Protests
Ivory Coast bars public protests until September
Ivory Coast has banned all outdoor protests until 15 September, according to a statement Thursday issued after deadly clashes ahead of presidential elections in October. The cabinet late Wednesday “decided to suspend protests in public areas, authorising them only in enclosed spaces… until 15 September,” the government said in a statement. The measure “draws the consequences of the impact, in human and property terms, from previous demonstrations and the risk that pockets of inter-community conflicts could open up,” it said. On 13 August, angry protests erupted in the economic hub Abidjan, and demonstrations in the central town of Daoukro turned to bloody ethnic clashes, after President Alassane Ouattara announced he would bid for a third term. Critics of Ouattara say the 78-year-old is on...
Dolly Parton Backs Black Lives Matter: “Do We Think Our Little White Asses Are the Only Ones That Matter?”
Dolly Parton has once again reminded us why we should all aspire to be more like Dolly Parton. In a new Billboard cover story, the country legend shared her support for Black Lives Matter and the recent uprisings against police brutality and white supremacy. She also spoke candidly about her own mortality and the importance of drawing up a will. On the topic of BLM, the 74-year-old proved that she’s definitely aligned with the times and fully onboard with the protests that have carried on since George Floyd’s murder at the hands of Minneapolis police. “I understand people having to make themselves known and felt and seen,” said Parton. “And of course, Black lives matter. Do we think our little white asses are the only ones that matter? No!” The Queen of Nashville has officially spoken...
Security forces head off anti-government protests in Zimbabwe
Streets were deserted and businesses shut in Zimbabwe’s two main cities on Friday after security forces were deployed to prevent anti-government marches called by activists over corruption and economic hardship. Protesters stayed away. Job Sikhala, an opposition lawmaker and one of the protest organisers, said the heavy security presence showed a state afraid of its citizens. He added: “Protracted demonstrations will be the way forward.” He is among more than a dozen activists who are in hiding and who police say they are seeking for promoting Friday’s protests. In Bulawayo and central Harare, the capital, businesses were shut as police and soldiers patrolled the streets. Shops also stayed shut in some Harare townships, including Mbare – a hotbed of past protests. President Emmerson Mnanga...
It’s #BlackoutDay2020, Here Is What You Need Know About The Economic Call To Action
Source: Grace Cary / Getty Tuesday (Jul.7) marks the arrival of Blackout Day 2020. The economic protest sparked by Calvin Martyr is a call to action urging Black people across the country to not spend their money except with Black-owned businesses only. Organizers behind the movement want Black people to understand the power in their dollars. On the website dedicated to Blackout Day 2020, the call to action is broken down in this description: “This movement is an awakening of the national consciousness of black people in America and abroad. We need economic solidarity in America amongst all black people unequivocally. In order to break free from the chains of financial servility, we will organize days, weeks, months, and years if necessary when not one black person in America will spend a ...
Rage Against the Machine See 62% Increase in Streams Amid Protests
Amidst this tumultuous period of social unrest, Rage Against the Machine’s music is back front and center. Beginning last week, the hard rock outfit returned to the charts, with their 1992 self-titled debut re-appearing on the Billboard 200, and their two other original LPs cracking the top 30 on Apple Music. That surge on the charts has continued over the last seven days, as Billboard reports. Rage Against Machine’s music was streamed over 11 million times in the last week, a 62% increase. The band’s 1992 single “Killing in the Name” accounts for 2.4 million of those streams alone, which places the song at No. 3 on Hard Rock Digital Songs Chart and No. 21 on the Hard Rock Streaming Songs Chart. “Bulls on Parade”, meanwhile, has been streamed 1.4 million times in the last week. Billboard a...
Jay-Z Demands That Charges Be Dropped Against Charleston Protester
Source: Bernard Smalls / @PhotosByBeanz Jay-Z continues to leverage his celebrity for the good of the fight on the front lines. He is now asking that one city use common sense regarding a demonstrator that went about things the right way. As spotted on High Snobiety on May 31, Givionne “Gee” Jordan Jr. was arrested in South Carolina city for participating in a peaceful Black Lives Matter protest. In video captured at the scene he is shown kneeling and expressing his admiration and respect towards a crew of uniformed police. It was clear the scene was tense and the crowd pleaded with the badges to show reciprocal respect for their conflict-free approach. Nevertheless the lawmen proceeded to arrest Jordan for “disobeying a lawful order”. please watch. please listen closely. if anyone ha...
Man Who Drove Vehicle Into Virginia Protest Crowd Is KKK Leader, Prosecutor Says
Source: Henrico County Jail / Henrico County Jail A weekend protest in a Richmond, Va. suburb was nearly upended by the acts of a man who prosecutors say is a professed Ku Klux Klan leader. Harry Rogers was hit with several charges after attempting to drive his vehicle through a throng of peaceful protestors gathering in support of George Floyd and others. As reported by local outlet the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Harry Rogers, 36, is “an admitted leader of the Ku Klux Klan and a propagandist for Confederate ideology” said Henrico County’s top prosecutor Shannon Taylor via a press statement on the matter on Monday (June 8). Over the weekend, Rogers drove into the town of Lakeside, which is just north of Richmond, on Sunday (June 7) and reportedly threatened to run protestors over who were pe...
Kendrick Lamar Joins DeMar DeRozan And Russell Westbrook In Compton Protest
Source: 31st Annual Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony – Press Room Featuring: Kendrick Lamar Where: New York, New York, United States When: 08 Apr 2016 Credit: Ivan Nikolov/WENN.com While the streets continue to mobilize throughout the world in the name of social equality one name had been noticeably quiet. This past weekend the MC everyone was waiting on finally appeared. Several notable figures in Hip-Hop have stepped up and made it clear they stand with the people via public statements denouncing racism. We have also seen the likes of J. Cole, Kanye West, Wale, Redman, Mysonne, Slick Rick, Lil Baby and Tsu Surf joined protests adding even more muscle to the public demonstrations. Recently Kendrick Lamar was called out on social media for being surprisingly absent and it seem...
Mask On: Kanye West Joins Chicago March Organized By Students
Source: WENN/Avalon / WENN Yesterday (June 4), news broke of Kanye West dropping at least 40,000 Virgils (that’s $2M USD) to support the families of Ahmaud Arber, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. Besides opening his wallet, on the same day Yeezy also participated in an anti-police brutality march in Chicago. Kanye West is here at a “Justice for George Floyd/CPD out of CPS” rally on Chicago’s South Side, where protesters plan to walk to CPD headquarters. Organizers say West called yesterday and said he wanted to join a protest. — Grace Hauck (@grace_hauck) June 5, 2020 NBC Chicago reports that the “Power” rapper was spotted on the South Side of Chicago at a protest that was organized Chicago Public Schools students and activist Ja’Mal Green. According to the NY Post, West called up the orga...
L.A. Police Encourage White Woman To Spray Paint “BLM” & “George Floyd”?
Source: Pacific Press / Getty It’s not secret that police officers treat white people a whole helluva lot different than Black and Brown Americans but encouraging vandalism in the name of George Floyd?! That a whole new level of “WTF?!” Yesterday TMZ posted a video of LAPD officers not only encouraging a white woman to continue spray panting “BLM” on a smashed store front, but even instructed her to include George Floyd’s name in her bombing. The video was shot in what appears to be downtown Los Angeles, where an LAPD squad car is parked up next to a curb alongside a lady who’s going to town with spray paint, tagging “BLM” messaging on the side of a building’s windows … taking up at least 3 panes. While the person who recorded this was filming from across the street, you can still make out...
JAY-Z Called Minnesota Governor To Demand Justice For George Floyd
Source: Kevork Djansezian / Getty As arguably the A1 rapper in the game and a business mogul, many have called for the JAY-Z to speak up in regards to the protests across the nation. Minnesota Governor Walz revealed that the “99 Problems” rapper gave him a phone call to discuss justice for George Floyd, who was murdered by Minnesota cops on May 25. Walz revealed the phone call during a press conference on Sunday (May 31). “I received a call last night, to understand how big this was, from Jay-Z,” said Walz. “Not international performer but dad—stressing to me that justice needs to be served.” During a press conference, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz told the media that JAY-Z called him to demand justice for #GeorgeFloyd “I received a call last night from JAY-Z, not international perform...
The National’s Aaron Dessner Confirms That No, He Is Not an Antifa Organizer
In a world gone mad, the Twitterverse reveals itself as both a tool for positivity and asinine outrage. At the same time as K-pop stans mobilized to sabotage a Dallas Police Department snitching app, right-wing trolls spread false allegations of The National’s Aaron Dessner being an Antifa organizer. He has since clarified that, of course, he’s not. Video circulated over the weekend of a bearded white man at a Columbus protest appearing to pay black protesters cash to, as the accusers claimed, start a riot. Twitter user @LilBlondie45, a woman whose name reads “Michelle 🇺🇸 PUT CUOMO IN A NURSING HOME” and whose account has since been suspended, thought she recognized the man as Dessner, and sicced people on the musician. “Meet @aaron_dessner he’s an Antifa org...
