A Black former NFL player, who is running for Utah’s 4th Congressional District on the Republican ticket, told Fox News that “Black Americans are waking up and are leaving the plantation.”

Burgess Owens, who is also a Fox News contributor, appeared on The Ingraham Angle after his speech several weeks ago at the Republican National Convention.

“What the Democratic Party’s doing basically is taking away everything that gives us hope, gives us excitement,” Owens said. “They are truly a dour, dark, depressed party, and on the other side of the coin, we’re optimistic, we’re light. We say let’s go out and make things happen. Let’s figure it out.”

He continued his onslaught of criticism toward the Democrats when he appeared on Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo.

The retired NFL player explained why he is running for Utah’s 4th Congressional District. “The young people that I’ve been trying to fight for and give hope to do not have a chance in our country as long as the Democrats keep power.”

“Misery is a strategy and you look at every single blue city in our country, you see death, you see destruction, you see anger,” Owens said referring to the protests occurring in multiple cities across the country after the death of George Floyd, who was killed while in Minneapolis police custody.

“If you want to see systemic racism look for Democratic cities and you see more Black people upset and hopeless than ever before so we have to understand that it is all about policies,” he said.

He added, “I don’t care whether you’re poor, middle class or very wealthy, if you care about our kids, if you care about our kids’ future, we need to make sure we take away control of their future from Democrats and from this party that uses misery as a political strategy.”

Bartiromo asked Owens, “What is the feeling among the Black community in your view as it relates to President Trump and his policies?”

“What we have to understand about our country is that no matter what our color is, our background, our creed, our religion we all want the same thing; life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness and the Black community has been dealing with a death of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for decades because we’ve trusted the Democratic Party,” Owens said.

Owens also stated that, “we’re experiencing things that we have not experienced in decades and because of that Black Americans are waking up and are leaving the plantation.”

The COVID-19, or novel coronavirus, pandemic has caused massive job layoffs and an economic fallout that has hit many communities hard. Because of new social distancing and quarantine restrictions, many have looked to grocery delivery services to avoid big crowds during the public health crisis.

For one couple, these new rules provided a chance to team up with local Black-owned grocery stores in the Atlanta area to create a delivery service to help reach their customers.

Rhandi and Jonathan Altidor are the founders The Better Buggy, a grocery delivery service that connects users with Black-owned farms and food suppliers in their Atlanta community. The idea came about after the couple saw the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak on local businesses.

“I told my husband that it was really frustrating that weren’t able to support Black-owned stores because a lot of the major outlets that offer [grocery delivery] don’t have smaller Black-owned businesses available,” Rhandi said in an interview with Because of Them We Can.

“We are always team ‘buy Black’ whenever we can, wherever we can—why don’t we fill this void that’s out there and help empower these local Black-owned stores and create this service because it wasn’t there.”

The two educators created the business while in quarantine to help out those in the community as well as local Black grocers. The same-day delivery service connects with farms and suppliers to supply fresh groceries, including vegan and organic options.

“Starting a business in the middle of the pandemic was crazy. Even though we were home there was a lot we had to do, but still considering COVID-19 with the safety measures. Initially, everything was going so quickly, we had to slow down and ensure we’re doing things correctly,” Jonathan said.

“It was a blessing that we were able to form this type of business during COVID because there was a demand for people to have their groceries remotely,” he added. “I think that played a part in us being able to scale so fast.”

 

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Swipe to see some of the faces that have filled your fridges lately 😏✊🏽 #TheBetterBuggy 🛒🍑💨

A post shared by The Better Buggy 🍑 (@thebetterbuggy) on Sep 12, 2020 at 9:52am PDT

• News

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

September 16, 2020

Minnesota Prosecutors to Use Derek Chauvin’s History of Forcible Restraint Against Him in the George Floyd Murder Case

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State prosecutors in Minnesota, who are working the case against the four police officers accused of killing George Floyd on May 25, filed a notice of intent last Thursday to cite eight other instances of forcible restraint as evidence against former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, according to Law and Crime. Chauvin faces charges of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and manslaughter in the death of Floyd. Former police officers Tou Thao, Thomas Lane, and J. Alexander Kuengwere are also charged.

In a September court filing, Minnesota District Attorney Keith Ellison and Assistant Attorney General Matthew Frank intend on introducing evidence of prior incidents involving restraint to prove Chauvin’s “knowledge; intent; common scene or plan; absence of a justifiable mistake, accident, misunderstanding; and state of mind at the time of the crime [against Floyd].”

The additional evidence the attorneys would like to introduce is in rebuttal to potential defense claims that Chauvin “did not intentionally assault Mr. Floyd in a manner inconsistent with training.”

Chauvin was caught on video keeping his knee on Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds.

“Defendant placed one knee on Mr. Floyd’s neck and upper back area and shifted his body weight onto Mr. Floyd’s neck, rendering Mr. Floyd unconscious,” the filing states. “Defendant continued to restrain Mr. Floyd in this position beyond the point when such force was needed under the circumstances, causing Mr. Floyd’s death.”

The filings listed these eight cases to prove his penchant for using excessive force:

• On March 15, 2014, Defendant restrained an arrested male by placing his body weight on the male’s upper body and head area as the male laid in the prone position on the ground. Defendant reported that he used this restraint to control the male’s movements and to place the male in handcuffs.

• On February 15, 2015, Defendant restrained an arrested male by applying pressure to the male’s lingual artery below the male’s chin bone and pressing the male against a wall. Defendant then pulled the male to the ground, placed him in a prone position, and placed handcuffs on the male. Defendant kept the male handcuffed in the prone position until other officers arrived to aid him in placing the male in a squad car.

• On August 22, 2015, Defendant participated in rendering aid to a suicidal, intoxicated, and mentally-disturbed male. Defendant observed other officers fight with and tase the male. Defendant then observed other officers place the male in a side-recovery position, consistent with training. Defendant rode with the male to the hospital to receive medical care. Officers involved in the response received a commendation for their appropriate efforts and received feedback from medical professionals that, if officers had prolonged their detention of the male or failed to transport the male to the hospital in a timely manner, the male could have died.

• On April 22, 2016, Defendant restrained an arrested male by placing both of his hands around the male’s neck and applying pressure to both sides of the male’s neck. Defendant then forced the male backwards onto the sidewalk and handcuffed him. After Defendant placed the male in handcuffs, he stood the male up. Defendant’s actions resulted in a small crowd of concerned citizens to view Defendant’s actions. The male later complained of asthma, and paramedics were called to the scene.

• On June 25, 2017, Defendant restrained an arrested female by placing his knee on her neck while she laid in prone position on the ground. Defendant shifted his body weight onto the female’s neck and continued to restrain the female in this position beyond the point when such force was needed under the circumstances.

• On September 4, 2017, Defendant detained an arrested juvenile by applying a neck restraint, flipping the juvenile on his stomach, and pinning him to the floor. Defendant continued to restrain the juvenile in this position beyond the point when such force was needed under the circumstances.

• On March 12, 2019, Defendant detained an intoxicated male on the ground by applying a neck restraint on the male while sitting on the male’s lower back. Defendant continued to restrain the male in this position beyond the point when such force was needed under the circumstances.

• On July 6, 2019, Defendant kicked an intoxicated male in the midsection and then applied a neck restraint on the male until the male was rendered unconscious. Defendant continued to restrain the male in this position beyond the point when such force was needed under the circumstances.

• Lifestyle

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

September 16, 2020

Will Smith is Giving Fans the Opportunity to Stay at the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Mansion

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For $30 a night, you can reside in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air mansion.

Will Smith has teamed up with Airbnb to give fans the opportunity to stay at the “iconic Fresh Prince mansion” in Brentwood, California, according to Airbnb. The listing to the room in the mansion is stated as a “Private room in house hosted by Will.”

“Ready for the freshest staycation ever? If this place looks familiar that’s because it’s just as fly as it was when I first rolled up the driveway. I’m back. And this time, I’m handing you the keys so you’ll have my wing of the mansion all to yourself – but my sneaker collection is off limits, aight?”

hey…who turned on the lights?

will smith is opening the doors to the iconic fresh prince mansion for a limited time—only on airbnb. https://t.co/EvTee1U7oc pic.twitter.com/Wm2c6J5Hve

— Airbnb (@Airbnb) September 14, 2020

Starting on September 29 at 11:00 a.m. PDT, two Los Angeles County residents will get the opportunity to book one of five nostalgic stays in a room of the mansion–taking place on October 2, October 5, October 8, October 11, and October 14–for just $30 a night, in recognition of the 30th anniversary of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

 

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YOOOO!! Y’all think we should rent out the @freshprince house?? We’re making it happen with the squad at @airbnb!! #FreshPrince30th

A post shared by Will Smith (@willsmith) on Sep 13, 2020 at 6:00pm PDT

“The stays will take place for one night each in Will’s wing of the decked-out mansion with access to Will’s posh bedroom and bathroom, a poolside lounge area, and an elegant dining room. During this royal overnight, guests will be treated to some old school fun, Big Willie Style,” according to a press release on the Airbnb website.

To commemorate the event, Airbnb will make a donation to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Philadelphia, a charity that supports youth, including those in greatest need, by offering development and skill-building programs, recreational activities, and empowerment tools.

• News

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

September 16, 2020

LA County Sheriff Asks LeBron James To Match Reward For Gunman Who Ambushed Deputies, Vanessa Bryant Responds

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After the shooting of two Los Angeles police officers, who were ambushed while sitting in their car last week, Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva issued a challenge to Los Angeles Lakers basketball player LeBron James Monday to match the reward money for the capture of the shooter, according to CNN.

The Los Angeles County deputies were shot several times in the head and face in Compton by an unknown gunman near the MLK Transit Center on Sept.12. Both of the deputies survived the attack and are currently in the hospital in critical but stable condition, according to Villanueva.

The county has pledged $100,000 in reward money to anyone who has any information that will lead to the arrest and conviction of the unknown shooter. Two private donors have also offered an additional $75,000 to the reward money.

Villanueva challenged James to match the reward money during an appearance on the radio show 790KABC on Monday.

“This challenge is to LeBron James,” Villanueva told 790KABC. “I want you to match that and double that reward. Because I know you care about law enforcement. You expressed a very, very interesting statement about your perspective on race relations and on officer-involved shootings and the impact it has on the African American community, and I appreciate that. But likewise, we need to appreciate the respect for life goes across professions, across races, creeds. And I’d like to see LeBron James step up to the plate and double that.”

According to the New York Daily News, Vanessa Bryant, wife of deceased Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, took issue with Villanueva’s plea. She took to her Instagram page to state her displeasure.

In a post, Bryant incorporated screenshots of a tweet from a Twitter user named @ElanMaree that stated, “How can he talk about trusting the system? His sheriff’s dept. couldn’t be trusted to secure Kobe Bryant’s helicopter crash scene, his deputies took and shared graphic photos of crash victims.”

• The New Norm

by Selena Hill

September 16, 2020

The Exonerated Five’s Yusef Salaam Co-Authors Young Adult Novel on the ‘Criminal System of Injustice’

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After spending almost seven years in prison for a crime he did not commit, Dr. Yusef Salaam is using the hard lessons he learned about the industrial prison complex to educate today’s youth.

Salaam was 15 years old when he and four other teenage boys of color were falsely imprisoned for the rape and brutal assault of a White woman in New York City’s Central Park in 1989. At the time, the boys were demonized in the media (and by Donald J. Trump) and became infamously known as the “Central Park Five.” After serving time in prison, the boys were exonerated in 2002 after convicted murderer and serial rapist Matias Reyes confessed to the crime.

Today, the men–Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, and Korey Wise–are known as the “Exonerated Five” and speaking up. Their heart-wrenching story was originally told by documentary filmmaker Ken Burns in 2012. Their story was also adapted by filmmaker Ava DuVernay in the acclaimed Netflix 2019 series “When They See Us.”

In addition, Salaam is using his traumatic experiences to empower the next generation of leaders.

The 46-year-old poet and activist has teamed up with author Ibi Zoboi to write a young adult novel, Punching the Air, which tells the story of a Black teen artist wrongfully sentenced to prison. Written in verse, the novel follows the perspective of 16-year-old Amal Shahid, a fictional character who turns to art and poetry as a refuge.

“I always wanted the American dream, always hoped for the American dream, and didn’t really know what the American reality was until I turned 15 years old,” Salaam tells BLACK ENTERPRISE. “Then, not only was I run over by the spiked wheels of justice, but my family was run over by the spiked wheels of justice as well.”

Salaam says he co-authored Punching the Air to illustrate how what he calls “the criminal system of injustice” affects not only the people behind bars but their families and their communities. He added that the book also explores “some of the inroads to prison” like the school-to-prison pipeline.

Zoboi, a National Book Award finalist, says writing the book as a narrative poem allowed them to capture the main character’s raw emotion.

“It’s just a few words on the page, but you get to the heart of the character, you get to the heart of the story much quicker. So, in that sense, we want readers to just understand the emotional turmoil that a boy in his situation would go through and how he finds his voice, finds his passion, [and] finds his hope through art and poetry.”

Punching the Air, which was released by HarperCollins on Sept. 1, comes at a time when the nation has been swept by Black Lives Matter protests and the ongoing calls for police reform and the end to systemic racism. However, Zoboi notes that the novel could have been released at any point in time–even the future–and still be painfully relevant.

“Unfortunately, any time in America would be a good time to release this book,” she says. “This incident happened to Yusef 30 years ago. I met him 20 years ago and if I was an author back then, this book would have still been relevant. It would have been relevant in 2012 during Trayvon Martin’s murder. So that’s the sad part about it.” She added that even in five years, she believes the book will feel just as timely.

Yet, Salaam notes that despite the tireless fight for racial equality and criminal justice reform, some progress has been made.

“We are seeing an awakening of sorts happening around the globe with the most fearless of the community,” he says. “They now said, ‘Lean in. Enough is enough. Now is the time, not tomorrow. Not yesterday. Now is the time.’ We have to do all that we can do.”

According to him, the fight for justice cannot stop with police reform but needs to go as far as prison abolition, a theme also highlighted in Punching the Air.

“They want us to forget that the prison industrial complex was an outgrowth in a continuation of slavery by another name,” he says, referencing the Thirteenth Amendment, which outlawed slavery while simultaneously creating an entirely new system of enslavement.

“They want us to forget that. And so, for us to say reform and reform alone without telling the story of the truth is to disrespect the reality of what really is going on,” says Salaam, who is a motivational speaker. “It really needs to be torn down just like these monuments to the Confederacy need to be torn down. White supremacy, white male dominance has to be abolished in totality.”

Salaam completed a college degree in prison and then dedicated his life to criminal justice reform. In addition, he received a lifetime achievement award from former President Barack Obama.

Watch Yusef Salaam and Ibi Zoboi’s full interview on The New Norm with Selena Hill below.

• Career

by Black Enterprise Shop

September 16, 2020

Master Microsoft Excel and Become a Productivity Machine With the Help of This Bundle

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At this point, Microsoft Excel is considered a non-negotiable for many businesses, especially those that have to deal with a lot of numbers and data crunching. But apart from helping you analyze and process data, did you know that Excel can also supercharge your productivity? The spreadsheet program has all the nuts and bolts that can help you execute a wide variety of tasks. From transforming dizzying data into visual spectacles to automating some of your tedious tasks, Excel can turn you into one productivity machine.

If you only have a baseline knowledge of Excel, it can be hard to use it to your advantage. The Professional Microsoft Excel Certification Training Bundle offers 45 hours of premium instructional content so you can make the most out of the app and have the results to show for it.

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Once you’ve gone through all the courses, you’ll find that you have the knowledge and skills to accomplish more in half the time. For a limited time, you can grab the Professional Microsoft Excel Certification Training Bundle on sale for only $39 — a 97% discount.

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I’ve been working on this book since January. It is so rewarding to see a project through from vision to reality! #melaninmoneymatriculation #comingsoon

A post shared by Dr. Tisa Silver Canady (@tisasilver) on Jun 16, 2020 at 7:54am PDT

As the November election is approaching, Joe Biden and his team have decided to focus some of its advertising toward fans of football. 

NPR is reporting that the Biden campaign is intending to utilize its budget to place commercial spots during every NFL game for the remainder of the election season.

As the 2020 NFL season started this past weekend, the Biden campaign debuted the first ad called “Fresh Start” that was aired nationally. “We need to get control over the virus,” the narrator says midway through the ad. “Donald Trump failed. Joe Biden will get it done.”

The Biden team has purchased at least one advertising slot for every game between now and Election Day, a campaign spokesperson confirmed to NPR. Tracking firm Advertising Analytics says those prebookings add up to $25 million.

“I’ve never seen that before in a presidential race,” said Ad Analytics’ John Link. “That is the first time we’ve seen something of that magnitude.”

Ad Analytics said it found that Biden’s campaign had also aired seven different ads in 18 local media markets during last Thursday’s opening game. This translates to mean that Biden’s team was trying different messages for different markets. Biden’s ads aired in the so-called “blue wall” states of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, plus Florida, North Carolina, Nevada, and Arizona. Back in the 2016 presidential election, Hillary Clinton won two of those states, Nevada and Minnesota.

“The NFL, even pre-COVID, is the most powerful advertising vehicle,” said Link. “In some markets, you get Super Bowl-like numbers on a Sunday.”

Last Thursday night, the opening game between Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs and the Houston Texans drew some 20 million people.

Ad Analytics has reported that the Trump campaign spent $1.1 million in 21 local TV ads in swing states during the season opener.

There has never been a more opportune time to kickstart an online venture, especially if you’re doing it on a platform like Amazon. With the pandemic, most people have transitioned to online shopping to replenish their essentials. Naturally, this caused Amazon to double its profit to an astounding $5.2 billion.

You may want to take advantage of this shift in consumer behavior by opening your own store on Amazon. If you have nary an idea on what to start, the Ultimate Amazon FBA & Dropship Master Class Bundle offers a perfect primer.

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There are also courses dedicated to building an online shop using Shopify, in which you’ll get to grips with creating a custom e-commerce site and master unique ways to make additional income. Plus, you’ll also get the chance to master dropshipping, so you can generate revenue without having to risk so much money.

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