President Obama has released the following statement on the disturbing video of Laquan McDonald being shot and on the peaceful demonstrations in his hometown of Chicago.
Like many Americans, I was deeply disturbed by the footage of the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald. This...
Posted by President Obama on Wednesday, November 25, 2015
Today is Thanksgiving and it's supposed to be a day of thanks and arguing with family members you hope not to see again until next year. After reading post on social media about black people and the appropriateness of us celebrating the holiday I did a online search on the topic. I found several post and articles and I read a recent and interesting article at Ebony.com on the topic by by Vann R. Newkirk II and Kymone Freeman. This paragraph stood out to me.
...To celebrate Thanksgiving requires a bit of contortion from those of us who try to be socially conscious. The image of Pilgrims eating peacefully with American Indians at a shared harvest feast presents a faulty view of the founding of this country—one typically framed as though there was a willing hand off between Native and White. This obscures the history of violence and oppression, and it also manages to both legitimize and whitewash our country’s terrible actions toward its indigenous people. As a Black American who works every day to hold our country accountable for its rampant racial inequality that is a continuum of centuries of racism, terrorism, and genocide, Thanksgiving is truly a tough holiday to process.
So based on your beliefs and life experiences do you believe that African Americans should celebrate Thanksgiving?
Police have arrested two men they have been seeking in connection with the shooting of five protesters the Black Lives Matter encampment Monday night.
Minneapolis police said they arrested a 23-year-old white man in Bloomington at 11:20 a.m. Tuesday. A second shooting suspect arrested in south Minneapolis at 12:05 p.m. has been released after questioning.
About 2:30 p.m., two men turned themselves in, police said, saying they were white, one age 26 and another age 21. They were being interviewed by investigators, officials added.
Authorities are weighing whether to treat the shooting of five people protesting near the Minneapolis Police Department’s Fourth Precinct station Monday night as a hate crime, sources familiar with the investigation said Tuesday morning.
The victims, all black men — ages 19 through 43 — were taken to hospitals with noncritical injuries, according to police.
Read more: 3 in custody, 1 released in 4th Precinct shooting; march to downtown ends
WARNING: Graphic Video, viewer discretion is advised. Chicago Police released dashcam video that shows a police officer shooting 17-year-old Laquan Mcdonald in 2014. Watch the tragic and disturbing video below.
Wow, here is another example of Ben Carson showing he does not get it. He is spreading the fallacy of how black men carry themselves has anything to do with how police treat them. Whether dressed in a business suit or a sweat suit, if you're a high school dropout or have a PHD you will still be treated the same by some police officers. SMH! George Cook AfricanAmericanReports.com.
Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson told a group of African-American civic leaders on Saturday that he is still waiting to see evidence of racial bias by law enforcement agencies in the U.S.
The only major White House hopeful who is black, Carson also mused during a criminal justice forum that he never had problems with police as a young black male in Detroit "because I was taught by my mother to be very respectful of authority."
Carson later demurred when pressed on whether he could offer examples of "institutional racism" in America. "It probably exists somewhere," he said. "If it exists, expose it. ... That's your best defense."
Read more: Ben Carson tells black leaders he's seen no racial bias by US police
