Chick-Fil-A to Donate $5 Million To African American Non-Profits
by Derek Major

June 24, 2020

Chick-Fil-A to Donate $5 Million To African American Non-Profits

Chick-Fil-A will quadruple the amount it will donate through its True Inspiration Awards with the funds going to African American non-profits.

According to the Atlanta Business Chronicle, Chick-Fil-A will increase the $1.2 million it donated in grants to nonprofits last year, to $5 million this year.

“The recent highly publicized and horrific deaths of Black men and women have rocked our nation and shed light on the injustice, systemic racism, and disparities that Black people endure daily,” Rodney Bullard, vice president of corporate social responsibility for Chick-Fil-A, said in a news release. “As a company, we are making a pledge to take action against racial injustice. The True Inspiration Awards have always been a platform to give back locally where our restaurants serve and by redirecting our grants to organizations supporting communities of color, we believe we can make an impact.”

Chick-Fil-A added nonprofits can apply for the grants through the company website later this summer or can receive a nomination from a restaurant operator based on the group’s work in its local community.

After the death of George Floyd, Chick-Fil-A CEO and Chairman Dan Cathy said in a blog post wealthy Americans should use their “power and influence” to address racial injustice. During a conversation about race in American last week at the Passion City Church in Atlanta, Cathy doubled down on his feelings.

“We’ve got a real bad situation. We don’t need to let this moment miss us. It has to hurt us. It has to hurt us. And we as Caucasians, until we’re willing to just pick up the baton and fight for our Black, African American brothers and sisters, which they are as one human race, we’re shameful.” Cathy said. “We’re just adding to it. Our silence is so huge at this time. We cannot be silent. Somebody has to fight and God has so blessed our city, but it’s shameful how we let things get so out of whack.”

In March Chick-Fil-A announced it will sell two of its sauces in retail stores with 100% of the proceeds going directly to the chain’s scholarship program, which awards team members scholarships to attend college. The chain also joined forced with rapper Kanye West to provide 300,000 meals to L.A. families.

New Bill Would Give Americans a $4,000 Tax Credit to Travel
by Dana Givens

June 24, 2020

New Bill Would Give Americans a $4,000 Tax Credit to Travel

The travel industry has been severely impacted by the global spread of COVID-19 pandemic, which has to forced international borders to close down with no social distancing restrictions in place. As numerous countries across the Caribbean and Europe begin to reopen, some remain worried that tourism may not  bounce back quickly to atone for the virus-influenced massive job loss and spike in unemployment. In order to keep the industry from collapsing, some Republican lawmakers are proposing a new tax credit to entice more Americans to vacation.

Republican Sen. Martha McSally (AZ) recently revealed her new proposal called the American Tax Rebate and Incentive Program Act, or the American TRIP Act. The bill would grant up to a $4,000 tax credit for travel-related expenses through the end of 2022. The credit would increase to $8,000 for couples in addition to $500 per child for all travel within the United States. Expenses that can be written off include food, drinks, accommodations, live entertainment events, and transportation. According to WUSA9, destination marketing organizations would also receive $50 million in relief to help promote travel and tourism.

“The tourism and hospitality industries were among the hardest hit sectors across the country and their revival is critical to our economic recovery,” said McSally in a press statement, according to Business Insider. 

“My legislation will help boost domestic travel and jump-start the comeback of our hotels, entertainment sectors, local tourism agencies, and the thousands of businesses that make Arizona one of the best places in the world to visit,” she continued. “It will also encourage Americans to safely get out of their homes and discover or rediscover Arizona along with the rest of the amazing destinations our country has to offer after a difficult several months stuck inside.”

Poll: 95% of Americans Support Criminal Justice and Police Reform
by Derek Major

June 24, 2020

Poll: 95% of Americans Support Criminal Justice and Police Reform

A stunning 95% of Americans are in favor of at least some criminal justice system and police reform, according to a new poll.

According to Forbes, the poll conducted by the AP and the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago released Tuesday, showed 29% of those polled believe the system needs “a complete overhaul,” 40% say “major changes” must be made, and 25% think the system requires “minor changes.”

The poll also showed Americans largely support clarifying standards for the use of force by officers, prosecuting officers who use excessive force, complete reporting of misconduct, allowing the public to review police records, and requiring police officers to wear body cameras.

The poll did split when it came to the use of military equipment by police and reducing the focus on small offenses. That split was largely among political lines as Democrats were more likely to limit or abandon these practices than Republicans and Independents.

Despite the changing of opinions, calls for defunding the police have not grown. The poll showed 25% of respondents in support of defunding the police. The question fell mostly on racial lines as 43% of African Americans believe in defunding the police while only 29% of White Americans feel the same.

The poll shows a major shift in the attitudes of Americans toward police, even from the beginning of the protests, which have expanded nationwide and abroad.

Since the protests began as a result of the police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, there have been numerous on-camera incidents of police harming non-violent citizens. These have only changed the opinions of many who were initially on the side of the police.

In Atlanta, Rayshard Brooks was shot and killed by an officer after he was found sleeping at a Wendy’s drive-thru. A black female officer berated her white co-worker in Florida for shoving a black woman protesting, to her knees. In New York, two NYPD SUVs drove into protesters, and officers in Buffalo shoved a 75-year-old man resulting in him suffering a fractured skull.

 

Former Rep. Allen West Calls Black Lives Matter the ‘Overseer’ of the Left-Wing ‘Planation’
by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

June 24, 2020

Former Rep. Allen West Calls Black Lives Matter the ‘Overseer’ of the Left-Wing ‘Planation’

Former Florida Congressman Allen West wrote an op-ed published on CNSNews, stating that he is “tired of our Nation cowering, appeasing, acquiescing, and surrendering to this absurd organization calling itself Black Lives Matter (BLM).”

West, a Republican who represented Florida’s 22nd congressional district in the House from 2011 to 2013 and is a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel, has more harsh words for the Black Lives Matter movement.

“BLM is just another leftist organization created by the same ilk of progressive socialists who created the NAACP. When one reviews the goals and objectives of BLM, they have nothing to do with the real issues facing the Black community in America. The focus of BLM is to cleverly advance the leftist ideological agenda under the guise of a witty name that forces people into guilt, shame.”

In a recent appearance on Fox News’ The Ingraham Angle, here’s what West said:

“I find it very interesting that you don’t have President Obama coming out and denouncing this organization. And, truthfully, you don’t have any Democrat leaders coming out and denouncing this organization.

“But, I think it’s also very important that we have Republicans stop being afraid, stop being concerned about being denigrated and castigated as a racist or things of this nature – and just come out and say exactly what needs to be said: this is an organization that is supporting the undermining of our constitutional republic.

“This organization does not deal with the rule of law. It is all about the rule of the mob. And, therefore, it cannot be allowed to exist when you think about the rule of law and what we stand for in this republic and the United States of America.”

West ends his op-ed by writing, “All lives matter, but this radical organization, Black Lives Matter, is the ultimate Trojan Horse. The consistent purveyors of systemic racism in America is the Democrat Party. They have smartly devised this organization to enable their ends, the proliferation of the 21st-century economic plantation. Black Lives Matter serves as overseers on this plantation, stoking the irrational emotionalism and angst to support their agenda, their purpose.

“What is the purpose? Simple. The new plantation of the left is not about producing cotton. It is about creating victims who will be dependent, and produce the new crop — votes.”

LeBron James Shows Support for Black NASCAR Driver Bubba Wallace After a Noose Was Found in his Garage
by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

June 24, 2020

LeBron James Shows Support for Black NASCAR Driver Bubba Wallace After a Noose Was Found in his Garage

After hearing the news that there was a noose hanging in the garage of NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace, Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James expressed his support to Wallace. The King took to Twitter to show his support to Wallace while acknowledging NASCAR as well.

On Sunday night, NASCAR issued the following statement regarding the discovery of a hanging noose in a garage stall:

“Late this afternoon, NASCAR was made aware that a noose was found in the garage stall of the 43 team. We are angry and outraged, and cannot state strongly enough how seriously we take this heinous act. We have launched an immediate investigation, and will do everything we can to identify the person(s) responsible and eliminate them from the sport. As we have stated unequivocally, there is no place for racism in NASCAR, and this act only strengthens our resolve to make the sport open and welcoming to all.”

Wallace, who drives the No. 43 Chevrolet for Richard Petty Motorsports, is the lone Black driver in the NASCAR Cup Series. He has released a statement via his Twitter account:

“Today’s despicable act of racism and hatred leaves me incredibly saddened and serves as a painful reminder of how much further we have to go as a society and how persistent we must be in the fight against racism.”

“Over the last several weeks, I have been overwhelmed by the support from people across the NASCAR industry, including other drivers and team members in the garage. Together, our sport has made a commitment to driving real change and championing a community that is accepting and welcoming of everyone.

“Nothing is more important and we will not be deterred by the reprehensible actions of those who seek to spread hate. As my mother told me today, “They are just trying to scare you.” This will not break me, I will not give in nor will I back down. I will continue to proudly stand for what I believe in.”

FBI Used Spy Plane To Surveil Black Lives Matter Protests
by Derek Major

June 24, 2020

FBI Used Spy Plane To Surveil Black Lives Matter Protests

The FBI used an advanced spy plane to conduct long-range surveillance on Black Lives Matter protests in Washington D.C.

According to Buzzfeed News, the FBI used the plane the same day the Secret Service shot tear gas at protesters so President Trump could take a photo outside of St. John’s Episcopal Church on June 1. Twelve days later, the Secret Service finally admitted it used tear gas on protesters.

The protests were set off by the police shootings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd.

The plane used by the FBI is a one-of-a-kind spy plane, outfitted with advanced long-range cameras. The plane repeated its flight pattern circling the city the following two days and took a shorter surveillance flight on June 6. A BuzzFeed review of flight tracking records in April and May of 2015 also notes the same aircraft was used in the protests in Baltimore following the death of Freddie Gray.

The FBI has a fleet of more than 120 surveillance planes registered to alleged front companies. According to Federal Aviation Administration registration records, the plane that flew over the Black Lives Matter protests is registered to the National Aircraft Leasing Corp.

The spy plane has been used for some of the agency’s most important surveillance missions, providing an eye in the sky during the arrest of major drug traffickers or violent gang members.

The news has concerned many due to the fact the agency repeatedly says it does not monitor activity protected by the First Amendment.

“It’s now been well documented that a number of federal agencies wildly overreacted to protests in DC in deeply troubling ways,” Nathan Freed Wessler, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union’s Project on Speech, Privacy, and Technology, told BuzzFeed News. “To learn that the FBI deployed its state-of-the-art surveillance plane to watch these historic protests raises additional troubling questions.”

 

Police Accuse Black Family of Stealing From Kansas Walmart Despite Showing Their Receipt (Video)
by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

June 24, 2020

Police Accuse Black Family of Stealing From Kansas Walmart Despite Showing Their Receipt (Video)

A Black family was accused of shoplifting from a Kansas Walmart by police officers as they were loading packages into the trunk of their vehicle, according to The Kansas City Star.

The incident occurred last week after 26-year-old Bracey Myles finished shopping with his fiance and their infant son at a Walmart in Holton, Kansas, when two police cars pulled up next to their car. Myles stated that when the cops approached, he put his hands in the air as the police officers told him and his fiance, Alfreda Lange, 20, that they’d been accused of stealing from the store.


The incident in the parking lot went on for about 20 minutes. Lange said their infant son was left in the hot car when the police officer told her that she couldn’t turn the car on to keep her son from overheating. At that moment, Myles said, he started recording the incident.

WARNING: Strong Language

Myles stated that his son suffered a heat rash due to being in the car without any air conditioning as the police officers would not allow them to start the car so their son won’t get a heat stroke.


The couple and their son just recently moved to Holton about a month ago. They said they were the only Black people in the store and feel they were racially profiled.

“Sometimes they don’t have to have a reason to bother you,” Lange said. “It’s not something that should ever happen. Going to Walmart to get groceries and you have to fear that ‘am I gonna walk out and the cops are going to be standing there because I’m Black and I was racially profiled.”

“I was really in disbelief that the cops were called on me for a grocery visit. I wanted it all to be over quick,” Myles said. “It seemed like they went out to humiliate and harass us.”

Tampa Police Officer Aims Gun at Black Woman for Over 4 Minutes
by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

June 24, 2020

Tampa Police Officer Aims Gun at Black Woman for Over 4 Minutes

A black woman in Florida is saying that she was mistreated by a Tampa police officer after he drew his weapon and kept it aimed at her for over 4 minutes before she was finally handcuffed, according to NBC News.

Joneshia Wilkerson posted a video of the incident she encountered with a Tampa police officer last week on Instagram.

The police officer, upon stopping Wilkerson, immediately took out his weapon and pointed it at the driver as he instructed her to show her hands and she complied. She started filming the encounter as he told her that the Altima had been reported stolen. The rental company, Hert,z had reported the car stolen and the police officer steadily held his gun in the direction of Wilkerson until his backup arrived.


Wilkerson and her passenger were placed in the back of the police vehicle and were later released with no charges filed against them.

“The driver and passenger were both cooperative,” a statement from the Tampa Police Department said. “Upon completing the investigation, the driver and passenger were released and appeared to understand the explanation provided by the officers.”

“I want the public to know that I used to see things like this all the time on TV. I never expected someone like me would be put in this position,” Wilkerson told NBC News on Monday.

“I feel like something needs to happen to the Tampa PD officer who held that gun on me for four minutes. The Tampa PD, they are bullies, and the way they treat people is bad.”

by Dana Givens

June 24, 2020

Morehouse School of Medicine Awarded $40 Million Federal Grant to Fight COVID-19

The spread of COVID-19 has severely impacted marginalized and underserved communities. In numerous cities like New Orleans and Milwaukee, Black neighborhoods saw increasingly high rates of cases due to pre-existing conditions and a lingering history of racial discrimination in the medical field. Due to this public health crisis, many organizations have pledged resources and dollars to help the Black community fight the pandemic and now Morehouse College can step up their efforts with the help of a new grant.

The U.S Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Minority Health (OMH) selected the Morehouse School of Medicine as the recipients of a $40 million initiative to combat the coronavirus outbreak in vulnerable communities. The prestigious HBCU will enter into an agreement with OMH to coordinate a network of national, state, and local organizations to deliver COVID-19-related information to marginalized communities across the country.

“The Trump administration has made it a priority to support and empower Americans who have been most impacted by COVID-19, including minority, rural, and socially vulnerable communities,” said HHS Secretary Alex Azar in a press statement. “This new partnership between the Morehouse School of Medicine and our Office of Minority Health will work with trusted community organizations to bring information on COVID-19 testing, vaccinations, and other services to the Americans who need it.”

The award is a part of the National Infrastructure for Mitigating the Impact of COVID-19 within Racial and Ethnic Minority Communities (NIMIC), a three-year project designed to work alongside community organizations around the country to spread information and valuable resources related to COVID-19 ranging from testing to social services to help those hardest hit.

Through the initiative, titled the National Infrastructure for Mitigating the Impact of COVID-19 within Racial and Ethnic Minority Communities (NIMIC), the Atlanta-based HBCU will work with community organizations across the nation to deliver education and information on resources to help fight the pandemic over the next three years. The goal is to help communities of color gain access to COVID-19 testing, healthcare, and social services. The project will also work to share and implement effective response, recovery, and resilience strategies.

“Underlying social determinants of health and disparate burdens of chronic medical conditions are contributing to worse COVID-19-related outcomes in minority and socially vulnerable communities, and this partnership with Morehouse School of Medicine is essential to improving our overall response,” said Assistant Secretary for Health ADM Brett P. Giroir, M.D in a press statement.

“We’ve made important strides over the past few months in fighting the pandemic, and with Morehouse School of Medicine as our partner, we are ready to advance our efforts to support our most affected communities.”

Baltimore Restaurant Apologizes After Denying Service to Black Woman and 9-Year-Old Son
by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

June 24, 2020

Baltimore Restaurant Apologizes After Denying Service to Black Woman and 9-Year-Old Son

A Baltimore woman and her son were denied entry into a restaurant that cited that her son wasn’t allowed to dine there because he was wearing athletic gear. When the mother pointed out that a white child had dined there wearing athletic wear, they were still denied entry, according to CBS Baltimore.


The woman, Marcia Grant, posted a clip to her social media account showing the obvious bias toward them.

 

The restaurant, Ouzo Bay, located in Baltimore, is owned by the Atlas Restaurant Group. A statement was posted to it’s Twitter account regarding the discriminatory practice.

“This difficult situation does not represent who or what Atlas Restaurant Group stands for,” the statement reads. “While dress codes across Atlas properties are the result of ongoing input from customers, in no way are they intended to be discriminatory. That said, this past weekend’s incident at Ouzo Bay clearly serves as a moment we will learn from and create change.”

The Atlas Restaurant Group also stated that the manager seen in the video has been placed on “indefinite leave,” the statement said. They also stated that they have changed their policy as to not impose a dress code to any child under the age of 12 years old.

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