Federal Grand Jury Indicts Four Former Police Officers Involved in George Floyd’s Death
The news is not getting better for the terminated police officers who took part in the death of an unarmed Black Minneapolis man last May.
Weeks after being found guilty for killing George Floyd on a Minneapolis street while kneeling on George Floyd’s neck for about 9 minutes, the former police officer, Derek Chauvin, has now been charged in a federal case. The pending charges accuse him and the other three police officers on the scene that fateful day of violating the civil rights of Floyd.
According to The Associated Press, a federal grand jury has indicted the four former Minneapolis police officers who were involved in Floyd’s arrest and death. The men have been accused of willfully violating the Black man’s constitutional rights as he was restrained face-down on the pavement and telling them that he couldn’t breathe.
The three-count indictment was unsealed and it names Chauvin, and fellow former police officers, Thomas Lane, J. Kueng, and Tou Thao.
Chauvin has also been charged with violating Floyd’s right to be free from unreasonable seizure and unreasonable force by a police officer. Two other former police officers, Thao and Kueng, have also been charged with violating Floyd’s right to be free from unreasonable seizure because they did not intervene or stop Chauvin as he kept his knee on Floyd’s neck. All four former officers have been charged for their failure to provide Floyd with medical care as well.
According to CBS News, the Rev. Al Sharpton and the National Action Network provided the following in a written statement:
“For many years we have tried to get the federal government to make it clear that these crimes are not only state crimes but violate civil rights on a federal level when police engage in this kind of behavior. What we couldn’t get them to do in the case of Eric Garner, Michael Brown in Ferguson, and countless others, we are finally seeing them do today and this is a significant development for those of us who have been engaged in the struggle and police reform movement.”
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms Will Not Run For Reelection
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who was elected in 2017, announced Thursday she will not seek reelection.
In a statement, Lance Bottoms wrote she came to her decision after a lot of praying, thinking, and discussions with her husband, Derek.
“As Derek and I have given thoughtful prayer and consideration to the season now before us,
it is with deep emotions that I hold my head high, and choose not to seek another term as Mayor,” Lance Bottoms wrote.
The Florida A&M graduate added her decision was not based on an inability to fundraise, a belief that she wouldn’t be reelected, or a fear of competition in a reelection bid.
“I have engaged in several elections, facing multiple candidates, and never once have I cowered from the competition,” Bottoms added.
Lance Bottoms endorsed President Joe Biden months before he became the Democratic frontrunner as she stumped for him in Iowa.
During her term in office, Lance Bottoms took a measured and detailed approach to several issues the city faced. Just three months into her term, two Iranian citizens pulled off a ransomware attack that affected the city’s computer system.
Undeterred, Lance Bottoms made significant progress during her time in office, abolishing drug testing for city jobs, passing criminal justice reforms, and ending the city’s contacts with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Lance Bottoms also fought with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, who filed a lawsuit against her over the coronavirus restrictions she enforced, which were more restrictive than the restrictions Kemp implemented. Lance Bottoms also included a mask mandate.
She was also tasked with calming the city during protests after the death of George Floyd and the shooter who killed eight people including six Asian women at Atlanta-area massage parlors.
The mayor has not indicated what she will do after she leaves office.
“While I am not yet certain of what the future holds, I trust that my next season will continue to be one full of passion and purpose, guided by the belief that within each of us is the power and responsibility to make a positive difference in the lives of others.”
White Teacher, Angered by LeBron James’ Opinions, Accused of Throwing Object at Black Student
A teacher in Alabama is on paid administrative leave after she was filmed throwing an object at a student who was discussing the fatal police shooting of Ma’Khia Bryant in class.
Javon Seals, a high school junior, wanted to have discourse about how LeBron James handled the Ma’Khia Bryant situation on Twitter, theGrio reported.
As BLACK ENTERPRISE previously reported, James tweeted-and-deleted about the fatal police shooting of Ma’Khia Bryant. The NBA champion later owned up to his poor choice of words.
Seals’ unnamed science teacher became irate about James’ opinion and then threw something at the student’s head after he attempted to explain James’ tweet.
“I tried to explain to her how LeBron was feeling, where LeBron was coming from,” Seals said. “After I tried to tell her that’s when, as you can hear in the video her getting highly upset, yelling at me. As I’m trying to explain my point of view and LeBron’s, that’s when she got mad at me and threw something that was on her desk at me.
Teachers from neighboring classrooms heard the argument and came into the classroom. They assumed the student was being defiant
“Another administrator came directly towards me and said I was being disrespectful to her and I’m sitting there confused,” Seals told WRBL of Columbus, GA. “I didn’t even say nothing, I never disrespected her… she just threw something at me and y’all are coming at me, saying I’m disrespectful.”
However, someone in the classroom recorded the conversation, confirming the teacher was the one who instigated the outburst. The video was shared on social media.
Lamonica Peters, Seal’s mother, said she was never contacted by the school. She learned about the incident through social media.
“You can hear from the beginning she was so upset, she was just very angry and because he disagreed or didn’t get a chance to really say what he wanted to say and she threw something at him,” Peters said. “I hold her at a higher standard. She is a teacher and if this conversation was too emotional for her, then she should not have held that in a classroom.”
The teacher did apologize to Seals and an issued letter by the Phenix City Schools system will look “very seriously matters regarding the safety and well-being of students and employees.”
Tocarra Jones Hosting The Shade Room’s New Plus-Size Model Competition Series ‘Thick House’
The Shade Room is taking its dominating media platform to new heights with the launch of its new digital series aimed at finding the next top plus-size model.
The urban media outlet is set to premiere the first modeling competition series for plus-size women. Entitled Thick House, the show will follow a group of seven aspiring models and their journeys to impress the judging panel and become social media influencers, Deadline reports.
Longtime fans of Tyra Banks’ popular America’s Next Top Model series can remember the lack of size diversity that carried on into the show’s 20+ seasons. Tocarra Jones became a household name during her time competing on the show. Despite not winning her season, her vibrant personality, gorgeous looks, and voluptuous curves made her a standout.
Now Jones will return to what she does best. But this time around she’ll serve as the host of the competition alongside two judges with reputable careers in fashion. Celebrity stylist EJ King and plus-size fashion blogger and stylist Kelly Augustine are set to judge the competition with Glee star and Dancing With The Stars winner Amber Riley making guest appearances.
Jones took to Instagram to share the big news. “FINALLY!!! It’s been hard tryna keep this cat in the bag but I am honored to announce that I, The FABULOUS Toccara will be hosting “Thick House,” a plus-size modeling show brought to you by @theshaderoom,” she said.
“[The judges] are looking for the next viral modeling sensation to cultivate a hot new fan base,” the show’s synopsis says, as noted by Paper Magazine. “Seven diverse plus-sized glamazons compete to impress the panel of catwalking judges and special guests [as they] navigate the modeling industry in the age of social media.”
The show’s format joins a growing list of content aimed at promoting body positivity. Grammy Award-winning singer Lizzo is set to release her original Amazon series where she searches for a group of full-figured women to perform with her on stage.
Thick House is produced by the founder of The Shade Room, Angelica Nwandu, and Sickbird Productions, Madame Noire reports. The new series is set to premiere on Facebook Watch on May 16.
The Tamron Hall Show Does Not Want Educated Black People On The Show, Dr. Ian Smith says
Dr. Ian Smith has insinuated that The Tamron Hall Show only features Black experts when it is for something negative.
In his interview with The Karen Hunter Show, Smith said the show conveniently does not book people of color with doctorate degrees, favoring white experts only, Madame Noire reported.
“There are a lot of people who look like me, who are equally educated, equally articulate, who are not getting a platform on major shows. And, you know, they won’t bring on African American or Latinx people as experts to talk about things like education or sociology or medicine or law,” Smith said. “They will only bring us on when we’re an entertainer or an athlete or we do something salacious. There is a talk show with an African American host and an African American executive producer that has said to publicists do not pitch us your Black clients we are not a Black show, pitch us your white clients, we don’t want to be looked at as a Black show.
“They will bring on Black experts when they do something salacious or they’re in the headlines for doing something bad. Then they’ll bring Black people on to talk about that,” he added.
Smith, in his explanation to Hunter, told her that he needed to call out Hall because he would have done so if she was white.
“I’m putting this show on blast because when white shows and hosts don’t let us on we criticize them, but the same criticism has to be held when a show is helmed and hosted by Black people that keep us off the airwaves and it’s just not right,” Smith said.
Hall started at NBC in 2007, having first joined MSNBC and later becoming a part of Today in 2014, according to Good Housekeeping. She left NBC with the arrival of Megyn Kelly and an expiring contract in 2017. She then landed her own daytime talk show series on ABC.
“Is it a she? Was she formerly on cable, and then moved to NBC and then moved on to her own show with her name on it?” asked Hunter. Smith, who was a correspondent for NBC News during her tenure, already knows the answer.
Descendant of Robert E. Lee Joins Fight to Have Confederate Statue Removed
People from all backgrounds are coming together to get a statue of Robert E. Lee removed from a North Carolina site. Including one descendant of the confederate war general.
Rev. Robert Wright “Rob” Lee IV, the fourth great-nephew of Robert E. Lee joined a multiracial lawsuit filed on Tuesday to have his great uncle’s statue removed from the Government Center in downtown Statesville, The Raleigh News & Observer reports.
The group includes local residents and organizations who are all against a monument of the Confederacy’s commanding general being on display at the former county courthouse. Lee added a personal statement with the lawsuit where he called his great uncle’s statue “a celebration of white supremacy and racism.”
The suit calls on the Iredell courts to order the Iredell Board of County Commissioners to remove the statue from the grounds of the Government Center and find a new home for it. Among the plaintiffs, aside from Lee, includes state and local chapters of the NAACP, the Iredell Clergy for Healing and Justice, and Christopher “Skip” McCall, a longtime Black resident of Statesville.
Lee has made headlines over the last few years for his outspoken opposition against Confederate memorials. In June 2020, the pastor and author penned a column for the Washington Post where he called the Confederacy racist and urged for more truthful history on it.
“(It’s) something we Southerners are never taught,” he wrote. “The Civil War was fought for states’ rights to enslave African people in the United States of America.”
In his statement for the lawsuit, Lee said the statue makes it difficult for downtown Statesville to bring in visitors.
“Especially if they are people of color,” he said. “Especially if they know the history.”
Mitch McConnell Demands Removal of The 1619 Project From Federal Grant Programs
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is continuing his fight to take down the 1619 Project.
The Republican politician sent out a letter to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona where he demanded the project’s removal from federal grant programs, Politico reports. The leader’s issue with the curriculum stems from the project’s focus on how slavery has impacted modern forms of racial injustice and systemic inequality.
McConnell feels The New York Times 1619 Project provides a “re-orient” view of American history “away from their intended purposes toward a politicized and divisive agenda,” CNN reports.
“Actual, trained, credentialed historians with diverse political views have debunked the project’s many factual and historical errors, such as the bizarre and inaccurate notion that preserving slavery was a primary driver of the American Revolution,” McConnell stated in the letter. “One renowned historian called the project ‘so wrong in so many ways.’ Citing this debunked advocacy confirms that your Proposed Priorities would not focus on critical thinking or accurate history, but on spoon-feeding students a slanted story.”
Like McConnell, many Republican figures have publicly expressed their opposition to the 1619 Project being added to the curriculum in public schools. First introduced in 2019 by Nikole Hannah-Jones, writers from The New York Times, and The New York Times Magazine, the long-form journalism project “aims to reframe the country’s history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of Black Americans at the very center of the United States’ national narrative,” NY Times reports.
While Donald Trump proudly denounced the project during his administration and even threatened to withhold federal funding from schools that taught it, President Biden has proposed grant programs to schools that would incorporate tools like the 1619 Project into their lesson plans.
But if McConnell has his way, schools will start weeding out forms of incorporating the deemed liberal policy within the public school curriculum.
“Families did not ask for this divisive nonsense. Voters did not vote for it. Americans never decided our children should be taught that our country is inherently evil,” McConnell wrote.
Trump is probably happy to see McConnell continuing his work at attacking the 1619 Project. But, let’s see who has the final say in the matter.
The International Olympic Committee Will Not Allow ‘Black Lives Matter’ Apparel at the Tokyo Olympics
Outside of Hollywood, the industry that has shown prominent support for the Black Lives Matter movement has been the conglomerate of sports leagues throughout the world. Although the majority of the sports leagues are located and played in the United States of America, it has also been shown support throughout other countries.
With this year’s Olympics scheduled to take place in Tokyo, the spirit of the movement is anticipated among the various athletes and sports teams who will compete for the coveted medals from the Olympic competition. That may present a big problem, according to TMZ.
The world competition—postponed a year because of the coronavirus pandemic—will begin on Friday, July 23, 2021. The International Olympic Committee (IOC), which is the governing body of the Olympics, has stated that Tokyo Olympics athletes will NOT be allowed to wear “Black Lives Matter” apparel at any of the Games ceremonies this summer.
IOC Officials have recently confirmed that its broad policy will not allow any protests and political messages. There will also be a ban on any demonstrations on the field of play, during an official ceremony, or at the podium. There is also a ban on “Black Lives Matter” apparel being allowed during the competitions. Athletes will not be allowed to wear the clothing on the medal stand, playing field, or during the official ceremonies.
The Olympics will now BAN any athlete who wears a BLM shirt, kneels during the national anthem or raises a fist to oppose racism. This sends the WRONG message about basic human rights & I urge the Olympic Committee to reverse this decision! https://t.co/Arfbpr32UQ
According to WGN, the IOC athletes’ commission stated that support to uphold Rule 50 of the Olympic Charter has come from more than two-thirds of approximately 3,500 replies from consulting athlete groups. The IOC said 70% of athletes polled do not think it’s appropriate to demonstrate during competition, and 67% said it’s not appropriate either on the medal stand.
“A very clear majority of athletes said that they think it’s not appropriate to demonstrate or express their views on the field of play, at the official ceremonies, or at the podium,” IOC Athletes’ Commission chief Kirsty Coventry had stated. “So our recommendation is to preserve the podium, field of play, and official ceremonies from any kind of protest or demonstrations or acts perceived as such.”According to TMX, athletes will be allowed “BLM” slogans during some portions of the Games such as press conferences, interviews, and team meetings.
Jill Scott Partners With Nationwide Insurance For Latest ‘On Your Side’ Soundtrack
A 2020 study by Haven Life reported that Black Americans have just one-third of the insurance coverage of their white counterparts. And if it’s one thing many Black Americans need to feel secure and reassured, it’s insurance coverage; particularly during uncertain times and especially in a climate where discriminatory practices have left Black people underinsured.
Nationwide has answered that call over the past 96 years, offering several lines of insurance and “annuities, mutual funds, retirement plans and specialty health services,” according to the company’s website. An insurance company of its magnitude and with so much skin in the game could not exist without a commitment to its customers and clients—and not just any commitment but one that is tried and true. In addition to offering solid insurance, the Fortune 500 company has been at the forefront of philanthropy and civic engagement.
Since 1965, Nationwide has solidified that dedication with its widely known and uber-catchy “On your side” slogan and continues to do so 52 years later, bringing pop culture and soul into the mix. Past jingle campaigns have featured broadway and film sensation Leslie Odom Jr. and NFL football player Peyton Manning. And after a year fraught with a global coronavirus pandemic that claimed over 500,000 lives, racial and state-sanctioned violence that affected the Black community, and a contentious presidential election, Nationwide’s 2021 campaign, featuring the legendary and sultry Jill Scott, is timely. BLACK ENTERPRISE sat down with the award-winning songstress, who happened to be recuperating from her second COVID-19 vaccination, and Ramon Jones, Nationwide’s executive vice president and chief marketing officer, to learn how it all came together.
BLACK ENTERPRISE: We’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who is not familiar with Nationwide’s slogan, in particular the jingle which is so popular. Tell us about the transition from what people are familiar with to this new sound that you’ve created with Jill?
Ramon Jones: We’ve had lots of different campaigns over the years and most recently most consumers are probably familiar with our Peyton Manning and Brad Paisley series of ads. They are product-focused, they are intended to get a laugh or two, we sneak the jingle in there and Peyton Manning has done great work with our jingle. But for this next phase, it’s reimagining some work we did a few years ago. So we had a song campaign some time ago. You might remember the name Leslie Odom Jr. We had Tori Kelly that participated. We switched to the Brad Paisley-Peyton Manning campaign for a while, but in an age where people need to feel cared for, where people need to take a beat and listen, I wanted to take an opportunity to help put that into the media as well. We have a company motto. It’s to protect people and their futures with extraordinary care. As a team, we’ve talked a lot about that. What does extraordinary care look like and feel like? And as we looked to take the next step with our advertising campaign, we wanted to be able to communicate that extraordinary care. Part of it is looking at how the songs campaign made people feel and part of it is looking into how we communicate our brand. Our jingle is known so let’s take advantage of that from an advertising and media perspective and let’s talk with a voice of compassion, a voice of care, and we started thinking about what type of artists are out there. What artist can help us communicate that? And I’ve been a Jill Scott fan forever. So our campaign team pulled together a list, our media company pulled together a list, and as we were looking at these lists, Jill Scott just kept coming up and that’s how we began moving in the direction of tapping back into song campaigns but using a voice like Jill Scott, who is an amazing storyteller, to help us sell our brand.
Jill Scott
What goes into pulling together such a talent?
It helps to have a brand like ours! The Nationwide jingle helps, and it’s not an unknown quantity. It also helps to represent a company that has really solid values. It’s more than just, I want you to sing my jingle it’s more of, ‘Hey, I want you to be part of the Nationwide family.’ It’s my job and Jared’s job and everybody’s job that works at Nationwide to protect that brand. You know there’s many artists that have approached us that wouldn’t necessarily be a good fit for us. It’s a two-way street and when our team reached out to Jill’s team to start having those conversations we realized very quickly that this could be a very good fit for both of us and her reputation is very solid. She’s an amazing storyteller and all of those reasons made this a very, very easy partnership.
I was telling Ramon that nothing gives a hug to our collective people like a Jill Scott song, as he was telling me about this campaign and how it’s not only important to have a cultural icon behind it, but how important it is to have you. I wanted to know from you why it was important to lend your voice to this initiative.
Jill Scott: Well first off, I’ve known a couple of people who have had [Nationwide] insurance for years. My grandmother was one of those people.Nationwide has this sweet song that everybody knows, so for me, I just wanted to be a part of something that felt good that stood true through the test of time. A lot of people have asked me to support so many products over the years and I just haven’t, but when this showed up I was like, ‘hell yeah.’ I’m ready to go.
Jilly Scott
I imagine you brought that hell-yeah energy to the work you’ve done together. What was the process like working with Nationwide? Was it different from the way you gig in any other way?
Jill: Oh yeah, first of all, I’m not supposed to talk about this but so much, but Nationwide took really, really good care of us. I brought my son with me because I wanted him to go to the studio. I wanted him to see Jim Henson Studios, that’s where we recorded. I recorded there one other, maybe twice and the energy from Jim Henson came out. It was just a really warm-loving environment. You know, in business it can feel medicinal. You do your work, get it done, goodbye. But it didn’t feel like that at all. It felt warm and welcoming, and every executive I met felt warm and sweet. That is such a rare bird.
I want to go back to you, Ramon. Is there a target market for this particular campaign?
Ramon: There always is. We use different campaigns to target different segments. We’re looking to speak with consumers that typically look for insurance on their own. We want them to consider building that trusted relationship with Nationwide. We are talking directly to the consumer market, but we’re also talking to its intermediaries, so that’s agents, brokers, advisers who help consumers make those decisions. We want them to know that we’re a company that cares and you can trust us with your customers. So there’s two targets: there are those consumers that we want to understand the kind of company that Nationwide is. When we say we’re on your side that means something. That means that that’s it’s authentic and we truly care about the people that trust us with their car insurance and life insurance and their retirement savings. I mean those are big deals; these are long-term relationships that we like to build so we’re talking to that consumer but we’re also talking to that adviser that likes to help guide some of these decisions.
I have a collective question. With the “On Your Side” soundtrack what can we expect? How do you want this campaign to land?
Ramon: I’ll share some of the tactical information. We’re launching with cable and broadcast, so you’ll see it on TV. You’ll see it running for the next couple of weeks. We’re going in with a really heavy push. We’re going with satellite radio, so the Pandora’s of the world, because of Jill’s amazing voice first and foremost and because the jingle itself lends itself to radio platforms. Thirdly, you’ll see it in streaming platforms like Roku and Amazon. We’re going to launch over the next several weeks and months so that the world knows that Nationwide and Jill Scott have partnered.
Jill: I can’t wait for you to see. I will collaborate with a longtime trusted friend. He was 19 [years old] when I first hired Adam Blackstone. He’s gone on to be everything and everywhere producing, a music director for Mary J Blidge, Eminem, Jay-Z. He’s just exploded all over the music industry and there was no one else I wanted to call. I’m just so proud of him. The music is very sweet. You already know the melody, but we’ve added lyrics to it that are equally as touching and sweet as the company that I’ve grown to know. I’m really excited about people hearing that.
The thing is with my fans they tend to be very thoughtful and they tend to be smart. That is who I’m hoping to talk to. The very thoughtful and smart people that investigate and look into having Nationwide insurance because it’s a good thing and I like supporting good things.
If you haven’t already seen Scott’s magical spin for Nationwides “On Your Side” soundtrack, peep a snippet below.
President Joe Biden Says Corporate Tax Increase Can Fund His Infrastructure Bill
Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden said a corporate tax rate between 25% and 28% could help pay for badly needed infrastructure, suggesting he could accept a lower rate than what he has proposed in his search for Republican support for the funding.
“The way I can pay for this, is making sure that the largest companies don’t pay zero, and reducing the (2017 corporate) tax cut to between 25 and 28” percent, Biden said during a visit to Lake Charles, Louisiana.
In his $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan, the Democratic president initially proposed raising the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%. Tax experts and congressional aides told Reuters in April that a 25% rate would be a likely compromise.
“What I’m proposing is badly needed” and will be paid for, Biden said.
“Trickle-down ain’t working very well,” he said, referring to the theory that helping businesses and the wealthy will benefit those further down the economic ladder. “We’ve got to build from the bottom up and the middle out.”
The U.S. corporate tax rate dropped to 21% from 35% after the 2017 tax cut pushed by former President Donald Trump and his fellow Republicans, but many big U.S. companies pay much less.
Increasing what companies pay into the more than $4 trillion federal budget is an important part of Biden’s plan to restructure the U.S. economy to reduce inequality and to try to counter China’s rise.
Biden’s stop in Lake Charles was part of his “Getting America Back on Track Tour” to promote a $2.25 trillion infrastructure spending plan and a $1.8 billion education and childcare proposal.
His push to spend more federal money on schools, roads, job training and other public works, and to tax the wealthiest Americans and companies to pay for it, is popular with voters of both parties. But the plans face stiff opposition from Republican lawmakers.
The White House is betting trips like this will build public support for Biden and his spending proposals, even among Republican voters who backed Trump, who continues to hold enormous sway over his party.
Congressional Republicans oppose Biden’s proposed $2.25 trillion in infrastructure spending over a decade, saying the higher taxes that would be levied on corporations to fund it would cost jobs and slow the economy.
The U.S. economy has boomed under higher levels of corporate taxation, such as the 1960s and the 1990s.
In the closely divided Senate, Biden would need every Democratic vote if no Republicans support the bill. Biden said in Lake Charles he was meeting with Republicans in Congress to see “how much they’re willing to go for, what they think are the priorities, and what compromises” they can offer.
“I’m ready to compromise,” Biden said. “I’m not ready to have another period where America has another ‘Infrastructure Month’ and doesn’t change a damn thing.”
Some Republicans have offered a far smaller package: $568 billion, focused on roads, bridges, broadband access and drinking water improvements. However, much of that reflects money the federal government is already expected to spend for that infrastructure.
U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell predicted last week that Biden’s infrastructure and jobs plan would not get support from Republican lawmakers.
“I’m going to fight them every step of the way, because I think this is the wrong prescription for America,” McConnell said in an event in his home state of Kentucky last month.
(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt, Jarrett Renshaw and Doina Chiacu; Writing by Steve Holland; Editing by Heather Timmons and Jonathan Oatis)
