Gabriel Mahia

Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell has long been regarded as an enemy of Black people, beginning, conservatively, in the late 1980s, when he voted against the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987, and continuing to this day with his unwavering support of the Trump White House. But a young, Black, educated and homegrown Kentuckian who succeeded in securing a seat in the Kentucky House of Representatives in 2018, Charles Booker , aims to defeat the veteran Republican senator. theGrio spoke exclusively with Booker ahead of the June 23 primary, which is today, about what inspired him to enter politics, how the police killing of Breonna Taylor impacted him, and why Kentuckians should vote for him. READ MORE: Jamaal Bowman, a former educator, hopes to bring new face to Congress Like far too many Black families, Charles Booker grew up surrounded by poverty. “My childhood really shaped my view of the world, which is one of the things that really led me to go into politics,” Booker shared...

Billionaire Bill Ackman is teaming up with Black, female, and veteran-owned investment banks for his next major investment venture. According to Forbes , Ackman, owner of the hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management, is listing a $4 billion publicly traded pool of capital to make his next major investment. The bookrunners for the deal are Citigroup, Jefferies, and UBS. The deal’s co-managers are CastleOak Securities , Loop Capital Markets, Ramirez & Co, Siebert Williams Shank , Academy Securities, C.L. King & Associates, and Roberts and Ryan. All of which are either Black-owned investment banks, or those run by women, Latinos, and veterans. CastleOak Securities, co-founded by CEO David R. Jones in 2006, is one of the largest African American-owned investment banks on Wall Street. CastleOak has been a co-manager on bond deals involving large firms such as Bank of America, AT&T, Citigroup, and Royal Bank of Canada. Loop Capital, another underwriter on the deal, is o...

The current president of the United States is accusing his predecessor of treason against the nation, again.   Donald Trump ’s Obamagate narrative has picked up steam but when asked to lay out the particulars of the crimes that Barack Obama has supposedly committed, mums the word. READ MORE: Romney: Obama shouldn’t be tried for treason According to  CNN , Trump has increased his rhetoric about the popular former president over the last few months. Yet, outside of mentioning that there have been terrible offenses perpetrated against the country by one of its own, the POTUS refuses to detail them at press conferences. These accusations emerge almost lockstep with the national crises of the coronavirus and civil unrest. While he has not offered what treasonous charge to the larger group of news outlets at his daily briefing, he did speak to the Christian Broadcast Network News and announced the root of the supposed crime. U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a ro...

Meet Zhe Scott, founder of the  SEO Queen , who recently won a major contract from the state of California to design, develop and launch the state’s official web site for their Clean Off-Road Equipment Voucher Incentive Project (CORE). The web site, found online at  CaliforniaCore.org , can be used as a guide on how to obtain vouchers for low and no emission off road equipment. Analogous to the Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP), the new project is intended to encourage California companies to purchase or lease currently commercialized zero-emission off-road freight equipment by providing a streamlined voucher process to offset the higher cost of such technologies. The website was rolled out late January early February and over half of the $44 million available in this voucher fund have been allocated towards the qualified purchase of clean off road equipment to date. Zhe, who is known as “the SEO Queen”, comments, “I am so excited t...

As many countries around the world prepare to reopen in the Caribbean and Europe, African countries are also navigating around new health measures as a result of the COVID-19 , or the novel coronavirus , pandemic. While many countries on the continent haven’t dealt with an overwhelming number of cases compared to the United States, the tourism industry has taken a heavy hit economically. According to CNN Travel , The UN estimates that the pandemic will cost up to  2 million direct and indirect jobs in tourism on the continent with many countries reporting a steep loss in overall revenue with most relying heavily on international travelers. Popular destinations like South Africa have opted to push back their reopening date to early 2021 as the government has gradually started to open back up. “It is expected that in South Africa, domestic tourism and business travel will lead the recovery followed by regional and international (long-haul) travel. We have noticed some global dest...

Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo said on 60 Minutes Sunday the president of the Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis must decide what side of history he wants to be on. Arradondo, a 30-year veteran and the first Black man to head the mostly white police department, was asked by reporter Lesley Stahl about police union leader Robert Kroll’s defense of police officers in George Floyd ‘s killing and calling the Black Lives Matter movement a terrorist organization. “He absolutely is an influence,” Arradondo told Stahl. “And I’ve continued to have very serious conversations with him. And he and others are going to have to come to a reckoning that either they are going to be on the right side of history or they’re gonna be on the wrong side of history. But– or they will be left behind. Or, they will be left behind.” Stahl was quick to bring up when Arradondo and four other Black police officers sued the Minneapolis Police Department in 2007 . In their complaint, the o...

In a move to support Black-owned small businesses hit hard by COVID-19 , Comerica Bank is making a $1 million commitment over four years to the National Business League (NBL). The accord is part of a national partnership that will launch the Black Capital Access Program (BCAP), an access to capital initiative to support Black businesses across America. The small business program will be piloted over the next three months and reach Comerica’s five main markets of Arizona, California, Florida, Michigan, and Texas. The program will be rolled out in all 50 states in 2021. Dallas-based Comerica Bank is among the nation’s largest banks. The Washington, D.C.-based NBL calls itself America’s oldest and largest trade group for Black businesses. The commitment is a big deal as it will be the first one-stop digital platform for Black-owned businesses, says Dr. Kenneth Harris, the NBL’s president and CEO. He says BCAP will offer Black businesses access to a capital toolkit, a wide variety of ...

Duncan Ndiema pleads not guilty to the murder of a 13-year-old while imposing Covid-19 restrictions. from BBC News - Africa https://ift.tt/2No1YcA via

Protests sparked by the deaths of unarmed Black civilians at the hands of police officers has caused a new conversation on race relations in the United States. The new dialogue has forced many major corporations to release statements standing up against racial injustice and taking responsibility for underserved black and minority employees. Now Google and Visa are the latest companies releasing new initiatives focused on social change. Visa announced this week that it will be creating new $100,000 grant program aimed toward Black women-owned small businesses across the country as a part of its $50 million global commitment to small businesses. The initiative is in partnership with iFundWomen and will launch at the end of June by awarding 10 $10,000 grants to Black women entrepreneurs looking to expand their business. Grant recipients will also receive additional resources including networking opportunities and mentoring with private coaches. “Small businesses on the frontlines of ...

If it’s not relevant, it’s noise. If it’s untrusted, unwelcome or selfish, it’s noise. But your contribution isn’t noise. Not for the right people, at the right time. The internet isn’t a mass medium. The voices online are not for everyone, it’s not the Super Bowl or M*A*S*H or even the nightly news. Nobody reaches much more than 1% of the audience on any given day. But… That tiny slice that does want to hear from you, that needs to hear from you, that would miss you if you don’t speak up–for that audience, you’re not noise. You’re essential. That’s why we built the Podcasting Workshop with Alex DiPalma. Enrollment launches today . Not because we need more podcasts. We don’t. Because we need your podcast.              from Seth Godin's Blog on marketing, tribes and respect https://ift.tt/2CrAoJe via Gabe's Musings

The Ikorodu Bois are using everyday household items to recreate famous movie trailers and TV shows. from BBC News - Africa https://ift.tt/2BzVggR via

President Peter Mutharika battles for re-election after irregularities voided last year's result. from BBC News - Africa https://ift.tt/3eqEcIX via

Activist Shaun King believes statues depicting Jesus as a “white European” is a form of “white supremacy,” and they no longer have a place in modern society.  King’s bold remarks come as Black Lives Matter demonstrators topple, vandalize and in some cases utterly destroy historic monuments of slave owners and prominent figures from the colonial-era. Protesters have taken down statues in the United States, Britain and Belgium as civil unrest continues over police brutality and race relations in the wake of George Floyd’s death, Fox News reports.  “Yes I think the statues of the white European they claim is Jesus should also come down. They are a form of white supremacy. Always have been,” King tweeted on Monday.  READ MORE:  Shaun King’s fundraising called into question again in exposé report “In the Bible, when the family of Jesus wanted to hide, and blend in, guess where they went? EGYPT! Not Demark. Tear them down,” he added.  King’s comments receiv...

Attorneys for Ara Zobayan , the pilot in the Kobe Bryant helicopter crash, want Vanessa Bryant’s wrongful death case moved out of Los Angeles over concern that they won’t get a fair trial.  In new court docs obtained by TMZ Sports , Zobayan’s family note that a change of venue to Orange County will net a better pool of impartial jurors, as Kobe’s popularity in L.A. would almost guarantee that the trial would begin with “two strikes” against the late pilot. “The notoriety and popularity of the late Kobe Bryant in Los Angeles County is detailed herein and reached a level that left no person in the county unaware of his role in branding Los Angeles as his city,” Zobayan’s family says in the court docs. READ MORE:  BREAKING: Vanessa Bryant sues helicopter owner as Kobe memorial service takes place in LA LOS ANGELES, CA – JANUARY 27: Fans grieve the loss of former NBA star Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images) “No other single individual...

One of the Nigerian brothers at the center of Jussie Smollett ‘s alleged hate crime hoax wants Chicago police to return some of his personal items that were used in the infamous attack. New legal documents filed by Abel Osundairo state that cops executed a search warrant at his home following the January 2019 incident with Smollett, and seized several items, including a black ski man and a red hat, TMZ reports.  The Empire star initially claimed he was physically assaulted by two masked men wearing red MAGA hats who hurled racist and homophobic slurs. They also doused him with bleach and tied a noose around his neck.  READ MORE:  Jussie Smollett is willing to ‘fight or die’ to be cleared of hoax charges Police believe Smollett paid the brothers to help him stage the entire fiasco to boost his profile on the drama series. Chicago police later released surveillance video showing Abel and his brother Ola Osundairo days before the “attack” buying gear that was al...

In the wake of the George Floyd protests which have sparked national debates about defunding the police, actress Meagan Good, whose father was a member of the LAPD for over two decades has some thoughts on the responsibility of “good cops” holding their counterparts accountable. “I posted something a few weeks ago where I said something to the likes of ‘If you have 1,000 bad cops and you have 10 good ones, but the good ones don’t hold the 1,000 bad ones accountable, then you have 1,010 bad ones’ and that’s really how I feel,” the actress told Madame Noire during a recent interview. READ MORE:  5 reasons you must watch Spike Lee ‘Da 5 Bloods’ “I do believe that there are some good cops out there,” Good continued. “However, if you fall in the realm of knowing what’s going on, seeing it firsthand, and not doing anything, I have a problem with that. I am realistic in understanding when cops speak out against other cops you are directly putting your life on the line. You can go in...

Two lawyers of color who were arrested in May following the protests in the wake of George Floyd ’s death are facing a potential of 45 years in prison. HuffPost reported that Colinford King Mattis and Urooj Rahma were arrested on May 30 in Brooklyn during the height of the protests that took place following Floyd’s death while in the custody of Minneapolis police. Mattis, 32, and Rahma, 31, were charged with attempting to burn a damaged New York City Police Department vehicle that was not occupied. READ MORE: NYC detectives union to file lawsuit against George Floyd protesters Protesters hold signs as they gather to protest police brutality and racism in the US, with the recent deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, in Boston, Massachusetts, on May 29, 2020. (Photo by Joseph Prezioso / AFP) (Photo by JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images) The two lawyers have now been hit with seven federal charges of use of explosives and arson that carry a minimum sentence of...