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New York City Agrees to Pay Family of Eric Garner $5.9 Million

Mr. Garner and his wife, Esaw, during a family vacation in 2011. (Photo via nytimes.com)

New York City reached a settlement with the family of Eric Garner on Monday, agreeing to pay $5.9 million to resolve a wrongful death claim over his killing by the police on Staten Island last July, the city comptroller and a lawyer for the family said.

The agreement, reached a few days before the anniversary of Mr. Garner’s death, headed off one legal battle even as a federal inquiry into the killing and several others at the state and local level remain open and could provide a further accounting of how he died.

Still, the settlement was a pivotal moment in a case that has engulfed the city since the afternoon of July 17, 2014, when two officers approached Mr. Garner as he stood unarmed on a sidewalk, and accused him of selling untaxed cigarettes. One of the officers used a chokehold — prohibited by the Police Department — to subdue him, and that was cited by the medical examiner as a cause of Mr. Garner’s death.

The killing of Mr. Garner, 43, followed by the fatal shooting of Michael Brown by a police officer in Ferguson, Mo., in August, set off a national debate about policing actions in minority communities and racial discrimination in the criminal justice system.

Mr. Garner’s final words — “I can’t breathe” — repeated 11 times, became a national rallying cry. A Staten Island grand jury’s decision not to indict the officer who used the chokehold, Daniel Pantaleo, fueled weeks of demonstrations. The protests eased after two police officers in Brooklyn were fatally shot in December by a man who said he acted to avenge Mr. Garner’s death.

The killings of the officers shook the city anew, deepening tensions between the police and Mayor Bill de Blasio and slowing a push to enact a host of criminal justice reforms. Last year, Mr. Garner’s relatives, including his widow, Esaw Garner, and his mother, Gwen Carrfiled a notice of claim— a procedural step that must precede a lawsuit — against the city. In the notice, they said were seeking $75 million in damages. Since then, the family has been in talks with the comptroller’s office.

“Mr. Garner’s death is a touchstone in our city’s history and in the history of the entire nation,” the comptroller, Scott M. Stringer, said in a telephone interview late on Monday. “Financial compensation is certainly not everything, and it can’t bring Mr. Garner back. But it is our way of creating balance and giving a family a certain closure.”

Pizza Shop Employee Courtney Best Helps Save Kidnapped Child While on "Smoke Break"

Local Hero Courtney Best (photo via )
Local Hero Courtney Best (photo via KRIStv.com )

A young pizza shop employee in Texas used an alert she received on her phone to help authorities catch a kidnapper and save a young boy.
Courtney Best was on a smoke break from her job at Papa Murphy’s pizza in Corpus Christi, Texas when she checked an Amber alert on her cell phone. According to KRIS-TV, that alert helped her identify the kidnapper when he parked in the same shopping plaza.
“I stepped outside, I was standing by the trash can and I seen a white car pull up and I just happen to take my phone with me cause we don’t look at our phones at work, and I looked down and I saw ‘white Dodge Avenger amber alert’, and I was like, nah, that’s not him,” Best told KRIS-TV. “The man was walking across the parking lot looking at me … cause I was the only person out here, with the little boy and the little boy looked scared and I was like ‘no, that’s not him.’”
But she felt uneasy, so she checked the license plates. Sure enough, it was a match. When she realized that the car was, in fact, the right car, she knew she had to act.
“And I’m on the phone with 911 and I tell her, look, the plates match up, he’s turning left on Staples but I’m gonna follow him.”
The police came to their aid moments later, and the boy, 7-year old Nicholas Gomez, is now safe.
“That’s why I’m freakin’ out,” said Best. “Cause, what are the odds? What are the odds of me looking at my phone? And I usually don’t even look at amber alerts, as bad as that sounds, I look at them and I don’t really pay attention. And I was like, he couldn’t get from Alice in that little bit of time. Sure enough it was him.”
article via thegrio.com

President Obama Commutes Sentences of 46 Non-Violent Drug Offenders

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(Photo via YouTube)

A week after the White House announced the president would commute sentences for dozens of non-violent drug offenders this summer, Barack Obama made good on the promise, freeing 46 non-violent drug offenders Monday afternoon.
The move is a historic one; the president commuted more sentences at one time than any president has since Lyndon B. Johnson, the Washington Post points out.
In a video posted to Facebook, which you can see if you click here, Obama expounded on the effort to correct the tough and unfair sentencing that disproportionately affects minority men and, in turn, destroys communities.

“These men and women were not hardened criminals. But the overwhelming majority had to be sentenced to at least 20 years,” he said, noting that in his letters to them he made sure they needed to make different choices now that they were free.”But I believe that at its heart, America’s a nation of second chances. And I believe these folks deserve their second chance.”
“These men and women were not hardened criminals. But the overwhelming majority had to be sentenced to at least 20 years,” he said, noting that in his letters to them he made sure they needed to make different choices now that they were free.”But I believe that at its heart, America’s a nation of second chances. And I believe these folks deserve their second chance.”

During his presidency, Obama has commuted sentences for 89 people. Since agreeing to rectify the unfair sentencing that is a large pillar of prison reform, about 35,000 inmates have applied to be considered for early release.
Surprisingly, prison reform has become a bipartisan issue, garnering support from Democrats, Republicans, and those in between. Obama’s latest effort comes just days before he’s set to make history as the first sitting president to visit a federal prison.
On Thursday, Obama will meet with law enforcement officials and inmates at El Reno Federal Correctional Institution outside Oklahoma City.  According to a White House press release, the president will also be conducting an interview for a “Vice” documentary focused on the criminal justice system in this nation.
article by Christina Coleman via theurbandaily.com

Usher Partners with Yoobi to Offer Back-To-School Collection at Target, Donates to Classrooms in Need for Each Product Sold

HOLLYWOOD, CA - JULY 09:  Musician Usher attends Yoobi X Usher VIP Launch Event at Siren Studios on July 9, 2015 in Hollywood, California.  (Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Yoobi)
HOLLYWOOD, CA – JULY 09: Musician Usher attends Yoobi X Usher VIP Launch Event at Siren Studios on July 9, 2015 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Yoobi)

According to Billboard.com, Usher was in Hollywood on Thursday evening to celebrate the launch of the Grammy Award-winning singer’s collaboration with year-old Los Angeles-based school supplies company Yoobi, co-founded by CEO Ido Leffler.
480162630“Mixing street smarts with school smarts” is the slogan for Yoobi X Usher, a new back-to-school collection being sold at Target exclusively and on Yoobi.com. Curated by Usher and designed by artist Jonni Cheatwood, the collection features folders, pencil cases, composition books and binders splattered with vibrant slashes of pink, yellow-green, black and gray. For every product purchased, one product will be donated to a classroom in need. “So it’s philanthropic in addition to culturally just being cool,” says Usher.
When asked why he partnered with Yoobi, Usher said, “Preparing future leaders through my New Look Foundation has always been about having the proper tools to succeed in life. If they don’t have the tools, young men and women from underserved communities can’t even begin to understand the idea of having a new or different perspective. So that’s where this collaboration came together: giving young people the tools and supplying them with hope.”
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (follow @lakinhutcherson)

"Empire" Star Jussie Smollett Honored by The Black AIDS Institute

Black AIDS Institute 2015 Heroes In The Struggle Reception Gala Reception And Awards Ceremony
Source: Paul Archuleta / Getty

2015 has been a breakout year for Empire star Jussie Smollett.
Before performing at the 2015 BET Awards, Jussie was honored by the Black AIDS Institute during the annual Heroes In The Struggle (H.I.T.S) gala. H.I.T.S pays tribute to Black Americans and the Allies who have contributed in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Previous inductees of the gala include Maxine WatersMagic Johnson and President Bill Clinton.
According to Euroweb, Smollett was overjoyed when he heard the news about the honor.
“I got the call from Phil Wilson (President and CEO, Black AIDS Institute) who’s been one of my mentors since I was sixteen. He asked if I would be honored by the organization and I said of course. I love what the Black AIDS Institute has done and all of the lives that they’ve changed. I love Phil and to be honored by him is everything.”
Jussie was presented the honor by his sister Jurnee Smollett-Bell and actor/activist Wilson Cruz. Other recipients of the 2015 award include the executive director of Empower U community health center, Vanessa MillsGregorio Millett, the Vice-President and Director of public policy for AMFAR and Janssen Therapeutics.
Jussie even spilled the tea about when we can expect his album to drop and what we can expect to hear from season two of Empire.
“It’s going to be fun. For ‘Empire’ season two, I’ve been recording with everybody from obviously Timbaland to Jim Beanz and also Swizz Beatz and Ne-Yo so it’s going to be dope. It’s going to be excellent!”
article by Veronica Hilbring via hellobeautiful.com

Detroit Dad Curtis White's Love Helps Carry Injured Teen Daughter Who Survived Gunfire

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Gunshot survivor Dreia Davis and her father Curtis White  (photo: Salwan Georges/Detroit Free Press)

Dreia Davis shouldn’t be alive.  Yet she is.  Doctors were doubtful Davis would survive after she was shot in the face in a drive-by shooting on Detroit’s east side in August 2009.
But she did.
Although the shooting left Davis in a wheelchair, she has continued to beat the odds, despite setbacks and recurring nightmares of that late summer night, when she nearly lost her life at age 13.  Two heart attacks, numerous surgeries and a stroke later, Davis, 19, is determined to reclaim her life and achieve her dream of attending the University of Michigan and becoming a defense attorney.
There’s no denying Davis still has a long road ahead, but she has found unparallelled love and support in the one person who has remained by her side, caring for her and pushing her forward: her father, Curtis White.  “It feels great to have him in my life,” she said while gripping his hand. “He’s had me since I was 3 weeks old. I love him.”

White, a single father, has relatively no help in caring for his daughter. Her mother, who still lives in Detroit, is not in the picture, White said, and his own family is unable to help.

But the father and daughter have formed a bond that grows each day.
“She’s my daughter, my best friend,” White, 45, said. “She knows me inside and out. It’s us against them. It’s us against the world. We beat the odds. We can do anything together. Me taking care of her, that’s second nature. I never had my dad, and I went through hell not knowing my dad. … So I have to be there, be here for her. That’s what’s given me the drive to do this for her. Since she’s come this far, the sky’s the limit. I’m never going to give up on her.”
Davis was a lively teen.  She was a popular, nearly straight-A student and a head cheerleader at Greenfield Union School, on 7 Mile and Charleston.  Before the shooting Aug. 5, 2009, Davis asked her father whether she could go to her friend’s house. He said yes. But later, he discovered she had caught the bus to go to another friend’s home, where he specifically told her not to go.
“Like a typical teen, she was being rebellious,” he said.  He called her and told her to come home.  “I told her, ‘Don’t make me come over there and get you,’ ” he said. “She promised she would make it home. The last thing I heard from her was, ‘Daddy, I’m on my way home. I love you.’ 
He started pacing when 8 p.m. came.  Then 9 p.m. passed.  As 10 p.m. neared, a feeling of dread swept across White. “I could feel it in my stomach,” he said. “I couldn’t pinpoint it, but something was not right.”
Minutes later, his daughter’s aunt called. In a trembling voice, she told him to come to the hospital immediately.  “I couldn’t even comprehend what she was telling me,” he said. ” ‘Shot in the head?’ ‘What do you mean?’ As soon as I got there, they met me with the chaplains in the emergency room and I was already thinking it was over.”
Davis, an innocent bystander, was shot at the corner of Emery and Eureka, near 7 Mile on the city’s east side, while she talked to some friends. She was the only one injured.
“All it took was one unfortunate night of her not listening for a tragedy to occur,” White said.
After she was shot, Davis was rushed to the hospital and taken into the ICU, where doctors used an automatic external defibrillator to shock her heart back into rhythm after she suffered a heart attack on the operating table.
Doctors told White that his daughter had a 7% chance of making it.  “I just lost my mind. That’s my only child,” he said. “From there, it was a whole lot of hoping, praying and being at the hospital 24/7. When I saw her in the emergency recovery room, I was shocked. Her head had swelled up to the size of a pumpkin.”
After several months on life support, doctors told White it was likely his daughter wouldn’t recover, and that he might have to consider removing the support.
“Doctors were telling me she was going to be a vegetable,” he said. “After the second heart attack and stroke, I started considering it. But I had a good cousin that came down from Battle Creek. She said: ‘God can do anything. Put your faith in God.’ And I swear on my life, that as soon as I did that, she made a drastic turnaround.”

South Carolina Gov. Signs Law to Remove Confederate Flag; Signing Pens to Go to Church Shooting Victims’ Families

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Governor Nikki Haley signs law to take down Confederate Flag (photo via ktla.com)

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley signed a historic bill Thursday that will remove the Confederate battle flag from the state Capitol grounds, where it has been a source of friction for more than half a century.
Haley’s signature ends the fighting over the flag, seen as an emblem of Southern heritage by some but condemned as a symbol of racial oppression by others.
The flag flew over the dome of South Carolina’s Capitol in 1961 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the war — and stayed as a protest to the civil rights movement that shattered Jim Crow segregationist laws across the South. After protests from civil rights leaders, the battle flag was moved in 2000 from the dome to its current location on the Capitol’s front lawn.
Haley said the flag will “come down with dignity” at 10 a.m. Eastern time Friday. The banner will be taken to the state’s Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum for display.
“The Confederate flag is coming off the grounds of the South Carolina Statehouse,” Haley told the overflow crowd. “We will bring it down with dignity and we will make sure it is stored in its rightful place.”
Haley had called for removal of the flag in the wake of the June 17 massacre of nine black parishioners at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal church in Charleston. A white man, Dylann Roof, who had apparently espoused racist ideologies and who had been photographed with Confederate symbols, is being held on nine murder counts and other charges.
Relatives of those slain at the church were among those in the racially diverse crowd who watched the governor use several pens to sign the legislation, whose passage was all but impossible before the church shootings. The governor praised the dead for changing the debate about the flag and race relations.  “These nine pens are going to the families of the Emanuel Nine,” Haley said after signing the bill into law. “Nine amazing individuals who have forever changed South Carolina history.

WAVE GOODBYE! South Carolina House Votes to Remove Confederate Flag From Capitol Grounds

Jalaludin Abdul-Hamid, a protester against the Confederate flag that flies outside the South Carolina Statehouse, speaks to a flag supporter Tuesday.
Jalaludin Abdul-Hamid, a protester against the Confederate flag that flies outside the South Carolina Statehouse, speaks to a flag supporter Tuesday. (Photo: Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

Updated at 2:15 a.m. ET Thursday: Final Vote
Early Thursday morning, lawmakers in the South Carolina House approved a Senate bill that removes the Confederate flag from the Capitol grounds. The measure passed by a two-thirds margin and now goes to Republican Gov. Nikki Haley’s desk. The Associated Press reports: As House members deliberated well into the night, there were tears of anger and shared memories of Civil War ancestors. Black Democrats, frustrated at being asked to show grace to Civil War soldiers as the debate wore on, warned the state was embarrassing itself.
Original Post:
The idea of removing the Confederate battle flag from a prominent place in front of South Carolina’s Statehouse gets a crucial test Wednesday, when the state House of Representatives votes on a bill that would put the flag in a relic room.
Today’s vote is pivotal: under South Carolina’s legislative system, bills must be read and voted upon three times. The first vote is normally to introduce the bill; that happened Tuesday, after it was approved by the Senate. The third vote is often a formality.
By mid-day, the bill had been stalled by a host of amendments offered by opponents to removing the Confederate banner. One measure calls for planting flowers in the spot where the flag now flies.
We’ll update this post with news from Columbia, S.C., where the House is considering the bill. The action comes two weeks after Gov. Nikki Haley and other leaders called for the flag to come down.
article by Bill Chappell via npr.org

Pearl Thompson, 93, Returns to North Carolina Public Library to Get Library Card Denied to Her in 1942 (VIDEO)

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Pearl Thompson is honored at the Cameron Village Regional Library July 2, 2015, in Raleigh, N.C. (YOUTUBE SCREENSHOT)

Pearl Thompson was a student at Shaw University in 1942 when she walked over to a public library in Raleigh, N.C., to check out a book she was assigned to read for class.
But instead of issuing a library card to Thompson and allowing her to check out the book, the library staff at the Olivia Raney Library—a library intended only for whites at the time—sent Thompson to the basement and told her that she had to read the book there and couldn’t take it out of the library.
More than 70 years later, Thompson, now 93, is being honored in Raleigh, N.C., as a lifelong educator, and she has made it a point to return to get the library card that was denied her so long ago.
Thompson told the News & Observer that she knew that the Olivia Raney Library, Raleigh’s first public library, was only for white patrons, but she was on a mission to get the book that she needed.
“I expected to go in and get a book,” Thompson said.
That thirst for knowledge and determination to break down racial barriers in educational spaces stayed with her. Thompson went on to teach in Raleigh’s segregated black schools for more than a decade. In an emotional video showing the Raleigh event that honored her work, Thompson described how she vowed that she would work hard to give children opportunities to learn, and to expose them to the resources they would need to succeed.

article by Diana Ozemebhoya Eromosele via theroot.com

President Obama Set To Commute Sentences For Dozens Of Non-Violent Drug Offenders

President Obama Speaks at Georgia Tech
Following his plan to rectify the “war on drugs” that jailed thousands and destroyed communities, President Obama is expected to commute the sentences of dozens of non-violent drug offenders this summer, the New York Times reports.
The president, who has long discussed the effort to correct the tough and unfair sentencing that disproportionately affects minority men, will issue orders to free a number of federal prisoners; a move that will “commute more sentences at one time than any president has in nearly half a century,” the Times writes.
In a rare Washington D.C. twist, sentencing reform seems to be a bipartisan issue, garnering support from Democrats, Republicans, and those in between.
Via the Times:

In the next weeks, the total number of commutations for Mr. Obama’s presidency may surpass 80, but more than 30,000 federal inmates have come forward in response to his administration’s call for clemency applications. A cumbersome review process has advanced only a small fraction of them. And just a small fraction of those have reached the president’s desk for a signature.

[…]

Overhauling the criminal justice system has become a bipartisan venture. Like Mr. Obama, Republicans running for his job are calling for systemic changes. Lawmakers from both parties are collaborating on legislation. And the United States Sentencing Commission has revised guidelines for drug offenders, so far retroactively reducing sentences for more than 9,500 inmates, nearly three-quarters of them black or Hispanic.

The drive to recalibrate the system has brought together groups from across the political spectrum. The Center for American Progress, a liberal advocacy organization with close ties to the White House and Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton, has teamed up with Koch Industries, the conglomerate owned by the conservative brothers Charles G. and David H. Koch, who finance Republican candidates, to press for reducing prison populations and overhauling sentencing.

According to PBS Newshour, inmates should have spent at least 10 years incarcerated and received what could be considered an unfair sentence based on current sentencing laws to be considered for commutations.

So far, President Obama has granted 33 commutations in the fiscal year 2015.

article by Christina Coleman via newsone.com