by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

August 20, 2020

Lebron James and the Los Angeles Lakers Wear Red ‘Make America Arrest the Cops That Murdered Breonna Taylor’ Baseball Caps

Ever since the NBA was planning its return from the coronavirus pandemic that has taken over the world, racial strife has hit an all-time world high after the police killing of George Floyd. Players were plotting on how to continue being vocal about the plight of Black people when it comes to police brutality. The Los Angeles Lakers players took it a step further earlier this week when they donned what looked like red Make America Great Again (MAGA) baseball caps, but, the words ‘Great Again’ were crossed out and underneath the crossed-out words were the phrase “Arrest the Cops That Murdered Breonna Taylor” according to CNN.

On Tuesday night, right before they played their very first playoff game against the Portland Trail Blazers, LeBron James and several of his teammates were seen walking in with the red caps on their head.

 

 

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By Any Means‼️ Lets Get It 👑 #JusticeForBreonnaTaylor❤️✊🏾

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The Lakers, who are the top seed in the Western Conference for the NBA playoffs, stumbled out the gate while losing to the eighth-seeded Blazers, 100-93 to fall behind by one game in the series.

Following the loss, James met with reporters and stated the reason for the baseball caps.

“It’s just something that we continue to put our foot on the gas, continue to pressure,” James said. “The situation that’s going on in Louisville, Kentucky, an innocent woman being killed, by the name of Breonna Taylor, a woman who had a bright future, and her life was taken away from her. There have been no arrests. There’s been no justice—not only for her but for her family. We want to continue to shed light on that situation. It’s just unjust.”

The team will try to even the series tonight in Orlando.

NAACP Is Suing The USPS And Postmaster General Louis DeJoy
by Derek Major

August 20, 2020

NAACP Is Suing The USPS And Postmaster General Louis DeJoy

The NAACP has filed a lawsuit against the United States Postal Service (USPS) and Postmaster General Louis DeJoy.

A press release from the organization alleges DeJoy has impeded the timely distribution of mail, implemented crippling policies on postal workers, and sabotaged the USPS in a blatant attempt to disenfranchise voters of color who are already more harshly impacted by the coronavirus and require alternative methods to in-person voting to protect their health and safety.

“As the country faces an uphill battle against COVID-19 and systemic racism, we’re witnessing a significant onslaught against our postal system at a time when prompt mail delivery matters more than ever, especially for voters of color,” said Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP. “This willful and blatant attempt to obstruct the mail system amidst a pandemic and on the precipice of a pivotal election is a direct threat to the people of this nation’s right to vote in a  fair and free election.”

The suit, which addresses the changes DeJoy has made in recent weeks, seeks to suspend them and restore reliable service. The suit also seeks to ensure mail-in ballots are a priority as they have been in past years.

“Since implementing his operational ‘pivot,’ there have been substantial delays with entire towns in rural areas not receiving their mail on certain days and people in some cities going days or weeks without receiving any mail at all,” the release states. “These delays have caused Americans to go without medicines and benefits, and they have prevented eligible Americans from voting by mail in their primary elections.”

The NAACP isn’t the only one taking action against the agency. Four voters from different states are suing the agency, DeJoy, and the Trump administration to reverse several of DeJoy’s changes to the USPS, which include eliminating all overtime and removing sorting machines.

“In short, DeJoy, doing Trump’s public bidding has ensured even greater chaos in the fall elections, putting his thumb on the electoral scales to help ensure Trump’s reelection and/or provide grounds for an election contest–not to mention helping Trump sow doubt in the minds of Americans about the integrity of the electoral process and the outcome itself, a loathsome tactic once associated only with tin-horn dictators and banana republics,” the voters wrote in their complaint.

by BLACK ENTERPRISE Editors

August 20, 2020

For Google’s Shea Jackson McCann, Self-care Is Key to Avoiding Burnout

Featuring a broad cross-section of women who have distinguished themselves across a rich variety of careers, our Portraits of Power series is a celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Black Enterprise, and of Black women. It’s a place for today’s businesswomen to share their own favorite images and their own stories, in their own words. Today’s portrait is Google Brand Marketing Manager Shea Jackson McCann.

Shea Jackson McCann

Brand Marketing Manager / Creative Strategist, Google

Nickname: Shea-Jay

My first job was Assistant Account Executive, Nike Wieden+Kennedy Portland

My big break came when I got my dream job right out of college! Wieden+Kennedy commercials made me fall in love with how advertising can move people, and the network I’ve built there has carried me throughout my career as I’ve moved between jobs.

I’ve had to work hardest at avoiding burnout especially when I’m so personally invested in the work. I’ve learned that prioritizing self-care and a healthy mindset is a necessary element of staying at the top of my game.

I never imagined I would have had the opportunity through marketing to leverage Google’s scale and influence for good. (The $3M Google.org grant to the NAACP ACT-SO program for the Most Searched Black History Month campaign is something I’m immensely proud of).

I’ve taken quite a few risks, including moving to three cities (Portland, New York, and San Francisco) where I barely knew anyone. My husband has “risk” tattooed on his wrist if that tells you anything, so I don’t think I have any risks I regret not taking .

If I could design my fantasy self-care day, it would be spent starting the day with a hike with my dog, husband, and son in Marin County where we live and then heading to the spa for back-to-back facial plus massage and any other treatment I could fit in..

The state of our world, from climate change to the fight for racial equity, keeps me up at night. I want to believe in an optimistic future for my children and that we collectively have the power to change our trajectory.

When I’m struggling, I say to myself, just focus on the immediate next step and it will all come together.

I am unapologetically straightforward.

Portraits of Power is a yearlong series of candid insights from exceptional women leaders. It is brought to you by ADP.

Black Driver Denied Bail In Racially Charged Stand Your Ground Case In Georgia
by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

August 20, 2020

Black Driver Denied Bail In Racially Charged Stand Your Ground Case In Georgia

William Marcus Wilson, a 21-year-old black man from Sharpsburg, Georgia, who has been charged with felony murder and aggravated assault in the shooting death of Haley Hutcheson, a white teen from Bellville, has been denied bail, according to NewsOne. He was arrested in early June after fatally shooting at a “truckload of belligerent racists” who were attempting to steer him off the road, despite the state’s Stand Your Ground laws.

The incident took place on June 14. Hutcheson was inside the truck that was pursuing Wilson and his white girlfriend. The occupants in the vehicle were screaming racial slurs at the two of them. Wilson, who is legally allowed to carry the weapon he used to defend himself, should never have been charged, according to his attorneys.

Wilson’s attorneys say he should be held to the same legal standing as white defendants who utilize the state’s controversial Stand Your Ground laws.

At a preliminary hearing earlier this week, Bulloch County Superior Court Judge Michael Muldrew apparently feels that “Wilson’s anger appeared to have overtaken him when he had contact with the person in the truck,” which renders him “a significant threat to persons in the community.”

Muldrew ruled that prosecutors had sufficient evidence to seek an indictment from a grand jury according to Statesboro Herald. He reached that ruling after a detective laid out conflicting statements regarding what happened that day, which happened on a bypass around Statesboro in southeast Georgia.

The detective, Travis Kreun, said Wilson consented to a phone interview with police days after the shooting. He told the officers that there were white teenagers leaning from the truck’s passenger-side windows and yelling racial slurs at them. He also said that the truck’s driver was swerving back and forth in front of Wilson’s car, which was struck by an object thrown from the truck.

“He said, ‘All I can tell you is me and my girlfriend were really scared that night,'” Kreun testified. He said Wilson added: “With everything going on in this country, I’m not going to let me and my girl get run off the road.”

Kreun also testified that Wilson’s girlfriend told police that although she saw two of the white teens hanging out the truck’s windows, she didn’t hear any racial slurs.

The detective also stated that Wilson’s girlfriend told police: “It kind of looked like they were trying to run us off the road, but I don’t know.”

by Derek Major

August 20, 2020

Republican Colin Powell Endorses Joe Biden At 2020 DNC

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell endorsed Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden in a video recorded for the Democratic National Convention Tuesday.

Powell, who served in George W. Bush’s administration, is among several Republicans who have crossed the political line to support Biden. Former Ohio Gov. John Kasich and other top Republicans spoke Monday night, making the case that Biden is the best candidate to win over moderate Republicans.

“The values I learned growing up in the South Bronx and serving in uniform were the same values that Joe Biden’s parents instilled in him in Scranton, Pennsylvania. I support Joe Biden for the presidency of the United States because those values still define him, and we need to restore those values to the White House,” Powell said in a video released by the Democratic National Convention Committee ahead of the second night of convention programming.
“Our country needs a commander in chief who takes care of our troops in the same way he would his own family. For Joe Biden, that doesn’t need teaching. It comes from the experience he shares with millions of military families sending his beloved son off to war and praying to God he would come home safe,” Powell said.

Powell has endorsed Democrats in each of the last three elections. In fact, the last time Powell supported a Republican was George W. Bush, who Powell worked under as the Secretary of State from 2001 to 2005; he was the first African American to hold that job.

Powell told CNN’s Jake Tapper in June that he would be voting for Biden, saying, “I certainly cannot in any way support President Trump this year.”
Powell added he is “very close to Joe Biden on a social matter and on a political matter,” and said, “I worked with him for 35, 40 years, and he is now the candidate and I will be voting for him.”
The Democratic National Convention Committee also previewed a video Tuesday detailing what was described as an “unlikely friendship” between Biden and another Republican—the late Sen. John McCain of Arizona.
The video was developed with the help of McCain’s wife Cindy, who tweeted that her husband and Biden had a 30+ year friendship that dated back to before they served in the Senate together.
by Derek Major

August 20, 2020

Jamie Harrison Proving To Be A Real Challenge For Lindsey Graham

Lindsey Graham has served 17 years in the Senate, but Jaime Harrison is giving Graham a run for his money, literally.

Harrison, who is challenging Graham for his seat, has seen unprecedented financial support in recent months. Additionally, Harrison has also received endorsements from a bevy of Democrats including potential Vice President Kamala Harris and Majority Whip James Clyburn.

Now, a new poll is showing even more good news for Harrison. On Monday, The Cook Political Report shifted its Senate race projection for the state of South Carolina from “likely Republican” to “lean Republican.”

The shift comes on the heels of a Quinnipiac poll released this month that had Harrison and Graham deadlocked at 44%. However, Graham doesn’t seem too bothered by the pressure. According to The State, Graham has attributed Harrison’s gains in the race to “skewed polls and millions of liberal dollars from California.”

However, reports are showing that Graham’s favorability in South Carolina has dropped. Graham was known as a lawmaker who was willing to work with Democrats for the good of the country and was once a challenger of President Trump. However, since Trump was elected he has become a hardline supporter of the president.

Harrison, who represented South Carolina during the DNC roll call on Tuesday, said Graham used to get support from Democrats and Independents and Republicans.

“This new Lindsey Graham is not getting that type of support. And it’s because people want to send him home. They are tired of the pandering,” Harrison told Essence.

The Trump administration’s response to the coronavirus pandemic has also caused problems for Graham.  With a second coronavirus relief package on hold, many residents in South Carolina are almost down to their last dollar.

“Lindsey Graham’s response to this pandemic has made it clear: The people of this state are tired of an elected official more concerned about playing political games than he is about finding solutions to urgent problems,” Harrison’s spokesman Guy King said. “Every day, more voters are turning toward Jaime Harrison, who they know will bring back integrity and principled leadership to this U.S. Senate seat.”

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

August 20, 2020

Video Shows Toronto Raptors President Masai Ujiri Being Shoved by White Oakland Police Officer

Last year, after the Toronto Raptors beat the Golden State Warriors 114-100 at the NBA Championship at Oracle Arena in Oakland, California, Masai Ujiri, the president of the Toronto Raptors, was involved in an incident with a police officer. Based on a lawsuit filed, the police officer claimed the NBA executive assaulted him on the basketball court that night.

The officer, Alameda County deputy Alan Strickland, had sued Ujiri for $75,000 in federal court back in February, claiming that the 50-year-old NBA executive assaulted him right after Toronto’s victory over Golden State on June 13, 2019.

According to ESPN, Ujiri filed a countersuit earlier this week against the police officer, not only denying the claims but revealing video that shows that the police officer, Strickland, was actually the aggressor in the incident. The suit was filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Oakland.

“After being shoved and cursed at, Mr. Ujiri did not respond aggressively towards Mr. Strickland,” the suit states. “Instead, he calmly asked Mr. Strickland why he had pushed him, informed Mr. Strickland he was the Raptors’ President, and held up his all-access arena credential to show it to Mr. Strickland. Rather than trying to communicate with Mr. Ujiri, Mr. Strickland chose to dismiss Mr. Ujiri’s claim that he was the Raptors’ President and ignore the all-access credential Mr. Ujiri was trying to show him. Mr. Strickland then forcefully shoved Mr. Ujiri a second time.

“Only after being unjustifiably told to ‘back the f— up’ and shoved twice did Mr. Ujiri show any response and return a shove to Mr. Strickland’s chest. Mr. Ujiri’s defensive response was a reasonable and justified reaction to Mr. Strickland’s use of unnecessary and excessive force.”

Strickland had alleged in his lawsuit that Ujiri assaulted him in the moments after Toronto’s victory and that as a result of the incident, he “suffered injury to his body, health, strength, activity and person, all of which have caused and continue to cause Plaintiff great mental, emotional, psychological, physical, and nervous pain and suffering.”


The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office declined to press any charges after a month-long investigation that ended with a meeting between the office, Ujiri, and his lawyers in October.

The Raptors released a statement.

“We are mindful this remains before the courts, but we have always maintained that the claims made against Masai are baseless and entirely without merit,” the statement said. “We believe this video evidence shows exactly that—Masai was not an aggressor, but instead was the recipient of two very violent, unwarranted actions. The events of that evening cast a pall over what should have been a night of celebration, and the year since.”

 

Facebook Removes QAnon-Linked Organizations and Groups That Advocate Violence
by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

August 20, 2020

Facebook Removes QAnon-Linked Organizations and Groups That Advocate Violence

Social media giant Facebook has announced that they have been removing organizations, groups, and content linked to those who call for and/or advocate violence. These include United States-based militia organizations and QAnon.

They are taking action against groups that utilize Facebook Pages, Groups, and Instagram accounts that are associated with offline anarchist groups that support violent acts amid protests. They have stated that they already remove content calling for or advocating violence and ban organizations and individuals that proclaim a violent mission.

So far, Facebook has removed over 790 groups, 100 Pages, and 1,500 ads tied to QAnon from Facebook, blocked over 300 hashtags across Facebook and Instagram, and imposed restrictions on over 1,950 Groups and 440 Pages on Facebook and over 10,000 accounts on Instagram.

For the militia organizations and groups as well as those encouraging riots and violence, including those who may identify as Antifa, they have removed over 980 groups, 520 Pages, and 160 ads from Facebook—as well as restricted over 1,400 hashtags related to these groups and organizations on Instagram.

Facebook has updated its focus on its Dangerous Individuals and Organizations policy. This was based on seeing growing movements that have been celebrating violent acts, showing that they have access to weapons and threatening their use of them. The policy is expanding by addressing organizations and movements that have shown significant risks to public safety but that do not meet the criteria to be designated as a dangerous organization and being banned from having access to this platform. People can post content that supports these movements and groups, as long as they do not violate the specific content policies posted. There will be restrictions on their ability to organize on the platform. 

Facebook has the right to remove content from any movements that violate any of the policies, including those against fake accounts, harassment, hate speech, and/or inciting violence. Misinformation that is rated false by third-party fact-checkers will be reduced in the News Feed so fewer people will get to see it. Any non-state actor or group that qualifies as a dangerous individual or organization will be banned from the Facebook platform.

Master P Introduces A New Food Brand to Replace Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben
by Dana Givens

August 20, 2020

Master P Introduces A New Food Brand to Replace Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben

The Black Lives Matter protests have caused many to call out corporations on their racist pasts. One of the companies is Quaker Oats, a subsidiary of PepsiCo, which owns the Aunt Jemima brand, and Mars Inc., which owns the Uncle Ben’s brand. The image of Aunt Jemima was inspired by a former slave Nancy Green who was used to create the fictional brand mascot. After calls to boycott the brands, entertainment mogul Master P plans to offer his own replacement with his new food brand.

The entertainer has experienced great success within the sector with his Rap Snacks brand and now he is expanding to breakfast foods, offering consumers Black-owned replacements for the famous brand items, including instant rice and syrup.

“When you look at Aunt Jemima, and you look at Uncle Ben, we don’t own those products, we never did,” Master P told Yahoo Finance. “We need to understand that we’re not going to be able to put money back in our [Black] community because we don’t own those brands. Our grandparents [have] been having us buy those products because they think it’s people that look like us.”

“What we fighting for right now, we got to do it on a financial level, and start fighting for those rights on the financial side and start showing people that we have people that are thinking outside the box, coming up with great ideas,” he added.

“If you have Aunt Jemima pancakes or Uncle Ben rice, you know, those are not real people. [There are] other guys out there and girls that have products, bringing it to life.”

 

by Derek Major

August 20, 2020

Joe Biden’s Gun Plan Would Lead To Biggest Changes To US Gun Laws In Decades

Former vice president and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden unveiled his gun violence plan Wednesday, and it would make the biggest changes to U.S. gun laws in decades.

Biden’s gun control plan includes an assault weapons ban, more resources toward the enforcement of existing laws, a public push for the development of “smart guns,” and incentives for states to adopt “red flag” laws, which allow courts to confiscate guns from people deemed a risk to themselves or others and develop gun-licensing systems.

Biden has helped implement some of the gun laws that exist today. According to Vox, as a senator in 1993, Biden helped pass the federal background checks law, and a year later he supported the controversial 1994 crime bill, which included a 10- year assault weapons ban.

“It’s within our grasp to end our gun violence epidemic and respect the Second Amendment, which is limited,” Biden’s campaign said. “As president, Biden will pursue constitutional, common-sense gun safety policies.”

While Biden’s plan is not as wide-ranging and ambitious as his former candidates in the Democratic primary, it would still amount to the most significant changes to gun laws in two decades.

Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) proposed a federal licensing system—one that would require everyone in the U.S. to obtain a license to buy and own firearms. Biden’s proposal will provide financial incentives to states who adopt licensing, but the plan will not require states to join.

Biden has criticized federal licensing in the past saying it “will not change whether or not people buy what weapons—what kinds of weapons they can buy, where they can use them, how they can store them.”

However, research shows that licensing is among the more effective proposals for reducing gun deaths, more so than universal background checks or an assault weapons ban.

Biden’s plan also doesn’t include a mandatory buyback program like Booker and Beto O’Rourke had in their plans. The plan includes a voluntary buyback program through which gun owners can sell assault weapons, but if they don’t, owners will have to go through a background check and register the weapons.

Biden’s plan would also close several loopholes in the gun buying and selling industry. Biden’s plan would repeal a law that made it harder to sue gun manufacturers and sellers when they make or sell guns they should have known would be diverted to criminal uses. The plan would also limit how many guns one person can buy in a month and would require the safe storage of weapons.

Gun control has been an issue that Democrats have been focused on in recent years due to mass shootings in Dayton, Ohio, and El Paso, Texas, last year combined with the 2018 school shootings in Florida and Texas. Before the primary debates, Democratic survey respondents said gun violence is one of the top issues they want action on.

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