Washington Cathedral To Remove Confederate Images and Install Stained Glass With Social Justice Theme
by Derek Major

September 23, 2021

Washington Cathedral To Remove Confederate Images and Install Stained Glass With Social Justice Theme

Reuters – The Washington National Cathedral is replacing stained glass windows featuring Confederate symbols with racial-justice themed pieces in a display created by two Black American artists, the site said on Thursday.

The announcement by the second largest U.S. cathedral comes a day after Richmond, Virginia, unveiled a new monument commemorating the end of slavery after pulling down a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee that had prompted protests over racial injustice.

Lee also was featured in stained glass windows that the cathedral removed in September 2017, following white nationalist violence in Charlottesville, Virginia.

The windows depicting Lee and Confederate General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson “did nothing to address the reality and painful legacy of America’s original sin of slavery and racism,” the Rev. Randolph Marshall Hollerith, dean of the cathedral, said.

New windows created by artist Kerry James Marshall, a Black American man, will aim “to share a new and more complete story, to tell the truth about our past and to lift up who we aspire to be as a nation,” Hollerith said.

The “racial-justice themed” windows were expected to be completed in 2023 and permanently installed, said a cathedral spokesman.

The cathedral also announced that Elizabeth Alexander, a Black poet who spoke at then President Barack Obama’s inauguration, will write a new piece “that will be inscribed in stone tablets alongside Marshall’s window installation, overlaying the previous stone tablets which venerated the lives of Confederate soldiers.”

Artwork including statues honoring leaders of the Confederacy, the pro-slavery group of Southern states that seceded from the United States and fought in the 1861-65 Civil War, have become targets of anti-racism protests.

Earlier this month before a cheering crowd in Richmond, Virginia, the Confederate capital during the war, a towering statue of Lee was taken down. Its removal had been promised by the governor in June 2020, days after George Floyd, a Black man, was killed by a white police officer in Minneapolis, sparking nationwide demonstrations.

Another statue of Lee was taken down in Charlottesville in July, nearly four years after white supremacist protests over plans to remove it led to clashes in which a woman was run down by a car and killed.

(Reporting by Barbara Goldberg in New York; Editing by Richard Chang)

Leader Of Black Lives Matter New York Chapter Calls Vaccine Mandates ‘Racist And Disrespectful’
by Derek Major

September 23, 2021

Leader Of Black Lives Matter New York Chapter Calls Vaccine Mandates ‘Racist And Disrespectful’

Black Lives Matter activists in New York are calling out the city’s leadership over what they believe are racist COVID-19 vaccination requirements.

Since mid-August, the city has required anyone 12 and over to show proof they’ve had at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose for indoor dining, gyms, museums, theatres, and a host of other indoor activities. However, Black residents are lagging behind the overall populations in vaccinations, and some say the rules are disproportionately affecting Black New Yorkers.

More than 70% of Black Americans between 18 and 44 in New York City have not gotten the vaccine, a statistic repeated by activist Chivona Newsome at the restaurant protest of Carmine’s Italian Restaurant.

Hawk Newsome, a Black activist and the co-founder of the Black Lives Matter Greater New York chapter, organized a protest outside of the Manhattan restaurant where a hostess claimed three Black women from Texas attacked her after she asked for them to show proof of vaccination.

Newsome and his sister, Chivona, organized a protest outside the restaurant earlier this week where Hawk accused the city of using vaccine requirements to cover for its “racist ways” and “discrimination.”

Newsome told the Washington Examiner that the group is not against the vaccination, but they believe it should be an individual’s choice whether to get vaccinated. They also insist they are not on the right and do not align with Republicans because their platform is built around the oppression of Black people.

“We are not anti-vaxxers. Some of us are vaccinated,” Newsome said of his group. “It’s an individual’s choice. No one should be forced to put something in their body.”

At the beginning of the pandemic, COVID-19 cases and deaths were impacting Black Americans more than any other race due to factors of systemic racism including, poor or no health insurance coverage, inability to telework, and lack of access to childcare.

Newsome, like other Black Americans, cited the Tuskegee Syphilis Study as an example of the exploitation of Black Americans by the U.S. government.

“I think, in a perfect world, vaccine requirements] should be business by business. But it could be a slippery slope, so the mandate should be removed completely,” Newsome told Yahoo News. “It’s not gonna be white men in suits on Wall Street who are gonna get stopped. There’s such hypocrisy in this thing.”

Newsome and the Black Lives Matter of Greater New York are advocating for the complete abolition of vaccine requirements at the city and national levels.

Special Envoy To Haiti Resigns Over ‘Inhumane’ Deportations Of Migrants
by Derek Major

September 23, 2021

Special Envoy To Haiti Resigns Over ‘Inhumane’ Deportations Of Migrants

Reuters – The U.S. special envoy to Haiti resigned in protest in a letter that blasted the Biden administration for deporting hundreds of migrants back to the crisis-engulfed Caribbean nation from a camp on the U.S.-Mexican border in recent days.

Daniel Foote, a career diplomat named to his post in July, said conditions in Haiti were so bad that U.S. officials were confined to secure compounds. He said the “collapsed state” was unable to support the infusion of returning migrants.

“I will not be associated with the United States’ inhumane, counterproductive decision to deport thousands of Haitian refugees and illegal immigrants,” Foote said in a letter addressed to Secretary of State Antony Blinken that circulated publicly on Thursday.

Haiti, the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, has gone through profound instability in recent weeks, including a presidential assassination, gang violence and a major earthquake.

The United States has returned more than 1,400 migrants from the camp in Del Rio, Texas to Haiti – including families – and moved over 3,200 people for processing away from the encampment, Department of Homeland Security officials said on Thursday. At its peak on Sept. 18 there were some 15,000 people there.

The population has been reduced to around 4,000 by expulsion flights, detentions and releases. Others have left the dusty riverbank on the Rio Grande for Mexico to avoid being sent home.

Filippo Grandi, the head of the U.N refugee agency, warned that this week the U.S. expulsions to Haiti might violate international law.

Foote submitted his resignation to Blinken on Wednesday, a State Department spokesperson said, adding that Washington was committed to the long-term well being of Haiti, as well as offering immediate help to returning migrants.

The resignation follows growing pressure on the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden from the United Nations and his fellow Democrats over the treatment of Haitians in the sprawling impromptu migrant camp.

Biden’s handling of what Republicans portray as a crisis at the border – including record numbers of migrant detentions this year – has led to growing disillusionment from advocates who hoped for an end to deterrent measures brought in by his predecessor Donald Trump.

State Department spokesman Ned Price rejected Foote’s criticism.

“This is a challenging moment that requires leadership. It is unfortunate that, instead of participating in a solutions-oriented policy process, Special Envoy Foote has both resigned and mischaracterized the circumstances of his resignation.”

“He failed to take advantage of ample opportunity to raise concerns about migration during his tenure and chose to resign instead,” said Price.

As well as the Haitians, the United States frequently deports Central American and other migrants caught crossing the border.

Foote’s decision to leave was interpreted and welcomed by rights groups as a stern criticism of the administration’s immigration strategy.

“A big bold move. And a big deal,” said William O’Neill, a lawyer specializing in humanitarian, human rights and refugee law. “He will be missed.”

MEXICAN PRESSURE

U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials said that determinations on who was expelled and who has been allowed to stay in the United States to pursue their immigration cases were made on a “case-by-case” basis, without providing numbers of releases.

Wade McMullen, an attorney with the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights organization, said several hundred people, mostly pregnant Haitian women and parents with children, had been released in Del Rio, Texas, over the past several days.

Images of U.S. border guards on horseback using long reins to whip at Haitian migrants at the weekend caused outrage within the White House and from rights groups and prompted Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday to seek answers from Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. The DHS said patrols on horseback had ceased in Del Rio.

(Reporting by Daina Beth Solomon in Ciudad Acuna and Doina Chiacu in Washington, Additional reporting by Lizbeth Diaz, Mica Rosenberg, Humeyra Pamuk and Kristina Cooke, Editing by Heather Timmons, Laura Gottesdiener and Alistair Bell)

Cheerleader Choreographer Under Investigation After Pushing Boyfriend Off Elevated Walkway And Livestreaming The Aftermath
by Jeroslyn JoVonn

September 23, 2021

Cheerleader Choreographer Under Investigation After Pushing Boyfriend Off Elevated Walkway And Livestreaming The Aftermath

A well-known choreographer in the world of All-Star cheerleading is under investigation for physically assaulting his boyfriend and live streaming the aftermath on social media.

Brandon Hale was taken into custody in Tulum, Mexico earlier this month and charged with “crime of injuries,” after assaulting his spouse and throwing him over a third-floor walkway, USA Today reports. Hale is also under investigation within the cheerleading world for live-streaming the aftermath of the violent incident on Facebook.

Hale had been vacationing in Tulum with his now ex-boyfriend Nicolas “Nico” Gallardo. The two arrived on September 3 and just two days after, the vacation ended horribly. The couple got into an argument at dinner. Gallardo says he went back to their hotel in a cab alone and went to sleep. But says Hale woke him up around 1 am by beating him out of his sleep.

“It felt like premediated murder. I swear. He walked in ready to kill,” Gallardo said.

Gallardo tried escaping through an elevated walkway that connects the resort villas but Hale reportedly pushed Gallardo off the walkway and left him badly injured. In since-deleted videos Hale live-streamed on Facebook, the cheer choreographer claimed Gallardo fell or had been pushed, Yahoo News reports. He panned the camera over to show Gallardo lying naked on the ground below. Later the video showed someone providing medical care to Hale’s boyfriend.

“I’m going to be in Mexico jail,” says Hale. “I need help. I really need help.”

Photos show Gallardo badly injured as a result of the attack. He was left with two black eyes and bruises on his arms and upper torso.

Brandon Hale, left, and Nicolas Gallardo pose for a photo while on vacation in Mexico (Twitter)

Gallardo says two days after the violent incident, a Florida gym owner contacted him and offered $5,000 to agree to Hale’s release from custody. Gallardo agreed and was sent the money.

But Hale is still under investigation by the USASF one year following his suspension for a separate incident. At the time, a former cheerleader told the organization Hale had sex with him when he was a minor. However, USASF reportedly waited three months to suspend Hale and reinstated Hale after an investigation.

He doesn’t deserve to be around kids. He does not,” Gallardo said. “This guy is an aggressive, dangerous person.”

Hale’s latest case has the USASF under review as critics accuse the organization of allowing abuse against its athletes.

Hunger Rose For Black And Latino Families In 2020 Despite COVID-19 Pandemic Aid
by Derek Major

September 23, 2021

Hunger Rose For Black And Latino Families In 2020 Despite COVID-19 Pandemic Aid

The number of Black and Latino families without enough food to eat rose last year, despite the government’s COVID-19 pandemic aid, according to the Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Latino families with children facing hunger rose above 20% and a quarter of Black families with children were food insecure in 2020, meaning they had to skip a meal or had less to feed their families. The COVID-19 pandemic played a significant part in the rise in hunger as millions of adults became unemployed and struggled to put food on their tables.

Overall food insecurity in America remained unchanged from 2019 at 10.5%, the lowest level since the Great Recession.

An increase in national hunger rates was avoided due to the U.S. spending billions of dollars on federal aid programs including buying food, direct cash payments to citizens, and expanded school lunch programs. The USDA also spent $4 billion on food that went to food banks that served 60 million people. Cities and states also set up community fridges for people to take and leave meals.

According to Feeding America, 20% or more than 76 million Americans received charitable food donations last year.

Food banks and other charitable providers are now worried that the expanded federal benefits the government provided have been removed too quickly and could lead to more children and families going hungry.

“Last year, the hunger crisis that emerged from the pandemic impacted every community across the country. Every food bank in the nationwide Feeding America network responded to the crisis,” Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, CEO of Feeding America, said in a statement. “The Feeding America network along with other charitable food organizations should be proud of the work we did together to help millions of families facing hunger. Still, we know there is more that needs to be done.”

The pandemic is far from over. Millions of Americans are still refusing to get vaccinated, slowing the progress of the recovery. Additionally, schools are shutting down across the country due to COVID-19.

Democrats Offer Bill Reining In Presidential Powers Post Trump
by Derek Major

September 23, 2021

Democrats Offer Bill Reining In Presidential Powers Post Trump

Reuters – U.S. House of Representatives Democrats introduced legislation on Tuesday seeking to pull back powers from the presidency, part of an effort by lawmakers to rein in the White House after what Democrats saw as overreach during the administration of former Republican President Donald Trump.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Representative Adam Schiff planned to introduced the bill at a news conference. They said the “Protecting our Democracy Act,” would restore the balance of power between the executive and legislative branches of government that was written into the U.S. Constitution.

Among other things, it would put new limits on the use of presidential pardons in cases involving contempt or obstruction of Congress, prohibit self-pardons by the president and strengthen measures to prevent foreign election interference.

The bill also would increase protection of whistleblowers, protect the independence of inspectors general and strengthen congressional oversight of the use of emergency declarations.

During his presidency, Trump fired a series of inspectors general – watchdogs tasked with fighting corruption at federal agencies. He also repeatedly declared national emergencies, including at the border with Mexico to force the transfer of military funds to build a wall there, a campaign promise, and another over relations with Iran to sidestep congressional review of military sales to Saudi Arabia.

The bill’s path forward was uncertain. Democrats hold only a slim majority of House seats, and House Republicans stand firmly behind Trump. They overwhelmingly opposed his two impeachments and rejected a bipartisan commission to investigate the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol by Trump supporters.

In a statement, Pelosi called the measure “a robust, transformative package of democracy reforms” that would prevent any president, of any party, from abusing the public trust.

Aides to House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Bill Berkrot)

Ebony Twilley Martin Greenpeace’s First Black Executive Director
by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

September 23, 2021

Ebony Twilley Martin Greenpeace’s First Black Executive Director

Ebony Twilley Martin is the first Black woman executive director of a national legacy environmental organization in the United States. Greenpeace USA announced earlier this month that Twilley Martin will join Annie Leonard as co-executive director of the organization,.

“I am humbled and energized to join Annie in co-leading Greenpeace at such a pivotal time,” said Twilley Martin in a written statement.

“The environmental challenges we face are enormous–a point that Hurricane Ida has underscored when it slammed into Louisiana’s coast, a site of longstanding environmental health and justice struggles and now on the frontlines of the climate crisis. To address these intersecting crises, we have to build a strong and diverse organization, which is part of a diverse and strong movement. That’s what I am doing—what I want to be a part of. Annie and I believe that our multiracial shared leadership will model the change we wish to see in the movement and in the world. My priority is to make sure that Greenpeace is talking to people like me about why and how we have to act now on the climate, and making the world a safer, more equitable place for our children.”

Twilley Martin and Leonard will be share the managing of Greenpeace’s U.S. operations. The hiring of Twilley Martin was facilitated by the Greenpeace USA Board of Directors to create a more sustainable position that can better serve the organization’s employees, supporters, and the creation of a greener and more peaceful world.

“I am absolutely thrilled to partner with Ebony as co-executive directors at Greenpeace,” said Leonard, who has led the organization since 2014.

“I have worked closely with Ebony and seen first hand what a courageous and effective leader she is. Even though Greenpeace has achieved major environmental victories in the 50 years since our founding, it feels like that was simply a warm-up for what we must do now. The climate crisis is the biggest challenge humanity has ever faced, and Greenpeace needs to be in top fighting form to take it on. Ebony and I have already accomplished much together working as ED and COO, and taking our partnership to the next level of fully shared power as Co-Directors, is exactly what Greenpeace needs right now to meet the moment.”

Before Twilley Martin was COO, she was Greenpeace’s first Black woman chief officer of people and culture. She also served its senior talent acquisition manager and director of human resources, both in 2014.

Houston Man Pleads Guilty For Fraudulently Receiving $1.6M in PPP Loans, Faces 70 Years In Prison
by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

September 23, 2021

Houston Man Pleads Guilty For Fraudulently Receiving $1.6M in PPP Loans, Faces 70 Years In Prison

In Houston, a Texas man pleaded guilty in federal court to fraudulently obtaining more than $1.6 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)  loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

Lee Price III, 30, submitted several fraudulent PPP loan applications to two different lenders on behalf of two different entities: 713 Construction LLC and Price Enterprises Holdings LLC. The 713 Construction LLC PPP loan application was made in the name of someone who died shortly before the application was submitted. Through the two PPP loan applications, Price had requested and received over $1.6 million.

In the papers that Price submitted to the government, he falsely represented the number of people who worked for the companies as well as the payroll expenses in each of the PPP loan applications. In submitting the fraudulent PPP applications, he also submitted fake tax documentation and other materials. Upon receiving the funds, Price spent the money on a Lamborghini Urus, a Ford F-350 truck, and a Rolex watch, and also used some of the money to pay off some of his debts, including a loan on a residential property.

Last year he was initially charged with making false statements to a financial institution, wire fraud, bank fraud, and engaging in unlawful monetary transactions.

Over $700,000 was seized by the Department of Justice, along with law enforcement partners.

Price, who is scheduled to be sentenced on November 29, pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud and three counts of money laundering. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each count of wire fraud and 10 years in prison for each count of money laundering that could have him imprisoned for up to 70 years.

A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

California Home of Will Smith And Jada Pinkett Smith Catches Fire, Couple Reportedly OK
by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

September 23, 2021

California Home of Will Smith And Jada Pinkett Smith Catches Fire, Couple Reportedly OK

A fire broke out at the home of celebrity couple Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith’s Calabasas, CA, on Monday afternoon, but the Smiths are reportedly doing fine, according to Page Six.

Several fire trucks and an ambulance were summoned to the sprawling, luxurious $42 million home, which was featured in Architectural Digest in 2011.

“They are all fine and in the home. A fire broke out in the basement, and a fireman was treated, but everyone is fine,” the source close to the family told Page Six.

Page Six reported Monday that a witness said a fire “broke out somewhere on one of the properties” and that “someone was treated at the scene” but not hospitalized.

Video footage from the couple’s estate on Cold Canyon Road revealed that an ambulance with flashing lights had entered the property just after 3:30 p.m. Monday. It also showed that several other cars and a utility vehicle had followed the ambulance to the home.

A spokesperson for LA County Fire confirmed that there had been a “structure fire” that caused “smoke damage” at the residence. No injuries were reported.

BLACK ENTERPRISE recently reported  that The Red Table Talk hostess turned the big 5-0 and she celebrated her milestone birthday with family and friends over the weekend. Will along with their two sons, Jaden and Trey, also attended her celebration, People reported.

A number of celebrities also attended the festivities, including Jordyn Woods and her NBA player boyfriend Karl Anthony-Towns, and actress Lauren London.

The Smiths have enjoyed a lengthy career as Hollywood royalty. Will Smith has enjoyed massive success as a rapper, TV star, and as a movie star. Jada Pinkett Smith has been a fixture in movies (Set It Off, Scream 2, Girls Trip) since the 1990s and will produce a documentary series for Netflix on iconic African queens.

Viral TikTok Claims Black Women are Being Intentionally Hunted and Killed in St. Louis
by Ashantai Hathaway

September 23, 2021

Viral TikTok Claims Black Women are Being Intentionally Hunted and Killed in St. Louis

Nearly a dozen women have been either shot or killed in St. Louis over the last week. One woman believes they are somehow connected and has taken her frustration about it on TikTok.

TikTok user LamaraIndigo has gone viral for a video she posted that has now been viewed more than 240,000 times.

@lamaraindigo#greenscreen #protectblackwomen #stlouis #blackwomen #blackgirls #black #crime #protectblackgirls♬ original sound – LamaraIndigo

In the video, she said someone is “hunting Black women” and intentionally shooting and killing Black women. She claims they are not being assaulted or robbed, but killed.

According to local news outlets, of the shootings and killings in St. Louis involving women over the last week, there were two Black women and one white woman killed, six Black women shot, and one Hispanic woman shot.

LamaraIndigo says she thinks people in St. Louis no longer view murders or horrific crimes as abnormal, but have become desensitized to all the violence.

“This is me doing something”.

LamaraIndigo suggests the violence is not being done by someone from St. Louis and says she thinks someone is coming in from out of the area to commit the crimes.

Meanwhile, while police have not responded directly to the allegations presented by LamaraIndigo,  St. Louis police say sex workers have been targeted and either shot or shot at by unknown suspects. Police are also investigating two August robberies on Cote Brilliante. 

Investigators say those incidents involved a suspect named “D” that had been meeting women on the MegaPersonals dating app for consensual sex. Police say “D” would then rob the women.

According to fox2now.com, recently many people have searched or Googled the terms “serial killer” and “St. Louis.” St. Louis Investigators stated that the suspect or suspects involved in the connected cases is unknown at this time.

Police also said the investigations are still ongoing.

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