Politics
Penny Lane from The Beatles Song “in Danger of Being Renamed” over Possible Slavery Ties
As the Black Lives Matter movement continues to surge worldwide, citizens and governments alike are being forced to reconsider monuments to heritages of racism. In America, everyone from GWAR to Taylor Swift is calling for the removal of confederate statues, with one petition proposing they be replaced with ones of Dolly Parton. Meanwhile, over in Liverpool, England, folks are seeking to rename the famed Penny Lane — immortalized in the classic song by The Beatles — over its purported connection to the slave trade. It seems many believe the road was named for James Penny, a slave merchant who spoke against abolition in Parliament. Last week, as protests over racial injustice and inequality gripped the country, signs for the street were defaced and graffitied, with “racist” being sprayed ab...
Trouble in PDP camp over Governor Obaseki’s possible defection
File Photo As Governor Godwin Obaseki seeks a new political fortress in his bid to govern Edo state for another four-year term, emerging reports claim the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been plunged into confusion. The embattled governor was on Friday, June 12, axed out of the race for All Progressive Congress (APC) governorship ticket over alleged “defective certificate.” Since then, Governor Obaseki has become a darling target for the state opposition parties including Action Democratic Party (ADP) but with Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) likely to be his next political destination. The Edo governor faces a tricky hurdle of being received with an open arm by PDP members. Legit.ng recalls the opposition party’s nomination process closed on June 2 while screening of aspirants closed on ...
Edo guber: PDP applauds Governor Obaseki’s infrastructural development
The Edo State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has applauded Governor Godwin Obaseki’s developmental strides in the various sectors of the state. The Chairman, Edo PDP, Dr Tony Aziegbemi, gave the commendation after inspecting facilities at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City, ahead of the party’s forthcoming primary election scheduled to hold on June 19th 2020. Addressing journalists at the stadium, the state PDP chairman expressed appreciation to the governor for approving the use of the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium for the conduct of the party’s primary election. He noted that the PDP is very impressed with the transformation of the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, adding, “We are going ahead with our preparations and on the 19th of June, we are coming here to do what we know ...
Mariah Carey, Ciara, Snoop Dogg & More Celebrate Barack Obama on Donald Trump’s Birthday
Happy birthday? While June 14 marks Donald Trump’s 74th birthday, many are celebrating the day by honoring … a former president. Rather than wishing the current president a happy birthday, thousands of social media users have declared the day #ObamaAppreciationDay in honor of Barack Obama, leading the hashtag and others like it to become the top trending topic on Twitter with more than 250,000 tweets. (As of press time, #HappyBirthdayDonaldTrump was at No. 24.) Among those tipping their hats to the 44th president is Mariah Carey. The singer shared a photo of herself beaming alongside the former president and first lady. She captioned the Instagram and Twitter image simply, “Happy #ObamaAppreciationDay!!” Ciara also joined in, sharing a sepia-toned photo of herself s...
Taylor Swift Calls for Permanent Removal of “Racist” Confederate Statues
The Black Lives Matter protests spurred by George Floyd’s murder aren’t stopping anytime soon — unless, of course, racial equity magically appears overnight. While marching for racial justice and calling for the police to be defunded, protestors have begun taking it upon themselves to dismantle, if not destroy, statues honoring white supremacists from history like Robert E. Lee and John B. Castleman. As it turns out, they have a huge celebrity supporting that cause: Taylor Swift. On Friday, the Grammy-winning pop star released a statement calling for the permanent removal of all Confederate statues in Tennessee. “As a Tennessean, it makes me sick that there are monuments standing in our state that celebrate racist historical figures who did evil things,” Swift wrote on Twitter. “Edward Car...
Trump Rolls Back Health Care Protections For LGBTQ+ People On Pulse Anniversary
On Friday (June 12) the Trump administration finalized a rule to roll back Obama-era non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ people when it comes to health care and health insurance. The plan was released on the fourth anniversary of the Pulse massacre, when a gunman opened fire at an Orlando gay bar, killing 49 people. The decision, which arrives amidst the national crises of COVID-19 and racial violence, changes Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act to interpret sex discrimination based on “the plain meaning of the word ‘sex’ as male or female and as determined by biology,” according to a statement from the Department of Health and Human Services. The Obama-era rule previously prohibited discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender id...
Questlove, 50 Cent, John Legend & More React to Congressional Democrats Wearing Kente Cloth to Honor George Floyd
On Monday (June 8), House and Senate Democrats donned the Kente cloth, an indigenous Ghanaian textile that’s become a ceremonial stole for Black people in the U.S., while introducing the “Justice in Policing Act of 2020” police reform bill in the wake of George Floyd’s murder and resulting protests. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senator Kamala Harris and more Democratic lawmakers wore the traditional cloth while kneeling for eight minutes and 46 seconds at the Capitol’s Emancipation Hall to commemorate Floyd, a Black man who died after a white police officer knelt on his neck for the same amount of time. But artists on Twitter took the whole day to criticize and mock what’s been labeled a senseless fashion disaste...
Village People Ask Trump to Stop Playing “Macho Man” and “Y.M.C.A.” at Rallies
The Village People have asked Donald Trump to stop using their music at rallies, particularly legendary gay anthems “Y.M.C.A.” and “Macho Man”, following his public threats to shoot protestors and looters. Earlier this week, the band’s longtime leader, Victor Willis, released a statement saying the President’s recent comments have pushed him to his breaking point, reports Stereogum. “If Trump orders the U.S. military to fire on his own citizens (on U.S. soil), Americans will rise up in such numbers outside of the White House that he might be forced out of office prior to the election. Don’t do it Mr. President!” Willis wrote on his personal Facebook. “And I ask that you no longer use any of my music at your rallies especially “Y.M.C.A.” and “Macho Man.” Sorry, but I can no longer look the ...
Song of the Week: Run the Jewels’ “walking in the snow” Proves Tragically Prophetic
Song of the Week breaks down and talks about the song we just can’t get out of our head each week. Find these songs and more on our Spotify New Sounds playlist. After months of being cooped up inside and watching a so-called “invisible” enemy take the lives of thousands of our fellow Americans (and many more of our global brothers and sisters), the idea of returning to normalcy has been on many of our minds. Sadly, for some, the COVID-19 pandemic has been a deadly reminder that some things haven’t changed much. Poor communities, of course, are being hit hardest by the virus, challenging living conditions and less access to proper health care leading to a disproportionate number of deaths in many Black neighborhoods and other minority communities. And despite our country being devastated by...
Louisville Leaders Approve ‘Breonna’s Law’ Limiting No Knock Warrants #RememberHerName #BreonnaTaylor
Source: JASON CONNOLLY / Getty City officials in Louisville have unanimously passed Breonna’s Law that severely limits and monitors no-knock warrants in the city. According to local news station, WAVE3, the new proposed law, if passed by the full Metro Council, will require officers to thoroughly justify any no-knock warrant before it is reviewed by the SWAT commander and police chief. In cases where the police chief is not able to approve such a warrant, they can give anyone with at least the rank of major the power to approve the warrant. The proposal also includes a rule about body cameras that states all officers must be wearing them and must activate them at least five minutes before any warrant is executed, noting that the videos from all warrants executed will be held for ...
#HBCUs4BlackLives Protest Scheduled For Saturday In Atlanta
Source: HBCUS4BlackLives / HBCUS As we march into the eighth day of protests denouncing of the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and police brutality, those committed to change show they aren’t giving up. According to published reports, on Saturday (June 6), #HBCUs4BlackLives: Centering Our Youth announced an HBCU protest will be taking place in Atlanta to give the youth a chance to share their thoughts on the current state of affairs in our country. [embedded content] In response to the incident that last weekend when two Atlanta students were drug out of their car and tazed by police, it’s clear both students and residents of the city have something to say. As previously reported, six Atlanta police officers are facing charges after reportedly pulling two colleg...
Lauren London Speaks Out About Gun Violence, Nipsey Hussle’s Legacy: ‘It’s Like He’s Touching People Still’
Lauren London sat down with Jada Pinkett-Smith on Wednesday (June 3) to discuss the impact of growing up around gun violence, the legacy of her late parter Nipsey Hussle and how she educates her sons about handling police interactions. “What I instill in them is more about the police. How to handle yourself when you get pulled over. That’s more of my education, protecting them being black men in America,” said London about what she talks about with her three-year-old son with Hussle, Kross, and her 10-year-old with former partner Lil Wayne, Kameron. London said that growing up in Los Angeles she had schoolmates who were in gangs, and by summertime “they were gone… they had transitioned from gun violence.” And while she never got numb to hearing that one of them had ...
