The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on Tuesday to create a plan to close the Men’s Central Jail in Downtown Los Angeles.KCAL 9 reports the supervisors are looking to find alternatives to the jail and plan to close it within the year. They're hoping its closure will be a step toward reshaping the community’s health and public safety.“LA County is prioritizing our ‘care first, jails last’ approach to criminal justice to demonstrate our commitment to racial and economic justice,” Supervisor Hilda Solis said. “Closing Men’s Central Jail will restore dignity to our communities. People are not made whole locked up in a decrepit cell. We also recognize that many in our justice-involved population lack access to affordable housing and wraparound...

The two deviants involved in painting over a Black Lives Matter mural in California have been charged with a hate crime.Prosecutors identified the two as 42-year old Nicole Anderson and 53-year-old David Nelson, who are both white. The pair are being charged with violation of civil rights, vandalism and possession of tools to commit vandalism or graffiti. The Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office announced the charges on Tuesday in a press release. The incident happened on July 4 after the mural was painted in front of the courthouse in the city of Martinez, the district attorney's office stated.Video posted to Twitter on Saturday shows Anderson painting over the words on the street while Nelson stands beside her and argues with witnesses trying to stop the act.Take a look at this Karen and Chad defacing a Black Lives Matter mural....Twitter what do you think should be done ? pic.twitter.com/sLIG6plWbV— 🇧🇧 (@rahm3sh) July 5, 2020"Defendant Anderson covered up a Black Lives Matter mural with black paint. Nelson directly aided in the alleged criminal conduct," the district attorney's office stated. The video shows Nelson recording with his own phone while arguing with the crowd, saying oppression is nothing but a tall tale. "We're sick of this narrative," Nelson said to the bystanders. "The narrative of police brutality, the narrative of oppression, the narrative of racism, it's a lie."When the crowd tells him that painting over the sign is racist, Nelson said the mural is racist."There is no oppression, there is no racism," he said. "It's a leftist lie. It's a lie from the media, the liberal left."Anderson then shouts at the group, telling them they can go paint the sign in New York."This is not happening in my town," the 42-year-old said.Nelson continued the back and forth with the group, telling them that "no one wants Black Lives Matter here.""All lives matter you f**king punk," Nelson said, getting in the face of one man who was recording the incident."Keep America great again, that's right. Why don't you guys learn about history?" the white man said. "The Emancipation Proclamation Act. ... Abraham Lincoln. You're only free because of our forefathers."One person responded with a history lesson for the white man."Your ancestors are not even from here," the witness said. "Your ancestors are f**king colonizers. You're not f**king from America. You're a f**king colonizer."District Attorney Diana Becton said the mural holds significance. “The mural completed last weekend was a peaceful and powerful way to communicate the importance of Black lives in Contra Costa County and the country," Becton said. "We must continue to elevate discussions and actually listen to one another in an effort to heal our community and country.”Nelson and Anderson could face up to a year in county jail if convicted.The press release added that "the alleged offenses are exempt from a specific bail amount due to the current county bail schedule in light of the COVID-19 pandemic."According to KPIX, the mural was quickly repainted after it was damaged. “The community spent a considerable amount of time putting the mural together only to have it painted over in a hateful and senseless manner,” Police Chief Manjit Sappal's office said in a statement. “The city of Martinez values tolerance and the damage to the mural was divisive and hurtful.”Police said Anderson and Nelson were already gone when they responded to the incident on July 4. But officers were able to get a photo of their vehicle from a witness. Authorities then found their Nissan pickup truck with the word “NICOLE” on the right side of the tailgate in silver lettering. According to KPIX, community members obtained a permit from the city a few days before the incident and painted “Black Lives Matter” on the road over a five-hour period shortly before it was destroyed. Local group Martizians For Black Lives organized the...

The Movement for Black Lives (M4BL) is ensuring the global protests in response to the killing of George Floyd aren't in vain. The M4BL announced on Tuesday that it was joining forces with U.S. Reps. Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib to introduce the Breathe Act, a wide-ranging bill aiming to reform the criminal justice system and address systemic racism. The group made the announcement during a virtual unveiling, sharing parts of the bill through a series of speakers, ranging from Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors and Tlaib to the mothers of Michael Brown and Eric Garner, Lezley McSpadden and Gwen Carr.The bill's creators want to reimagine how the U.S. government approaches criminal justice and repurpose many of the grants currently handed out to police departments and law enforcement agencies. The group wrote in a statement that the government has "funded mass criminalization through grant programs that incentivize arrests, construction of prisons, hiring of police officers, and the militarization of police.""This visionary bill divests our taxpayer dollars from brutal and discriminatory policing and invests in a new vision of public safety—a vision that answers the call to defund the police and allows all communities to finally BREATHE free," the group explained on the bill's website. "In honor of the lives of those stolen by police and state-sanctioned violence — Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Natasha McKenna, George Floyd, Aiyana Stanley-Jones, Elijah McClain, Pearlie Golden, Kayla Moore, Freddie Gray, Atatiana Jefferson, Oscar Grant, and far too many more," the statement continued. "We are rising up against all the ways that the criminal-legal system has harmed and failed to protect Black communities."The M4BL consists of more than 150 groups, the Associated Press reported. The unveiling event also featured comments from John Legend, professor Marc Lamont Hill, Three Point Strategies founder Jessica Byrd, Electoral Justice Project co-creator Kayla Reed and Essie Justice Group founder Gina Clayton-Johnson.Clayton-Johnson explained that the Breathe Act is "a people-powered bill" that attempted to take many of the ideas expressed during the recent countrywide protests and turn them into actionable items for the government.The four-part act is explained in further depth in a 13-page bill summary, which illustrates its proposed changes.According to Clayton-Johnson, the first section focuses on incarceration and policing, aiming to enact the idea of defunding the police by removing federal funding from programs that contribute to "the militarization, surveillance, incarceration and impoverishment of Black communities."With the money removed from those programs, the second part of the act suggests more money be poured into incentives promoting community safety and alternative modes of justice. Section three is an extension of that, listing the environmental, educational and economic programs that could receive more federal funding.The act describes a variety of initiatives, including increased school funding, homelessness programs, clean water efforts, expanded Medicaid and improved employment measures. A number of other problems are addressed in the final section of the bill. The group lists federal election funding and the restoration of voting rights for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people as some of the efforts that will address the systemic racism millions of people face. Pressley said in a press release sent to Blavity that she was glad to champion the bill.“Hundreds of years of institutionalized oppression will not be undone overnight, for racism in America is as structural as the marble pillars of this nation’s most sacred institutions," the Cincinnati, Ohio native said. "I was glad to join the Movement for Black Lives this morning to demand that our government put an end to the racist policies and systems of oppression that for too long have failed to center the dignity and humanity of our people."As an ally, Tlaib echoed those sentiments.“In the midst of one of the largest uprisings for justice in our country’s history, I am proud to join this conversation as an ally to all those who are calling for a federal policy vision that defends Black lives and invests in safe, thriving communities. The BREATHE Act represents a comprehensive vision that I am proud to support,” Tlaib said in her statement.“I stand with Black people across our country — and especially with Black women — as someone who in part was raised by Black women in the Southwest Detroit community where I grew up," Tlaib added. "Those women taught me the meaning of solidarity when they were there for my immigrant mother and made her feel safe even as their own families and communities were being brutalized. In continued solidarity with those women, I am committing to the process of developing and implementing a federal policy vision that truly keeps our communities safe."According to the AP, the M4BL will be hosting the 2020 Black National Convention on Aug. 28 in an effort to coalesce around a plan of action for the November elections. The group is aiming to prepare a set of demands for the first 100 days of whichever administration wins the presidency.The AP likened the convention to other historic Black events like the 1972 National Black Political Convention in Gary, Indiana, W.E.B. Du Bois' 1905 Niagara Movement and 1998's Black Radical Congress in...

In the past two weeks, at least five trans women have died as violence toward transgender and gender-nonconforming people increases.Pride Month just wrapped up, and the trans community continues to face a heightened risk of violence because of "a toxic mix of transphobia, racism and misogyny," the Human Rights Campaign stated. CBS News reported that many killings in the trans community are either misreported or unreported as community leaders rally for awareness about anti-transgender violence. The following five trans women have all died within the past two weeks. One of the deaths has not yet been ruled a...

Update (July 7, 2020): After announcing a landmark partnership with Converse last month, WNBA star Natasha Cloud shared on Twitter that the company would be paying her WNBA salary as she moved away from the sport and into social justice efforts. Cloud commented under a response to a tweet from Girls Talk Sports TV that reported she decided “to opt out of the 2020 @WNBA season to focus on social justice matters.”They are. On top of paying my contract salary. They’re doing everything they can to support me. @Converse— Natasha Cloud (@T_Cloud4) June 29, 2020Under the story, Cloud wrote, “They are. On top of paying my contract salary. They’re doing everything they can to support me.”On June 18 she became the first female athlete to sign a contract with the brand. Converse promoted her work on and off the court, touting her efforts in support of social justice issues. “Natasha Cloud most recently shared a powerful piece on @playerstribune against the racial injustices that are affecting Black people in America, and then took to the streets of Philly to demand that message be heard.⁠ ⁠This is one of many reasons we are both proud and humbled to welcome WNBA champion @t__cloud9 to the family,” an Instagram post from the company read.  View this post on Instagram “The biggest thing is for me to use my platform as a microphone. That’s the goal, be a voice for the voiceless.” - @t__cloud9.⁠ ⁠ Natasha Cloud most recently shared a powerful piece on @playerstribune against the racial injustices that are affecting Black people in America, and then took to the streets of Philly to demand that message be heard.⁠ ⁠ This is one of many reasons we are both proud and humbled to welcome WNBA champion @t__cloud9 to the family.A post shared by Converse Basketball (@conversehoops) on Jun 8, 2020 at 6:01am PDT Cloud plays for the Washington Mystics and will make a salary of $117,000 for the 2020 season, according to Spotrac. The WNBA is playing a shortened season in Bradenton, Florida, and according to MSN, players started being paid on June 1. Other WNBA players, including Atlanta Dream star Renee Montgomery, have decided to opt out of the season for a variety of reasons. Some players do not feel the league has done enough to protect players or adequately justify hosting games during the coronavirus pandemic, MSN reported. Cloud and Montgomery have been the first players to say they are not playing specifically to work on social justice causes. Original (June 18, 2020): Washington Mystics guard Natasha Cloud has made history. According to 6ABC, Cloud is the first female athlete to sign a contract with Converse."It's really crazy. I'm a small-town kid, grew up in Broomall. I was an underdog my whole life, even now in my career, I'm still kind of in that underdog mentality. This is a dream come true," Cloud told 6ABC.The former St. Joseph's University and Cardinal O'Hara High School student-athlete said the historic moment is a big step for women's sports."When you're talking about consistently trying to break down barriers for the next generation of female athletes, this is one of those things," Cloud said. "I'm Converse's first-ever female athlete. And when I say that, I still get chills every single time."The WNBA champ, who has been an advocate for social justice, recently wrote an article for The Players' Tribune about the current social climate."Right now, if we’re being really real? As a black person in America, there’s only one thing that could possibly BE on my mind," she wrote. "It’s fearing for my life, and for the life of every other person who is guilty of nothing more than belonging to a race that this country has been built on oppressing. It’s wanting to stay alive — in a time where the reality for a lot of people is that my staying alive doesn’t matter."Cloud said she is using her platform to send a message to the people who are staying silent."I’m writing this because I have a platform. It may not be the biggest platform in the world, but it’s bigger than a lot of people have," she wrote. "It’s what I’ve got. And the only thing I feel like using that platform for right now is to send a message to the so-called 'neutral' people out there. It’s to tell them that we’re changing up the definitions of some of these words they’ve been hiding behind."The WNBA star has also been taking part in Black Lives Matter protests. She recently took to Instagram to post a photo of herself at a protest, holding a sign that said "If you're silent, I don't f**k with you." View this post on Instagram ✊🏾🖤#phillyA post shared by Tasha Cloud🌩9️⃣ (@t__cloud9) on Jun 6, 2020 at 1:49pm...

During the Fourth of July weekend, at least six Black children were killed from gun violence in multiple states.In Illinois, the city of Chicago experienced a violent weekend with 64 people injured and 15 killed. Eleven of the victims were minors, the Chicago Sun-Times reported."We cannot grow numb to this. We are making progress in slowing shootings, but we have to do better, every single one of us," Mayor Lori Lightfoot tweeted in response to the killing of a child over the weekend.Here are the victims killed over the...

Minneapolis is burning. Just like Ferguson burned. Just like Baltimore burned. Just like countless other cities before them, swallowed by the rage of Black protestors fed up seeing the lives of our brothers and sisters robbed by racism. We are fed up because we are forced to fight a pandemic amid a pandemic. We are being disproportionately killed by systemic and overt racism at the same time — and are expected to accept these deadly conditions. Crisis after crisis, crisis on top of crisis, we have marched, kneeled, lobbied, voted and built our own spaces to find ways to navigate it all. And yet, we wake up each day, face the trauma and fight on. Our rightful outrage and collective uproar have made it impossible for the world to ignore our struggles. The world — namely white people who have perpetuated the disparities that have held us back for so long — must feel the pain and anger we feel when we witness Black folks being mistreated in plain sight and Black lives being taken so mercilessly. This week alone highlighted how frequently this happens. On Friday, police arrested Omar Jimenez, a Black CNN reporter, for doing his job before they arrested the officers who killed George Floyd. On Thursday, Tom Austin had his office lease canceled after he racially profiled Black men using the building’s gym. On Wednesday, a white woman identified on Twitter as Jennifer attacked Black protestors with a knife because she valued products from Target over people’s lives and safety. On Tuesday, Amy Cooper, a white woman, went viral for her dangerous display of performative racism where she falsified a crime and called the cops on a Black man who kindly asked her to leash her dog. On Monday, George Floyd was killed by a white police officer who boldly and unflinchingly suffocated him to death.These are just some of the racist tragedies that happen every day. Black folks are in a constant state of mourning, from Breonna Taylor to Ahmaud Arbery to Tony McDade — millions of Black men and women have been killed unjustly at the hands of white Americans. And the tragedy does not just rest in the loss of life, it exists in all the ways we are negatively impacted by these travesties mentally, emotionally and physically. Erica Garner would have turned 30 years old today. Instead, she died three years ago at the young age of 27 after suffering a heart attack. She died because her body could not hold the weight of the burden and pain she was forced to carry fighting for justice on behalf of her father, Eric Garner. She died after watching her father struggle to tell officers “I can’t breathe” as one dug an arm into his neck and killed him. She died after using every ounce of energy in her to demand answers in the federal investigation of her father’s death. She died, yet these same cops continue to walk free. Days after Erica’s untimely passing, Blavity published the last essay she wrote on her relentless fight for justice. “Now it’s been three years later, and we’re still waiting on justice,” Erica wrote in the last line of her essay, which we published in January 2018.NOW, it’s been years since Erica’s death, and we’re still waiting on and fighting for the same thing. But we must fight on because Erica’s death should not be in vain — and neither should the deaths of Eric Garner, George Floyd, Tamir Rice, Trayvon Martin and countless others. Our pain serves a purpose. Destruction is necessary to make space for a new reality. A new world must eventually emerge because, as former President Barack Obama addressed in his statement this morning, we can not accept our current reality. “It's natural to wish for life ‘to just get back to normal’ as a pandemic and economic crisis upend everything around us. But we have to remember that for millions of Americans, being treated differently on account of race is tragically, painfully, maddeningly ‘normal’ — whether it's while dealing with the health care system, or interacting with the criminal justice system, or jogging down the street, or just watching birds in a park. This shouldn't be ‘normal’ in 2020 America. It can't be ‘normal.’ If we want our children to grow up in a nation that lives up to its highest ideals, we can and must be better.”For now, we must fight on. We must manage our mental health in the process. We must shower our Black kids with affection. We must hold the white people in our lives accountable. We must support each other’s businesses, health and overall wellness. We must spread love to each other in unconditional ways. We are all we got. With love and solidarity,The Blavity News team and...

If you’re interested in sharing your opinion on any cultural, political or personal topic, create an account here and check out our how-to post to learn more.____A few weeks ago, I was assaulted by a racist white man in Washington, DC.Walking home from a picnic at Logan Circle, my boyfriend and I overheard a heated exchange between a Black couple and a white man. The Black man was begging for the white man to leave them alone, saying over and over again, “Get out of my space! Get out of my face!” The white man, without wearing a mask, continued to taunt and follow them. The Black man feared that the white man was intentionally trying to give him and his partner COVID-19. The white man proceeded to agitate the couple as they were trying to leave the scene. Barricading them with his body, he screamed "n****r" towards the couple multiple times.At this point, I took out my phone to record because I could tell that the situation might escalate. My boyfriend approached the scene first to try and get the couple away from this man safely. I followed shortly after with my phone, telling the white man that I was recording him.Once he noticed my phone, he turned to me and asked, “Why are you recording me? You should be recording them. They tried to sell me drugs!” Before I could even form a follow-up question in my mouth, he attacked me, slapping my hand and forcing my phone to fly and land in the middle of the street.By that point, many others had gathered, white and Black. After retrieving my phone, I continued to record the situation. The crowd shamed him for his actions and demanded that he leave. He then took out his phone and started recording us, as if we were a ruthless mob. He smiled gleefully all while repeating, “Don’t shoot me, don’t stab me, please don’t assault me.” He wanted to escape, making it seem as if we were the predators when the only true threat was him.We have all seen this story.The police soon arrived, and after watching the video and seeing the damage to my phone, they made an arrest under the offenses of simple assault, destruction of property and a suspected hate crime. A few days later, the United States Attorney's Office called to say that they were prosecuting the case and wanted to press charges against him, but only for simple assault. This charge, if found guilty, could carry up to six months in jail.Contrary to its name, there is nothing simple about this situation at all. Although the prosecutors say that the assault charge was a result from him hitting my hand and throwing my phone, it stretches far and wide beyond that.The assault was, to my mind, triggered instantly the memory of being called a n****r by a white man at the age of nine in my own neighborhood. The assault was, to my ears, to my eyes, to my being, a collection of atoms, only made possible by generations of people who were the property of white men. The courts do not and will not recognize that as an assault.As a person on the cusp of being a millennial and a Gen Z-er, it wasn’t difficult to research and discover that this man was a Marine Aviator for 10 years and employed by the FBI for over 20. That his husband was a prominent attorney and executive for a high-level government consulting firm and that the two of them together owned several rental properties as “superhost” on Airbnb.Despite my evidence and all of the witnesses to his crime, I know that he will win this fight, even if he is tried and found guilty. It is very unlikely that he will face any jail time for his actions. His pension is secured. His estates are secured. He can afford a very good lawyer, court fees and anything else that will make this entire case seem to all but disappear as if it never happened.While this white man will be inconvenienced for a moment, Black people have been inconvenienced for more generations than most could ever fully understand. Although he will continue to enjoy the pleasures of his life, I will be the one plagued and haunted by this experience. I will be the one losing sleep, losing my productivity and losing my personal sense of safety. This man loses nothing. Nothing, because there is nothing that the world can take from him.Let me be clear: The United States justice system is not in the business of providing justice. It is in the business of formality. Even in his explicit guilt, I will get no restoration.Some may ask why I choose not to post the video if it’s as damning as I claim. Why wouldn't I want the court of public opinion to hold him accountable? The truth is I don’t need to because in many ways it doesn’t matter. This man lives up to the ideals of America — the ones designed to benefit him exclusively and me not at all. Why should he face prosecution or find any remorse in a society that has only encouraged his behavior?I know there are non-Black people who will only believe this story, will only allow this story to be justified if I posted said video. However, I refuse to expose my pain and trauma to scrutiny out of a desire to be heard and validated by the same people who refuse to fight for my freedom or for the liberation of all Black people. People whose weightless apologies and shallow “calls to action” will be soon forgotten and darkened by my frustration with the perpetual viewing of my pain as disposable. This is a pattern and a cycle I have been forced to become too comfortable with.The public will choose to deface a man who they see in a video, but continue to blindly stand by one right next to them who would do the same thing proudly. White people will share the video hundreds of times because this is racism they can see, but will do nothing to undo the racism they cannot see, even if it is in front of their faces or inside of themselves.In this one nation under God, it remains that the fervent sin of racism continues to face little to no damnation. The idea of America will always be flawed so long as the phrase “liberty and justice for all” remains conditional and not factual.I share this story because many of the people who I know and love would never believe something like this could even happen to me. Maybe it's because I like to sing and dance to showtunes, or because I often cry watching rom-coms on Netflix, or because my bubbly personality causes them to forget that I am in fact a Black man.Despite what some may assume, my college degrees, awards, academic honors and distinctions do not serve me; Black “exceptionalism” will never protect me from Black hate. Racism is not an extraordinary phenomenon. In fact, it's so normal, so rooted at our core, that hundreds of years later our nation still hasn’t figured out a way to function properly without it.In that moment of assault, this white man elected to call on his most powerful weapon, maybe even one of the strongest weapons in the world — his whiteness. In that moment, he chose to be white above all else. Shielded by his privilege, this man hit me, damaging my phone and injuring my finger, and if you choose not to aid in the fight against racism and white supremacy, you hit me too. You hit me with your silence. You hit me with your lack of action. You hit me with your complacency.Stop hitting me.Please, start helping...

Civil rights activists in Georgia are demanding the state's "Stand Your Ground" be applied fairly across all races amid charges against a biracial 21-year-old college student.William Marcus Wilson is facing a felony murder charge in connection to the shooting death of 17-year-old Haley Hutcheson in Georgia. Defense attorneys said the 21-year-old college student fired at Hutcheson's vehicle because he felt he and his girlfriend’s lives were in danger.According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, a group of people in a black Chevrolet Silverado harassed Wilson and his girlfriend in traffic while the pair were going to Taco Bell on the night of June 14. Men in the Silverado hurled racial slurs and insults at Wilson, yelling “Your lives don’t matter” and calling his passenger a “n****r lover.” After the group in the Silverado tried to run Wilson’s Ford Focus off the road, he fired shots into the direction of the vehicle, lead attorney Francys Johnson said. “They attempted to run him off the road. If it weren’t for his actions, as his mother stated, we’d be mourning the death of two, not the death of Haley Hutcheson,” he said at a press conference Monday. Wilson’s legal team said he is permitted to carry the weapon he used to defend himself in the encounter and, thus, shouldn’t be criminally charged. In accounts from the Statesboro Police Department, people in the Silverado describe two to three shots being fired, one of which hit Hutcheson in the head. She was later pronounced dead at Georgia Regional Medical Center, per the Journal-Constitution.Wilson’s father, the Coweta County fire chief, told WTOC that the 21-year-old was raised to love and respect others. “His character is based on loving others. That’s who Marc Wilson is, who he always has been and will continue to always be,” Pat Wilson said.He turned himself in to police on June 17, the Journal-Constitution reported.  Georgia State House: Justice For William Marcus Wilson - Sign the Petition! https://t.co/kxSeuMp2OQ via @Change— 🖤 #SayTheirNames #BLM ✊🏼 (@ZackariJames) July 7, 2020Wilson’s family and legal representation raised concern that police glossed over the college student’s self-defense declaration and gave more credence to the accounts given by the group in the Silverado.  In the investigation notes released by police, there’s not much detail provided about the racism and aggression Wilson endured, the Journal-Constitution reports. Instead, police noted Wilson's girlfriend “admitted observing Wilson shoot in the direction of the black truck” and that Wilson “admitted to shooting ‘under’ the truck.”“Make no mistake about it,” Johnson said Monday. “We believe that if Marc Wilson was a white gentleman that night, accosted by a truckload of angry, belligerent, possibly drunk Black men, and he used a legally possessed firearm to defend himself and his passenger, that he would have been given a medal and not given a prosecution.” However, the SPD told the Journal-Constitution that evidence, which includes uninvolved eyewitness accounts, suggests a different scenario than Wilson’s claim of self-defense.“At this point in time, what the evidence points us toward is that there was an altercation that led to a shooting, and that shooting led to her death. And the shooting itself is an aggravated assault,” Capt. Jared Akins said. Luke Harry Conley, an 18-year-old among the group in the Silverado, faces an obstruction charge for withholding information during the investigation and encouraging the rest of the group to do the same. Conley said the shooting was unprovoked, but a supplementary police report indicated that there was evidence of a beer can potentially being thrown from the truck. “It is believed that Conley has involvement in the case,” the report states. “He was seen yelling out of a window of the victim vehicle just prior to the shooting.”Johnson, a former Georgia NAACP president, compared the handling of his client’s case to that of Ahmaud Arbery, a Black man who was killed while jogging in Glynn County, Georgia, in February. “That’s the test – whether the metes and bounds of ‘stand your ground’ will matter for Marc Wilson, like they were purported to matter for the killers of Ahmaud Arbery. Remember, they were able to cloak themselves in ‘stand your ground’ and self-defense claims and avoided arrest for more than 72 days, even though there was video evidence to contradict them,” Johnson said. Georgia NAACP State President James Woodall said during the Monday press conference that the case is similar to a public lynching.Wilson will appear before a judge to request bond on Tuesday in the Bulloch County Superior Court, WTOC reports.A Change.org petition is demanding a fair trial for...

If you’re interested in sharing your opinion on any cultural, political or personal topic, create an account here and check out our how-to post to learn more.____The Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests are highlighting our failure to live up to our nation’s vision of “liberty and justice for all.” These protests remind us that it is not enough to express solidarity; solidarity must be practiced. The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act to address the clear and present danger people of color frequently experience at the hands of law enforcement officers.  But these inequalities are not limited to the justice system. They are across the board and must be addressed in the private and public sectors.If our current colleague, John Lewis, was correct when he said, “in many ways, technology rights are the new civil rights,” we have some real work to do. The diversity numbers at tech companies are dismal. While Black Americans make up 12% of the U.S. population, their representation at major tech companies falls far short of parity: Apple (9%), Twitter (5.7%), Facebook (3.8%) and Google (3.7%). BLM protests are siren calls for structural change.A company that seems to be answering that call is Zoom. They have announced a $1.2 million partnership with Claflin University, a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) in Orangeburg, South Carolina, to better connect Black students to the tech jobs and opportunities of the future. This is not a one-and-done donation or a photo-op. It is a five-year commitment of serious time and effort to make this a lasting and substantive partnership.They are not just donating resources. They are committing time and personnel. Damien Hooper-Campbell, a Morehouse graduate, will spearhead this initiative for the company. Also, Zoom’s Chief Operating Officer, Aparna Bawa, is joining Claflin’s Board of Trustees. Zoom’s long-term commitment is a model for the type of partnership that provides more tech opportunities to Black students.During Claflin’s fall and spring semesters, Zoom will host two paid internships, paying $10,000 each to work on projects designed by the company. In the summer, Zoom will host three rising seniors, earning a housing stipend and $45,000, in their summer internship program. Not only will it put real money in the pockets of these students, the internship program will connect students to their peers from a wide range of backgrounds and universities. This will expand their networking capacity and provide job opportunities after graduation.Zoom will also provide four $10,000 academic scholarships for selected Claflin students, contribute $30,000 to Claflin University’s general operating fund, work with professors to assist in curriculum development and find ways to engage Claflin’s alumni interested in career opportunities at Zoom.Here’s why Zoom’s comprehensive approach is so important. Jason Su, the Chief Technology Officer of Silicon Valley tech startup, Whiterabbit.ai, a company also providing paid internships to HBCUs in South Carolina, found that when interviewing 4.0 computer science students at HBCUs, he found them to be just as motivated and brilliant as students from better known tech schools. What they lacked were opportunities and experiences, like attending hackathons and working on real-world projects. With historically limited resources, HBCU professors can only teach so much and textbooks only go so far.Here’s what’s so promising about the Zoom-at-Claflin model. Not only are they providing scholarships for students to attend college, they are directly providing real world experiences and opportunities within Zoom, and working with Claflin’s professors to develop case studies to better prepare students when interviewing with tech companies.Zoom is not alone. Last month, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings personally donated millions to both Spelman and Morehouse Colleges. And many of us remember Tech Giant, Robert F. Smith’s announcement during his Morehouse commencement speech last year. Although Claflin’s alumni donation ratios are over 40%, much higher than other universities, it’s endowment, at $27 million, is far short of other well-known HBCUs like Howard University, Spelman College and Morehouse College, with endowments of $688.6 million, $389.2 million and $145 million respectively. Smaller HBCUs like Claflin should not be forgotten. Many of them deserve our attention and resources, which is why Zoom’s contribution to Claflin is critical.There are more than 100 HBCUs with more than 225,000 students that can benefit from long-lasting partnerships like the one between Zoom and Claflin. This is how we start to dismantle systems that cause young Blacks to fear for their lives when walking to school and jogging on public streets while dreaming of becoming the next Steve Jobs. Their lives and livelihoods...

If you’re interested in sharing your opinion on any cultural, political or personal topic, create an account here and check out our how-to post to learn more.____Some folks keep asking how I feel and, to be honest, there is not simply one feeling to describe it. The feelings vary depending on the day, hour, minute and even second. But, if I had to identify two, it would be anger and sadness. Anger and sadness that yet one more name has been added to the names of unarmed Black folks murdered at the hands of the state. Anger and sadness that it took the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor for many non-Black people to wake up and be comfortable with even admitting that Black lives matter.Anger and sadness because it's been over 50 years since my grandmother, Lizzie Kelly, was beaten on Bloody Sunday in Selma, Alabama, and we’re still fighting the same fight today. She marched alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., John Lewis and countless others simply to demand the freedoms that America had promised yet failed to deliver.Anger and sadness that — even after more than 400 years of violence, murder and discrimination — many non-Black people still don’t feel that Black lives matter. Anger and sadness that those in power refuse to even acknowledge, let alone attempt to rectify, the harm that has been inflicted on Black folks for centuries.Now, I just want to know: How long? How long before those in power listen to those most impacted and work to rectify the harm and trauma we’ve dealt with for centuries? How long before white and non-Black people move beyond their performative activism and actually actively work to unlearn racism and dismantle white supremacy?This fight against violence and systemic racism is nothing new, and yet for many it is. Imagine the amount of privilege one must have to categorize Colin Kaepernick’s attempt to protest police brutality and systemic racism “disrespectful to the flag and veterans,” as if non-Black people are the only ones who’ve risked and lost their lives serving their country.Imagine the amount of privilege one must have to be outraged at the “riots, burning and looting” after repeated instances of violence and murder of Black lives, but to not be outraged at the riots, burning and looting that occurs after their favorite NFL team wins the Super Bowl. Imagine the privilege one must have to co-opt an entire natural hair movement and make it about their 2 and 3A hair, yet cry white tears when Black women call you out for wearing box braids (not boxer braids) and acting as if you started a new trend.Imagine the amount of privilege one must have to refer to they styles of Black women and Latinas as “ratchet and ghetto,” yet act pressed when those same Black women and Latinas call you out for your Blaccent and acting as if wearing oversized gold hoops is a new fashion trend you discovered. Imagine fetishizing and loving Black men as long as they’re repeatedly giving your teams and franchises money and championships, yet when they speak out on issues of race you tell them to “Shut up and dribble.”Imagine the amount of privilege one must have to believe that because they don’t live in the South and because they are “progressive” that they are automatically absolved of being racist. (Please see Amy Cooper for reference.) Imagine the amount of privilege one must have to go much of their lives not realizing white supremacy and anti-Blackness is still an issue until now.All of this matters. From Kap to the argument of “peaceful versus non-peaceful protests, cultural appropriation to the weaponization of white womanhood, to the outright violence and murder of Black people. The microaggressions to the direct acts of violence all perpetuate a system and society that upholds white supremacy and criminalizes Blackness.So, to borrow from Robyn Rihanna Fenty, pull up.Pull up to change the beauty and hair industry that flat out denies the existence, let alone beauty, of Blackness.Pull up to your brunches and family get togethers and call out your white and non-Black circle who say outright racist comments or urge you not to bring home someone darkskin.Pull up for Nina Pop, Tony McDade and the countless other Black trans men and women who are repeatedly targeted simply for existing.Pull up for The Movement for Black Lives and follow the lead of the Black activists who have been doing this work but who have often been overlooked in favor of white and non-Black voices.Pull up and fight for Black people as hard as you fight to say the n-word without consequence.The time is now.Pull up for Black...

If you’re interested in sharing your opinion on any cultural, political or personal topic, create an account here and check out our how-to post to learn more.____Almost three decades ago, I filmed the Rodney King riots as Los Angeles burned. During that time, I had two jobs: one at a South-Central grocery store and the other at a retail store in affluent Culver City. I remember the mayhem when our South Central store was looted, but the Culver City store was protected by a National Guardsman at the front door.Today, nothing has changed as we protest George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Rayshard Brooks’s unjust murders: police have dedicated themselves to protecting rich neighborhoods and corporate business while our neighborhoods are neglected. Meanwhile, during COVID-19, many of us cannot make rent.I’ve lived in South-Central Los Angeles for my whole life. I’m a mother of five and a grandmother of six. In this pandemic, we are unable to pay our rent and are terrified of police brutality should they come to our neighborhoods and assist to evict us. And we are not alone.Black people are being disproportionately killed by COVID-19 and the police. When eviction moratoriums begin to expire, and police work with landlords to take us from our homes, our community will alarmingly be even more susceptible to police brutality and COVID-19. Our fight right now is in the streets, but it cannot end there. Cancelling the rent is even more important at this time. How can we shelter-in-place from coronavirus or police brutality with the threat of cops dragging us out of our homes?I’m currently living with my mother in a building owned by Regency Management — which changed from PAMA Management after their harmful practices were revealed. Three years ago, my apartment complex, Baldwin Village, was deemed a “nuisance” by the city, a tool officials used in an attempt to push us out of our homes and speed up gentrification.We fought back and won — temporarily. It shouldn’t take a legal fight to ensure that my neighbors and my family can remain in our homes for the time being.Mayor Garcetti deciding to cut at least $1 million from the LAPD budget is a good start. But it’s not nearly enough of the $1.86 Billion. We need to defund the police and invest in programs that actually keep us safe. Invest in Community Land trusts to secure an equitable future.Further, the corporate landlords could improve our living conditions and ensure we don’t lose our homes during this unprecedented time — a recent report from Action Center on Race and the Economy (ACRE) shows that they are currently sitting on at least $470 billion.These corporate bad actors, billionaires with ties to one another and Donald Trump, and whose property is protected by the police, have been found to have fraudulently foreclosed on mortgage holders, pushed excessive fees on families and tenants, and driven families out of their homes through predatory tactics for years.Corporate landlords who have extracted from Black communities for decades now must pay back what they have stolen. They are the looters. That’s why I am joining housing justice organizers across the country in a campaign called “We Strike Together,” withholding rent payments en masse for the duration of the pandemic. As we mourn George Floyd, and protect our community from COVID-19 and the police, we need rent cancellation now more than ever. So we’re demanding that state and federal governments cancel rent and additionally hold corporate landlords accountable to #MakeThemPay their fair share.Elected officials can make it happen by defunding the police and redistributing funds back to our communities, and also by forcing corporate landlords to pay for the cancellation of rent, mortgages and utilities, at least for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic. Or even better: for good.A tenant group in Minneapolis recently gained ownership of their apartment complex from their landlord. Victories like this show community control is possible on a smaller scale. It’s time to make it happen everywhere.The quickest way to protect our community in this moment is to defund the police, hold corporate landlords accountable and use that money to guarantee housing for all. It would protect us from violent evictions and begin to unravel the racism knitted into the core of our society. Join our fight now.____Zerita Jones is an organizer with L.A. Tenants Union (Baldwin-Crenshaw-Leimert Local) and Vice Chairperson of Liberty Community Land...