Black & Proud (Say It Loud)...
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UNTIL TRUMP and ALL HIS CRONIES and SYCOPHANTS AND FAMILY are EXCOMMUNICATED from the White House?
UNTIL HE is CHARGED FORMALLY OF ALL HIS CRIMES
AND ALL HIS SUPPORTERS ARE CHASED BACK INTO THE SHADOWS?
UNTIL ALL THESE BLACK CELEBRITIES WHO SIDED WITH THE ENEMY ARE HELD ACCOUNTABLE?
UNTIL WE CONTINUE TO VOTE IN MID TERMS AND LOCAL ELECTIONS?
UNTIL WE HOLD THESE MEDIA OUTLETS, SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS and CORPORATIONS ACCOUNTABLE?
UNTIL THE DNC RECOGNIZE BLACK ISSUES AND CONCERNS AND ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING ABOUT THEM
UNTIL HE is CHARGED FORMALLY OF ALL HIS CRIMES
AND ALL HIS SUPPORTERS ARE CHASED BACK INTO THE SHADOWS?
UNTIL ALL THESE BLACK CELEBRITIES WHO SIDED WITH THE ENEMY ARE HELD ACCOUNTABLE?
UNTIL WE CONTINUE TO VOTE IN MID TERMS AND LOCAL ELECTIONS?
UNTIL WE HOLD THESE MEDIA OUTLETS, SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS and CORPORATIONS ACCOUNTABLE?
UNTIL THE DNC RECOGNIZE BLACK ISSUES AND CONCERNS AND ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING ABOUT THEM
Dope Thread
Thursday, January 7, 2021
VICE News talks consequences—for the rioters, president, country, and democracy.
www.vicetv.com
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Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James: U.S. Capitol siege shows 'we live in two Americas'
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"We live in two Americas," James said Thursday following the Lakers' 118-109 loss to the San Antonio Spurs. "And that was a prime example of that yesterday, and if you don't understand that or don't see that after seeing what you saw yesterday, then you really need to take a step back -- not even just one step, but maybe four or five, or even 10 steps backwards and ask yourself how do you want your kids, or how do you want your grandkids, or how do we want America to be viewed as? Do we want to live in this beautiful country?"
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James, wearing a black shirt with the message "Do You Understand Now?" in block letters, said he watched news coverage of Wednesday's rioting showing a largely white mob being met by a relatively passive police force. He said it made him think of how he and his family -- his wife, three children and mother-in-law, all of whom are Black -- would be treated in the same situation.
EDITOR'S PICKS
"If those were my kind storming the Capitol, what would have been the outcome? And I think we all know," James said. "There's no ifs, ands or buts -- we already know what would've happened to my kind if anyone would have even got close to the Capitol, let alone storm inside the offices, inside the hallways."
James' teammate Anthony Davis echoed the sentiment, contrasting how Black Lives Matter protesters were met by police force all over the country during the summer.
"It's like a double standard," said Davis, who wore a shirt featuring the title of Public Enemy's 1990 album "Fear of Black Planet" stitched on its chest. "On the other side, an entire group runs into the nation's Capitol and get escorted out the front door like everything is OK.
"And if I'm not mistaken -- well, I'm not mistaken -- they did take things, and when the Black Lives Matter [movement] protested it was, 'Once the looting starts, the shooting starts.' And to my knowledge, if you take something, you're looting. And in that case, for them, they got escorted out the front door. And it's just a slap in the face to us. It feels like we're going backwards. We thought we were seeing change and then this happens."
In May, Trump tweeted, "when the looting starts, the shooting starts," threatening military action in response to the social justice movement sparked by the death of George Floyd, who was in police custody in Minneapolis when he died from an officer kneeling on his neck.
James, who has had a public back-and-forth with Trump dating back years, said the outgoing president is culpable for what happened Wednesday.
"The events that took place yesterday was a direct correlation of the president that's in the seat right now -- of his actions, his beliefs, his wishes," James said. "He cares about nobody besides himself. Nobody. Absolutely nobody. He doesn't care about this country. He doesn't care about his family. He doesn't care about anybody besides himself."
In 2016, James, while standing in the Cleveland Cavaliers' locker room on the night Trump was elected, openly wondered if he would be better off moving out of the country. He said Thursday night that it was a damaging presidential term for the country.
"Four years ago, I sat there and said this is the beginning of the end for our country. And hopefully it only lasts four years," James said. "But the one thing you can't get back in life, one thing you can never get back, and that's time. Can't get back time. We've literally just s---ted away four years. How do we recoup that?"
Wednesday's breach of the Capitol, which resulted in five deaths and the resignation of the Capitol Police chief, came hours before Joe Biden was officially certified to be the 46th president of the United States when Congress affirmed the Electoral College count of 306-232.
James said he believed Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris offer hope for the country.
"We took a step forward in November by electing Joe and Kamala to be in the White House, for them to be the head of our country," James said. "That is a step forward."
Davis said that the Lakers' and Spurs' demonstration before the game -- locking arms with one another in a circle at center court while the national anthem played -- was meant to continue to inspire unity during a difficult time.
"We just can't give up hope. No matter what goes on. As a brotherhood in the league and as an African American myself, we can't allow ourselves to lose hope just because of we're not seeing change," Davis said. "That's what people want. They want us to lose hope, lose faith and let us fade away. Let the idea of change fade away. And us do nothing. ... We got to continue to be unified and stay in solidarity to make sure that we stay strong through all of this."
www.espn.com
play
0:08
/
1:37
1:03
3:08 AM ET
Dave McMenaminESPN Staff Writer
"We live in two Americas," James said Thursday following the Lakers' 118-109 loss to the San Antonio Spurs. "And that was a prime example of that yesterday, and if you don't understand that or don't see that after seeing what you saw yesterday, then you really need to take a step back -- not even just one step, but maybe four or five, or even 10 steps backwards and ask yourself how do you want your kids, or how do you want your grandkids, or how do we want America to be viewed as? Do we want to live in this beautiful country?"
ADVERTISEMENT
James, wearing a black shirt with the message "Do You Understand Now?" in block letters, said he watched news coverage of Wednesday's rioting showing a largely white mob being met by a relatively passive police force. He said it made him think of how he and his family -- his wife, three children and mother-in-law, all of whom are Black -- would be treated in the same situation.
EDITOR'S PICKS
"If those were my kind storming the Capitol, what would have been the outcome? And I think we all know," James said. "There's no ifs, ands or buts -- we already know what would've happened to my kind if anyone would have even got close to the Capitol, let alone storm inside the offices, inside the hallways."
James' teammate Anthony Davis echoed the sentiment, contrasting how Black Lives Matter protesters were met by police force all over the country during the summer.
"It's like a double standard," said Davis, who wore a shirt featuring the title of Public Enemy's 1990 album "Fear of Black Planet" stitched on its chest. "On the other side, an entire group runs into the nation's Capitol and get escorted out the front door like everything is OK.
"And if I'm not mistaken -- well, I'm not mistaken -- they did take things, and when the Black Lives Matter [movement] protested it was, 'Once the looting starts, the shooting starts.' And to my knowledge, if you take something, you're looting. And in that case, for them, they got escorted out the front door. And it's just a slap in the face to us. It feels like we're going backwards. We thought we were seeing change and then this happens."
In May, Trump tweeted, "when the looting starts, the shooting starts," threatening military action in response to the social justice movement sparked by the death of George Floyd, who was in police custody in Minneapolis when he died from an officer kneeling on his neck.
James, who has had a public back-and-forth with Trump dating back years, said the outgoing president is culpable for what happened Wednesday.
"The events that took place yesterday was a direct correlation of the president that's in the seat right now -- of his actions, his beliefs, his wishes," James said. "He cares about nobody besides himself. Nobody. Absolutely nobody. He doesn't care about this country. He doesn't care about his family. He doesn't care about anybody besides himself."
In 2016, James, while standing in the Cleveland Cavaliers' locker room on the night Trump was elected, openly wondered if he would be better off moving out of the country. He said Thursday night that it was a damaging presidential term for the country.
"Four years ago, I sat there and said this is the beginning of the end for our country. And hopefully it only lasts four years," James said. "But the one thing you can't get back in life, one thing you can never get back, and that's time. Can't get back time. We've literally just s---ted away four years. How do we recoup that?"
Wednesday's breach of the Capitol, which resulted in five deaths and the resignation of the Capitol Police chief, came hours before Joe Biden was officially certified to be the 46th president of the United States when Congress affirmed the Electoral College count of 306-232.
James said he believed Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris offer hope for the country.
"We took a step forward in November by electing Joe and Kamala to be in the White House, for them to be the head of our country," James said. "That is a step forward."
Davis said that the Lakers' and Spurs' demonstration before the game -- locking arms with one another in a circle at center court while the national anthem played -- was meant to continue to inspire unity during a difficult time.
"We just can't give up hope. No matter what goes on. As a brotherhood in the league and as an African American myself, we can't allow ourselves to lose hope just because of we're not seeing change," Davis said. "That's what people want. They want us to lose hope, lose faith and let us fade away. Let the idea of change fade away. And us do nothing. ... We got to continue to be unified and stay in solidarity to make sure that we stay strong through all of this."
LeBron on Capitol siege: 'We live in two Americas'
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James said Wednesday's breach of the U.S. Capitol made him wonder if police would have responded differently if the group of insurgents had been mostly Black people.
Nurse Lori Marie Key Sings ‘Amazing Grace’ at COVID-19 Memorial
By Charu Sinha@charulatasinha
Prior to tomorrow’s inauguration day festivities, President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris attended a much more somber ceremony on Tuesday night at the Lincoln Memorial. A national memorial ceremony was held to honor the 400,000 Americans who have died from COVID-19, represented by 400 lights illuminated around the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. “It’s hard sometimes to remember, but that’s how we heal. It’s important to do that as a nation,” Biden said at the start of the ceremony. The archbishop of Washington, Cardinal Wilton Gregory, delivered the invocation, and gospel singer Yolanda Adams performed “Hallelujah.” Harris also delivered brief remarks, calling the ceremony a chance to “begin healing together.” She then introduced Michigan nurse Lori Marie Key, who performed “Amazing Grace.” “Working as a COVID nurse was heartbreaking,” Key said. “But when I’m at work, I sing. It gives me strength during difficult times and I believe it helps heal.”
While Bernie’s memes and Amy Klobuchar’s emceeing did make waves on the internet, everyone knows there was only one true star of Wednesday’s inauguration: Amanda Gorman. The 22-year-old National Youth Poet Laureate, who read her inspiring poem “The Hill We Climb” at the inauguration, appeared on The Late Late Show on Thursday, leaving Americans across the country with one question: Now how in the hell did James Corden book this? While Corden is affable and funny and as charismatic as Klobuchar is wooden, he is not our most politically inclined late-night host, so it was somewhat surprising that he ended up booking the breakout star of the inauguration and not, say, Stephen Colbert or Seth Meyers. Within the first few seconds of the interview, Gorman, who continued her streak of serving up incredible lewks on The Late Show, answered our question. “I am amazing,” she told Corden, “I am ten times better because I am talking to you. You’re like my favorite human being ever created.” And there we have it. This shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise given Gorman’s well-documented admiration of Lin-Manuel Miranda. The Venn diagram of people who love Hamilton and people who love “Carpool Karaoke” is a perfect circle.
Elsewhere in the interview, Gorman revealed that her phone has been “on fire” since the big event, and that her poem was bigger than herself. “It was a personal honor for me to be an inaugural poet, to be the youngest, but I think it was something beyond that, beyond myself,” she said. “A moment for the country, for the world to really move forward.” Gorman also was funny and down-to-earth, talking about how she asked her mom for a new phone after her big moment (“You have to capitalize on these days with your mother”) and how she didn’t want her mom to cry while they stood next to J.Lo. She also did a pretty solid Barack Obama impression at the end of the interview, confirming that she is, in fact, the real deal. To end, Corden asked Gorman if she’d one day like to be president, to which she responded “planning on it.” This gives me pause, only because I genuinely think Gorman is too cool and funny and smart for the job, but hey, if she wants the gig, then she should go for it.
Hank Aaron diversity fund starts with $2M in pledges from Atlanta Braves, MLB, players' association
The Atlanta Braves plan to honor Hank Aaron during the upcoming season, with the first of those initiatives being a $1 million donation to establish the Henry Louis Aaron Fund, which will work to increase minority participation among players, managers, coaches and front-office personnel.
That was an issue Aaron took a keen interest in throughout his life. He often criticized the lack of Black managers and general managers in Major League Baseball. He fretted that fewer Black people were playing the game.
"We want to continue Hank's amazing work in growing diversity within baseball now and in the years to come," Braves chairman Terry McGuirk said in a statement. "I believe this seed money is just the beginning for this growing fund and I'm certain other companies and organizations who have worked with Hank over the years will join us and add to this call to action to develop talent and increase the diversity on the field and in the front offices across the league."
The Braves' donation will be matched by $500,000 apiece from MLB and the players' association.
"Henry Aaron was a Hall of Fame player, a front office executive, a mentor, a colleague and a friend. In each of these roles, he was a tireless advocate for better representation of people of color throughout our sport," MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. "As a philanthropist and businessman, this celebrated power hitter was most passionate about empowering others. We are proud to honor his legacy through this joint donation to the Henry Louis Aaron Fund, and commit ourselves to continue building toward greater diversity and representation in the game Hank loved dearly."
Aaron, whose 755 career home runs long stood as baseball's all-time best, died last week from natural causes at the age of 86, and a memorial service in his honor was held Tuesday at Truist Park in Atlanta.
www.espn.com
The Atlanta Braves plan to honor Hank Aaron during the upcoming season, with the first of those initiatives being a $1 million donation to establish the Henry Louis Aaron Fund, which will work to increase minority participation among players, managers, coaches and front-office personnel.
That was an issue Aaron took a keen interest in throughout his life. He often criticized the lack of Black managers and general managers in Major League Baseball. He fretted that fewer Black people were playing the game.
"We want to continue Hank's amazing work in growing diversity within baseball now and in the years to come," Braves chairman Terry McGuirk said in a statement. "I believe this seed money is just the beginning for this growing fund and I'm certain other companies and organizations who have worked with Hank over the years will join us and add to this call to action to develop talent and increase the diversity on the field and in the front offices across the league."
The Braves' donation will be matched by $500,000 apiece from MLB and the players' association.
"Henry Aaron was a Hall of Fame player, a front office executive, a mentor, a colleague and a friend. In each of these roles, he was a tireless advocate for better representation of people of color throughout our sport," MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. "As a philanthropist and businessman, this celebrated power hitter was most passionate about empowering others. We are proud to honor his legacy through this joint donation to the Henry Louis Aaron Fund, and commit ourselves to continue building toward greater diversity and representation in the game Hank loved dearly."
Aaron, whose 755 career home runs long stood as baseball's all-time best, died last week from natural causes at the age of 86, and a memorial service in his honor was held Tuesday at Truist Park in Atlanta.
Aaron diversity fund starts with $2M in pledges
The Braves plan to honor Hank Aaron during the upcoming season, starting with a $1 million donation to establish the Henry Louis Aaron Fund, which will work to increase minority participation among players, managers, coaches and front-office personnel.