National Black Farmers Association calls out PepsiCo for failure to keep agreement

John Boyd, president of the National Black Farmers Association (NBFA), is calling out Pepsico after a year and half of all talk and no contract following a verbal commitment to Black farmers.

NBFA raised concerns over the gargantuan company's failure to contract with members of the NBFA to provide agricultural products that form the foundation of their firm's processes. Only White farmers have been afforded the opportunity to share in PepsiCo's enormous profits. It prefers the superficial responses to public opinion such as changing the brand image of its stereotyped figure Aunt Jemima. PepsiCo immediately reached out to the NBFA on June 19th 2020 in the face of such controversy.

However, as PepsiCo indicated they wanted to do business with NBFA members, the company insisted that our growers share personal information through our national data base. A year and a half later, when NBFA growers met all the required elements for a potato delivery contract, the company's executives apparently had lost interest in keeping its part of the bargain.

In an appalling stunt, PepsiCo executives recently notified the President of the NBFA that it would not be moving forward with any contracts for NBFA members.

"PepsiCo had decided to "move in a new direction" that would not include NBFA black farmer members, we were told.

Our outrage at this kind of bullying discrimination is not just about hurt feelings. Our livelihood and financial stability is at stake when we encounter such blatantly low-level business practices. Some black famers have actually lost their farms amid this unethical and inhumane treatment. The NBFA is seeking legal counsel regarding PepsiCo's verbal commitment for a potato contract.

Boyd is calling on PepsiCo Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ramon Laguarta to meet with NBFA leaders and respond to the hardship and realities his company's latest recent discriminatory act has caused."

Gayle King signs new deal with CBS

Gayle King signed a new contract with CBS, she said Friday, ending speculation about whether she’d leave her seat on the network’s morning show.

The “CBS Mornings” co-host has agreed to a new contract that will keep her at the Tiffany Network for the foreseeable future, she told listeners on her SiriusXM radio show on Friday.

“I officially signed on the dotted line,” King said. “So I will be with CBS a little bit longer.”

King, who earns an annual salary of $13 million per year, drew interest from potential suitors, including CNN boss Jeff Zucker. Her current contract was due to expire in April. It’s not clear what she’ll make under the new agreement.

[SOURCE: NY POST]

Judge Michelle Childs is under consideration for Supreme Court nomination

South Carolina federal judge Michelle Childs is under consideration to succeed retiring Justice Stephen Breyer on the U.S. Supreme Court, the White House confirmed late Friday.

Childs, 55, is based in Columbia, South Carolina, and was nominated last year by President Biden to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, often regarded as the second-most prominent federal court because of its proximity to the high court, the caliber of cases it considers and because so many of its judges have been elevated to the Supreme Court.

The Senate Judiciary Committee had been scheduled to hold a confirmation hearing for Childs's nomination next week, but aides confirmed Friday that her hearing would be postponed.

The White House explained late Friday the postponement is because Childs is under consideration to succeed Breyer.

"Judge Childs is among multiple individuals under consideration for the Supreme Court, and we are not going to move her nomination on the Court of Appeals while the President is considering her for this vacancy," White House spokesman Andrew Bates said in a statement.

Childs is among several contenders under consideration, including Ketanji Brown Jackson, also a judge on the D.C. appeals court, and Leondra Kruger, a justice on the California Supreme Court who once served in the Justice Department's Office of the Solicitor General.

[SOURCE: CBS NEWS]

St. Louis County appoints first Black police chief

A man who has served for 42 years in the St. Louis County Police Department was named police chief Tuesday, becoming the first Black chief in the department's history.

Kenneth Gregory, 70, has served as interim chief of the department for the last six months. The St. Louis County Board of Police Commissioners appointed him chief after a four-hour closed meeting, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

Police board chair Brian Ashworth said commissioners believe the department has stabilized and grown since Gregory was named acting chief July 30.

Gregory said 42 years ago no one would have considered "that a man that looks like me" would be the department's chief.

Gregory has worked in or led almost every St. Louis County police unit during his career.

He was named interim chief after former Chief Mary Barton resigned Aug. 6 when she agreed to drop a discrimination complaint against the county in exchange for a $290,000 settlement.

VP Kamala Harris Will Play a 'Central Role' in Biden's Search for a Supreme Court Pick

White House Press Secretay Jen Psaki says Vice President Kamala Harris will have a “central role” in President Joe Biden’s search for a nominee to replace Justice Stephen Breyer on the Supreme Court.

During a press briefing on Thursday, Psaki said, “The vice president will play a central role in this process, and the president intends to consult with her very closely.”

“Obviously, she has a long history as a former attorney general, a member of the judiciary committee, and he respects her opinion greatly,” she added.