NFL Commits $250 million Over 10 Years To Fight Systemic Racism
by Derek Major

June 15, 2020

NFL Commits $250 million Over 10 Years To Fight Systemic Racism

The National Football League (NFL), announced it will commit $250 million over 10 years to a fund to combat systemic racism.

The NFL was at the center of an issue in 2016 when San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick began taking a knee in a silent protest of police brutality. He was essentially blackballed from the sport for it.

Last week, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell apologized for not listening to players when it came to the protests. The apology came after a group of black players demanded the league apologize and admit wrongdoing in the Kaepernick situation. According to an NFL spokesperson, the league would be willing to work with Kaepernick on social justice initiatives.

“We wouldn’t be where we are today without the work Colin and other players have led off,” the spokesperson said. “That is a key point here. We listened to our players. We needed to listen more, we needed to move faster. We heard them and launched a social justice platform because of what Colin was protesting about. The players have always been an essential piece of this effort and this campaign. It would be awesome to engage Colin on some of the work we are doing. He’s doing real impactful work. Getting him in some way would be amazing for us. There’s a lot of work to do to get to that point. We’re certainly open and willing to do that.”

The league will expand on a $44 million commitment it made to social justice programs in 2017. The previous money funded 20 national social justice grant partners and made matching contributions to 350 local grassroots organizations identified by players and former players.

The league also announced it will continue to leverage NFL Network and its other media properties to “place an increased emphasis on raising awareness and promoting education of social justice issues to our fans.”

“As someone who has personally lived through episodes of racism and injustice, and can unfortunately relate to what the majority of the NFL players encounter on a daily basis, I can say with complete conviction that we now have a real effort at the NFL to bring real and overdue change,” Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan said. “Results won’t come automatically. Success will require constant attention, partnership and hard work. But, as a league, we’ve never been in a better position to answer our obligation to the payers, everyone who loves the NFL, and to the community we serve.”

NFL Struggles With Diversity At Top Positions

The league has struggled in its past attempts to diversify parts of its operations, include coaching positions and upper management. While the players in the league are overwhelmingly African American, there are currently just two African American head coaches. Mike Tomlin, who coaches the Pittsburgh Steelers and Anthony Lynn, who coaches the L.A. Chargers.

There are also only two black general managers. Andrew Berry, the G.M. of the Cleveland Browns and Chris Grier, the G.M. of the Miami Dolphins. Will McClay, the scouting director for the Dallas Cowboys, is considered by many to be the Cowboys G.M. although owner Jerry Jones has the title.

The NFL has tried to get more minority head coaches with its Rooney Rule, a policy that requires league teams to interview ethnic-minority candidates for head coaching and senior football operation jobs. The rule was named after Dan Rooney, the former owner of the Steelers and chairman of the league’s diversity committee.

The rule, however, has not worked as hoped.  Many teams looking for a new coach will interview a minority candidate first, essentially clearing the requirement before conducting a serious search. The Cowboys did this at the end of the 2019 season, interviewing former Cincinnati Bengals coach Marvin Lewis, a Black candidate, before interviewing and hiring Mike McCarthy.

A Second Black Man Found Hanging From A Tree in California
by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

June 15, 2020

A Second Black Man Found Hanging From A Tree in California

A black man’s body was found hanging from a tree last Wednesday in Poncitlán Square in Palmdale, California, which is located about an hour north of Los Angeles. The 24-year-old man’s death was deemed a likely suicide based on preliminary findings, according to BET.


The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department released a statement on its Facebook page:

The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department had initially stated that Robert Fuller had died by suicide, but his family disputes the finding and believe he was lynched and has demanded a full investigation into what happened.

Over the weekend, the City of Palmdale joined in on the family’s call, saying, “We will settle for nothing less than a thorough accounting of this matter.”

 

“The City has already reached out to Mr. Fuller’s family, offering help and support, and will do everything possible to assist Mr. Fuller’s family during this difficult time as a complete vetting of his death is investigated,” the statement said.

Fuller is the second black man found similarly. News outlets in the area had reported that another black man, Malcolm Harsch, was found dead in similar circumstances less than two weeks ago, on May 31.

“Robert was a good little brother to us and it’s like everything they have been telling us has not been right … and we just want to know the truth,” Fuller’s sister Diamond Alexander stated.

Harsch’s family members, like Fuller’s, also doubt he died by suicide. “He didn’t seem to be depressed to anyone who truly knew him. Everyone who knew our brother was shocked to hear that he allegedly hung himself and don’t believe it to be true as well as the people who were there when his body was discovered,” the family said in a statement. “The explanation of suicide does not seem plausible.”

According to a story in The Los Angeles Times, “Amidst the current racial tension and following the protesting the night prior to his body being discovered we were truly troubled to learn of his passing, particularly of how his body was discovered,” Harsch’s family wrote in a statement. “He was an African American male, whose body was found hanging in a tree in Victorville California!”

“There are many ways to die but considering the current racial tension, a Black man hanging himself from a tree definitely doesn’t sit well with us right now,” Harsch’s family said. “We want justice not comfortable excuses.”

19-Year-Old Black Lives Matter Activist Oluwatoyin ‘Toyin’ Salau Found Dead
by Dana Givens

June 15, 2020

19-Year-Old Black Lives Matter Activist Oluwatoyin ‘Toyin’ Salau Found Dead

A social media firestorm started after news circulated that a 19-year-old woman named Oluwatoyin “Toyin” Salau was found dead on Monday morning.

The Florida teenager had been very vocal about the recent events leading up to the Black Lives Matter protests over racism and police brutality across the country. The news comes after a recent online petition was created demanding justice for the slain activist.


According to the Tallahassee Democrat, Salau was one of two victims discovered over the weekend off the road in southeast Tallahassee, a couple of miles from where she was last seen at a library. Victoria “Vicki” Sims, 75, who also had been reported missing, is the second victim was also well-known for her volunteerism and work in local Democratic politics.

Salau went missing three days prior until she was found dead Saturday night. “There is no justice that can be served that will replace my sister’s life,” her brother, Oluwaseyi Salau said to the Tallahassee Democrat. Her last series of tweets from her Twitter page detailed her recent account of an unknown man molesting her along with his description. This was the last anyone had heard from her before she was found dead.

Police identified the suspect of the double homicide as Aaron Glee Jr, 49, who had been arrested twice recently for violent offenses. According to WCTV, documents also say that Glee said he often helps homeless people. The probable cause affidavit says a victim had offered Glee sexual favors in exchange for two bottles of liquor but she changed her mind.

Investigators have not released a motive or any other details about what led to the double homicide.

 

 

Black Business Owners Have Mixed Feelings About the ‘Defund The Police’ Campaign
by Derek Major

June 15, 2020

Black Business Owners Have Mixed Feelings About the ‘Defund The Police’ Campaign

A survey of black business owners shows mixed feelings on defunding the police, a campaign championed by the Black Lives Matter movement that would reduce police budgets and reallocate those funds to improve other areas like education, public health, housing, and youth services, reports The Cut.

Tasia Ford, who owns Big Red Hot Sauce with her husband Paul, told The Washington Examiner there are  people who don’t agree with defunding the police, but this is the first time the idea has real support behind it.

“As a whole, we don’t believe in defunding the police force, but I think that has never really been the question,” Ford told the conservative news outlet Friday. “I think there are deeper issues that got us to where we are today.”

A HuffPost/YouGov poll conducted from June 8 and June 10 found that 29% of black respondents either “strongly” or “somewhat” support defunding the police, while 49% “strongly” or “somewhat” oppose it. Another 22% were “not sure” how they felt.

Ford told the Examiner this is the first time people are really looking at how the police operate and that changes are needed and necessary.

“At the end of the day, do we believe that police are bad and need to be destroyed? No, that’s never been our stand. But is there a problem that needs to be addressed? Yes,” Ford said, adding “the police are a representation of a much deeper rooted problem … [and] I don’t necessarily know [if defunding] solves the problem or just puts a Band-Aid on something that needs stitches.”

Since the Black Lives Matter protests started after the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, black activists, politicians, and celebrities have called for cities and states to defund the police and use the money to boost social services that help people with issues that have been pushed on the police. Drug prevention and rehabilitation, mental health services, and housing are just some of the places people want to see money allocated to other than police departments.

Even police agree that in many cases they’ve been assigned to take care of issues that they have little knowledge or experience in. Former Dallas Police Chief David Brown was shown in John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight segment saying the responsibilities have increased over the years.

“We’re asking cops to do too much in this country,” Brown said. “We’re just asking too much. Every societal failure, we just put it on cops. Not enough mental health funding, let the cops handle it. Not enough drug prevention funding, let’s just give it to the cops.”

However, some black business owners have expressed hesitation when it comes to defunding the police.

“I think [defunding] would be bad for businesses, in a way, because if you abolish the police, who would protect the town?” a black bakery owner in Pennsylvania, who was granted anonymity told the examiner.

Clinton Jones, who owns the Magnum Opus Hair Salon in Virginia, supports defunding and wants to see the money reallocated to allowing community leaders to review bad police behavior.

“I would love to see them test integrity; they test belief structures and things like that before they allow just anybody to become a cop,” Jones told the Examiner, adding that “you can’t keep doing the same things over and over again and expect a different result.”

 

 

Ghanian Minister Invites African Americans To Re-Settle In The Country Amid Protests
by Dana Givens

June 15, 2020

Ghanian Minister Invites African Americans To Re-Settle In The Country Amid Protests

Year of the Return was a successful tourism initiative designed by Ghana to encourage African Americans and others within the African diaspora to visit the country marking the 400th anniversary of the first documented arrival of slaves from West Africa to America as a hub of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. The campaign sparked dialogue around African Americans embracing their lost roots but also if they should consider relocating to the continent to seek more opportunities in addition to escaping the systemic racism they face in the United States. Amid the recent protests over the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and countless others in the news, a Ghanian politician recently extended a hand of welcome to those who want to leave U.S. behind.


Last week, a ceremony honoring the death of George Floyd was held at the W.E.B Du Bois Memorial Centre for Pan-African Culture in the city of Accra. Barbara Oteng Gyasi, a local politician and member of Parliament, spoke out after the racism in the United States to offer solidarity with African Americans abroad, offering them refuge in Ghana.

“We gather in solidarity with brothers and sisters to change the status quo. Racism must end. We pray and hope that George Floyd’s death will not be in vain but will bring an end to prejudice and racial discrimination across the world,” Oteng Gyasi said, according to Newsweek. “We continue to open our arms and invite all our brothers and sisters home. Ghana is your home. Africa is your home. We have our arms wide open ready to welcome you home…Please take advantage, come home, build a life in Ghana. You do not have to stay where you are not wanted forever, you have a choice and Africa is waiting for you.”

Since the success of the tourism initiative, the government had planned to continue to build on it with a new program “Beyond the Return” which aims to encourage investment in Ghana, specifically targeting African Americans.

“We feel that given the wealth that African Americans and black Americans have, given that spending power, travel budgets of blacks in America,” Akwasi Agyeman, CEO of Ghana Tourism Authority. “We felt that it’s about time that we start that conversation that, instead of moving to any other destination, come back to where you came from.”

Brands Must Speak Out Against Racial Intolerance or Risk Losing Customers: Report
by Jeffrey McKinney

June 15, 2020

Brands Must Speak Out Against Racial Intolerance or Risk Losing Customers: Report

Following the police shootings of multiple African Americans, people across the country are fed up with brands and organizations that don’t fight such issues as racism and bias. Now, American consumers are ready to hit a brand where it can potentially hurt the most: the bottom line.

Just this past weekend, Rayshard Brooks was killed in a police shooting in Atlanta. His death followed similar killings of unarmed black Americans, including George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery.

New research by public relations giant Edelman suggests that brands must show a strong position for racial fairness or risk losing customers, business, and trust from people who support them.

In a special report, some 60% of 2,000 Americans surveyed by Edelman in early June reported that brands must take a stand to publicly speak out against racial injustice. That same percentage disclosed they will buy or boycott a brand depending on if and how it replies to the current protests. Protests across the country cropped up quickly following the police killing of George Floyd on May 26, which came after the massacre of an untold number of African Americans and generations of social injustice.

Richard Edelman, president and CEO at Edelman, told BLACK ENTERPRISE via email that the data is important now because the results are unequivocal: Americans, across race, gender, and age group, want brands to step up and play a central role in addressing systemic racism. Chicago-based Edelman claims it’s the world’s largest public relations firm with hundreds of corporate,  consumer brands, and organizational clients.

“This is a mandate for brands to act because consumers will exercise brand democracy with their wallets,” he says. “In the past, CEOs have spoken out on societal issues on behalf of corporate America; today, the CMO and CCO must join them as stewards of brand action.”

So, what does a brand look like by definition?

Edelman Senior Vice President Kate Meissner says “brand” is the consumer perception of a corporation – often defined by the products and services it sells, and the words and symbols it uses to distinguish those products and services from their competitors. Take financial-services and banking giant Citigroup for instance. It uses Citi as its brand name.

Meissner says brands that have historically spoken out and acted on this topic include the likes of Nike and Netflix. She added those who have made specific, actionable statements, like Ben & Jerry’s direct pledge to “dismantle white supremacy.”

Many corporations and others have recently shown their support for the Black  Lives Matter movement, pledging to invest billions of dollars to battle race-related issues.

In the A Universal Demand For Change report, authored by Richard Edelman, here were other key findings:

  • Young adults — those ages 18 to 34 — were the most avid in their response. Seventy-eight percent contend a brand must speak out. That compares to 48% for people 55 and older.
  • The main motivation for demanding action by brands is that they have a moral obligation, with 56% of respondents saying that and 52% reporting brands “owe it to employees.”

Edelman swears brands, perhaps now, have more power than the companies that own them with the brands being more flexible and responsive to consumer input. Simultaneously, the stakes might be higher and more uncompromising for brands today with recent racial incidents. Some 52% of respondents of color said that they will not work for a company that does not speak out.

  • The importance of education and influence. Some 60% of those surveyed say brands need to use their marketing dollars to advocate for racial equality and educate the public on the issue. This is particularly the case with respondents of color, of which 70% support that idea. But the report indicated brands must show their support by taking action. If not, 63% of the respondents viewed the brands as exploitative or performative for lack of action.
  • Action is needed to bring about change. Brands are expected to use their creativity and resources to encourage customers and get them engaged in promoting racial justice. Some 66% of respondents in the report maintained that belief. Additionally, brands are also being counted on to invest in looking at the root causes of racial inequality, such as education.

The report covered other topics on racism as well, including where Republicans and Democrats stand on the subject. Further, 37% of those surveyed reported they have tried to convince others to start or stop using a brand based on its stand on racial intolerance or discrimination.

Tamla Horsford’s Case To Be Reopened After Significant Outcry
by Derek Major

June 15, 2020

Tamla Horsford’s Case To Be Reopened After Significant Outcry

An investigation into Tamla Horsford’s death is being reopened after significant public outcry and a request from her family’s lawyer.

According to MadamNoire, Horsford, a mother of five, attended an adult sleepover with seven white women and three white men in 2018 and mysteriously died. The initial investigation ruled Horsford’s death an accident after she fell from a balcony in the house the group was staying at.


Forsyth County, Georgia, Sheriff Ron Freeman requested a new investigation Friday, after mounting pressure from the Horsford family attorney and rappers Curtis ’50 Cent’ Jackson and Clifford T.I. Harris Jr.

“I am officially requesting the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to assume and open the investigation into the tragic death of Tamla Horsford,” Freeman wrote in a letter to Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Vic Reynolds. “Renewed requests for reexamination are best served by an independent law enforcement agency to review previous findings and to search and act on any new evidence which may come to light.”

Attorney Ralph Fernandez, who has been retained by Horsford’s family said in a letter to Horsford’s widower, the investigation into her death left a significant amount of holes and there’s a strong chance she was murdered.

“Witness statements are in conflict. A potential subject handled the body as well as the evidence prior to law enforcement arriving. Evidence was disposed of and no inquiry followed. The scene was not preserved,” Fernandez wrote. “A remarkable fact is that there were no photographs taken during the autopsy of Tamla’s body. This had to have been done at someone’s directive because such a practice is unheard of…We recognize that transparency is vital for law enforcement agencies and we want to ensure that no stone has been left unturned in the investigation of this tragic death.”

Fernandez believes Horsford was murdered when she fell to her death.

“It appears Tamla was involved in a struggle,” he continued. “There were abrasions noted consistent with that scenario. There were parallel scratches to one arm.”

Fernandez added in the letter “80% of cases where African Americans die under mysterious circumstances, end up closed or cold because there are no videos and the only witnesses are bad guys, or good guys that deep down are really bad.”

“Then you have cases where law enforcement does a poor job and cares little to investigate thoroughly because of some connection or association to the perpetrators. Take the Ahmaud Arbery slaying recently. Without the video surfacing in the media there would never have been an arrest in that cozy relationship between the perpetrators, prosecutors, and the investigators.”

The situation puts another spotlight on Georgia law enforcement after an Atlanta police officer shot Rayshard Brooks twice in the back Friday night outside of a Wendy’s. The Georgia incidents come while African Americans are still grieving after the death of George Floyd.

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

June 15, 2020

NFL Will Observe Juneteenth as Official League Holiday

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, in an internal memo to staff, announced that the league will observe Juneteenth on Friday, June 19, as an official holiday and the league’s offices will be closed that day.

“This year, as we work together as a family and in our communities to combat the racial injustices that remain deeply rooted into the fabric of our society, the NFL will observe Juneteenth on Friday, June 19th as a recognized holiday and our league offices will be closed,” Goodell wrote in the memo. “It is a day to reflect on our past, but more importantly, consider how each one of us can continue to show up and band together to work toward a better future.”

Juneteenth celebrates the end of slavery in the United States and marks the anniversary when Union soldiers went to Galveston, Texas, and announced that slavery had ended and that the Civil War was over on June 19, 1865.

Below is the memo sent from Goodell:

“Dear NFL Colleagues:

“Juneteenth, celebrated annually on June 19th, commemorates the effective end of slavery in the United States. Though the Emancipation Proclamation, made effective by President Lincoln on January 1, 1863 declared that all persons held as slaves be freed, slavery persisted throughout the course of the Civil War. It was not until two and a half years later, on June 19th 1865, when Union soldiers landed in Galveston, Texas and declared the war to be over, that all of those enslaved became free.

“The power of this historical feat in our country’s blemished history is felt each year, but there is no question that the magnitude of this event weighs even more heavily today in the current climate. Juneteenth not only marks the end of slavery in the United States, but it also symbolizes freedom – a freedom that was delayed, and brutally resisted; and though decades of progress followed, a freedom for which we must continue to fight.

“This year, as we work together as a family and in our communities to combat the racial injustices that remain deeply rooted into the fabric of our society, the NFL will observe Juneteenth on Friday, June 19th as a recognized holiday and our league offices will be closed. It is a day to reflect on our past, but more importantly, consider how each one of us can continue to show up and band together to work toward a better future.

The NFL had just recently announced it was committing $250 million over a 10-year period to a fund to combat systemic racism and support the battle against injustices faced by African Americans.

White Atlanta Police Officer Fired After Shooting a Black Man, Rayshard Brooks, in the Back
by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

June 15, 2020

White Atlanta Police Officer Fired After Shooting a Black Man, Rayshard Brooks, in the Back

After fatally shooting a black man in the back over the weekend, an Atlanta police officer was fired early Sunday, according to CBS News. The police killing has added to the current unrest and protests over police killings of black people.

The victim was identified as 27-year-old Rayshard Brooks. He was fatally shot in the back by police at a Wendy’s drive-thru after officials accused him of resisting arrest and stealing an officer’s Taser. Former police officer Garrett Rolfe, who has been on the force since 2013, was fired, and his partner, Devin Bronsan, has been placed on administrative duty early Sunday. Shortly after the reports of the police killing, Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields resigned.

According to a release by the Fulton County, Georgia, Medical Examiner’s Office, Brooks was shot twice in the back and died from organ damage and blood loss. The autopsy, which was performed on Sunday, lists Brooks’ cause of death as gunshot wounds to the back and has been ruled as a homicide.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation initially released this statement following the shooting on Saturday:

“Preliminary information indicates that at approximately 10:33 pm, APD was dispatched to the Wendy’s located at 125 University Ave, Atlanta, GA. Officers were responding to a complaint of a male in a vehicle parked in the drive-thru asleep, causing other customers to drive around the vehicle. A field sobriety test was performed on the male subject. After failing the test, the officers attempted to place the male subject into custody. During the arrest, the male subject resisted and a struggle ensued. The officer deployed a Taser. Witnesses report that during the struggle the male subject grabbed and was in possession of the Taser. It has also been reported that the male subject was shot by an officer in the struggle over the Taser.

“The male subject was transported to a local hospital where he died after surgery.”

“It’s very difficult when you see (the video), when you see the demeanor of Mr. Brooks, to imagine that some short time later, it ends up with him being dead,” Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard said on Sunday, according to CNN.

“What we’re trying to determine is, at that time, whether or not the officers felt their lives were in danger,” Howard said. 

“Specifically, officer Rolfe, whether or not he felt that Mr. Brooks, at that time presented imminent harm of death or some serious physical injury. Or the alternative is whether or not he fired the shot simply to capture him or some other reason,” Howard said. “If that shot was fired for some reason other than to save that officer’s life or to prevent injury to him or others, then that shooting is not justified under the law.”

Howard said possible charges against Rolfe could include murder, felony murder, or voluntary manslaughter.

 “While there may be debate as to whether this was an appropriate use of deadly force, I firmly believe that there is a clear distinction between what you can do and what you should do,” Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said. “I do not believe that this was a justified use of deadly force.”

by Dana Givens

June 15, 2020

How Oprah’s COVID-19 Grant Recipients Are Helping Their Local Communities In Nashville

We previously reported on Oprah Winfrey’s pledge of $10 million toward her COVID-19 relief fund to help communities from cities across the country who have been severely impacted by the viral outbreak. One of the cities was Nashville, Tennessee, which has seen a high rate of COVID-19 cases.

Two of Winfrey’s grant recipients included Bishop Joseph Walker of Mount Zion Baptist Church and Tennessee State University President Dr. Glenda Glover who have both committed themselves to serving their local communities through this public health crisis. The two created  NashvilleNurtures, the organization that Oprah’s grant funding went through to get into the hands of over 10,000 Nashville residents in need.With the funds, Walker has been able to provide free services like COVID-19 testings to locals while Dr. Glover has partnered with state initiatives to prepare for students to return to campus in the fall.

“Our church, Mount Zion Church, we recently partnered with the state of Tennessee in providing COVID-19 testing in two locations,” said Walker in an interview with BLACK ENTERPRISE. “It was incredibly successful because these were areas that had not yet been tested. So obviously a lot of folks came through and had the testing. And so that that’s just one of the initiatives that we’ve done. And it was a large scale.”

Both Walker and Dr. Glover have expressed great gratitude for the donation saying Winfrey wanted to make sure the funds reach the people hit hardest in the marginalized areas. “That’s why this gift of hope was so important to the community,” said Dr. Glover.

“[Oprah] wanted to ensure that the individual laid off who were on the front line [in addition] to the folks who [are] working in hotels and the various restaurants, they’re out there working [every day]. [She’s helping the people] make it back to work again…which is to improve the safety and healthcare measures [for the community].”

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