Category: Racial tension

Racial Profiling, Racial tension, racial unrest

Protests and Outrage after two black men arrested at Philly Starbucks

The ReadyWriter

Protesters gathered outside a Philadelphia Starbucks on Sunday and planned to regroup again on today after two black men were arrested there last week when they allegedly refused to leave.

The original incident occurred last Thursday, when a Starbucks employee called 911 because two black men were sitting inside the café. Soon after they arrived, police handcuffed the men and escorted them out of the shop. Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross, who is black, said the men hadn’t purchased anything and refused to leave, which led to the arrest. Yet a protesting white women said, she’s walks in all the time to use the restroom without purchasing anything and was never arrested.

A video of the arrest and ensuing confusion went viral on Twitter.

Michelle Saahene witnessed the entire event, as she’d been at the Starbucks for nearly an hour. She told NBC News on Sunday that, as a black woman, she was slightly nervous when the police officers entered the coffee shop, but she was then shocked as the two men when they were approached by police officers.

After the two men were refused the bathroom, they just sat at a table silently and played with their phones as they waited for a friend, Saahene told NBC News.

“The cops were asking them to leave because they weren’t purchasing anything,” Saahene said. “[The two men] said they were confused. This is a Starbucks. Since when are people asked to leave a Starbucks who are just sitting there?”

Saahene said that a white man sitting next to her had been at the Starbucks for 30 minutes without making a purchase and a jogger came in and used the bathroom without making a purchase.

That’s one of the reasons she felt compelled to approach the employee who called 911.

“’Did you feel threatened’?” she said she asked the Starbucks barista. “She didn’t look at me. ‘Did you feel like your life was threatened?’ She still didn’t look at me.”

Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson swiftly apologized that the 911 call was made and that the two men were arrested. He said that the company planned to investigate the matter and retrain its staff, but said the store manager “never intended for these men to be arrested and this should never have escalated as it did.”

Unfortunately it’s too late! We’re sounding the call to boycott “StarBucks” everywhere.!!

Boycott, Racial tension, Racially motivated, Racist

Kneeling in Protest is not about the flag, Tonight on “Conversations Of A Sistah”

The ReadyWriter

Yes she’s back and she’s back with a vengeance and she’s talking about the one thing that’s hot!! The NFL Boycott.

NFL players reacted with rage when President Trump told NFL bosses to fire players who protest and disrespect the American flag during games.

The president mocked the player protests and he told football fans to walk out of the stadiums if they see players take a knee during the national anthem.

“When people like yourselves turn on television and you see those people taking the knee when they are playing our great national anthem – the only thing you could do better is if you see it, even if it’s one player, leave the stadium,” Trump said. “I guarantee things will stop.”

Tune in at 6:30 p.m. EST on “Conversations Of A Sistah, for Ms. Bell’s commentary on the NFL boycott and why IT IS NOT about the flag. We will be taking calls in the studio at 917-889-7872.

Follow “all links” to access the online show.

Politics, POTUS, Racial tension, Racially motivated, Racism in America, Racist remarks

Trump Tells NFL Owners to FIRE Protesting Players: “Get That Son of a Bitch Off the Field!”

The ReadyWriter

NFL players reacted with rage on Friday after President Trump told NFL bosses to fire players who protest and disrespect the American flag during games when addressing the national anthem.

Trumps comments were in response to reports that player protests have resulted in low TV ratings and half empty stadiums.

Trump made the statements during a rally for Alabama Senate candidate Luther Strange in Huntsville on Friday night.

NFL players were livid after hearing Trump’s remarks. Many of them took to social media to vent their anger at the Commander-in-Chief.

The NFL Players’ Union also issued a statement, saying they will never back down from protecting the players’ rights to protest.

Murder, Not guilty verdict, Police Shooting, Racial tension, racial unrest, Racially motivated, Racism in America, Racist

Officer who shot Philando Castile found not guilty on all counts

The ReadyWriter

Jeronimo Yanez, the Minnesota police officer who fatally shot Philando Castile during a traffic stop last year, was found not guilty of second-degree manslaughter Friday.

He also was acquitted of two counts of intentional discharge of firearm that endangers safety.

Castile’s death garnered widespread attention — and sparked nationwide protests over the use of force by police — after his girlfriend broadcast the shooting’s aftermath on Facebook Live.

Several members of the Castile family screamed profanities and cried after the verdict was announced, despite warnings from the judge that everyone in the courtroom should remain composed.

“Let me go!” yelled Castile’s mother, Valerie.

The families of Castile and Yanez were escorted out of separate courtroom exits. At least 13 officers were present in the small courtroom.

Outside court, Valerie Castile said she was disappointed in the state of Minnesota:

“Because nowhere in the world do you die from being honest and telling the truth “The system continues to fail black people,” she said. “My son loved this city and this city killed my son and the murderer gets away! Are you kidding me right now?”

“We’re not evolving as a civilization, we’re devolving. We’re going back down to 1969. What is it going to take?”

Black lives don’t matter, not here in the united snakes of America.

Officials in St. Anthony, Minn., where Yanez worked as a police officer, said he will not return to the police department from leave after the trial. They said they have decided “the public will be best served if Officer Yanez is no longer a police officer in our city.”

Hate, Hate crime, Racial Slurs, Racial tension, racial unrest, Racially motivated, Racist, Violence

Dylan Roof told her……”He Spared her life, so she could tell the story”

The ReadyWriter

Felicia Sanders (R) and Polly Sheppard (L), two of the three survivors of the Mother Emanuel Church shooting in Charleston, walk off the stage on the third evening session of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia July 27, 2016
Felicia Sanders (R) and Polly Sheppard (L), two of the three survivors of the Mother Emanuel Church shooting in Charleston, walk off the stage on the third evening session of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia July 27, 2016

A survivor of last year’s massacre of nine African American churchgoers in Charleston, SC recalled in federal court today how gunman, Dylann Roof, spared her life, telling her he needed her “to tell the story.”

Polly Sheppard (pictured above left), told a jury, she dove under a table as shots rang out at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church on June 17, 2015 at the end of a Bible study session.

When Sheppard opened her eyes, Roof’s boots were in her line of sight, she told the jury who’s hearing the federal death penalty case in South Carolina, what Roof said to her.

“Did I shoot you yet?” Roof asked, according to Sheppard.

“No,” she replied.

“I’m not going to. I need you to tell the story,” Roof said.

Roof was given a Bible and pamphlet when he entered the church and joined the group, Sheppard recalled.

At the end of the session about 50 minutes later, the group stood to pray, closing their eyes.

That was when gunshots rang out.

Sheppard said she mistook them for the sparking of old electrical wiring until her friend Felicia Sanders started screaming.

“Oh, he’s shooting everybody, Miss Polly,” Sheppard recalled Sanders saying.

Sheppard told the court how Roof executed 26-year-old Tywanza Sanders, Felicia Sanders’s son.

“Why are you doing this? We mean you no harm,” said a wounded Tywanza Sanders, who propped himself up on his elbows to address the attacker before being shot dead.

“I have to. I have to. You’re raping our women and taking over the nation,” Roof said, according to Sheppard’s account.

Closing arguments are set for tomorrow, with the jury expected to begin deliberations. Should he be found guilty, Roof has elected to represent himself during the sentencing phase of the trial. Either way, he faces the death penalty.