Accountability At Last...Maybe
George Floyd’s passing is still unsettling to many people. In response to his death, California is considering passing a law that penalizes law enforcement officers who do not “physically intervene” to stop acts of excessive force while on duty. Under this bill, officers who standby will face the same disciplinary action as the officer(s) committing violence. The legislation would also prohibit retaliation against police who report violations and create a website for the public to also submit complaints against police across the state. Not surprisingly, law enforcement advocates are unhappy with this proposal
HBCUs Got Moneeeeey
Makenzie Scott, novelist, philanthropist and yes...ex-wife to Jeff Bezos, just dropped $160M on Spelman, Morehouse, Xavier, Howard, Tuskegee and Hampton. The $20M portion that went to Xavier was the largest gift they’d ever received. Ms. Scott also donated to other organizations like Black Girls Code, the NAACP and the Obama Foundation.
Fun fact about Makenzie, she once studied under the great Toni Morrison. No wonder she knows what’s up.
Trump Last Week...
Announced his desire to ban TikTok, allegedly over data privacy issues, but also likely because it’s a Chinese app that’s wildly successful here
Told white people in the suburbs that he would save their neighborhoods from low-income housing (a.k.a. people of color). The move would be made possible by rescinding an Obama-era rule that addressed housing discrimination.
Led the country in a steep economic downtown for Q2, an outcome of COVID-19
And after all that, he still has the nerve to wonder why no one likes him.
Congress, What’s Good?
Congress failed to reach a deal last week that would have helped the country as we continue to endure the economic impacts of the pandemic. With $2B standing in between them, Dems and the GOP were unable to find common ground primarily on the extension of federal unemployment benefits. Talks are expected to resume today, so let’s hope they can come to an agreement. Both houses of Congress are typically in recess for the month of August so the pressure is on.
Also, cousin Kamala Harris spoke up on behalf of all the Black women who are disproportionately impacted by uterine fibroids. The California senator introduced legislation that would provide $30M annually from 2021 to 2025 for research and education on the condition.
The elected officials have a light agenda over the next few days (you know how it is just before you go on vacation). Here is the committee schedule for Congress this week:
Overseeing the Federal Trade Commission
The right to peacefully assembling
A remote discussion on reopening schools
2020 Watch
We all saw this coming from a mile away, but Your President wants to delay the election, citing the very virus that he’s dismissed for months.
Republicans are banning media outlets from attending their National Convention. Like their leader, the party that’s mocked the severity of COVID-19 claims the decision was made because of…COVID-19.
Joe Biden’s VP announcement has been pushed back by a week or so. Expect the final pick to be made in the week leading up to the Democratic National Convention, which will be held from August 17-20.
Also, Biden wants the Federal Reserve’s help in closing the racial wealth gap.
The USPS is ringing the alarm on policies that may be harmful to the upcoming election.
Around the Diaspora
Zimbabwe agrees to pay $3.5B to white farmers for losing the land that their ancestors stole during colonial times. Re-read it slowly and let that sink in.
Jamaica’s Supreme Court ruled that schools can ban dreadlocks if they so choose. It really do be ya own people.
Still recovering from 2019’s Hurricane Dorian, the Bahamas was hit by Hurricane Isaias.
Kenya is just a few weeks out from eliminating the locusts that have been ravaging their crops for the past 8 months.
Getting to the Money
Are you a Black womxn in the market for a new gig? Check out HireBlackNow.com to find mentors, network, and tighten up your resume.
Whether you already got it like that or you’re still working towards it, here are some tips for how you can get into real estate investing.
Black Business Highlight: Getting stopped by the police is no light matter. Neither is getting followed by a stranger. Clutch SOS was created to allow users in potentially dangerous scenarios to record their encounters and/or notify their loved ones who can then call the police. The app is free. For a quick tutorial of how it works, check out this video from one of the app’s founders.
Culture that Pops
After much anticipation, Beyonce’s “Black is King” was finally released on Disney+. While many have strong views on the piece in one way or another, you can’t deny that she put artists and creatives from all over Africa on in a real way.
Ludacris wants to make music videos to empower the chirren.
MJ and the Jordan Brand are donating $2.5M to the NAACP and others in the fight against voter suppression.
Plus, did you hear about all the classic Black TV shows coming to Netflix in the month of August? Your quarantine weekends just became un-boring.