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.
“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 into a drug bust and you can be the only one who doesn’t come out.”
Even though she believes her father was an “incredible cop,” that still doesn’t mean she’s pulling punches about what officers need to do to correct the ongoing issue of police brutality.
“If you do not feel safe, but you know some stuff is wrong and you need to be accountable then quit. Find a different job,” she advised.
“Do something different where you can look yourself in the mirror and you can have peace when you go to bed at night. If it affects you that way, which it should if you’re aware of it, then choose a different profession.”
The actress, who was out protesting in Los Angeles, also recently spoke to Essence about what she saw while on the frontlines.
“People are out there peacefully protesting, which they have a right to do in their streets, and because of the cop’s aggression and because of the way they were being brutalized to the point of hospitalization, that is why a lot of the looting started. And even though I don’t condone the looting, I understand it.”
She also noted that she’s “thankful that the news ultimately did start reporting the truth” about the protests in L.A. which she believes have in large part been infiltrated by interlopers who weren’t affiliated with Black Lives Matter.
Have you subscribed to theGrio’s new podcast “Dear Culture”? Download our newest episodes now!
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.
HuffPostreported 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.
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 45 years. The penalty is so severe because police were allegedly the target.
Allies claim that Mattis, who is a Princeton and NYU educated corporate lawyer and Rahman, a Muslim woman educated at Fordham Law School who works for Bronx Legal Services, are being treated unfairly.
In an unusual set of circumstances, Magistrate Judge Steven M. Gold declared during a virtual arraignment that both could be released with electronic monitoring. Federal officials appealed that judgment but District Judge Margo K. Brodie ordered them to be released on a $250,000 bond and home confinement. However, the government filed another notice.
A three-judge panel in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit revoked Mattis’ and Rahman’s bond on June 5. They were deemed to be a danger to society and returned to the Metropolitan Detention Center.
They are being held without bail as some of the police officers who were involved in the killings of Floyd and Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta have been released.
The disparity has prompted law students and faculty from both their alma maters to write in support of the jailed lawyers. The ensuing letter had more than 1,500 signatures.
“We believe that the Department of Justice’s prosecution and efforts to incarcerate Urooj and Colin are a gross overreach of federal law enforcement power, and an attempt to stifle and delegitimize dissent against police brutality,” NYU wrote.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a roundtable at the State Dining Room of the White House June 18, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
The harsh treatment they are receiving in comparison to the officers was also noted. The Fordham Law School signatories wrote in their open letter that some of the judges in the case were biased. Judge Michael H. Park and Judge William J. Nardini were appointed by President Donald Trump and the signees claim they are attempting to distract from police violence.
“Indeed, Rahman, a Pakistani Muslim immigrant and Mattis, a young Black man, are convenient scapegoats given this country’s deeply entrenched and violent history of anti-Black racism and Islamophobia,” the Fordham letter stated.
J. Wells Dixon, a senior staff attorney for the Center for Constitutional Rights, told Huff Post that the treatment of the lawyers was in stark contrast to that of white police officers accused of crimes. He declared it was an illustration of all that was wrong with the criminal justice system.
“They face a 45-year mandatory minimum,” Dixon said. “How do you square that? It is shocking and appalling that in the United States someone could spend 45 years in prison for vandalizing an empty police car that had been previously vandalized. That is not right.”
Mattis and Rahma are set to appear before another panel of judges Tuesday. None of them were appointed by President Trump.
Have you subscribed to theGrio’s new podcast “Dear Culture”? Download our newest episodes now!
There is public outrage in Ohio after local police were spotted blasting a double amputee with pepper spray during a protest and then allegedly trying to take away his prosthetic legs.
According to TMZ, on Sunday, witnesses say an unarmed young man who wasn’t aggressive was attacked by Columbus police officers during a peaceful demonstration. They first pepper-sprayed him and then callously disconnected his legs.
Stunned protesters then rushed the cops and demanded they return the man’s legs as he reportedly crawled around, distraught, on his hands seeking medical attention. Even though the protesters were also maced, a video shows them successfully retrieving his prosthetics.
Earlier in the week, Mayor Andrew Ginther released a statement assuring the public that there had been a ban on using pepper spray against non-violent protestors, an assertion that the City Council also stood behind.
“Those on the other side who are truly peaceful, who are truly non-violent, who are truly non-aggressive need to have the space and deserve to have the space to exercise their First Amendment rights, and we should embrace that,” said Ginther.
Additional video shows that not only was this ban violated, officers also used their bikes as battering rams to attack the crowd.
NOW: Things have taken a turn here. Police came to intersection and tried to push crowd out with bikes. This happened. @nbc4ipic.twitter.com/HnHxYWkR0l
Demonstrations have been taking place around the country since Memorial Day in the wake of George Floyd’s death during an arrest by the Minneapolis police. Since then, protests have happened in all 50 states, and corporations and sports leagues including NASCAR, the NFL, Google, Amazon, Cadillac, Condé Nast and others have shown open and vocal support of Black Lives Matter.
Have you subscribed to theGrio’s new podcast “Dear Culture”? Download our newest episodes now!
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration said Monday that it was extending a ban on green cards issued outside the United States until the end of the year and adding many temporary work visas to the freeze, including those used heavily by technology companies and multinational corporations.
The administration cast the effort as a way to free up jobs in an economy reeling from the coronavirus. A senior official who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity estimated the restrictions will free up to 525,000 jobs for Americans.
The ban, while temporary, would amount to major restructuring of legal immigration if made permanent, a goal that had eluded the administration before the pandemic. Long-term changes targeting asylum seekers and high-tech workers are also being sought.
Business groups pressed hard to limit the changes, but got little of what they wanted, marking a victory for immigration hardliners as Trump seeks to further solidify their support ahead of the November election.
The ban on new visas applies to H-1B visas, which are widely used by major American and Indian technology company workers and their families, H-2B visas for nonagricultural seasonal workers, J-1 visas for cultural exchanges and L-1 visas for managers and other key employees of multinational corporations.
There will be exemptions for food processing workers, which make up about 15% of H-2B visas, the official said. Health care workers assisting with the coronavirus fight will continue to be spared from the green-card freeze, though their exemption will be narrower.
Trump imposed a 60-day ban on green cards issued abroad in April, which was set to expire Monday. That announcement, which largely targeted family members, drew a surprisingly chilly reception from immigration hardliners, who said the president didn’t go far enough.
FILE – In this Dec. 10, 2015, file photo, pedestrians crossing from Mexico into the United States at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry wait in line in San Diego. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy, File)
The new steps to include non-immigrant visas went a long toward appeasing hardliners.
“This is a bold move by the Trump administration to protect American jobs,” said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, which advocates for restrictions. “Not all the items on our checklist of needed actions are included in today’s announcement, but the corporate lobbyists who were desperately fighting for exceptions to protect their clients’ access to cheap foreign labor have largely been rebuffed.”
BSA, a group that represents major software companies, urged the administration to reconsider its changes, particularly to the H-1B program, saying they will hinder economic recovery by making it harder to fill critical positions.
“Filling these roles that are more abundant than the number of U.S. employees qualified to fill them means these jobs can be kept in the U.S.,” the group said. “This allows companies based in the U.S. to remain globally competitive, which in turn boosts the U.S. economy, creating jobs for millions of Americans.”
A pro-immigration group with strong Silicon Valley backing, FWD.us, said the moves “will not only hinder efforts to save lives, but will prevent job creation and hurt our economy as our country struggles to recover.”
The freezes on visas issued abroad are designed to take effect immediately. Other changes, including restrictions on work permits for asylum seekers, will go through a formal rule-making process that takes months.
The administration is proposing a new way of awarding H-1B visas, the official said, awarding them by highest salary instead of by lottery.
H-1B visas are capped at 85,000 a year for people with “highly specialized knowledge” and minimum of a bachelor’s degree, often in science, technology, engineering, teaching and accounting. Critics say high-tech companies have used the visas as a tool to outsource jobs to foreigners, replacing Americans.
Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. was the largest H-1B employer in the 2018 fiscal year, followed by Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., Infosys Ltd., Deloitte Consulting LLP and Microsoft Corp. Other major employers include Amazon.com Inc., Apple Inc., Google and Facebook Inc.
A Milwaukee, Wisconsin community is outraged after a group of photos of victims of racial violence was found hanging on nooses in the city’s Riverside Park.
According to WLKY, the photos were removed by local activists of the original Black Panther Panther (to distinguish them from the New Black Panther Party which has been defined as a hate group) and included pictures of Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Botham Jean, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor.
Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd (Credit: Arbery family, Instagram/@keyanna.guifarro and Benjamin Crump)
King Rick of the Milwaukee chapter of the Black Panther Party says that the photos were definitely racist in intent.
“Historically, African Americans have been hung and lynched,” Rick said.
“I don’t care what anybody says, they can justify it all they want to. It was disrespectful not only to the memories of these individuals — our beloved individuals — but also to the African American community, so I’m not hearing it.”
The nooses were removed and it’s unclear what was written on the descriptions that were on each pic.
Photos of a group of people who lost their lives to racial violence were hung up with nooses in Milwaukee.
This is just one of a series of incidents nationwide with racial overtones in the wake of the deaths of George Floyd, Taylor, and Arbery this year. All of the photos reference famous cases of racially-motivated killings from Martin’s in 2012, killed by security guard George Zimmerman as he walked home from a snack run in Florida, to Floyd, who was killed by Minneapolis police on Memorial Day.
In recent weeks, a series of mysterious hangings in California have also made the news. Both Malcolm Harsch and Robert Fuller were found hung in nearby cities in Southern California. While Harsh’s family, after reviewing footage provided by police, now believes that his death was a suicide, Fuller’s family is waiting for results from an investigation into his death. They say he was not suicidal.
As reported by the Grio, Harsh, 38, who had moved to California from Ohio, was living in a homeless encampment there, unbeknownst to his family. Police provided the family with video footage that seems to indicate that he died by suicide, though a final cause has yet to be determined.
Have you subscribed to theGrio’s new podcast “Dear Culture”? Download our newest episodes now!
#IStandwithBubba trended on social media as the other drivers and their crews displayed unity by pushing Wallace’s No. 43 car down to the starting line. Wallace, the lone Black driver in NASCAR, was greeted with hugs after he got out of the car. Wallace could be seen crying as he was surrounded by other drivers pushing his car along.
Bubba Wallace was emotional as fellow NASCAR drivers and crew members helped push his car.
NASCAR had Wallace’s car checked before the start of the day’s proceedings. On Sunday, a noose was found in Wallace’s garage stall. The FBI has since launched an investigation.
“The news has disturbed us all and of course we want justice and know who and why,” said seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson. “And we want to stand with our friend.”
Wallace maintained that he would not let the incident “break me” in a statement released.
“Today’s despicable act of racism and hatred leaves me incredibly saddened and serves as a painful reminder of how much further we have to go as a society and how persistent we must be in the fight against racism,” Wallace said. “Nothing is more important and we will not be deterred by the reprehensible actions of those who seek to spread hate.”
Racing legend Richard Petty who once said he didn’t support anthem protests, stood next to Wallace during the national anthem, making an appearance to offer his support. Wallace drives for No. 43 for Richard Petty Motorsports. Petty, 82, said he stood by the racing sensation “yesterday, today, tomorrow and every day forward,” as the industry has rallied alongside him.
“I’m enraged by the act of someone placing a noose in the garage stall of my race team,” he said. “This filthy act serves as a reminder of how far we still have to go to eradicate racial prejudice and it galvanizes my resolve to use the resources of Richard Petty Motorsports to create change. The sick person who perpetrated this act must be found, exposed and swiftly and immediately expelled from NASCAR.”
As theGrio previously reported, Wallace, 26, led NASCAR in removing their Confederate flags from arenas and openly supporting the Black Lives Matter movement.
Have you subscribed to theGrio’s new podcast “Dear Culture”? Download our newest episodes now!
For years there has been speculation about who Kelly Rowland‘s father is and now the Destiny’s Child alum is opening up about what it’s been like reuniting with the man that was absent during the majority of her life.
This weekend while several celebrities wished their dad’s a happy Father’s Day, Rowland shared a heartwarming post about the moment back in October 2018 when she and her biological father were finally reunited.
“This was the day I met Christopher Lovett, My biological father,” the post began. “This was honestly one of the most pivotal moments in my life! After 30years of not seeing him, not speaking to him…what would THAT mean, for me, my family, my psyche?”
She then goes on to tell the story of how she found him and set up a time for them to finally meet, all while she filming her series American Soul.
“When I tell you I was petrified, I was walking to meet him, and my feet suddenly felt like they weighed A TON,” she confessed. “Needles to say I was overcome with anxiety, and I had a full on anxiety attack, in that moment I felt like the abandoned 8yr old. My team calmed me down. And as I turn the corner, in my head I was cursing this man.”
Rowland then runs down the rhetorical questions she found herself rattling off in her head like, “Why didn’t you come find me?”- “Did you love me?” – “Am I worthy?”
However, when she laid eyes on her dad, all those questions ceased and she found herself struck speechless.
“I felt the Holy Spirit say to me,listen,” she continued. “I listened to him, I was nervous to trust him, nervous to forgive him, nervous to love him nervous about it all. And the truth is, I already loved him. I spoke to my protective husband and those closest to me and they encourage me to forgive and jump! And since this time, I have forgiven, and we have spoken everyday since!”
“I have come to know SO much about myself, my family history, and even where my love of music & voice have come from! I Love you Daddy, and love being your little girl…even at 39!,” she concludes, adding, “P.S. we are making up for lost time, and when I tell you, him telling me how smart and beautiful I am….will never get old!
#HAPPYFATHERSDAY #reunited”
Have you subscribed to theGrio’s new podcast “Dear Culture”? Download our newest episodes now!
NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City police officer removed from duty after he was recorded putting a man in what the police commissioner said was a banned chokehold once faced criminal charges alleging he pistol-whipped a teenage suspect and broke two of his teeth.
The police department moved quickly to suspend Officer David Afanador without pay after Sunday’s confrontation on the boardwalk at Rockaway Beach in Queens. Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said Monday the swift action was a sign of “unprecedented times.”
“I think we have an obligation to act swiftly but we also have to get it right and to inform the public about what’s going on,” Shea told TV station NY1.
Shea announced the suspension hours only hours after video of the incident was posted on social media.
It’s at least the second time Afanador has been suspended from the force. The officer was sidelined after his 2014 arrest, only to return to duty after a judge acquitted him and his partner of all charges in 2016.
In that case, Afanador was seen on video using his gun to hit a 16-year-old boy during a marijuana bust. The beating continued until the boy dropped to the ground and was handcuffed. That altercation, which came six weeks after the police chokehold death of Eric Garner, also made news headlines.
Afanador was involved in eight incidents that were the subject of complaints to the city’s police watchdog agency since joining the police department in 2005, according to records obtained Monday under a new state law making disciplinary files public.
Police are viewed outside of the Grand Hyatt hotel in Manhattan following the mistaken arrest of James Blake, a retired top-10 professional tennis player on September 10, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
They ranged from using discourteous language to use of physical force and refusing to seek medical treatment. All of the allegations to the city’s Civilian Complaint Review were either unsubstantiated or led to exoneration except for the ones stemming from the altercation that led to his arrest.
In Sunday’s incident, in the wake of protests over George Floyd’s killing by police in Minneapolis, a video shot by one of the men involved in the altercation showed officers tackling a Black man and Afanador putting his arm around the man’s neck as he lay face down on the boardwalk.
Body camera footage released later by police showed that for at least 11 minutes before the arrest, three men were shouting insults at the police while the officers implored them to walk away.
“I put out the body camera footage yesterday and I think it tells a very different story than the initial video,” Shea said. “But ultimately, you know, the hand around the neck is the hand around the neck and I dealt with that swiftly.”
Chokeholds have long been banned by the NYPD and their use has been especially fraught since Garner died in 2014 after an officer put him in a chokehold while trying to arrest him. Gov. Andrew Cuomo last week signed a statewide ban on police chokeholds.
The speed with which the NYPD suspended Afanador stood in sharp contrast to the drawn-out police disciplinary process of years past.
“I think it’s unprecedented times,” Shea said, alluding to the public’s demand for police accountability since Floyd’s death.
Shea said he does not believe there is systemic racism in the NYPD. He is scheduled to testify Monday at the state attorney general’s hearing on police officers’ rough treatment of protesters.
His testimony comes days after Attorney General Letitia James publicly rebuked the police department and Mayor Bill de Blasio for ignoring invitations to participate.
NEW YORK (AP) — Tour promoter Live Nation has announced its first-ever drive-in concerts series in the U.S. for July, months after the live music industry has been on lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The entertainment company on Monday announced “Live from the Drive-In” — a set of nine shows to take place July 10-12 in Nashville, Tennessee; Maryland Heights, Missouri; and Noblesville, Indiana.
Grammy-winning singer Brad Paisley will headline shows in all three cities, while fellow country artists Darius Rucker and Jon Pardi will also perform in Nashville at Nissan Stadium. Nelly will perform in Maryland Heights, near St. Louis.
Concertgoers will be able to drive into the parking lots of the amphitheaters — a maximum of four people per car — and will have two empty parking lot spaces in between each vehicle so fans can watch and party from their designated individual tailgating zones. Attendees are encouraged to bring food, drinks and chairs, setting up around their cars to view the performers from the stage and also from the large LED screens.
All venue staff are required to wear masks, and Live Nation requests that attendees wear masks upon arrival, where there will be contact-less ticket scanning through their windows. Masks are not required once fans are in their designated tailgate areas, and Live Nation is not requiring that fans wear gloves.
This artist rendering released by Live Nation shows the set up for Live Nation’s “Live from the Drive-In,” concert series taking place July 10-12. (Live Nation via AP)
This artist rendering shows the set up for Live Nation’s “Live from the Drive-In” concert series taking place July 10-12.
Tom See, president of Live Nation Venues-US Concerts, said the company spent months working to find a safe, enjoyable way to put on live shows during the pandemic.
“We’re really dialed in with partnerships with (the) local jurisdictions (and) we’ve been meeting with them for months, just talking about how we can provide a great, comfortable experience to fans with social distancing at the forefront in whatever phase they’re about to enter. Because of those relationships and that communication going back and forth, we’ve been successful in getting that green light,” See said in an interview with The Associated Press.
“It was really important to us not to just do one and be done. It wouldn’t be Live Nation. It wouldn’t be the concert industry leader. We wanted to make a bigger statement.”
Nelly, who is celebrating the 20th anniversary of his debut album “Country Grammar,” and Pink Floyd tribute band El Monstero are both from St. Louis and will perform at The Hollywood Casino Amphitheater. Pardi and rock band Yacht Rock Revue will headline at the Ruoff Music Center near Indianapolis.
Nelly will perform near his hometown and is celebrating the 20th anniversary of his debut album.
Tickets will go on sale for the general public on Friday. See said ticket prices will fluctuate by market, but they can be as low as $125, which is roughly $31 per person if the maximum number of four attendees per car attend.
“I’m very excited to do this because I wanted to make sure, if we were going to do anything like this, that they had the important stuff worked out,” Paisley said in an interview with the AP. “My goal would be not to spread this virus to one person. There should be no spread from this. That’s key. I just don’t think it’s worth doing shows if we’re putting people at risk.”
“The idea that we’re outdoors is a great thing,” Paisley added. “I just think it’s a fun way to watch a concert anyway. It’d be fun if there wasn’t a virus.”
This artist rendering released by Live Nation shows the set up for Live Nation’s “Live from the Drive-In,” concert series taking place July 10-12. (Live Nation via AP)
For the Missouri show, See said they have a capacity to fit 1,000 cars while incorporating social distancing guidelines. Grills and BBQ pits are not permitted, but concertgoers can bring pre-cooked food and drinks, including alcohol. Live Nation encourages that groups assign a designated driver.
A menu of hot food items and nonalcoholic will be available for purchase, Live Nation said. People can place orders online and the items will be delivered to their designated tailgate zone.
Fans will only be able to leave their pods to access single restrooms, which See said will be cleaned regularly throughout the show. Attendees are encouraged to wear masks when leaving for restrooms.
“They don’t have to walk too far to be able to use the facility,” he said.
“The traditional drive in, I get it, you’re stuck in your car, and you’re going to get it through an FM transmitter. That’s not happening with these shows,” See said.
“We’re giving you what’s about the size of a double-car garage to where you’re going to be able to park your car, get out of your car, and have a great tailgating hang for you and your friends, and listen to music through proper professional PA and amazing audio and video display. It’s really a different aspect of drive-in and live. It’s highly experiential.”
Several descendants of women who played “Aunt Jemima” are speaking out against the Quaker Oats food company’s decision to rebrand its Aunt Jemima breakfast line.
According to The Blaze, Larnell Evans Sr. believes Quaker Oats, which owns the brand, is trying to rewrite history. Quaker Oats announced last week that it will rename and rebrand the line due to the “racial stereotypes” it portrays.
“This is an injustice for me and my family. This is part of my history, sir,” Evans said. “The racism they talk about, using images from slavery, that comes from the other side — white people.”
“This company profits off images of our slavery. And their answer is to erase my great-grandmother’s history. A Black female,” Evans added. “It hurts.”
Evans’ great-grandmother, Anna Short Harrington, replaced the original Aunt Jemima, Nancy Green, a former enslaved woman, as the face of the Aunt Jemima brand in the early 1920s.
“She worked for that Quaker Oats for 20 years. She traveled all the way around the United States and Canada making pancakes as Aunt Jemima for them,” Evans explained.
“This woman served all those people, and it was after slavery. She worked as Aunt Jemima. That was her job,” he continued. “How do you think I feel as a Black man sitting here telling you about my family history they’re trying to erase?”
Evans is not the only descendant of a woman who played Aunt Jemima that was upset by the news. According to a New York Post article, Vera Harris said her family takes pride in Quaker Oats scouting her second cousin Lillian Richard to be a representative of the brand in 1925.
Harris added Richard worked for the company for 23 years, traveling the U.S. as Aunt Jemima to serve pancakes until she had a stroke.
“She was considered a hero in [her hometown of] Hawkins, and we are proud of that. We do not want that history erased,” Harris told the Post. “She made an honest living out of it for a number of years. She toured around Texas,” Harris added, noting there “wasn’t a lot of jobs, especially for Black women back in that time.”
The news of the change by Quaker Oats has led to other brands, including Uncle Ben’s Rice, to review changing their names.
Keedron Bryant amazed the world on social media with his beautiful singing in response to the recent protests occurring all over the country against police brutality and racial injustice. The 12-year-old gospel singer has since received over 3 million views on his Instagram post with various celebrities and commenters praising his vocal talents. Now, Bryant will be able to pursue his musical career dreams with a new record deal with Warner Records.
According to the Associated Press, not only has Bryant landed a new record deal but he has released his inspiring song as his first single. In the song, Bryant sings: “I’m a young black man, doing all that I can to stand. Oh, but when I look around and I see what’s being done to my kind every day, I’m being hunted as prey.” Warner Records also announced that they will be donating 100% of the profits from the single to the NAACP from its Amazon Music streams in addition to another $50,000 donation, $1 for every stream garnered in the first 24 hours of the song’s release.
“It’s very exciting because this is what God’s called me to do,” Bryant told The Associated Press, adding that “it’s just been an exciting experience to work with my mom.”
His mother, Johnnetta Bryant, told the publication that she was touched by her son’s song as a mother to a young black son.
“I needed his wisdom. I went into prayer. He gave me those words so clearly,” said Johnnetta. “I shared it with Keedron … and I told him, ‘…I want you to take these words and I want you to pray over them. Meditate on them. Whenever you’re done with them, come out and we’ll record it.’ He did just that.”
Family members of Andres Guardado gathered in Gardena, California on Sunday to call for justice in the police killing of the 18-year-old man. The family was joined by residents who walked over three-and-a-half miles to Compton where they were met with force by police officers.
During the protest, Compton police fired rubber bullets and deployed tear gas against protesters.
According to reports, police told the crowd to get back. However, as they drew back from the steps of the sheriffs’ office, police fired upon them. Multiple people were also arrested.
According to a report from KSBY, the shooting was possibly captured by neighboring security cameras.
Wegener says that investigators have taken six or seven exterior cameras from the scene. Activists and social media users are asking for that footage to be released. One Twitter user questioned what is being done to ensure that the footage is not corrupted or deleted, and demanded that an outside party have the opportunity to review it.
Guardado was shot and killed on Thursday, June 18 by a Los Angeles County Sheriff Deputy. According to a CNN report, the man was approached by deputies while standing outside of a business. LA County Sheriff Homicide captain, Kent Wegener, said in a news conference that Guardado “reportedly looked toward the deputies” and “produced a handgun.”
Wegener said that Guardado then ran from deputies toward the rear of the business. It was there that one deputy fired six shots. The man was struck in the upper torso and pronounced dead at the scene.
Congresswomen Nanette Diaz Barragan and Maxine Waters issued a joint statement regarding the incident, “Andres Guardado is the latest young man of color killed by police gunfire. He was shot in the back. The officers involved did not wear body cameras,” the statement reads. “We demand answers and call for an independent investigation into this tragic death. There must be full transparency so the public can trust the investigation and we know we are getting the truth.”
Protesters have insisted that Guardado was working as a security guard at the business where he was killed. However, police investigators found that he did not have a license through the California Department of Consumer Affairs Bureau of Security and Investigative Services. Further, at only 18-years-old, he was under the legal age to be an armed security guard in the state of California.
An autopsy of Guardado’s body is being conducted by LA County. On Sunday, his cousin Celina Abarca told CNN that he was just “a baby,” she said that the death doesn’t feel real to her, “I close my eyes and I hope and I pray that it’s not really happening.”
Have you subscribed to theGrio’s new podcast “Dear Culture”? Download our newest episodes now!
Vice President Mike Pence refused to acknowledge the value of black lives during a recent interview about George Floyd, police brutality, and Juneteenth.
According to CNN, when Pence was pressed to say the term during an interview with an ABC affiliate in Pennsylvania on Friday, he refused, instead saying, “All Lives Matter.”
“Let me just say that what happened to George Floyd was a tragedy,” Pence told 6ABC Action News in Philadelphia. “And in this nation, especially on Juneteenth, we celebrate the fact that from the founding of this nation we’ve cherished the ideal that all, all of us are created equal, and endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights. And so all lives matter in a very real sense.”
The term All Lives Matter is a rebuttal to Black Lives Matter meant to downplay or ignore the health, economic, and racial issues African Americans face every day.
Anchor Brian Taft continued to push Pence on the situation.
“Forgive me for pressing you on this, sir,” Taff said to Pence, “but I will note you did not say those words, ‘Black Lives Matter,’ and there is an important distinction. People are saying, of course all lives matter, but to say the words is an acknowledgment that Black lives also matter at a time in this country when it appears that there’s a segment of our society that doesn’t agree. So why will you not say those words?”
Again, Pence danced around the question.
“Well, I don’t accept the fact, Brian, that there’s a segment of American society that disagrees, in the preciousness and importance of every human life,” Pence said. “And it’s one of the reasons why as we advance important reforms in law enforcement, as we look for ways to strengthen and improve our public safety in our cities, that we’re not going to stop there.”
Pence went on to tout the Black unemployment rate pre-pandemic and said the Trump the administration is “absolutely determined to improve” the lives of African Americans.
“And yet, one final time, you won’t say the words and we understand your explanation,” Taff responded.
Former Green Bay Packers legend Brett Favre says he believes NFL free agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick will eventually be viewed as a hero in the same vein as the late NFL player Pat Tillman.
Favre, speaking to TMZ Sports, was asked if he thinks Kaepernick had reached the status of Jackie Robinson or Muhammad Ali by taking a stand against racial injustice and police brutality when he took a knee during the singing of the national anthem.
“I can only think of, right off the top of my head, Pat Tillman, another guy who did something similar, and we regard him as a hero,” Favre said. “So I’d assume that hero status will be stamped with Kaepernick as well.”
Tillman, who was a 25-year-old safety for the Arizona Cardinals, enlisted in the Army after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. Tillman was offered and turned down a $3.6 million contract offer from the Cardinals. After the 2001 season, he left his NFL career to fight for his country and after serving combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, he was killed in 2004 as the result of friendly fire in Afghanistan. Tillman was awarded both the Silver Star and Purple Heart posthumously.
“It’s not easy for a guy his age—black or white, Hispanic, whatever—to stop something that you’ve always dreamed of doing and put it on hold, maybe forever, for something that you believe in,” Favre said of the still unsigned Kaepernick.
“I think from a football sense, I can’t imagine him being that far out of shape or that far out of touch with football that he doesn’t deserve a shot. He’s still young and hasn’t been hit in several years, so there’s no reason to think that he’s lost that much of a step.”
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell recently admitted that the NFL was wrong for not allowing players to take a knee on the field. “We, the NFL, condemn racism and the systematic oppression of Black People. We, the NFL, admit we were wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier and encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest. We, the NFL, believe Black Lives Matter. #InspireChange ”
But, according to a recent poll, a majority of Americans believe NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell owes former quarterback Colin Kaepernick an apology.
@sdhtoronto thanks for this dope shirt!!
