ATLANTA (AP)—The megachurch pastor accused of luring four young men into sexual relationships categorically denied the allegations for the first time in a court filing Monday, saying he was only a mentor to the men who filed civil lawsuits against him.

Bishop Eddie Long has for weeks vowed he would fight the lawsuits in court, and promised in church sermons he would not let the legal troubles prevent him from doing its work. While his attorney has denied the allegations on his behalf, Long had not refuted them publicly until he filed his legal response. He said in the filing that each of the “claims of sexual misconduct are not true.”

Week of Nov. 5-11

November 5

1867—The first Reconstruction Constitutional Convention takes place in Montgomery, Ala. In attendance were 90 Whites and 18 Blacks. Reconstruction would bring forth a period of tremendous political and educational advancement for ex-slaves after the Civil War. But Reconstruction was significantly undermined by the Hayes-Tilden of 1877 and the beginning of the anti-Black Jim Crow period.

CARTER G. WOODSON

1902—Etta Moten (Barnett) is born in San Antonio, Texas. She would become one of the first major African-American Broadway stars. She starred in “Porgy and Bess” and had a successful Broadway career.

by Ula Ilnytzky
Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK (AP)—Shannon Tavarez, the 11-year-old who starred on Broadway in “The Lion King” and whose battle with leukemia won the hearts of many, including Alicia Keys, Rihanna and 50 Cent, has died.

Tavarez died Monday afternoon at Cohen Children’s Medical Center in New Hyde Park, on Long Island, said Katharina Harf, co-founder of the bone marrow donor center DKMS.

LOSES BATTLE —This July 16, 2010 file photo shows actress Shannon Tavarez at her home in the Queens borough of New York. (AP Photo/Rick Maiman, File)

by Peter J. Smith

BOSTON (NNPA)—Dr. Mildred Jefferson, a civil rights pioneer who aggressively dedicated her life and talents to defending the rights of unborn children, has died at age 84.

Anne Fox, the president of Massachusetts Citizens for Life, said Jefferson died Oct. 15 in Cambridge. She says Jefferson recently became ill.

DR. MILDRED JEFFERSON

Jefferson was an important figure for her accomplishments both as a Black American and as a woman during the civil rights era. She broke barriers when in 1951 she became the first Black woman to graduate from Harvard Medical School and then the first female surgical intern at Boston City Hospital. She later became the first female doctor at Boston University Medical Center.