• News

by Rafael Pena

December 6, 2023

Murder Trial For White Woman Who Shot Atlanta Black Man Begins

Jury selection for the long-delayed murder trial of Hannah Payne has begun.

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Atlanta Black Star reports the long-awaited murder trial of Hannah Payne, who faces charges of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, has begun jury selection.

In May 2019, Payne, then 21, shot 67-year-old Kenneth Herring after a hit-and-run accident in suburban Atlanta, prosecutors and witnesses say.

Payne witnessed a minor collision involving Herring’s car and a tractor-trailer. Instead of following dispatchers’ instructions not to pursue or confront the driver, Payne tailed Herring. Prosecutors suggested that Herring might have left the scene to drive himself to the hospital due to a medical emergency, possibly a diabetic episode.

As Payne caught up with Herring at the intersection of Riverdale Road and Forest Parkway, she allegedly blocked his car with her Jeep and brandished a firearm. Eyewitnesses said Payne physically assaulted Herring and demanded he exit his vehicle. A struggle ensued before Payne shot and killed Herring.

The killing ignited community outrage due to the racial undertones. Payne is white; Herring was Black. Margaret Payne defended her daughter.

“She does not see color,” Margaret Payne said. “She sees right, and she sees wrong. This was an unfortunate situation that turned the way it did, but not at the hands of my daughter. It wasn’t her fault.”

However, Herring’s widow questioned Hannah Payne’s decision to disregard dispatchers’ orders, emphasizing the logical choice of waiting in the car until the police arrived. Payne’s legal team said she shot Herring in self-defense, portraying the incident as a well-intentioned effort by a good Samaritan to intervene in a hit-and-run.

The COVID-19 pandemic delayed Payne’s murder trial until November 2022. Then her defense attorney suffered a minor stroke. The case was then assigned to a different judge, so it was postponed further.

Hannah Payne faces the possibility of life in prison, with or without parole.

RELATED CONTENT: WHITE WOMAN SHOT UP BLACK AND MEXICAN HOMES, ENDANGERED CHILDREN; WASN’T CHARGED WITH HATE CRIME

• Sports

by Daniel Johnson

December 6, 2023

Eagles Rookie Jalen Carter Appears To Cry On The Sidelines, Claps Back At Fans

On his Instagram story, the Philadelphia Eagles standout responded to fans who taunted him for crying on the sidelines.

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Philadelphia Eagles standout rookie Jalen Carter seemed to let his emotions get the better of him on the field during an altercation with San Francisco 49ers guard Matt Pryor during their game on Dec. 3. The mashup resulted in a 15-yard penalty against Carter for unnecessary roughness. Following the play, Carter appeared to have cried on the sidelines and looked like he didn’t want to talk to Eagles Head Coach Nick Siriani when he approached the star defensive tackle. 

After the game, Carter posted on his Instagram story responding to fans who were taunting him for crying on the sidelines.

Carter wrote, “I’ll rather cry for losing a game then cry that I’m still broke get y’all life together” before ending his statement with a “100” emoji.

According to Heavy, Carter deleted the post shortly after making it and created a new one. He also replied to his fans’ reactions to the clip, writing, “Know the city got my back #flyeaglesfly.”

Through week 13, Carter ranked first among rookies in their analytics, posting a grade of 89.9 while winning 18.2% of his pass rushes, comfortably leading all rookie interior defensive linemen, Pro Football Focus reported. Carter has posted 4 sacks, 26 tackles, 6 tackles for loss and 2 forced fumbles in his rookie season, garnering strong consideration for a defensive rookie of the year award at the conclusion of the season. 

RELATED CONTENT: LeBron James Blasts NFL’s Suspension Of Tyreek Hill’s Photographer Following Celebration

• News History

by Daniel Johnson

December 6, 2023

Family Of Jacksonville Victims Sue Dollar General Over Racist Mass Shooting

Family members of the Jacksonville Dollar General shooting victims are suing the owner, operator, and security contractor of the Florida store.

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Family members of the Jacksonville, Florida, Dollar General shooting victims are suing the store’s owner, operator, and security contractor, claiming negligent security helped a racist gunman kill their loved ones.

According to NBC News, the lawsuit was filed on Dec. 4 in a Florida state court. The lawsuit names the parents and estate of Ryan Palmeter, the gunman who killed Angela Carr, Jerrald Gallon, and A.J. Laguerre, as defendants. According to the lawsuit, “While Palmeter was deterred from harming the public at his two preceding stops, at this Dollar General, there was nothing in place to again deter Palmeter from attacking and killing innocent persons.”

“Dollar General, blood is on your hands, too,” said Benjamin Crump, one of the attorneys representing the victims’ family, at a Dec. 5 press conference.

Added Q’uantavius Laguerre, the older brother of A.J. Laguerre, “If Dollar General just simply had somebody there to be security just as Family Dollar did, just as Edward Waters did, I wouldn’t be up here speaking about AJ.”

According to investigators, Palmeter made it clear in his writings that he carried an intense hatred for Black people. Additionally, Palmeter texted his father and told him to check his computer, where he found a suicide note Palmeter among the writings. His parents notified the authorities, but it was too late, as Palmeter had already begun his attack.

Palmeter killed himself at the scene. The lawsuit also blames Palmeter’s parents for their negligence, “including but not limited to informing the authorities about the threat posed by Ryan Palmeter and by allowing him and/or assisting him to retain his firearms, despite the evident danger posed.”

According to NBC News, Palmeter was involved in a 2016 domestic violence incident that did not lead to an arrest and was involuntarily committed for a 72-hour mental health examination in 2017.

• Women

by Jeroslyn JoVonn

December 6, 2023

Queen Latifah First Female Rapper To Be Kennedy Center Honoree

Queen Latifah got her flowers.

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Queen Latifah is officially the first rapper to be a Kennedy Center honoree.

The Grammy award-winning rapper was among five recipients celebrated at the 46th annual Kennedy Center Honors in Washington D.C. Along with Latifah, honorees included vocalists and songwriters Dionne Warwick, Renée Fleming, and Barry Gibb, along with actor/comedian/filmmaker Billy Crystal.

Held annually to celebrate the honoree’s contributions to American culture, President Joe Biden, First Lady Jill Biden, and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff led the event held at the White House. Robert De Niro honored Billy Crystal and Missy Elliott recaled the impact of Queen Latifah’s feminist anthem, “Ladies First,” in the hip-hop world.

Former honoree Rita Moreno introduced Latifah. Actress Kerry Washington and Elliott followed up with testimonies praising Latifah in a lively set started by 4-year-old social media phenomenon and rapper Van Van. MCLyte, Monie Love, Yo-Yo, and D-Nice performed “Latifah’s Had It Up to Here”, rapper Rapsody performed “Poetry Man,” followed by gospel groups the Clark Sisters and Rev. Stef & Jubilation who sang “You Brought the Sunshine”.

Washington shared Queen Latifah’s origin story, when 8-year-old Dana Elaine Owens “flipped through a book of names and chose one as her own: Latifah, an Arabic name meaning gentle, kind and pleasant.”

“This is how she saw herself. And then at age 17, when it was time to create her professional moniker, she added the title Queen,” Washington said. “And in doing so, this young black woman from East Orange, New Jersey, crafted the lens through which the world would forever see her.”

For Dionne Warwick, past honoree Debbie Allen introduced an A-list lineup of artists to comment and perform some of Warwick’s classic hits, including Mickey Guyton and The Spinners, who performed “Then Came You”; Cynthia Erivo sang “Alfie”; Chloe Bailey sang “Walk on By”; and Gladys Knight performed a rendition of “Say a Little Prayer.”

Others who paid tribute to the honorees included Jay Leno, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Whoopi Goldberg.

RELATED CONTENT: Kevin Hart Announced As The 25th Recipient Of The Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize

• News

by Nahlah Abdur-Rahman

December 6, 2023

Bed-Stuy Community Held Rally For Deceased Woman Who Died In Childbirth

The family of Christine Fields, a woman who died after delivering her son, hosted a rally at the hospital to demand answers.

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Brooklyn, New York’s Bed-Stuy neighborhood, is mourning one of its community members while calling for answers surrounding her death. Christine Fields died while giving birth on Nov. 13, and the mysterious nature of her death has shaken her neighborhood.

Fields underwent an emergency C-section at Woodhull Medical Center against her original plans to have a natural birth with the aid of a midwife. According to News12, the midwife was not on shift at the time Fields went into labor, prompting the medical staff involved to call for the last-minute procedure due to the baby’s dropping heart rate. Her fiancé, who was initially in the hospital room, was removed as she underwent surgery.

Although the family did see Fields and the newborn infant after what seemed to be a successful delivery, doctors later told her family that the mother of three had died. However, the family has yet to receive the medical records that would explain her untimely death, leaving them to believe that negligence on the hospital’s part played a role. The rally is meant to bring awareness to not only this unfortunate circumstance but also the plight of Black mothers and pregnant women and the mortality rate that disproportionately affects them.

The rally was held in the lobby of the medical center on behalf of Fields, with attendees yelling “Say Her Name,” the familiar battle cry for Black women killed due to police brutality. Black women have the highest maternal mortality rate within the U.S., with the CDC confirming that this demographic is nearly three times more likely than white women to die during childbirth, indicating that systemic issues play a prominent role in the statistic.

“I’m hurt, I’m devastated, I’m angry, and I’m frustrated,” shared Fields’ mother, Denene Witherspoon, who spoke to reporters on the scene. “I want to know what happened to my daughter.”

The baby is still being held at the hospital, as Fields’ family, alongside their Bed-Stuy community, still fight to bring the infant boy home and gain answers on what happened to his mother.

• Business

by Jeroslyn JoVonn

December 6, 2023

Che Pope Became A Music Exec After ‘A Big Lesson’ From Missed Opportunity On Lauryn Hill’s ‘Miseducation’ Album

Che Pope said his start as a music executive came from a missed opportunity on Lauryn Hill's iconic album.

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Former GOOD Music COO Che Pope start as a music executive came from a missed opportunity to make millions on Lauryn Hill’s iconic album.

At October’s Black Tech Weekend in Detroit, Pope recalled the “big lesson” he learned from making far less than he should’ve made for his work on The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.

“I probably made 20% of the money that I should have made on the record,” Pope recalled, as captured by AfroTech. “I should’ve made millions and whatever amount of money. I probably made in the neighborhood of $700,000 total, whereas I probably should’ve made like $7 million.”

Pope produced two of Hill’s classics on the album, “To Zion” and “Lost Ones,” and might not have received his due, but the results inspired a career transition.

“That’s a big lesson,” he said. “That’s college tuition for my children and so forth, but it led me to become an executive. That’s actually why I became a music executive because I wanted to know the business inside and out.”

Pope went on to work with other critically acclaimed artists, including Dr. Dre and The Weeknd before leading Kanye West’s GOOD Music as COO. He spent seven years there, one of the longest-lasting employees.

Pope exited in 2018 with the goal of launching his own company.

“I think for me it was the next progression in my career. To transition from working with somebody and helping them build their stuff to building my own company,” he told Vibe in 2020.

“I am building a music incubator, start-up,” he added. “It was really sort of the next progression in my career. I had to take that step as a business owner. And that takes a lot of work, a lot of focus, and a lot of commitment, you know? It’s one of those things. They say that saying, ‘If it was easy, everybody could do it?’ It’s not easy.”

In January 2022, Pope launched WRKSHP with billionaire Dan Gilbert. The music-based lifestyle brand works to educate upcoming artists about the music business, help them avoid 360-degree deals by securing ownership of their work, and to help them “profit share from revenues derived from their intellectual property and most effectively monetize their art,” he said in a press release.

RELATED CONTENT: Music Exec J Erving Builds Tomorrow’s Black Leaders At Human Re-Sources

• News

by Rafael Pena

December 6, 2023

Former Correctional Officers Denied Bail In Death Of Inmate Quantez Burks

A federal grand jury indicted five former correctional officers in West Virginia on Dec. 5 for the fatal beating of inmate Quantez Burks.

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According to CBS News, a federal grand jury indicted five former correctional officers in West Virginia on Dec. 5 for their involvement in the fatal beating of Quantez Burks in 2022. The U.S. Department of Justice has also charged the ex-officers, including a former lieutenant, with attempting to cover up their attack on Burks after arresting him on wanton endangerment and obstructing an officer.

The officers, Mark Holdren, 39; Cory Snyder, 29; and Johnathan Walters, 35, pleaded not guilty to the charges they face. Former officer Ashley Toney, 23, was not denied bail. All four officers, including Jacob Boothe, 25, and their lieutenant, Chad Lester, 33, are facing potential life sentences and are set to go to trial in January.

As detailed in court records, Quantez Burks made an attempt to maneuver past a correctional officer within his housing unit. Following this incident, Burks was ushered into an interview room, where correctional officers allegedly subjected him to physical blows while he remained restrained and handcuffed. Subsequently, he was forcefully relocated to a cell in a different housing unit, where he fell victim to another assault.

Quantez Burks died as a result of the injuries sustained during the brutal encounter less than a day later.

BET reports that West Virginia Department of Homeland Security Secretary Mark Sorsaia stated that the state collaborated with federal law enforcement to secure indictments against the ex-corrections staffers. Sorsaia emphasized that the department has “no tolerance for abuse of any kind to be inflicted on inmates that are housed in our state facilities.”

The Southern Regional Jail has perviously faced scrutiny for its treatment of inmates and the conditions of the facility. West Virginia settled a $4 million class-action lawsuit filed by inmates last year, alleging inhumane conditions, lack of access to water and food, overcrowding, and delayed intervention by correctional officers during inmate fights.

• Women

by Stacy Jackson

December 6, 2023

Barbados School That Shirley Chisholm Attended Renamed In Her Honor 

Vauxhall Primary School located in Barbados, was renamed Shirley Chisholm Primary School on Tuesday, April 4, 2023.

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Vauxhall Primary School in Barbados was renamed in April 2023 after Shirley Chisholm. Chisholm became the first Black woman ever elected to the U.S. Congress in 1968 and again in 1972. 

Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley and other distinguished guests witnessed the school’s renaming on Tuesday, April 4, 2023, Barbados Today reported. According to the news outlet, the educational institution, which opened on July 8, 1976, took on the new name Shirley Chisholm Primary School. 

In an address at the renaming, Mottley said, “When the Congressional Black Caucus was here last year, we indicated that we wanted to celebrate the life of Shirley Chisholm in an appropriate way,” the outlet reported. “It is not an accident, I believe, that our Independence Day, our Republic Day, is the birthday of Shirley Chisholm. It’s an amazing coincidence.”

Simone Walker, the chief executive officer of The Shirley Chisholm Education Foundation, said, “In fact, we are here today, renaming this school because this school is the place where Shirley first pulled up her chair.”

“She took that chair from Vauxhall and unfolded it in the most powerful rooms in the world where she fought for women’s rights, civil rights, and expanded access to food, education, and healthcare,” Walker added.

Among the guests in attendance were Kay McConney, Barbados’ Minister of Education, and Linda Taglialatela, the United States Ambassador to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean. 

Chisholm, who passed away in 2005 at 81, received her primary education at the Christ Church school when she was a child, Essence reported. The woman who was the first Black woman of a major party to run for president first attended school at the age of three after being sent to the Caribbean island to live on a farm with her grandmother.

The politician and teacher has ties to the island country in the south-eastern Caribbean Sea on her mother’s side. Chisholm’s mother was from Barbados, and her father was from Guyana. 

• News

by Sharelle Burt

December 6, 2023

Disabled Veteran Fights City of Baltimore After Family Home Sold Over Unpaid Property Taxes

Imagine losing the family home for which your father paid a dollar ... over $12,000 in taxes?

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Tony Smothers is gearing up to battle to city of Baltimore after his family home was sold due to unpaid property taxes, CBS News reports.

Smothers’ attorney, Thiru Vignarajah, says the house was sold to a Philadelphia-based company due to $12,000 in unpaid taxes dating back to May 2021. Now, with the support of his neighbors, the 61-year-old veteran is pleading for help to get the house his family has ever been able to call home back.

“My father bought this house for a $1 for me and my siblings in the hopes we would be living here forever,” Smothers said. The home was built and purchased by his father for $1 decades ago as part of the “dollar homes program.”

Smothers has cerebral palsy but lives independently and works as a chef for Towson University. He says he was heartbroken when he found out the house, worth $200,000, was sold at auction for less than $80,000. Vignarajah has vowed to get it back for his client.

“Here we are some 50 years later, Tony Smothers, who, along with his siblings, inherited this house from his father, is on the brink of having this house stripped away from him, ripped away from him through a foreclosure that followed a tax sale,” Vignarajah said.

“Until the City of Baltimore understands what they are taking away, for the precious goal of getting a few more tax dollars, they do not understand the fabric they are ripping apart.”

This has been a growing problem in the city of Baltimore, with other residents facing similar issues. According to WMAR 2 News, City Council President Nick Mosby has supported efforts to remove owner-occupied homes, especially when the owners are veterans, disabled or elderly residents, from tax sale foreclosures. Mosby believes the process should be revised to make it less of a predatory situation. In his tenure as a state delegate, Mosby passed legislation to end the practice of taking homes solely based on late water bills.

• News History

by Daniel Johnson

December 6, 2023

Nathan Woodyard To Be Reinstated On Job And Granted Over $200K Backpay After Acquittal For Elijah McClain’s Murder

Nathan Woodyard, one of the officers implicated in the murder of Elijah McClain, got his job back and received $200,000 in back pay following his acquittal in November.

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As BLACK ENTERPRISE previously reported, Nathan Woodyard, one of the officers implicated in the murder of Elijah McClain, was acquitted of the charges. Now, compounding matters, Woodyard has not only gotten his job back, but has also received $200,000 in back pay, according to The Guardian. 

 On Nov. 27, the Aurora Police Department announced via a spokesperson that due to city law, Woodyard was required to be offered his job back and paid the amount of $212,546 to cover the two years of salary he missed while he was placed on leave. Ryan Luby, an Aurora, CO city spokesman, told The Guardian in an email, “[Woodyard] has elected to reintegrate with the APD and is currently on Restricted Duty (not in uniform, no public contact, and no enforcement actions) pending next steps in the reintegration process.”

The killing of McClain in 2019, along with the murder of George Floyd in 2020, served to galvanize protests in opposition to police brutality across the country and spurred conversations about changes in policing. According to PBS Newshour, following the release of a revised coroner’s report in 2021, forensic pathologist Stephen Cina laid the blame for the death of McClain on the erroneous administration of ketamine, a powerful sedative, saying that McClain died because he had been given an excessive dose of the drug for a person of his size. Cina said in the report, “I believe that Mr. McClain would most likely be alive but for the administration of ketamine.”

However, Cina also said that the stress of being held down by the police officers was also at least a contributing factor to his death. 

Cina also testified on Dec 5 during the trial of the two paramedics who injected McClain with ketamine. Aurora Fire Rescue Paramedic Jeremy Cooper and Lt. Peter Cichuniec are charged with manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, and several counts of assault. Cina testified for three hours, telling the court in the process of his testimony, “To me, seeing that footage of a guy who looks worn out but alive to one that looks like he’s about to stop breathing and die, with the only thing being the ketamine injection in between, I felt we couldn’t ignore that, so I determined the cause of death to be complications of ketamine administration following restraint.” 

Defense lawyers attempted to question why Cina’s story appeared to change, but the forensic pathologist maintained that he believed that the ketamine administration was what led to the death of McClain, saying, “I didn’t call it an outright ketamine overdose because it wasn’t at a lethal level, but even this therapeutic level was just too much for this person at that time.”

“He just did not tolerate it well, and he stopped breathing.”

An attorney for the defense asked Cina if he believed that any amount of the drug would have triggered McClain’s response, to which Cina replied, “I don’t know if it was ‘any amount,’ but even this amount, which shouldn’t have killed most of us, sent him into a tailspin, which lead to his respiratory arrest, cardiac arrest, and brain death.”

RELATED CONTENT: Officer Involved In The Death Of Elijah McClain Found Not Guilty