Fla. high school keeps Klan leader’s name.  A Florida school board voted late Monday night to keep the name of a Confederate general and early Ku Klux Klan leader at a majority Black high school, despite opposition from a Black board member who said the school’s namesake was a “terrorist and racist.” After hearing about three hours of public comments, Duval County School Board members voted 5-2 to retain the name of Nathan Bedford Forrest High School. The board’s two Black members cast the only votes to change the name. “(Forrest) was a terrorist and a racist,” argued board member Brenda Priestly Jackson, who is Black. Betty Burney, the board chairman and the board’s other Black member, also voted against retaining the name. “It is time to turn the page and get beyond where we are,” she said. More than 140 people crowded into the meeting room, with another 20 watching the meeting on a television in the lobby. Many urged a name change, saying the Forrest name was an insult. But others argued that Forrest was “a good man” and “military genius” and that those who wished to change the name of the school wanted to “wipe out Southern history.”
The slain trick-or-treater may have saved his family. The parents of a 12-year-old boy who was shot to death while trick-or-treating say their son was a hero.  T.J. Darrisaw died Halloween night after a convicted felon unloaded a barrage of bullets from inside a home through the closed door as Darrisaw, his father and brother approached.  The boy’s father and brother also were wounded. T.J.’s parents say Darrisaw was determined to get candy first, so he was in front when the shots were fired. “T.J. saved us that night,” the father, Freddie Grinnell Jr., told Reuter News Monday. “He took most of the shots.” Police said the suspect, Quentin Patrick, 22, opened fire with an AK-47 because he thought he was being robbed. The family went to the home because the porch light was on, usually a signal that trick-or-treaters are welcome. Patrick is expected in court today to face charge related to the shooting. Patrick, who is charged with murder and three counts of assault and battery with intent to kill, was denied bond Monday.  Grinnell says he hopes the man accused of killing his son suffers for the rest of his life. “The injury to my arm is not as bad as the injury to my heart. I’ve lost a piece of my heart forever,” Grinnell said.

A 12-year-old Georgia boy is shot dead trick-or-treating.

A 12-year-old Sumter, Ga., boy was shot dead and two other people injured as they went trick-or-treating Friday night. Sumter Police Chief Patty Patterson says that 12-year-old T.J. Darrisaw was killed and his step-father, Freddie Grinnell, and 9-year-old brother Ahmadre Darrisaw were seriously injured when their family of six left a city-sponsored event to trick-or-treat in their own neighborhood. Read the rest of the story here.

Former Baltimore City Councilman Ken Harris, who was revered as a community leader who fought tirelessly for the city’s African-American residents, was shot and killed Saturday night outside a jazz club. Baltimore Police spokesman told local TV stations that the 45-year-old husband and father of two had wondered into the New Haven Lounge nightclub to visit the owner, who was a friend of his, when three masked men shot him in the chest in an apparent robbery attempt. More on the story at BET.com/News. Click to send condolences.