Congressional Black Caucus Not Surprised by Ferguson Report

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus said they are not surprised by the findings in the report released Wednesday by the Justice Department, faulting the city of Ferguson law enforcement for racial bias and unconstitutional practices.

Michael Brown's parents announce civil lawsuit in death

Lawyers for the parents of an unarmed, black 18-year-old who was fatally shot by a white police officer in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson said Thursday that they would file a civil lawsuit in Michael Brown's death.

The fight against colorism in the black community

You might not have heard of the term colorism, but it's a problem in the black community. African-Americans are discriminating against each other, pitting those with lighter skin against ones whose skin is darker.

Unlike other forms of injustice, colorism is something that's rarely publicly addressed, even though it happens almost daily.

Petition for Selma bridge name change gains steam on march anniversary

SIGN THE PETITION TO CHANGE THE BRIDGE"S NAME

https://www.change.org/p/rename-selma-s-edmund-pettus-bridge-marchon#petition-letter

[SOURCE] SELMA, AL (WTVM) - With the 50th anniversary of the pivotal Bloody Sunday march approaching, an online petition to change the name of the march's location has been building momentum online.

A petition initiated on Change.org by the group Students UNITE is collecting supporters to change the name of the infamous Edmund Pettus Bridge. The petition has garnered more than 154,000 signatures in less than two weeks.

Pettus, a native Alabamian, politician, lawyer and judge born in Limestone County, AL in 1821, was a Confederate soldier during the Civil War, a lieutenant in the Mexican-American War, a lawyer whose practice was in Selma, AL and a former U.S. Senator and judge. Most infamously, he was once named as the Grand Dragon of the Alabama chapter of the Ku Klux Klan.

The bridge in Selma was named after Pettus in 1940, and was declared a national landmark in March 2013. The Selma-to-Montgomery march happened on March 7, 1965, and was a key event in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s

The petition is urging both the state of Alabama, Selma, AL Mayor George Patrick Evans and the U.S. National Parks Service to remove the former KKK leader's name from the bridge in light of the Bloody Sunday march and what the city of Selma currently represents.

"Selma and the Voting Rights Movement altered the course of history forever, and Selma has done too much for this country to remain unchanged," the petition says. "Selma is currently 80 percent African American, with a black mayor and majority African American local city officials. The name Edmund Pettus is far from what the city of Selma should honor. Let's change the image of the bridge from hatred and rename it to memorialize hope and progress."

Supporters of Students UNITE and the petition have been using the hashtag #MarchON to show their solidarity of the petition. Despite the outcry online to change the name, many Selma city leaders and residents feel a name change is unnecessary and not likely to happen.

SIGN THE PETITION TO CHANGE THE BRIDGE"S NAME

https://www.change.org/p/rename-selma-s-edmund-pettus-bridge-marchon#petition-letter

Read the DOJ report on the Ferguson police Department

A DOJ civil rights investigation into the Ferguson criminal justice system found that authorities have routinely violated the rights of black citizens and have used tickets to generate revenue for the city. Read the entire DOJ report on the Ferguson Police Department below:

Ferguson Police Department Report

DOJ: Ferguson PD engaged in racially biased policing

A Justice Department review has found that Missouri's troubled Ferguson Police Department engaged in a broad pattern of racially biased enforcement that permeated the city's justice system, including the use of unreasonable force against African American suspects, according to a law enforcement official familiar with the findings.

In 88% of cases in which Ferguson police documented the use of force, for example, that force was used against African Americans, according to the official who is not authorized to comment publicly. In addition, in all 14 canine bite incidents in which the suspect's race is known, the person bitten was African American.

African Americans account for 67% of the population in Ferguson, but they accounted for 85% of the drivers stopped by police, 90% of the people issued tickets and 93% of the people arrested, a three-year examination of suspect stops found. When those cases reached the Municipal Court, authorities collected more fines for suspects' failure to appear than any other charge, mostly from the city's poorest and most vulnerable residents.

African Americans were more than twice as likely than white drivers to be searched during vehicle stops, but 26% less likely to have contraband, the review found.

The Ferguson Police Department often charged its black residents with petty crimes. African Americans accounted for 95% of the people charged with walking in the street and 92% of people charged with disturbing the peace.

Investigators also recovered racially charged e-mails sent among employees of the police department and the Ferguson Municipal Court, which authorities said contributed to the alleged bias.

Among the e-mails was a missive apparently sent soon after President Obama's 2008 election. It suggested that he would not remain long in the job because "what black man holds a steady job for four years.''

Another May 2011 e-mail referred to an African-American woman receiving a "Crime-stoppers'' reward for terminating a pregnancy.

Read more: DOJ: Ferguson PD engaged in racially biased policing

Let's Talk Honestly: The Byron Allen Controversy

Let's Talk Honestly Host George Cook discusses what was really lost when Byron Allen made his unnecessary and just plain nasty comments about Al Sharpton. You know, those fried chicken comments. Listen to the 5 minute show by using the player below.

NEW FILM EXPLORES THE NUMBER ONE PROBLEM IN THE AFRICAN AMERICAN FAMILY

DALLAS, TX (BlackNews.com) — Keberland Media LLC, announced today that they have digitally released their first feature film entitled, _IF IT AIN’T BROKE: Black Folks and Family Structure_.

Captured in various cities throughout the United States, the filmmaker explores the subject of the consistently rising number of single parent households in the African American community. What has caused this dilemma? Why are families no longer being headed by a mother and father? _IF IT AIN’T BROKE_ seeks to identify the reason.

The film can now be streamed or purchased on Vimeo On Demand. It was written and directed by Texas Southern University graduate Keenan Morgan, and is produced by Keberland Media in association with The International NETXCHANGE Group.

“Everyone should see this film,” Morgan says. “The film is connects with audiences through humor and introspection.”

Local screenings of _IF IT AIN’T BROKE_ are currently being scheduled in various cities and the filmmaker welcomes those interested in booking new dates. A screening schedule will be released as more dates are confirmed. Q&A with the filmmaker will follow each screening.

For booking inquiries or general information, send questions to info@keenanmorgan.com.

To view the film, visit the following link: www.vimeo.com/ondemand/iiab

Black Lives Matter: Have you heard the case of Brittany Overstreet

The 17-year-old, Brittany Overstreet claims she was beaten by a school resource officer over a false allegation that she was carrying mace. When searching for the mace there was an altercation that left her with a broken jaw and other injuries. No mace was found and to top it off Brittany was the one charged with attacking the officer.

Tearful Obama bids Holder farewell

A tearful President Obama on Friday bid goodbye to outgoing Attorney General Eric Holder, one of his closest friends in the administration.

"I'll just come out and say it — he has been one of our finest," Obama said at the Justice Department, where Holder’s official portrait was unveiled.

"Having good men in positions of power and authority, who are willing to fight for what's right, that's a rare thing, that's a powerful thing," Obama said of Holder, wiping away a tear. Holder is serving out his final days in Obama’s Cabinet, with the Senate expected to soon confirm Loretta Lynch to take his place as attorney general.

Read more: Tearful Obama bids Holder farewell

Earl Lloyd, first African American NBA player dies.

Earl Lloyd, the first black player in NBA history, died Thursday. He was 86.

Joe "The Black Eagle" Madison does 52 straight hours of talk radio!

[SOURCE] SIRIUSXM’s JOE MADISON achieved the historic goal of a 52-hour marathon broadcast, which raised more than $150,000 for the construction of the SMITHSONIAN’s NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE, the final museum to be built on the NATIONAL MALL in WASHINGTON, D.C.

Airing as part of BLACK HISTORY MONTH, the historic broadcast -- currently under review as a new world record by the GUINNESS WORLD RECORD ORGANIZATION -- began on WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25th at 6AM (EST) and continued, un-interrupted, until this morning at 10AM (EST).

“I am exhausted but, when you do something for the right reasons and have the support of others, you really can do anything,” said MADISON. “I hope our SIRIUSXM broadcast helps cast a spotlight on the need to raise funds for the much needed NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE."

The special broadcast included guests such as ARETHA FRANKLIN, GENERAL MOTORS VP Global Design EDWARD T. WELBURN, sports journalist STEPHEN A. SMITH, actor/comedian WAYNE BRADY and soul singer BETTYE LAVETTE. Additional guests included REVEREND AL SHARPTON, LOU GOSSETT, TAVIS SMILEY, LUDACRIS, DENISE NICHOLS, MARY WILSON, DICK GREGORY, Congressman CHARLES RANGEL, DARIUS RUCKER, SPENCER HAYWOOD, ROBERT GATEWOOD and AJA BYRD, among others.

Pres. Obama marks 3rd anniversary of Trayvon Martin's death

[SOURCE] President Obama on Thursday commemorated the third anniversary of the death of Trayvon Martin, the 17-year-old black high school student shot dead in Florida by a neighborhood watch volunteer.

“Today on the third anniversary of Trayvon Martin’s death, showing all of our kids, all of them, every single day, that their lives matter — that’s part of our task,” Obama said during a White House reception for Black History Month that was attended by Martin's parents.

“Progress in this nation happens only because seemingly ordinary people find the courage to stand up for what is right, not just when it’s easy but when it’s hard,” Obama said.

Pres. Obama statement on FCC's Net Neutrality decision

George Zimmerman Will Not Face Federal Charges in Death of Trayvon Martin

While the public waits for a Justice Department announcement over two separate investigations spurred by the summer shooting of an unarmed teenager in Ferguson, Missouri, the department announced today it is closing its investigation into the killing of Trayvon Martin.

Justice Department officials met with Martin's family today, and were told that they will not be filing charges against George Zimmerman, who shot the 17-year-old after a confrontation in 2012. Thursday marks three years to the day since Martin was killed.

Federal prosecutors concluded there is not sufficient evidence to prove Zimmerman, a neighborhood watchman in Sanford, Fla., intentionally violated Martin's civil rights.

Read more: Trayvon Martin: DOJ Announces No Charges Against George Zimmerman

The positive numbers about young black men

Boston Globe columnist, Derrick Z. Jackson wrote a great piece featuring positive statistics about young black men. Check out some of the interesting numbers below:

Lawsuit alleges Al Sharpton paid to keep quiet about lack of black TV programming

The Rev. Al Sharpton and his National Action Network had their silence bought — with a hefty $3.8 million in “donations’’ — to not complain about the lack of black TV programming, according to an explosive new lawsuit filed by a national black-media group.

The Association of African-American Owned Media charges that Comcast and Time Warner carry barely a handful of channels that are completely black-owned — and Sharpton and other key African-American advocacy groups aren’t screaming about it because they were essentially paid not to.

Comcast even sweetened the deal for Sharpton by allowing him “to maintain his hosting position [on the Comcast-co-owned MSNBC] for more than three years in exchange for Sharpton’s continued public support for Comcast on issues of diversity … despite the notoriously low ratings that Sharpton’s show generates,’’ the suit says.

Sharpton blasted the suit Monday as “frivolous at best.’’

He denied to The Post that he and NAN received nearly $4 million from Comcast, insisting,“Never, did not get it.’’

The activist said that while his group has gotten some donations from the media giant, “It’s nowhere near $1 million, much less $3 million.’’

Read more: Sharpton paid to keep quiet about lack of black TV programming: suit

Country's black-owned banks are in a fight for their survival

Black-run banks are in a fight for survival, even though many advocates argue that many African-Americans remain starved for banking services.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. counted 25 black-owned banks remaining in the country last year, down from 48 in 2001. That decrease came as the overall number of minority-owned banks increased slightly, going from 164 to 174. In addition, the majority of black-owned banks that remain open are on shaky ground and struggling to hold on in the face of the economic devastation that has ravaged many of their customers.

Black-run banks have been struggling for years, as mainstream institutions increasingly picked off their best-heeled customers. The increased competition came amid what some call a string of strategic blunders.

The banks, historically headquartered in the heart of traditional black communities such as Chicago’s South Side, New York’s Harlem and Washington’s Shaw, failed to modernize their services. Few offered the branch networks, computerized banking and other automated services that have come to dominate the business.

Taken together, black banks control $5 billion in assets, a tiny fraction of the size of the nation’s banking behemoths, such as Wells Fargo, which by itself has some $1.7 trillion in assets. Black banks tend to be small even by the standard of minority-owned banks, which as a group had some $181 billion in assets at the end of 2013, according a FDIC report.

Read more: Country's black-owned banks are in a fight for their survival

Why I will be rooting against Floyd Mayweather in his fight with Manny Pacquiao

It has finally been announced that Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao will finally be fighting on May 2, 2015. Many boxing fans are happy about this and can't wait for the fight. I can't wait to watch the fight either but I wont be rooting for Floyd Mayweather. I will be rooting hard for Manny Pacquiao. Why you ask?

I am not a guy that places athletes on pedestals or thinks that they are somehow supposed to be morally superior to the rest of us. I understand that there are human beings and as such have human frailties. They will make mistakes But making a mistake and beating women are two different things.

Floyd Mayweather is not a guy who can claim his beating of a woman is an isolated incident. Mayweather is a "man" that has committed seven physical assaults on five women that resulted in arrest or citation. One of those assaults was on the mother of his three children. Mayweather served two months in jail for domestic battery.

As a man that loves and respects every female in my family I can't find it in me to root for a convicted woman beater. This is a person who will only fight men in a ring but will hit a woman outside of it. There are many stories of Mayweather arguing with men, but none of him fighting or hitting another man when he is not protected by the rules of boxing. In short, Floyd Mayweather is a punk and is not a person to be idolized or respected in anyway.

It may not and probably wont happen but I would like to see Pacquiao slowly beats him down and have Mayweather guessing where the next punch will come from, just like Maywaether's victims had to endure. Again it probably wont happen but stranger things have happened in the sport of boxing.

George Cook AfricanAmericanReports.com

Black republicans response to Guiliani's outrageous Obama comments

Former NYC mayor Rudolph (I used to be relevant) Guiliani made some very negative comments about President Obama. In case you missed it his comments made at a New York fund-raising event for Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin are below.

“I do not believe, and I know this is a horrible thing to say, but I do not believe that the president loves America," said Giuliani, according to news outlets that had reporters at the dinner. "He doesn’t love you. And he doesn’t love me. He wasn’t brought up the way you were brought up, and I was brought up through love of this country.”

For those of you that thought that statement might have just been a temporary brain fart Guiliani followed it up the next day with this gem while trying to explain his comments to the NY Times:

“Some people thought it was racist — I thought that was a joke, since he was brought up by a white mother, a white grandfather, went to white schools, and most of this he learned from white people,” Mr. Giuliani said in the interview. “This isn’t racism. This is socialism or possibly anti-colonialism.”

Now I have been waiting for republicans and especially black republicans to step forward and admonish Guiliani for his comments. I thought that the party that claims it is trying to make inroads into the black community would be all over this like white on ri.... Whoa bad analogy there, but you get my point. I expected You know somebody like a Mia Love, Tim Scott, Will Hurd, or a black conservative group to speak out say something like, "I don't agree with the President Obama's policies but Guiliani crossed the line."

Well through my crack investigative reporting I have come up with a statement by black republicans on Guiliani's ridiculous remarks and that video is posted below: