Tag: racism

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President Biden Denounces White Supremacist Shooting In Florida

President Joe Biden (photo: White House by Cameron Smith)
President Joe Biden denounced the hideous shooting in Jacksonville, Florida, where a 21-year-old white gunman killed three Black people at a Dollar General Store on Saturday. Continue reading “President Biden Denounces White Supremacist Shooting In Florida”

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Florida: White Gunman Murders 3 For Being Black

A white gunman wearing a tactical vest gunned down three Black people at a Dollar General store in Jacksonville, Fla., on Saturday. All three victims died. “This shooting was racially motivated, and he hated Black people,” Sheriff Waters said. Continue reading “Florida: White Gunman Murders 3 For Being Black”

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White House Monkeypox Czar Dr. Demetre Daskalakis + More News

Dr. Demetre Daskalakis
Dr. Demetre Daskalakis (image via Instagram)
Some news items you might have missed: • The Advocate: Monkeypox cases are declining, and the new White House czar is totally qualified for the job, but conservatives are losing their mind over the out and proud Dr. Demetre Daskalakis. Continue reading “White House Monkeypox Czar Dr. Demetre Daskalakis + More News”

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President Biden: White Supremacy Is A Poison, Has No Place In America

President Joe Biden traveled to Buffalo, New York, where he met with the families of victims from Saturday’s shooting rampage. In a speech he called white supremacy "a poison" that has no place in America.
President Joe Biden (screen capture)
President Joe Biden traveled to Buffalo, New York, on Tuesday where he met with the families of victims from Saturday’s shooting rampage spurred by hateful white supremacy theories. In a speech, Biden addressed racism and hate calling on Americans to “take on the haters” and “reject the lie” of racial replacement that reportedly led the white gunman to shoot and kill Black shoppers. Continue reading “President Biden: White Supremacy Is A Poison, Has No Place In America”

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Zac Efron Doesn’t Think He’s Daddy Material (Yet) + More News

Zac Efron isn't sure if he's ready to be a daddy, but we have news for him...
Zac Efron (screen capture via Netflix)
Some news items you might have missed: • OK Magazine: After filming his latest film where he plays a dad, Zac Efron says he doesn’t think he’s quite ready to be a daddy. “I have a little bit more growing to do, probably,” he said. p.s. dude, we’ve got some news for you… Continue reading “Zac Efron Doesn’t Think He’s Daddy Material (Yet) + More News”

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News Round-Up: June 10, 2021

Caden Wyatt with his dad, John, and his mom, Janell (image via John Wyatt)
Some news items you might have missed: • Buzzfeed: Just over a year since he first came out, Caden Wyatt, 15, (above) told the most people he ever has that he’s gay — and he did it with his dad by his side. For the first time in their lives, and likely one of the first times in their Oklahoma neighborhood, the Wyatts hung a flag outside their house to ring in Pride Month. • PEOPLE: Queer Eye star Karamo Brown says filming the current season of the “make better” show in Texas was the ‘first time’ he experienced ‘blatant’ hatred. • Instagram: Cheyenne Jackson is thankful he learned how to get ripped AF with his hotel room workouts. He looked pretty fit before, but I’m not complaining… https://www.instagram.com/p/CP3ZISeD74e/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link • Buzzfeed II: Ben Platt (Dear Evan Hansen) explained to Kelly Clarkson why it took him five years to start dating Noah Galvin (The Real O’Neals) and it’s really sweet. “I didn’t see the light for a long time, and then I realized, you know, that he was the guy.” • Instinct Magazine: Caitlyn Jenner compared herself with Donald Trump in an uneasy appearance on The View on Thursday. When pressed by Joy Behar if she was one of those Republicans who believe Trump won the election, she hedged her answer. “I’m not going to get into that, that election is over with,” but she proceeded to draw a parallel between herself and Trump. “He was a disrupter when he was president. I want to do the same thing.”

• Christian Post: Pastor Lewis Clemons of Columbus, Georgia, could have settled a civil case against him for zero dollars if he agreed to acknowledge and record a public apology for allegedly sexually abusing and raping his former congregant, Lequita Jackson. He refused and went to trial. On Wednesday, a jury in the Superior Court of Muscogee County ruled in favor of Jackson and imposed a $500,000 verdict against him. • USA Today: Austin Swink was preparing to go on his first mission trip with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when he decided to reveal the news that he was gay to his dad, Vaughn Swink. “I got this feeling that I just needed to get it off my chest before I left, because it was weighing on me for so long, not saying anything,” Swink said. He decided to video record his coming out to his dad, and posted the reaction online.

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CBS Sunday Morning Remembers The Tulsa Massacre

Photo of Tulsa's 'Black Wall Street' district

Photo of Tulsa's 'Black Wall Street' district CBS Sunday Morning remembers the Tulsa Massacre:

One hundred years ago, a White mob in Tulsa, Oklahoma, killed 300 Black people and reduced the thriving Black community of Greenwood — also known as “Black Wall Street” — to ashes.

New York Times columnist Charles M. Blow talks about one of the most notorious massacres in American history and those who witnessed it.

When white people wonder why there is anger in the Black community via the Black Lives Matter movement, perhaps it’s because they never learned important chapters in Black history like the Tulsa Massacre…? Today, there are Republican lawmakers who oppose the teaching of Black American history calling a focus on slavery and the contributions of Black Americans in history “divisive.” Meanwhile, I’m reminded of Emmy/Tony winner Billy Porter’s ‘Message to America’ last June calling for change regarding how Black Americans are treated today.

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Saturday Showtune: Mandy Patinkin “You’ve Got To Be Carefully Taught/Children Will Listen”

I was recently reminded of this 1995 recording by Mandy Patinkin of “You’ve Got To Be Carefully Taught” paired with “Children Will Listen” from Stephen Sondheim’s Into The Woods. At the time of the album release, some folks decried what they felt were Mandy’s vocal “histrionics” in his take on the Rodgers & Hammerstein song. But I always liked it; I found his yelling the line, “You’ve got to be taught before it’s too late, before you are six or seven or eight, to hate all the people your relatives HATE!” compelling and evocative. Pairing the song with a very tender, sensitive rendition of “Children Will Listen” (from the brilliant Into the Woods) brought home the same lesson Hammerstein was going for but in Sondheimian manner.

Careful the things you say, children will listen… Careful the things you do, children will see – and learn…

Looking at the divisive political landscape today, I think it’s pretty spot on. Listen below.

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Video: White Army Sergeant Assaults Young Black Man For Walking On Public Sidewalk

Deandre being harassed by U.S. Army

Deandre being harassed by Sergeant First Class Jonathan Pentland
Deandre and Sergeant First Class Jonathan Pentland (screen capture)
UPDATE: According to the Command Sergeant Major at Fort Jackson, SFC Jonathan Pentland has been charged by the Richland County Sheriff’s Department just hours after video of his encounter with a young Black man named Deandre went viral on social media. The sheriff confirmed Jonathan Pentland has been arrested and charged with third-degree assault and battery. That charge carries a maximum penalty of a $500 fine or 30 days in jail.

What in the hell??? The aggressive man in the video below is reportedly Sergeant First Class Jonathan Pentland, who is being investigated over a viral video incident that took place in Columbia, South Carolina. The 42-year-old Pentland, currently based at Fort Jackson in Columbia, was identified by social media users on Tuesday, April 13, 2021, a day after the video was posted online.

SFC Jonathan Pentland in a photo by the US Army
SFC Jonathan Pentland (image via US Army/Heavy.com)
In the video, Pentland can be seen pushing, threatening and yelling at a young Black male, who has been identified as Deandre, in the Columbia neighborhood where Pentland lives. There’s no indication in the video as to what precipitated the altercation. The incident apparently took place on a public sidewalk in the Lakes at Barony Place development in the Summit neighborhood of Columbia. Pentland continually questions Deandre as to where he lives as he orders the young man over and over to leave the neighborhood, “You’re in the wrong neighborhood, mother-f*cker. Get out!”

The video was posted on Facebook by a Columbia woman, Shirell Johnson, who said she was walking in the neighborhood with a friend on Monday night, April 12, 2021, when they saw the incident unfolding. Johnson says the video was recorded by a “young lady,” Shadae, and given to her to post online. Johnson said she, Shadae and her friend did not know Deandre before Monday night. She adds that when the police arrived on the scene Deandre was informed Pentland could only be charged with “malicious injury to property” for slapping Deandre’s phone out of his hand and cracking the screen. But no assault charge even with the video recording. Facebook post by Shirell Johnson Twitter got the video to Fort Jackson Commanding General Milford Beagle Jr. who tweeted, “This is by no means condoned by any service member. We will get to the bottom of this ASAP.”

Beagle followed up with a post on Facebook: Fort Jackson spokesperson L.A. Sully told the Charleston Post and Courier in a statement, “This type of behavior is not consistent with our Army Values and will not be condoned. We have begun our own investigation and are working with the local authorities.”