Suspected Gang Leader, Gary Creek, Kills Himself After Keeping Police Officers at Bay for 3 Hours
by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

June 10, 2021

Suspected Gang Leader, Gary Creek, Kills Himself After Keeping Police Officers at Bay for 3 Hours

In Georgia, the suspected founder and leader of a street gang has died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound yesterday after leaving police officers at a standstill for 3 hours.

According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Gary Anthony Creek, 39, of Baltimore, MD, was found dead with a gunshot wound in a Sandy Springs apartment around 4 p.m. after being barricaded as police officers surrounded him. According to The Associated Press, federal officials requested an arrest warrant for his potential involvement as the founder of a violent Baltimore gang.

Three hostages were rescued shortly before Creek committed suicide.

According to theGrio, police officials followed up on an arrest warrant after Creek didn’t show up after being named in a racketeering indictment. He and 14 other gang associates he led and founded, Triple-C gang were charged with 18 murders, 27 attempted murders, and drug distribution.

Creek was supposed to turn himself in on June 3. When he violated the conditions of release,  the U.S. attorney’s office in Maryland said in a statement that “the government has accordingly filed a motion to revoke Mr. Creek’s conditions of release, and has requested a warrant for his arrest based on an assessment that he is a flight risk.”

Eileen Rinaldi Fires Husband From Business For Launching Racist Attack Against Black Customer
by Jeroslyn JoVonn

June 10, 2021

Eileen Rinaldi Fires Husband From Business For Launching Racist Attack Against Black Customer

A wife made the tough decision to fire her husband from their family business after he hurled a racial slur at a Black customer.

Eileen Rinaldi, the owner of Ritual Coffee Roasters in San Francisco, gave her husband, John, the pink slip after he used a racial slur at a Black man outside of their roasting house last month, The San Francisco Chronicle reported. Eileen sent out an Instagram post on June 8 announcing her husband John’s termination.

“I want to tell you about a difficult and personal situation that is happening at my company, Ritual Coffee. Last week, I terminated my husband, John Rinaldi, from working at Ritual on a freelance project and from doing any future work in any capacity at Ritual,” she shared in a lengthy caption.

Her husband, nicknamed “Chicken John,” claimed he used the slur while arguing over a parking spot last month, SF Eater reports. But his firing comes one year after employees at the coffee shop complained about Rinaldi workplace, which often included mistreatment towards people of color.

“He reported to me that he had a verbal altercation over a parking space while managing a construction project,” Eileen continued in the post. “He said that during the altercation, an individual called John a racial epithet. John said he then made the horrible mistake of repeating the racial slur back to the individual, something that he never should have done.”

Ellen Rinaldi shared how she is learning from the experience and that she remains committed to having an “anti-racist, inclusive, and equitable business and place for our employees, customers, and community,” she wrote in the post.

But from the looks of the comments, it looks like locals don’t think his termination was sincere. “I bet it’s not his first time using it or your first time hearing him use it,” one person said. “Come on, just between us. . . . this is not new and you don’t want to lose revenue. This is the only reason you posted this,” added someone else.

6-Year-Old Black Boy Injured After Ryan Le-Nguyen Shoots At Him For Playing Outside
by Jeroslyn JoVonn

June 10, 2021

6-Year-Old Black Boy Injured After Ryan Le-Nguyen Shoots At Him For Playing Outside

A Michigan family is outraged after an Asian man who shot a 6-year-old Black boy was given a low bond and released from police custody. The incident comes amid heightened reporting surrounding anti-Asian hate crimes with many in the Black community questioning the lack of support behind anti-Black crimes from Asians.

Ryan Le-Nguyen, 29, left a little boy injured after he fired a round outside his home in the 1300 block of Candlewood Lane in Ypsilanti Township, MLive reported. Investigators say the 6-year-old was with a group of children who was playing outside.

After Le-Nguyen complained about the noise coming from outside, Ring video captured him firing a shot from a window in his home, WXYZ, the Detroit ABC affiliate, reported.

“He tried hitting me with a sledge hammer but that’s not going to work because I’m too fast. (Then he) got a gun, a shot me right here,” Coby Daniel told Fox 2.

Despite attempting to kill a child, Le-Nguyen was released from jail and given a $10,000 cash bond by Magistrate Elisha Fink. He was only ordered to stay away from the boy’s house.

“I’m trying to figure out he got a bond so low for trying to kill my kid,” the boy’s father, Arthur Daniel, said. “I’m scared for my family because I don’t know what he’s capable of.”

Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit claims the county asked for a $100,000 cash bond for Le-Nguyen six months after he vowed to reform the bail system and do away with cash bonds in most cases.

Savit has since filed an emergency motion to have Le-Nguyen’s bond increased. It will be heard in front of a different judge Tuesday with support from Washtenaw County Sheriff Jerry Clayton.

“We owe it to the system and the community we serve, to evaluate whether we are getting those outcomes,” Clayton said. “And if we are not we need to be smart enough and courageous enough to say this is not what we intended, let’s make our adjustments.”

Fox Soul, Black Enterprise Announce Content Partnership For Original Programming
by Derek Major

June 10, 2021

Fox Soul, Black Enterprise Announce Content Partnership For Original Programming

FOX SOUL, a free streaming FOX platform serving unapologetically Black, consumable by all entertainment has joined forces with BLACK ENTERPRISE to bring original programming that highlights Black creatives, executives, and cultural movers and shakers.

Black Enterprise, the No. 1 Black media brand reaching more than 8 million unique visitors per month, and the premier business, investing, and wealth-building resource for African Americans will air its first original series: Economic Equity and Racial Justice Town Hall – “One Year After George Floyd: Has Corporate America Made Good on its Economic Equity Pledges? June 10 at 7 p.m. EST.

“Partnering with FOX SOUL to broadcast Black Enterprise’s video content gives us the opportunity to expand our reach and continue to uplift, enlighten, and educate audiences by telling positive Black stories,” said Justin Barton, vice president of Digital Strategy & Partnerships at Black Enterprise. “We look forward to showcasing our Digital Web Shows, Virtual Conferences, and Economic Equity & Racial Justice Town Hall Series to the FOX SOUL audience on a daily basis.

James DuBose, the head of FOX SOUL said in a release it didn’t take long before both sides realized they shared the same dreams and goals, which made the partnership seamless.

“I said from day one that FOX SOUL was about more than just streaming content. After the initial discussion with Black Enterprise, it became crystal clear that we had a shared vision to entertain, educate and inspire our culture.  Black Enterprise has been elevating the culture for as long as I can remember and I’m honored that they see FOX SOUL as a valuable brand to align with. I look forward to this new partnership and what it has to offer.”

The premiere Town Hall event will be the first in a series of seven, with Series Sponsor The Executive Leadership Council. The first town hall will be hosted by Manulife and the panelists will include, CNN Political Commentator Bakari Sellers, civil rights attorney Ben Crump, Vice President of Talent Management at Manulife Tara John, Founder of Black Executive CMO Alliance Jerri DeVard, Infor Chairman Charles Phillips, and President & CEO of The Executive Leadership Council Michael C. Hyter.

During the town hall, the group will discuss measures for Black advancement based on the series of corporate pledges to deal with past racial inequities. The group will also discuss if those corporations have come through on their pledges to provide more opportunities for Black professionals in the workplace; increase capital and procurement opportunities for Black-owned businesses; and ensure corporate accountability to this renewed focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Those interested can register for the event here.

In addition to the Town Hall series, Black Enterprise will host a daily branded hour exclusively on FOX SOUL, beginning June 14 from 5- 6 p.m. PST, which will include: From the Corner Office; Beyond the Hype; On the Clock; The New Norm; and Green Enterprise, among other titles. 

The other six events in the town hall series will air on:

    • July 8, 2021 – “Voter Suppression – How Black Business Leadership Will Protect & Preserve Our Franchise”
    • September 9, 2021- “Homeownership & Wealth Building- Creating Pathways To Lasting Black Prosperity”
    • October 14, 2021 – “Education- Ensuring No Black Child Will Be Left Behind”
    • December 30, 2021- “Gaining A Seat At The Table”
    • January 13, 2022 – “Black Business Development: Achieving Parity In Capital & Contracts”
    • February 24, 2022 – “Criminal Justice Reform: Developing A Fair & Equitable System For All”

 

Middle School Drops Confederate Soldier’s Name for NASA Mathematician Katherine Johnson’s
by Andrea Blackstone

June 10, 2021

Middle School Drops Confederate Soldier’s Name for NASA Mathematician Katherine Johnson’s

Lanier Middle School school in Virginia name is now Katherine Johnson Middle School to honor former NASA former mathematician Katherine G. Johnson, who died in February 2020.

The City of Fairfax School Board held a renaming ceremony, according to USA Today. The trailblazing African American woman who was widely known–thanks to the book and movie Hidden Figures— for breaking barriers at NASA replaces Sydney Lanier, who was in the Confederate Army.

After the school board discovered that many locals wanted Lanier’s name stripped from the school, community input was provided on the heels of cities examining matters such as if Confederate monuments should be removed. The presence of buildings and statues with ties to the Confederacy could be deemed as racially offensive. In September 2020, the school board voted to change the name occurred after over 300 alternatives to Lanier’s name were proposed by the community.

Twitter photo credit- @FairfaxShools

 

Johnson is well known for providing calculations for Project Mercury at NASA, which led to helping send astronaut John Glenn into outer space. According to NASA, Johnson, born in 1918, hailed from White Sulphur Springs, W.Va.  She earned a B.S. in Mathematics and French, from West Virginia State College. Johnson also provided math documents to compile “Notes on Space Technology” in 1958. These lectures were provided to engineers of the Flight Research Division and the Pilotless Aircraft Research Division (PARD). The group marked the formation of  NACA, NASA’s first entry into spaceflight, according to NASA.

NASA remembered Johnson in an informative yet heartwarming video, “Katherine Johnson: Becoming a NASA Mathematician,” which highlighted her work while paying tribute to her leadership.

“Her contributions continued to serve the nation and helped ensure that the ‘Eagle had landed…and landed safely,” City school board member Jon Buttram stated in November. “So, I think it appropriate that the name Katherine Johnson for our middle school will inspire new generations of ‘Eagles’ for our community, and I look forward to watching them fly.”

 

by Derek Major

June 10, 2021

U.S. Labor Department Issues Emergency COVID-19 Rule For Healthcare Workers

Reuters – The U.S. Department of Labor issued an emergency rule on Thursday for controlling COVID-19 and protecting workers in healthcare settings, but stopped short of extending the rule to other high-risk industries.

Hospitals, nursing homes and other health facilities will be required within 14 days to implement the rule that covers COVID-19 issues such as face masks, ventilation and requirements for screening and limiting patients and visitors.

The rule by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) aligns with existing non-binding guidance from the agency, but gives workers greater leverage to demand protections and provides for stricter enforcement and fines.

The agency will issue further non-binding COVID-19 guidance for unvaccinated workers in high-risk industries later on Thursday.

Labor unions and workplace safety advocates have pushed for the emergency temporary standard since the start of the pandemic and wanted the rules to apply to meatpacking, transport and other sectors that suffered clusters of severe COVID-19 outbreaks.

“We believe we are targeting and focusing on workers at the highest risk,” Jim Frederick, the acting director of OSHA, told Reuters.

He said OSHA is adding inspectors and will provide other high-risk sectors with education, training and assistance in complying with non-binding guidance.

With the COVID-19 pandemic receding, business groups could challenge the healthcare rule by arguing it should have been adopted through a slower rule-making process with public comment, rather than the emergency process used when there is a “grave danger.”

Under the Trump Administration, OSHA focused on issuing non-binding guidance which the agency said allowed for greater flexibility during a rapidly changing outbreak.

On Wednesday, Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh was criticized at a hearing in the U.S. House of Representatives by Republican lawmakers who disagreed with the need for the COVID-19 emergency rule.

“Let’s let people go back to work in a normal fashion,” said Rep. Tim Walberg, a Republican from Michigan.

(Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware; Additional reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Bill Berkrot)

Black Economist Seeking Accountability From SEC On $65 Billion in Black Lives Matter Pledges By Companies
by Jeffrey McKinney

June 10, 2021

Black Economist Seeking Accountability From SEC On $65 Billion in Black Lives Matter Pledges By Companies

Pursuing some accountability, a Black economist has filed a petition with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to require companies to report on Black Lives Matter (BLM) pledges.

The request by William Michael Cunningham, who runs Washington, D.C.-based Creative Investment Research, says data from his firm shows 251 U.S. companies promised to battle systemic racism within their own organizations. All told, Cunningham claims those companies pledged $65 billion to boost their diversity and equity initiatives from May 2020 to May 2021. Yet, to date, Cunningham maintains that $500 million has been allocated toward such efforts.

Compared to $500 million, Cunningham estimates the commitments by now should be $15 billion to $20 billion based largely on damages Black companies have suffered from the COVID-19 pandemic. He says his projections are tied to the companies having combined profits of $750 billion as of 2019.

“We’re asking the SEC to get the companies to disclose exactly what they are doing,” he stated. “When are they going to make the payments, when is the money going to move? All of that.”

Scores of U.S. companies, organizations, and others made a big-time financial commitment last year to combat racism after the police shooting of George Floyd and Black Lives Matter protests. The pledges also were intended to help Black businesses survive and remain after being trounced by COVID-19.

Big companies mainly vowed the money would be used for various causes. Those oaths ranged from helping Black entrepreneurs start or expand businesses, creating jobs in African American communities, assisting Blacks with buying homes, and increasing Black families’ wealth. However, just a few of the firms have publicly disclosed where and how the dollars have been distributed since making the commitments.

Cunningham added a major point behind the petition is that the companies—for instance perhaps in a SEC filing such as a 10-K — disclose their actions linked to their spending and commitments.

“Right now, it’s up to the companies to tell you or not tell you what they have done.”

Cunningham told BLACK ENTERPRISE by email that the question is whether or not the SEC considers disclosure with respect to African Americans to be in the public interest. He added BLM pledges are made with the hope of enhancing a company’s value. False statements hide true value, he says.

“Lack of performance with respect to BLM pledges will impair the competitiveness of U.S. capital markets and America’s public companies by showing that they are untrustworthy,” he says. “Thus, requiring additional BLM pledge disclosure will enhance competitiveness.”

Cunningham noted he is approaching the SEC because many of the companies that have made BLM pledges are publicly traded. The SEC is the primary regulator on Wall Street.

His petition seeks action from the SEC on several fronts. Based on a news release it:

  • Calls for the Commission to initiate notice and comment rulemaking to develop a comprehensive framework requiring any public companies or issuers that have promised financial support for Black Lives Matter (“BLM Pledge”) to accurately disclose, on a timely basis, all activity related to that pledge;
  • Lays out the statutory authority for the SEC to require BLM Pledge activity disclosure;
  • Discusses the clear materiality of BLM pledges;
  • Discusses the importance of BLM Pledge disclosure for companies and the competitive position of U.S. capital markets;
  • Points to the growing cost of racial discrimination targeting African Americans and the role a BLM Pledge activity requirement might play in reducing that cost; and
  • Points to the impact an observed decline in standards of ethical behavior might have on the truthfulness of voluntary BLM Pledge disclosures.
by Derek Major

June 10, 2021

Nearly 30% of Republicans Believe Former President Donald Trump Will Be Reinstated As President This Summer ( He Won’t)

Republicans have yet to learn most of what former President Donald Trump says are lies as a poll showed 3 in 10 Republicans believe Trump will be reinstated as president.

A Politico-Morning Consult poll published Wednesday found 29% of Republicans believe Trump will be reinstated as president. However, 61% of Republicans, 84% of Democrats, and 70% of Independents do not believe he will be reinstated.

New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman tweeted last month that the former president has been telling those around him that he will be reinstated as president in August. Haberman also added Trump has been pressuring conservative media to keep pushing his false election claims.

Haberman recently told CNN that claims and lies are part of an effort to move the news around him away from the joint criminal investigation being conducted by the Manhattan Attorney General Cy Vance and New York State Attorney General Letitia James.

“And none of that is possible. But this is the kind of thing that he is trying to flush into the conservative media ecosystem,” Haberman said during an appearance on CNN. “And I expect it to get more intense the more he is under investigation by the Manhattan district attorney and the state attorney general in New York and the threat of indictment over the coming months.”

Trump still has a stranglehold on the Republican Party. Politicians in the party have all but killed an investigation into the Jan. 6th Capitol storming, and have been unanimously against President Joe Biden’s stimulus packages, infrastructure, and childcare bills.

Many Republican-led states are using Trump’s election lies to introduce and push forward election restriction bills that have made it harder to vote by mail or absentee ballot, limited drop boxes, and even made it illegal to serve food and water at polling sites with hourslong lines. More than 100 of these bills have been introduced, lending credence to the idea that it’s Republicans who have reverted to cheating because they cannot win an election fairly.

 

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

June 10, 2021

The Family of Pop Smoke’s Accused Killer Wants To ‘Speak Privately’ With His Parents

.According to The New York Daily News, the family of the accused killer of rapper Pop Smoke has requested to privately speak with his parents.

The death of hip-hop artist Bashar Barakah Jackson, known as Pop Smoke,  shook the hip-hop world to its core. One of the accused murderers of the budding rapper is a 20-year-old who was the only person involved in the killing who wasn’t a minor at the time of his death. Corey Walker is one of a group of four defendants now facing charges in the death of Pop Smoke. The Brooklyn rapper was shot to death during a home-invasion robbery back in February 2020 at a rented Hollywood Hills home.

Walker’s defense attorney, Christopher Darden, spoke to The Daily News last week and stated that Walker’s relatives were hoping they can speak directly to Jackson’s parents. The family hoped to express their deep respect and heartbreak over the shared tragedy.

“The Walker family has asked me to contact the victim’s family so that they might speak privately. I hope to reach out to the family soon,” Darden said. “They might need time. I will also understand if (his mom) is not inclined to have that conversation. Everything we have done and said has been done and said while keeping in mind the great respect we have for the victim and the victim’s family.”

“This is new information to me. I’ll have to learn more,” Pop Smoke’s mother, Audrey Jackson told The Daily News. “I’m working on a lesson plan right now. That is my focus. I really can’t say.”

It was reported last month that L.A. Police Department Det. Carlos Camacho said in a preliminary court hearing that the intruder was after Pop Smoke’s Cuban link chain. The alleged gunman, Corey Walker, shot and killed Pop Smoke around 4 a.m. on Feb. 19., as Camacho described, “in the shower naked.”

The 15-year-old was unsuccessful in his robbery mission and settled on taking his Rolex. It was reported that Walker sold the watch for $2,000.

Walker is facing the death penalty if convicted, and three other underage suspects have been charged with murder and robbery, too. Walker confessed to using ski masks, gloves, and a police scanner, but oddly, the young man is pleading not guilty.

by Andrea Blackstone

June 10, 2021

Rae Carruth’s Son, Chancellor Lee Adams, Graduates From High School

WMBF News reported that Chancellor Lee Adams, the son of the late Cherica Adams and former Carolina Panther Rae Carruth, graduated from Julius B. Chambers High School on June 5 in North Carolina.

Chancellor’s achievement is particularly inspiring since he was born with cerebral palsy and permanent brain damage after his pregnant mother was shot and killed by a hitman his father hired.

WCNC reported Chancellor’s mother died a month after she was shot, but not before she underwent an emergency Caesarean section. Chancellor’s grandmother raised him.

“I just couldn’t be prouder because Chancellor Lee has really earned all the accolades and credits that he’s receiving,” Saundra Adams told  WBTV. “He really put in a lot of the hard work.”

Despite what happened to the Adams family, Saundra told the news station that she hopes that Carruth will be proud of her grandson and contact them.

Before Chancellor graduated from high school, his grandmother started looking forward to her 21-year-old miracle’s achievements. She talked about the impact raising her grandson meant on both of their lives.

“I think I’ve learned most that, you know, even though you live life going forward, you understand it better going backward,” Saundra told Live Action in an interview. “So I can truly say that what was meant for evil, God has turned it around for our good and that we learned that we’re not victims. We are victorious that we have chosen to get better instead of being bitter. And that forgiveness is the main ingredient to make that possible.”

 

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The recent graduate who was born prematurely faced the loss of a mother and Carruth’s presence in his life. Prosecutors determined that his father hired a hitman to kill the woman who once dated him. Carruth planned the hit to avoid paying child support, according to an accomplice.

Carruth still owes the family millions of dollars in damages.

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