Foundational Black American (FBA) News Headlines For 4/12/2023

Bronx Family Calls For Justice

 

A woman named Karen Ivery caused a scene at a Target store in Ohio when she demanded reparations from the store's manager while checking out her $1,000 grocery bill.

The police report stated that Ivery repeatedly brought up the topic of reparations and became increasingly angry and aggressive toward the manager. A loss prevention officer, Zach Cotter, tried to calm her down, but she followed him to his office and forced her way in.

A surveillance video showed Cotter punching Ivery in the face, causing her to fall to the floor.

Police arrived at the scene and arrested Ivery, who compared her situation to Rosa Parks and did not want to explain her actions to the officers.

The Detroit Reparations  Plan

Detroit has formed a committee to address reparations and looked to other cities across the country for inspiration. However, some Detroit civil rights leaders are doubtful about the committee's ability to accomplish what they haven't been able to achieve in the past several decades.

The Reparations Task Force is led by Lauren Hood and Keith Williams, who initiated the effort, and two coordinators, JoAnn Watson and Dorian Tyus, who have long been advocates for reparations at state and national levels. Their focus is on housing and economic development initiatives, with the aim of creating a paradigm shift in policies and practices.

The task force's impact is expected to last for generations, and it must present its findings and recommendations to the City Council within 18 months of its first meeting. Council President Mary Sheffield initiated the effort after discussions with activists who demanded the measure in response to the nationwide call for reparations.

In November 2021, more than 80% of voters approved Proposal R, which sought to form a committee to consider reparations for the residents of Michigan's largest city, 77% of whom are Black. California established a similar task force in September 2020, and San Francisco's reparations commission is deliberating a $5 million payout per Black person, which could become a nationwide model.

 

Racist Text Messages In Antioch-Pittsburgh California  

An Antioch woman claims that the recent racist text message scandal involving dozens of police officers has validated her suspicions that the Antioch police force was mistreating Black and Brown residents compared to white residents. The copies of the text messages have been leaked and discussed during a heated Antioch City Council meeting. 

Antioch Mayor Lamar Thorpe is calling to fire all 24 officers linked to the investigation, and the department is hiring an outside investigator to the extent of the problem. The racist text messages were discovered as part of an FBI investigation by the Antioch and Pittsburg Police Departments, which also alleged other misconduct by officers.

 No Justice For Melanated Women 

The families of Lauren-Smith Fields and Brenda Lee Rawls are still searching for answers nearly two years after the women were found dead. The families claim that no one has been held accountable for their loved ones' deaths and that authorities' behavior following their deaths was disrespectful and uncommunicative.

 The medical examiner determined that Smith-Fields' cause of death was accidental and that Rawls died of natural causes, but their families have doubts about these conclusions. Both families seek answers and feel their loved ones were not adequately respected in death (Inside Edition Staff, 2023).

Black Farmers in Tennessee Fight Against Unfair Land Seizures for Ford Plant Development

Black farmers in Tennessee are fighting against the state's use of the eminent domain to acquire their land for a new $5.6 billion electric truck plant by Ford Motor Company. The Tennessee government is offering Black farmers a fraction of what their land is worth. Marvin Sanderlin, a longtime farmer with 400 acres of land, said the state is offering him only $3,750 per acre, below the market rate.

Black farmers, landowners, and the NAACP are planning to fight back against acquiring their land. This incident comes amid criticism of the Biden administration's failure to secure targeted investment for Black farmers in the federal farm bill(Deon, 2023).

A Bad Story Ends Well 

 

Angel, a young entrepreneur and social media influencer from Charlotte, North Carolina, had a project to make her business mobile and build a tiny home for herself. She spent most of her savings on purchasing buses and public land in Salisbury, North Carolina, since Charlotte's land was not affordable. 

Unfortunately, the neighbors across the street were racist and vandalized her buses by erecting KKK statues, swastikas, and flags promoting hate.

They also used vulgar and hateful language toward her and her family. Due to this, Angel feels unsafe leaving her buses on the land and needs to find a new location. 

Angel has raised $119,245 for her cause, exceeding her goal of $80,000. The money will be fixed for the damages done to her buses and to find free land in Charlotte so she can continue to work towards her dreams. She is grateful for any support (Gofundme, 2023).

References

 

Hate Crime Victim. . .Help Move Me to a Safe Place!!!, organized by Angel Pittman. (n.d.). gofundme.com. https://www.gofundme.com/f/hate-crime-victimhelp-move-me-to-a-safe-place

Nielsen, K. (2023, April 13). Update: Antioch woman says racist text message scandal confirmed suspicions about city’s police. CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/antioch-police-racist-text-message-scandal-confirms-resident-suspicions-about-local-officers/

Osborne, D. (2023, April 12). Black farmers say Tennessee trying to hustle them off their land. The Black Wall Street Times. https://theblackwallsttimes.com/2023/04/12/black-farmers-say-tennessee-trying-to-hustle-them-off-their-land/

Staff, I. (2023, April 12). Families of 2 Black Women Found Dead in Connecticut on Same Day 2 Years Ago Say They Still Need Justice. Inside Edition. https://www.insideedition.com/families-of-2-black-women-found-dead-in-connecticut-on-same-day-2-years-ago-say-they-still-need

 The Detroit News. (2023, April 12). Detroit’s Reparations Task Force to hold first meeting. The Detroit News. https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2023/04/12/detroits-reparations-task-force-to-hold-first-meeting/70107512007/