Amy Klobuchar Declined Prosecuting Officer at Center of George Floyd’s Death
Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar has come into the spotlight surrounding the George Floyd death, after it was discovered she once declined to prosecute the officer who was recorded kneeling on Floyd’s neck and that between 1999 and 2007, Klobuchar declined to press charges against more than a dozen officers accused of killing civilians.
According to The Guardian, Klobuchar served as the Hennepin County Attorney in 2006 when police officer Derek Chauvin was among a group of six officers who opened fire on a stabbing suspect after a chase that ended when the suspect pointed a sawed-off shotgun at them.
The suspect, Wayne Reyes, was hit multiple times and died. Klobuchar declined to prosecute the officers and a grand jury decided in 2008 that the use of force was justified.
However, a spokeswoman for the Hennepin County prosecutor’s office release a statement Thursday saying Klobuchar left the office before the case came up.
“Senator Klobuchar’s last day in the office here was December 31, 2006, and she had no involvement in the prosecution of this case at all,” said Lacey Severins, a spokeswoman for the Hennepin County prosecutor’s office, which encompasses Minneapolis.
Chauvin was the officer who put his knee on Floyd’s neck, killing him. Chauvin has since been fired from Minneapolis Police Department.
Klobuchar, who ended her presidential campaign in March and endorsed Joe Biden, is currently being vetted as Biden’s potential running mate for the role of vice president. Klobuchar wrote on Twitter Thursday that the officers involved in Floyd’s death should be charged.
Klobuchar has tried to appeal to African American voters recently, joining Jesse Jackson’s Rainbow Coalition for a coronavirus town hall in April.
Floyd’s death has sparked riots in the Minneapolis area. Protesters overran and burned down the city’s third precinct, drawing comparisons to the Ferguson, Missouri, protests in 2014 after the death of Michael Brown Jr.
President Donald Trump is also facing backlash for his comments on the Floyd protests, which were flagged by Twitter for inciting violence. In his tweet, Trump refereed to protesters as thugs saying “when the looting starts, the shooting starts.”
Colin Kaepernick Responds to George Floyd Killing: “We Have The Right To Fight Back”
Colin Kaepernick, whose stance against police brutality and racial injustice is what many suspect has kept him out of the NFL, has made a statement regarding the police killing of George Floyd according to Fox 5 NY.
The embattled former NFL quarterback made a statement about the killing on his Twitter account. “When civility leads to death, revolting is the only logical reaction. The cries for peace will rain down, and when they do, they will land on deaf ears, because your violence has brought this resistance.
When civility leads to death, revolting is the only logical reaction.
The cries for peace will rain down, and when they do, they will land on deaf ears, because your violence has brought this resistance.
Earlier this week, in an eerily similar situation to the one that led to the death of Eric Garner in New York City, a black man in Minneapolis identified as George Floyd died after telling a white police officer that he couldn’t breathe as the officer’s knee was on his neck.
In an Instagram post earlier this week, Los Angeles Lakers player, LeBron James posted am image to remind people of why Kaepernick fought for racial injustice.
“Do you understand NOW!!??!!?? Or is it still blurred to you?? 🤦🏾♂️ #StayWoke👁”
Kaepernick, who played in Super Bowl XLVII for the San Francisco 49ers in 2013, sparked the controversial #TakeAKnee movement after taking a knee during the national anthem to protest racial injustice in America.
Minneapolis Police Officer Charged With Murder In George Floyd Case
By Carlos Barria
MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) – A Minneapolis police officer who pinned an unarmed black man with a knee to the throat before the man died has been arrested and charged with murder, a prosecutor said on Friday, after three nights of violent protests in the Midwestern city sparked by the death.
Derek Chauvin, the officer who is seen on a bystander’s cellphone video kneeling on George Floyd’s neck on Monday before he died, has been charged with third-degree murder, Mike Freeman, Hennepin County attorney, told a news briefing.
“He is in custody and has been charged with murder,” Freeman said of Chauvin, who is white. “We have evidence, we have the citizen’s video, the horrible, horrific, terrible thing we’ve seen over and over again.”
Freeman said a detailed complaint would be made available later on Friday.
The cellphone footage showed Floyd repeatedly moaning and gasping while he pleaded to Chauvin, kneeling on his neck, “Please, I can’t breathe.” After several minutes, Floyd gradually grows quiet and ceases to move.
Earlier on Friday, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz called for an end to the violent protests that have rocked Minneapolis, and said the state’s National Guard would work to restore order following three nights of arson, looting and vandalism.
(Reporting by Lisa Lambert in Washington, Brendan O’Brien in Chicago, Nathan Layne in Wilton, Connecticut, and Peter Szekely in New York; Editing by Paul Simao and Jonathan Oatis)
NY Lawmakers Are Pushing To Make Falsifying Police Reports A Hate Crime
Two New York lawmakers are attempting to turn the Amy Cooper/Central Park incident into new legislation criminalizing her actions.
According to PIX11, New York Assemblyman Felix Ortiz and Sen. Brian Benjamin have introduced Assembly Bill A3566, which would treat falsely reporting an incident to the police as a hate crime.
“Everyone in this nation understands the fear the black community faces when it comes to proper policing,” Benjamin said Wednesday on Twitter. “Therefore calling the police on us at whim is spiteful and is a hate crime as far as I am concerned.”
Ortiz also commented on the bill being introduced, saying these incidents continue to happen despite significant backlash.
“In the past year, we have seen many instances throughout both New York State and the country of people calling 911 on black people who are going about their everyday lives, only to be interrupted by someone calling the police for reasons that range from caution, to suspicious inkling, to all out hated.”
Cooper was walking her dog in Central Park Monday when Chris Cooper (no relation), an African American man who was bird watching, asked the woman to put her dog on a leash per park regulations.
She proceeded to approach him, dragging her dog by the collar, and threatening to call the police. She said, “I’m gonna tell them that an African American man is threatening my life.” Chris filmed the confrontation on his cell phone.
Amy then calls the police, saying, “I’m sorry, I’m in The Ramble, and there’s a man—an African-American with a bicycle helmet—he is recording me, and threatening me and my dog.”
By the time the police arrived neither person was at the scene, so no arrests were made.
Chis Cooper’s sister later uploaded the video to social media. The video went viral within hours as people slammed Amy Cooper for calling the cops and pretending to be in harm while she was on the phone. She has since been fired from her job at Franklin Templeton and has voluntarily surrendered her dog to the Abandoned Angels Cocker Spaniel Rescue.
Republican pundit Candace Owens tried to defend the woman’s actions and was also slammed on social media.
Hip-Hop Moguls Birdman and Slim Give ‘Cash Money’ to New Orleans Residents for June Rent
Cash Money owners Bryan “Birdman” Williams and Ronald “Slim” Williams are contributing cash money to New Orleans residents in the form of rent payments for the month of June, according to The Root.
The hip hop entrepreneurs have donated more than $225,000 to a nonprofit organization called Forward Together New Orleans (FTNO).
“Given the scale of COVID-19 and its far-reaching impacts on the City of New Orleans, Forward Together New Orleans plans to immediately issue checks to the scattered sites to pay for June rent for those tenants who are in the public housing programs, excluding any monies already subsidized by the government and other organizations,” according to a press release received by The Root. “FTNO is The Mayor’s Fund which began as New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s transition committee and now plans to thrive long past her tenure in office, a vehicle that offers nonprofit, partnership support to future New Orleans mayors.”
.@mayorcantrell sends a big THANK YOU to @CashMoney for their generous donation through her Mayor’s Fund non-profit to pay June rent for hundreds of residents in the Harmony Oaks, Marrero Commons, and Guste scattered sites. Tenants will be notified directly if they qualify. #nolapic.twitter.com/BOG5xFyl1W
— Forward Together New Orleans (@FTNOfund) May 28, 2020
“The legacy of Cash Money belongs to the city of New Orleans,” Birdman said. “There’s nothing more important to us than giving back to the brothers and sisters who live on those same streets we grew up on—from musicians to service workers to everyday working families. That’s what this label was always about.”
“New Orleans made us and is part of who we are,” Slim adds. “We are devastated that this pandemic is hitting our community there so hard and we are committed to doing what we can to help now and in the long term.”
“In years to come, when we look back on how our city came together to get through the coronavirus crisis, we will have no better example of leadership than the Williams brothers, these sons of New Orleans who make our city proud today,” said Mayor Cantrell. “No one should have to fear losing their home while trying to protect their health.”
Cash Money Records is responsible for the careers of artists like Lil Wayne, Drake, Nicki Minaj, and Tyga.
Today, the Seattle-based coffee maker is using this anniversary to further advance its civil rights agenda with the activation of “Courageous Conversations,” building upon a series of activities to demonstrate its commitment to “inclusion and equity for all.”
“First and foremost, 5/29 for Starbucks represents a very special day in which our organization took the opportunity to turn a tragedy into a triumph and really hone in on understanding our implicit bias and understanding things that play out and transpire in the store settings and can be avoided,” says Global Chief Inclusion and Diversity Officer Nzinga Shaw, whom BLACK ENTERPRISE interviewed for this report.
“For us, what we realized on 5/29 two years ago is that there’s a huge opportunity for our organization to continue to let our mission and values be our core and lead us to not only listening and learning from one another but taking meaningful action.”
(Image: Twitter/@ZingShaw)
The launch of the Courageous Conversations program comes at a time when Starbucks seeks to foster candid dialogue with its managers, workforce, and stakeholders as a range of public health, economic, political, and social crises engulf the nation. Devastation produced by the COVID-19 pandemic. Polarization characterized by this year’s contentious presidential election. Escalating racial unrest tied to a series of highly publicized tragedies, including the senseless death of George Floyd, a black man, in the custody of Minneapolis police and the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery¸ a 25-year-old black man chased by armed white residents of a South Georgia neighborhood.
In fact, Starbucks held a virtual forum two weeks ago as a precursor to its new program. CEO Kevin Johnson and COO and Group President Rosalind Brewer, one of three African Americans on the company’s senior leadership team, discussed the Arbery case and gained feedback from employees nationwide.
“It was one of the most enlightening and emotional meetings that I’ve ever been a part of,” maintains Shaw. “It was the first time that Starbucks held a meeting like this virtually. It was also the first time that we highlighted not just leaders but also field partners. Over 5,000 people tuned in. We had over 1,400 running comments as this one-hour-long session took place.”
Moving forward, the Courageous Conversations series will tackle such tough topics on a bi-monthly basis.
As Johnson said, 5/29 was “just a step in a journey” in the company’s evolution. The next stage came in 2019, when the company tapped Eric Holder, former attorney general during the Obama Administration and partner of high-powered law firm Covington & Burling L.L.P., to conduct its first-ever Civil Rights Assessment to evaluate the viability of policies and programs related to diversity, inclusion, and equity as well as gathered input from senior managers, employees, community groups, and civic leaders to produce a slate of recommendations.
Moreover, Holder was invited back this year to gauge progress on the suggested actions. “It was clear to me that Starbucks’ efforts to promote civil rights were much more than window dressing,” Holder wrote in the 2020 update. “From its CEO to the women and men who work in its cafés, Starbucks is committed to the idea that everyone should feel welcomed, respected, and safe in their stores.”
Holder further wrote that he “saw this commitment firsthand” in meeting with dozens of the company’s employees when his team prepared the initial report and during last September’s Leadership Experience session in which the CEO met with more than 12,000 store managers and field leaders partners.
Based on the update of the Civil Rights Assessment, the following represent key initiatives that have been implemented or set in motion.
Eric Holder
Sustaining Starbucks as the Third Place
“Starbucks has a model that our stores, should always be considered a third place for our customers. You think about home as your first place, your job or your school as your second place, and Starbucks as a third place…A place where you can come and convene with others, have a cup of coffee, share positive dialogue, and have a good experience,” says Shaw.
As such, Holder has found that the company has been “committed to critical self-assessment. Starbucks has demonstrated this repeatedly, following the arrests of Donte Robinson and Rashon Nelson in 2018 and, more recently, after incidents in which law enforcement officers felt disrespected or mistreated in their stores.”
The company has updated material in its “Third Place Development Series,” featuring diverse speakers and rich content on topics ranging from “mindful decision making to mental health.” To promote greater openness and inclusivity, more than 200,000 partners participate in these sessions six times a year.
As a means of promoting a deeper understanding of implicit bias among employees, Starbucks commissioned Arizona State University, which collaborated with more than 50 subject-matter experts, to develop a 15-part curriculum. Dubbed “To Be Welcoming,” the training program has a special emphasis on role-playing exercises related to disruptive behaviors faced by partners in cafés.
It has expanded interactive “Coffee With a Cop” meetings to 1,500 such events as a means of creating trust and alliances with law enforcement. Shaw says such relationship building has become more vital than ever given rising racial tension between community members and the police.
Fostering an Internal Culture of Equity and Inclusion
At the top of the list of recommendations that has been executed: Bringing aboard Shaw, former chief diversity and inclusion officer for the Atlanta Hawks and State Farm Arena, in December as the leader “accountable for integrating Starbucks’ inclusive and equitable practices in hiring, development, leadership, and compensation across the organization.”
Other milestones included:
Achievement of 100% gender pay equity in the U.S., Canada, and China as well as the expansion of its global focus in this area.
For the first time, Starbucks exceeding the representation of women and minorities in positions across the board. In fact, it reset five-year representation targets as follows: A minimum of 40% people of color and 55% women in all retail roles, and 50% women and 30% people of color for all corporate positions.
It committed to initiate “an enhanced applicant tracking system” in 2020 to create more diverse teams and facilitate the advancement and development of internal talent.
Strengthening Communities
The report revealed that over a five-year period, Starbucks has opened 14 community stores “designed to empower local communities. In a significant expansion of this commitment, Starbucks will open a total of 100 community stores in the next five years, each of which will include a designated space for community events and meetings.”
Shaw says the impact of such outlets can be demonstrated with its Washington, D.C.-based “signing store, which is primarily operated by employees that are deaf or extremely hard of hearing. It’s such an interesting model to watch because it really enhances and highlights the fact that you can have a different ability and still be as productive, if not more productive, than what we deem an average person to be, based on Starbucks embedding ourselves in a community and understanding the nuances that people bring to the table. And finding out ways to leverage those differences, it has really positively influenced other businesses around in the close proximity to follow the same model.”
In 2019, Starbucks boosted its procurement spending with diverse suppliers by more than $100 million. Company officials maintain that it will provide supplier development opportunities, mentoring, and other resources to diverse vendors. Moreover, it is currently implementing a pilot program to track whether its Tier 1 suppliers are also engaged in such contracting with minority firms.
Starbucks has also launched two creative partnerships with United Way Worldwide—one involving local United Way affiliates partnering with Community Stores to create community-based programming, and the other featuring United Way “outreach workers” to assist individuals struggling with homelessness, mental illness, and addiction near locations.
The company currently has seven licensed and one company-owned store on campuses of HBCUs. Company officials are continuing to pursue partnerships with such diverse institutions.
The Value of Starbucks’ Corporate Leadership
The report stated that “Starbucks’ leadership continues to set the right tone from the top, investing monetary and hands-on partner resources necessary to follow through on the company’s commitments while also sharing openly to the public—at no cost—the lessons that Starbucks has learned from its efforts to promote civil rights, diversity, equity, and inclusion.”
For example, on April 2, it joined 20 other major corporations in signing a pledge to uphold equal pay principles. And earlier this year, Covington reported how Starbucks and the Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights organized a roundtable to discuss how the company demonstrates corporate leadership and scales up its civil rights, diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.
The Teenager Who Recorded The Death Of George Floyd Says She Receiving Online Backlash
The death of George Floyd in Minneapolis has caused a firestorm of controversy and has led to numerous protests across the country. The viral video has sparked calls for the arrest of the police officer who kneeled on Floyd’s neck and justice for the victim’s family. In a new report by TMZ, the teenager who recorded the now infamous video says she has been dealing with online backlash and has been severely traumatized by the incident.
The 17-year-old, Darnella Frazier, said in an interview with TMZ that “she is utterly traumatized after recording the officer using his knee to suffocate George.” She went on to explain how since the video surfaced, people have found her online social media pages and have been criticizing her for not stepping in to do more for the victim other than recording.
Frazier’s mother also spoke to TMZ stating that her daughter has now been suffering from social anxiety since the incident and is concerned about her mental health going forward. She says she is proud of her daughter for recording and sharing the video because if she hadn’t, the world may have never learned the truth behind the incident.Frazier went on her Facebook page to plead with the public to recognize that she is still a teenager and that she also wishes she could have done more than just record the video after intense criticism from others saying that she should have done more for Floyd than just standby. She also responds to claims that she recorded the incident for a chance at fame.In a video by NowThis, Frazier tearfully returns to the site of the incident, saying the ordeal has traumatized her as she recounts the events leading up to Floyd’s death. “They killed that man! And I was right there! I was like five feet away! It’s so traumatizing,” she cries.
Mike Tyson Offered More Than $20 Million to Return to Boxing
Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson has been working out. People have noticed. According to MMA Fighting, Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) is prepared to issue another multimillion-dollar offer to Tyson to lure the 53-year-old out of retirement.
The company had offered the boxing legend $20 million earlier this month, which he turned down. BKFC will include more money as well as charitable donation. The last time the former world champion competed in an official professional boxing match was in 2005.
“I think I know what we need to do to make this thing happen,” BKFC President David Feldman said.
It had been recently reported that Tyson had been in the gym training and considering getting back into the ring. After hearing this, former champ Evander Holyfield also announced a return to the ring–for a third fight with Tyson. According to reports, he would like to stage an exhibition boxing match to raise money for his charity Unite 4 Our Fight.
Brooklyn-born boxer Shannon Briggs said last week that he and Tyson are staging an exhibition match for charity. The Sun revealed that Briggs, while chatting on Instagram Live, said, “I just talked to Mike Tyson, it’s going down, me and Mike, we’re going to make it happen, it’s official, you’re going to see it happen, Brownsville versus Brownsville.
“Me and Tyson are going to lace up the gloves, we’re going to rumble, rumble in the jungle. We’re going to let our fist do the talking.”
He then continued: “The money is there, the money is almost there, I can’t say much more, I’ll leave it at that.”
Mississippi Mayor Defends Police Officers Who Killed George Floyd: ‘I Didn’t See Anything Unreasonable’ About His Death
A Mississippi mayor has come under fire for his defense of the actions that presumably led to the death of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers, according to The Clarion-Ledger.
Earlier this week, Petal, Mississippi, Mayor Hal Marx initially tweeted: “Why in the world would anyone choose to become a police officer in our society today?” He has since deleted this tweet and the statements below were also sent from his Twitter account.
As another Twitter user responded, by saying, “Would be nice to get a few in there that understand reasonable force, when it’s needed, and don’t give the rest of them a bad reputation.”
In a follow-up tweet, this is what Marx said, “If you are talking about the incident in MN, I didn’t see anything unreasonable. If you can say you can’t breathe, you’re breathing. Most likely that man died of overdose or heart attack. Video doesn’t show his resistance that got him in that position. Police being crucified.”
This is Hal Marx, the current mayor of Petal #Mississippi, saying that he sees nothing “unreasonable” about the murder of #GeorgeFloyd by cops.
Hal Marx is part of the problem.
How can anyone in public service continue to hold office after remarks like these? pic.twitter.com/L9UCykiu5P
— MS Rising Coalition (@MississippiRise) May 27, 2020
Marx defends the statement he made on Twitter and claims they were misinterpreted.
“I think that people are so quick to judge the police before they have all the facts,” he said. “I can’t say whether a crime was committed or whether they did anything right or wrong, all I’m saying is don’t rush to judgment based on what you see in that video.”
“I’ve seen too many cases before where the police were judged to be guilty in the public’s eye but later were found to be not guilty under the law,” he said. “For sending that, all of a sudden I’m called racist, I need to have a knee put on my neck—all kinds of hateful stuff simply for having an opinion and asking people to get all the facts before they judge.”
Clarence Magee, who is the president of the Forrest County NAACP, stated:
“To hear that statement made by a mayor or anybody is very troubling. What we saw was disgusting on the part of the officer. It leaves me with mixed emotions. Believing and thinking that we have not gone far enough in this day and time with social media and all that kind of stuff—nobody should condone that. Everybody should condemn it, including the mayor. Skin color had nothing to do with it.”
“You’re sending a message to people who are barbarian, who are terrorists, you are saying it’s OK. But it’s not OK. That was somebody’s son. Somebody’s father. Somebody’s brother. If the shoe was on the other foot, would he have the same statement to make?”
U.S. Jobless Claims Continue To Rise Past 40 Million
Another 2.1 million people filed for unemployment benefits last week, the Department of Labor reported Thursday morning.
According to CNN, the number brings the total number of unemployed Americans to more than 40 million. It also marks the tenth straight week unemployment claims were in the millions. Before the coronavirus crisis, the U.S. never recorded a single week of 1 million jobless claims.
In addition to state unemployment claims, 1.2 million Americans filed for pandemic unemployment assistance last week. The program allows unemployed citizens, such as freelancers and gig workers, who cannot apply for regular unemployment benefits, to apply for government benefits.
The number of people claiming regular unemployment benefits for consecutive weeks fell to 21.1 million. The first decline in continued claims since the start of the pandemic.
Many may see the decline as a turning point in the jobless market as states discuss reopening. However, some states that started reopening have seen a rise in coronavirus cases and some countries that were hit by the pandemic and started to reopen have had to close again.
Additionally, states are on different timelines, meaning openings will be staggered and industries such as travel and leisure will take months to years to rebound.
Employers are also struggling to get their former employees to come back to work. Many workers are making more through state and federal unemployment benefits than they were working and have chosen to stay home instead of risking catching the virus.
“It’s been very difficult to get some people to return to work,” Carl Livesay, the vice president of operations for Maryland Thermoform Corp., told ABC News. “In some cases, depending on what their compensation was, they make more money with unemployment and the federal stipend of $600 a week.”
To combat unemployed workers staying home, Sen. Rob Portman, (R-Ohio), has proposed a bill that would provide $450 weekly to laid-off Americans returning to work, in addition to their wages. Under the proposal, the money would be distributed through July 31, the same week the extra $600 a week unemployment benefit ends.
