Five Arrested in Connection With Shooting of British BLM Activist Sasha Johnson
Five men have been arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with the shooting of Black Lives Matter activist Sasha Johnson on Sunday morning.
The Taking The Initiative Party leader was reportedly facing numerous death threats ahead of the attack that left her in critical condition, CNN reported. London police arrested five men between the ages of 17 and 28 for other alleged offenses, including possession of drugs and weapons, before all five were arrested in connection with the shooting of Johnson, according to NPR.
A 17-year-old was arrested and charged with possession of an offensive weapon and possession with the intent to supply class A drugs, Metropolitan Police Detective Chief Inspector Richard Leonard revealed on Wednesday. Three additional men–ages 18, 19, and 28–were arrested and charged with suspicion of affray (a group fight) and possession with intent to supply class B drugs. A fifth man, age 25, was arrested on suspicion of affray and failing to stop for police.
“While the investigation remains in its early stages, these arrests show that progress is being made,” Leonard said. “However, I would continue to appeal to those who may hold information about the events that led to Sasha receiving her horrific injuries, or about those responsible, to do the right thing and come forward and speak to police.”
London police and a friend of Johnson’s believe the facts don’t point to any signs that she was targeted in the attack despite the recent death threats the Taking the Initiative Party said Johnson had received related to her activism.
Johnson was attending the house party when four Black males entered and discharged the firearm that left the mother of three critically wounded, BBC reported. The suspects remain in police custody as Johnson fights for her life.
Johnson became a prominent figure within the Black Lives Matter protests in London after the movement spread across the globe following the death of George Floyd. The Taking the Initiative Party is credited with being the UK’s first Black-led political party, with Johnson serving as a leader within the movement.
‘Mississippi Goddam’: Four Officers Take Group Photo With Black Suspect After Hunting Down and Arresting Him
Four police officers that were part of an expansive manhunt were photographed in Mississippi with the suspect. The photo went viral, with people on social media saying the photo with a Black suspect looks racist.
In what appears to be a professional government and law enforcement operation concluded in a very lame and racist-looking group photo, Newsweek reported.
Officers from the ATF, FBI, Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, the Mississippi Department of Corrections, the Louisiana State Prison System K9 team, the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department, and Columbia Police Department were deployed to capture an armed Black suspect.
The mission was so demanding that the state sent out a drone to hunt down the Black perpetrator.
In the end, the operation was a success, one can suppose. However, it was excessive, considering the man was found 600 yards away from the Hancock Bank he stole from.
Eight different agencies went looking for a Black man who was hiding less than half a mile from the crime scene.
Eric Boykin was detained in what some believe was an inhuman fashion—he is shirtless, surrounded by four white officers, some of whom were smiling and posing for the camera, accompanied by two dogs in the woods.
One can view the image and make the assessment that the photo appears like the police officers from Prentiss Police Department went on a hunting trip, but instead of an animal they caught a “wild Black man.”
The tone-deaf image appalled Black social media, who saw the image as a sign of abuse.
Wth??
Anger as armed white police officers with dogs pose with captured Black suspect
The officers from Prentiss Police Department took the picture after arresting Eric Boykin for an alleged bank robbery. https://t.co/sfiFN4gQou
Not much is known about the robbery itself or how much money Boykin allegedly stole.
Bank robberies in Mississippi are regarded as one of the most serious levels of crime in the state and carries a sentence of three years to life imprisonment, according to Federal Charges.
Terry McMillan Deactivates Her Twitter After Calling Out Celebrities Who Announce Their Sexuality
Author Terry McMillan briefly deactivated her Twitter account over the weekend after getting a hard lesson on cancel culture.
The Waiting to Exhale writer faced a backlash after she sent out a tweet questioning celebrities who choose to come out of the closet, Love B Scott reports. “I don’t understand why celebrities have to announce their sexuality. Just be who you are,” she tweeted.
I don't understand why celebrities have to announce their sexuality. Just be who you are.
But leave it up to Twitter to remind McMillan of her past and the possible hypocrisy behind her statement. It was back in 1998 when the New York Times bestselling author married Jonathan Plummer, the Seattle Times reported, whom she divorced six years later after Plummer told McMillan he was gay.
One Twitter user was quick to take McMillan for a little trip down memory lane in response to her tweet. “As a straight woman you have the privilege of people assuming you are the sexuality that you are,” they wrote. “Gay/bi people do not. So instead of asking us why we have to “come out” why don’t you ask your fellow straight people to stop making said assumptions, mmkay?
As a straight woman you have the privilege of people assuming you are the sexuality that you are. Gay/bi people do not. So instead of asking us why we have to "come out" why don't you ask your fellow straight people to stop making said assumptions, mmkay? https://t.co/4DpC1IRDq4
He sent out an additional tweet that included an old photo of McMillan and Plummer and another photo of Plummer hugging another man.
“And really, had more celebrities ‘announced’ their sexuality sooner—maybe you wouldn’t have ended up here, sis. But that’s none of my business,” the Twitter user added.
Another tweeter recalled McMillan’s 2005 appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show, where she confronted Plummer on national television. During the episode, she accused Plummer of betraying her during their six-year marriage.
“Sis didn’t you go on Oprah and act a fool about your bisexual husband lol,” the Twitter user wrote.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MseHFRzExxg
After getting called out on the tone-deaf tweet, McMillan temporarily deactivated her account. But by Thursday was back on the social network–and the controversial tweet was still up.
Jay-Z’s The Parent Company Announces Partnership To Produce 900,000 Pounds Of Weed
The business acumen of one of hip-hop’s most lucrative performers, and arguably one of the greatest lyricists to grace the microphone, is rising at every transaction he involves himself in.
Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter’s The Parent Company has entered into an exclusive $50 million strategic investment with Glass House Group. The Parent Company will sell its suite of branded cannabis products across all Glass House retail locations.
“These partnerships are a fantastic opportunity to secure long-term access to over 900,000 pounds of high-quality, low-cost, California-grown cannabis for use across our expanding portfolio of branded products,” said Steve Allan, CEO of The Parent Company in a written statement. “Our focus over the last 100 days has been to continue to scale up our supply chain. Our strategic investment accomplishes two important components, gaining access to Glass House’s greenhouse-grown cannabis at attractive pricing and expanding the distribution of our products to their network of retail stores.”
Glass House currently produces over 110,000 pounds of dry flower biomass per year, with a targeted long-term greenhouse footprint of 6 million ft2, and also operates four award-winning dispensaries in California. Glass House also agreed to merge with 17 in-process retail licenses from Element 7, which is expected to bring Glass House’s retail footprint to a total of 23 open locations by the end of the first half of 2022. This agreement also ensures that The Parent Company’s has shelf space in all of Glass House’s stores.
“Our strategy for vertical integration in California required locking in long-term, low-cost cultivation to meet our demand for branded products in our wholesale and direct-to-consumer channels,” Allan added. “With Glass House and Mosaic.Ag added onto to our existing large-scale indoor grow, we will have successfully grown our cultivation foundation, setting us up to have a scale and margin advantage for years to come. Additionally, having a long-term retail partnership with Glass House is expected to continue to enable our brands to maximize consumer awareness and availability in California.”
Weekly U.S. Jobless Claims Hit 14 Month Low As Reopenings Pick Up Steam
Reuters – The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits dropped more than expected last week as layoffs subsided, with companies desperate for workers to meet surging demand unleashed by a rapidly reopening economy.
The economy, which in the first quarter notched its second-fastest growth pace since the third quarter of 2003, is gaining speed, with other data on Thursday showing business spending on equipment accelerated in April. Activity is being boosted by the COVID-19 pandemic‘s easing grip and nearly $6 trillion in relief provided by the government over the past year.
“The economy is off and running,” said Scott Hoyt, a senior economist at Moody’s Analytics in West Chester, Pennsylvania. “Going forward growth will be supported by the pent-up savings that households have amassed during the pandemic.”
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 38,000 to a seasonally adjusted 406,000 for the week ended May 22, the Labor Department said. That was the lowest since mid-March 2020 and marked the fourth straight weekly decline in applications.
The decrease was led by Washington state, Florida and New Jersey. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 425,000 applications for the latest week. Though claims remain well above the 200,000 to 250,000 range that is viewed as consistent with healthy labor market conditions, they have dropped from a record 6.149 million in early April 2020.
Pandemic-related restrictions on businesses have been rolled back, with more than half of adults in the United States fully vaccinated against COVID-19, leaving factories, construction sites, restaurants and bars, among many, clamoring for workers.
The labor shortage, despite nearly 10 million Americans being officially unemployed, has been blamed on the safety net, strengthened during the pandemic by the government, to provide a temporary lifeline following the unprecedented economic and human carnage caused by the virus. (Graphic: Jobless claims, https://graphics.reuters.com/USA-STOCKS/jznpnrygmpl/joblessclaims.png)
Republican governors in at least 23 states, including Florida and Texas, have announced they are ending unemployment programs funded by the federal government next month, including a weekly $300 subsidy, which businesses say are discouraging the jobless from seeking work.
There is, however, no consensus that the generous unemployment benefits are keeping people home. According to JPMorgan economist Daniel Silver, an analysis of unemployment rates, wage growth and labor force participation rates in the 23 states suggested the early termination of the special benefits programs was motivated by politics rather than economics.
“While some of these states have tight labor markets and strong earnings growth, many of them do not,” said Silver. “It therefore looks like politics, rather than economics, is driving decisions regarding the early ends to these programs.”
U.S. stocks were trading higher. The dollar was steady against a basket of currencies. U.S. Treasury prices fell.
BACK AT WORK
A survey by Poachedjobs.com, a national job board for the restaurant/hospitality industry, found most had returned to work, with a full schedule of 30-40 hours a week.
For others, uncertainty about future restrictions on indoor dining and fears of contracting the virus, whether they are vaccinated or not, were keeping them away.
Fewer than 100,000 people filed claims last week under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program for the self-employed, gig workers and others who do not qualify for the regular state programs. The early termination of PUA and broadening economic re-engagement could push claims even lower and shrink the jobless rolls in the months ahead.
The claims report showed the number of people continuing to receive benefits after an initial week of aid dropped 96,000 to 3.642 million in the week ending May 15. The so-called continuing claims, which are reported with a one-week lag, covered the period during which the government surveyed households for May’s employment report.
The decline strengthens expectations that hiring picked up this month, though raw material shortages across industries could be a constraint. The dearth of workers and scarcity of inputs were blamed for the modest 266,000 jobs created in April, a slowdown from the 770,000 added in March.
In a separate report on Thursday, the Commerce Department confirmed that gross domestic product increased at a 6.4% annualized rate last quarter. The unrevised estimate followed a 4.3% growth rate in the fourth quarter.
Before tax corporate profits slipped $0.2 billion after decreasing $31.4 billion in the October-December period. A rise in domestic nonfinancial corporation profits was offset by lower domestic financial corporation and international profits.
“Over the year, profits should be boosted more directly by services industries as we expect consumer spending to transition back to the much-larger services category,” said Jay Bryson, chief economist at Wells Fargo in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Graphic: GDP, https://graphics.reuters.com/USA-STOCKS/xlbpgaqdqpq/gdp.png)
The strong growth momentum held early in the second quarter, with another report from the Commerce Department showing orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending plans, jumped 2.3% in April.
These so-called core capital goods orders increased 1.6% in March. Shipments of core capital goods gained 0.9% after rising 1.5% in March. Core capital goods shipments are used to calculate equipment spending in the GDP measurement. (Graphic: Core capital goods, https://graphics.reuters.com/USA-STOCKS/bdwpkwomapm/corecapgoods.png)
With households sitting on at least $2.3 trillion in excess savings, demand booming, inventories low and profits rebounding, businesses are likely to continue investing in equipment to boost production, supporting manufacturing.
“Supply chain bottlenecks and shortages of certain materials are holding back some producers, but firms are clearly investing in increased capacity,” said Chris Low, economist at FHN Financial in New York.
(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Andrea Ricci)
New Orleans Establishment Called Police On a Black Teen For Dining in a Bikini Top
Seventeen-year-old Sanai Butler is a graduate of Warren Easton Charter School in New Orleans. To celebrate her achievement, she wore a bikini top that matched her leggings and customized graduation stole and mortarboard to an eating establishment called Lula Restaurant Distillery.
Apparently, the owner’s wife, Erin Bourgeois, took offense to the bikini top, perhaps she thought it was too “sexy” for her restaurant, and tried to have the honor student arrested, The Times-Picayune reported.
Butler rolled into Lula with 28 relatives and friends, including her mother, all of whom are Black people.
At one point, Butler decided to use the bathroom, and that was when Bourgeois confronted her and told the minor that she was dressed “inappropriately” at “her restaurant.”
When Butler returned to her table, her party noticed she was visibly upset. She explained what went down in the bathroom, which caused her mother to become enraged.
“This is a child at the end of the day—if you had something to say about her outfit, you could’ve approached me as her mother,” La Shawn Butler said.
Bourgeois approached the table to address Butler again about her outfit. From what the police report indicated, “three disruptive” occurred between “adult patrons engaged with another table of patrons, and one of the female owners of Lula.”
Management released a statement saying that it apologizes to those who witnessed and felt discriminated against but it failed to mention how Bourgeois instigated the verbal altercation, which she told the family that she can say whatever she wanted.
Bourgeois’ misuse of the police was felt throughout the restaurant, including a new employee who said that she quit her job because she, just like the Butler family, thought the owner’s wife’s motivations were racial.
“It didn’t have to get to that point,” the employee said.
The misuse of 911 also reminded the Butlers of George Floyd, a Black Minneapolis man whose death followed after a store cashier unwittingly accused him of using a fake $20 bill. Former officer Derek Chauvin applied his knee on his back and neck in a prone position, killing him. His death was rule a homicide by medical examiners.
“That could’ve gone so many different ways,” Butler’s mother, La Shawn said.
The young graduate’s night at the restaurant was ruined, but on the other hand, she was accepted to attend Talladega College in Alabama.
South Carolina To Award $10 Million to Family of Black Man Who Died in Jail
The family of a Black man who died while in the custody of police officers in South Carolina will be awarded $10 million in damages, according to a report by The State (Columbia, SC).
The county of Charleston in South Carolina has agreed to pay the family of Jamal Sutherland, a Black man who had a vast history of mental illness, $10 million after he died in January inside the county jail. Two police deputies had used pepper spray on him while forcing him onto his stomach and shocked him repeatedly with Taser guns. The death took place at the Al Cannon Detention Center in North Charleston.
Charleston County Council approved the $10 million settlement in a unanimous vote Tuesday. Councilman Teddie Pryor, who met with the Sutherland family last week, said, “We know that no amount of money will bring their loved one back, but I think this starts the healing process. We want to start the healing process but that can’t start until we start facing the truth and facing what’s going on.”
According to CNN, footage from the police killing was released May 12 by the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office. The video showed deputies pepper spraying and tasing Sutherland, 31, several times after he appeared to resist leaving his cell for a bail hearing. The deputies involved in the incident, Sgt. Lindsay Fickett and Detention Deputy Brian Houle, were fired on May 17.
Sutherland’s family released a statement through their attorney, Mark Peper of Charleston.
“Justice for Jamal will come in many forms. We are pleased to have negotiated a settlement with the government entities that provides the type of civil justice he deserves, but our work is not yet done. With God’s help, we will continue the necessary conversations with local, state, and federal leaders to ensure that everyone affected by mental illness is treated with the same dignity and respect we all deserve and demand. As we move forward, please continue to pray for our family, our community, each other, and justice for Jamal.”
Alabama Nonprofit Demonstrates The Value of Being a ‘Community Quarterback’
Woodlawn Foundation, Inc. (Woodlawn ), a nonprofit organization located in Birmingham, Alabama, demonstrates the immeasurable benefits of community revitalization, when it is approached as a shared goal amongst partners. Woodlawn is regarded as the “community quarterback” for Birmingham’s historic Woodland neighborhood. It is not a direct service provider, with the exception of a few programs.
In an interview with BLACK ENTERPRISE, Precious Freeman, director of development and external relations, explains that the organization works to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty. She says that three pillars are mixed-income housing, education, and community wellness. Woodlawn’s website explains that the Purpose Built Communities model for holistic community revitalization it follows was crafted from the successful transformation of Atlanta’s East Lake community in the mid-1990s.
Partnership is key in reimagining a neighborhood whose majority of residents are low- or moderate-income and African American. In 2017, This is Alabama reported that there is perhaps no other area in Birmingham that has seen the life-changing transformation that is happening in Woodlawn.
“Crime rates are down, home ownership is up; more students are graduating, and the community is healthier,” This is Alabama reported. “In 2010, The Mike & Gillian Goodrich Foundation established the Woodlawn Foundation, which is the ‘community quarterback’ for the Woodlawn United partnership.”
Mashonda Taylor, Woodlawn Foundation’s executive director, told BLACK ENTERPRISE that in eliminating generational poverty, the organization tries to bring together every single component of the Purpose Built Communities strategy focusing on the three pillars instead of simply focusing on one area at a time. Forty partners work with Woodlawn Foundation. In doing so, duplication of services is eliminated, while 5,800 people are served within the community.
Freeman adds that partners are pulled together to meet identified needs and fill gaps to leverage resources. They have collaboratively provided everything from COVID-19 vaccines to an early learning center and manner of addressing food insecurity. Coming to Woodland is about putting down roots, not coming to flip houses for making cash. Woodlawn even owns over 100 parcels of land in the community, Freeman told BLACK ENTERPRISE.
(Photo courtesy of the Woodlawn Foundation)
“Revitalizing a community without displacing current residents is delicate work. In our mixed-income housing strategy we’ve included 64 townhomes known as the Park at Wood Station. In the next 18 months we will add 50 low-to-moderate single and multi-family housing units and will break ground on 12 homes that will be made available to families who have gone through Homeownership training. This will be in partnership with the Housing Authority of the Birmingham District.” Freeman said.
In a written statement, Pinky Cole, CEO and founder of Slutty Vegan ATL, underscored this mindset, tellingBLACK ENTERPRISE that she knew that the Woodlawn was the right fit for her first location outside of Georgia.
“We look to expand into food deserts and locations right in the middle of economic and community revitalization,” Cole said. “ We pour into the communities we are in and It feels good to be a Black woman in business right now. We are representing Black excellence and will continue to do so as we bring Slutty Vegan to Birmingham.”
Next May, the city of Oakland, California, will celebrate one of the greatest minds of comedy.
According to TMZ, Oakland will be commemorating the recently deceased comedian Paul Mooney as officials have declared May 19 “Paul Mooney Day.”
A resolution proposed by Oakland City Councilmember Carroll Fife to officially name a day after the comedian was passed unanimously. The resolution has recognized him for his “uncompromising social and political commentary and iconic contributions to Black arts and entertainment.”
The resolution calls Paul “an Oakland treasure — a trailblazing comedian, writer, producer, film and television actor with a career spanning four decades” and says his legacy is “a shining example of the talent in Oakland.”Mooney’s comedic style is credited for being the foundation of modern-day Black comedy – “The Godfather of Comedy” as he puts it – according to his official website. He had a distinctive Southern attitude and his intolerance for political correctness inspired Black comics such as Eddie Murphy, Dave Chappelle, Kevin Hart, John Witherspoon, and Richard Pryor.He was a writer on The Richard Pryor Show and Pryor’s Place as well as many prominent TV shows such as Saturday Night Live, Good Times, Sanford and Son, and In Living Color.Born in Louisiana, Mooney grew up in Oakland. At a young age, he ran away from home and joined the Charles Gody Circus, becoming the first Black ringmaster.
Mooney is well-known for making controversial remarks as a comedian.
“I want to shout out every comedian on Earth, one of the best that ever did it, paved the way today, his legacy will live forever. He did everything from Richard Pryor Show to Chappelle’s Show, he’s one of the first Black people ever in the Writers Guild. Paul Mooney will be sorely missed and wildly remembered. I’ll see to that.”
