Black Lives Matter

SOURCE SPORTS: #BHM: Doug Williams First Black QB To Win Super Bowl 35 Years Ago

by
Screen Shot 2023 02 03 at 9.53.51 AM

As we wait to see the Kansas City Chiefs play the Philadelphia Eagles for the Super Bowl LVII crown, it is important to remember Black History Month runs in tandem with this unofficial American holiday. Despite declining viewership due to the Kaepernick controversy, the NFL is still one of the most-watched sports in the country and is dominated by African-Americans who currently make up two-thirds of the league. With that much Black representation in the NFL comes a lot of Black History including the first Black Quarterback to ever win a Super Bowl.

In 1988, it was Broncos legend and future Hall-of-Famer John Elway versus a then-unknown Redskins backup Quarterback Doug Williams.

Prior to the 1987 season, Williams had not played in multiple NFL games in a season since 1982 as a Quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Williams spent a period of time playing for the USFL team, the Arizona Outlaws, but following the folding of the USFL, Williams was picked up by the Washington Redskins.

For the 1988 championship, the Denver Broncos took on the Washington Redskins. Both teams took four losses in the regular season but the Redskins had more wins thanks to a tie game the Broncos had during the season against the Green Bay Packers.

Elway was selected to the AFC Pro Bowl game and won the Most Valuable Player award as well that season. The Broncos had been to the Super Bowl the year before but lost to a different NFC East team, the New York Giants, so the city was thirsty for another shot at glory.

As for the Redskins, before there were thoughts of a Super Bowl, Williams was competing with ‘Skins quarterback Jay Schroeder throughout the regular season for the starting job. According to Redskins.com, a lackluster performance from Schroeder in the final game of the season and stud level play in the same game from Williams became the deciding factor of who would be the starter going into the post-season.

Things started out slow for Washington in the Super Bowl. The Denver Broncos got out to a quick start with a 10-0 lead, but Williams and the Washington Redskins rallied scoring 42 unanswered points against the back-to-back AFC champions. Williams threw for 340 yards passing and 4 touchdowns earning him Super Bowl MVP honors.

The post SOURCE SPORTS: #BHM: Doug Williams First Black QB To Win Super Bowl 35 Years Ago appeared first on The Source.

Today In Black History #BHM: Congress Abolished Slavery In The District of Columbia In 1862

by
Screen Shot 2023 02 02 at 9.20.06 AM

February 2, 1862 Congress abolished slavery in the District of Columbia, an important step on the road to freedom for all Black Americans

1862 was a pivotal year toward ending slavery in America. The bill, S. 108, was referred to the Committee on the District of Columbia which reported it with amendments in February 1862. During the Civil War Charles Sumner, the senior senator from Massachusetts, informed President Lincoln that he was the largest slaveholder. The abolitionist, asked President Lincoln:

Do you know who is at this moment the largest slaveholder in the United States….holds all the slaves of the District of Columbia?

In his question Charles Sumner was referring to the fact that the federal government was empowered in the US Constitution to “exercise exclusive legislation” over the federal district. Abolitionists used what’s known as The DC Compensated Emancipation Act, as a way to end slavery in the nation’s capital.

In December 1861, Henry Wilson, the junior Massachusetts senator, introduced a similar bill in Congress to end slavery in Washington, DC. despite opposition from slaveholders, and the bill passed. The Senate approved the bill on April 3, 1862 by a vote of 29 to 14, and the House of Representatives on April 12, 1862. President Lincoln signed the legislation on April 16, 1862.

The legislation was titled, “An Act for the Release of Certain Persons Held to Service or Labor in the District of Columbia”; it freed the 3,100 men, women, and children who were still enslaved in 1862. The act also allowed for slaveowners to be compensated up to $300 for each individual they had legally owned. In addition, newly-freed African Americans could receive up to $100 if they chose to emigrate to another country.

As we reflect on Black History this month, let us remember the great steps that have been taken toward the freedom of Black Americans today.

The post Today In Black History #BHM: Congress Abolished Slavery In The District of Columbia In 1862 appeared first on The Source.

On This Date In Black History Month: At Least A Dozen HBCUs Get Bomb Threats On First Day Of #BHM One Year Ago

by
Screen Shot 2023 02 01 at 6.09.11 AM

Last year on the first day of Black History month, at least a dozen Historically Black Colleges and Universities received bomb threats, causing the schools to either evacuate or dismiss classes for that day altogether, showing the relentless commitment to racism in this country, especially towards its specialized, secondary learning institutions.

**From the report dated Feb 1, 2022**

The FBI is actively investigating bomb threats at the following schools: Mississippi Valley State University, Morgan State University, Alcorn State University, Tougaloo College, Jackson State University, Kentucky State University, Fort Valley State University, Howard University, Xavier University, The University of the District of Columbia, Spelman College, and Edward Waters University.

According to the report, Morgan State closed their campus for the day(February 1) due to the alleged threat.

The FBI released a statement via USA Today about the bomb threats which read, “The FBI is aware of the series of bomb threats around the country and we are working with our law enforcement partners to address any potential threats. As always, we would like to remind members of the public that if they observe anything suspicious to report it to law enforcement immediately.”

The post On This Date In Black History Month: At Least A Dozen HBCUs Get Bomb Threats On First Day Of #BHM One Year Ago appeared first on The Source.

[WATCH] Kylie Jenner Dragged For Wearing Givenchy Noose Necklace

by
Screen Shot 2023 01 25 at 7.35.39 AM

Yikes! Kylie Jenner upset social media when she showed up wearing a noose necklace to Paris Fashion Week.

The 25-year-old entrpreneur made headlines on Monday for wearing a stuffed lion’s head to the Schiaparelli Haute Couture Spring Summer 2023 runway show.

Now Kylie is back again causing an uproar for wearing a noose necklace after attending the fashion show on Monday.

Paparazzi photos caught Keeping Up With The Kardashian’s star wearing what appeared to be a white gold or platinum noose around her neck.

According to Radar Online, the noose-inspired necklace first appeared in Givenchy’s 2022 spring collection in October 2021.

Social media users accused Kyle of endorsing an item that would is offensive to Black people.

One reddit user wrote: “This woman has black children. This is so disgusting. It’s not ok to just say ‘she probably doesn’t know’ — she needs to know, even if you took out the racial history of a noose, there’s the suicidal side of it. It’s wrong in so many ways.”

Thoughts?

The post [WATCH] Kylie Jenner Dragged For Wearing Givenchy Noose Necklace appeared first on The Source.

[WATCH] Elijah McClain’s Shocking Cause Of Death Revealed

by
elijah

Elijah McClain’s autopsy has revealed his death was caused by ketamine injection after being forcibly restrained. The dosage was too much for his body size and it resulted in an overdose.

On Aug. 24, 2019, officers responded to a call about a suspicious person and put McClain, a massage therapist, in a chokehold and paramedics later injected him with ketamine, a powerful sedative. He died about a week later.

An amended autopsy report released Friday revealed Elijah McClain, a 23-year-old Black man who died after a confrontation with police officers, died because he was injected with ketamine by paramedics after being forcibly restrained.

“I believe this tragic fatality is most likely the result of ketamine toxicity,” the report said, adding McClain received a higher dosage of the sedative than he should have. “Simply put, this dosage of ketamine was too much for this individual and it resulted in an overdose.”

The original autopsy report, signed Nov. 7, 2019, said McClain’s cause of death could not be determined, but new information that emerged during a grand jury investigation prompted the state attorney general’s office to order a second autopsy.

The amended report comes one month after Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser announced that two police officers, one former officer and two paramedics in the Denver suburb of Aurora had been indicted and would be charged with one count each of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide, among other allegations in the 32-count indictment.

“The opinions rendered were based on information available at that time. Since then, this office has received additional material for review including extensive body camera footage, witness statements, and additional records,” the report said. “It is worth noting that these materials had been requested prior to release of the initial autopsy but the material was either not provided to us or not provided to us in their entirety.”

The post [WATCH] Elijah McClain’s Shocking Cause Of Death Revealed appeared first on The Source.

Former Officer Receives State Sentence For His Role In George Floyd Murder

by
thomas lane state charge george floyd murder

Former Minneapolis police officer, Thomas Lane will serve three years in prison for his role in the death of George Floyd.  39-year-old Lane was sentenced virtually on Wednesday morning for a state charge of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter. 

Thomas Lane pleaded guilty in May to the state charge. The ex officer held down Floyd’s legs while Derek Chauvin kept his knee on his neck for nine and a half minutes, which led to Floyd’s death.

READ MORE: Three Minneapolis Officers Found Guilty of Violating George Floyd’s Civil Rights

He’s currently serving two-and-a-half years in Federal Correctional Institution Englewood in Littleton, Colorado for violating Floyd’s civil rights by denying him medical care. Lane will serve his new state sentence in federal prison.

Share your thoughts and comments with us on social media.

The post Former Officer Receives State Sentence For His Role In George Floyd Murder appeared first on The Source.

Black Lives Matter Executive Accused Of Stealing $10 Million Of Donations

by

Shalomyah Bowers

Black Lives Matter has been in the news for protests and marches, and has also stirred up some controversy. In a new story, one of the top people in the organization is accused of “siphoning” donations. BLM Executive Taking Donations? In a new lawsuit, Black Lives Matter executive at their Global Network Foundation, Shalomyah Bowers […]

The post Black Lives Matter Executive Accused Of Stealing $10 Million Of Donations appeared first on SOHH.com.

$1.5M Settlement Reached In Jailer’s Racial Discrimination Lawsuit Involving Derek Chauvin

by
derek chauvin plea

A Minnesota county settled a racial discrimination lawsuit involving eight correctional officers of color and Derek Chauvin the ex-Minneapolis officer convicted of killing George Floyd.  

The lawsuit alleged the former Ramsey County Adult Detention Center superintendent blocked the eight minority officers from guarding and interacting with Derek Chauvin after he was arrested in 2020.  The officers, who identify as African American, Hispanic, Pacific Islander American and multiracial say the superintendent, Steve Lydon segregated them by reassigning them to different floors. 

READ MORE: Final Two Ex-Minneapolis Officers Sentenced To Feds Surrounding George Floyd’s Death

 The lawsuit also accused a white lieutenant of giving Chauvin special treatment.  On Tuesday, Ramsey County approved a nearly $1.5 million settlement for the eight officers.

Lydon reportedly told his superiors that he made the decision “to protect and support” the minority employees by keeping them away from the convicted cop, according to USA Today. 

Board Chairwoman Trista MatasCastillo apologized in a statement “for the trauma you experienced and the ongoing harm this racist incident caused.”

“The actions taken by the Sheriff’s Office leadership that day were more than just wrong, they were racist, heinous, highly disrespectful and completely out of line with Ramsey County’s vision and values,” she said. “No one ever should have questioned your ability to perform your job based on the color of your skin.”

Continue the conversation on social media.

The post $1.5M Settlement Reached In Jailer’s Racial Discrimination Lawsuit Involving Derek Chauvin appeared first on The Source.

Grand Jury Decides That Emmett Till Accuser Will Not Face Charges In The Murder Of 14-Year-Old

by
emmett till 507515 1 402

Last week, a Mississippi grand jury decided not to indict Carolyn Bryant Donham, the woman whose false accusations led to the death of Emmett Till in 1955. The decision not to indict Donham on charges of kidnapping and manslaughter come after hearing 7 hours worth of testimony from investigators and witnesses. The jury decided that there was not enough sufficient evidence to indict.

News of this decision comes after a 1955 arrest warrant for Bryant was recently discovered by a group, consisting of Deborah Watts, Till’s cousin and her daughter Teri in the basement of a Leflore County courthouse in June.

Emmett Till’s cousin, and the last surviving witness that saw him abducted, Rev. Wheeler Parker, Jr. called the decision unfortunate, but predictable.”

“The prosecutor tried his best, and we appreciate his efforts, but he alone cannot undo hundreds of years of anti-Black systems that guaranteed those who killed Emmett Till would go unpunished, to this day,” Parker said.

“The fact remains that the people who abducted, tortured, and murdered Emmett did so in plain sight, and our American justice system was and continues to be set up in such a way that they could not be brought to justice for their heinous crimes.”

In an Donham’s unpublished memoir, she says that she did not know what her husband at the time and his half brother were going to do to Till, and denies having wanted him killed. She says that her husband and his half brother, Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam, brought Till to her for identification after abducting the 14 year old. She claims that she tried to help him by denying that it was him, but Till volunteered himself as the person they were looking for.

Till was then brutally beaten and shot in the head, tied to a metal fan and dumped in the river. He was found three days later.

As for Donham’s husband and his half brother, the two were acquitted of Till’s murder by an all white male jury, and later admitted to murdering Till in an interview. The reason why they could not be tried is due to double jeopardy.

The post Grand Jury Decides That Emmett Till Accuser Will Not Face Charges In The Murder Of 14-Year-Old appeared first on The Source.

Autopsy of Brianna Grier Confirms ‘Blunt Force Trauma’ To Head While in Police Custody

by
Brianna Grier

Brianna Grier, who died while in police custody, has an autopsy confirmed for the reason of her death.

Reportedly Grier, 28, was having a mental health crisis when her family called  911 for help but the police didn’t bring the ambulance with them arriving alone. 

“When they used to come out to the house they’d call an ambulance service,” Grier’s father Marvin Grier said last month to CNN. “The ambulance service would come out and they would take her to the hospital to get some help.”

According to authorities Grier died after she fell out of a patrol car in Georgia. The Hancock County Sheriff’s Office had taken her into custody before the incident.

The autopsy reveals she was killed by blunt force trauma to her head.  The doctor who conducted an autopsy commissioned by her family confirmed it yesterday.  Dr. Allecia Wilson from the University of Michigan was asked by Grier’s family to conduct the review.  Grier fell from the moving vehicle and later died on July 21 after being in a coma for several days.

 Authorities previously revealed a rear door of the cruiser was never closed and she was placed in the backseat without a seat belt during her arrest.  Grier allegedly fell out of the car after a deputy drove a short distance.  

Acting representation for the family and civil rights attorney Ben Crump shared they were still seeking answers as to why Grier wasn’t secured in the patrol car with a seat belt and call for the release of any other body camera footage from that night.

Share your comments with us on social media.

The post Autopsy of Brianna Grier Confirms ‘Blunt Force Trauma’ To Head While in Police Custody appeared first on The Source.