Black People Politics : RACISM GROWING

[Kemetstry]

Florida man convicted in hate crime road rage attack on Black martial artist dad who fought back​

The victim, identified as J.T., was a mixed martial artist who fought back by placing suspect Jordan Leahy in a chokehold until authorities arrived in the August 2021 incident in Florida.

A Florida man has been convicted of a hate crime for a road rage incident last year in which he tried to run a Black man driving with his family off the road and assault him — only to find the victim was a mixed-martial artist who fought back and put him in a chokehold.
Jordan Patrick Leahy, 29, was found guilty by a federal jury in Tampa on Wednesday of interfering with the victim's federally protected right to drive on the street in the Aug. 8, 2021 incident in Seminole, Florida, the Department of Justice announced in a release.

Jordan Patrick Leahy.Pinellas County Sheriff's Office
Prosecutors called the incident a “racially-motivated attack,” alleging Leahy targeted the victim, identified by the initials J.T., because of his race and color and because he was traveling on a public road.

In the road attack, Leahy came upon J.T. headed to Clearwater, Florida, with his girlfriend and 4-year-old daughter, court documents show.
Leahy pulled alongside J.T., yelled racial slurs and pretended to “shoot” at J.T.’s vehicle with hand gestures, according to trial evidence.
He then used his car to try and force the victim’s car off the road, prosecutors said. Leahy allegedly followed the victim for nearly a mile and a half before he sideswiped J.T's car and fled the scene.
J.T. caught up with Leahy, pulling up behind him at a red light, officials said.
Leahy then "got out of his car, stormed at J.T., and tried to assault him, again yelling racial slur," the release said.



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[Kemetstry]

MSN.COM
South Dakota High School To Black Student: Cut Your Dreadlocks Or Leave Our School

South Dakota High School To Black Student: Cut Your Dreadlocks Or Leave Our School​

Photo: wavebreakmedia (Shutterstock)© Photo: wavebreakmedia (Shutterstock)
Black Americans have long been subjected to hair discrimination, whether it be in corporate or school settings. For 14-year-old freshman Braxton Schafer, he has had his dreadlocks in the sixth, seventh and eighth grades while O’Gorman High School in South Dakota’s hair policy was in place. Schafer and his family stated there was never an issue until now. As the Sioux Falls Argus Leader reports, the school has said Schafer will have to cut his hair in adhere to the policy or leave the school.
O’Gorman’s dress code states boys’ hair length must be above the collar. However, Braxton’s father, Derrick Schafer, said, “We don’t necessarily agree with the rule.” “We think it’s culturally biased.”
Braxton’s mother, Toni, stated to the Argus Leader that the assistant principal approached her at the school and told her he felt Braxton’s hair was too long. When Toni discussed the matter with high school principal Joan Mahoney, she was told that “the length of Braxton’s hair is the issue, not Braxton’s culture as a Black student with locs.”
From the Argus Leader:
“It was always cultural,” Derrick said. “We were concerned with the timing of them bringing this up because the school year had already started. When this was being discussed with us, it seemed like there were a lot of other opportunities to have that discussion.”
Keep in mind the policy has been the same since 2018. This is the same time when Braxton would have his dreadlocks. Both parents tried to pitch alternatives to the school, including Braxton wearing his hair up in a bun. Ultimately, it was decided Braxton would transfer out of Bishop O’Gorman Catholic Schools after this fall semester ends.
Again from the Argus Leader:

“It’s incredibly stressful, and he feels kind of like an outsider anyways, because when you’re one of very few (Black students), and I think he might be the only one there with locs, he’s devastated, basically,” Toni said. “He wanted to stay because he likes his friends.” “When I saw (Braxton’s) face when we told him what (the administrators) said, it’s just really hard,” Toni said.

When asked about the school policy, O’Gorman Catholic Schools president Kyle Groos claimed all students must abide by the code, and “upwards of about 20 male students asked to comply.”
“Can students wear dreadlocks? Yes, they can,” Groos said. “We simply want the length of the hair to be at the collar or right above the collar. Right there is what we ask for. To be clean, neat, and well-cared for.”




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[Kemetstry]

LA City Council president resigns after she was caught on tape calling the Black son of a fellow Democratic politician a 'monkey'​

The president of Los Angeles City Council resigned on Monday after leaked audio revealed that she made racist remarks about a fellow Democratic politician's Black son.

Los Angeles City Council President Nury Martinez on Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2022. Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images© Provided by Business Insider
Martinez came under heavy criticism after the Los Angeles Times reported Sunday that she made racist comments behind closed doors about Councilman Mike Bonin's son.
In a conversation with other local officials, Martinez described Bonin's son, who is Black, as a "monkey."
The conversation, which was taped and remained private for a while, sparked outrage and calls for Martinez to resign on Sunday, according to the report.


Related video: Los Angeles City Council president Nury Martinez resigns after racist-fueled leaked audio

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"I take responsibility for what I said and there are no excuses for those comments. I'm so sorry," Nury Martinez said on Monday in a statement obtained by local news station KTLA. "I sincerely apologize to the people I hurt with my words."

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1 of 9 Photos in Gallery©Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

12 times LA County first responders contradicted themselves during the Kobe Bryant crash photos trial​

• Vanessa Bryant and Chris Chester secured a mammoth $31 million verdict against LA County.
• They sued the county after cops and fire staff took and shared graphic photos from the Kobe Bryant helicopter crash.
• Throughout the trial, those who disseminated the photos had at times shaky recollections.

A Los Angeles jury awarded Vanessa Bryant $16 million in damages for emotional distress in her trial against Los Angeles County first responders who took and shared photos of Kobe and Gianna Bryant's remains at the site where their helicopter crashed on January 26, 2020.
Chris Chester, whose wife Sarah and daughter Payton were also aboard the helicopter, was awarded $15 million after he and Bryant took on the county in a joint trial.
Throughout the trial, contradictions morphed into a theme – something Bryant and Chester both pointed out during their testimonies. Ultimately, the conflicting testimonies muddied what role key witnesses played at the crash site, while internal department interviews sometimes offered a clearer look to jurors.
A county attorney accused Bryant's team of nitpicking audio snippets from internal department investigations, but those interviews also provided part of a roadmap as to who ordered the photos, what they showed, and why the staff disseminated the photos.
Bryant and Chester also levied criticism of the LASD and LACFD officials who testified in the trial. Bryant said that there has been "a lot of finger-pointing." Chester said there were "inconsistencies" in the testimonies of the first responders as he sought answers.
"It seems like the number of photos keeps getting smaller as people take the stand – we went from 100 to 10 photos," Chester said.
As the deputies and captains implicated in the spread of the photos took the stand one by one over the past two weeks, they offered myriad reasons for why they took, and then shared, the graphic photos: curiosity got the better of them; they believed it was part of their job; or, as two back-to-back deputies testified, it was a way to "alleviate stress."
Attorneys for the county have maintained that the photos are "permanently deleted," and that first responders needed to take "site photography" to relay to the command post the nature of the scene, considering the crash, weather conditions, and ensuing media frenzy.
The county had no comment on the testimonies of the first responders.
Here are some of the ways that those first responders contradicted themselves and their colleagues throughout the high-stakes trial.

However, her statement said she was resigning as president of the council. It's unclear if she's stepping down from her elected position as a city counselor.
Martinez, a 49-year-old Democrat, became the City Council president in 2019 after previously serving as a member of the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education.




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