George Floyd's family and attorneys gathered outside the heavily-barricaded court house before former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin went on trial Monday.
'They can't sweep this under the rug,' said Philonise Floyd, George Floyd's brother, to reporters. Philonise and other speakers spoke about the video that showed Chauvin's knee on Floyd's neck that would be brought as evidence during the trial
Continue reading...Analysis: the trial over the killing of George Floyd may be a bellwether for racial justice, but the prosecution will focus on one man’s actions
For all the many thousands of protests around the world, the global reckoning on racism and policing prompted by the killing of George Floyd last May, prosecutors were clear that their case in the murder trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin would be centered around a period of time lasting less than 10 minutes.
Nine minutes and 29 seconds. The total time that Chauvin held his knee to George Floyd’s neck, leaving him “pancaked”, in the words of prosecutor Jerry Blackwell, between the ground and Chauvin’s body, gradually asphyxiating him to death.
Continue reading...The semi-autonomous area in Minneapolis has become a service to the community, but the city wants to see it reopened
The sign on a barricade on a once-unassuming street in Minneapolis reads: “You’re now entering the free state of George Floyd.”
A small rectangle of city blocks features murals, flowers, candles and tributes in the place where Floyd, a Black man, died under the knee of a white police officer last May, sparking the biggest US civil rights uprising since the 1960s.
Continue reading...Concerns appear to fade that settlement will derail trial of ex-officer as two jurors seated
Concern appears to be fading that a massive settlement for George Floyd’s family will derail the trial of a former police officer accused in his death, with most potential jurors saying they avoided news of the settlement or could set it aside.
Related: Minneapolis to pay George Floyd's family $27m in police custody death lawsuit
Continue reading...The city of Minneapolis has agreed to pay $27m to settle a civil lawsuit from George Floyd's family over the Black man's death in police custody.
It was not immediately clear how the settlement might affect the trial of Derek Chauvin, a white former officer charged with murder and manslaughter in Floyd's death.
The city council unanimously approved the settlement on Friday which includes $500,000 for the neighborhood where Floyd was arrested.
As the George Floyd murder trial opens in Minneapolis, the city councillor talks about coming out as trans, the prejudices she has had to overcome – and how policing must change
Andrea Jenkins lives just a few blocks away from 38th and Chicago, the crossroads in Minneapolis where George Floyd was killed on 25 May last year. She spent two decades of her life working to revitalise the community there, and kicked off her 2017 campaign for the city council’s Eighth ward in an arts centre a few yards away.
After Floyd’s death, when the crossroads became a space for collective mourning, Jenkins visited every day. But in the midst of a bitter Minneapolis winter and with the neighbourhood reeling from the long-term effects of Floyd’s death, Jenkins hasn’t been in months.
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The House has passed the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill, delivering Joe Biden his first major legislative victory as president.
The final vote was 220 to 211, and it fell almost exactly along party lines. Only one Democrat, Jared Golden of Maine, voted against the bill. Applause broke out among Democrats on the House floor after the bill passed.
The House voted 220-211 to concur in the Senate amendment to H.R. 1319 - American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
The House now has enough votes to pass the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill, although the vote remains open.
As of now, the vote stands at 220 to 211, meaning more than half of House members have voted for the passage of the relief bill.
Continue reading...Bridgett Floyd, George Floyd’s sister, said that her family was glad the trial had finally arrived and was 'praying for justice' as the hearing continued on Monday.
The trial of a former police officer in the US city of Minneapolis charged with George Floyd's murder has begun jury selection on Tuesday.
Continue reading...Hundreds of protesters rallied outside the Minneapolis courthouse demanding racial justice and the conviction of a former police officer accused of murdering George Floyd on Monday.
Derek Chauvin, who is white, was fired and charged with murder after he knelt on Floyd’s neck when the Black man had been forced to the ground during an attempted arrest last May
Continue reading...The judge overseeing the trial of a former Minneapolis police officer accused of murdering George Floyd delayed the start of jury selection on Monday for at least a day while an appeal proceeds over the possible reinstatement of an additional charge.
Hundreds of protesters rallied outside the courthouse demanding racial justice and the conviction of Derek Chauvin, who is white and was fired and charged with murder after he knelt on Floyd’s neck when the Black man had been forced to the ground during an attempted arrest last May.
Continue reading...Since the killing of George Floyd, the industry has attempted to tackle racism, but has it gone far enough?
This month, fashion’s unofficial watchdog, Diet Prada, posted a “how it started versus how it’s going” meme on Instagram. Contrasting a past moment of hope with a current moment of reckoning, Diet Prada turned its attention to the US clothing and homeware store Anthropologie.
The first picture was a screengrab from the brand’s official Instagram account, showing a pledge to diversify its workforce, written after the police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor in the spring. A second screengrab showed the lineup for a series of Christmas virtual workshops – styling sessions, baking demonstrations and candle-making sessions run by blond, white women.
Continue reading...He was 25, a father and a car mechanic. Five minutes after being stopped by police on 15 June 2017, he was lying unresponsive on the ground. After an inquest and inquiry, family and friends are still fighting for justice
They were cruising at speed down Tollgate Road, the stereo turned high. They all knew they shouldn’t be there, not at this time, not after dark. If you’re from London’s Stratford, showing up in nearby Beckton carried its risks.
Jussara Gomes was driving, a fast-talking 23-year-old with an infectious laugh. Beside her, in the passenger seat of the black A-class Mercedes, was Edir Da Costa, known as Edson, a 25-year-old father and car mechanic, swaying exuberantly to hip-hop.
Continue reading...Francis contrasts opposition to Covid measures with ‘healthy indignation’ over racism
Pope Francis has taken aim at protests against coronavirus restrictions, contrasting them with the “healthy indignation” seen in demonstrations against racism after the death of George Floyd.
“Some groups protested, refusing to keep their distance, marching against travel restrictions – as if measures that governments must impose for the good of their people constitute some kind of political assault on autonomy or personal freedom,” he said in a new book.
Continue reading...Attorneys for four former Minneapolis officers charged in the killing of George Floyd say each should get his own trial, as the officers point fingers at one another.
Related: 9/11 remembered amid raging wildfires and coronavirus recriminations – live
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In the latest sign of how ugly the presidential race has become, Trump baselessly accused Joe Biden of using performance-enhancing drugs in a new interview.
Fox News released a clip from Trump’s recent interview with host Jeanine Pirro, which will air in full tomorrow night.
"I think there's probably, possibly drugs involved. That's what I hear." -- during interview with Judge Jeanine, Trump casually accuses Joe Biden of using performance enhancing drugs pic.twitter.com/RVWJMqPNhn
Hello everyone, this is Julia Carrie Wong picking up the blog from smoky Oakland, California. I’ll have more news and politics coming your way for the rest of the evening.
First up: QAnon-supporting candidate Marjorie Taylor Greene’s election to Congress is all but assured after her Democratic opponent, Kevin Van Ausdal, abruptly dropped out of the race to represent Georgia’s 14th district.
A message from Kevin Van Ausdal pic.twitter.com/Y5LtVcpK2B
Related: 'Mind-bogglingly irresponsible': meet the Republican donors helping QAnon reach Congress
Continue reading...Why should black founders jump through more hoops to earn funders’ trust?
I was in Kibera, Africa’s largest slum, when I heard about the shooting of another black man, Jacob Blake, by US police. Close by is a mural of George Floyd, painted on a wall near where I grew up, a reminder that the current upheaval surrounding race in the US has global repercussions. Just as calls for racial justice echo in American and European streets, government offices and boardrooms, we must not forget that the legacy of racial injustice extends far beyond those borders and any honest reckoning must include open dialogue around race in international development.
In Africa, white-led institutions have shaped the development and social entrepreneurship landscape, deciding who succeeds and who fails. Only recently has there been a growing recognition of these imperialist dynamics, which uplift foreign-led practitioners more than local ones. There is a growing consensus that the future should and must be created and led by Africans, because real progress requires it to be on our own terms. And yet, this is just talk until funders shift resources and power, at scale, towards local solutions.
Continue reading...Footage shows men in pickup trucks taking part in a pro-Trump procession driving into a crowd of protesters in Portland, Oregon. They fire paintballs and pepper spray as demonstrators throw objects at the convoy. The caravan of Trump supporters drove as a group into the centre of Portland, prompting protesters to block streets and bridges in an attempt to stop them. It was the third Saturday in a row that Trump supporters have rallied in the city.
Continue reading...Police say it was not clear if shooting was linked to fights between protesters and caravan of Trump supporters
One person was shot and killed late Saturday in Portland, Oregon, as a large caravan of Donald Trump supporters came into town and were seen on video firing paintballs and pepper spray at Black Lives Matter protesters before clashes erupted in the streets.
Related: The Department of Homeland Security is a rogue agency. Democrats must take action | Trevor Timm
Continue reading...Police say it was not clear if shooting was linked to fights between protesters and caravan of Trump supporters
Portland mayor Ted Wheeler on Sunday slammed Donald Trump, accusing the president of encouraging the kind of violence that erupted in the city overnight when a reported member of a rightwing group was shot dead after a group of Trump supporters confronted Black Lives Matter protesters.
“What America needs is for you to be stopped,” Wheeler said of Trump, after the president tore into Wheeler on Twitter in the hours after the death and retweeted video footage of his supporters in trucks firing paintballs and pepper spray at protesters downtown.
Continue reading...Hans Sloane ‘pushed off pedestal’ and placed with artefacts putting his work in context of British empire
The British Museum has removed a bust of its founding father, who was a slave owner, and said it wanted to confront its links to colonialism.
Hartwig Fischer, the institution’s director, revealed the likeness of Sir Hans Sloane has been placed in a secure cabinet alongside artefacts explaining his work in the context of the British empire.
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