Defense Lawyers in Ahmaud Arbery Case Want To Reframe The Narrative; Says Killing Was a ‘Good Deed’
by Christian Spencer

May 14, 2021

Defense Lawyers in Ahmaud Arbery Case Want To Reframe The Narrative; Says Killing Was a ‘Good Deed’

The defense lawyers representing Gregory McMichael, his son Travis McMichael, and their friend and neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan in the murder trial of Ahmaud Arbery, are spinning the narrative to make the defendants look like the good guys.

On Feb. 23, 2020, the McMichael duo and company filmed themselves making a citizen’s arrest and wound up shooting and killing a young Black man for a crime he did not commit.

Their lawyers are trying to make them look like heroes after a phone call was leaked saying they committed a “good deed,” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

In addition to the spin narrative, the lawyers issued a demand for the court to analyze Arbery’s criminal past.

Related stories: AHMAUD ARBERY MURDER TRIAL DATE IS SET FOR THE FALL

“You’ve heard the saying that no good deed goes unpunished?” Greg McMichael said in a phone call to his brother,” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

“Yeah, that’s the shining example right there,” McMichael’s brother agreed.

The defense is working to negate comments like those, suggestive by nature, that frame the narrative that Arbery’s unnecessary death was a good thing, which Defense Attorney Franklin Hogue has to reinterpret McMichael’s language.

“The state believes he is saying the good deed was killing Ahmaud Arbery, but that is not what he meant,” Hogue said in court Thursday, NewsOne reported. The “He meant the good deed was patrolling his neighborhood and the punishment is him now being in jail charged with his death.”

Defense Attorney Jason Sheffield, who is representing Travis, demanded that Arbery’s criminal record can be used to show a pattern of him defying the law, thus showing the McMichaels shot him in self-defense.

“What we have learned is that Mr. Arbery had a pattern of conduct and behavior, had a pattern of other acts that included theft crimes or attempted burglary crimes,” Sheffield said.

The lawyer also wants to distance their clients’ association with racism, even though it was reported that investigators heard Travis calling Arbery a “f–king ni–er” after shooting the jogger three times with a shotgun.

A judge reviewing the testimony of the bond hearing said Bryan also used the N-word and other racial slurs, NewsOne reported.

Georgia Woman Shot Mother She Met on Facebook and Kidnapped Her Twins
by Christian Spencer

May 14, 2021

Georgia Woman Shot Mother She Met on Facebook and Kidnapped Her Twins

A woman shot a mother of twins she met on Facebook and kidnapped her children.

On Wednesday, 23-year-old Angela Montgomery shot Gabrielle Rodgers, who is the same age, in the head and chest, placing the young mother in serious but stable condition, according to WJCL.

Rodgers was with her 6-week old twin boys, Matteo and Lorenzo Rodgers at the time. Details regarding why Montgomery took Rodgers’ children and why Rodgers agreed to meet a stranger with her babies are currently unknown.

However, Montgomery was targeting new mothers on Facebook.

Montgomery took Matteo and Lorenzo and hid with them at the home she shares with her boyfriend. When the police arrived, they found the gun used to shoot Rodgers in a closet.

“What happened today is every mother’s worst nightmare. We are so thankful that Matteo and Lorenzo were located quickly and were ultimately unharmed,” Savannah Police Chief Roy Minter said in a statement, PEOPLE reported.

Related stories: NIGERIAN GOVERNOR SAYS 279 KIDNAPPED SCHOOLGIRLS ARE FREED

Montgomery was taken into custody where she told the police that the twins belong to her twin sister and she was looking after them.

At her hearing, Montgomery’s attorney asked if she could have a mental health evaluation.

Charges are pending as officers are trying to understand what took place.

In the meantime, Rodger’s family has set up a GoFundMe to support the victim and her family, theGrio reported.

“My sister was shot multiple times and my nephews were kidnapped. Thankfully God was watching over all three, by the boys being found within 4-5hrs by Savannah Police Dept. And my sister undergoing surgeries to prayerfully reach 100% recovery soon,” per the petition. “As we are praying we ask if you may also pray for a speedy recovery to 100%!! If there is anything you can provide we greatly appreciate your prayers as well as donations.”

by Jeroslyn JoVonn

May 14, 2021

Black Doctor Discriminated Against on Delta Flight Speaks Out With Tamika Mallory on Red Table Talk

The Black doctor who tried to assist an unresponsive passenger on a flight but was asked to provide her diploma is speaking out on the experience.

Dr. Tamika Cross appeared on Red Table Talk‘s Thursday episode titled “The Invisible Black Women Epidemic,” where she opened up about the discrimination she endured from Delta Airlines in 2016. Cross went viral after recalling her mid-flight experience when she attempted to aid an unresponsive passenger but was stopped by one of the flight attendants, Blavity reports.

“I’m sure many of my fellow young, corporate America working women of color can all understand my frustration when I say I’m sick of being disrespected,” Cross wrote on Facebook at the time.

“I raised my hand to grab her [the flight attendant’s] attention. She said to me, ‘oh no sweetie put ur hand down, we are looking for actual physicians or nurses or some type of medical personnel, we don’t have time to talk to you,’ I tried to inform her that I was a physician but I was continually cut off by condescending remarks,” she explained.

Cross appeared on Red Table Talk along with social justice activist Tamika Mallory, who opened up about turning to addiction in the past due to stress over feeling ignored, and Dr. Tressie McMillian Cottom who recalled being treated as an “incompetent Black woman” by her doctors.

“If it was up to the world, Breonna Taylor would have been forgotten. She was murdered on March 13. I think because there was no video, a lot of people were like ‘Eh, you know, I don’t know,” Mallory said, as captured by Urban Hollywood 411. “Black women are ignored and disrespected in general. People don’t want to talk about Ma’Khia Bryant right now. They would rather say, ‘Well you know, she had a knife and it’s justified.’ And a lot of it is trauma.”

Elsewhere in the conversation, the ladies shared experiences of racial profiling and discrimination that often lead to stress and anxiety in everyday life moments.

“I started taking Xanax, taking whatever you could do to sleep, because that sleep is an issue when you’re stressed and not able to rest. Any pill that somebody would give me that had the ability to make you calm down and deal with anxiety, I wanted it,” Mallory revealed. “I had to go to rehab, and while I was in rehab, they were like, ‘You need PTSD support because you’re having a problem that’s deeper than this drug.”

T.I. And Tiny Harris Accuser Claims Couple Forced Her to Have Sex With Nelly
by Jeroslyn JoVonn

May 14, 2021

T.I. And Tiny Harris Accuser Claims Couple Forced Her to Have Sex With Nelly

Amid speculation into the sexual assault allegations plaguing T.I. and Tiny Harris, new details from one gruesome account involving rapper Nelly have come to the forefront.

The claims were first revealed in February through a narrated video posted on the Not Your Model Victim Instagram page. “The following allegations are apart of a criminal referral sent to the following agencies: California Attorney Generals Office, Georgia Attorney Generals office, United States Attorneys Office for the Northern District of Georgia and the Central District of California, and the Los Angeles District Attorneys office,” the caption read.

In the video, the narrator shares the alleged experience of a woman identified as “Jane Doe 4” who was approached by the rapper and Xscape singer in 2005 “to be their assistant.” While noting that the alleged victim was never paid for her work, the narrator goes on to detail the unnamed woman’s experience with the famous couple.

“On one occasion T.I. stood over her and Tiny stood close by as T.I. forced her to open her mouth and swallow eight ecstasy pills,” the narrator said. “Throughout the duration of her time with T.I. and Tiny, the duo forced her to engage in sexual acts with different women against her will. In 2014, T.I. and Tiny forced her to have sexual intercourse with rapper Nelly against her will.”

In February, attorney Tyrone Blackburn held a press conference where he revealed that he was representing 11 women claiming to be victimized by the Harris’s and their entourage, The New York Times reports. By April, the “Family Hustle” stars released a statement through their lawyer Steve Stadow denying the claims, Billboard reports.

“These allegations are nothing more than the continuation of a sordid shakedown campaign that began on social media. The Harrises implore everyone not to be taken in by these obvious attempts to manipulate the press and misuse the justice system,” the statement read in part.

The couple has remained mum as the public continues to speculate over the shocking allegations.

Philadelphia Health Commissioner Forced To Quit After Disposing Cremains of Black Liberation Members
by Christian Spencer

May 14, 2021

Philadelphia Health Commissioner Forced To Quit After Disposing Cremains of Black Liberation Members

The Health Commissioner of Philadelphia Thomas Farley was forced to hand in his resignation after he disregarded the Black bones involved in the MOVE bombing.

On Thursday, Mayor Jim Kenney said that Farley decided to cremate and dispose of a number of unverified remains of the victims of a Black liberation party that was bombed by police, some of whom were children, The Huffington Post reported.

MOVE was bombed in May 1985; five children, ages 7 to 14, died in the police killing.

The cremation and disposition took place during Kenney’s first term in office—between Jan. 4, 2016, and Nov. 5, 2019, which the mayor said he only learned of the “very disturbing incident” recently.

“This action lacked empathy for the victims, their family, and the deep pain that the MOVE bombing has brought to our city for nearly four decades,” Kenney said in a statement, adding that he has also placed Medical Examiner Dr. Sam Gulino on administrative leave pending a full investigation and has appointed Dr. Cheryl Bettigole to be acting health commissioner.

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As The Hill reported, one or two of the teenagers’ bones from the 1985 bombing were used in an online forensic anthropology course at Princeton University and the University of Pennsylvania.

Although the identity of the remains of MOVE organization members is still a mystery, reports are confident that one or two of the bones that were featured in a class belonged to 14-year-old Tree Africa and/or 12-year-old Delisha Africa —the surname Africa was part of the group’s commitment to Black liberation.

The University of Pennsylvania has since apologized for using the bones and removed them from it course.

The surviving family members of the children gave no one permission.

Mike Africa Jr. is a current member of MOVE, who just like Tree and Delisha, grew up under the MOVE movement. He was born in a Philadelphia jail because of his parents’ arrest and hidden from the guards for three days.

“I still can’t even believe it. I remember the kids and the behaviors and the mischief,” Africa said Thursday on his podcast. “To know that they tried to escape this burning house while this fire was raining down on them and walls were collapsing on top of them―the helplessness, the fear. I remember the fear of the sound of any siren from an ambulance or anything, and it used to drive me crazy. I can’t even imagine what they had to experience.” 

 

Jaden Smith Opening A Restaurant Where Homeless People Can Eat For Free
by Jeroslyn JoVonn

May 14, 2021

Jaden Smith Opening A Restaurant Where Homeless People Can Eat For Free

Jaden Smith is continuing his fight against homelessness by opening a restaurant to help provide free meals to those in need.

The rapper/actor is expanding his I Love You food truck initiative into a full-blown restaurant to feed the homeless, Variety reports.

“It’s for homeless people to get free food,” Smith said. “But if you’re not homeless, not only do you have to pay, but you have to pay for more than the food’s worth so that you can pay for the person behind you.”

The restaurant plan comes two years after The Karate Kid star launched his series of vegan food trucks aimed at providing free healthy sustainable meals to the homeless community in Los Angeles’s Skid Row area. His mobile I Love You Restaurant passed out brown paper bags that included bowls of carrots and kale to some of the 8,000 people estimated to live in the area, The Hollywood Reporter reports.


Speaking on his food truck initiative on Instagram, the eldest of Will and Jada Pinkett Smith’s two kids explained how his I Love You restaurant “is a movement that is all about giving people what they deserve, healthy, vegan food for free.” He teased that more trucks were coming in the future. “Keep a look out,” he told his followers.

His famous father, Will Smith, shared that Jaden’s food truck idea was how his son chose to celebrate his 21st birthday. “Now THAT is the way to Celebrate your Bday!! I love U, Diggy,” the Bad Boys star wrote.

“Our Mission is to spread Love to communities experiencing food and/or housing insecurity by offering water along with fresh, high-quality, and delicious sustainable meal options,” his company website states.

There’s no word on when The Get Down star’s new restaurant will open or where it will be located. But when considering Smith’s latest initiatives, it’s clear he’ll keep his word.

Spelman Names Arts Center After Samuel L. Jackson and His Wife LaTanya Richardson
by Andrea Blackstone

May 14, 2021

Spelman Names Arts Center After Samuel L. Jackson and His Wife LaTanya Richardson

Spelman College will honor alumna LaTanya Richardson Jackson and her husband, Samuel L. Jackson, by naming its performing arts center after the acting pair

Bank of America also said that the updated arts center, located in the John D. Rockefeller Fine Arts Building, is being made possible by a lead gift from the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation, along with donations from Richardson Jackson and Jackson, Bank of America, and David Rockefeller, Jr.

(Image: Twitter-@SpelmanCollege)

A the height of the 1970s Black Arts Movement, actress-producer-director Richardson Jackson  (C’71) honed her stage talents in the previously named Baldwin Burroughs Theatre alongside future movie mainstay Jackson.

“Their auspicious debut in plays produced by Spelman’s Department of Drama catapulted the couple into award-winning careers spanning nearly 50 years of artistic excellence and theatrical success,” Spelman said in a press release.

(Image: Instagram-@samuelljackson)

Richardson Jackson has Georgia roots. According to a bio from the Hallmark Channel, Richardson Jackson is a native of Atlanta whose “professional theater credits include many years at the New York Shakespeare Festival/Public Theatre where she appeared in the critically acclaimed For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf.”

Samuel L. Jackson has had some success as well. The Oscar-nominated actor has been a mainstay on the silver screen for more than 30 years, working with everyone from Quentin Tarantino and Spike Lee and appearing in everything from daring indies (Pulp Fiction) to blockbuster franchises such as The Avengers and Star Wars.

“We are grateful for their gift and that of the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation, Bank of America and David Rockefeller Jr. to renovate the space where these beloved talents got their start,” Spelman president Mary Schmidt Campbell, Ph.D., said in a statement. “Pioneers and leaders in producing important stories, LaTanya and Sam’s excellence will forever resonate in the arts center named for them.”

White Teacher Allowed White Students To Say The N-Word
by Christian Spencer

May 14, 2021

White Teacher Allowed White Students To Say The N-Word

A white middle school teacher allegedly thought it was OK for her white students to use the N-word because Black people have been using it.

Azariah Fennell goes to Doris Miller Middle School, a school in San Marcos, Texas, where not many Black students attend.

In December, when one of her white classmates decided to greet his fellow students by yelling “what’s up my n****s,” it singled out Fennell.

Another white student stood up for Fennell and confronted the issue to the racially insensitive white student. However, the white teacher chimed in and gave permission to her predominantly white class to say the N-word, KXAN reported.

“If Black people can say it then white people can say it, too,” the teacher allegedly told her class, according to a complaint filed by Fennell’s mother, Tasha Fennell, who said her daughter was in tears from the incident, Blavity reported.

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On March 8, the mother spoke at a San Marcos Consolidated Independent School District board meeting to air her complaints and make demands for an apology and advise on unconscious bias or cultural responsiveness training.

Azariah was questioned by her school on the accuracy of her account. The San Marcos Consolidated Independent School District also tried to distance themselves (and the white teacher) from the incident, saying in a written statement to KXAN the incident was between Azariah and her friend.

“I just don’t feel like it was her place to make the decision to say that in front of impressionable kids. My biggest concern is that my daughter has a voice. Azariah said what she said and this is how she felt,” Tasha told KXAN.

“It will be communicated to Azariah that the Miller community understands the importance of equity and the goal is to be more sensitive to the topic and utilize the experience as a teachable moment in the future. Azariah and her friends were discussing the Black Lives Matter movement when the incident occurred,” the school district said.

“The timing of the discussion may not have been appropriate but the nature of the conversation is relevant to Azariah’s cultural background and could be acknowledged. Principal Jessie Gipprich Martin will pull Azariah during the school day and speak to her about the incident and how it made her feel,” the school district added.

The middle school is investigating the situation.

Azariah has been invited to join a leadership council at her district school board that meets once a month, and her mother has been asked to join a diversity council that is expected to launch in August.

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

May 14, 2021

PBS Announces Muhammad Ali Documentary to Premiere in September

There have been reports of three different upcoming documentaries on the youngest boxing heavyweight champion of the world, Mike Tyson, coming out starting at the end of the month. But, another boxing documentary worth noting is the forthcoming one about the flashiest and most entertaining heavyweight boxer in history, born as Cassius Clay. After converting to the Muslim faith, he was known to the world as Muhammad Ali, the person who famously coined the term The G.O.A.T. (Greatest of all time).

PBS announced that they will be releasing MUHAMMAD ALI, a new four-part documentary that was directed by filmmaker Ken Burns. The doc will be airing later this year on Sept. 19–22. The series, which was in development for six years, was also written and co-directed by Sarah Burns and David McMahon.

“Muhammad Ali was the very best at what he did,” said Ken Burns in a written statement. “He was arguably America’s greatest athlete, and his unflinching insistence that he be unabashedly himself at all times made him a beacon for generations of people around the world seeking to express their own humanity.”

RELATED CONTENT: Jamie Foxx Portrays Boxing Champ Mike Tyson in Upcoming Series Directed By Antoine Fuqua

The documentary follows the life of the three-time heavyweight boxing champion and shows his resilience as he challenged America’s racial prejudices, religious biases, and notions about what roles celebrities and athletes play in our society, and inspired people all over the world with his message of pride and self-affirmation.

“Muhammad Ali is a national icon whose life and legacy are woven into the fabric of American history,” said Sylvia Bugg, chief programming executive and general manager, General Audience Programming at PBS. “PBS is committed to sharing stories that deepen understanding and reflect a diversity of perspectives, and we’re thrilled to bring this extraordinary biopic to our audiences this fall.”

The documentary MUHAMMAD ALI will be streaming for free on all station-branded PBS platforms, including PBS.org and the PBS Video App. PBS station members can view the documentary via PBS Passport, as part of a full collection of Ken Burns films. For more information about PBS Passport, visit the PBS Passport FAQ website.

Firefighters Who Snapped Pictures of Kobe Bryant’s Helicopter Crash Site May be Terminated
by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

May 14, 2021

Firefighters Who Snapped Pictures of Kobe Bryant’s Helicopter Crash Site May be Terminated

It’s been over a year since the helicopter crash that killed future NBA legend Kobe Bryant, his daughter, Gianna, and seven other people, but the ramifications of others’ actions are still playing themselves out.

The Los Angeles County Fire Department intends to discipline several firefighters who were at the scene of the helicopter crash because, according to court documents, they took graphic photos at the scene and shared them with their wives and girlfriends according to ESPN.

Two of the firefighters may be terminated and another one will be suspended for their actions according to court documents.

The documents, filed Monday, were part of federal lawsuit filed by Vanessa Bryant, Kobe’s widow, against Los Angeles County that cites invasion of privacy. Based on the findings from her attorney, the trial that was scheduled to start November 16, has been requested to start April 27, 2022, so the attorneys can review more material related to the suit.

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The Los Angeles County Fire Department conducted an investigation and have concluded that two firefighters took several photos of the dead bodies at the scene of the helicopter crash. The firefighters then sent the pictures to another firefighter, a media relations officer who had appeared at the scene. A month later, the third firefighter shared the images with other off-duty firefighters and their wives and girlfriends while attending an awards ceremony at a Hilton hotel

The two firefighters were sent “intention to discharge” letters late last year in December. The third firefighter received an “intention to suspend” letter.

According to CBS Sports, the lawsuit filed by Bryant accuses multiple Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies of disseminating photos of the crash site. Earlier this year, Bryant won the right to release the names of the deputies. L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva has since criticized the deputies and ordered the photos to be deleted.

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