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Juneteenth Signed into Law as a Federal Holiday

Juneteenth Signed into Law as a Federal Holiday

By goodblacknews on June 17, 2021

Today President Joe Biden signed into law that June 19, best known as “Juneteenth” will now be a U.S. federal holiday, effective immediately.

“Juneteeth” is the term that has been used across centuries to commemorate June 19, 1865, the day enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, first learned from Union Army Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger that the Civil War was over, and they were free by order of the president (Lincoln, who had issued the Emancipation 2 1/2 years earlier). Celebrations occurred every year in Texas on Juneteenth, and later spread across the South as the idea caught on.

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management, which is the human resources office for the federal government, tweeted today that most federal employees will observe the new holiday — Juneteenth National Independence Day — on Friday since June 19 falls on a Saturday this year.

Biden said signing the legislation into law is one of the greatest honors he will have as president. Vice President Kamala Harris also signed the legislation in her capacity as President of the Senate.

By making Juneteenth a federal holiday, “all Americans can feel the power of this day, and learn from our history, and celebrate progress and grapple with the distance we’ve come but the distance we have to travel,” Biden said.

Activist Opal Lee (via marketwatch.com)

Biden also praised the efforts of Opal Lee, 94, an activist who at the age of 89 walked from her home in Fort Worth to Washington, D.C., to get Juneteenth named a national holiday.  Biden referred to her as “a grandmother of the movement to make Juneteenth a federal holiday.”

“Seeding by Ceding”: MacKenzie Scott Donates $2.7 Billion to Racial Justice Organizations, Arts Groups and Community-Based Non-Profits

“Seeding by Ceding”: MacKenzie Scott Donates $2.7 Billion to Racial Justice Organizations, Arts Groups and Community-Based Non-Profits

By goodblacknews on June 17, 2021

by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)

MacKenzie Scott, novelist, former teacher and ex-wife of Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, is a real one.

Scott’s net worth since her divorce settlement from Bezos stands close to $60 billion, and Scott has vowed to give away her wealth in her lifetime -“until the safe is empty” – because she believes “it would be better if disproportionate wealth were not concentrated in a small number of hands.”

This week Scott and her team, lead by herself and her current spouse Dan Jewett, donated $2.7 billion to 286 organizations “including major universities, distinguished arts groups, and nonprofits working to combat racial injustice and domestic violence.”

Scott announced the donations in her Medium blog post “Seeding by Ceding,” where she states “major universities, distinguished arts groups, and nonprofits working to combat racial injustice and domestic violence” are among those receiving grants.

The recipients include the Apollo Theater, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Alternate ROOTS, Black Organizing for Leadership and Dignity, Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History and Women’s Funding Network.

This is the third time Scott has donated along these lines. In July 2020, Scott donated to “116 Organizations Driving Change,” which all fell under nine categories: racial equity, LGBTQ+ equity, gender equity, economic mobility, empathy and bridging divides, functional democracy, public health, global development and climate change.

She followed that up in December of last year with “384 Ways to Help.” To see the complete list of Scott’s 2021 donation recipients, click here.

School Board in Jacksonville, FL Votes to Rename Six Schools Honoring Confederates

School Board in Jacksonville, FL Votes to Rename Six Schools Honoring Confederates

By goodblacknews on June 7, 2021

After an almost year-long campaign and debates led by grassroots racial justice organizations (like the Northside Coalition of Jacksonville), the Duval County School Board in Jacksonville, Florida has voted to change the names of six schools currently named after figures prominent in the Confederacy during the U.S. Civil War.

Come August 3, Kirby-Smith Middle School will become Springfield Middle School, Joseph Finegan Elementary School will become Anchor Academy, Stonewall Jackson Elementary School will become Hidden Oaks Elementary, Jefferson Davis Middle School will become Charger Academy, J.E.B. Stuart Middle School will become Westside Middle School and Robert E. Lee High School will renamed Riverside High.

According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, there are 103 public schools named for Confederate leaders in the U.S. The SPLC also points out that the years Jim Crow laws emerged and the Civil Rights movement took place were the years with the greatest increase in the dedication of Confederate monuments and symbols.

Whose Heritage map via SPLC.org

“At this point in time it’s important to start thinking about who we want to be,” said Duval County public schools board chair Elizabeth Andersen. “As a board, we were listening to our community members and wanting to move forward so that every student that walks in our building understands that they are respected, that they are capable of achieving their highest potential, and that all of their lives matter.”

Animated U.S. Civics Series “We The People” Produced by Obamas to Debut on Netflix July 4 (WATCH TRAILER)

Animated U.S. Civics Series “We The People” Produced by Obamas to Debut on Netflix July 4 (WATCH TRAILER)

By goodblacknews on June 3, 2021

Michelle and Barack Obama announced yesterday that they have executive produced and Netflix will stream We the People, a 10-episode television series aimed at educating children on United States civics lessons, starting on July 4 of this year.

Across all three-minute music videos, the Obamas have enlisted artists such as Grammy and Academy Award winner H.E.R., Andra Day, Janelle Monáe, rapper Cordae, rock singer Adam Lambert,  Frozen and Frozen 2 composers Robert and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Hamilton‘s Daveed Diggs, Brittany Howard, In the Heights and Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, Brandi Carlile, KYLE, Bebe Rexha, , and Biden inaugural poet Amanda Gorman to perform original songs and compositions that will soundtrack each narrative.

Episodes were directed by Peter Ramsey, Trisha Gum, Victoria Vincent, Benjy Brooke, Mabel Ye, Tim Rauch, Jorge R. Gutierrez, Daron Nefcy, Everett Downing, and Kendra Ryan. Each episode will offer lessons on basics of U.S. citizenship and rights, evoking the beloved Schoolhouse Rock series that originally aired on ABC in the 1970s.

Other producers on the project include Black-ish creator Kenya Barris and Doc McStuffins creator Chris Nee.

Ahead of We the People‘s July 4 premiere date on Netflix, the show will premiere at a free screening in the DOCS Talks section of the American Film Institute‘s DOCS film festival on Thursday, June 24.

Read more: https://ew.com/tv/barack-obama-michelle-new-netflix-animated-series/

Darnella Frazier, Brave Teen Who Filmed George Floyd’s Fatal Arrest and Testified at the Derek Chauvin Trial, Issues 1st Public Statement

Darnella Frazier, Brave Teen Who Filmed George Floyd’s Fatal Arrest and Testified at the Derek Chauvin Trial, Issues 1st Public Statement

By goodblacknews on May 26, 2021

Darnella Frazier, the young woman who was 17 years old when she filmed on her cell phone Derek Chauvin and three other former Minneapolis police officers arrest and subsequently murder George Floyd, issued her first public statement about the tragic incident she witnessed on the year anniversary of Floyd’s death.

Frazier, who offered her testimony at Chauvin’s trial along with her video footage, helped lead to his conviction on all counts of second degree murder, third degree murder and second degree manslaughter, posted to her Facebook page yesterday:

In addition to expressing how witnessing such an atrocity and abuse of power has affected her,  Frazier speaks on the value of George Floyd’s life, and what needs to change in policing and in society to prevent this kind of tragedy from happening again:

My video didn’t save George Floyd, but it put his murderer away and off the streets. You can view George Floyd anyway you choose to view him, despite his past, because don’t we all have one? He was a loved one, someone’s son, someone’s father, someone’s brother, and someone’s friend. We the people won’t take the blame, you won’t keep pointing fingers at us as if it’s our fault, as if we are criminals. I don’t think people understand how serious death is…that person is never coming back.

These officers shouldn’t get to decide if someone gets to live or not. It’s time these officers start getting held accountable. Murdering people and abusing your power while doing it is not doing your job. It shouldn’t have to take people to actually go through something to understand it’s not ok. It’s called having a heart and understanding right from wrong.

Continued praise and strength to this young woman who acted extraordinarily in extraordinary and horrifying circumstances.

To read her statement in its entirety, click above on the link to Frazier’s Facebook post or read it below:

Mariah Jones, 18, Goes from Women’s Shelter in Pittsburgh to Full Ride Scholarship for Astrophysics at Vassar

Mariah Jones, 18, Goes from Women’s Shelter in Pittsburgh to Full Ride Scholarship for Astrophysics at Vassar

By goodblacknews on May 22, 2021

According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, high school senior Mariah Jones, who once lived with her mother and her older sisters at the Women’s Center & Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh, is now on her way to Vassar College in NY this fall on a full scholarship.

Jones, 18, is currently working with an astrophysicist at the University of Pittsburgh as a part of a project that endeavors to estimate the distance to other galaxies, an opportunity that came about when she cold-called Brett Andrews, a research assistant professor at Pitt.

To quote the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

“She had reached out to me and a bunch of other professors at Pitt,” Andrew said. “Her curiosity and her drive make her unique. She’s taken the initiative and reached out to people she doesn’t know to make an opportunity for herself.”

That opportunity culminated in a prestigious QuestBridge scholarship to Vassar. QuestBridge is a national nonprofit based in CA that connects exceptional, low-income youth with leading colleges and opportunities.

“I’ve always been a very aggressive, very strong-willed person and I’m very open to taking challenges head-on. I don’t let anything stop me.”

To see Jones talk about her interests and journey, click below:

Read more: https://www.post-gazette.com/news/19-neighbors/2021/02/27/19-Neighbors-Mariah-Jones-Baldwin-High-School-COVID-19/stories/202102260171

U.S. Justice Department Indicts Four Former Minneapolis Police Officers on Federal Charges for George Floyd’s Death

U.S. Justice Department Indicts Four Former Minneapolis Police Officers on Federal Charges for George Floyd’s Death

By goodblacknews on May 7, 2021

The U.S. Department of Justice, lead by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, has indicted four former Minneapolis police officers in connection with the killing of George Floyd.  The charges allege the officers violated Floyd’s constitutional rights, according to court documents filed in federal court in Minnesota.

According to cnn.com, the indictment says Derek Chauvin — who was convicted on second-degree murder charges in Floyd’s death — deprived Floyd of the right to be free from “unreasonable seizure, which includes the right to be free from the use of unreasonable force by a police officer.”

Former officers Tou Thao and J. Alexander Kueng were also charged in connection with their failure to intervene in Chauvin’s use of unreasonable force, per the indictment. Chauvin, Thao, Kueng and the fourth officer, Thomas Lane, all face a charge for failing to give Floyd medical aid.

Such federal charges are rare, notes npr.org, because it is difficult to meet the high legal bar they require. Prosecutors are charged with proving beyond a reasonable doubt that Chauvin acted “willfully” to deprive Floyd of his civil rights and used force that was “constitutionally unreasonable.”

Additionally, Chauvin faces a separate federal indictment related to a 2017 incident where he allegedly used a neck restraint “without legal justification” on a 14-year-old and beat the teenager in the head with a flashlight.

Several weeks ago, the Justice Department also filed federal hate crime charges against the men who killed Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed Redirects $3.75 Million from Law Enforcement to Black Businesses as Part of Dream Keeper Initiative

San Francisco Mayor London Breed Redirects $3.75 Million from Law Enforcement to Black Businesses as Part of Dream Keeper Initiative

By goodblacknews on May 6, 2021

San Francisco Mayor London N. Breed announced yesterday the awarding of $3.75 million to serve San Francisco’s Black and African American small business community.

This investment by the Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD) and the San Francisco Human Rights Commission (HRC) is part of the Dream Keeper Initiative, which is reinvesting $120 million from law enforcement into San Francisco’s African American community.

In June 2020, following the killing of George Floyd, Mayor Breed and Supervisor Shamann Walton announced a plan to prioritize the redirection of resources from law enforcement to support the African-American community. Following that plan, HRC led an extensive and collaborative process with the community to identify and prioritize funding needs and developed a report to guide the reinvestment.

The community engagement process included more than 60 community meetings, listening sessions, coalition convenings, and surveys with over 700 respondents. As part of the budget process, Mayor Breed redirected $120 million from law enforcement for investments in the African American community for Fiscal Years 2020-21 and 2021-22.

This funding is aimed at mitigating the economic hardships facing San Francisco’s African American community and will support rebuilding of the community’s economic power in San Francisco.

Chicago Rep. Bobby Rush Introduces Bill to Congress to Compel FBI to Disclose Fred Hampton Files

Chicago Rep. Bobby Rush Introduces Bill to Congress to Compel FBI to Disclose Fred Hampton Files

By goodblacknews on May 5, 2021

[Photo: Fred Hampton (l), U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush (r) via revolt.tv]

U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush, a Democrat from Illinois and an Illinois Black Panther Party co-founder, yesterday introduced a bill to Congress to force the declassification of FBI files related to the death of Party Chairman Fred Hampton. 

Additionally, Rush sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland in which he requested “that you release unclassified and un-redacted versions of any files or papers in the possession of the U.S. Department of Justice or the FBI pertaining to this assassination.”

Hampton and Mark Clark were assassinated on Dec. 4, 1969 in Chicago by federal agents, and renewed public attention to this event comes on the heels of the 2020 release of the Academy Award-winning film Judas and the Black Messiah, for which Daniel Kaluuya won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Hampton.

According to thegrio.com, Rush, who was first elected to Congress in 1992, said it was important that “the American people know about the odious and inhumane legacy of J. Edgar Hoover’s COINTELPRO operation and its assault on our nation’s civil liberties.”

Rush’s bill would require the FBI to release all files related to now-disbanded counterintelligence programs, including those related to the Black Panther Party and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  

The bill also calls for the removal of Hoover’s name from FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Read more: https://chicago.suntimes.com/columnists/2021/5/4/22419671/bobby-rush-fbi-doj-release-files-black-panther-fred-hampton-killing-chicago

Beyoncé Teams with Jewelry Designer Lorraine Schwartz, Creates Scholarship for Black Students to Gemological Institute of America

Beyoncé Teams with Jewelry Designer Lorraine Schwartz, Creates Scholarship for Black Students to Gemological Institute of America

By goodblacknews on May 1, 2021

According to the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), Beyoncé teamed up with jewelry designer Lorraine Schwartz to create the Beyoncé Knowles-Carter x Lorraine Schwartz GIA Scholarship, which goes to three members of the Black community for full tuition to earn GIA’s Graduate Gemologist diploma.

Audriana Osborne of Montgomery, Alabama, Shelton Bradford of Lake Forest, California, and Kulla Jatani, of Seattle, Washington were named the first three winners of the scholarship.

The aim of the scholarship is to creating more representation and eventually generational wealth for African Americans in the jewelry industry.

“I was impressed with their passion and the knowledge of gems that so many applicants displayed,” Beyoncé, who chose each of the scholarship recipients, said in a statement. “I am praying that this is just the beginning of opening more doors to diversity and raw inspiration in the jewelry industry.”

“Her work for the Black community is without limit and her efforts have inspired me and made me extremely proud to be her friend and partner on this initiative,” Schwartz said of Beyoncé.

Read more: https://discover.gia.edu/beyonce-x-lorraine-GIA-scholarship#home