U.S. Senator Kamala Harris has ended her bid for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020, explaining the campaign doesn’t have the financial resources needed to continue. “I’ve taken stock and looked at this from every angle,” said the California senator in a note to supporters. “And over the last few days have come to one of the hardest decisions of my life.” The first woman and first Black attorney general and U.S. senator in California history, Harris was widely viewed as a candidate poised to excite the same segment of voters that sent Barack Obama to the White House. But as the field of candidates grew and presidential candidates Pete Buttigieg, Elizabeth Warren, and Bernie Sanders began attracting dollars and more attention, Harris’ fundraising and support started to flatline. Also, Harris faltered because she had an inconsistent message.
Weeks before he was due to retire, Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson was fired by that city’s mayor, Lori Lightfoot. According to the Chicago Tribune, Lightfoot accused Johnson of engaging in a series of actions that were “intolerable.” She explained that it was her belief that Johnson had intentionally misled the public, and also behaved in a manner that was unethical in relation to the evening when he was found asleep in his car after drinking. That incident occurred in October after midnight when CPD officers, responding to a 911 call found the superintendent asleep in his parked car near his home. Johnson said he had failed to take his prescription medication. He later admitted to Lightfoot that he had “a couple of drinks” with dinner. The mayor, in a sign to the community that “the old Chicago way” won’t be tolerated, fired Johnson.
A new study by a criminal justice organization reveals racial disparities have narrowed across the U.S. criminal justice system over the last 16 years, though Black people are still significantly more likely to be behind bars than White people. Racial gaps broadly declined in local jails, state prisons, and among people on probation and parole, according to the study released Tuesday by the nonpartisan Council on Criminal Justice. The divide in state imprisonment rates dropped for all major crimes but was most pronounced for drug offenses—a key driving factor for the racial sift. Blacks were 15 times more likely than Whites to be in state prisons for drug crimes in 2000, but that dropped to five times as likely by 2016, the most recent year available. The gap has also narrowed in paroles and probations.
Ex-San Francisco 49ers Quarterback and philanthropist/activist Colin Kaepernick and his girlfriend recently spent his 32nd birthday feeding and giving supplies to Oakland’s homeless. They both walked around Tent City in Oakland handing out backpacks loaded with snacks, socks, air quality masks, clothes and other supplies to the homeless population in that city. The effort was done in partnership with Kaepernicks’s foundation, “Know Your Rights Camp.” The former quarterback even posed for photos with the less fortunate. In 2016, Kaepernick risked his NFL career when he started kneeling during the National Anthem at games to raise awareness and protest incidents of police brutality and racial inequities. After that season, no NFL team signed Kaepernick to play. At the time, he said reportedly he was taking a stance because he couldn’t in good conscience “show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses Black people and people of color. —Source: TheGrio.com
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!”
Study: Southern Whites still have racial bias against Blacks
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