The US Department of Justice said it had made its investigation into police involvement in the death of George Floyd a “top priority” after thousands took to the streets for a second day of protests in Minneapolis.
Related: George Floyd killing: two officers involved previously reviewed for use of force
Continue reading...The Star Wars actor expanded on his defiance of racist social media users in an Instagram Live video
John Boyega has been praised for a series of uncompromising social media posts speaking out about racism in the wake of the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers.
Boyega’s initial Tweet, “I really fucking hate racists”, currently has 1.3m likes, but came in for criticism for his hard-hitting tone and use of an expletive.
Continue reading...Protests after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis grew as demonstrators rallied in Los Angeles, marching through the city and blocking both sides of a freeway.
Floyd, who was black, died after a white police officer knelt on his neck for several minutes, which was captured on video
Police have clashed with protesters on the streets of Minneapolis amid outrage over the death of an unarmed black man in police custody. George Floyd died after an officer knelt on his neck for several minutes. Large crowds gathered in the city on Tuesday night and police in riot gear fired teargas and rubber bullets at demonstrators
Attorney for family of black jogger shot by white men says federal authorities are looking into prosecutors and police in case
The FBI is investigating the shooting of Ahmaud Arbery, a black jogger, by two white men as a possible hate crime, the Arbery family’s attorney said Monday, claiming that federal authorities had launched a criminal inquiry into two district attorneys and the police department involved in the case.
Lee Martin, who represents the family of Arbery, 25, whose 23 February killing in Brunswick, Georgia, was captured on a graphic video recording that sparked national outrage, said he met with officials from the Department of Justice last Thursday.
Continue reading...Experts warn reopening states could have dire consequences on public health, and black Americans already face greater risk
Donald Trump recently shared a doctored video of his head superimposed on to actor Bill Pullman’s character in the 1996 film Independence Day’s crowd-rallying scene, likening frontline workers to warriors.
But it rang hollow for Denita Jones, a Dallas-area call center worker. For many black, essential workers like her, the message is about reopening the economy, but the real meaning is more subtle.
Continue reading...Val Demings, a Democratic representative from Florida among contenders to be Joe Biden’s presidential running mate, has castigated Donald Trump for having the “gall and nerve” to use a gaffe by Biden as a weapon on the campaign trail.
Related: Jeff Sessions protests loyalty to Trump – again – despite Twitter abuse
Continue reading...Foundation seeks to convert part of historic building into mosque and community centre
A plan to convert part of the famous Trocadero building in Piccadilly Circus in London into a mosque has sparked objections from people who say a place of worship in an area noted for its bars and nightlife is inappropriate.
The Aziz Foundation, a charity that offers educational grants and scholarships to Muslims, has applied to Westminster city council for permission to convert the basement and ground floor of the Trocadero into a place of worship and a community centre.
Continue reading...Joe Biden has been criticised after saying,'If you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t black'. The former vice-president made the comment in an interview with Charlamagne tha God, a co-host of the radio show 'The Breakfast Club'.
After a campaign aide said Biden had to wrap up the conversation, Charlamagne said: 'Listen, you’ve got to come see us when you come to New York, VP Biden. It’s a long way until November. We’ve got more questions.'
'You’ve got more questions?' Biden replied. 'Well I tell you what, if you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t black.' He said Charlamagne and voters should 'take a look at my record, man!'
Former vice-president said in an interview ‘If you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t black’
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden triggered a fresh controversy on Friday morning when he suggested that if American voters supported Donald Trump “then you ain’t black”.
The former vice-president did an interview with Charlamagne tha God, a co-host of the radio show The Breakfast Club. Charlamagne had pressed Biden on a number of issues, including the legalization of marijuana and his choice of running mate.
Continue reading...As racism warps the US pandemic response, a health crisis has escalated into a culture war
puritans, alex azar, navajo nation,
Why do Americans represent less than 5% of the world’s population but nearly a third of the known coronavirus death toll? Not because of government incompetence, the Trump administration is arguing, but because Americans are very unhealthy.
The United States’ organized response to the pandemic had been “historic”, Trump’s health secretary, Alex Azar, told CNN on 17 May, but America “unfortunately” has a “very diverse” population, and black Americans and minorities “in particular” have “significant underlying disease”.
Continue reading...Car maker says it is ‘horrified’ by the ad that featured a large white hand ‘flicking’ a black man
Volkswagen has withdrawn a Golf car advertisement posted on its official Instagram page that the company admitted was racist and insulting, saying it would investigate how it came about.
The car company, which has already seen its reputation tarnished in the past five years after it admitted cheating diesel emissions tests, said it did not tolerate any form of racism.
Continue reading...New figures from non-partisan APM Research Lab show staggering racial divide in coronavirus death rate across US
The racial wound at the center of the coronavirus pandemic in the US continues to fester, with latest data showing that African Americans have died from the disease at almost three times the rate of white people.
New figures compiled by the non-partisan APM Research Lab and released on Wednesday under the title Color of Coronavirus provide further evidence of the staggering divide in the Covid-19 death rate between black Americans and the rest of the nation.
Continue reading...Marcus Arbery Sr says Ahmaud’s death at the hands of two white men, while he was out for a run, was an act of racism
Marcus Arbery Sr says his son was just like him, fit and athletic.
Related: ‘Every stone will be uncovered’: how Georgia officials failed the Ahmaud Arbery case
Continue reading...Systemic flaws within Glynn county’s district attorney offices led to a lack of action against the men involved in this ‘modern lynching’
In the days and weeks after Ahmaud Arbery was shot and killed, multiple Glynn county law enforcement officials failed to thoroughly investigate his death and, in one case, refused to allow police officers to make arrests, the Guardian has learned.
Related: Ahmaud Arbery is dead because Americans think black men are criminals | Benjamin Dixon
Continue reading...Concerns raised about ‘disproportionate’ use of force after young black man is seriously injured
The police watchdog has launched an investigation into the conduct of three officers after a black man in his 20s was left with a life-changing injury in an incident in north London where he was shot with a stun gun.
Police on patrol in Haringey chased the man on Monday after he ran away from them following an approach, it is understood. They used the stun gun as he jumped over a wall and he fell, suffering serious back injuries, which his family fear could leave him at least partially paralysed.
Continue reading...Gregory and Travis McMichael confronted Arbery with two firearms as the 25 year old was jogging in Brunswick, Georgia
A white father and son have been arrested over the death of Ahmaud Arbery, the 25-year-old black man who was shot while jogging in a Georgia neighborhood and whose case has sparked a national outcry.
In a statement released Thursday evening, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) said that Gregory McMichael, 64, and Travis McMichael, 34, had been arrested and charged with murder and aggravated assault.
Continue reading...NHS staff from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds may be given roles away from the frontline under plans to reduce their disproportionately high death rate from Covid-19.
The Guardian revealed last week that minority groups were over-represented by as much as 27% in the overall Covid-19 death toll. Additionally, 63% of the first 106 health and social care staff known to have died from the virus were black or Asian, according to the Health Service Journal.
Senior reporter Haroon Siddique looks at the figures and explains why BAME people may be more at risk.
Pandemic spotlights racial disparities, with black workers expected to feature disproportionately in the 26m recent unemployment claims
Just two months ago in the Cabinet Room of the White House, sitting at a table surrounded by a handful of his black supporters, Donald Trump once again praised his job creation record. “Black people right now are having the best, statistically, the best numbers that you’ve ever had, and it’s really an honor,” he said. “Nobody has done more for black people than I have. Nobody has done more.”
That was 27 February and Trump was also still claiming he had done an “incredible job” with the looming coronavirus pandemic. Now the virus has led 26 million Americans to file for unemployment. While the US Bureau of Labor Statistics will not release unemployment figures broken down by race until the beginning of next month, economists are certain that black Americans are suffering the brunt of Covid-19’s economic impact and will probably suffer the most dramatic consequences of the looming recession.
Continue reading...The president had been intending to campaign on a strong economy and facing a socialist opponent but scapegoating foreigners has worked for him before
Donald Trump had been intending to run a re-election campaign based on a strong economy and a socialist opponent. Both have vanished in the past month. But the US president still has his ultimate weapon: xenophobia.
Related: Debacle of Trump's coronavirus disinfectant comments could be tipping point
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