President Joe Biden Signs Juneteenth National Independence Day Act Into Law
by Derek Major

June 17, 2021

President Joe Biden Signs Juneteenth National Independence Day Act Into Law

Hours after the House passed the bill and less than a day after returning from his first trip abroad as President, Joe Biden has signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law.

Biden signed the bill Thursday afternoon during a White House ceremony turning the day Union soldiers and Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Tx and announced all enslaved Black Americans were now free. The law will go into effect immediately and since the holiday is on a Saturday this year, all federal employees will have Friday off.

“Today is a day to reflect what the Psalm tell us,” Biden said. “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning .Juneteenth marks both the long, hard night of slavery and subjugation and a promise of an early morning to come. This is a day of profound weight and profound power, a day in which we remember the moral stain and the terrible toll slavery took on the country.”

President Biden Signs Juneteenth Holiday into Law (screenshot)

President Biden, was accompanied by Vice President Kamala Harris and a number of Democratic politicians. Harris, who spoke before Biden, talked about the history of Juneteenth including they names the holiday was given before today/”Throughout the course of history Juneteenth has been known by many names, Jubilee Day, Freedom Day, Emancipation Day and today, a national holiday,” Harris said to a round of applause. “I see the advocates, the activists, the leaders, who’ve been calling for this day and I see members of Congress, members of the Congressional Black Caucus and members of the Senate who passed this bill unanimously.”

Juneteenth was first celebrated in Galveston in 1980 and since every state has recognized it except South Dakota have picked up the holiday. During the Black Lives Matter and Defund the Police movements last summer, many U.S. corporations and companies added the day to their holiday calendars.

The bill easily passed the U.S. Senate early in the week and the House Wednesday despite 14 Republicans voting against the bill.

The Congressional Black Caucus, under the leadership of Chairwoman Joyce Beatty of Ohio, issued the following statement on the recent passage of legislation elevating Juneteenth to a national holiday: “Passage of the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, a day which officially recognizes the end of enslavement in the United States, is an important and long overdue step in commemorating the end of one of the most painful periods in our nation’s history,” said Chairwoman Beatty.

“The Members of the Congressional Black Caucus have waged this fight for decades and, while we will celebrate this milestone, let us not forget how much further we must go. Voting rights, the racial wealth gap, justice in policing and so many more issues remain to be overcome – and, through Our Power, Our Message, the Congressional Black Caucus will continue to lead the fight on these issues. We look forward to joining President Biden this afternoon as he signs this bill into law.”

 

by Jeroslyn JoVonn

June 17, 2021

Idris and Sabrina Elba Partner With Christian Louboutin For MLK Inspired Collection

Idris and Sabrina Elba are giving back in the name of high fashion. On Wednesday the couple and luxury shoe designer Christian Louboutin launched a collaboration that will benefit five grassroots charities benefiting the fight for racial justice

Dubbed “Walk A Mile In My Shoes,” the capsule collection donates 100% of its proceeds to five charities around the world. It was created in “direct response to the global outcry for justice following the events of May 2020 in the United States,” the Louboutin website says.

According to the website, trio leaned on inspiration from historic activists such as Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King Jr.

“We wanted to create a collection that would encourage empathy and action. To be clear, the message isn’t intended to be interpreted literally. Instead, take a moment to consider the experiences of those who are made to feel different, often due to circumstances beyond their control,” according to the Louboutin site.

Louboutin was inspired to partner with the Elbas after watching their Instagram Live session with Black Lives Matters co-founder and activist Opal Tometi in June 2020.

“Idris was very clear about the importance of making a contribution, whether through a donation or work toward lasting, structural change,” Louboutin told The Hollywood Reporter. “Watching such dear friends’ commitment to something so important moved me a lot. I agreed that of course we have to take action, but I wanted to offer more than a check; I wanted to provide practical solutions that ladder up to systemic change for communities.”

The 20-piece capsule collection includes flats, heels, sneakers, dress shoes, and handbags all designed by the trio, BET reports. Every dollar from every sale goes to five charities they each share personal connections with. Organizations include [London-based] Immediate Theatre, where Idris is a patron, Somali Hope Foundation, which provides free schooling for children in a rural town that Sabrina’s mother is from, and Maryland-based Be Rose International Foundation that aids women and children in vulnerable communities.

 

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Dallas-based Purposeful Philanthropy Foundation is also on the list. The organization offers mentorship for girls. Harry Belafonte’s NY-based criminal justice reform organization The Gathering for Justice will also benefit from the collection’s profits.

“Gathering for Justice is very dear to me, as it aims to end child incarceration,” Louboutin said. “In the future we are planning to work with other organizations to try to help and highlight a larger scope of communities.”

The Sierra Club Announces Full Support for Black Reparations
by Andrea Blackstone

June 17, 2021

The Sierra Club Announces Full Support for Black Reparations

The Sierra Club—which is known as the nation’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization—announced full support for reparations for Black people today, while publicly calling for more firm allies in the racial justice movement.

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According to the announcement, the “economic, cultural, psychological and spiritual impacts of racism” should be addressed to achieve the creation of a healthy, safe, and sustainable planet, according to The Sierra Club. It was also mentioned that the 156th Anniversary of Juneteenth on Sunday celebrates U.S. Black resilience and Black liberation, amid a current struggle that has not ceased.

“As the climate crisis continues to disproportionately harm Black communities, it is up to us to build an intersectional climate justice movement that ensures a habitable planet for all people. And we cannot create that movement without demanding reparations for Black people—a community that is burdened with deep trauma stemming from a legacy of colonialism, genocide, land theft, enslavement, racial terror, racial capitalism, structural discrimination, and exclusion,” The Sierra Club’s Executive Director, Michael Brune, said in a statement sent to BLACK ENTERPRISE.

Brune also noted that Black liberation is key to accomplish global climate crisis resolution. Additionally, Juneteenth serves as a reminder to continue directly confronting systemic racism.

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“Since last summer, the movement to end police brutality against Black Americans has grown in spaces that were not visible before, requiring many of us to answer calls for allyship,” Brune said.

In 2020, Brune penned a post entitled ‘Pulling Down Our Monuments.’ Brune mentioned that the Sierra Club’s early history should be re-examined. It was primarily a mountaineering club for middle- and upper-class white people. John Muir was a monumental figure in the organization’s past who reportedly made stereotypical and derogatory comments about Black people and Indigenous people, although his views ultimately evolved, according to Brune.

 

But Brune’s stance has been different. He has been vocal about the intersection of environmental issues and race.

“ Black communities, Indigenous communities, and communities of color continue to endure the traumatic burden of fighting for their right to a healthy environment while simultaneously fighting for freedom from discrimination and police violence,” Brune also said. “The Sierra Club that I want to belong to not only acknowledges that reality, it also works to counter racism and exclusion wherever it occurs—in our parks and wilderness areas, in our communities, in the halls of power, and especially among our own staff, volunteers, and 3.8 million members and supporters.”

 

 

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

June 17, 2021

James Harden Joins Saks Fifth Avenue E-Commerce Site as Board Member and Investor

It looks like a basketball star’s fashion sense may have paid off.

Saks Fifth Avenue announced on its Instagram page that Brooklyn Nets guard, James Harden, has joined its board of directors and is a minority investor.

“Saks is excited to announce the appointment of @jharden13—nine-time NBA All-Star, Brooklyn Nets guard and entrepreneur—as an independent member of our board and minority investor.”

 

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The three-time NBA scoring champion and 2018 NBA most valuable player will make an investment in Saks Fifth Avenue department stores’ new e-commerce business, Saks.

“I am honored to join the Saks board and to be a part of a company that is paving the future of luxury retail. This is an exciting opportunity for me to combine two of my personal passions—fashion and teaming up with brands that have the potential to lead—while making an impact on the communities they serve.” Harden said in a written statement.

According to Nets Daily, Saks CEO Richard Baker released a statement, “As we work to build this new board, James is an important and valuable addition. With experience in growing businesses and as someone who values self-expression through fashion, I am confident that he will bring a distinct point of view that will help us better deliver for our customers. His expertise, combined with that of our other board members, will enable Saks to further capitalize on the significant growth opportunity within luxury e-commerce.”

Five Georgia Cops Fired For Mocking The Death of A Black Man Who Died in Custody
by Jeroslyn JoVonn

June 17, 2021

Five Georgia Cops Fired For Mocking The Death of A Black Man Who Died in Custody

Five Georgia police officers were fired after they were caught mocking the death of a Black man who died in their custody.

The Savannah Police Department announced the terminations on Monday following two separate investigations into 60-year-old William Harvey’s death, Atlanta Black Star reports.

His family demanded answers following his April death after the department claimed Harvey took his own life with “an object in his possession” while alone inside an interview room. Harvey’s family says he was found hanged.

“He was my lifeline to this world. I don’t know if I’ll be able to make it, and that’s why I’m here because I want to know what happened to my child. I want to know. I need to know,” Harvey’s mother, Shirley Harvey Francis told WSAV while standing outside the police headquarters.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation launched an investigation into Harvey’s death and ruled it a suicide by hanging using his own shoelaces. After Harvey’s family demanded surveillance footage to get answers about his death, they found that the officers never turned on the surveillance cameras to keep an eye on Harvey while they were out of the room.

All officers connected to the incident were placed on administrative leave and an investigation was launched into the four officers involved. They found that one officer sent a message to a group chat that “had an inappropriate meme/GIF attached” mocking Harvey’s death, ABC News reports.

At the end of the investigation five officers were fired including a corporal and a sergeant, police said. Four of the five officers have appealed their terminations but all of the terminations were upheld.

“While we cannot provide justice for the Harvey family, we can ensure accountability for the policies we did not follow and the actions we did not take,” Savannah Mayor Van Johnson said. “I do not believe that there was malicious intent on the part of the officers involved, but the result was deadly. And for that, I believe the decision to terminate was appropriate.”

Black Man Arrested After Calling 911 to Report A White Girl Who Crashed A Car, Suing City of Chattanooga
by Jeroslyn JoVonn

June 17, 2021

Black Man Arrested After Calling 911 to Report A White Girl Who Crashed A Car, Suing City of Chattanooga

A Black Tennessee man is suing the city of Chattanooga for arresting him after he called the cops to report a 14-year-old White girl who crashed a car.

Michael James, a truck driver with no criminal record, filed a lawsuit last month against the City of Chattanooga and several officers over claims his civil rights were violated when he was wrongfully arrested on May 6, 2020, according to the Tulis Report.

James was driving on the road when he saw a Nissan SUV driving in an “erratic and dangerous manner,” the suit states. The Nissan was being driven by a 14-year-old unlicensed driver and carried another minor in the passenger seat. The teen nearly struck James’ vehicle.

After an exchange where the teens flicked off hand gestures at a stoplight, the girls crashed the car into the Barn Nursery before running to a nearby house occupied by an elderly lady, who gave them entry, according to The Tulis Report. When police arrived, the girls made allegations against James, who was parked nearby with his flasher lights blinking waiting to speak with the police.

Instead of being hailed for his good deed, the responding officer decided to investigate James and arrest him.

“So my call to 911 was a good deed on my part, especially when they crashed into the building, to make sure they were OK, and the people inside of the building that could’ve been injured,” James said. “I was offering assistance and rendering aid, but also to make sure who was driving was held accountable for it, because they took off running.”

The teens told police that James had chased them and threatened them with a gun. In response, they searched James’ car without a warrant before aggressively arresting him.


“The allegations don’t add up,” James said. “Sounds like false allegations to get out of what the person that was driving illegally that crashed into that building, sounded like they were just trying to get out of the situation. Those are false statements. There is no reason for me to do that to two young girls. What I observed and witnessed them—driving recklessly—and noticed that the two individuals in the car, they were awfully young, so I thought the car was stolen, but also thought they were falsely intoxicated—I seen ’em driving recklessly.”

James was forced to make multiple court appearances before all charges against him were finally dropped. He is seeking $450,000 in damages over claims the responding officers violated his civil rights based on his race.

Florida Man Charged With Double Murder, Represents Himself With Wild Opening Statements
by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

June 17, 2021

Florida Man Charged With Double Murder, Represents Himself With Wild Opening Statements

A Black man who has been charged with brutally killing his girlfriend and disabled daughter has decided to represent himself in the trial and has already made waves throughout the news cycle as he shouted his way through his opening statements at the start of the trial.

According to Complex, the man who is on trial, Ronnie Oneal III, has stated that the case against him is fabricated. He is acting as his own attorney and screamed out to the jury and courtroom witnesses that “by the time it’s all said and done, you will see who is the mass murderers.”

“This whole entire case has been tampered with and fabricated,” Oneal said. “My son did not witness me viciously beat his mom to death.”

It has been reported that Oneal had allegedly shot his girlfriend, 33-year-old Kenyatta Barron, and then supposedly beat her to death with the same weapon he fired after he ran out of ammunition. Oneal is also accused of allegedly using a hatchet to kill his own disabled 9-year-old daughter, Ron’Niveya Oneal.

 

Oneal has also been accused of stabbing and burning his own son, who is now 11-year-old, Ronnie Jr. He survived the attack and testified against his father on Wednesday.

Via video conference, Ronnie Jr. testified against his father and recalled the events and how they unfolded that night of March 18, 2018, in Tampa, Florida. “My dad killed my mom,” he said via video conference. One sergeant said the boy’s injuries were so bad that “he appeared to have been disemboweled.”

Oneal questioned his son and asked him, “Did I hurt you the night of this incident,” his son responded, “Yes. You stabbed me.”

North Carolina Museum Loses Contract Due To Wildly Racist Juneteenth Event
by Derek Major

June 17, 2021

North Carolina Museum Loses Contract Due To Wildly Racist Juneteenth Event

Mecklenburg County, N.C. has cut ties with the  Historic Latta Plantation Nature Preserve Museum due to a Juneteenth event that included stories being told from the perspective of a slave owner and newly freed slaves.

The county will let its contract with the museum expire due to the Juneteenth event many found to be racially insensitive. The event, which was scheduled for Saturday, included Confederate soldiers lamenting the downfall of the Confederacy and stories from a “massa,” in which an actor would’ve portrayed a slave owner.

Mecklenburg County officials said on Twitter they were not aware of the event until the museum posted it on their Twitter account and the event has since been cancelled.

“Park and recreation was not aware of the planned event until it appeared on social media,” the post stated. “We immediately reached out to the organizers and the event was cancelled.”

Ian Campbell, the museum site manager, posted a message on the website’s homepage blaming the media, calling them yellow journalists while also quoting Rahm Emanuel and Chief Justice John Roberts. Campbell called out Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles, for blasting the event and the museum despite having never visited the museum.

“The media’s corps of yellow journalists had a perfect opportunity to educate, however, they chose to whip the public into a frenzy,  it worked. “You never let a serious crisis go to waste. And what I mean by that is it’s an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before.” Rahm Emanuel. In regards to social media, Chief Justice John Roberts said “in our age, social media can instantly  spread rumor and false information on a grand scale.”

Lyles tweeted last week that state residents “should not support any business or organization that does not respect equality, history and the truth of the African American people’s journey to freedom.”

According to NBC News this isn’t the first time the museum has been the focus of racial controversy. In 2009, three black children were chosen to portray slaves during a class trip. That led to the school cancelling all future trips to the museum.

U.S. Labor Market Improving Despite Increase In Weekly Unemployment Claims
by Derek Major

June 17, 2021

U.S. Labor Market Improving Despite Increase In Weekly Unemployment Claims

Reuters – The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits increased last week for the first time in 1-1/2 months, but layoffs are easing amid a reopening economy and a shortage of people willing to work.

While other data on Thursday showed factory activity in the mid-Atlantic region continuing to grow at a steady pace in June, a measure of future production surged to its highest level in nearly 30 years. Factories in the region that covers eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware also reported stepping up hiring, which bodes well for job growth this month.

The scarcity of labor is a hurdle to faster employment growth. The Federal Reserve on Wednesday held its benchmark short-term interest rate near zero and said it would continue to inject money into the economy through monthly bond purchases. The U.S. central bank brought forward its projections for the first post-pandemic interest rate hikes into 2023 from 2024.

“We continue to see labor market progress, but as has been the case through the pandemic, the situation remains fluid,” said AnnElizabeth Konkel, an economist at Indeed Hiring Lab. “We are in a wildly different place than we were in June 2020, but we have not crossed the finish line just yet.”

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 37,000 to a seasonally adjusted 412,000 for the week ended June 12, the Labor Department said. That was the first increase since late April. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 359,000 applications for the latest week.

The increase in claims was led by California, Kentucky and Pennsylvania. The four-week moving average of claims, considered a better measure of labor market trends as it irons out week-to-week volatility, fell 8,000 to 395,000.

The economy, ironically, is facing a labor crunch despite employment remaining 7.6 million jobs below its peak in February 2020. A shortage of childcare facilities is keeping some parents, mostly women, at home.

Generous government-funded unemployment benefits, including a $300 weekly check, have also been blamed, as well as a reluctance by some to return to work out of fear of contracting COVID-19 even though vaccines are widely accessible.

Pandemic-related retirements and transitions into new careers are also factors.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell told reporters on Wednesday he was “confident that we are on a path to a very strong labor market, a labor market that shows low unemployment, high participation, rising wages for people across the spectrum.”

The White House also struck an optimistic note on the labor market, with senior economic adviser Jared Bernstein saying: “I saw a labor market that continues to improve, continues to grow as shots in arms and checks in pockets have helped pull this recovery forward.”

Iowa, Mississippi and Missouri terminated all federal government-funded emergency benefits last Saturday, while Alaska ended only the $300 supplement. Twenty-one other states also led by Republican governors, including Texas and Florida, will end these benefits for residents between June 19 and July 10.

Louisiana is ending the weekly supplementary check on July 31, the only state with a Democratic governor to terminate the federal benefits. For the rest of the country, they will lapse on Sept. 6.

Iowa reported an increase in claims for the regular state unemployment insurance program last week, while Alaska Mississippi and Missouri saw declines. Only Alaska reported a decrease in claims for the government-funded Pandemic Unemployment Assistance.

Economists are watching the 26 states to see if their actions will boost employment or labor force participation over the summer, which could offer clues on labor market trends for the rest of the year when all government aid lapses.

There are a record 9.3 million job openings, while 9.3 million people are officially unemployed.

“We also could see added noise in the claims report if people end up trying to shuffle between programs or redetermine eligibility,” said Daniel Silver, an economist at JPMorgan in New York.

Stocks on Wall Street were mixed while the dollar rose against a basket of currencies. Longer-dated U.S. Treasury prices were trading higher.

Obamacare Survives Another Challenge As Supreme Court Rejects Republican Argument
by Derek Major

June 17, 2021

Obamacare Survives Another Challenge As Supreme Court Rejects Republican Argument

Reuters – The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a Republican bid that had been backed by former President Donald Trump’s administration to invalidate the Obamacare healthcare law, ruling that Texas and other challengers had no legal standing to file their lawsuit.

The 7-2 ruling authored by liberal Justice Stephen Breyer did not decide broader legal questions raised in the case about whether a key provision in the law, which is formally called the Affordable Care Act, was unconstitutional and, if so, whether the rest of the statute should be struck down.

The provision, called the “individual mandate,” originally required Americans to obtain health insurance or pay a financial penalty.

It marked the third time the court has preserved Obamacare since its 2010 enactment.

“The Affordable Care Act remains the law of the land and will continue to provide millions of Americans with healthcare,” said Sabrina Singh, a spokeswoman for Vice President Kamala Harris. “Today is a good day.”

Breyer wrote that none of the challengers, including Texas and 17 other states and individual plaintiffs, could trace a legal injury to the individual mandate.

President Joe Biden’s administration in February urged the Supreme Court to uphold Obamacare, reversing the position taken by the government under Trump, who left office in January.

After Texas and other states sued, a coalition of 20 states including Democratic-governed California and New York and the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives intervened in the case to try to preserve Obamacare after Trump refused to defend the law.

“For more than a decade, the Affordable Care Act has been the law of the land, providing health coverage and a multitude of protections to tens of millions of Americans across the nation, and today’s decision solidifies those protections for generations to come,” New York Attorney General James said.

The two dissenting justices were conservatives Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch. Justice Amy Coney Barrett, a Trump appointee whose confirmation hearing last fall included many questions from Democrats over whether she would vote to strike the law down, was in the majority in the ruling.

Republicans fiercely opposed Obamacare when it was proposed, failed to repeal it when they controlled both chambers of Congress and have been unsuccessful in getting courts to invalidate the law, which was Democratic former President Barack Obama’s signature domestic policy achievement. The Trump administration did take steps to hobble the law.

The Supreme Court has a 6-3 conservative majority bolstered by the October confirmation in a Republican-led Senate of Trump’s third appointee, Amy Coney Barrett, but the Republican Obamacare challengers still came away disappointed. The Supreme Court in 2012 and 2015 also fended off previous Republican challenges to Obamacare.

Biden has pledged to expand healthcare access and buttress Obamacare. Biden and other Democrats had criticized Republican efforts to strike down the law at a time when the United States was grappling with a deadly coronavirus pandemic.

If Obamacare had been struck down, up to 20 million Americans stood to lose their medical insurance and insurers could have once again refused to cover people with pre-existing medical conditions. Obamacare expanded the Medicaid state-federal healthcare program and created marketplaces for private insurance.

In 2017, Trump signed a Republican-backed tax law that eliminated the financial penalty under the individual mandate, which gave rise to the Republican lawsuit. The tax law meant the individual mandate could no longer be interpreted as a tax provision and was therefore unlawful, the Republican challengers argued.

The Supreme Court previously upheld Obamacare by deeming the financial penalty under the individual mandate a tax permissible under the Constitution’s language empowering Congress to levy taxes.

The impetus for the Supreme Court case was a 2018 ruling by a federal judge in Texas that Obamacare as structured following the 2017 change violated the U.S. Constitution and was invalid in its entirety. The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed that the individual mandate was unconstitutional but did not rule that the entire law should be stricken.

Biden’s administration notified the court of the government’s new position in February in a letter filed by Deputy Solicitor General Edwin Kneedler. The Biden administration believes that the individual mandate was constitutional and, even if it was not, the rest of the law should remain in place, Kneedler wrote.

(Reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Additional reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Will Dunham)

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