Habari Gani

Dylan Roof is appealing his death sentence related to the 2015 fatal shooting of nine Black parishioners inside a historic Charleston, S.C. Black church. His lawyers say the White Supremacist was suffering from mental illness at the time of the fatal shooting at Mother Emanuel AME Church. The attorneys allege Roof “believed his sentence didn’t matter because White nationalists would free him from prison after an impending race war.” During a competency hearing before his 2017 trial, a judge ruled Roof was competent and had an extremely high IQ. Roof represented himself at trial and was convicted of 33 federal charges. He was prosecuted under the federal Shepard/Byrd Hate Crimes Act and is the first person to be ordered executed for a federal hate crime. He is now on death row at a federal penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana.

—TheGrio.com

Maybe money can’t buy love, but President Donald Trump is counting on it buying the votes of Black Americans. Allies of the president are organizing events in Black communities, where they praise Trump…and hand out tens of thousands of dollars to those who show up, according to Politico. The first such event was last month in Cleveland, where raffle winners were bestowed case gifts of several hundred dollars each. An organization called the Urban Revitalization Coalition is doing the cash giveaways. More are scheduled, though a Trump event in Virginia was postponed. Political experts have predicted that this year’s White House race will draw a record turnout and that Black voters—especially Black women—will be key. Experts say smart candidates will court Balck voters along the road to election day in November. The Trump campaign has been placing time and money into influencing Black voters. Last year, the president spoke at an HBCU to tout his record with exonerating Black inmates.—TheGrio.com

A Prince George’s County police officer shot and killed a man who was handcuffed and strapped in a seatbelt in the front seat of a squad car recently. The officer was not wearing a body camera. The incident happened in Temple Hills, Maryland where police responded to a 911 call around 8 p.m. about an erratic driver who struck multiple vehicles in the Silver Hill area and on St. Barnabas Rd., according to an NBC affiliate in Washington, D.C. A spokesperson for the Prince George’s County Police said officers found the suspect on Winston Street and that they believe they smelled PCP coming from his vehicle. The spokesperson said officers handcuffed the driver with his hands behind his back and put him in the front passenger seat of a cruiser, which is standard for suspects to be transported to its corrections facility. Officers also strapped a seat belt across the suspect. An officer who was in the squad car waiting for a drug recognition expert when. Witnesses say they saw or heard a struggle, then heard loud bangs coming from inside the squad car. The officer fired his duty weapon several times. The suspect has not been identified pending notification of the family. The officer is also unidentified (at the time of this writing) and is on administrative duty.—TheGriol.com

Texas teenager Deandre Arnold is being forced to choose between cutting off the locs he’s been growing since he was in the seventh grade or be banned from his own high school graduation ceremony. Arnold, who lives in the Houston suburb of Mont Belvieu, previously had a 10 year agreement with the Barbers Hill independent school district that allowed for his hair to be treated as an exemption to their dress code policy because of its spiritual and cultural significance. However, an amendment was recently passed whereupon Arnold has to cut his dreadlocks short enough to meet the district’s revised policy, or not be allowed to walk during graduation. The school district has been told they are in violation of the 1964 Civil Rights Act as it pertains to religious beliefs. The district refuses to address the issue in the future.—TheGrio.com

Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, the widow of Cong. Elijah Cummings, said Donald Trump’s attack on her husband “hurt him at his worst moment,” and undermined her husband’s health. Cummings, who chaired the House Oversight Committee and was heavily involved in Trump’s impeachment inquiry, died five months after Trump tweeted his congressional district, including Baltimore, was a “disgusting, rat and rodent-infested mess where no human being would want to live.” Those words, and hate mail by Trump supporters, came when Cummings was in the deepest throes of his illness. “Elijah was already battling health issues and so to have the president come out and do this at that time, you know … it really depressed him and it stressed him and I think it undermined his health.”—TheGrio.com

The United States Navy has named an aircraft carrier after decorated Black World War II hero Doris “Dorie” Miller, a first in the 244-year history of the Navy. Miller was the first Black American to earn the Navy Cross for exemplifying courage during the 1941 Pearl Harbor attack. The ship will be named the USS Doris Miller. The name was revealed during a Martin Luther King, Jr. event by Acting Navy Sec. Thomas B. Modly. Miller, who worked as a cook on a ship, helped clear service members from the battleship USS West Virginia before it sank and is credited with emptying a machine gun at Japanese enemy forces. “In selecting this name, we honor the contributions of all our enlisted ranks, past and present, men and women, of every race, religion, and background,” Modly said.—TheGrio.com

California U.S. Senator Kamala Harris recently led 26 of her colleagues in a letter to President Trump demanding the immediate removal of Stephen Miller as a White House senior advisor. The letter follows recent reports detailing over 900 e-mails from Miller to far-right Breitbart News between 2015 and 2016, which confirm he worked to advance White supremacist, anti-immigration ideologies. In the letter, the senators connect the e-mails to specific immigration policies Miller implemented. “Mr. Miller’s demonstrable White nationalist ideology has directly translated into your administration’s policies, which have been widely criticized for systematically targeting communities of color,” the senators wrote. The letter noted when someone takes an oath to work in the White House and earn a taxpayer-funded salary, they work for the people, not a divisive, harmful, and hateful ideology.

Nelson Mandela would be so proud! Zozibini Tunzi of South Africa was crowned Miss Universe 2019 recently after receiving excellent scores for her response to questions on social issues and what young girls should be taught about their value, self-being, and how they have to “cement” themselves in spaces they enter.

“I think the most important thing we should be teaching young girls today is leadership. It’s something that has been lacking in young girls and women for a very long time, not because we don’t want to but because of what society has labeled women to be,” said Tunzi, who is an activist engaged in the fight against gender-based violence, according to the pagent. “I think we are the most powerful beings in the world and that we should be given every opportunity and that is what we should be teaching these girls, to take up space. Nothing is as important as taking up space and cementing yourself.”

Tunzi also impressed the judges with the way she worked her swimsuit and evening gown apparel and said she wanted to be Miss Universe because: “I grew up in a world where a woman who looks like me, with my kind of skin and my kind of hair, was never considered to be beautiful. I think it is time that that stops today. I want children to look at me and see my face and I want them to see their faces reflected in mine.”

Comedian and actor Bill Cosby lost his appeal in a Pennsylvania court recently. Cosby is serving a three to 10 year prison sentence after he was convicted in 2018 of sexually assaulting Andrea Constand. Cosby’s lawyers sought to overturn that conviction on numerous grounds. They first claimed his trial was unfair because five women were allowed to give testimony about “prior bad acts” (PBA) that was not similar in nature to what he stood accused of by Constand, according to Variety. The lawyers also argued that jurors should not have been allowed to hear how Cosby’s civil cases were handled during his criminal trial. However, the three-judge appellate panel disagreed with both assertions, noting the PBA evidence established Cosby’s “unique sexual assault playbook.” That “playbook” simultaneously undermined Cosby’s claim that he was unaware of or mistaken about his victims’ failure to consent to the sexual contact that formed the basis of the aggravated indecent assault charges. –TheGrio

Embattled Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, who was harshly criticized when her office suddenly dropped charges against actor Jussie Smollett, recently announced her reelection bid. Foxx’s announcement comes after a judge appointed a special prosecutor to examine why felony counts against Smollett, who had been charged with staging a racist and homophobic attack against himself last January, were dismissed. Foxx had recused herself after she had conversations with the actor’s family. Her challengers include a former judge and two former prosecutors. In a press release, Foxx said she hopes to continue reforming the criminal justice system in the county including Chicago that she began implementing when she was elected in 2016. Foxx is the first Black woman to head the office.—TheGrio.com

Democratic Presidential Candidate Elizabeth Warren recently released a plan to fight the increasing White nationalist violence, adding violent racists should be called domestic terrorists.  The plan, called “Fighting Back Against White Nationalist Violence,” asserts Warren would make the issue a top priority should she be elected president. Her plan cites the 2015 Charleston shooting at Mother Emanuel AME Church, the 2017 Charlottesveill rally, and the 2018 murder of Jewish worshippers in a Pittsburgh synagogue, as prime examples of White nationalist violence, saying they have “no place in American life.” The plan includes such measures as using the Department of Justice and Homeland Security prosecute and investigate White nationalist violence, and address the presence of White nationalist groups in the U.S. military by directing the Pentagon to enhance background checks and track Neo-Nazi affiliations.—TheGrio.com

Former President Barack Obama warned Democratic presidential hopefuls recently not to veer too far to the left because it would alienate many who would otherwise be open to voting for the party’s nominee in 2020. His warning wasn’t aimed at any particular candidate vying the Democratic nomination to take on President Trump next year. However, many who heard it believe Obama was referring to the candidacies of Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders. Both have called for massive structural changes, with Sanders’ calling for a revolution that would dramatically alter government’s role in people’s lives. Political observers believe a far-left push could alienate moderate Republicans and independent voters who would be needed to oust Trump. Obama said there are persuadable voters and democrats “who just want to see things make sense. They want to see things a little more fair, they want to see things a little more just. And how we approach that I think will be important.”—TheGrio.com

A recently released Quinnipiac poll revealed President Donald Trump is losing support with non-White individuals. The poll also showed support for removing the president was highest among Democrat and left-leaning respondents at 86%, compared to 49% of independents. Ninety-one percent of Republicans said they are against removing the president from office. Predictably, views on impeachment fell on party linies.

The poll asked if Congress should impeach Trump and remove him from office. White men responded emphatically (32% yes (to impreach), 64% said no.

Every other ethnicity responded in the opposite (55% yes, 38% no).

—The Atlanta Voice, via blackpressusa.com

A memorial was rededicated to Emmett Till just outside of Glendora, Miss. The new marker, dedicated to the slain 14-year-old Black teen from Chicago is now bulletproof and weighs 500 pounds. It’s made of steel and is encased in bulletproof glass. There had been three previous markers remembering Till. The first one, erected in 2008, was thrown into the river. The second was riddled with bullets and vandalized. A third replacement met the same fate.

The rededication was attended by Till’s family members, including his cousin who was with him on that fateful summer night. Till’s tragic and brutal murder jump-started the civil rights movement more than six decades ago.

—blackpressusa.com

Actor-comedian John Witherspoon, who memorably played Ice Cube’s father in the “Friday” films, has died. He was 77. No cause of death was released. Witherspoon had a prolific career, co-starring in three “Friday” films, appearing on “The Wayans Bros.” television series and voicing the grandfather in “The Boondocks” animated series. His film roles included “Vampire in Brooklyn” and “Boomerang,” and was a frequent guest on “Late Show with David Letterman.” His most recognizable role was “Pops” a crude but affectionate father trying to guide his son to be better. “Life won’t be as funny without him,” Ice Cube said in a Twitter post, adding he was devastated by news of Witherspoon’s death.

—thegrio.com

Noted civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump said recently it’s “open season” on Black people’s civil rights.  The former lawyer for Trayvon Martin’s family said the $20 billion lawsuit filed by Black media mogul Byron Allen on behalf of his company, Entertainment Studios, against TV network giants Comcast and Charter Communications for racial discrimination could have huge implications for the Black community.  Crump said if the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down Allen’s suit, it will effectively do away with the Civil Rights Act, which bans racial discrimination in business contracts. It would eliminate safeguards ensuring Americans’ rights to equal protection under the law.

The Trump’s Department of Justice recently filed an amicus brief, declaring the law should be read differently than Allen’s lawyers interpreted it, wanting Allen’s company to prove racial discrimination is the only reason they’re denied business opportunities. Comcast denies racial discrimination, pointing to its Black themed programing as an example of its commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Singer and fashion mogul Rihanna has joined other celebrities to offer support to the Bahamas after the country was rocked by “catastrophic damage” from Hurricane Dorian. Her Charity, the Clara Lionel Foundation, is currently trying to figure out how best to help the Caribbean nation that was pummeled by a Category 5 hurricane. According to the Red Cross, more than 13,000 houses, or 45% of the homes in Grand Bahama and Abaco, are believed to be severely damaged or destroyed. Bahamian officials reportedly received a “tremendous” number of calls from people in flooded homes. One radio station said it received more than 2,000 distress messages. On Instagram, Rihanna, who is from Barbados, said “it truly breaks my heart to see the complete devastation that #HurricaneDorian is having on the Bahamas!”

Federal prosecutors in the R. Kelly case are arguing his marriage to a then 15-year-old Aaliyah is proof the singer can’t be trusted around kids and must remain behind bars. Kelly reportedly married the late R&B singer when he was 27. The government produced in discovery to the defendant the official marriage application, marriage certificate, and annulment records for the marriage. They note in the discovery brief, it was far from a one-time mistake, charging Kelly’s sexual abuse of minors was intentional and prolific. The singer is currently confined to the Metropolitan Correctional Center in downtown Chicago pending trail. He faces 18 counts in federal indictments on various sex crimes in Chicago and Brooklyn. Kelly faces 195 years for the Chicago case alone. His two girlfriends, Joycelyn Savage, 23, and Azriel Clary, 21, are reportedly trying to raise funds to hire Tom Mesereau, the attorney who got Michael Jackson acquitted in his 2005 child molestation trial.