• News

by Iman Milner

June 6, 2023

‘Cop City’: Atlanta City Council Votes To Fund $90M Police Training Center

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The city of Atlanta will soon be home to a $90 million, 85-acre police training center after a 16-hour council meeting resulted in passing of the legislation necessary to fund the project.

Though public outcry has been loud with dissenting voices who feel that the city’s resources can be used in more productive and, potentially less harmful ways, 11 council members voted in favor of what critics call “cop city” while only four voted against. The proposed training center has been a point of contention for conservationists, community activists, and residents alike as various mounting fears have come to light. Environmental advocates have raised concerns about the forest land that will be destroyed to make room for the sprawling campus, while social justice advocates fear that it will further militarize police forces in a city that is still predominately Black, according to CNN. Many Atlanta residents feel that there was no public input sought by city leaders, which was made clear by the droves of people who came out to make their voices heard during the council meeting.

There have already been clashes between police and residents at the proposed location.

In January, police fatally shot 26-year-old activist Esteban Paez Teran during a protest. Officials reported at the time that Teran fired at officers first; however, his family and fellow activists strongly disagreed with that narrative, according to The Washington Post. Ahead of Monday’s vote, the city closed many City Hall offices amid growing concerns about public safety following the approval of the facility. Still, some of Atlanta’s top leaders are optimistic about “cop city,” including Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, who called the funding approval a “major milestone.” “Atlanta will be a national model for police reform with the most progressive training and curriculum in the country,” Dickens said in a statement.

Students at Florida A&M University (FAMU) are no longer willing to make do with what they have—and a judge has heard their concerns.

Judge Robert L. Hinkle of the Northern District of Florida dismissed Florida’s request to dismiss a lawsuit against the Florida Board of Governors. Following oral arguments, Judge Hinkle gave 30 days for the plaintiffs’ attorneys to revise the initial complaint.

FAMU students filed the lawsuit in September. The lawsuit claims there have been significant differences in state appropriations for the HBCU compared to predominantly white institutions (PWIs). NBC reported the suit also said the state turned a blind eye when another institution copied FAMU’s academic programs.

Attorney Josh Dubin believes institutional racism is to blame. He said, according to NBC, “There’s the failure to fund the school in proportion to traditionally white students and allow FAMU to essentially establish its own identity.”

FAMU student and plaintiff Brittney Denton said, “We do deserve to be treated equally as those students that are literally across the tracks from us. It’s not fair that we aren’t able to get the same opportunities. We aren’t allowed to get the same amount of money. We aren’t allowed the same education in the same city as another school that has every opportunity in the world,” WCTV reported.

Six students sued the state of Florida in September. They alleged that the HBCU received $1.3 billion less in funding between 1987 and 2020 than the University of Florida (UF). FAMU is one of two public land-grant colleges in the state; UF is the second. The plaintiffs in the case are Britney Denton, Nyabi Stevens, Deidrick Dansby, Fayerachel Peterson, Alexander Harris, and an unidentified student. Defendants include Gov. Ron DeSantis, the state university system Board of Governors, Chancellor Ray Rodrigues, Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr., and the State Board of Education.

The neighbors of hip-hop entrepreneur Rick Ross are unhappy with the Miami-bred rapper after his recent car show. After his event, residents were seething about the amount of trash left behind.

According to WSB-TV, people who have visited the plaza near Ross’ property have complained about the amount of garbage left in the area following Ross’s Car and Bike Show. Although there is no direct evidence of thinking the trash to Ross’s event, people who shop and work there made a claim. Yet, Ross’ attorney denies it had anything to do with the event.

The event was held at his property, which is located three miles away from the plaza.

Local shoppers said the place looked like a landfill. “It smells. It stinks. Look at all this trash. It’s so just ugh,” Shanette Parks said. Parks said she noticed all the debris and trash in the Kroger parking lot on Old National Highway and Flat Shoals in the City of South Fulton the next morning.

Another worker, Diallo Shears, a barber, said he was shocked to see the trash everywhere. “I’m seeing a nuisance. It looks like an eyesore. I mean, imagine if you were coming from another side of town. You came and saw this. You wouldn’t want to stop here. Would you?” he asked.

Law enforcement officers from Fayette County, where Ross held the event on his property and in neighboring South Fulton, said that the police force had no problems with the event.

Ross’s attorney, Leron Rogers, reiterated the large police presence in the area, and his client can’t be blamed for the actions of people who didn’t attend Ross’ event.

Ross held his car show on his property, The Promise Land, on Saturday, June 3, 2023, with no reported incidents.

• Diversity, Equality, Inclusion

by Sharelle B. McNair

June 6, 2023

3 Black California Families Fight For Ancestors’ Stolen Land Across The State

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Several Black families are fighting for property owned by their early ancestors across California. Three families, in particular, hope to regain what is rightfully theirs.

NBC News reports the Blue family of Sacramento, the Hatton family of Napa, and the Burgess family of Coloma, all had ancestors with property stolen from them. Les Robinson, a great-great-grandson of Daniel Blue, found out Blue worked as a gold miner after being brought to Sacramento in 1849 as an enslaved man. He mined enough gold to purchase his freedom and became an entrepreneur, opening a dry cleaner and starting a church, now known as St. Andrews AME Church.

According to California state documents, Blue also purchased 60 acres of land, now seen underneath the California Railroad Museum, the Amtrak Station, Sacramento RailYard, the courthouse, and the Sacramento County jail. Robinson said the land was taken to complete the transcontinental connection. “So he basically was booted out,” Robinson said.

Edward Hatton had similar events happen to him. After being enslaved as a gold miner in the 1840s, Hatton became the first Black barber in Napa and a gold-mine owner. Recently, his great-great-great-granddaughter, Yolanda Tylu Owens, sought papers from the Napa County Clerk’s Office to see if lots now hosting a park and Sept. 11 memorial remain in Hatton’s name. Owens claims her family purchased 209 acres for $1,500 in February 1885.

Her research found white people wanted the land and claimed Hatton defaulted a payment worth $400 in 1893. “The treasurer, who had already owned other large parts of that mountain, put the land in her own name, and that was that,” Owens said. “They stole it.” The Burgesses of Coloma, California, learned Rufus Burgess was one of the state’s first gold miners and bought land—420 acres to be exact—hoping it would stay in the family for generations. However, the city seized most of it, now Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park.

The state of California made news last year when Charles and Willa Bruce’s family received ownership of the property known as Manhattan Beach. After being in the fight for almost 100 years, country executives finally presented the deed back to the family’s descendants.

• News

by Sharelle B. McNair

June 6, 2023

NYPD ‘Stop-and-Frisk’ Team Made Unconstitutional Stops Targeting Black and Brown People

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New York City Mayor Eric Adams revamped the NYPD Neighborhood Safety Teams to keep illegal guns off the streets, but new reports show numerous unjustified stops.

Reports from a federal monitor show the controversial “stop-and-frisk” teams are making some unlawful stops targeting Black and Hispanic people, finding 24% of the stops were unconstitutional, the NY Daily News reports. Mylan Denerstein, the court-appointed monitor, examined the reports and called the results “disappointing.”

The units, riding in unmarked cars and wearing security-like uniforms, seem to be the least compliant overall of officers, with department officials constantly overlooking their flaws. “Too many people are stopped, frisked, and searched unlawfully,” Denerstein said. “At the precinct level, sergeants, lieutenants, and commanding officers fail to identify and correct the unconstitutional policing.”

The task force was disbanded by former NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio but reinstated after Adams took office last year. Adams’ first initiative was to bring back undercover, plain-clothed cops, similar to the ones involved in the tragic case of Eric Garner in 2014. However, not wanting repeated offenses, Adams required the teams to have constitutional policing training, have a modified uniform, and wear body cameras.

Neighborhood Safety Teams operate in 34 areas that account for 80% of the city’s violent crime rate, largely in communities of color. According to Fox News, 97% of the people stopped are Black or Hispanic.

A spokesperson from Adams’ office, Fabien Levy, says the mayor finds the monitor’s methods concerning and questions the findings since news outlets were the ones who reported it to them. He claims shootings have declined since the task force was reinstated, and the units are trained to “protect their civil liberties as well.” “Any unconstitutional stop is unacceptable, and we will strive to do better for New Yorkers every day,” Levy added.

NYPD has been under watch for its treatment of Black and brown people for years. Ten years ago, U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin ruled that NYPD violated the civil rights of Black and Hispanic New Yorkers with stop and frisk, citing it was a form of indirect racial profiling.

• News

by Stacy Jackson

June 6, 2023

Community Mourns Black Mother Shot While Standing Up For Her Children Against White Neighbor

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A Florida community is calling for swift justice after a 35-year-old Black mother of four was shot and killed by her white neighbor.

Ajike Owens wanted to know why her 58-year-old neighbor allegedly threw an item and hit one of her young children. The children were outside playing at the time. When the concerned mother approached her neighbor’s home in Ocala, Florida, a gunshot was fired through the front door. “She knocked on the door, and at that point, the woman allegedly shot through the door, hitting AJ, who later died from her injuries,” attorney Ben Crump said, as reported by NBC News. The identity of the white woman has not been revealed to the public.

No arrest has been made. Marion County, Florida, Sheriff Billy Woods said, “We know who did the shooting,” but says the Florida Stand Your Ground Law prohibits an arrest. Woods said at a press conference Monday, “Any time that we think or perceive or believe that [the “stand your ground” law] might come into play, we cannot make an arrest. The law specifically says that.” The sheriff added that they have to “rule out” whether the deadly force was justified.

The Owens family’s attorney, Anthony D. Thomas, said, “We need an arrest,” NBC News reported.

According to CNN, Crump told MSNBC, “It is asinine when they try to justify this unjustifiable killing of this mother of four who was killed in front of her children. It is heartbreaking on every level.” He called the incident an “unjustified killing.”

Police have not yet spoken to the victim’s children. Woods shared that the alleged shooter provided most of the information about the events that transpired.

At a news conference, Owens, 35, was described as “the protector of her children” by her mother, Pamela Dias. She said, “My daughter, my grandchildren’s mother, was shot and killed with her 9-year-old son standing next to her. She had no weapon. She posed no imminent threat to anyone.” Dias also said the white woman called the children “racial slurs.”

The grandmother created a GoFundMe to “support funeral and memorial expenses” and to “contribute to AJ’s children’s education expenses.” As of June 6, 2023, the family has received over $50,000 in donations.

R&B crooner Trey Songz is facing yet another lawsuit.

According to Rolling Stone, the award-winning singer faces a $10 million lawsuit filed against him, accusing the singer of sexual battery and assault. A listed Jane Doe claimed the “Gotta Go” singer groped and exposed her breast at a pool party.

The latest incident was captured on video obtained by TMZ. It was revealed last year in April 2022. The incident occurred 10 years ago, in August 2013, at the Foxwoods Resort Casino on the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation reservation in Connecticut. The alleged victim was a business analyst at the time for a local liquor distributor. The singer was in attendance to host an event, and “Jane Doe” stated that she wanted to take a picture with him when the incident happened. When the situation occurred, the woman said she felt “ashamed, embarrassed, and anxious” about whether her colleagues saw her breasts.

The woman’s attorney told the media outlet the incident was “disturbing” and the music industry must be held accountable.

Her attorney, George Vrabeck, told Rolling Stone that the incident is a “harsh reminder” that the music industry must be held accountable. “Entities such as Atlantic Records and key executives like Kevin Liles must reassess their obligations toward ensuring the safety and dignity of everyone at any event associated with their artists,” he stated. “My client demands transparency, accountability, and a prioritization of safety over profits.”

This news comes after Trey Songz accepted a plea deal in April 2023 for an alleged attack at a New York City bowling alley; in exchange, he was mandated to take anger management classes.

On May 2, 2023, the singer pleaded guilty to a single disorderly conduct violation after being accused of repeatedly punching a woman in the face. He also dragged her by the hair inside the bathroom of the NYC bowling alley in October 2022, according to a report by TMZ.

Cuba Gooding Jr. is no longer headed to trial for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman 10 years ago after resolving the case privately.

On Tuesday, a calendar entry in the New York federal court announced Gooding’s trial on sex abuse allegations was “OFF,” after both parties settled the matter, AP News reports. The Academy Award-winning actor is accused of meeting a woman in Manhattan and persuading her to go to his hotel room so he could change clothes.

The alleged victim says while inside the hotel room, Gooding sexually assaulted her. But, the “Jerry Maguire” star remains adamant that the sex was consensual and claimed the woman even bragged about hooking up with a celebrity afterward.

The woman was able to move forward with the lawsuit anonymously up until last week when Judge Paul A. Crotty ruled that her name would be revealed at trial. The woman was seeking $6 million in damages and was being represented by famed women’s rights attorney Gloria Allred.

However, all parties have remained silent in the wake of the suit being settled. Authorities were going after Gooding for his past accounts of sexual misconduct with at least 30 other women who accuse him of groping, unwanted kisses, and acting inappropriately, NPR reports.

The judge agreed to allow three alleged victims to speak at trial and share their accounts of being assaulted by Gooding. Kelsey Harbert was among the three selected to share her story of allegedly being fondled by the “Boyz N The Hood” star at a bar near Times Square in 2019.

The settled lawsuit comes one year after Gooding was permitted to plead guilty in April 2022 to a misdemeanor for forcibly kissing a worker at a New York nightclub in 2018. Under the deal, Gooding would have to stay out of trouble and complete six months of alcohol and behavioral counseling in order to withdraw his guilty plea and plead guilty to a non-criminal harassment violation that would eliminate his criminal record and prevent further penalties.

RELATED CONTENT: Cuba Gooding Jr.’s Lawyers Allege Assault Victim Bragged About Consensual Sex with Actor

Generation Z politicians like freshman Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL) aren’t holding back their words.

Frost stepped on stage during a Paramore concert in Washington, D.C. to give Florida governor and Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis a piece of his mind. A video posted to Twitter shows him yelling “F— Ron DeSantis” and “f— Fascism” and he’s not backing down about it.

“I said what I said,” Frost tweeted in response.

I said what I said https://t.co/WdHIKIVljY

— Maxwell Alejandro Frost (@MaxwellFrostFL) June 3, 2023

Frost seemed to be having the time of his life at the concert. He shared another video on stage rocking out with band leader, Hayley Williams. “Very grateful for this moment. I’ve been practicing in the shower for YEARS,” he said.

Very grateful for this moment. I’ve been practicing in the shower for YEARS pic.twitter.com/vbXueib9Ec

— Maxwell Alejandro Frost (@MaxwellFrostFL) June 3, 2023

Frost has been very vocal about DeSantis and his politics since he decided to run. Focusing on gun violence, he became the first Gen Z politician to serve in Congress after winning last year’s midterm elections, NBC reports. After the Parkland mass shooting in 2018, he worked as the national organizing director for anti-gun violence group, March for Our Lives.

During an interview with CNN, the young congressman accused the 2024 presidential candidate of “fascism” due to his policies that target Black, transgender and LGBTQ people.

“But we have to call it for what it is: He is abusing his power and using the state to target political opponents and political enemies,” Frost said. “And there’s a word for that, and it’s fascism, and we have to be honest about it.”

Once conservative Twitter pages decided to repost the video, Frost stood his ground, doubling down on his sentiments. “Lol they’re so mad,” he retweeted.

lol they’re so mad 😂😂 https://t.co/GxPRzWa8SU

— Maxwell Alejandro Frost (@MaxwellFrostFL) June 3, 2023

Williams trumpeted Frost when he joined her and the band on stage. “Do you see this? Do you see the future right here?,” Williams said, according to The Hill.