WaPo: “Black lawmakers in Virginia’s General Assembly joined the state’s NAACP Friday in calling for the resignation of Martin D. Brown, the state’s chief diversity officer, after he blasted diversity, equity and inclusion programs in a speech at Virginia Military Institute. State Sen. Lamont Bagby (D-Richmond), the chairman of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus, described…
“Braxton Winston Running for [NC] Labor Commissioner”
Watauga Watch: “Winston has served for the last six years on the Charlotte City Council and is currently mayor pro tem. He is also a labor activist — a professional videographer but also, as a stagehand and grip, a union member, in “our region’s robust sports television and entertainment production community” (Winston website). He was…
“Florida’s surgeon general played loose with facts about vaccine risk”
WaPo: “Last October, Florida’s surgeon general, Joseph A. Ladapo, made an alarming claim about the mRNA vaccines that have been so vital to protecting people around the world from serious disease and death from the coronavirus. Dr. Ladapo issued a press release declaring that a new analysis by the Florida health department had found an “abnormally high risk of cardiac-related…
Carolyn Bryant Donham, MS Woman Responsible for Emmett Till’s Killing Who Admitted Perjuring Herself, Dies at 88
NY Times: “Only two people knew exactly what happened during the minute they were alone together in the general store in Money, Miss., on Aug. 24, 1955. One, Emmett Till, a Black teenager visiting from Chicago, died four days later, at 14, in a brutal murder that stands out even in America’s long history of…
“To help with affordable housing, NC lawmakers look to tiny homes”
WRAL: “The state legislature is considering a controversial solution to the lack of affordable housing: Granny flats. On [April 20] a legislative committee advanced House Bill 409, which aims to legalize the construction of tinier houses in the yards or woods of already existing homes. Technically called accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, such properties are…
“Confederate Tributes Are Losing Their Patron Saint”
NY Times: “As recently as a decade ago, U.S. military officials stood by the anemic fiction that Confederate base names had nothing to do with race hatred. But that position rang hollow each time Confederate ideology figured in episodes of racist violence. The connection was crystal clear in 2015, when a gunman sought to instigate…
“ALCU of NC files lawsuit over rioting, civil penalties law”
North State Journal: “The ACLU-NC’s 40-page complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina is a facial challenge to the law, meaning the lawsuit is claiming the law is either unconstitutionally overbroad or vague and should therefore be blocked. The lawsuit claims the law “violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the…
“Documentary Reveals How Two Charlotte Men Discovered an Ugly Past and Confronted It.”
Charlotte Observer: “When the final credits faded, and a once-darkened theater inside a near-capacity Independent Picture House in NoDa slowly regained light, Jimmie Lee Kirkpatrick and De Kirkpatrick were adorned with applause and overwhelming praise. A feature documentary entitled “A Binding Truth” explored the emotional journey of men at opposite ends of the racial spectrum…
Activist Killed by Police at Cop City Protest Sitting Cross-Legged with Hands Raised Before Being Shot 57 Times. No Gunshot Residue on Hands. Bodycam Video Records Officer Saying Wounded Policeman Shot by Friendly Fire.
The Intercept: “When 26-year-old Manuel “Tortuguita” Terán was shot dead by police during a brutal, multi-agency raid on the Defend Atlanta Forest, Stop Cop City encampment in January, the activist’s friends felt certain of two things: Tortuguita was murdered, and whatever narrative the police offered would be a lie. Like clockwork, police officials claimed that Tortuguita shot…
“Bishop Barber, protestors gather on Moral Monday 10th anniversary, hold ‘Recommitment Rally’ at state capitol”
WRAL: “In honor of the Moral Monday movement’s 10th anniversary, Bishop William Barber and dozens of advocacy groups gathered at the state capitol Monday for what they call a ‘Recommitment Rally’ to mark the occasion. The goal of the Moral Monday movement is to “reclaim democracy in the face of extremist attacks.” The event, which began at 5:30…