some of that was diffused in some places,” she said, noting the increase in choices came after the civil rights movement of the 1960s. “But now there is some kind of movement to re-establish that in some areas.”

Black D.C. firefighters allege widespread discrimination in federal lawsuit

By Spencer S. Hsu
Friday, October 15, 2010; 11:25 PM 

A lawsuit Friday by about 30 black firefighters alleges systematic racial discrimination within the D.C. Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services, claiming that black employees face harsher discipline, are promoted less often and confront a hostile work environment imposed by white supervisors.
The 31-page suit, which lawyers say was filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, contains information potentially embarrassing to the department. It refers by name to at least 10 white firefighters accused or convicted of various misconduct. It also refers to black firefighters who committed similar offenses.
In a virtual rap sheet, the suit describes cases in which firefighters have been arrested for stalking, assault and illegal handgun possession; disciplined for fighting or injuring fellow firefighters with knives and plates; and investigated for e-mailing images of their sexual organs to female colleagues and cooking naked in firehouses.
"I have been trying disciplinary cases before the department for years, and time after time, I see that disciplinary actions taken against African Americans are different from disciplinary actions against whites for the same alleged offenses," said plaintiff's lawyer Donna Rucker of the D.C. law firm Gebhardt & Associates.
Pete Piringer, spokesman for the D.C. fire department, declined comment Friday, saying officials had not had the opportunity to review the lawsuit.
In its scope and specificity, the suit threatens to renew racial tensions in the 2,200-worker department, which was riven by similar disputes in the 1970s and 1980s.
The new case follows the May 2007 confirmation of Mayor Adrian M. Fenty's choice for fire chief, Dennis L. Rubin, who is white, and the month before that, a federal jury's rejection of a reverse discrimination case brought by 23 white officers who alleged they were denied promotion.
The suit acknowledges that more than half the department is African American. But it claims that since October 2007, senior white officers have "created a climate of fear and intimidation" by abusing their power and punishing black firefighters of all ranks more severely.
It seeks class-action status for as many as 1,000 black firefighters.
In addition to the District, Fenty and Rubin, the suit names as defendants two other assistant fire chiefs, Lawrence Schultz, who is white, and Brian Lee.
While the basis of the new claims remain to be sorted out, the rival lawsuits by white and black officers echo the fierce racial litigation after the District achieved home rule in the early 1970s. As the predominantly white fire department began to mirror the majority-black city, whites and blacks split into different unions, sued, and each won court victories in proving they were victims of city policies over the next two decades.
Promotions that were halted because of lawsuits resumed in the early 1990s. However, they were interrupted again during the reverse-discrimination case in 2006.
The D.C. fire department promotes officers in part based on scores on promotional exams. According to the new lawsuit, a 2006 list of officers eligible for promotion included 18 black and 15 white firefighters. However, the black officers say that list was set aside after a 2008 examination included 24 white and nine black firefighters.
"The Department deliberately allowed the predominantly African American 2006 list to expire in order to promote white firefighters," the suit claims.
The suit also alleges that in 2010, when examiners were sequestered from test-takers, white officers received unauthorized private "coaching."
By comparison, the failed 2006 suit by white captains alleged that then-Fire Chief Ronnie Few, in choosing to interview 12 of about 55 captains eligible for promotion, selected black officers at a disproportionately high rate compared with the overall pool.
Specifically, the case's lead plaintiff, Lt. Gerald Burton of Lanham, alleged that he was suspended more than one week for violating operating guidelines in ordering his engine to put out a fire. He claimed that white firefighters, including Chief Rubin, received lesser or no penalties for violating the rules under less compelling circumstances.

One of every three African-American families is at risk of falling out of the middle class

The economic crisis and the African-American faith community

By Tri-State Defender Newsroom | Published  10/14/2010 | Religion | Rating:

‘Almighty Debt’ “Debt is a bigger problem than racism,” pastor DeForest Soaries says emphatically at the top of “Almighty Debt”.    Frederick Philp is a 17-year-old aspiring actor with dreams of attending college and performing on Broadway. (Photos by Jeremy Freeman/CNN)  Anchor and special correspondent Solead O’Brien interviews Pastor DeForest Soaries.   CNN anchor and special correspondent Soledad O’Brien reports for a 90-minute documentary investigation into the creative and proactive ways an African-American faith community is addressing the challenges of the national economic crisis, followed by a 30-minute dynamic forum. For the documentary, O’Brien follows a student facing a mountain of debt to finance his education, a married couple facing the stresses of an over-leveraged mortgage and credit card debt, another couple struggling following the loss of a job and the income and self-esteem that come with unemployment. For the forum, O’Brien moderates a discussion exploring the economy, faith, and politics with Pastor Soaries, best-selling author and senior pastor of The Potter’s House megachurch Bishop T.D. Jakes, syndicated financial columnist Michelle Singletary, clinical social worker and public relations executive Terrie Williams, and political pollster Cornell Belcher. “Almighty Debt – A Black in America Special” debuts Thursday, Oct. 21 at 8 p.m. CT on CNN/U.S. CNN.com has launched a multimedia section with special video excerpts from the documentary and “The Black Pulpit,” exclusive opinion editorials from faith leaders across the country on pathways to financial empowerment, can be found at www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/in.america/black.in.america. Parishioners of the 7,000-member First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens in Somerset, N.J., led by senior pastor Soaries are facing a myriad of financial challenges: Fred Philp struggles to complete loan applications and boost his grades in order to attend college; Mary and Doug Jeffries, both employed in commission-based professions work to secure a loan modification to avoid foreclosure on their home; and Carl Fields and his wife must contend with a monthly personal budget deficit, since he lost his job nearly two years ago. O’Brien reports on their different issues and pathways to adapt to their individual challenges, and how their shared faith is infused in the way they view their challenges. One of every three African-American families is at risk of falling out of the middle class due to job loss, overspending, unexpected financial crises or other issues. African Americans lead in every negative economic indicator – including unemployment figures, foreclosure rates, income, debt and other categories. Although these indicators have worsened for African Americans during the global economic crisis, a recent nationwide Pew Research Center survey on race revealed that African American assessments about the state of African-American progress have improved, despite the poor economy. Pastor Soaries preaches a gospel of personal financial responsibility, and cultivating a value system of “faith in action” – expressed as optimism rooted in reality. He wants to help his parishioners – and Black America – achieve spiritual growth, educational excellence and economic empowerment. Economist and Bennett College president Dr. Julianne Malveaux, and financial advice author Dr. Melvin Oliver add a framework of statistics and fact-based cultural insights into the socio-economic and historical factors that limit African-American economic security. CNN Student News will be offering an online Teacher and Parent Guide that includes discussion questions, a suggested learning activity, and correlations to national teaching standards. It will be made available at www.CNNStudentNews.com by Thursday, Oct. 21.

CDC: 1 in 22 blacks will get HIV

- More than 1 million Americans have HIV/AIDS (about 800,000 men; 200,000 women; 10,000 children under 13).

- About 1 out of 5 are unaware they are infected.

- About 60,000 Americans are infected each year, half in gay and bisexual men.

- More than 14,000 people with AIDS die every year.

- Black men and women are infected seven times more often than whites.

Source: CDC
Photo by USA TODAY: AIDS awareness ribbon

ATLANTA (AP) — Health officials estimate that 1 in 22 black Americans will be diagnosed with the AIDS virus in their lifetime — more than twice the risk for Hispanics and eight times that of whites.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported the numbers Thursday. The report says the lifetime risk is 1 in 52 for Hispanics, and 1 in 170 for whites.

Asian-Americans had the lowest lifetime risk, at about 1 in 222.

The data is not considered surprising. Earlier research has shown blacks, especially, have a high risk of HIV infection.

The estimates are based on 2007 death certificates, population figures and HIV surveillance data from 37 states and Puerto Rico. They update similar calculations reported two years ago.

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Ole Miss picks bear for new, un-Confederate mascot

By DAVID BRANDT, Associated Press Writers

OXFORD, Miss. (AP)—It took seven years, but the University of Mississippi has a substitute for a beloved and reviled mascot who brought the Confederacy to mind. The new guy is still a rebel, only cuddlier.

“Rebel Black Bear” won 62 percent of the vote in a final poll, the school announced Thursday. Its athletic programs will keep the Rebels nickname.

It has been more than a decade since Ole Miss began stripping away its images of the Old South. Confederate battle flags were first to go. Next was mascot “Colonel Reb,” the goateed Southern planter who cheered on the Rebels from the sidelines since 1979.

Tradition dies hard in Oxford, where tens of thousands of fans turn out in ties and sundresses on fall Saturdays for elaborate tailgate parties in “The Grove” before football games. An unofficial motto is: “We may lose a game, but we never lose a party.”

Picking a replacement became a matter of statewide import and the subject of online pranks, like the suggestion of a “rebel” from the Star Wars movies, Admiral Ackbar.

In the end, the smiling black bear inspired in part by longtime Oxford resident William Faulkner won out, defeating two other nominees. One was the “Rebel Land Shark,” based on the “fins up” hand motion started by late football player Tony Fein. The other was “Hotty Toddy,” a gray human-like character that aimed to personify a school cheer that begins: “Are you ready? Hell yes! Damn right! Hotty Toddy, gosh almighty! … “

“I know there were a lot of people emotionally invested in Colonel Reb and everybody might not completely agree with the bear, but I think everyone can be proud of how our students went about the process,” said Sparky Reardon, the university’s dean of students.

Margaret Ann Morgan, a co-chairman of the student mascot selection committee, said the bear was recommended because it had a Mississippi connection, would appeal to children and would be unique to the Southeastern Conference.

Ty New, the other committee chairman, said everyone in the university’s community—including faculty, students, alumni and season ticketholders—had a say. More than 13,000 eligible voters voted in the final poll.

“The fact that we were completely transparent through the process makes this a credible choice,” New said in a news release.

Some of the colonel’s faithful staged protests earlier this year and attempted to derail the search for a new mascot in the last few weeks by gathering signatures to make Colonel Reb one of the choices.

“I think it’s hypocrisy. I think the fans of Ole Miss still want Colonel Reb. We have a petition with 3,500 signatures of students who still want Colonel Reb as their mascot and that’s the way it should be,” said Brian Ferguson, a 2007 graduate who is a member of the Colonel Reb Foundation.

Brittany Garth, a student from Dallas, said she wished the school didn’t have a mascot.

“I just think it’s kind of dumb. Why is our mascot a bear when we’re the Rebels? It doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. That’s why I didn’t vote. None of the three choices made any sense,” Garth said.

Athletics Director Pete Boone acknowledged that the vote “was an emotional process” and his department would begin the lengthy process of marketing the new mascot.

“It’s been a passionate topic and it’s often evoked an emotional response— right or wrong,” he said. “Change is certainly difficult. But I appreciate the passion from our people. They say indifference is the worst emotion out there, and I don’t think we’re guilty of that.”

The black bear is connected to Ole Miss through Faulkner, the Nobel Prize-winning novelist who penned “The Bear.” In it, Old Ben stands as a symbol of pride, strength and toughness. The tale of the “teddy bear” originated with the story that President Teddy Roosevelt refused to shoot a bear on a Mississippi hunt in 1902.

Earnest Harmon, a freshman fullback from Macon, said he’s fine with the bear.

“A lot of the guys on the football team liked the land shark just because it was the sign our defense made after a big play, but the bear is fine, too,” Harmon said.

Though licensing of Colonel Reb’s image ended this summer, he can still be found on bumper stickers, lapel pins and other merchandise on display at Rebel games. A variation of the colonel first appeared in the 1930s in a yearbook. The image of the white character in a red wide-brimmed hat and tuxedo, leaning on a cane, is believed to have been based on a black man named Blind Jim Ivy who attended most of the school’s athletic events, according to school historian David Sansing. The colonel made the official transition to the field in 1979.

Renderings of the new mascot show the burly black bear wearing a blue sports jacket for appearances on the campus and a dressed in a football jersey or a basketball uniform for games.

Whether Rebel Black Bear will be accepted is still unknown.

Roy Yarbrough, a professor at California University of Pennsylvania who consults with schools on choosing new mascots and symbols, said Ole Miss could spend $100,000 or more for costumes, letterhead and marketing fees.

He said there’s still a risk the bear will be rejected, citing the example of a school in Pekin, Ill., that once had a racial epithet for Chinese people as its mascot. They changed it in the 1980s, but it’s still a sore issue.

“If no one accepts the new mascot, Colonel Reb could make a comeback,” he said.

Online:

University of Mississippi: http://www.olemiss.edu/

Cops: 3 Teens Viciously Beat 14-Year-Old On Bus

Trio Allegedly Stomped On Victim's Arms, Legs & Stomach

October 14, 2010 10:29 PM

MINEOLA, N.Y. (CBS 2 / 1010 WINS/ WCBS 880) – Nassau County Police said a local teen was savagely beaten on a Long Island school bus, in what’s being called a bias attack.

Three other teens were arrested on Thursday. They’re accused of stomping and kicking the boy, and making sexual slurs, because they perceived him to be gay, reports CBS 2’s Jennifer McLogan.

Police said it was inside a school bus where anti-gay slurs, taunting and bullying began, and added the lawless behavior went on for weeks. Investigators said the alleged victim from BOCES career prep admitted he didn’t have the courage to complain — fearing retaliation, but when the taunts turned physical the victim finally came forward.Three schoolmates have been charged with felony hate crime – 16-year-old Chase Morrison of Lakeview, 18-year-old David Spencer of North Valley Stream and 16-year-old Roy Wilson of Baldwin.

(credit: CBS 2)

“Punches, backhand slaps and kicks, the victim retreated to the back of the bus where the defendants followed and continued with the assault,” Nassau County Police Det. Lt. John McEwan said.

The trio allegedly stomped on the victim’s arms, legs, stomach and thigh, while making disparaging remarks about his sexual orientation.

Nassau’s police chief said such unacceptable behavior is the centerpiece of the county’s anti-hate campaign in the schools.

While the suspects pleaded not guilty and were held on bail, neighbors addressed the issue, saying parents have to get involved.

“How was your day today? What happened to you today on your way to school? Ask the question,” said Lakeview resident Jeanette Robinson said.

Police met with the female driver and matron who were aboard during the incidents. Thomas McEnany is manager of First Student Bus.

“It is still under investigation. We are taking everything seriously,” McEnany said.

Experts said the responsibility needs to be shared.

“Unfortunately, buses and locker rooms and hallways and playgrounds are fertile fields for bullying,” said Alane Fagin of Nassau County Child Abuse Prevention Services.

The bus driver and matron are cooperating, being questioned by their supervisors and police, who said it is their duty to immediately report any taunting or bullying on the bus.