Taking Care of these Karens
It’s not over for Amy Cooper, the white woman who called the police on a Black man because he asked her to put her dog on a leash in Central Park. She will be charged with making a false claim about her life being threatened. The misdemeanor carries a maximum sentence of a year in prison.
Attempting to handle these types of calls in San Francisco, a city supervisor recently introduced the CAREN Act. With CAREN standing for Caution Against Racially Exploitative Non-Emergencies, the law would classify this type of call as a hate crime. AB 1550, a similar act for the entire state of California is also being considered. Oregon, New York, and Grand Rapids, MI are among other places that have already enacted comparable laws around this issue.
A Sickening Plot Twist
Breonna Taylor’s family contends her murder was linked to a larger gentrification plan. They allege the warrant used to enter her home was part of a plot to accuse her ex-boyfriend of stashing drugs at her home with the ultimate goal of removing him from his home so that it could be torn down.
Your Passport is Trash
Of all the countries in the world (the USA officially recognizes 195), US citizens can only visit 24 countries due to our high rates of COVID-19 and the federal government’s unwillingness to enact strong measures to control the pandemic. Who’s the shithole country now?
Deets on the SCOTUS Decisions
Last week, the Supreme Court released a number of opinions on high profile cases. We’ve summarized a few of their rulings below:
The NY District Attorney can access Trump’s financial files as part of their investigation into whether he paid hush money to his side chicks while running for president. While Trump cannot claim presidential immunity as he did before, he has until July 15 to come up with another argument to stop the release of his records.
Congress cannot access Trump’s financial files, yet. In a hidden victory for the House, Justices laid out very specific guidelines under which they must request the POTUS’ financial records and it’s extremely likely that they will meet the new requirements. Don’t get too hype, though, because it’s unlikely that we’ll see any of his bank statements before the election.
States can force an elector in the Electoral College to support their state’s choice for President. For example, if Biden wins Michigan in November, Democratic electors for the state of Michigan must cast their vote for him in the Electoral College.
An employer does not have to provide contraceptive coverage to their workers if it goes against the employer’s religious or moral beliefs. This ruling is likely to impact Black women and other women color disproportionately.
Half of the land in Oklahoma is still Native American territory and therefore any crimes committed on the land by Native Americans cannot be subject to state law.
Last Week in Trump Land
After 4 months, Trump finally wore a mask. He pissed off his Attorney General by commuting the 3-year prison sentence of his homie who was convicted of lying to Congress. Also, he wants to send your kids back to school in the fall by any means necessary.
It’s always something, isn’t it?
Congress, What’s Good?
Things Congress is (probably) not gone do:
Respond to Russia for putting a hit out on US troops.
Extend the federal unemployment benefits. The House passed a bill to extend the payments back in May, but many Republican Senators think the benefit disincentivizes going to work.
Distribute any more stimulus payments to the middle class. Mitch McConnell has signaled that if Congress will send out more checks to help people stay afloat during the pandemic, it’ll likely only be to those making $40K or less.
Things that the House will do this week while the Senate is still on vacay:
Oversee ICE detention facilities
Discuss environmental (in)justice
Find solutions to help small businesses recover
2020 Watch
Trump was right about voter fraud. A West Virginia USPS worker recently pleaded guilty to changing voter’s party affiliation from Democrat to Republican.
Though Trump is down in the polls, don’t get too excited about it. He was also down in the polls 4 years ago when he was running against Hillary, remember?
All 435 House seats will be up for reelection in November. Do you know who’s running in your local race?
Additionally, 23 of the 35 Senate seats that are up for reelection in November belong to Republicans. This map predicts how those elections might go.
Around the Diaspora
Hunters within the San community share their expertise with Western scientists about the wildlife in the Kalahari desert. The desert spans parts of Namibia, Botswana, and South Africa. In exchange for sharing their generational knowledge, the San make money to support their families.
Sudan outlawed female genital mutilation. Finally. Anyone found guilty of the practice will be subject to 3 years in prison.
Tanzania has the fastest growing economy in East Africa.
Here’s a glimpse of how Caribbean countries have been impacted by the ‘Rona.
Bajan school children recently received 4K iPads from Rihanna and Jack Dorsey.
Getting to the Money
If you work in visual media, fashion, social media, music, or corporate America in general, the Blueprint Conference might be the place for you. Starting on August 1, the digital conference will offer programming over 3 weekends to help young Black professionals learn and connect with each other.
Are you a Black restaurateur? If so, Discover wants to give you a piece of their $5M pie.
Head & Shoulders and Pantene have $200K to give to Black hair stylists and
salon owners.
Beyonce and the NAACP partner to help Black-owned small businesses in Houston, LA, NYC, Atlanta and Minneapolis. Each grant will be $10K. The deadline to apply is Saturday, July 18.
Black Business Highlight: Tiiied (tired) of using Tide? True laundry detergent is here for you.
Culture that Pops
Marsai Martin is calling for free school lunches for all K-12 students.
Toxic king Future (jk...maybe) just introduced a scholarship for college freshmen in Georgia impacted by COVID-19.
Black women do it all. Last week, Madeline Swegle made history as the first Black woman certified to pilot a tactical fighter jet.
Another first for Black women: playing Batwoman. Javicia Leslie will be making her debut on the CW in 2021.
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