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Friday, June 14, 2024

News on June 2024.

 

The late Rev. James Lawson Jr. lived to be 95 years old. He was an icon of the Civil Rights Movement who fought very hard for our freedom. He helped to educate younger activists on the philosophy of nonviolent resistance by using examples and role-playing exercises at conferences. He lived in Los Angeles for decades to be a pastor, a labor movement organizer, and a university professor. He met Dr. King in 1957. Lawson worked in the Nashville movement with Diane Nash, John Lewis, etc. He supported the Freedom Riders, the Memphis sanitation workers, and other social justice movements. Over the course of many decades, he has been on the frontlines to advance justice for us all. The course of justice is not finished. We still have massive poverty, racism, wars, and other evils in our society. We know that the Supreme Court made the wrong decision to promote bump stocks on weapons. Yet, we have faith and determination to continue with the work.


It is important to expose the racist far right person Lilly Gaddis. These enemies of truth are part of the new generation of racists who want to cause division and anti-black hatred under the guise of claiming to be real "conservatives.". She said the n word and used other xenophobic rhetoric. She spewed her nonsense on TikTok. She promoted herself as the "traditional wife," but character is something that she doesn't have. She cries about freedom of speech, but freedom of speech has consequences. People have the right to use the freedom of speech to boycott her and not support her because of her MAGA views. She lied and said that her statements were out of context, but her words speak for themselves. Gaddis lied and said that there is not a lot of racism in America. Tell that to the families of the victims of Buffalo whose loved ones were murdered by a white racist, tell that to the families of the victims of Emmanuel Baptist Church whose loved ones were murdered by a white racist, and tell that to the increased incidents of hate crimes against black people (and other minorities in America) now. Gaddis wants to exploit the pain of African Americans to advance hatred and stereotypes, but we are on to her nefarious game. 


It is one thing to protest. It is another to show vandalism. The vast majority of Pro-Palestinian protesters have been peaceful, but we will condemn folks trying to use anti-Semitism and vandalism too. There have been incidents in New York City of racists using hateful messages against Jewish people and Muslims. Some have defaced cultural landmarks, public buildings, and private properties with red triangles at home (which was done by the Nazis during WWII). These actions have nothing to do with supporting Palestinians or seeking a ceasefire involving the Middle Eastern conflict. This has to do with overt anti-Semitism straight up. In the Upper East Side deli, bigots pained a swastika after voicing support for Israel. People have the right to support or not support Israel in a free society. Showing a swastika is plainly a hate crime, and those who did it should be punished legally. Anti-Semites ripped posters of the kidnapped Hamas victims too. Anti-Semites have vandalized the homes of the Jewish director of the Brooklyn Museum with red paint and several of the museum's board members. Recently, some people in a subway wanted all Zionists to get out. Hate crimes have been increasing in America for years, and we must fight the evils of racism, anti-Semitism, sexism, xenophobia, and all forms of bigotry.


The Oklahoma Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit of the last Living Tulsa Race Massacre survivors. The Oklahoma Supreme Court should be ashamed of themselves. The Tulsa massacre was about black men, women, and children who were abused, beaten, and murdered by racist terrorists. To this very day, the survivors of this massacre have not been justly compensated for this race massacre. To this day, some people want to sugarcoat the massacre. This is a case where reparations are fully justified along with reparations for black Americans in general. People had to fight for people to teach about the Tulsa massacre in Tulsa public schools, but teachers had to ask superintendents to teach that white racist mobs attacked innocent black people in Tulsa in the 1920's. With a racist in 2024 being arrested for trying to target black people in Atlanta to try to start a race war, the banning of DEI in many places of America, the banning of affirmative action in colleges, the attack on affirmative action policies outside of college, and the rise of hate crimes against black people in 2024, we have a problem in America.


Recently, Jerry West passed away at the age of 86 years old. West was one of the greatest basketball players of all time who played against Oscar Robertson, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Willis Reed, and other icons of the NBA in their primes. He was born in Chelyan, West Virginia and passed away in Los Angeles, California. He won the gold medal in the 1960 Olympics in Rome, and he was the NBA Champion for the Los Angeles Lakers in 1972. He was the 14-time NBA All-Star, could shoot, and he could play defense on the court. He loved his family and was an 8-time NBA Champion as an executive for the LA Lakers. He saw Magic, Kobe, Shaq, Kareem, and other legends of the Los Angeles Lakers win multiple championships. The NBA made him the logo, because of his tenacity, playing ability, and influence on the court. Michael Jordan said it best that he wanted West to play alongside him as a gifted basketball. I send condolences to his family and friends.


By Timothy



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