Civil Rights & Social Justice
On Wednesday, Kyle Rittenhouse took the witness stand, and some legal experts all appear to believe his testimony came off as genuine and ultimately worked in his favor. But others believe he appeared to have been coached. Many people believe the crying he did on the stand was fake.
Glynn County police Sgt. Roderic Nohilly testified that when speaking with Greg McMichael at police headquarters after the shooting, Greg told him Arbery “wasn’t out for no Sunday jog. He was getting the hell out of there,” and that he, Travis and William Bryan had him "trapped like a rat.”
On August 27, eight-year-old Black girl Fanta Bility was killed by police gunfire in Sharon Hill, Pennsylvania, outside of a football game at Academy Park High School. A month and a half later, only one person has been charged with murdering Fanta—a Black teenager who didn't kill anyone.
During the third day of testimony in the trial for the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, Judge Timothy R. Walmsley stopped court proceedings to scold defense attorney Jason Sheffield for being rude and disrespectful to the court.
“A group of maybe 11 to 13 men surrounded us and started yelling racial slurs and telling him he was a traitor and started assaulting us,” said Kevin Maxson, who told reporters of the incident that reportedly took place in front of the Roadhouse Cafe Bar and Grill Swatara Township, Pa..
Figueroa's wheelchair was damaged while traveling over the summer, and the replacement wheelchair provided did not properly support her needs. For people without mobility challenges, this might not seem like a big deal. Still, for Figueroa, who had particular physical support and mobility requirements, it was literally a matter of life and death.
Texas Republican state Rep. Matt Krause has compiled a list of 850 books he has identified as materials that "might make students feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress because of their race or sex," and requested that school districts report possessing any books from the list.
It took two and a half weeks for a jury to be selected in the murder case of Greg and Travis McMichael and William “Roddie” Bryan Jr.—the three men accused of murdering Ahmaud Arbery—and somehow, after that unusually long process, 11 white people and just one Black person ended up on the panel.
Philadelphia has taken steps to ban its police officers from initiating traffic stops for minor infractions, a move that should prompt a collective sigh of relief for Black drivers, in particular, who are disproportionately targeted for such moving violations.
Civil rights icon Rev. Jesse Jackson visited Howard University's campus to offer words of encouragement and support for students who for weeks have been protesting living conditions on campus in addition to several administrative policies. #BlackburnTakeover