Thursday, June 22, 2017

New trailer for Thurgood Marshall movie: MARSHALL

Before MLK Jr. and Malcom X, there was Marshall.

Long before he sat on the United States Supreme Court or claimed victory in Brown v. Board of Education, Thurgood Marshall (Chadwick Boseman) was a young rabble-rousing attorney for the NAACP. The new motion picture, MARSHALL, is the true story of his greatest challenge in those early days – a fight he fought alongside attorney Sam Friedman (Josh Gad), a young lawyer with no experience in criminal law: the case of black chauffeur Joseph Spell (Sterling K. Brown), accused by his white employer, Eleanor Strubing (Kate Hudson), of sexual assault and attempted murder.

The film is directed by Reginald Hudlin release date is October 13, 2017. Watch the trailer below.

Congressional Black Caucus turns down Trump invitation




The Congressional Black Caucus turned down an invitation to meet with President Donald Trump, telling him Wednesday they believe their concerns are falling on "deaf ears" at the White House and his policies are devastating to the millions of Americans in the nation's black communities.
A White House spokeswoman said the development was "pretty disappointing" and pledged to arrange for individual members to meet one-on-one with Trump.
Caucus Chairman Cedric Richmond told Trump in a letter that his proposed budget, his efforts to dismantle Democrat Barack Obama's health care law and actions by Attorney General Jeff Sessions are detrimental to many African-Americans. Richmond said the caucus had expressed its concern several times, including in eight letters and a document, but the administration has failed to respond.
"The CBC, and the millions of people we represent, have a lot to lose under your administration," Richmond wrote. "I fail to see how a social gathering would benefit the policies we advocate for."
Trump and top members of the caucus met in March, but Richmond said there has been no follow-through on promises like helping black lawmakers meet with Trump's Cabinet.
Specifically, the caucus criticized Trump's budget proposal, which would cut money for Pell Grants for low-income college students and eliminate the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which helps seniors and others on fixed incomes heat their homes.
The caucus singled out moves by Sessions on drug prosecutions and civil rights enforcement, and complained that the House GOP health care bill that Trump celebrated during a Rose Garden ceremony would "strip millions of black people of their health care."
Richmond's letter responded to an invitation from Trump aide Omarosa Manigault, chief spokeswoman for the White House Office of Public Liaison.
"It's pretty disappointing that Cedric Richmond has decided to go back on his commitment to meet with us," Manigault said in a telephone interview.
She said caucus members who were excluded from the March meeting have been reaching out to her personally, as well as to the White House legislative affairs team, seeking one-on-one meetings with Trump to discuss issues their constituents are concerned about.
"We will do that because they have made those requests and we will honor those requests," Manigault said. "That's not going to be deterred because of Cedric Richmond's political gamesmanship."
Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., said caucus members want substance from the White House, not a social event.
"We want to talk and deal with issues that are of concern to the members of the Congressional Black Caucus, and we've not gotten any response," Meeks said. "My opinion and the opinion of most of just about all of the members of the CBC is that the board met (with Trump). They gave him substantive issues which we wanted to deal with and they have not been dealt with."
Meeks added, "Until we can deal with substance and issues what's the benefit of a meeting."

The Congressional Black Caucus was right not to meet with Trump again


Wednesday, June 21, 2017

Ferguson settles wrongful death lawsuit with the family of Michael Brown

The parents of black teenager Michael Brown and the city of Ferguson, Missouri, have settled a lawsuit over his fatal shooting by a white city police officer in 2014, according to a court document filed on Monday.

Brown's death triggered sometimes violent protests in Ferguson and around the United States, fueled by later police killings of unarmed black men in other cities. It also helped spark debate about racial bias in the U.S. justice system.

Terms of the wrongful death settlement between Ferguson and Brown's parents, Michael Brown Sr. and Lesley McSpadden, were not disclosed. U.S. District Judge E. Richard Webber approved the settlement and ordered it sealed.

"The gross settlement amount is fair and reasonable compensation for this wrongful death claim and is in the best interests of each plaintiff," Webber wrote.

[SOURCE]

Trump wants to try again with Congressional Black Caucus

UPDATE: The Congressional Black Caucus turned down an invitation to meet with President Donald Trump, telling him Wednesday they believe their concerns are falling on "deaf ears" at the White House and his policies are devastating to the millions of Americans in the nation's black communities: Read more here:CBC turns down Trump invitation

Almost three months after President Trump tried to mend fences with African American members of Congress at the White House, Mr. Trump is once again trying to restart talks with the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC).

Mr. Trump's adviser Omarosa Manigault sent a letter to the CBC on June 9, inviting all members of the CBC back to the White House for a follow up meeting to "discuss issues pertinent to your members."

A source inside the CBC was skeptical about the latest invitation, saying, "We're willing to engage with the president, but it has to be a substantive policy discussion, not a photo op."

"The caucus has been quite clear that the policy proposals of this administration, from cutting early childhood education funding to dismantling the Affordable Care Act, would cause great harm to African American communities across the nation," the source added.

Mr. Trump's outreach to African American community leaders has resulted with more photo ops than actual results.

Presidents of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) met with Mr. Trump at the end of February, when he signed an executive order that moved an HBCU task force into the White House from the Department of Education.

The college presidents sought a 5 to 10 percent increase in funding for black schools during the meeting. But Mr. Trump's recently released budget proposal revealed no new funding for the schools, despite signals otherwise.

[SOURCE: CBS NEWS]

Monday, June 19, 2017

Seattle Police release dashcam audio in shooting of Charleena Lyles

Her name was Charleena Lyles. She called 911 for help and was killed by those officers who arrived to "protect and serve".

Charleena Lyles a pregnant mother of four was gunned down at her own home after calling 911 due to a burglary. Police claim she had a knife and was coming at them. To back up their claims they released dash cam audio, but that audio shows that those same officers knew she had four kids who may be in the house and that she suffered from mental illness before entering the home. The audio has been redacted by Seattle Police in some places, listen to the audio below.