Former Georgia Gubernatorial Candidate Stacey Abrams is calling out Atlanta law enforcement for shooting a young Black man dead Friday night.
Abrams, who almost won a close race against Brian Kemp in 2018, responded to a tweet with a video detailing the killing of Rayshard Brooks at a Wendys on University Ave.
In her response to Brooks running from the police, she states that having adrenaline and irritation are not the same as “mortal fear,” and she believes that running away from the police should not be punishable by death.
Brook, 27, was sleeping behind the wheel at a Wendy’s drive-thru on Friday. When police arrived at the scene at around 10:30 p.m., a scared and intoxicated Brook tried to escape the parking lot on foot.
According to USA TODAY, Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Vic Reynolds said Brooks, suspected of driving under the influence, pointed a taser at officers, which prompted one of them to fire his weapon.
Abrams asserts that police overreacted to Brooks’ response, saying a taser is not a deadly weapon, unlike a gun.
A taser is not a deadly weapon. A gun is.
Adrenaline and irritation are not the same as mortal fear.
Abrams also made prior statements, saying last night shooting warrants accountability and investigations.
“The killing of #RayshardBrooks in Atlanta last night demands we severely restrict the use of deadly force,” Abrams said via The Guardian. “Yes, investigations must be called for – but so too should accountability. Sleeping in a drive-thru must not end in death.”
In the following Saturday afternoon, the Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields stepped down, theGrio reported.
The GBI and the Fulton County district attorney’s office are investigating Brooks’s death, The Guardian reported.
Brooks’ death has sparked protests outside of Wendy’s where he was killed. His death is also a reminder of George Floyd’s death in which thousands of people worldwide demonstrated rallies.
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The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has released a video that shows the moment Atlanta police officers fatally shot 27-year-old Rayshard Brooks at a Wendy’s parking lot on Friday night.
The video shows Brooks running with a Taser in his hand for a few seconds before he falls to the ground. As theGriopreviously reported, the officers had approached Brooks while sleeping in his vehicle after someone reported him to authorities.
Before the release of the surveillance video by GBI, footage from a witness’ camera phone showed Brooks and the two officers getting into a scuffle on the ground. Brooks eventually grabs one of the officers’ Taser before he attempts to flee.
WARNING: This video shows violence and may be triggering for viewers.
GBI released video that shows the moment Rayshard Brooks was shot and killed by an Atlanta Police officer at a Wendys on University Ave last night. Police say Brooks had taken an officer's taser and pointed it at the officer as he ran. pic.twitter.com/1G8fn03gFV
While Atlanta police claimed Brooks pointed the Taser at one of the officers as he ran, many, including former Georgia candidate for governor Stacey Abrams, pointed out that a Taser is not a deadly weapon.
“A taser is not a deadly weapon. A gun is. Adrenaline and irritation are not the same as mortal fear,” Abrams tweeted. “Running away should not be punishable by death. Public safety must mean the public is safe. All of us.”
A taser is not a deadly weapon. A gun is.
Adrenaline and irritation are not the same as mortal fear.
In another tweet, the politician on Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden‘s shortlist of contenders for vice president said, “The killing of#RayshardBrooksin Atlanta last night demands we severely restrict the use of deadly force. Yes, investigations must be called for – but so too should accountability. Sleeping in a drive-thru must not end in death.”
Brooks death has quickly sparked outrage in the Atlanta community including protests reportedly in the hundreds. The fatal shooting also led to the swift resignation of Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields.
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced during a news conference that she had accepted the resignation.
“For more than two decades, I have served alongside some of the finest women and men in the Atlanta Police Department,” Shields said in a statement released late Saturday.
“Out of a deep and abiding love for this City and this department, I offered to step aside as police chief. APD has my full support, and Mayor Bottoms has my support on the future direction of this department.”
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Dave Chappelle dropped a surprise special Thursday evening where the decorated comedian spoke out on police brutality and the renewed racial unrest across the country.
In the Netflix special 8:46, aptly named to recognize the 8 minutes and 46 seconds that a police officer kneeled on the neck of George Floyd killing him, Chappelle somberly recounted the tragic stories of Black people killed by police or vigilantes in recent decades.
But the Grammy Award-winning comic still appropriately managed to jolt laughter out of the socially distanced audience, such as when he called out CNNhost Don Lemon and conservative commentator Candace Owens. Lemon and Owens have since responded to being name-dropped during the act.
Chappelle criticized Lemon’s assertion that the public wanted to hear from celebrities during the civil unrest, which captured the attention of the country and the world for nearly two weeks since Floyd’s death on Memorial Day in Minneapolis.
Lemon addressed being name-dropped by Chappelle, saying on CNN that he was in fact “honored” to be mentioned and that he actually agreed with Chappelle’s statement.
“I think the establishment has been a bit behind… I think the young people who are out there in the street don’t really care what we have to say,” Lemon said. “They think that part of the world that we created and what we did, maybe we didn’t move fast enough, we weren’t strong enough. So they’re out there fighting.”
Chappelle, though, really laid into Owens, who has been critical of Floyd and the demonstrations that followed his death. Chappelle bashed Owens for highlighting the 46-year-old father’s criminal past and admonishing him for not being a “good person,” adding “I don’t care how CNN wants to make you think he changed his life around.”
“I’d seen Candace Owens try to convince white America, ‘Don’t worry about it. He’s a criminal, anyway,'” Chappelle said before lacing into Owens in a profanity-filled moment that drew a reaction from the crowd.
Demonstrators gather to protest the killing of George Floyd on May 30, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
“I don’t give a f— what this n— did. I don’t care what this n— did. I don’t care if he personally kicked Candace Owens in her stinky p—. I don’t know if it stinks, but I imagine it does. If I ever find out, I’ll let you know for sure. I’ll tell like Azealia Banks. I’ll tell.”
Owens took to Twitter to address Chappelle’s harsh words, and surprisingly, also took it in stride. The political commentator complemented Chappelle as “one of the greatest comedians of all time” and said she was proud to be mentioned in one of his routines.
She also took the opportunity to direct her ire at people on the other side of the political spectrum, as well as to give herself a compliment.
“I’m not a leftist. I have a sense of humor & I think comedians SHOULD make fun of people,” Owens tweeted. “Dave Chappelle is one of the greatest comedians of all time and I made it into one of his specials. That’s POWER!”
To every Democrat tweeting me the clip of #DaveChappelle insulting me:
I’m not a leftist. I have a sense of humor & I think comedians SHOULD make fun of people.
Dave Chappelle is one of the greatest comedians of all time and I made it into one of his specials.
President Donald Trump has decided to reschedule his first rally since the coronavirus emerged from the original date of June 19th to the next day, June 20th, “out of respect” for the Juneteenth holiday according to CNN.
Juneteenth is celebrated because, on June 19, 1865, the Union Army informed people in Texas, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation, the enslaved people were now free. Based on the date Trump decided to hold his first rally, especially in light of the recent protests taking place worldwide fighting against police brutality against black people and racial injustice, people have been critical of Trump for planning his return on that date.
In a perceived slap in the face to black people, the rally was also scheduled to take place 99 years after the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921 where, in May of 1921, black citizens in Tulsa were massacred at the hands of white mobs in what was known as The Black Wall Street.
The president took to Twitter to announce the rescheduled date:
We had previously scheduled our #MAGA Rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for June 19th – a big deal. Unfortunately, however, this would fall on the Juneteenth Holiday. Many of my African American friends and supporters have reached out to suggest that we consider changing the date out…
…of respect for this Holiday, and in observance of this important occasion and all that it represents. I have therefore decided to move our rally to Saturday, June 20th, in order to honor their requests…
The Republican Governor of Oklahoma, Kevin Stitt, has also released a statement regarding the changing of the date of the rally. “I am thankful President Trump recognizes the significance of June 19 and has chosen to move his campaign rally out of respect to Oklahomans and the important Juneteenth celebrations.”
I am now looking forward to welcoming @realDonaldTrump to Oklahoma on June 20 and appreciate his decision to change the date of his event. Full statement below : pic.twitter.com/IrPk2l214D
Atlanta police shot and killed a Black man during an altercation in a Wendy’s parking lot Friday night, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
The two officers on the scene were responding to a call that Brooks allegedly had fallen asleep in the drive-thru of the fast-food restaurant, blocking other cars. After administering a sobriety test, the police proceeded to arrest the motorist after he failed.
Such as the case of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arber, video footage of the incident captured by a bystander in a car has since spread on social media.
Officer involved shooting last night in Atlanta, GA (District 5) I grew up in this neighborhood. It’s time to have the conversation! RESISTING arrest, excessive force, & justified shootings😞 this young man is deceased. #RayshardBrooks#Atlanta#Police#District5pic.twitter.com/MSogObtUZF
— Angela Stanton King 🇺🇸 (@theangiestanton) June 13, 2020
As seen in the video of the arrest, a skirmish between Brooks and officers took place for nearly half a minute. Brooks managed to get free from the officers and tried to flee.
One officer then fired a taser at him. As Brooks continued to run away, three gunshots were fired into his back.
Brooks was taken to the hospital, but died during surgery. The video was captured by a citizen in a car of the Wendy’s parking lot.
The GBI released a statement regarding the investigation.
“The GBI is investigating an OIS involving one male subject & Atlanta Police Officers. The subject is deceased. One officer was treated for an injury and released from the hospital,” the agency said in a tweet.
The GBI is investigating an OIS involving one male subject & Atlanta Police Officers. The subject is deceased. One officer was treated for an injury and released from the hospital.
— GA Bureau of Investigation (@GBI_GA) June 13, 2020
“After failing the test, the officers attempted to place the male subject into custody,” GBI spokesman Nelly Miles said, the AJC reports. “During the arrest, the male subject resisted and a struggle ensued. The officer deployed a Taser.”
Police say Brooks took the taser from the officer before being shot. The shooting occurred out of sight of the cellphone footage circulating the web.
According to TMZ, this is the 48th police-related shooting to be investigated by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation in 2020.
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Two tough years in the making, there were days when Longevity founder Phil Long, 60, wasn’t sure the marriage of his small business, one of the nation’s few certified black-owned wineries, with Bronco Wine Co., one of the largest wine producers in the U.S., would happen.
But in early March, Long found himself in Texas, launching two new Longevity wines bottled by Bronco in quantities way beyond anything Long could have produced on his own, all earmarked for distribution in major outlets most small winemakers don’t even dream about.
“I’d been making 150 cases of Longevity’s white label chardonnay here a year,” says Long, sitting in his boutique northern California winery, surrounded by wine barrels and awards, including one for 2018 Livermore Valley Winery of the Year.
“With Bronco, we started by making 2,700 cases each of white label chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon, with the expectation that they’ll be gone quickly. As I watched the first bottles being filled at Bronco’s plant in November, I realized I’ve been a wine peddler,” Long reflects. “That all changes now.”
But no sooner did Long arrive for the Texas launch of his two new wines with Bronco than COVID-19 hit the U.S., and the big moment he had been waiting for evaporated. He returned to his Livermore Valley shop and braced himself. “I knew the winery would take a hit, but I hoped the new line with Bronco would offset that,” he says. “I never would have predicted what’s actually happened.”
By the first week in April, sales were up 100%, says Long, even though Longevity was no longer open for popular weekend tastings. But by the last week in May, sales were down by more than 75%.
Then George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police and the ensuing outcry called attention to not only black lives, but black businesses.
“We are gaining Instagram followers at a rate of 100 per day because of the Black Lives Matters movement,” says Long, who is president of the American Association of African-American Vintners. “I’m seeing a massive increase in online orders as people promote black businesses and urge their support. It’s mind-blowing.”
Long was overdue for some good news. When the prospect of the Bronco partnership first surfaced in September 2017, his wife, Debra, was already a year into her battle with stage four pancreatic cancer. Between caring for her and their business, he didn’t have much time or energy to focus on courting Bronco.
But he knew the partnership would enable his company to scale, far surpassing its 3,000-case-a-year peak production level and enabling Longevity to have a national presence in outlets like Krogers, Safeways, Lucky, Target, and Costco—“basically everywhere you see wine,” Long says.
Longevity’s being a certified minority-owned business heightened its appeal for Bronco along with the love story at the heart of the brand, according to Joey Franzia, Bronco’s national sales and marketing director, who told Wine Business Monthly that Long’s passion for the business was also a draw: “He has developed an exceptional brand, with a great pedigree, and we saw an opportunity to share in his vision and grow in the distribution channel.”
While neither Long nor Bronco reps would reveal sales projections, he says the deal will undoubtedly transform Longevity’s fortunes and his family’s. As of June 1, more than 12,000 cases of the two new Longevity varietals had already been bottled and Long says, “It would have been more if not for COVID-19.”
New Deal, New Cork, New Future
Longevity was launched in 2008 with $40,000 of an unusually high bonus from Long’s full-time job as creative director at Rapid Displays. In 2011, Debra quit her job to devote herself to their winery full time. By the time Phil quit his job in 2014, they had invested roughly $20,000 more in Longevity and the wines were starting to make waves.
Phil and Debra Long of Longevity Wines (Image courtesy of Phil Long)
“From the beginning, I’ve had my hand in every detail,” says Long who created the company name and logo—a heart of interwoven grapevines made for Debra which graces every Longevity bottle and is also tattooed on Long’s arm.
Debra died in January 2019, just before the Bronco deal was finalized. “I really wish she’d been here,” says Long. “Every aspect of this has been my baby, and it’s also Debra’s legacy, so it’s very important to me.”
Long says he had to steel himself for the new reality. “The first fear I had was letting go of what we started from scratch,” he says. “Then I realized it’s a partnership. I’m not letting go, I’m expanding. I’m still the winemaker, I’m the face of the brand, I’m the spokesperson, so it’s really a tremendous opportunity.”
Long blended each new flavor profile personally. On Winebusiness.com, Jim Gordon, who rates wines for Wine Enthusiast magazine, describes Longevity’s 2018 Chardonnay as “clean and bright in the mouth, bursting with flavors of honeydew and lemon.” He was equally enthusiastic about the “rustic, plum colored” 2017 Longevity Cabernet Sauvignon. Both will retail for $15.99, which Long describes as the “sweet spot for everyday table wine.”
The bottles are also sealed with a new Helix cork that doesn’t require a corkscrew. “It’s like opening champagne and the cool thing is you can put the Helix back in and save the wine to finish later,” says Long.
While little has gone as planned given all the world-changing events since March, Long, who works alongside his namesake son and a small staff, has no complaints.
“I anticipated becoming the spokesperson for African American vintners and owners over the next several years, but due to the current environment, I have become that overnight,” says Long. “I’m still a little bit dumbfounded but I’ll take it. I want the world to know black vintners are out here, and we have a lot to offer.”
President Donald Trump received much backlash for planning his next campaign rally on what is considered sacred ground and a sacred day to Black America.
Trump announced on Wednesday that he would hold a campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on June 19th, the Juneteenth holiday observing the end of slavery in America. On Friday, June 12, the president announced that he rescheduled the rally one day later after being contacted by Black friends and constituents.
“Many of my African American friends and supporters have reached out to suggest that we consider changing the date out of respect for this Holiday,” the president tweeted, “and in observance of this important occasion and all that it represents.”
We had previously scheduled our #MAGA Rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for June 19th – a big deal. Unfortunately, however, this would fall on the Juneteenth Holiday. Many of my African American friends and supporters have reached out to suggest that we consider changing the date out…
Prior to sending his late-Friday tweet, the President told Fox News anchor Harris Faulkner that he did not choose Juneteenth because of its significance to Black Americans.
“It’s going to be really a celebration and it’s an interesting date, it wasn’t done for that reason,” Trump explained, “but it’s an interesting date, but it’s a celebration.”
The initial decision to hold what 45 called a “#MAGA rally” was criticized because it fell on Juneteenth. Given the President’s rhetoric about race during his administration, especially amid the unrest sparked by the police killing of George Floyd, many felt this to be in poor taste.
Smoke billowing over Tulsa, Oklahoma during 1921 race riots.
Library of Congress
It was also received poorly due to the location. Tulsa, Oklahoma is the site of the worst race massacre in American history. The city’s Black neighborhood of Greenwood, famously known as Black Wall Street, was burned to the ground by a white mob during the Tulsa Race Riots in 1921.
More than one thousand homes and businesses were believed to be destroyed and as many as 300 people to be killed.
Tulsa was the site of the worst racist violence in American history. The president’s speech there on Juneteenth is a message to every Black American: more of the same.
NBC News NOW will stream a virtual discussion with families from around the country on the realities of parenting Black children in America.
According to an NBC release, the event, called Growing Up Black: Families Confronting Racism, will be hosted by TODAY and MSNBC anchor, Craig Melvin. The event will be aired live on NBC News NOW, NBCNews.com, Peacock, and on NBC News’ Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube channels Monday, June 15 at 8 pm ET.
The special will include conversations with African American families and feature a special message from singer-songwriter Angie Stone. Melvin will moderate the discussion on racism together with other Black parents who are raising children of all ages.
The special will also focus on the conversations Black parents have had with their children concerning deaths of Black men and women by cops and how to talk and act around police when they are stopped, pulled over, or arrested.
Many have called for cities and states to defund the police in light of the protests sparked by the death of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.
The protests and subsequent push on social media have put a new light on the disastrous relationship between Black people in America and the police. The protests have led to many states changing police protocols and laws.
Nine members of the Minneapolis City Council pledged to defund and dismantle the city’s police department creating a veto-proof supermajority of the council’s 13 members.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed an executive order Friday repealing a law protecting police records from the public, a statewide ban on chokeholds, automatic appointment of a special prosecutor to cases of police killing unarmed civilians, and a law making race-based 911 calls a crime. Cuomo also said he is signing an executive order Friday that will withhold funds from police departments that do not enact reform.
Oprah Winfrey’s OWN Network hosted a two-night special earlier this week called OWN Spotlight: Where Do We Go From Here? The special featured voting rights advocate Stacey Abrams, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms; National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) national board member, and others. The group discussed the protests, the changes that are being made as a result, and the next steps for the public and the police.
Sybrina Fulton, themother of Trayvon Martin, rejects the push to divert funds from police departments as a means to bridge the divide between law enforcement and urban communities.
“I think we need more police,” Fulton said in an interview with the Daily Caller. “We need police with better standards, and police with better ethics and better work habits.”
Fulton’s teen son Trayvon was gunned down in February 2012 by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman, who was ultimately acquitted, sparking national protests.She has since foughtfor stricter gun control, and is one of several Black mothers to run for public office after their sons were fatally shot, CBS News reports.
Fulton announced on Instagram this week that she is “officially qualified” to run for office in Florida. The Associated Press reported last May that she will challenge Miami Gardens Mayor Oliver Gilbert for a Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners seat that is up for grabs in 2020 because of term limits.
“I want residents to feel safe,” said Fulton. “I want to bridge the gap between the law enforcement and the community.”
Calls todefund police departments in the wake of the killing of George Floyd have sparked intense debate across social media.
Los Angeles is one of several cities to commit to shifting resources from law enforcement toward other social programs.
In an exclusive interview with theGrio,GovernorGavin Newsom, 52,revealed that he is working with California lawmakers to revamp public safety—but stopped short of advocating for defunding the police, a growing demand from Black Lives Matter leaders.
“The bottom line is we’re asking the police to do things that they shouldn’t be doing,” Newsom explained on Wednesday. “We’ve asked them to be social workers, we’ve asked them to be addiction specialists, behavioral health specialists. We simply require the police to take on too many roles and responsibilities. I think fundamentally, beginning to pull back and structurally reforming what we are asking of police departments is long overdue.”
Newsom has already begun to push for reforms within the Golden State, including working toward a statewide standard for policing peaceful protests and ending the carotid hold, a technique that was used in both the deaths of George Floyd and Eric Garner.
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ComedianJay Pharoah has opened up about his harrowing encounter with Los Angeles police during an #ExercisingWhileBlack moment last month.
In a video shared to his Instagram account on Friday, the formerSaturday Night Livestar, 32, said the incident occurred a week before video surfaced showingAhmaud Arberybeing fatally shot as he was allegedly out for a jog in Georgia.
“As I’m walking across the street, Corbin and Ventura, I see an officer to the left of me. I’m not thinking anything of it, because I’m a law-abiding citizen,” Pharoah explains in the clip, which includes security footage of the confrontation,PEOPLEreports.
“I see him coming with guns blazing, I see him say ‘get on the ground, put your hands up like you’re an airplane.’ As he’s looking at me, I’m thinking that he’s making a mistake,” he adds. “So I’m looking past where he’s looking. I’m looking at him, and I’m looking past me cause I’m like, ‘whoever they’re about to get, this is going to be terrible.'”
But Pharoah soon realizes, “He was coming to get me,” he says in the clip.
The security footage shows several officers roll up on the actor, with guns drawn, as he lay on the ground.
“Four officers got their guns blazing, they tell me to get on the ground, spread my arms out, they put me in cuffs, the officer took his knee, put it on my neck,” Pharoah explains. “It wasn’t as long asGeorge Floyd, but I know how that feels.”
He says cops fed him the usual line that he “fit the description” of a Black male suspect who was wanted in the area.
“I told them if you look, Google right now Jay Pharoah, you will see that you made a big mistake.”
He was ultimately allowed to leave the scene once officers were informed that Pharoah was not the person they were looking for.
“I had never been in cuffs before up until that point. I’m a law-abiding citizen,” he says.
Hear/watch him tell it via the Instagram video above.
Media personality Jawn Murry tweeted a link to the Deadline story about the incident, and added the caption “He could’ve been George Floyd!:
Pharoah responded, “Just a Black man living in America.”
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A new book claims Melania Trump delayed her move to the White House after herhusband’s surprise victory in November 2016 because she was renegotiating their prenuptial agreement.
In “The Art of Her Deal: The Untold Story of Melania Trump,” Mary Jordan, a reporter for The Washington Post, details why the first lady was able “to amend her financial arrangement with Trump — what Melania referred to as ‘taking care of Barron,’” she wrote,according to The Post.
“She wanted proof in writing that when it came to financial opportunities and inheritance, Barron would be treated as more of an equal to Trump’s oldest three children,” Jordan added.
The book notes that the original prenup was not especially generous to Mrs. Trump, but she was able to secure a bigger bag after reports emerged abouther husband’s alleged infidelities during his2016 presidential campaign.
Most notably, the former model is said to have been quite distraught over audioof Trumpbragging to “Access Hollywood” reporterBilly Bush aboutgrabbing women by their genitals.
Following Donald Trump’s 2016 White House win, his wife publicly claimed that she was waiting until the end of Baron’s school year to move to Washington. But behind the scenes, insiders interviewed for the book allege she was actually plotting her financial future after being hit with the cold hard truth about the state of her marriage.
Today I spoke w/ @FirstLadyNJ about our shared commitment to children’s health. Pleased to learn more about #NurtureNJ, an awareness campaign to help reduce infant & maternal mortality, esp for African-Americans & ensure equity in care for all. #BeBest
The first lady and Baron eventually settled into the White House in early June 2017 and the book notes that she seemed happier by the following year.
“According to three people close to Trump, a key reason was that she had finally reached a new and significantly improved financial agreement with Trump, which had left her in a noticeably better financial position,” Jordan wrote. “Those sources did not know precisely what she sought, but it was not simply more money.”
Meanwhile, Stephanie Grisham, a spokeswoman for the first lady, has slammed Jordan’s tale, describing it as “Yet another book about Mrs. Trump with false information and sources,” she said in an emailed statement.
“This book belongs in the fiction genre,” she added.
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The NFL is making vast strides to embrace its African-American staff, players, and supporters. This year, they’ve announced that they will celebrate Juneteenth as an official league holiday.
League commissioner Roger Goodell, who earlier this month announced his support for the league’s 75% of African-American players in a video proclaiming that Black Lives Matter, announced the move today in an internal memo, reports Forbes.
NFL will recognize Juneteenth as a holiday this year, Roger Goodell told the league in this email this morning: pic.twitter.com/sS0DYYk46c
This comes after the NFL committed $25M a year over the next ten years to advance social justice. They made that announcement yesterday.
“This year, as we work together as a family and in our communities to combat the racial injustices that remain deeply rooted into the fabric of our society, the NFL will observe Juneteenth on Friday, June 19th as a recognized holiday and our league offices will be closed,” Goodell said in the memo. “It is a day to reflect on our past, but more importantly, consider how each one of us can continue to show up and band together to work toward a better future.”
Denver Broncos safety Justin Simmons speaks at a protest for the death of George Floyd on June 6, 2020 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images)
Twitter, Square, and Nike are among the companies that have shared their plans to celebrate Juneteenth which is the day that Texas celebrated as an official end of slavery. The holiday is not a national holiday but has become more widely celebrated in recent years.
Goodell responded to a group of the league’s players including Kansas City Chief’s Super Bowl-winning quarterback Patrick Mahomes, Houston Texans quarterback Deshuan Watson, New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley and New Orleans Saints star wide receiver Micheal Thomas, considered among the top new stars of the league.
In the wake of George Floyd‘s death in Minneapolis along with the deaths of Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky and Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia players asked Goodell to declare that ‘Black Lives Matter’ and that he was in support of the league and its African-American players, who make up 75% of the league.
Earlier this year, the league also made attempts to strengthen the Rooney Rule which was created to generate the hiring of more Black head coaches. That rule, especially as no Black head coaches were hired in an off-season of multiple vacancies has proven to be more ceremonial than impactful.
The only thing the league hasn’t done, despite two weeks of protest on police brutality is to offer an olive branch of any kind to Colin Kaepernick who settled a collusion case with the NFL after his anthem protests lead to his virtual banishment from the sport.
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The Trump administration has rolled back Obama-era protections that provided protection for LGBTQ people in healthcare and insurance in a claim that it was “restoring the rule of law.”
Politicoreported that the new mandate will only define “sex discrimination” as it relates to someone facing discrimination due to being male or female. It will no longer apply on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
An LGBTQ+ flag flies over Union United Methodist Church in the South End of Boston. (Photo by Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
In 2016, the Obama administration instituted a policy that offered LGBTQ patients protections as they sought care at hospitals to ensure providers would not be able to discriminate against them, in particular those who identified as transgender. These provisions were under the non-discrimination clause in the Affordable Care Act.
However, the Trump White House—in an appeal to its conservative base—has long sought to do away with these protections in the rule under Section 1557 of the ACA. The change was announced Friday and the reversal will go into effect by mid-August.
“It will eliminate mass confusion that was unleashed by the Obama-era decision to redefine sex to cover a wide array of gender identities, when sex as a biological reality is so important to the practice of medicine,” Roger Severino, head of the HHS civil rights office, said.
HHS further cited costs as a reason for the measure being put into place.
Human Rights Campaign Incoming President Alphonso David talks with volunteers during the New York City Pride March, Sunday, June 30, 2019 in New York. David will be the first civil rights lawyer and first person of color to lead the nation’s largest LGBTQ civil rights organization. (Jeff Zelevansky/AP Images for Human Rights Campaign)
Critics blasted not only the decision but the timing. Friday marks the fourth anniversary of the Pulse shooting in Orlando, Florida where 49 people were killed in a gay nightclub and many more were injured.
“These actions demonstrate how little this Administration values the life, health and safety of LGBTQ people,” Sharita Gruberg of the Center for American Progress said. “It’s even more of a disgrace to do so on the anniversary of the deadliest attack on the LGBTQ community in US history.”
Advocates are concerned about the level of care LGBTQ patients will receive going forward; concerns heightened by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Severino denied that any patients would be put in danger.
“Especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, we’ve gone into overdrive in terms of our civil rights enforcement, and that will not be affected,” he said, citing recent efforts to enforce disability rights protections and other civil rights. “Everyone deserves to be treated with respect and accordance with the law.”
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Last week a Black teenager was arrested and a second young man was handcuffed just for jaywalking. Now the Tulsa police have released body camera footage from the officers involved amidst questions from community leaders.
According to CNN, Tulsa PD published the clips as a direct response to a social media campaign from local residents demanding answers about the arrest. However, the videos appear to have been blurred and redacted by law enforcement to conceal the identities of the minors.
“I want every kid in Tulsa to feel safe to walk down the street in their neighborhood,” Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynumsaid in a statement Wednesday. “No Tulsa kid should have to fear being tackled and cuffed for walking down the street. I viewed that footage last night more as a parent than a mayor.”
“I know the officers in that unit focus on removal of illegal guns from the streets, but the goal of that work should be that families feel safe in their neighborhood. This instance accomplished the opposite,” Bynum continued, assuring the public that the June 4th incident is under investigation.
In the bodycam footage, the two teens can be seen walking together down the middle of a road when they are suddenly approached by an officer on foot and a second one in a squad car.
Once the officers close in on the young men, one of them can be seen forcing a teenager onto his stomach to handcuff him, while pinning him down with his arms and knees. The second teenager is also handcuffed but remains standing.
The young men repeatedly ask for an explanation as to why they are being detained and handcuffed, and the teen being pinned down accuses the officers of targeting him be because his is Black, saying “you want to see me in jail or dead.”
That’s when the officer informs the men they are being arrested for jaywalking and the teenager struggling to get free yells, “Call my momma!”
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