Beyoncé and Michelle Obama address protests in ‘Dear Class of 2020’ graduation speeches: ‘Thank you for … letting the world know that black lives matter’

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Beyoncé and Michelle Obama address protests in ‘Dear Class of 2020’ graduation speeches: ‘Thank you for … letting the world know that black lives matter’

YouTube’s ‘Dear Class of 2020” livestream put out all the stops on Sunday, featuring musical numbers, poetry performances and countless appearances from stars like Taylor Swift, the guys of BTS, Jennifer Lopez and even Homer Simpson, whose advice to graduates was “love your neighbor, even if it’s Flanders.”

But two commencement speakers in particular had more timely topics on their minds. Addressing graduates whose long-dreamed-of ceremonies had been sidelined because of the coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent bans on large gatherings, both Beyoncé and former first lady Michelle Obama made reference to the protests highlighting police brutality and racial inequality following the death of George Floyd while in police custody.

“Life gave you lemons, so we called Beyoncé,” teased Justin Timberlake at the start of the online event. As promised, the Lemonade singer gave graduates plenty upon which to reflect.

“You have arrived here in the middle of a global crisis, a racial pandemic and worldwide expression of outrage at the senseless killing of yet another unarmed black human being,” the star, introduced as Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, told viewers. “And you still made it. We’re so proud of you. Thank you for using your collective voice and letting the world know that black lives matter.

“The killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and so many others have left us all broken,” added Beyoncé. “It has left the entire country searching for answers. We’ve seen that our collective hearts, when put to positive action, can start the wheels of change. Real change has started with you, this new generation of high school and college graduates who we celebrate today.”

Beyoncé (pictured in 2018) addressed the LGBTQ and black communities during her commencement speech for Dear Class of 2020. (Photo: Kevin Winter/PW18/Getty Images for Parkwood Entertainment)

She went on to urge those embarking on the next chapter of their lives to tune out negative comments — “if you’ve ever been called dumb, unattractive, overweight, unworthy, untalented … well so have I,” she confessed —and to invest in themselves. To hammer in that latter point, she spoke of pushing back against a “very sexist” and “male-dominated” entertainment industry in order to control her art.

“Not enough black women had a seat at the table, so I had to go chop down that wood and build my own table,” she noted.

The former Destiny’s Child member highlighted not only black culture but also alluded to the LGBTQ community, which is currently celebrating Pride.

“One of the main purposes of my art for many years has been dedicated to showing the beauty of black people to the world: our history, our profundity and the value of black lives,” she continued. “Now I’ve tried my best to pull down the veil of appeasement to those who may feel uncomfortable with our excellence. To the young women, our future leaders, know that you’re about to make the world turn. I see you. You are everything the world needs. Make those power moves. Be excellent.

“And to the young kings: Lean into your vulnerability, and redefine masculinity. Lead with heart. There’s so many different ways to be brilliant. I believe you and every human being is born with a masterful gift. Don’t make the world make you feel that you have to look a certain way to be brilliant. And no, you don’t have to speak a certain way to be brilliant. But you do have to spread your gift around the planet in a way that is authentically you.

“To all those who feel different: If you’re part of a group that’s called ‘other,’ a group that does not get the chance to be center stage, build your own stage and make them see you. Your queerness is beautiful, your blackness is beautiful, your compassion, your understanding, your fight for people who may be different from you is beautiful. I hope you continue to go into the world and show them that you will never stop being yourself. That it’s your time now. Make them see you.”

Following a lighthearted first appearance alongside former President Barack Obama, who will give his own solo speech later on Sunday, Michelle Obama shared her own thoughts on the protests and the feeling of uncertainty brought on by these “tumultuous times.”

“Over these past couple months our foundation has been shaken,” she told graduates. “Not just by a pandemic that stole too many of our loved ones, upended our daily lives and sent tens of millions into unemployment. But also by the rumbling of the age-old fault lines that our country was built on. The lines of race and power that are now, once again, so nakedly exposed for all of us to grapple with.

“f any of you are scared, or confused, or angry, or just plain overwhelmed by it all, if you feel like you’re searching for a lifeline just to steady yourself, you are not alone,” she continued. “I am feeling all of that too. I think we all are.”

She went on to speak out against “decades of unaddressed prejudice and inequality.”

“For too many people in this country, no matter how hard they work, there are structural barriers for them that just make the road longer and rockier,” she noted. “And sometimes it’s almost impossible to move upward at all. Because what if you’re required to work during a pandemic, but don’t have enough protective equipment or health insurance from your employer, or paid sick leave? What is more essential: your work or your life? If you don’t feel safe driving your own car in your own neighborhood? Or going for a jog or buying some candy at 7-11, or birdwatching? If you can’t even approach the police without fearing for your life, then how do you even begin to chart your own course?”

Obama also urged graduates to channel their anger into positive action.

“Sometimes it’s easier to stand with strangers at a protest than it is to challenge someone in your own backyard,” she said. “So if you hear people express bigoted views or talking down to ‘those people,’ it is up to you to call them out. Because we won’t solve anything if we’re only willing to do what’s easiest. You’ve got to make hard choices and sacrifice. If you’re spending a lot of time just hashtagging and posting, that’s useful especially during a pandemic, but it’s only a beginning. Go further. Send all your friends a link to register to vote. Text everybody you know to join you to exercising their constitutional right to protest.”

“Life will always be uncertain,” she added, but offered this tried-and-true piece of advice: “Treating people right will never, ever fail you.”

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Mumbai: FIR against two lawyers, cop for ‘forging police notice’ to procure bank details of man

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Mumbai: FIR against two lawyers, cop for ‘forging police notice’ to procure bank details of man

Written by Mohamed Thaver
| Mumbai |


Published: June 8, 2020 3:01:04 am





The Indian Express has a copy of the FIR where several IPC sections have been invoked against Khan, advocates Merchant and Gokhale and the API Sutar, who was posted at Agripada police station when the alleged crime is said to have taken place. (Representational)

Mumbai Police Thursday registered an FIR on charges of cheating, forgery and criminal conspiracy against four persons, including two lawyers and a police officer, for allegedly forging a police notice to illegally access bank statements of a person.

The complainant, Irphan Mogul, who is separated from wife Shaista Khan, alleged that the latter along with her lawyers Rizwan Merchant and Gayatri Gokhale, and Assistant Police Inspector (API) Vilas Sutar used forged a police notice to get his bank statement, which was then submitted in the Bombay High Court. In the maintenance plea, Mogul said, the family court had ruled in his favour last year after which Khan had approached the high court that is currently hearing the matter.

The Indian Express has a copy of the FIR where several IPC sections have been invoked against Khan, advocates Merchant and Gokhale and the API Sutar, who was posted at Agripada police station when the alleged crime is said to have taken place.

Mogul told The Indian Express that on February 28, he received evidence submitted by Khan through her lawyers before the Bombay HC on the ground that Mogul had suppressed some information to bolster her maintenance claim.

The evidence was a 200-page bank statement of a current account the Mogul family held at a private bank in Bandra.

Mogul then approached the local branch of the bank to enquire how his private details could be handed out. Mogul is associated with Infinity cars at Worli, while his father runs a garage and has high-profile clients, including Bollywood A-listers and international cricketers.

“Apart from compromising my family’s security, the bank statements also had sensitive information about my father’s business clients,” Mogul said.

The bank informed him that a police officer had come to their Fort branch in August 2019 and sought information of his bank account in connection with a fraud case registered against him by one Anwar Abbas Shaikh, an Agripada resident.

“I was shocked. I took a copy of the notice that the officer had provided under section 91 of the Criminal Procedure Code — a summons to produce a document — and a photocopy of the officer API Vilas Sutar attached to Agripada police station,” Mogul said.

On checking with the Agripada police, Mogul found that there was no such case registered against him, the notice was forged and there was no one by the name of Anwar Abbas Shaikh. “A senior officer, however, identified the API Sutar and said that he had been transferred to local arms from Agripada police last year,” Mogul said. Later, when Sutar was called up by senior officers, he said he was in his village on sick leave.

Last week, Mogul met the Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh and apprised him of the issue and the fact that no FIR had been registered in the case. Following the commissioner’s intervention, an FIR was registered at Azad Maidan police station on Thursday.

Assistant Police Inspector S Mulani confirmed an FIR was registered but refused to say anything else. So far, no arrests have been made in the case as yet.

When contacted, lawyer Rizwan Merchant, speaking on behalf of himself and his junior Gayatri Gokhale, said, “We as the lawyers of Shaista are not in any way concerned in the procurement of the bank statements from the bank. We were engaged in filing an appeal in the High Court, against the order of family court judge. The bank statements of Irphan Moghul were produced by our client for being filed with the appeal in the high court, on grounds of suppression before family court. The names of lawyers are being deliberately dragged in to pressure us to withdraw from the case.”

He further added, “On the contrary, a strong case of giving false evidence on oath has been made out against Mogul, which we are under instructions from our client to pursue in the high court and family court. Expecting this Irphan Moghul apparently has chosen this route to pressure our client from giving up her claim.”

Khan refused to comment on the issue. Sutar could not be contacted for comment as his mobile number was switched off and his current mobile number was not available.

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Barr Says There Is No Systemic Racism in Policing

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Barr Says There Is No Systemic Racism in Policing

WASHINGTON — Attorney General William P. Barr said on Sunday that he did not believe racism was a systemic problem in policing, echoing other top administration officials’ defense of an important part of President Trump’s base as protests against police killings of unarmed black people continued across the nation.

“I don’t think that the law enforcement system is systemically racist,” Mr. Barr said in an interview with the CBS program “Face the Nation.” “I think we have to recognize that for most of our history, our institutions were explicitly racist.”

Chad Wolf, the acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, made similar remarks on Sunday in an interview with “This Week” on ABC, saying that “systemic racism” was not an issue for law enforcement.

Their defense mirrored comments made last week by the national security adviser, Robert C. O’Brien, and came as the protests over the killing of George Floyd last month and racial injustice in policing continued to gain momentum. Nearly a decade ago, the killings of unarmed black people — including Trayvon Martin, a teenager in Florida who was shot while walking home from the store — planted the seeds for the Black Lives Matter movement, which protests racial profiling, racial inequality in the nation’s prisons and policing issues, including excessive use of force.

Mr. Barr and Mr. Wolf spoke the day before the president was scheduled to meet with local, state and federal law enforcement officials at the White House.

Mr. Trump, who has declared himself “your president of law and order,” needs the continued support of police officers and sheriffs — especially now that he has weakened in the polls — and evangelical Christians, another crucial part of his base. A handful of top Republicans have also said that they will not support him in the upcoming election.

Both Mr. Barr and Mr. Wolf condemned the death of Mr. Floyd as a tragedy, and the attorney general said he understood why black people in the United States distrusted law enforcement given “the history in this country.”

Mr. Barr reiterated comments he made during a news conference on Thursday, when he said that it was “undeniable that many African-Americans lack confidence in the American criminal justice system” and that “nothing less is acceptable” than equal protection under the law.

But he said that work done since the 1960s to reform racist institutions more broadly “is working and progress has been made.” In his view, he said, police brutality against black people was the work of a few bad apples.

To that end, Mr. Barr told CBS that he did not support reducing the amount of immunity officers have when someone dies in their custody. Such a change, he said, would “result certainly in police pulling back.”

“I frankly think that we have generally the vast, overwhelming majority of police are good people,” Mr. Barr said. “I think that there are instances of bad cops. And I think we have to be careful about automatically assuming that the actions of an individual necessarily mean that their organization is rotten.”

While Mr. Barr flatly denied there was systemic racism in policing, he compared law enforcement to the military, which he said “used to be an explicitly racist institution.”

“Now I think it’s in the vanguard of bringing the races together and providing equal opportunity,” Mr. Barr said. “I think law enforcement has been going through the same process.”

During the Trump administration, the Justice Department has pulled back on the tools it had used in the past to combat police abuses, including consent decrees that impose a rehabilitation program onto police forces. It has also allowed police departments to receive grant money without filling out as much paperwork to show the results of their policing work.

This has made some activists and black community leaders wary of the department’s ability and willingness to curb police abuses. It has also led them to worry about how it will handle the federal civil rights investigation into the officer who knelt for nearly nine minutes on the neck of Mr. Floyd, an unarmed motorist, before he died on May 25.

Since Mr. Floyd’s death, the F.B.I. criminal division has opened 10 investigations into whether law enforcement personnel violated the rights of civilians under color of law, meaning while acting in their capacity as officers of the law, according to an official familiar with the cases who was not authorized to publicly discuss them.

Democrats in Congress have staked out a markedly different position. On Monday, they are expected to announce expansive legislation that makes it easier to prosecute police misconduct. The proposal would also make it easier to recover damages from officers who are found guilty of violating the constitutional rights of civilians and to pressure the Justice Department to address systemic racism in law enforcement.

Nicholas Fandos, Adam Goldman and Zolan Kanno-Youngs contributed reporting.

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Taylor Swift Says ‘Expect the Unexpected, but Celebrate Anyway’ in Virtual Commencement Speech

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Taylor Swift Says ‘Expect the Unexpected, but Celebrate Anyway’ in Virtual Commencement Speech


Taylor Swift Delivers Virtual 2020 Commencement Speech | PEOPLE.com

























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James Bennet Resigns as New York Times Opinion Editor

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James Bennet Resigns as New York Times Opinion Editor

James Bennet, the editorial page editor of The New York Times, has resigned after a controversy over an Op-Ed by a senator calling for military force against protesters in American cities.

“Last week we saw a significant breakdown in our editing processes, not the first we’ve experienced in recent years,” said A. G. Sulzberger, the publisher, in a note to the staff. In a brief interview Sunday afternoon, Mr. Sulzberger added: “Both of us concluded that James would not be able to lead the team through the next leg of change that is required.”

Katie Kingsbury, a deputy editorial page editor, will be the acting editorial page editor through the November election, Mr. Sulzberger said.

Jim Dao, the deputy editorial page editor who oversees Op-Eds, is stepping down from his position, which was on the Times masthead, and taking a new job in the newsroom, Mr. Sulzberger said.

Mr. Bennet’s swift fall from one of the most powerful positions in American journalism comes as hundreds of thousands of people have marched in protest of racism in law enforcement and society in recent weeks, after George Floyd died last month after being handcuffed and pinned to the ground by a white police officer’s knee. The movement has spread to newsrooms, where journalists and other employees have challenged leadership.

On Saturday night, Stan Wischnowski resigned as top editor of The Philadelphia Inquirer days after an article in the newspaper about the effects of protest on the urban landscape carried the headline, “Buildings Matter, Too,” prompting an apology, a heated staff meeting and a “sick-out” by dozens of journalists of color.

At The Times, the Op-Ed, published on Wednesday, prompted a virtual town hall with the staff on Friday, at which Mr. Bennet apologized for the Op-Ed, saying it should not have been published and that it resulted from a breakdown in a process meant to vet such pieces. Mr. Bennet did not reply to a request for comment on Sunday.

The Op-Ed, by Senator Tom Cotton, Republican of Arkansas, had “Send In the Troops” as its headline. “One thing above all else will restore order to our streets: an overwhelming show of force to disperse, detain and ultimately deter lawbreakers,” the senator wrote.

As of Thursday evening, over 800 staff members had signed a letter protesting its publication, addressed to high-ranking editors in the opinion and news divisions, as well as New York Times Company executives. The letter argued that Mr. Cotton’s essay contained misinformation, such as his depiction of the role of “antifa” in the protests. Dozens of Times employees objected to the Op-Ed on social media, as well, despite a company policy that instructs them not to post partisan comments or take sides on issues.

Mr. Bennet’s departure seems to eliminate one of just a few projected contenders to be the newspaper’s next executive editor after Dean Baquet, who has been in charge of the newsroom for six years, retires.

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Your Monday Briefing

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Your Monday Briefing

Zolan Kanno-Youngs, our Homeland Security correspondent, has been covering the protests against police brutality and racism in Washington. He spoke to Times Insider about what the past weeks have been like. Here’s an excerpt.

What strategies do you use while reporting at these protests?

You have to be willing to get a bit uncomfortable in pursuit of actually documenting the reality, the truth, of a situation.

You’re going to have many people there who are suffering trauma, who are perhaps distrustful of the news media, and I think one thing I needed to accept was getting over that wall of going to someone who didn’t want to speak to me and convincing them to.

How has your identity posed challenges as you cover a story that is so intensely driven by issues of racial inequities?

Being a black journalist, I’m going to come to the situation with a perspective and a background that other reporters may not have. I think that approaching these situations with that perspective can actually get at one of the more crucial necessities when it comes to this reporting, which is empathy — to have the ability to understand, not just transcribe, where a person who is experiencing the trauma of the situation could be coming from.

Why is it so important to cover a story like this so deeply and comprehensively?

I have to acknowledge that there have been documented reports of abuses of authority and violent incidents. I think it’s ever more important to be present to this situation in order to document any of those incidents against anybody.

But speaking generally, there’s that cliché that reporting is documenting the first draft of history. Protests are the early seeds of a movement that could shape the future of this country, that could determine policy change, that could determine who will be in power. But at the very root of it, it also shows the mind-set and the feelings of the people in this country right now. This really is the root of our reporting. This is a prime example of why we do what we do.

That’s it for this briefing. See you next time.

— Carole

Thank you
To Theodore Kim and Jahaan Singh for the rest of the break from the news. You can reach the team at briefing@nytimes.com.

P.S.
• We’re listening to “The Daily.” Our latest episode features five U.S. protesters speaking about the moments in their lives that brought them onto the streets.
• Here’s our Mini Crossword, and a clue: Pay tribute to (five letters). You can find all our puzzles here.
• Tara Parker-Pope, our Well editor, hosts a Times Event on smart ways to live your life while staying safe during the pandemic on Monday at 1 p.m. Eastern time ( 1:00 a.m. Tuesday in Hong Kong).

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‘Silence is pro-racist’: Anti-racism protests continue worldwide

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‘Silence is pro-racist’: Anti-racism protests continue worldwide

Protests have continued around the world as people took to the streets to show their support for the Black Lives Matter movement in the wake of the killing of George Floyd in Minnesota on May 25. 

The death of Floyd, a Black man killed by a white Minneapolis police officer pressing on his neck for almost nine minutes, sparked worldwide protests against racism and police brutality. 

More:

Protesters in the English city of Bristol toppled a statue of a 17th-century slave trader.

Demonstrators attached ropes to the statue of Edward Colston before pulling it down to cheers and roars of approval from the crowd. Images on social media show the statue was eventually rolled into the city’s harbour. 



It was not the only statue targeted on Sunday. In Brussels, protesters clambered onto the statue of former King Leopold II and chanted “reparations”.

The word “shame” was also graffitied on the monument, reference perhaps to the fact that Leopold is said to have reigned over the mass death of 10 million Congolese.



In London, thousands of people congregated around the US embassy for the second day running.

While protests were mainly peaceful, there were some scuffles near the office of Prime Minister Boris Johnson and outside the Parliament gates.

Demonstrators clash with police in Whitehall during a Black Lives Matter protest in London against the death of George Floyd in police custody in the US [Dylan Martinez/Reuters]

In Hong Kong, about 20 people staged a rally in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement on Sunday outside the US consulate in the semi-autonomous Chinese city.

“It’s a global issue,” Quinland Anderson, a 28-year-old British citizen living in Hong Kong, told The Associated Press news agency.

“We have to remind ourselves despite all we see going on in the US and in the other parts of the world, Black lives do indeed matter.”

Several dozen demonstrators took part in a Black Lives Matter protest held in Tel Aviv’s central Rabin Square.

A rally in Rome’s sprawling People’s Square was noisy but peaceful, with the majority of protesters wearing masks to protect against coronavirus. Participants listened to speeches and held up handmade placards saying “Black Lives Matter” and “It’s a White Problem”.

Demonstrators raise their fists as they attend a protest against racial inequality in the aftermath of the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, at Piazza del Popolo

Demonstrators raise their fists as they attend a protest against racial inequality at Piazza del Popolo in Rome, Italy [Remo Casilli/Reuters]

In Spain, several thousand people gathered on the streets of Barcelona and at the US embassy in Madrid.

Many in Madrid carried homemade signs reading “Black Lives Matter”, “Human rights for all” and “Silence is pro-racist”.

“We are not only doing this for our brother George Floyd,” said Thimbo Samb, a spokesman for the group that organised the events in Spain mainly through social media. “Here in Europe, in Spain, where we live, we work, we sleep and pay taxes, we also suffer racism.”


SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies



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George Floyd live updates: New York City lifts curfew; AG Barr denies systemic racism; Fox News apologizes for insensitive graphic

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George Floyd live updates: New York City lifts curfew; AG Barr denies systemic racism; Fox News apologizes for insensitive graphic

CLOSE

Hundreds of people held a private memorial in honor of George Floyd in his North Carolina birth town.

Wochit

Mayor Bill de Blasio canceled New York’s curfew Sunday following a day when cities across the nation saw massive, peaceful demonstrations against racism and police brutality. 

“We are lifting the curfew, effective immediately,” de Blasio tweeted Sunday. “Yesterday and last night we saw the very best of our city.”

U.S. Attorney General William Barr denied that law enforcement is systematically racist. Speaking on “Face the Nation,” Barr, however, said he understands the distrust of the African-American community.  

On Sunday, President Donald Trump pulled the National Guard out of Washington, saying they were no longer needed. Thousands of protesters marched downtown in the city Saturday for the ninth – and by far the largest – day of demonstrations demanding justice for black victims of police misconduct.

The protests began after the Memorial Day death of George Floyd, the African-American man who passed away after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes. The latest in a series of memorial services for Floyd is Monday in Houston. His remains will be buried there Tuesday.

Some recent developments:

Trump orders National Guard out of Washington, D.C.

President Donald Trump tweeted Sunday that he had ordered the National Guard out Washington, D.C., after mobilizing them in response to protests that at times triggered vandalism, looting and clashes with police. Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser had objected to the deployment. Trump, however, called for a tough response to protests across the nation in order to “dominate the streets,” threatening to call in active-duty troops to quell unrest where local authorities were unable to do so.

Tensions on U.S. streets have eased somewhat in recent days, and protests Saturday were overwhelmingly peaceful. 

“Everything is under perfect control,” Trump tweeted. “They will be going home, but can quickly return, if needed. Far fewer protesters showed up last night than anticipated!” 

Washington, D.C., authorities said the protesting crowds were the biggest to date.

– William Cummings

Stars lend voices, financial support to protest movement

Singing celebrities are not standing quietly on the sidelines as the nation rises up to confront inequality and police brutality. Paul McCartney released a statement in support of racial equality. K-pop superstars BTS have donated $1 million to Black Lives Matter, and Michael B. Jordan showed his support for the BLM movement at a recent protest in Los Angeles. Justin Bieber weighed in Saturday in support of the movement, saying he has been “inspired by… (and) benefited from black culture.”

“My style, how I sing, dance, perform, and my fashion have all been influenced by black culture,” Bieber posted on Twitter. “I am committed to using my platform from this day forward to learn, to speak up about racial injustice and systemic oppression, and to identify ways to be a part of much needed change.”

– Kim Willis and Rasha Ali

Barr: Justice system not systematically racist; no need to tap Insurrection Act

Racism remains an issue in the U.S., but the nation’s justice system is not systematically racist, Attorney General William Barr said Sunday. Barr, speaking on “Face the Nation,” said that “instances” of bad cops do not mean the entire “organization is rotten.” He also said he understands the distrust in the African American community.

“I think we have to realize that for most of our history our institutions were explicitly racist,” Barr said. “Since the 1960s we have been in a phase of reforming our institutions and making sure they are in sync with our laws.”

Barr also acknowledged that invoking the Insurrection Act to deploy military troops on American streets was considered. He, President Donald Trump and other administration officials were “on the same page” in determining that military troops would be deployed only “as a last resort and that we didn’t think we would need them.”

NYC drops curfew, prepares to being reopening after COVID lockdown

New York City’s first curfew in more than a half century was lifted a day early Sunday, hours after thousands of protesters across the city peacefully marched and chanted for an end to racial injustice. Mayor Bill de Blasio was under intense pressure to end the nightly curfew, imposed after looting broke out early last week. The 8 p.m. curfew had been scheduled to continue until 5 a.m. Monday – also the day the city begins Phase One of its reopening from the coronavirus shutdowns. Construction and other manufacturing-type facilities will be operational for the first time since being shuttered March 22.

“Tomorrow we take the first big step to restart,” de Blasio tweeted. “Keep staying safe. Keep looking out for each other.”

At the same time, de Blasio took issue with police officers not wearing masks while doing crowd control during the protests. “It’s painful to people because it feels like they’re flouting the rules,” de Blasio said, adding that, “It frustrates me to no end.”

Statue of British slave trader toppled, tossed into harbor

The statue of a 17th-century merchant and slave trader in the British city of Bristol was toppled and dumped into a harbor by protesters Sunday as part of anti-racism demonstrations in the United Kingdom.

The BBC reported the statue of Edward Colston had been covered with canvas during the protest stemming from the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. At one point demonstrators removed the covering, then tied ropes around the statue’s head to bring it down. Soon after stomping on the fallen monument, the crowd dragged it to nearby Bristol Harbor and tossed it in.

Colston, whose name is attached to streets and buildings in the city — located about 100 miles west of London — owned ships that sent an estimated 80,000 Africans to the Americas between 1672 and 1689.

Residents of smaller cities and towns join chorus for change

Protests in big cities such as New York, Washington and Los Angeles have grabbed the headlines, but residents of smaller cities are also making their voices heard. The conversations are typically driven by black citizens who say conditions are untenable.

During a peaceful protest in Spartanburg, South Carolina, a white man confronted a crowd of black men about their “Black Lives Matter” sign, telling them, “It should say ‘All Lives Matter!’” The Rev. Joseph Parks was nearby and stepped in, saying, “All of my bones matter. But if my wrist is broken, the only bone that matters at that moment is the one that’s broken.”

– Dustin Wyatt, Spartanburg Herald-Journal 

Top editor at The Philadelphia Inquirer out amid headline controversy

Stan Wischnowski, the top editor of The Philadelphia Inquirer, has announced his resignation amid fallout from a controversial headline about the impact of the recent civil unrest. The headline, “Buildings Matter, Too,” appeared over a column in Tuesday’s newspaper exploring the damage and looting that accompanied some of the nationwide protests over police violence. Wischnowski and other editors later apologized for the headline, describing it as “deeply offensive.” Publisher Lisa Hughes issued a statement saying Wischnowski “decided to step down” as senior vice president and executive editor after 20 years with the Inquirer.

Member of Naval Academy alumni board member resigns after his slurs are broadcast

A member of the Naval Academy Alumni Association Board of Trustees who lives near Jacksonville, Florida, has resigned after a private conversation that included racial slurs became public.

Scott Bethmann, 63, and his wife, Nancy, were watching the news when they started discussing the Black Lives Matter movement, making racist comments and using slurs in a video that was accidentally streamed on Facebook Live. “Somehow I clicked onto some live event,” Scott Bethmann can be heard saying in the video.

— Emily Bloch, Florida Times-Union

Iowa football assistant placed on leave amid complaints of racism

Iowa football strength and condition coach Chris Doyle has been placed on administrative leave after dozens of social-media posts from black former athletes described a culture of systemic racism within the Hawkeyes’ football program. Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz also announced the creation of an advisory committee to address “a call for a cultural shift.” Doyle has been Iowa’s strength and conditioning coach since Ferentz’s first year of 1999.

Ferentz said he has lifted his team’s longstanding ban on social media at the request of players who want to “participate in the national discussion” concerning injustice, racism and inequality.

– Chad Leistikow, Hawk Central

Fox News sorry for graphic linking deaths of black men to stock prices

Fox News apologized Saturday after showing a graphic depicting the impact of the killings of black men including George Floyd on stock prices. The graph aired on Friday during Fox’s live news coverage and showed positive stock market changes one week after Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination and the police killings of Michael Brown and George Floyd, who were both unarmed when they lost their lives to white officers. 

“The infographic used on FOX News Channel’s Special Report to illustrate market reactions to historic periods of civil unrest should have never aired on television without full context. We apologize for the insensitivity of the image and take this issue seriously,” a Fox News spokesperson said in a statement. 

– Dalvin Brown

Marines ban display of Confederate flag

The Marines have banned display of the Confederate Battle Flag from military installations, saying it is divisive and has “too often been co-opted by violent extremist and racist groups.” The directive orders commanders to ban the flag or its depiction within work places, common-access areas and public areas on their installations. Posters, bumper stickers, clothing and coffee mugs are specifically called out. The directive and a statement released by the Corps make reference to “current events” and specifically mentions a 2017 demonstration in Charlottesville, Virginia, that resulted in the death of a protester.

“Our history as a nation, and events like the violence in Charlottesville in 2017, highlight the divisiveness the use of the Confederate battle flag has had on our society,” the directive says.

Police, protesters square off in Portland

A clash between police in Portland, Oregon, and protesters at the Justice Center overnight resulted in more than 50 arrests. Police Chief Jami Resch said early Sunday that several thousand people marched peacefully, but that a smaller group of protesters attempted to cut through a security fence and threw balloons full of paint and full beverage cans. Two officers were injured by lit fireworks, she said. 

Protests have taken place daily in the city for more than a week, and police have come under scrutiny for their use of force against demonstrators. The advocacy group Don’t Shoot Portland has filed suit against the city, accusing police of “indiscriminate use” of tear gas. The city’s police oversight panel, the Citizen Review Committee, has issued a statement citing “a troubling pattern of police violence against protesters that interferes with public safety and freedom of speech.”

Survey: Americans’ perceptions of police drop significantly in one week

The perception of police among white Americans has dropped by double digits in just one week, as police have targeted peaceful protesters, bystanders and journalists amid nationwide demonstrations focusing on systemic racism facing black Americans. Perceptions also have declined across all racial groups following the death of George Floyd in police custody, according to a new survey from the Democracy Fund + UCLA Nationscape Project.

Among white Americans – a group where President Donald Trump saw broad support in the 2016 election – those who have a very favorable or somewhat favorable impression of police officers totaled 61% in the survey conducted May 28 to June 3. That’s down from 72% the previous week, according to an analysis from Nationscape Insights, Democracy Fund, UCLA and USA TODAY. Among black Americans, only 38% view the police very or somewhat favorably. That number dropped 9 percentage points from the previous week.

“These changes were striking,” said Robert Griffin, research director for the Democracy Fund Voter Study Group. “At a time when so much in American politics feels deadlocked, this is the kind of major event that can reshape how Americans think.” 

– Rebecca Morin

More on protests, George Floyd:

Contributing: The Associated Press

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Protest in southwest Syria against faltering economy, corruption

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Protest in southwest Syria against faltering economy, corruption

Dozens of Syrians took to the streets in southwest Syria to protest deteriorating economic conditions and corruption in the country, according to reports by local media run by activists in the area.

The demonstrations in Suweida province on Sunday come as the Syrian pound continues to plummet.

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The currency hit a record low last week followed by another on Sunday. One Syrian pound currently stands at $0.002, according to currency conversion websites.

The protests also mark the first major gathering which called for the removal of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as the Druze-majority province remained loyal to Damascus throughout the Syrian uprising.

Widely shared videos showed mostly young men marching through a market in Suweida towards the municipality building. They chanted anti-government slogans, similar to those used when peaceful protests first erupted in 2011 before quickly turning bloody.

“Leave now Bashar” and “the people want the fall of the regime” were among the chants that could be heard.

Others videos showed people holding signs and chanting “Syria is free, out with Russia … out with Iran”.

In neighbouring Deraa, where the Syrian uprising began some nine years ago, reports of similar protests emerged later on Sunday, though they were limited to Tafas, a town in the province’s north. 

‘Nothing to lose’ 

The country remains sanctioned by the European Union, which imposes trade and transport sanctions that have impeded the flow of much-needed humanitarian aid. 

Medicine is scarce and has become increasingly unattainable during the past couple of months amid reports of pharmacies shutting down. 

Most pharmacists “aren’t selling essential drugs due to accelerated loss of the buying power of the Syrian pound/lira,” Zaher Sahloul, senior adviser and past president of the Syrian American Medical Society, said in a Twitter post on Sunday. 

“The situation is desperate and adding to the public anger from their government. People expect the worse,” he added. 

According to Syrian journalist Asser Khattab, two smaller demonstrations took place in Suweida during the last month.

“Many Syrians have nothing to lose now that the value of their currency is in a freefall and inflation is ravaging the market,” the Paris-based journalist told Al Jazeera.

“Suweida is a special case where people have been more or less under less influence of the Syrian regime’s direct military and security reach which may have allowed people to feel less worried about the repercussions of going on a demonstration,” Khattab added. 

Khattab believes that living conditions are bound to get worse, and it is likely that more demonstrations will occur as Syrians “struggle to attain their daily bread”.

The 10-year war in Syria has killed more than 380,000 people and displaced nearly half of the country’s pre-war population. 

Apart from the rebel-held northwestern region, President al-Assad has regained much of the country’s territory since 2015, when Russia intervened militarily to assist the government in pushing back opposition fighters.

In recent years, Russia and Turkey, which backs opposition factions, have become the main power-brokers in Syria.

Additional reporting by Farah Najjar. 



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NASCAR vows to do better job addressing racial injustice – Sportsnet.ca

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NASCAR vows to do better job addressing racial injustice – Sportsnet.ca

HAMPTON, Ga. — Bubba Wallace donned a black T-shirt with the words “I Can’t Breathe” and NASCAR paused before Sunday’s Cup race at Atlanta Motor Speedway to acknowledge the country’s social unrest. The governing body vowed to to do a better job of addressing racial injustice in the wake of George Floyd’s death.

During their warm-up laps, the 40 cars pulled to a stop in front of the empty grandstands and shut off their engines so NASCAR President Steve Phelps could deliver a message over their radio sets.

“Thank you for your time,” Phelps said. “Our country is in pain and people are justifiably angry, demanding to be heard. The Black community and all people of colour have suffered in our country, and it has taken far too long for us to hear their demands for change. Our sport must do better. Our country must do better.”

A Black NASCAR official took a knee along pit road, mimicking a gesture used by protesters in tribute to former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

All 40 crews stood on the wall in front of their pit boxes.

“The time is now to listen, to understand and to stand against racism and racial injustice,” Phelps said. “We ask our drivers … and all our fans to join us in this mission, to take a moment of reflection, to acknowledge that we must do better as a sport, and join us as we now pause and take a moment to listen.”

Wallace, the only African American driver in NASCAR’s top series, has been the sport’s most outspoken voice since Floyd died while in the custody of Minneapolis police, sparking massive protests in all 50 states and around the world demanding an end to law enforcement brutality against people of colour.

Wallace’s T-shirt carried Floyd’s pleading words when an officer, identified as Derek Chauvin, pinned a knee on his neck for more than eight minutes while he was handcuffed. Chauvin and three other officers have been fired and charged in the incident, which followed the deaths of Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery.

Protesters have cited all three African American victims in their demands for social justice.

After Phelps spoke to the NASCAR drivers, they observed a 30-second moment of silence. Then, as the cars refired their engines and slowly pulled away for the green flag, the Fox broadcast cut to a video made by a number of Cup drivers, including Wallace and seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson, as well as retired star Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Several drivers also posted the video on their Twitter accounts, vowing to “listen and learn” from the protests that have rocked the nation. The vowed to “no longer be silent” and pledged to “work together to make real change.”

With its roots in the South and one-time embrace of Confederate symbols, NASCAR has a checkered racial history. The organization has launched diversity programs but still struggles to shake its reputation as a largely white sport.

During a shutdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic, NASCAR driver Kyle Larson was fired after casually uttering a racial slur while competing in a video racing game.

“We need step up more than we ever have before,” said former Cup star Jeff Gordon, now a Fox broadcaster. “We are listening, we are learning and we are ready to change.”



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